Dan's Hauntastic Haunts Investigates Read online

  “The current owner of the property reached out to me to request we try to put the disgruntled spirits here to rest. As always, I strive to uncover whatever unfinished business the ghosts might have and try to help them find peace.

  “Unfortunately in this case, my presence dismayed the spirits here. In last week’s video, you can see a ghost manifested before I fell. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a professional in cleansing a haunting.

  “If I can help spirits to pass on, that’s great, but I’m not equipped to deal with malevolent spirits. I focus on helping lost or confused spirits. Those looking for closure. Vengeful impulses are outside my scope of experience.

  “I hope this video series will highlight the need for a cleansing at this location. In my opinion, a strong medium can help the angry spirits haunting the Miller house. Madame Karen, I know you work in the Northeast. If you’re watching, this is one haunting where I defer to your expertise on these matters.

  “I intend to reach out to the property owner to put him in touch with a medium. I hope they can take further measures. It seems clear to me that whatever happened to the Miller family, at least one ghost haunts their home to this day.

  “Much as I wish for a more decisive outcome, I must move on to another haunting after this webisode. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the city condemned the property after my accident, so it’s not safe for me to explore further.

  “Remember, don’t try this at home folks. Even with years of experience under my belt, accidents happen,” he swept his arm toward the bulky cast on his leg with a wry grin.

  “If I uncover more of the house’s secrets or details of the spirits haunting it, I will post another followup video and share that information with you all. Be sure to like and subscribe if you enjoyed this series and if you’re looking for exclusive behind-the-scenes video check out my Patreon. The link is in the video description below.

  “As always, thanks so much for watching Hauntastic Haunts Investigates. Tune in next time when Chad, Vanessa and I will be on the road reviewing the hottest new ghost hunting gear courtesy of Paranormal Outfitters Inc. Have a hauntastic day!”

  Daniel waited a beat then spoke again.

  “Okay, great. Let’s do another take. This time, join me for the catchphrase? So after I do the shout out to POI, I’ll pause and we’ll both wish the viewers a hauntastic day, sound good?”

  It took three more takes before I satisfied him with my enthusiasm. After that he had me traipse around the exterior of the house to get more footage in case we needed it to film a followup episode from the road.

  I think Daniel would have preferred to get fancier with zooming in on the entrance. My skills weren’t up to replicating the little camera tricks I’d noticed in re-watching his newer episodes in my downtime last night and on the train from Connecticut to Exeter this morning.

  I was too much a camera novice to capture more than basics. I did my best to get the shots he wanted framed to his exacting standards. No cutting the gables along the roofline out of the frame.

  Daniel talked me through angling the camera so the giant tree limb from a nearby oak didn’t obscure the architectural details. Shooting with the light behind me to avoid glare. Not getting Vanessa’s license plates in the shots, stuff I wouldn’t have thought of without Daniel mentioning it.

  It was exhausting. And it took hours to get enough footage to fill what amounted to enough clips for a twenty-minute behind-the-scenes webisode. Still, I felt good about the work.

  It helped that Daniel was patient with me when I had to reshoot the same angles multiple times. He also proved free with his praise when I got things right.

  “Thanks, that’s a wrap on the Miller house for now. Let’s pack in the gear and find some grub, I can show you the editing software tomorrow.”

  I disassembled the gear and stowed it all the way I’d found it. Then I locked up the back storage area.

  Daniel had already put away the camera bags when I joined him in the main living area. He had his crutches propped against the wall and was leaning on the countertop as he prepped two steaks.

  He grinned at me when I entered.

  “Hey. Great work today, Chad. How do you like your meat?”

  I choked on air, because my crush was talking about meat. Mind out of the gutter.

  “Medium is fine. Can I help?”

  “Not much room,” he waved me toward the passenger seat, which he had spun to face the back of the van. I sat and watched, feeling a vague guilt at not helping.

  He lit the propane burners, “I’ve got this. So, did you have time to look over the list of potential sites for August that I sent you?”

  “I did. The discharge paperwork says you shouldn’t be sitting for more than a couple hours at a time, so I’m thinking we want to pick something close.”

  “Good call,” Daniel checked the pan before dropping both steaks into it.

  “The lighthouse in New York looks neat, but not super accessible with you on crutches. And I don’t know how accessible it is during the winter. Could we pencil it in for the spring?”

  “I was thinking the same thing. I like the looks of the site in Maine. It’s a lake. The area is popular for camping, hiking, fishing and boating. Lots of little cabins in the woods. So the shore should be walkable. The building at the haunted site burned down years ago, so no stairs,

  “I agree, but it might be better to save it for September or October. I did some poking around and the fall foliage is popular with tourists, bet we could get some stunning eerie shots once the leaves turn and fall.”

  “You did your homework, I like that. Okay, so we’ll shoot for Maine in September or possibly October, depending on how the weather is looking. I have another option that I didn’t put on the list because I haven’t confirmed if we can get access. An old dairy farm in Vermont, we can poke around to see if it would work and contact the owners tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good. You want me to secure access to the lake site too?”

  “That would be perfect. You’ve got a knack for this. I’ll need you to get written permission from the property owners and then check out the pertinent filming permits we might need. Most places are lenient since we aren’t a huge outfit, but better to make sure we’re following local ordinances upfront.”

  “On it, boss,” I saluted. Daniel flipped the steaks. He reached above the counter and pulled out a can of corn and grabbed a can opener from a different drawer. Then dumped it into a pot on the back burner.

  “I’d love to have sites lined up enough in advance to have a proper schedule, make sure all our ducks are in a row on the paperwork side. Stace agreed to cancel the permits she had lined up for our August shoot in Iowa and explain what happened. So no worries on that front.”

  “Great, so are we all right to stay here until we get next month’s shooting schedule ironed out?”

  “No, we can stay tonight, but we’ll head to a campground tomorrow. Need to fill up the water tank and empty the gray water, all that jazz.

  “On that note, you’re welcome to use the shower. It has hot and cold water. Try to keep it brief since the tanks are only so big. It takes a good chunk of the solar to heat the water. We can use the showers at the campsite tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Daniel got out two plates, transferred the steaks to them and then drained and seasoned the pot of corn before adding that to the plates too. He got out utensils, turned off the stove and used the walls and counter to ease himself into a chair at the computer desk.

  “You mind bringing over the plates?” Daniel gestured to the plates. I brought both plates to the narrow table and sat beside him to eat.

  That he could prepare the entire meal without having to move more than a step drove home how small our shared living space was. But it also highlighted the space’s efficiency.

  “This tastes good, thanks,” I said.

  “No prob, I’ve gotten used to cooking simple stuff. We eat most of our me
als out of Vanessa’s kitchen. Consider it part of your compensation. You can always make requests, or help yourself to the kitchen, do you cook?”

  “Some. Mom taught my sister and I the basics growing up.”

  “That’s good. Got to be honest, I’m surprised you agreed to take the job on short notice like this.”

  I shrugged, trying to hide how out of character doing something that impulsive truly was for me. It was high time I chose a path I wanted instead of being content just to get by in life. Live a little. How many times had Kay goaded me with that phrase? Well, now I was doing it—living.

  “I wasn’t about to pass up the perks.”

  Daniel chuckled, he gestured to the van, “living in the lap of luxury, right?”

  “Yep,” I agreed. Luxurious it was not, but the chance to get to know someone I’d admired for ages thrilled me. Between college and working at Chorus I’d been stuck in a rut since Mom died.

  When Daniel offered me the job, joining him on the road sounded like fun. Any other day, I would have laughed at his offer, but with my job at Chorus gone, what did I have to lose? I was due for some adventure in my life.

  NINE

  Dan

  I’d spent less than a week with my new PA and I was already in trouble. It wasn’t just that he was alluring. He was. Or that he had this dogged determination to give every task I set for him his all.

  There was just something about him. Some quality that made him the perfect fit for the job. Which meant I had to keep my growing attraction to myself.

  By the end of his first full day, Chad had made arrangements with the owners of the haunted dairy. We took our time driving there, overnighting at a scenic campground along the way. Under any other circumstances, the drive from Exeter to Vermont would be an easy distance to cover in one day.

  Chad insisted on following my discharge instructions to the letter. I needed to stop every couple hours to get my blood circulating after the surgery to repair my broken bones, so we stopped and I hobbled around on my crutches.

  It was nice having someone who cared enough to make a fuss over my health. The leisurely pace was a nice reprieve from my usual scramble to travel between film sites.

  Our stay at the campgrounds proved uneventful. Chad was good company and we chatted about inconsequential stuff.

  Since we broke up the short drive, it was well before noon Thursday morning when we arrived at the sprawling dairy farm with our haunting location. The reports of spirit activity centered around an old barn that had fallen out of regular use. The dairy’s owners had long since replaced it with larger modern facilities.

  The current owners were a couple. Lara and Jane Goodman. The pair hadn’t seen my videos before Chad approached them on my behalf. But they welcomed any publicity the webisodes might help them garner.

  We met Jane in the dusty driveway between a stately white farmhouse and the postcard perfect big red barn. The barn was where they allowed visitors to pay to tour a working dairy farm. Tourists could pet calves, milk a cow, and buy farm fresh dairy products.

  A display of local cheeses held pride of place on their website. The interior pictures showed a long counter that held tubs of homemade ice cream available for purchase by the cone or the pint. The Goodmans had created quite the little tourist trap to supplement their agricultural income.

  “You must be Chad and Dan?” Jane greeted us as we stepped out of Vanessa.

  “Dan,” I said, offering my hand to the petite blonde. She shook with a firm callused grip. This was still a working farm, despite the trappings I should have expected her to be stronger than she looked.

  “Pleased to meet you, Lara is handling an unexpected vet visit. Injured heifer, scratched her leg on something bad enough to need stitches. I can show you the old facilities, where the ghost rumors started and give you a tour of the grounds.”

  “That would be great, hope the injured cow gets well soon.”

  Jane nodded in acknowledgement

  “Great, you can park here for now. We’ll ride in the four by four so I can give you the rundown of how things operate here at Goodman Dairy.”

  “Sounds excellent,” I said. Chad nodded along.

  “Can we get some footage of the farm to use in our videos? And were you be able to sign the filming releases I sent over? Ideally, we would sort the paperwork before we head out.”

  “Let’s start with the tour, you can film if you’d like. No flash photography with the animals, and try not to get images of our visitors, but otherwise knock yourselves out. We want you to showcase the farm.

  “Lara and I will get your forms back to you as soon as possible. It’s been a wild morning here so we haven’t looked everything over yet. That a problem?”

  “Not at all,” I cut in before Chad could reply. I was used to dealing with property owners.

  He was accustomed to being the one standing between the public and their insurance claims. I appreciated his efficiency, but I figured there would be a learning curve.

  In my business, we couldn’t get too pushy with any people generous enough to let us record on their land and research the histories of their properties. More often than not, my research turned up someone’s dirty laundry. Shoots always went better when the owner had full buy in, so I tried to charm our hosts.

  “Tell me more about the farm, it looks like quite the operation,” I said, giving the proud farm owner a chance to brag up her business.

  “Goodman Dairy has been a family owned and operated dairy since the 1800s. Lara’s many times great-grandfather bought the first few acres, and the family has grown it into the business you see today. We’re proud to be a family-run farm. Lara’s twin brother, Leon, owns a stake too. He runs our distribution operations.

  “Their parents started the tourist attractions about ten years ago, to give the public a peek at farm life. Lara and I added the dairy bar after she and her brother bought out their parents’ stake so they could retire.

  “We adhere to Good Agricultural Practices and our herd is grass fed. We don’t use growth hormones or antibiotics. Goodman Dairy is a labor of love and we’re proud to provide wholesome dairy products to the market.”

  “Sounds great, can’t wait to hit the ice cream counter after we check out the old barn,” Chad said.

  “Right, the old barn. I suppose you’ll want to know the history of the building?”

  “Yes, please,” I said.

  “Well, the barn where the rumors originated was the first structure built on the original plot of land where the family patriarch, Edgar, established his homestead. The original house burned down decades ago, but the fire spared the barn. We continued to use it for some of our stock until the 1960s.”

  “What happened?”

  “They built the new larger milking facilities. Kept using the old building to house older calves.”

  “But that stopped?” Chad asked.

  “It was an old building. Too expensive to keep it heated or try to look at retrofitting it with modern electricity and plumbing. Besides, there were rumors of a dark presence. Voices that weren’t there. The usual complaints, when people believe the dead haunt a place.”

  “Have you experienced anything strange?”

  “Nothing major. The building gives me the creeps, but it’s old and falling apart, so it’s expected that it’s spooky, right?”

  “I see.”

  “Anyway, Lara can tell you more, she and Leon used to play in there as kids. Lara was telling me they slept out in the old loft overnight once as a dare, but they didn’t last the night. She’ll tell you about it over dinner. Will you two join us for the evening meal?”

  “If we’re invited. We wouldn’t want to impose,” I said.

  “Nonsense, it isn’t any trouble at all. Good old-fashioned farm hospitality. I’m sure you boys could both use a proper home cooked meal, with all the traveling you do for your show.”

  That was true.

  “In that case, we’d love to join yo
u for dinner.”

  “We eat at five O’clock sharp,” Jane smiled at me. “Before we installed the new automated system, we started the evening milking at six. So that’s still when we go around to do a final check on the cows and handle whatever urgent work might have slipped through the cracks all day. Dinner gives us time to socialize before we get the cows tended to for the night.”

  “Sounds great. And we can park the van near the haunted barn, right?”

  “Sure can. You mentioned it’s a camper van? There’s a campground not too far down the road if you need hookups for water and electricity.”

  “That’s okay, we’ve got solar power and a water tank, no need for the campground while we are filming. Though I might bring the van over there in a couple weeks to refill the freshwater and dump the gray water. I find ghosts are more active at night, so we’d like to stay on the grounds, if it isn’t an imposition.”

  “No imposition at all, we pride ourselves on our hospitality.”

  TEN

  Chad

  Jane Goodman directed us to the alleged haunted barn. My first impression was of a derelict building, falling to the ravages of time. Part of the roof had collapsed, buckling the back wall. The rough wood looked rotted out in places.

  I had real concerns about the structural integrity of what remained. Not Daniel though. My boss charged right inside. He faced the darkness of the abandoned barn armed with nothing but his cellphone to light his path.

  It shouldn’t have surprised me when he recorded his first impressions of the place. If I’d learned nothing else about him, I now knew that Daniel loved to film for his show. The way he talked about it animated his entire body with excitement.

  Before we left the van, he mounted his cell on a selfie stick. When we got out of the four by four, he clutched the stick along with the grip on his crutch. I marveled at his ability to maneuver on crutches while holding his phone. It did not look comfortable, but the guy managed.