For your entertainment: A True Halloween Story

In 1995, my late sister Judy, who was 2 years my junior and a mother of four, had open heart surgery to replace 2 failed heart valves; endocarditis. The doctors told us that she would not live. I begged her to live. And she did, but was so weak and compromised that she did not leave the hospital for over a year and a half. I took over caring for her youngest, Danny, who was 6 years old at the time. Every other work/school day and every Saturday and Sunday, Danny and I would spend in her hospital room. Danny would play quietly on the floor under her bed. Such a good boy. I tried to squeeze in fun things for him to do, but it was hard. I had a full-time, high-pressure job at a large bank in technology, and had to travel frequently and I was going to school at night. I would sit in the hospital and strive to keep all our spirits up with grand promises of sweet times to come. Happily, in the fall of 1997, Judy was released from the hospital. There was a sparkling cool weekend in October that begged us to finally let the good times roll. Judy was still very weak and the kids were boisterous, to put it mildly, so it would be tricky. Then, I came up with my brilliant plan.

I know I have said some shockingly disparaging things about Philadelphia in the past, but it is a cool city with tons of attractions. My plan was to take us ( me, Judy, Danny, and 5 other pre-teen nieces and nephews) to the Edgar Allen Poe House, which is a national landmark. Great! Easy to get to, not a lot of walking, interesting, a little Halloweeny and Judy‘s tastes had always leaned to that stuff. Perfect! The house itself is a very handsome, large townhouse which is just on the edge of the Center City area. It has a modest sized garden and is administered by Park Rangers, who care for national parks. I buy our tickets and in we go. We are led to the third floor, to a bedroom which is completely devoid of furniture. We are in a group of about 25 people. We surround the perimeter of the room. In the center of the room stands The Ranger. He is dressed in full ranger gear and has a lantern and a little book of Poe’s works. He lights the candle in the lantern and sets it in the middle of the bare floor and starts to read. He tells us this was the room of Poe’s wife who died. It was she who inspired many of his sad tales. He had written many of his famous works from this house including The Raven, Annabelle Lee, and The Tell Tale Heart. The Ranger tells us to feel free to sit on the floor. Mostly everyone just continues to stand and listen. I watch Judy lean back against the wall. Then she slides down and sits on the floor. It is dusk and the only light is from the single lantern candle, so it is hard to make out her face, but I am concerned. Then I notice that I feel a little faint, which is highly unusual. I lean on the wall, then slide down. Moments ago, I was fine. Now, Judy and I are face to face, both pressing our faces against the bare plaster wall for its cool effect on our cheeks. We look in each others eyes and know that something is up. I close my eyes and feel the room spin. I look around. People are sliding down left and right. There is a REAL weird feeling in the room, The ranger is telling us that this was the “sick room”. We believe him. I can’t wait to get out of there and we have only been in there 5 minutes. Next, we head to the basement. Same routine, it is bare and the group stands around the perimeter, facing the ranger in the middle. He tells us that this is the space that inspired The Tell Tale Heart and A Cask of Amontillado. He directs our attention to a strange little bricked up cubby hole on one wall….where Danny is relaxing. He looks bewildered when he is suddenly the center of horrified attention and asks “What did I do?“, “What did I do?“ I reach for Danny and grab him half by the neck, half by the collar (poor kid) and LETS GO! Judy and I can barely walk. Our legs are completely wobbling, understandable for her, but for me there is only one explanation. Wordlessly, we FINALLY find a way out, to the garden, breaking from the tour group and ranger. We collapse on the grass in the garden, in the now dark and look back at the house. I ask, “Should we go back?” I get a resounding “NO!” from everyone, with nervous little laughs. For us, the tour is over…in under 15 minutes. We left completely convinced that this was a haunted house, although that was NOT how the tour was presented and NOT what we were expecting. Judy lived another 9 years and that is another long story…But…do I believe in spirits? Happily, I do.

Dorothy
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