Excellent Old farm house with a history Blended Reality : Three Stevedores Remain by JLR Ghost Story writing prompt entry Artwork by Cindy Sue Truman at FanArtReview.com

I remember as I sit here fifteen years later, just as though it was the morning after these events, that I knew there really are ghosts. We had driven a 10-hour drive down from Washington DC to Savannah.   Using a vacation rental service, we elected to stay at a fully-refurbished early 1900s farmhouse bordering the Savannah River. We arrived with the setting sun around 5:45 PM and did our customary walkthrough, selecting a bedroom for the family stay. Our two kids, their spouses, and our four grandchildren were flying into Jacksonville, Florida, the next day to drive up and join us. My wife and I unpacked the car and got the food into the refrigerator, and I lit a log fire in the massive hearth to take the seasonal chill off the air. Around 8:00 PM, as I poured my wife a glass of Chardonnay, and was walking back into the great room, I heard what sounded like a rattling of chains. I stopped, looked back over my shoulder toward where I thought I heard the sound, but saw nothing. I just shook the experience off and sat by my wife on the floor near the fire. As we were chatting about the anticipated arrival of the kids, suddenly, a strong, musty seaweed smell enveloped the room and a massive gust came down through the chimney and filled the space with smoke and light ash particles. This, of course, rattled my wife, Bonnie. She was up off the floor in an instant and bolted to the front door. Once, twice, three times she tugged and pulled at the door, which seemed to jam, and would not budge for her. That really set her screaming as she squealed, "Get this door opened, now!" I ran toward her. Bam! The door flung itself open, nearly popping off the hinges. This event startled both of us, and we looked at one another, peering out of doors into the pitch-black yard. We literally felt frozen in place and waited in anticipation of something else to suddenly unsettle the now very silent entryway and hall. Then, in the faraway background, out of the doorway, we saw what appeared to be a candlelit lantern that seemed to be swaying back and forth but we were unable to see a figure holding the lantern. Then we heard it... three simple words in a somewhat commanding voice, "Leave! Leave NOW." These words were being spoken at first by a single voice, and this voice was not coming from out of doors but behind us and up the spiraling stairway to the upper bedchambers. Just as we turned around to look up toward the second floor, we both heard the distinct rattle of chains and what sounded like the striking of an old sailing ship bells. At the toll of the third bell, we then listened to what we thought were three distinct voices repeating the same ominous words. "Leave! Leave Now." Bonnie looked at me with sheer terror in her eyes and bolted to the entryway table where we had laid the car keys and said, "we are out of here"! I was right behind her, as we hit the car at the same time literally visibly shaking, I said, " did you hear what I heard?" She just sat in the passenger seat with all of the color gone our of her rosy face, unable to utter a word. We got back onto I-95 headed south to Jacksonville, FL. We drove to the airport and while waiting for the family's flights to arrive, spent time to find a new rental on the beach. I contacted the rental agency and said we had left all our belongings at the farmhouse. We explained to them that we had a terribly frightening experience and would pay to have our belongings packed and shipped back to us. We told them our tale and the agency then told us that the old farmhouse had been purchased from a family estate and the farmhouse had been vacant for 75 years when they bought it to refurbish the property for rental purposes. The court records showed that the last known persons that were on record living at the farm were three old-time stevedores who were found dead. The court records referred to two murders, one suicide. We were the first group to rent the newly refurbished farmhouse! I know now that we do not rent any properties that are newly refurbished and older than 20 years. Our thinking is, perhaps we will never have a repeat performance. Now for the kids, we were not about to tell them about our mysterious evening at the farmhouse because we didn't want them to think that we were losing it! We simply said we didn't think the grandsons would like the farm and thought perhaps the beach would be a more suitable vacation spot. Whew! Believe you me.....there are ghosts! Writing Prompt Write a Ghost Story. No limit on the word count. No poetry. Recognized Author Notes A ghost Story entry. Stevedore: The primary job for a stevedore is as a loader working in a ship's cargo hold below deck. Stevedores attach and position straps, cables and hooks on the boxes or cargo containers. Thanks for the use of Sail Away by LittleBogie 007 on FanArtReview.com

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