The Old Barn

 

            Laura believed in ghosts and was very superstitious. Her sister, Mary, didn’t. Mary was always trying to explain to Laura that ghosts weren’t real, but Laura didn’t believe her.

            Laura went out of her way to avoid things that she considered bad luck. Their neighbor had a black cat that freely roamed the neighborhood. Laura would always turn around and go the other way whenever she saw it. She was very careful not to step on any cracks on the sidewalk. Mary thought she was just wasting her time.

            In an effort to cure Laura of her superstitions, Mary decided that they would explore the Old Barn together. The Old Barn sat on the outskirts of town surrounded by wild, grassy fields. Most kids avoided it, because it was supposed to be haunted. Supposedly, the old owner had been murdered there and his spirit still haunted the building.

            Laura didn’t want anything to do with the Old Barn, but she agreed to come with Mary so that Mary would learn to respect the spirits of the dead. If she could get Mary to believe in ghosts, then she would stop bothering her.

            It was a cool September Saturday when they rode their bikes to the Old Barn. As they got closer, Laura spotted some crows flying above them. “Look,” she told Mary, pointing to the crows. “What better sign can you have to stay away?”

            Mary scoffed and said, “They’re just birds, Laura. Come on, let’s go check it out.” She threw her bike to the ground and ran toward the large open door.

            Laura carefully put the kickstand down and parked her bike. She walked over to join Mary.

            “Ready?” Mary asked eagerly, with a grin on her face.

            “If we must.” Laura flicked on her flashlight. The beam of light did little to dispel the darkness inside. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the dark interior. She immediately felt goosebumps erupt along her arms.

            Nothing seemed to be bothering Mary, though. With a big smile, she called out a soft, “Hello? Are there any ghosts here?”

            Laura nudged Mary and said, “Shhh!”

            Mary ignored her and said, “Come on! Let’s go check it out!” She darted around the old farm equipment scattered all over.

            Laura watched Mary’s light bob toward the other end of the barn. “Wait for me!” she cried shakily. She started to run to her sister but immediately tripped over an old coil of rope. Her flashlight skidded out of her hands and rolled away.

            “Hey, are you okay?” Mary called in concern. She walked back over to Laura and helped her up. “Be careful with all this junk in here.” She walked over to retrieve the flashlight.

            Laura was ready to leave. Even if they didn’t see any ghosts, she was already scared enough. She waited impatiently for Mary to come back with Laura’s flashlight. “What’s taking you so long? I think we should go now.” There was a distinct quaver in her voice.

            Mary finally came back and handed Laura her flashlight. “You have to come check this out!” she said excitedly. “There’s like a door to a secret room or something.” She walked back to where she had been before, expecting Laura to follow her.

            Laura huffed angrily. “I think we should just get out of here.”

            Mary didn’t seem to have heard Laura. “Come on! You have to come see this!”

            Walking carefully, Laura walked over to where Mary was. Mary shone her light on an old door handle set into the wall, but Laura couldn’t see the outline of the door because of all the dust. As she stared at it, Mary turned the door knob and pushed.

            Both girls eagerly looked inside at what appeared to be some kind of storage area. Slightly disappointed, Mary went in to check it out, and Laura reluctantly followed her. As soon as they were inside, the door slammed shut. Both girls screamed, but then Mary laughed, saying, “Good one, Laura. You scared me.”

            “I didn’t do it,” Laura whispered, her face as white as a sheet. “It must have been Farmer Johnson, the guy who was murdered here so long ago.”

            Mary rolled her eyes. “Of course it wasn’t. The wind just blew the door shut.” She reached for the handle to open the door again, but was surprised to discover that the door was locked. She rattled it hard. Some of her confidence vanished as she said, “It’s locked.” She kicked at the door, but it didn’t move.

            “We’ve disturbed Farmer Johnson’s home. Now he’s punishing us!” Laura wailed.

            “Don’t be ridiculous. This is a barn, not a house. Anyway, we just need to find another way out.” They searched the small room to find that there were no other windows or doors.

            Laura was done. She wanted out. She frantically searched the small room again. She didn’t find another door, but she did nearly trip over an axe that was leaning against the wall. “Let’s use this,” she said frantically.

            Mary raised her eyebrows but didn’t argue. “Okay, let me do it.” Laura handed her the axe and Mary started chopping at the door with all her might. The axe wasn’t sharp, and she didn’t make much progress.

            “Try a different place,” Laura suggested, feeling the panic inside that was struggling to overcome her. She pointed to a section of wall that seemed to be a darker kind of wood. “Try there,” she told her sister.

            Obediently, Mary started hacking at the section of wood that Laura pointed to. It became obvious that this part of the wall had been rotting. It immediately came apart under the blows of the axe. As soon as they had created a wide enough hole, the girls crawled through to the inside of the barn.

            Without having to consult each other, they walked back outside to their bikes and pedalled home. Because of this experience, each of the girls became firmer in her own opinion. Laura was convinced that they had somehow disturbed Farmer Johnson’s spirit and he had tried to take out his revenge on them. Mary, on the other hand, insisted that the door must have been locked the whole time. It wasn’t a ghost, just bad luck.

            Whatever had happened, both girls had come to an unspoken agreement to never talk about it again. They also never again tried to change each other’s minds about their superstitions, and they stayed far, far away from the Old Barn.