The Ghost of Mill's Past (Part III)...July 26, 1999

The Ghost of Mill's Past (Part III)...July 26, 1999

.....I received a pleasant surprise late this afternoon in the form of a visit from my friend, Jake. I had not seen her since she moved to the west coast last summer to persue child protection work. I almost missed her, as I was having a typical late afternoon nap (the anti-depressants make me quite sleepy), but thanks to the keen sense of hearing of Reekie and Moo, I was able to intercept her before she pulled out of the driveway. Not a soul, whether human or critter, escapes the ever vigilant Reekie and Moo, who bark profusely at any "intruder" until I tell them it is okay.

Jake and I had a wonderful, albiet short visit. I had to work in an hour after her arrival, so we merely had a chance to get caught up. She is miserable in child protection, and I can certainly understand that. It takes a certain kind of personality to apprehend children on a continuous basis, and Jake is just too gentle and compassionate to handle that for too long. I would be worried about her if it were otherwise. I told her of the good news with respect to my getting a great deal of contract work from First Nation communities, who are much more pleasant to work with than government bureaucracies. It is much more fulfilling work, as well. I have learned, and stand to learn, a great deal in my experiences with First Nation People, and aspire to do them justice in whatever capacity I can. Jake was around during my most trying times with government departments, and she was a great support.

If only by mere coincidence, it was Jake who was going to connect me with a Shaman to help Maude cross over once and for all, or to at least ease off the pranks which were getting disconcerting. However, Jake's position in child protection came up suddenly, and we were unable to see the plan to fruition.

It was winter a couple years ago when Maude's behaviour crossed the boundary from novel to annoying and down right spooky. It started with a salt shaker being knocked from the oven top where I kept it. The tapping on the walls became louder and more incessant, as did the footsteps in the hallway and on the stairs. She would hover more. She began pestering Reekie more and more, as Reekie would seemingly stare at nothing, growl, bark, and raise his hackles. One night, she spooked him badly, and me in the process. I went to bed late that night, and Reekie refused to come into the bedroom behind me. He always, always slept on the end of my bed, and usually was up in it before I even finished brushing my teeth. That night, I could not get him to come into the room. He adamantly refused until I became insistent. Once on the bed, he stared at the wall, and would not move his line of sight even for a second. He began to whine. At this point, I realized that it must be Maude. I called The Goddess to get her advice, and she suggested telling Maude to leave the room. I did just that, and as I did so, Reekie paced around me in a tight circle, then his vision followed "something" out of the room and down the hall. I slept on the couch downstairs that night.

It was during this time that Frieda and I had evening coffee every Friday night, and would invaritably end up discussing Maude. It was difficult not too, for Maude seemed even more "around" whenever there was a female presence in the house. After the bedtime incident, Maude began pulling Frieda's hair and pantlegs, and hovered around her until Frieda's limbs were ice cold, as cold as the pocket of air that was Maude herself. During one such evening, we had a conference call with The Goddess, and began discussing ways we could go about putting Maude to rest. Before The Goddess ended the call, Frieda decided she would start heading home; it was almost midnight. As Frieda was getting her shoes on, Maude literally pounded the walls over and over and over from the kitchen through the living room, and then she stomped upstairs and down the hall. It was the scariest experience yet. The noise was something akin to a sonic boom, and was not unlike the banging sounds in the movie The Changeling. Frieda screamed, I screamed because she did, and The Goddess was on the speakerphone asking what the hell was happening.

"It was Maude", I replied, trying to catch my breath and ascertain that Frieda was alright all at the same time. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to leap from my chest and fall onto the floor. It would not have added much to the sense of fright in the air, that is for sure.

I had had enough. After collecting my wits, I opened the door wide to the ice cold winter outside and demanded to Maude that she leave immediately. I told her that since she could not respect the space as mine, she could not stay any longer.

This seemed to work, for a time. For weeks later, there were no more noises, no thumps, no footsteps, no pestering of the dog. I had started feeling secure that Maude was truly gone; whether she had decided to cross over, or merely haunt someone else, I did not care. My complacency was temporary, however. That Christmas, The Goddess and I had a clairvoyant stay at the house as a guest. Maude struck back with a vengeance....

....Blessed Be