To say Silas Coltrane was a cold-hearted bastard would be an understatement. In the business of collateral finance, he's destroyed more businesses that would make Satan blush. Coltrane always seemed to win out in the end. Either the person never raised enough money to get their property back or they died leaving Coltrane with their business or home which he closed or merged with his own. He once closed down an orphanage because they were late on payment. But what made Silas Coltrane even more miserable was winter and the holiday season. He hated winter and loathed the holidays.
One morning, Coltrane walked into his office only to find it considerably cold and only his secretary working.
"Where the blazes is everyone and why's it so damn cold in here?"
"I don't know sir, and the heating system must've turned off last night and hasn't kicked back on because it's so cold out.", she says
"Unacceptable! I want it back up and running before the hour ends so Miss Tabor I suggest you get your scrawny behind down there and fix it or get on the phone with someone who can!"
"Yes sir, right away"
Coltrane takes off his hat and coat and places them on the coat rack. He then sits down at his desk and immediately sinks into it. Just as Miss Tabor goes to reach for the phone it rings. She answers as Coltrane watches her talk.
"Yes, yes I'll let him know. Thank you, goodbye.", Miss tabor says hanging up the receiver.
"Who was that? Someone calling out?"
No sir, it was someone at Mr. Harrington's firm. He passed away this morning."
"Harrington, dead? Wow! I knew he was ill but I didn't think it was serious. I thought if there were anyone who would get back their assets from me it was him. Oh well. That's what you get for bankrupting your business and putting it into financial ruin. He's lucky I threw him a bone to gnaw it or otherwise he'd have died a lot sooner."
Miss Tabor is mortified by the vulgar statement but keeps her thoughts to herself.
"Well, is there anything else you want to tell me, or are you going to keep standing there like someone pissed on your wedding dress?"
"I..err...-
"Come on, out with it!", Coltrane says getting slightly enraged.
"That means you now own Harrington Incorporated, sir."
"Yes, I suppose it does, doesn't it?"
"Yes, so are you going to merge them with us or close them as you did to poor Mr.Bishop?" she asks.
"Poor Mr.Bishop? Ha! Don't make me laugh. Ben Bishop was laundering money and sleeping with every cocktail waitress from Las Vegas to Atlantic City. Poor? Yes, and by his own doing!"
The rest of Coltrane's workers slowly begin coming in. Each one later than the one before them. Coltrane berates the first two but then becomes so angry that it's exhausting him to even keep bothering. When the office looks like it's going to be as full as it can get Coltrane tells everyone what he wants done. Miss Tabor answers the phone as it rings again. This time she has a perplexed look on her face as she listens to the person on the other end speak.
"Hmm, okay yes. By noontime today? That would be fine. Thank you."
Coltrane doesn't look up as he asks Miss Tabor who called.
"That was someone from Koolrevo realtor company."
"Who? Never heard of them.", Coltrane says
"They said your great Uncle Jebidiah has died and you've inherited his estate.." she says waiting for it.
"Oh great another..wait, what did you just say?"
She repeats herself.
"My great uncle Jebidiah? I barely remember the man", he says. And he left me his estate?"
"That's right sir. I will have the full details on my desk at noon."
"Alright, well let me know when they come in. Thank you, Miss Tabor."
Miss Tabor is taken aback by his gratitude but then again given the news perhaps he has a heart after all she thought.
Precisely at noon, someone dropped off the details of the inherited estate. Miss Tabor thanked them and opened it up. She gave it a quick look before giving it to Coltrane.
"Is this it?"
"Yes, sir."
Coltrane reads the letter with a deed to the estate. Soon his bewildered look becomes a usual enraged and annoyed one. He slams the papers down on his desk making a few people jump from their seats.
"This is outrageous! I barely knew the man and he left everything to me!
"But isn't that a good thing, sir?"
"No! It says here that I have to travel all the way over to the United Kingdom where it is in order to settle this whole matter."
"What happens if you don't?" Miss Tabor asks.
"I don't know, I guess it sits in ruins but the place is reportedly worth 4.3 million dollars. I can't let a place worth that much money sit in abandonment and left to die."
"Why? You've done it to people." Miss Tabor says under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir. I was just saying, you should get out there as soon as possible."
"But I have work to do! How am I supposed to get any work done in an old manor out in the middle of nowhere in another country?", he asks.
"Am I supposed to answer that, sir?"
"Gah! Fine, the hell with it. I guess I'll have to. Where's Jameson?"
"Here sir. What can I do for you?", Jameson asks.
"I have to go out of town for a while. I don't know how long. Since you're the highest tenured person here I am leaving you in charge, however, that does not mean for one goddamn second that you procrastinate, or do anything stupid like keep accounts open that need closing. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir. Loud and clear.", Jameson says swallowing hard.
"I will be calling Miss Tabor to check in to see how everything is going and if it isn't smooth Jameson well, I think you know what will happen."
"I'll be fired.."
"That's a boy! So I trust I have nothing to worry about.", Coltrane says patting Jameson's back hard. Now get back to work, all of you. I'll be leaving in the morning to go to the UK and settle this damn estate business."
The next morning, Silas Coltrane having made the preparations the night before, travels to the United Kingdom to see the estate left for him. When he gets to the station there is a car outside waiting for him. The driver is tall, gaunt, and creepy looking. Coltrane finds him unsettling but thinks nothing of it. He gets in the back seat and asks the man how long of a drive it is. The man says nothing. He looks over his work files that he took with him. After about a half an hour, they stop at a long black metal gate. The driver gets out and presses a button that opens the gate automatically.
"Hmm, fancy," he says to himself.
The car drives up the long driveway and Coltrane gasps at the size of the manor. The place looked old, but not caring about that didn't think any more about it. They stopped in front of the house and Coltrane noticed there were no other cars around. The driver got out and opened Coltrane's door for him. He got out and went to the trunk to get his things.
"Where is the person who's supposed to show me the house?"
The driver simply shrugs.
"So, I'm just supposed to settle the matter with myself is that it? I want to get this over and done with as soon as possible."
Again the driver says nothing and gets in the car and drives away.
"Creepy good for nothing ghoulish fiend", he says to himself. Coltrane walks up the small stone steps and gets to the large door with a lion door knocker on it and uses it. After a moment, the door opens and he is met by another man in a suit who welcomes him to come inside.
"Hello Mr.Coltrane, delighted you have come.", the man says.
Coltrane looks around in the foyer and sees three other people standing there. He looks back at the man who welcomes him in.
"Yeah, so who do I talk to about getting the money for this place?"
"Money, sir?"
"Yeah, this place is worth a fortune. I have no means to stay here I was just told I needed to be here to settle it in person. So here I am, now I want to get the money I'm owed and I'll be on my way.", Coltrane says.
"I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding Mr.Coltrane. You own this manor and you shall continue to own it. It was given to you and you alone and it's clearly stated in the document you were sent that you cannot sell.", the man says.
"Is that so? Well, I must've missed that part but that's still unacceptable. And who are you anyway? You look like a butler but yet you talk like a goddamn real estate man. Are you the one who sent me here?", Coltrane asks.
"On the contrary Mr.Coltrane, my name is Thaddeus Parks and I am indeed the butler but also the caretaker of sorts to this place."
"Well then why didn't you get left this place, hmm?" Coltrane asks.
"You are quite witty, aren't you?", Parks asks.
"Hardly. Alright, well can we at least talk about what I am to do with this place than Mr. Parks?"
"Certainly, Mr. Coltrane but we can talk business later. First, I would like to introduce you to your staff."
"My staff? Hmm, seems ole uncle Jebidiah was so rich he had you people working for him. Now, this I could grow to like.", Coltrane says.
"To my left, we have Miss Dorothy Graham, the maid. Next to her is Mr. Williams Potter, the housekeeper, and finally, Mr. Cornelius Davis, your chef."
"Alright, well, I am going to go unpack my things as soon as one of you tells me where my bedroom is.", Coltrane says
Parks tells everyone they can go back to work as he leads Coltrane up the long staircase to the second floor to the bedrooms.
"If there is anything else sir do let me know as I will be downstairs.", Parks says.
"Before you go, I would like a tour of this giant monstrosity you call a manor, and perhaps while you're giving me a tour we can talk about the business of this place.", Coltrane says
"Of course, Mr.Coltrane. As you wish."
"Alright, now go do the menial work I now apparently pay you to do. We'll talk about that too."
Parks simply keeps smiling and walks out of the room. Coltrane looks over his room. A giant bed with wooden bedframes at each end. Dark blue curtains in the window, an oil lamp, a chair with a desk, a giant mahogany dresser, and a closet twice the size of any closet in his own home.
"What the hell did Uncle Jebidiah do? It must've been something big for him to own a place like this and out in the middle of nowhere no less."
He unpacks his things by placing some of his clothes in drawers and his coat, dress shirts, and hat in the closet. After he's done, he makes his way downstairs where Parks is waiting for him.
"Do you always look like a goddamn penguin all stiff as a board like that?"
"Waddle, waddle, sir."
"Yeah..very funny. Anyway, where is the phone? I need to make a call.", Coltrane asks.
"It is in the den on the small table. Oh and Mr. Coltrane, the chef would like to know what you'd like to eat this evening."
"Do we have steak?", he asks.
"We do indeed."
"Ribeye?"
"Yes."
"That with a side of succotash would be great. Oh, and I want the steak medium rare"
"Very well, sir I'll let him know."
"I could definitely get used to this," Coltrane says as he walks into the den to make a call.
"Coltrane Company, Miss Tabor speaking, how may I help you?"
"Janis, it's Silas. How are you this evening?"
Miss Tabor is baffled by him calling her by her first name which he never does.
'Uh, good Mr.Coltrane, thank you. What can I do for you?"
"I'm just calling to see how things are going. I trust Jameson hasn't gone off the rails?"
"Everything is going fine sir. Everyone is working on what they are supposed to and Jameson is doing a fine job.", she says.
"Good, good. And did you happen to read the deed and letter?"
"I glanced at it sir but I wouldn't say I read it entirely as it was personally addressed to you.", she says.
"Oh, well, it says I can't sell the damn place and just collect the money. Can you believe that? Anyway, I don't know how long I'll be here so let Jameson know that he may be in charge for a bit longer than expected but don't let it get to his head, or else I'll have his head on a silver platter when I return."
"I'll let him know, sir. Is that all?"
"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow if I have time. Take care"
"Goodbye, sir."
Coltrane hangs up and looks around. He sees Potter, the housekeeper, and waves him over.
Parks returns from the kitchen. He tells Coltrane that his dinner will be done shortly. He nods and asks if he can still get a tour of the place. Parks agrees and gives him a quick tour of the bottom rooms of the house. After they reach the dining area, the chef comes out with Mr. Coltrane's meal.
"You taste it first."
"Why?", Parks asks.
"Because I want to make sure I'm not being poisoned that's why."
The chef turns red at the insult. "Sir, how dare-
"Look, if you just inherited a house and had someone you just met made you a meal would you honestly dig right in?", he asks.
The chef reluctantly agrees as he and Parks sample a small bit of steak and succotash. Satisfied it's not poisonous, Coltrane shoos them away and eats. When he's done he asks Parks for a tour of the rooms upstairs and forgets about talking business. Parks shows him around and then decides to retire for the night in his room. Coltrane puts on his pajamas and gets into bed. He covers himself up and closes his eyes. Outside it begins to snow and some of it comes into the open window. Coltrane doesn't feel the draft as the cold snow comes down harder. Coltrane soon drifts off to sleep for a good ten minutes until a loud thumping sound awakens him.
"Huh? What's going on?", he asks himself.
Again he hears a loud thumping that sounds like it's coming from just outside his room. He gets up from his bed to check it out. As he gets up he suddenly becomes cold and sees the snow coming in the window forming a puddle on the wooden floor. He goes over and shuts it and as he does he hears a shuttering wail. He assumes it's the window but then he hears it again only louder. He hears the wail and the thumping. Enraged, he storms to the door and goes to open it but can't.
"Stupid doorknob!"
He turns and pushes but the door won't budge. He feels a freak cold sensation hit his back followed by a wailing whistling sound. Coltrane grabs his back and turns from side to side in bewilderment. The cold sensation keeps brushing against his back and then goes right through him and out through the door which suddenly opens. Frantically, Coltrane walks through the door and the thumping once again is heard. He realizes it's coming from the middle of the stairs. He gets to the edge of the stairs and looks down. There in the middle of the stairs, he sees a transparent blue mist in the shape of a person stomping what should be a foot but is just a mass of nothingness. Coltrane gasps in horror at the sight. The mist stomps harder and then stops as Coltrane stepped on a crack in the floor causing a creak. The blue mist forms a face and stares at Coltrane and heads toward him wailing. Coltrane shrieks in fear and falls backward on his behind. As the mist disappears before reaching him.
Still shaken, Coltrane gets up and slowly walks down the stairs. He walks into the parlor to see the fireplace lit and gasps at a rotting corpse sitting in a chair. The corpse opens its eyes, turns its head, and looks over at Coltrane as it starts walking toward him. He screams bloody murder before running out of the room and into the kitchen. He hides behind the side of the refrigerator and peeks out to see if the corpse followed him. To his relief, it did not. Coltrane rests his head against the fridge as two snowy-white hands reach out from it and grab his head. He screams once more and runs out of the kitchen and into the pitch-black dining room. He turns on the oil lamp and sees a group of smoking blue spirits sitting at the dining table. They look over at him and stare. Unable to scream anymore, Coltrane backs out of the room slowly and into the foyer shaking uncontrollably. He places his hands on his face and falls to his knees completely terrified.
He then finds himself in his bed. "Had I dreamed the entire thing?" He asks. "But, it felt so real, it must've been a dream."
Still shaken, he decides to call his brother.
"Hello?"
"Oswald, it's Silas."
"Silas? What do you want? And why are you calling me so early? It's 5a.m"
"I'm sorry to wake you but I had to tell somebody. You see I inherited our great uncle Jebidiah's estate and everything was going fine until I went to bed and these ghosts appeared and oh it was awful" Coltrane says rambling on.
"Silas, calm down. Now, where are you?"
"In our uncle Jebidiah's estate over in the UK. I inherited it after he died and apparently it's haunted."
"Silas, I don't know what kind of joke your playing but it's not funny. We don't have an uncle Jebidiah.", Oswald says.
'What do you mean? Of course, we do I'm in his house now!."
"Silas, only our grandmother on father's side had siblings and she only had two sisters. You denounce us and then have the gall to call me out of the blue with this? Do me a favor Silas, leave me the hell alone!", Oswald says hanging up.
"Oswald!". "No great uncle Jebidiah? That can't be he must be mistaken. No, wait, he's right. We don't have a great uncle but why did I just assume we did?", he asks himself.
"If I don't have a great uncle then who the hell's house am I in?!"
Now furious and apparently over his fears, Silas puts on his robe and looks out the window.
"Great, now I'm snowed in at a manor of someone I don't know and I have no staff which means I'll have to fend for myself."
Silas walks out of his room and down the stairs only to see the staff all there standing in the foyer.
"What are you all doing here? I thought you wouldn't be able to make it because of the storm.", he asks.
"We live here too, sir. We have quarters here.", Parks says.
"What? I thought you went home to your families."
"No sir, we live here, and even if we didn't where would we go? We're snowed in."
"Yeah, guess I hadn't considered that but the better question is whose house is this?! I called my brother and he told me I don't have a great uncle Jebidiah. You all lead me to believe you worked for him so I demand to know whose house this is!"
"We did not fool you, sir, you just assumed what you wanted to. As for whose house this is well it's yours now.", Parks says.
"Don't give me that Parks! Whose house was it?!"
"Before we get to that Mr. Coltrane perhaps you should think about who we are.", Parks says
"What do you mean? I know who you all are you introduced yourselves to me!"
"Don't our names ring any bells, Mr.Coltrane?"
"Parks what are you?", Coltrane stops and thinks for a moment.
"Parks, Potter, Davis, Graham..oh dear god! You're all relatives of people who I-
"People who you what, Mr. Coltrane? Bankrupted? Ruined? Killed?", Parks says.
"But how? Why? I didn't mean anything by it. You have to understand it's just business. I didn't mean harm to your relatives", Coltrane says
"Mr.Coltrane, we aren't relatives of the people you bankrupted and killed, we are the people you bankrupted and killed.", Parks says
"That's impossible! Your standing before me! Unless you're saying that your.." Coltrane stops.
"How did you sleep last night, Mr.Coltrane?", Cornelius Davis asks.
"Dream of spirits, did you?", Williams Potter asks.
"That was no dream, Mr. Coltrane. That was us keeping you up and in a state of delirium.", Dorothy Graham says.
"You're all...", Coltrane says turning as white as a bedsheet.
'Yes, dead and we've been haunting you. As for whose house this is well I thought it would be obvious to you since the man just passed. It's Mr. Corliss Harrington's estate.", Parks says.
"Harrington! Of course. I didn't know he had an estate. But why was I told it was my great uncles?"
"We all knew you wouldn't come if you knew it was Harrington's estate and we know you're so busy with work and estranged from your family that you wouldn't remember if you had a great uncle Jebidiah or not. I took the liberty of creating a fake deed and had it delivered to your company.", Parks says.
"So why bring me here? Are you going to kill me?"
"We brought you here to torture you psychologically Mr. Coltrane and as for killing you well, if you thought us haunting you was mortifying wait till you see what Harrington has in store for you," Parks says laughing.
The staff all laugh as Coltrane looks at them fearfully. A rumbling and thumping are heard like the night before. Out from the fireplace the ghastly ghoul and grotesque-looking wraith once known as Corliss Harrington appears in front of Silas Coltrane. He speaks in a demonic-like voice as Coltrane screams and once again finds himself in bed.
"Oh, thank god! It was only a dream."
Coltrane gets out of bed and goes downstairs.
"Hello? Where is everyone?"
He checks the parlor and kitchen and then goes into the dining room and finds a note.
Dear Mr. Coltrane,
If you're reading this then you should know that you didn't have a nightmare and what happened to you was real. The reason you are now alone is because all ghosts have unfinished business and bringing you here and getting revenge was our unfinished business. As you read this we have since crossed over so we do thank you for that. I do hope you enjoy your new estate because the manor must be taken care of. After all, that's how Mr. Harrington wanted it. You're in for quite a surprise ;)
Yours Truly,
Thaddeus Parks
"Surprise? I'm getting the hell out of here snow or no snow! Dumb butler!"
Coltrane walks up the stairs, into his room, and begins packing up his things. When finished he rushes down the stairs and goes out the door. Oddly, a path has been shoveled out all the way down to the gate. Coltrane walks all the way down and opens it but as he walks through he finds himself back in the house in the doorway.
"What the hell?"
He walks out to the gate once more but again the same thing happens. He tries the back but it won't open. Confused, he rushes back upstairs with his things and it's there that he does something he hadn't done since waking up...he looks in the bed. Laying in bed is Silas Coltrane's dead body with a note attached to his chest.
"No! It can't be! It can't be!", he says slowly approaching his body and taking the note off himself as he begins reading.
P.S.- I just wanted to say that I really do hope you enjoy your new estate Mr. Coltrane because now you're there for all eternity to haunt it all by yourself. Take care!
He yells in horror and begins sobbing.
To say Silas Coltrane was a cold-hearted bastard would be an understatement. In the business of collateral finance, he was ruthless and in the end, paid the ultimate price.