30 Days in the House


Day 1

Our fist day in the house has shown us we underestimated the work ahead. The movers are on there way with our things, and some of the rooms are severely damaged. John has been working frantically to get two spots in the floor repaired. Once the furniture gets here the job would be twice as hard. He really is the best husband in the world.
John had told me, "Cathy...you're never going to believe what I found." To be honest I had no clue what he'd been talking about. "I found our dream house. That one we can grow old together in." We'd had the discussion of finding a house. We couldn't raise a family in the Paddock Club Apartments. I wasn't sure if it was the house for us, but once I went inside I knew it was perfect.


Day 2

There was a wreck in Nashville that had slowed the movers down. By noon they were pulling our furniture off the moving truck. We'd slept on a make-shift bed last night, but I'd actually got a really good night's sleep. Not that we don't welcome the bed and furnishings, because we so want to get this moving thing over and done.
I've used the night to unpack boxes, and add normalcy to our new home. The place is huge, and it could be difficult to fill this place. Perhaps it was bigger than we needed, but we can definitely grow into it. The place is absolutely perfect. There isn't one thing I'd change or make different. I've never felt so at home in a new place. John feels the same way, he's even talked about working on the novel again.


Day 3

John says the wooden siding on the house is in good shape, although it needs paint. There were parts of the roof that need repaired. We clearly bought the house in a buyers market, and could easily afford to put a new roof on it. Several of the windows were busted, however we'd planned to put the energy efficient windows all the way around the house.
I thought we might need some throw rugs. The hardwood floors can get cold in the winter time. We also need some curtain, or blinds, right now we're using bed sheets to cover the windows. Of course the closest neighbor is more than 1000 yards away, so privacy is no issue. We'll fix it up more cosmetically, when we make sure it's structurally sufficient.


Day 4

We found a secret room in the basement today. Someone had nailed boards over the entrance, and John couldn't figure why there would be that much dead space. He was right it was a storage closet attached to the basement. There were several boxes in the little room, but nothing that seemed to be a treasure.
We're still going to have to go out to eat, because the kitchen has still not been totally put together. The plumber will be here tomorrow to replace the kitchen sink, and the delivery man from Lowes should be here tomorrow as well. We had to buy a new range. Things really are coming together great. I absolutely love our new house.


Day 5

There was a gun shot, and although I was dreaming the content seemed very real. The dream alone might not had been alarming, but when I woke up the bathroom was full of steam. Nobody had been in that bathroom all night. Later in the day I pipe broke, and John seems to believe that was the cause of the steamed up bathroom.
I had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. I must confess, I'm a little tipsy. I'm comfortable tonight in my bed, despite the horror that played out in my nightmare the night before. It's strange how sometimes a nightmare can be so bad, then the next night you can't remember what it was about, or why it scared you to begin with.


Day 6

We bought a generator today. John was convinced it would pay for itself in one middle Tennessee winter. I know I'd hate to be stuck way out here without power, so there was no way I'd argue with that purchase. There was a lady working at the hardware shop that asked us to come join her church. Neither John or myself are the church going type. It was nice though.
The kitchen was still out of order. We ate at an Olive Garden on the highway. John likes Italian food. When we arrived back home the television was turned on. I was sure that it wasn't on when we left, and the volume was turned up to the point it was almost loud. It was turned to a local channel dedicated to the area real estate and auto sales. Neither of us would had been on that channel.


Day 7

The sex with my husband last night was incredible. John was like an animal. I can honestly say it had been awhile since he worked me like that. The sex is one part of our relationship that had never been in question. Last night however, he took it all the way like when we first started dating. He ravished my body as if he'd been refrained from sex.
We laughed a little about some of the occurrences that we'd experienced. There was no seriousness when talking about the place being haunted. However I'm not totally convinced that nothing paranormal is happening here. Little things that I cannot explain keep happening. Nothing major and no big deal, but things are happening.


Day 8

I remember the nightmare as clearly as if it had really happened. There was a dog, I don't know what kind, but it was huge. Not only was it huge, but it was mean, and not just mean...that goddamn dog wanted to kill me. It was outside looking for a way to get in, and I was looking for a place to hide. There was no question that the dog could get in. It was just a matter of how long it would take him.
I told John about the disturbing dream. He seems to think it's my subconscious telling me to adopt a dog. "We have the room here for a dog." John said to me. I didn't want to adopt a dog after a nightmare like that. Sometime men simply do not get it. "We could get a little one." I don't want to adopt a fucking dog. I don't care If I ever see another dog in my life.


Day 9

Today was a strange day. It began when I heard John interviewing himself in the bathroom. He even referred to the interviewer as Bob. Still wet from his morning shower, he stood there in front of the mirror asking and answering his own questions. I listened to him for a moment, before going back to pretend I hadn't woke up yet.
When we went down stairs to have breakfast off of the new range, we were shocked to find the front door wide open. Finally there was something that John couldn't account for. He dead bolted the door, he knew he'd locked that front door. The conversations we had about the place after that were not comical in nature.


Day 10

John had a nightmare last, unlike me he wasn't willing to talk about it. I know it scared him real good, and I think it'd help him if he talk about it. He thought going back to work would help ease his stress, which he was confident was the source on the night terrors. I packed him a lunch before he left. Maybe going back to work will help him, but I really wish he'd discussed his bad dream.

Tonight after we'd finished eating, I asked him about his nightmare. He was not willing to discuss it. "I don't like talking about bad things." I hoped the wine would loosen him up some, however it didn't do anything but cause him to go to bed sooner. I sat up an hour longer than he did. Sitting on the couch in the den, I listened to the various sounds throughout the house. I didn't know which sounds were paranormal, and which were old house sounds.


Day 11

John has been acting strange, and not just his talking to himself. He seems somewhat confused lately. There's always a strange lost look on his face. Sometimes when he's talking to me he forgets what the subject matter was about. As I write this John is sitting in front of a T.V. that isn't on, with a half a bottle of red wine.
The house is coming together well, but the unknown is still that, the unknown. John has taken up cigarette smoking again. "It's an old habit that found me again." He spoke of it like an old friend. I think it's disgusting, but it's his lungs. I'm going now to wake John up. He's fallen asleep on the couch.


Day 12

I met some pretty cool neighbors today. They live just down the road beyond the foot of the hill. They're a little older than John and I, but they seem to like the things we do. We need to find some friends in our new area. All the old friends are an hour away from our new home. Norma and Charles would be great friends, for John and me.
There is a stray cat that has shown up here at our house. I fed the little rascal, and he's hung around since then. At least I can sleep at night knowing the cat isn't starving. People drop animals off out here in the deep country, and hope they'll survive in the wilderness. The animal has a better chance of survival if you drop it off in the city. I hope nobody drops off that horrible dog from my nightmare the other night. Some time things stay awhile; that dreams has stayed.


Day 13

John has been spending time in the basement. I have checked to see what he's doing, and it's usually something productive, but not an immediate need. Organizing the basement, while there are still boxes all over the house seems backward to me. If he thinks I'm going to unpack everything, he's lost his fucking mind. The boxes can stay there for all I care.

OK, the last entry to this diary was not completely true. I do care if the boxes stay stacked, but I wish John would help more. We might have had a lot of things in the apartment, but the large house makes it look like we have nothing. John had been cutting ply-wood in the basement. I think he might be building shelves. I'm saying, "John we have boxes to unpack up here in the real world." I think he just loves the extra space to play around.


Day 14

There is something in the house with us. I truly believe it's paranormal, but there has been very little to prove that theory. John was down in the basement - I think he was sharpening the yard tools with the grinding wheel. I could hear footsteps upstairs, and not slightly...I could hear a big mans shoe walking slowly across the open hallway. I know John would laugh at me, but I think there are ghosts inside this house.
I think there are things that we are not meant to understand. Perhaps it's like this, we share a dimension with other we don't see. Ghosts if you will, and they're the ones who didn't get to Heaven or, somehow got lost. Maybe we all come back to live among the places adorned by us while living. I'm open to things I hadn't been before. I think I want to understand things, things we're not meant to understand.


Day 15

When John arrived home from work he took a 12-pack of beer straight down to the basement. You'd think he's got pornography down there or something. When I looked in there on him he was throwing darts at the dartboard. Since the dream he had the other night, he's really gotten strange. I think he's talking to himself as I write this. It's almost as if he's avoiding me on purpose. I guess I'm going to have to infringe on his privacy. I can't go much longer with the separation.


Day 16

When I woke up this morning at 4:55, John was already gone. Nothing strange there, because he often goes to work early. I went back to bed for another hour, and then went down to the kitchen for coffee and my light breakfast. Then I began sifting through one of the boxes from within the hidden space in basement.

I found this, here I'll read it to you:

To whom it may concern 2-23-56
If you're reading this letter than you probably know what I'm about to tell you is true. The monsters are just in your imagination, but that's not saying they can't harm you. You must stand your ground and look them in the face, however you mustn't show them fear.
My dog spot can see them before I do, sometimes even when I don't. I haven't let them get me, and If you're reading this, than they haven't gotten you yet either. Stand you're ground, because these grounds are holy, not evil. The people are lying because they don't know what's really happening.

D. Maxwell

Day - 17

John thought there was nothing to the letter. I thought otherwise, and I went down to the local library and found out that letter was from a man named Don Maxwell. In 1931 was the first doctor to open a clinic in town. He struggled to keep people healthy during the great depression, but was commended for doing so later. Maxwell Road is named in his honor, as well as the Don Maxwell Recreation Park.
I asked Norma and Charles about him, they said he was a quit man, who lived up here until he got too old to maintain such a big house. There are bigger houses than this one but, for one old man it could be difficult. His wife died in 1947 and Don never remarried. Their description of the man sounded kind of sad.


Day 20

The doors open and close by themselves, and I'm convinced that Don Maxwell is doing it. No the ghost doesn't seem to be evil, or out to get me, but It's creepy when you get the feeling you're not alone, and you realize you aren't alone. The note is kind of scary too, but John who thinks it's irrelevant, has been irrelevant himself down in the basement. Tonight he took his diner down to the basement. That's really the last straw. I'm going to talk to him.


Day 21

I think John is having a mid-life crisis. Talking to him about his choice to stay down in the basement he seemed almost child like. He's moved the T.V. from the guest room down there. It's kept nice and neat. For a basement it's very neat, but now that I've unpacked all the boxes, so is the rest of the house. It's still a work in progress. I'm expecting him to set up a cot down there any day now.

When he got home he went right down to the goddamn basement. He's tried to lure me down there with a bottle of wine, but why can't he come up here? We own the house, and not just the basement.


Day 22

Everyone has a breaking point. No I'm not to mine yet, but unfortunately I do feel I'm drawing closer by the day. John is seriously testing the strength of his relationships. Not just his marriage to me, but clients have been calling for him. Some of those his best clients haven't heard from him in days. I thought he'd been going to work everyday. Something isn't right, although the house is eerie and strange that's not what I'm talking about.
I took John his food down to the basement. He sat it on the table as if not hungry. There was something different about my husband, however I was unable to put my finger on what that was. I know he's acting strange lately, but I really do love him. Some people find their soul mate, and others spend their whole life searching.


Day 23

I saw the ghost of Don Maxwell today. He was walking in the wide upstairs hallway looking around at the upper portion of the walls. It almost seemed like he was trying to follow the beams of sunlight coming through the high windows. I stood there watching him for a couple of minutes, before he eventually walked through the wall without looking at it.
I might have been afraid of the apparition had I not did some mild research, but there seemed to be a level of comfort from just knowing who the man was. John will never believe what I saw today, but unless Mr. Maxwell goes down to the basement, John will never see him. I'm not sure I can go on like this. I do love John and want this to be the dream we both intended it to be.


Day 24

What is my breaking point? That seems to be the question at hand. Something has to give, either that something is John or the marriage. Not everything is what it seems to be. I know I'm not alone here, but is Don Maxwell the only postmortem member of the house. I've come to realize time is not on my side. I'm growing concerned of what might or might not be.

John is down in the basement building model airplanes. He has not been himself, and I think that's because he's become somebody else mentally. I don't believe John is the man I married. When I went down to the basement to fulfill sexual urges that I could no longer contain. John seemed almost afraid to touch me. He seemed like a virgin boy being introduced to sex. That was not John down in the basement.


Day 25

I truly believe that our happiness hinges on getting out of this house. Don Maxwell might not be evil, but I strongly feel there is an evil presence in the house. Deep in the confines of the old beaten house is a soul, and I do not think it friendly like Maxwell. I'm going to talk to John about leaving.

John said there is no way he'd leave, "They'd have to kill me first." He meant every word of that too. It was life and death in his eyes. I could see that when he spoke to me. I'm not alone in the house, but I've never felt more like I was emotionally.


Day 26

The dog was back in my dreams again. I know now that the dog will never let me leave this house. It wants me to be here, and suddenly it's become obvious that I cannot leave. Not even if I wanted to. I never like calling something life and death, especially if it's really not. This situation is life or death.

John was working on his models again in the basement. He'd built and painted three of them over night. His eyes looked like he'd been deprived of sleep, and his voice sounded defeated and broken. Not to mention his tone was not that of the man I married. John was someone else.


Day 27

The dog is no longer in my dreams. He's patrolling the front yard waiting for me to try and leave. I couldn't go now if I wanted to. There is something...bigger than me, or any decision I should make. Some things are not meant to be understood, but I truly wish I'd have looked into this more carefully. Consider this a hidden clue: This is not just a dream. That dog is real.

I have prayed to a God I've had very little faith in. If you don't hold on to something than you have nothing. I never wanted to end up alone, or hidden from the world. Now in the remote wilderness I'm caught between my love and evil. John seems to just be occupying his time, waiting for something inevitable.


Day 28

The basement door is locked. John wouldn't come up here when I called for him. I had to lock the door, I begged him to come up from the cellar. The dog had penetrated the security of the basement. If John was down there I'm sure he's dead now. The dog has done something to the phone, and the cell phones are not getting a signal from here. I'd never make it to the car before that vicious dog got me. I don't want to die.
There was a lady waling up and down the staircase, but like Don Maxwell she seemed to be out of touch with the living. I'm sure that the monster in the basement has killed my husband. I can't hear anything through the door. Why couldn't he have come out of there when I called for him. By the tone of my voice he had to know I wasn't joking. I'm starting to cry again.


Day 29

They're looking for John. His coworkers have reported him missing. I know where he is but, I have no way to tell them. The dog has consumed him, and would love to take me over as well. I cannot let them have me.

I have been raped by the incubus, and have been violated in ways another human could never do. With my husband gone they feel like they own me. I can find a way out - I must if I intend on surviving. My will is damaged, but not broken.

My prayers have not been answered. I don't think if there's a God he can reach me here. Regardless of what old man Maxwell might have thought, this is unholy ground. Demons live and manifest here. They want me but my heart is in survival.


Day 30

I'm tired, weak, and not sure I can fight them anymore. Unless I get help today, this is likely my last report to you, my faithful diary.

Ron Simmons (AP) April 30, 2005
Police investigating a missing person's case uncovered a macabre scene yesterday. The body of the missing man was found in the basement of his home. His wife was found in the floor of their home unconscious, but had not been shot like her husband. Police are not releasing the victims names, due to the impending investigation. It's not clear what happened in the remote residence. At this time the homicide investigators are working feverishly to reveal the mystery.

Impressum

Texte: © 2010 Dream Master - The Secret Dimension
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.03.2011

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I dedicate this story to Ray Reeves.