Westerfield Manor

Chapter 2

       The next day the girls went for a horse ride in the morning, then swam in the pool in the afternoon. 

As they lay on the deck chairs around the pool after their final swim Grace gazed closely at the house. If there was something paranormal going on with it, or if it had a ghost, there might be a way to find out. She concentrated on the upper floor and opened her mind. "Who are you?" she asked in her mind, "What do you want? How can I help you?"

Nothing happened for a few seconds, and Grace was about to turn away when suddenly her mind was filled with a roaring sound like the wind blowing through trees. It became louder, and the house seemed to fade as if in a mist and she could hear the distant sound of people screaming. Then just as suddenly the noise stopped and the house appeared as normal again.

"Hey, Earth to Grace," Laura called, "What's wrong, you looked spaced out."

"I'm fine," Grace managed to say in a slightly shaky voice, "I was just thinking about something else."

"Ha ha. I bet it's some of that science stuff you do at the research place."

"Yes it is," Grace answered with a smile, "Good guess, Laura."

Laura laughed, but Shannon had a concerned expression.

The sun was getting low in the sky and the girls were still lying around the pool chatting when Jane came out of the house.

"I'm driving to the store to pick up a few things before they close," she announced, "Then I'm stopping off at the Petersons to say hello. I may not get back for a couple of hours. They love to chat. There's plenty of chicken and bread rolls in the fridge so you girls help yourself when you get hungry."

The girls spent the next two hours eating and telling each other ghost stories, although Grace had a hard time concentrating. She kept thinking about the strange experience she had while by the pool.

Finally Jane arrived home. "Hi girls, did you have fun?" she asked. Then she turned to Grace. "You were asking about the history of this house, Grace. Well I mentioned it to Helen Peterson and she lent me this book." She handed Grace a book. "It's a history of this area from way back when it was first settled. There might be something in it about this house."

Grace eagerly took the book, "Thanks so much, Mrs Campbell," she beamed. I'll read it tonight."

"Let's all look at it together," Laura suggested, "I want to find out about this house too."

Soon the girls were all lying on the floor with the book open in front of them. It was titled 'A History of Watson's Creek' written by a local historian ten years earlier.

Laura read out loud to the others. "The district was first settled by sheep farmers in the 1840s, and in the 1870s alluvial gold was mined from creeks and rivers, but only in small quantities."
Laura paused to leaf through a few pages. "I'm trying to find something about this house," she explained, "But the name of our property 'Green Hills' was probably not the original name."
"Here's something." She continued to read, "Many of the holdings were quite large, several thousand acres, but in later years most of them were divided into smaller properties. Records from the late nineteenth century are sketchy but it appears that the largest of the properties in the district was owned by the wealthy Robertson family who apparently made their fortune from gold mining. Their property 'Westerfield', named after a village in England, was in excess of five thousand acres. Such was their wealth that they built an elegant English style mansion befitting of their status in the community. The three story building took ten years to complete, finally ready in 1887. Many parties and social events were held there in the following years. However 'Westerfield Manor', as it was so named, only lived a short life when the building was destroyed in a terrible tragedy early in the 20th century. For details see Chapter Five 'Accidents and Mishaps'."

"Quick, find chapter five," Shannon urged.

"Hang on," Laura replied as she leafed through the pages. "Here it is, Chapter Five. She turned a couple pages, then stopped, "Oh wow!" she exclaimed, "Listen to this. It's an extract from a local paper. 'On the evening of January 8th 1908 during a terrible thunderstorm a huge bolt of lightning struck Westerfield Manor. A fire started and quickly consumed the timber building. The Robertsons were holding a party at the time, and so quickly did the fire take hold, that only three guests managed to escape the inferno. They later told investigators that lightning struck the front of the manor blocking any possible escape through the front door. When they all rushed to the back door it was found to be locked. Valuable time was lost trying to open windows. Finally as the smoke became very thick a guest was able to smash a window and one man and two women managed to clamber through. The remaining guests were overcome by the dense smoke and were unable to escape. By the time the firemen arrived the building had been reduced to smouldering rubble.

"Nine adults including Andrew and Mary Robertson, and also their two children died in the blaze, eleven deaths in total. The community mourned their loss and large numbers turned out for each of the funerals. The manor was never rebuilt. The heirs of the property chose to subdivide it into smaller lots which were all sold over the following years.'"

Laura stopped reading and looked at her two friends, both of which appeared mesmerized.

Finally Grace spoke. "So Laura, does it say where the manor was located? Maybe it was near here."

Laura went back to the book. "The author has made a comment," she said. "'Local records are vague, so exactly where Westerfield Manor stood is not known. Newspapers describing the fire refer to it being about ten miles, which converts to sixteen kilometres, south of the village of Watson's Creek on Reilly's Lane.'"

Laura stopped reading and looked thoughtful. "Our place is fifteen kilometres south west of Watson's Creek, but we are on Cameron Road. I don't think there is a Reilly's Lane around here anywhere. But of course road names could easily have changed since 1908. Oh wow! Westerfield Manor might have been right here on our property."

"Maybe your house was built over the same spot," Shannon suggested, "So the ghosts of those eleven people who died are haunting this house."

Laura and Grace both stared at her, but then Laura laughed. "Come on, guys." She said, "that would be a huge coincidence."

"But it could explain the weird sounds and the footsteps you hear late at night," Grace said, "Is there any way we could find out exactly where Westerfield Manor was located?"

"A mystery to solve!" Laura exclaimed, "I love mysteries. We need to ask some of the older people living in this area if they know. Maybe their parents or their grandparents told them where it was."

Later as Grace lay in bed she thought about what they had found out that night. A terrible tragedy with eleven poor people dying in a horrible inferno. Laura had suggested that tomorrow they talk to some neighbours who lived nearby. "I think I heard them say at the shop one day that their family has lived here for five generations. It's worth a try."

Grace closed her eyes and was just drifting off to sleep when a sound awoke her. It was a creaking sound like someone walking slowly up the stairs. She quietly walked to the door and opened it a crack. Her bedroom was closest to the top of the stairs, and Jane had left the light on over the landing when they all retired an hour earlier. As soon as Grace opened the door the creaking stopped. She stood there watching for several minutes but there was nothing to see and no further sounds. Finally she closed the door and went back to bed wondering if the house really was haunted. 

The girls investigate the mystery in the next chapter.
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