The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Project

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Jojo Lapin X	The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Project	Lead	[-]
Posts: 2253 (03/04/08 18:48:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None I thought we should all write a traditional British ghost story together. I have in mind something with both an "M R James" and an "L P Hartley" feel to it. Below is the first installment. Please continue the story! ------------------------------ "Of course I know Spencer Wolstenholme!" said Freddie. "The dear old boy was my fag at Eton! What has become of him? Is he back from Egypt?" "In a sense, yes," I replied. "In fact, I expect we shall see him later tonight." It was an unusually pleasant summer evening, and we were having tea in the modest garden that adjoins the rectory. Last Edited By: Jojo Lapin X 05/03/08 04:17:20. Edited 2 times.
frankie marino	Re: The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Proj	#1	[-]
Posts: 897 (03/04/08 19:48:59) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Of course I know Spencer Wolstenholme! said Freddie. The dear old boy was my fag at Eton! What has become of him? Is he back from Egypt? In a sense, yes, I replied. In fact, I expect we shall see him later tonight. It was an unusually pleasant summer evening, and we were having tea in the modest garden that adjoins the rectory. yet i felt a deep melancholy, a feeling of dread which seemed to have been brought on by no particular reason. my mind began to drift, the breeze blowing the trees having a hypnotic effect on me. "dear boy, haven't you heard anything i've been saying?" Freddie said, breaking the spell. 'oh," i said, shaking off the haze that seemed to encase my head. "Forgive me Freddie. you were saying?"
Latarnia	Re: The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Proj	#2	[-]
Posts: 12342 (03/04/08 19:57:10) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* yet i felt a deep melancholy, a feeling of dread which seemed to have been brought on by no particular reason. my mind began to drift, the breeze blowing the trees having a hypnotic effect on me. "dear boy, haven't you heard anything i've been saying?" Freddie said, breaking the spell. 'oh," i said, shaking off the haze that seemed to encase my head. "Forgive me Freddie. you were saying?" "It's not important. You seem somewhat troubled. What is it?" I tried to rouse myself from my melancholic stupor, with some success, but I could not free myself of that growing sense of dread that had gripped me--what was it?--five or ten minutes ago? "The bell," I finally said. "The bell?" repeated Freddie in a query. "Did the rectory bell ring when it should have?" ----------------- Mirek
Jojo Lapin X	Re: The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Proj	#3	[-]
Posts: 2253 (03/05/08 07:26:12) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Freddie was giving me a strange look. "Well," I explained, "some of the older locals insist the tradition be kept up, even though my uncle is no longer alive and they now go to the church in Bungstarter. So I have Peters ring the bell every day at the appropriate hours. But halloa! Could that be Wolstenholme already?" It seemed to me the figure of a man had appeared among the trees at the bottom of the garden. Last Edited By: Jojo Lapin X 05/03/08 04:18:11. Edited 1 times.
Latarnia	Re: The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Proj	#4	[-]
Posts: 12342 (03/05/08 08:36:56) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Freddie was giving me a strange look. Well, I explained, some of the older locals insist the tradition be kept up, even though my uncle is no longer alive and they now go to the church in Bungstarter. So I have Peters ring the bell every day at the appropriate hours. But halloa! Could that be Wolstenholme already? It seemed to me the figure of a man had appeared among the trees at the bottom of the garden. Wolstenholme, if it was he, did not come forward, however. The man's figure hovered among the trees, and for a moment I had the feeling that he had been there all along, listening... and watching. "Wolstenholme!" Freddie cried out amiably. "Don't just stand there, man!" But the figure did not move forward. In fact, whoever it was (and now I wasn't certain that this person was Wolstenholme), retreated a few steps, as if seeking the recess that the shadows of the trees provided him.
Jojo Lapin X	Re: The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Proj	#5	[-]
Posts: 2253 (03/05/08 11:50:48) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	It is perhaps appropriate at this point to tell something of my acquaintance with Wolstenholme. Unlike Freddie, I did not know Wolstenholme from my schooldays---I had been at Winchester. We had met by sheer accident on a train to London only a year previously. Forced to share a compartment, after perfunctory introductions we had at first maintained a polite silence. But then a book had slipped to the floor from his bag, which was stuffed to capacity. It opened to a page of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and thus our common antiquarian and esoteric interests came to light. Wolstenholme, it turned out, was doing research into the relationship between the concepts of the sheut, or shadow, and the ka, the élan vital of the ancient Egyptian theory of the soul. I, on my part, explained how I had inherited the old rectory, and its significance, and we soon realized we were uniquely equipped to do mutually profitable joint work. Last Edited By: Jojo Lapin X 05/03/08 04:19:11. Edited 1 times.
frankie marino	Re: The Latarnia Creative Writing Workshop: Ghost Story Proj	#6	[-]
Posts: 897 (03/05/08 23:22:00) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	on that long train ride we spoke enthusiastically of mutual interests and formulated plans to combine our two minds and join together our research. his theorems on Egyptian mysticism and mine on the mysterious, often times dark, aspects of the unconscious mind seemed as two paths intersecting in that train car. i cannot speak for Wolstenholme, but i felt an instant bond with the man. it was as if i had always known him. through letters we maintained a constant correspondence for the better part of the year. Wolstenholme had some unfinished business, but he promised to join me here by summer, "as soon as i tie up some loose ends," he wrote. suddenly, his letters ceased. i expected other more pressing engagements had taken up his time. i had no cause for worry, for in truth, i scarcely knew the man. since that day on the train i had not laid eyes upon him. still, in the back of my mind i felt a chilling despair, much the same as when my beloved mother passed. four months passed and the first signs of summer were in the air when a telegraph arrived. it was from Wolstenholme. it simply said: 'COMING SOON."
Jojo Lapin X		#7	[-]
Posts: 2050 (05/03/08 04:21:47) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	[Editor's note: I have edited back in some extended-ASCII characters that disappeared as a result of the transition to Yuku, so that everything will look proper when we continue the story. For we are continuing the story, are we not? We are not going to let the surprise arrival of a telegraph stop us?]
Latarnia		#8	[-]
Posts: 11120 (05/03/08 04:33:04) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'm not sure about the story, but I am delighted to see the return of your carrot. Mirek
Jojo Lapin X		#9	[-]
Posts: 2052 (05/03/08 05:15:30) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Latarnia wrote: I'm not sure about the story Heretic! Apostate! Unbeliever! Also: It is your turn, I think.
JessieLilley		#10	[-]
Posts: 180 (05/04/08 05:31:48) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	four months passed and the first signs of summer were in the air when a telegraph arrived. it was from Wolstenholme. it simply said: 'COMING SOON." I had rooms prepared for my guest immediately, as "soon" was ambiguous at best and I insisted on guests feeling welcome and expected always. Another telegram noting a weekend arrival had been received. I contacted dear Freddie to join us in the country as Wolstenholme, in one of his many missives, had mentioned a passing acquaintance. And so here we sat in pleasant company, awaiting his arrival; but the frisson remained. Jessie Lilley "I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings."
Jojo Lapin X		#11	[-]
Posts: 2057 (05/04/08 06:25:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Freddie had been silent for a while, an increasingly perplexed look on his face. "Odd," he said finally. "You know, when I think about it now, I could swear I saw a newspaper item announcing Wolstenholme's death some time ago." "No, you are mistaken, dear boy!" I smiled reassuringly. "He is very much alive, as you shall shortly find out for yourself. I daresay, however, that you may find him a bit . . . changed, shall we say, from when you saw him last. In any case, as you have expressed an interest in my uncle's laboratory, what do you say we repair there now?"
frankie marino		#12	[-]
Posts: 673 (05/05/08 22:25:31) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	my man Roland met us on the garden path leading back to the house. he wore a worried expression, which sent a shiver of nerves up my spine. you see Roland, my butler, served 22 years in the French Foreign Legion. a rock of a man. once, years ago Roland and I were enjoying a few pints at O'Riley's, a fight broke out. one man pulled out a vicious looking stiletto. Roland, without spilling his drink, lashed out and snapped the man's wrist. "fight fair," he said, turning back to the bar. so, naturally, to see Roland in such a state was a bit disconcerting. "what is it man, what's got to you?" i asked. "I...excuse me Mr. Whittling. there is a...man to see you" "a man? does this man have a name?" "well, he says he is expected. that is all he would say." there was a slight tremble in his voice. "must be Wolstenholme!" Freddie shouted we brushed past Roland to the house, but as i passed, Roland caught me by the arm. "Roland, is there something else?" "yes sir. this man. he...he chills me to the bone." we found Wolstenholme in the foyer. the man that stood before us bared little resemblance to the man i had met on the train those months ago. his gaunt frame covered in a ratty, ill fitting suit. a thick growth of beard hung well below his chin, twisting into mats. deep black semi-circles complimented the opacity of his eyes. a half smile curled his lips when he saw us. "Vincent. Freddie" Wolstenholme spoke "good to see you"
Jojo Lapin X		#13	[-]
Posts: 2070 (05/07/08 13:25:09) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	After only a moment's hesitation, Freddie enthusiastically stuck out his hand toward Wolstenholme. Wolstenholme, however, did not take it. I cleared my throat. "Gentlemen! I think this happy occasion calls for some sherry in the library!" Wolstenholme did not want any sherry. He sat in complete silence as we sipped our drinks. I noticed Freddie staring at him strangely. Then Freddie rose, spilling his sherry on the carpet, and stumbled to the window, his face suddenly entirely devoid of color. I rushed to his side. "Is anything the matter, dear boy? Are you ill?" "No! I'm fine, don't worry!" Then, in a baffled whisper, not meant to be overheard by our companion: "I had the strangest hallucination. It seemed to me for a moment that I could see the chair he is sitting in. I mean I could see it through his body!" I patted Freddie's shoulder and led him back to his seat. "It is, no doubt, the effect of sitting for too long in the summer sun. It will pass soon enough!" Then I hastened to draw the curtains, on the theory that less light would make Wolstenholme's condition correspondingly less obvious. For the man was, indeed, quite transparent.
frankie marino		#14	[-]
Posts: 677 (05/07/08 14:34:41) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I left Freddie in his chair and rang for the maid. after several long moments passed unanswered, I rang again. Roland appeared in the doorway, seemingly reluctant to step over the threshold into the same room as Wolstenholme. "Roland, I rang for Marie. where the devil is she?" "she took ill sir, right before Mr. Wolestenholme arrived. I had just seen her off to doc Boyle..." "well why was I not informed?" i interrupted "i was on my way sir, when I heard a knock at the door" "well, never mind all that. our careless Freddie has made a terrible mess of my rug. see to running a brush over that spot, would you?" Roland's eyes widened slightly, almost imperceptibly. he shot a glance towards Wolstenholme, then back to me. he cleared his throat and spoke: "now sir?" "of course now, would you have the stain set?" i barked, becoming annoyed another moment of silence passed. "very well sir" he said, turning and heading to fetch a bucket and brush. I rejoined Freddie and Spencer at the fireplace. Freddie smiled nervously, but seemed to have regained a bit of his composure . "hard to find good help these days, eh Vincent?" Spencer said good-humoredly. yes, in good humor, but with his clouded eyes staring at me and his voice a raspy wheeze, his jest seemed almost malicious. i noticed i had let the comment hang, again my mind drifting. i forced a smile and said "Roland and Marie have been with me many years. i consider them friends as well as servants" Wolstenholme shrugged. "no insult intended m'boy!" he smiled, showing off a row of stained teeth. "now...now perhaps we get down to business?" Wolstenholme reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a yellowing, crumpled newspaper. from his seat Freddie made a sort of muffled moan which transformed into a hearty chuckle. "Oh, so you've read this then, have you?" Wolenstenholme said through his rotten-toothed grin, tossing the newspaper to Freddie Last Edited By: frankie marino 05/07/08 14:36:50. Edited 1 times.

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