The Richmond Haunting (COMPLETED)

Chapter 7:

Where to get help for a ghost in your house? Where to even begin?

These were the questions confronting Fiona and Steven as they began searching for help. Constantly eye-raping Google. Hoping the big G would have the answers. But every paranormal website; they came across just reeked of fabrication.

'Just by looking at them.' Fiona says. 'You could tell straight away — they wouldn't be able to help us.'

Me: 'What made you think that?'

'Because of their avatars, they all looked like images pulled from Pinterest. Gothic graveyards, witches, black cats. All very make-believe stuff. What we had in our home was very much real.'

So real; that, for the next several weeks, Fiona and Steven did nothing; but surf the internet, hoping for some good news.

People who actually dealt with what they had in their house. A ghost!

But zilch, nothing, only true stories from people experiencing their own ghost stories.

Items being moved around, cold spots around the house, voices, speaking in empty rooms, seeing apparitions.

At least, that was something. Other people having the same ghostly encounters as they were having, but how they got help would be the icing on the cake. Not, how they managed to get help. But how they got it.

And during those long weeks, work-mates began noticing the facial changes in Steven. He was starting to look unwell. Death warmed up.

Of course, Steven couldn't tell them — his house was haunted. That most nights, if it wasn't his toothache keeping him awake, it was the ghost/demon in his house! Thumping on the walls, screaming, pulling the girls out of their beds — when they were sleeping.

The effect of it all was psychological — because whatever he had in his home was intent on driving him and his family to a nervous breakdown.

That thought was scary because in some cases, which Steven had read, that actually happened.

The case of a woman in Newcastle, who after six months hearing voices - had eventually ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

The thirty-six-year-old man, sexually violated by a tall black shape, again sectioned.

Was this what the ghost wanted? To see him or one of his family inside one of those places?

Steven couldn't answer those questions; all he could do was keep searching for help and protect his family the best he could, which seemed more difficult than getting help!

After all, how can you stop something you can't see from hurting the ones you love?

*How do you fight something that will throw your child down the stairs?

*How do you fight something that will sit on your chest and paralyses you?

*How do you fight something powerful enough to stop all sound?

*How do you fight these things?

'I think we should move.' Fiona said.

'To where?' Steven asked.

'I don't know; tell the housing about the problems; we're having and see if they will give us a new house.'

'You think they will believe us and move us out?' Steven asked.

'Well, the search for help isn't working, so what else can we do?'

'The papers, we could tell them our story, and maybe somebody who knows about this kind of thing can help us.'