Book snippets
Shadows on the wall ...
Suddenly, the room became unbearably cold now and the scented candle extinguished itself. ‘That is very strange?’ she reflected.
However, little did she know what was to transpire?
From the corner of the room, she noticed a smoky black figure appear. It was tall and big but there were no distinct features to identify it as anything in particular. It was simply a blackness that grew in front of her now gaping eyes.
It glided across her small room stopping momentarily as if looking straight at her and then moved on until it disappeared through the wall opposite to where it originated.
Natalie was frozen to the spot. Confused, bewildered and very scared, she was focused on its sinister sequence with no logical explanation to hand she clutched her quilted bed cover closer to her face, covered up in a protective huddle.
A strong smell of burning accompanied the apparition.
It was a spectral encounter for sure. The adrenaline surge now kicked in as she jolted up on the bed and starred at the wall. There was nothing there now. ‘It must have been a figment of my imagination’ the young doctor thought, trying to distinguish logic from a mirage brought on by tiredness. Her rationalization made sense however this did not account for the candle, the light flickering, the cold… as she pondered on this, just as suddenly the smoky figure was standing in her room again. This time, its features were more evident. It was a man, or a figure resembling a man. Caped and sporting a big hat on his head, the appearance similar to a cavalier of old. The apparition was centered on the wall where it had disappeared. Again a sudden drop in ambient temperature and the smell of burning accompanied it. The burning smell was that of flesh. The ghostly dark figure now hovered toward Natalie, and screeched as it came nearer. Her response was to scream and jump out of the bed, propelling herself to the door of her room and pulling on the door knob to release her from her captivity. It was strange because despite the extreme coldness, the doorknob felt scorching hot and she released it immediately. It was then she felt the most helpless she had ever done. Her end was near, or so she thought. The ghost seemed to follow her and she felt trapped and endangered when the door suddenly opened and one of the neighbouring nurses boyfriends was at the door, pushing it open and enquiring if she was okay. ‘Thank god you opened the door’ a stuttering and shocked Natalie exclaimed. ‘Well we heard screams and wondered what was going on?’ Rob, the boyfriend replied. ‘Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost’. ‘Yes, I think I have’ she replied and grabbed hold of the young man and cried into his shoulder. Michelle, the nurse next door was now at the doorway, only witnessing this crying young doctor, grasping her precious boyfriend and wondered what on earth was going on. Rob gesticulated at Michelle as if to say ‘give her some space’ as they led her to the communal kitchen. Michelle held her hand as she sat in the safety of relative strangers as Natalie now retold her short but terrible ordeal whilst sipping a small brandy. Michelle had been in the hospital accommodation for over two years and confessed to have heard this same story before. Natalie was shocked to hear that two previous occupiers of her lodgings had left suddenly following visitations from this cloaked smoky apparition.
They had even given him a nickname; he was known as the “Caped Cavalier”.
This was far from funny to the over tired and shocked Natalie.
She was upset and no one had warned her of any malevolence or ghosts in her residence when she had pitched up the week before.
‘Well it’s something you don’t tend to advertise if you want to make some money from rent’ an insensitive Rob uttered and stopped by Michelle’s look, before he said anything else that was equally as unhelpful!
