Benevolent Spirit. (standard:Ghost stories, 582 words)
Author: Lev821	Added: Dec 07 2004	Views/Reads: 4206/0	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Haunted by a hungry ghost!

Once again she had awoken late, which was unlike her, and in her
dressing gown and slippers, surveyed her living room, surprised at what 
she saw. It wasn't as she knew it, and what she was used to. It was 
different. It was tidy. For the past twenty one years of living on her 
own, 65 year old Margaret Hayes looked at the spotless carpet, the 
polished ornaments on all shelves, and could detect an odour of marine 
scented air freshener. She hadn't necessarily lived in squalor, but 
last night, she was certain it wasn't like this. Had someone broken in 
and tidied up? Had someone possessed her while she slept and forced her 
to do it herself? This thought quite alarmed her. Margaret had been 
quite susceptible to believing in things supernatural. Whenever a 
psychic came to a nearby theatre, she would book front row tickets, and 
sometimes she had been in an audience for shows that have been 
televised. The spirit world to her was as real as the physical. The 
thought of possession scared her. She'd seen it done. She'd been there 
when those possessed were speaking in tongues, in a foreign, long since 
vanished language. Perhaps it was the ghost of the previous tenant who 
finally couldn't take any more untidiness, and decided to interact with 
the physical world by possessing Margaret. 

She decided to check the front door anyway, just incase someone had
broken in. It was untouched, as was the back door. No signs of any 
break in. This brought her to the conclusion that it had to have been a 
ghost. 

The following morning, having woken up late again, she hadn't even
reached the bottom of the stairs before she noticed something was 
wrong. There were three, full bin-bags at the front door, as though 
they had been prepared to take out. They hadn't been closed, and she 
could see that they were full of clothes. Heading back upstairs into 
the bedroom, she opened the cupboards to find she had only a few 
clothes left. Most of them had gone. She was all for giving to charity, 
but this was a bit much, so eventually she rehung her clothes, confused 
as ever as to who the ghost was, and why they were haunting her. 

The following morning, again, waking up at ten am instead of eight
thirty, she found that someone, or something had been in the kitchen. 
The fridge door was open, and food had been spread across the counter, 
some of it eaten. A milk carton had been opened, which she knew she 
hadn't opened the previous night. This ghost was hungry. She was 
growing more and more anxious. One person who might know, was her 
friend at the church, Nora. She was in touch with the spirit world. If 
she came to the house, she might be able to communicate with whoever 
was haunting her. She would give it one more night, and if anything was 
different the following morning, then she would be on the phone to 
Nora, telling her to get round here, fast. 

When she woke up the following morning, it was by noise. The sound of
the television stirring her awake. She was surprised to find herself 
standing in the living room, with the remote control in one hand, and 
the television about to start a programme which had fascinated her four 
days ago. This was a repeat. It was about people who do strange things 
whilst sleepwalking. 


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