HOUSE ON HOLLYHOCK HILL

House on Hollyhock Hill (part two) So the big night came. I said I was staying at Marty's house, Marty said he was staying at mine. We took our sleeping bags and flashlights. Taking guns or knife would be braking the rules of bravery. When we went out, it was just starting to get dark. There was a dozen or more guys at the fence line to support us. The older ones gloating because they made it. The younger ones shaking in fear knowing that in a year or two they would have to go in to test there manhood and test fate.

Some made it some didn't. We all knew the ones who did. The ones who didn't were all dead or in the mental institute.

So there we were at the door, I turned the handle. the watchers held their breath. We were in. We stood frozen in the door way. We both contemplated turning and running for home. But if we did we wouldn't be able to live in this town anymore.

Timidly we started to explore before it got to dark. Everything was dusty, the white lace curtains hung limp, it was deadly quit. We went from room to room. We looked out the window. There they were, at least twenty guys watching to see if we would run.There were pictures on the wall of a woman, it must be her. The wallpaper was ripped, the floor was dirty. I heard a sound and turned quickly, a mouse. Good, it wasn't a ghost.

It was dark now, we rolled out our sleeping bags in the front room close to the door. We had our flashlight's on when we heard the click at the front door.We went to investigate, thinking someone was fooling with us.We found the door locked, no one was around. Minor panic, how did that happen? We tiptoed around to the side door, it too was locked.

Then we heard a sound from upstairs thump, thump,------thump, thump, Like a ghost walking around. then an eerily quit hung over the whole place . We were'nt really trapped because the doors were locked, half the windows were broken we could have gotten out.

looking out the window into the dark we though we could see reflections of light coming from an upstairs window. the same one we earlier heard the thumping sounds. What time was it we didn't know, we both forgot to bring a watch. It's going to be a long night. Dog's barking sounded different. They say dog's know when a ghost or death was around.

Then out of no ware a cat came flying down the stairway screeching as if it was being chased by the devil or flung by a witch. Then I swear I could here laughter from above. It must be the ghost Hanna. Now we were scared, Marty grabbed the door handle, I was right behind him. It was locked. Good thing we couldn't run, we huddled close together. We heard the side door slam and evil laughter. We froze and stayed that way all night we couldn't move, we couldn't sleep. But after the door, all we heard was small sounds, mice, dog's in the distance, bug's buzzing, wind, our heart beats. We didn't even talk except in whispers.

It was a long night but morning was coming, the sky was getting lighter. We though it was just about over when BANG the said door opened. We jumped, then from the side room came three older boys. One of which was my friend Wally, with him was Bebo and Gordy. We were white, they were laughing.

They told us we made it. Then they told us the rules. Then made us swear a blood oath that we would never tell anyone what happened in the haunted house. It was them upstairs making howling noises, it was them with the cat, and slamming doors and laughing.

We just had to wait one hour and walk out the front door. We couldn't say a word to anyone, just go home. They would be out front with everyone else and would signal us when we could leave. When the signal came, Me and Marty were still white as sheets. We were dead tired so saying nothing was easy. We went home and to bed.

The following years we were allowed to be part of the older guys scaring the younger boys.
That house wasn't haunted after all. Hanna Helstroms haunted house on Hollyhock hill was just a house.

I missed that haunted house. I guess I miss it still.


*************************THE END******************************

HOUSE ON HOLLYHOCK HILL part 1

House on Hollyhock Hill. (part 1)


I grew up in a small town with a post office, a gas station, a junk yard and a school that went up to the sixth grade. We had no other business's. But we did have a pretty good ice skating rink, and a baseball diamond at the school yard and a population of kids that must have been four kids for every set of parents.


There was always something going on in the summer time. We had a never ending baseball game going on at the school yard. When ever you got there you would go on the team with the least players. The teams were always changing, kids were coming and going.You could always win or lose marble or trade baseball cards all day, all summer in the school yard. There were girls there to, but back then we didn't mix much, on perpose anyway. The girls played hopscotch and jacks. they played with paper dolls and hulla hoops. In general life was good in Parkville in the sixtys.


The one worrisome thing both boy's and girl's had in common was the house at the end of Hollyhock Hill road. It was only two blocks from the school. It was huge, three stories tall with a cellar some people say it had a dungeon. Everyone knew it was haunted.. Everyone.


Us boys would go up to the base of the fence line at the top of the hill. Then one by one we would take turns running up the path and touching the door and run back to show how brave we were. Then just to be safe when we got back with the others we had to spin around in a circles three times spit on the ground and say "Hollyhock Hana from Hollyhock hill ,the devil was watching and he's watching still." We'd say this for protection from the ghost of Hana Helstrom. She was said to have killed three kids in that very house then hung Herself from the rafters. And it was said that she left a note saying She would come back from the dead to get anymore kids She could catch in Her house. needless to say we might have been brave enough to touch the door but we were'nt about to go in.


Not then anyway. But before we hit sixteen ,to show we were a man ,we had to spend the night in Hana Helstroms hunted house. For all the brave talk nobody wanted to spend the night in that house. And nobody wanted to be the one who wouldn't.


Other boys have been spending the night in that house for at least one hundred years or so. But whenever they came out, it was always the same. None of them would ever say What happened in that house.They all looked white and shaken.


At different times we've all seen candle light in the windows. and the white lace curtains blowing without a wind. Sometimes we would see shadows pass in the windows or hear strange sounds.


In the summer of my fifteenth year it was my turn. I was going in with Marty. We would spend the night. My good friend Wally who was one year older then Me and Marty spent the night in there last summer. He has never said a word about what happened in there that night. All we were told by any of the boys that were older was make out a last will and testament. Sometimes boys would die or disappear in there. Sometimes they would go mad and end up in a mental institution. We were worried because if an older guy said something like that you just knew it was true.


(To Be Continued)