A/N: Written for the Newsies Pape Selling Competition
Task Two: Write about a haunting
Prompts: 2. (Color): Red, 4. (Dialogue): "This is about to go downhill real fast from here…"
Word Count: 2006
I never really believed in ghosts but my whole family does. I mean they even run a haunted prison for crying out loud. Eastern State Penitentiary to be exact. My family is all about the spirit within and trying to help them cross over. My parents told me all sorts of ghost stories of their ghost hunting trips. I mean I never believed that the evidence they got was real. I'm bullied at school because of my family's belief in ghosts.
I was a non believer but one night just happened to change my views on ghosts. It was just another night at the prison we were done with the last tour and we were just starting to close up until I got up to Cellblock 15 or otherwise known as Death Row. I was about to go inside to check on the room to make sure no one is inside until my mom stormed through and locked the door before I could go in.
"What's your problem? I'm trying to go on my rounds." This is the only place that I'm not allowed to go into for some reason. "I've told you this many times. You're not allowed to go inside there. It's too dangerous."
"What's so dangerous about a few dirty, empty cells? There's nothing there that can harm me." My mom was about to go on her rant about the violent spirits that are being housed in there. "Before you say it I just want to ask you this? What is up with Death Row? Why is it so bad that it has to be restricted from me. I want answers now!" My shout echoed throughout the whole pavilion. "Come with me." She took me to her office where I learned a little interesting thing about my past.
"I wanted to tell you this before when you're ready but it seems like you're ready now. The only reason why me and your dad restricted your from Death Row is because of two spirits. They're known as Oscar and Morris Delancey otherwise known as the Delancey Brothers."
"So there's two ghosts in there. What's the big deal about that? There's ghost everywhere around this prison." I said. "These spirits are exceptionally different from the rest because they only target one kind of person that tours this prison." My mom went on about the story and why I'm not allowed to go into Death Row.
"Your ancestor Scarlet was the youngest sister of the Delancey Brothers. She was the most favored child to her parents and her brothers grew jealous because of that but when her father cheated at a game of cards her and her brother's lives were at stake so her parents left all three of them to their uncle. Months later their parents were murdered by the same man who got cheated by her father. Scarlet's life took a drastic turn. Once she was the favored and most loved child of the family and the next thing she knew she was the ragged and beaten down maid of the family. Her brothers never even considered her part of the family. They treated her like Cinderella but way worse. But during that time she fell in love. She fell in love with a newsie named Romeo. They say that when they met no two hearts were meant to be with each other than theirs."
"Than if she fell in love she must be happy that she found someone that loves her for who she really is. Right?" That's got to be the end of the story. I would really hate for this to go bad. "Not exactly. Her brothers forced her into a marriage with another man. Everett was his name but Scarlet never loved him back. She kept seeing Romeo and vowed her loyalty, trust, and love towards him. In the end her no good brothers found out. They threatened her that if they ever see her with him again he would pay the price. So out of an act of love she cut off all ties with Romeo and married Everett."
"Where is this story going? Because I'm wondering does Everett kill Scarlet later on?" I asked. The story that my mom is telling me is almost like the story of Romeo and Juliet except that Scarlet actually married the guy that she was forced to marry Juliet still resisted. "Just wait and see. Scarlet kept putting up with the abuse and beatings until she go to the point that this isn't what she wanted. That the person she became to protect her true love isn't who she really was. She ran away and joined the newsies. She tried to reconnect the bond with Romeo but she failed. Years passed and she thought she never would fall in love ever again until one day she could. Eliza Kelly helped Romeo see the error in his ways and reconnected the bond with Scarlet after they won the Newsies Strike of 1899. Scarlet and Romeo got married and it was happy days for the rest of their life."
I heard of that strike. That took place in New York when Joseph Pulitzer raised the prices on the newspapers. "You said that she never got her happy ending. But now you're telling me that she got married to Romeo and she was happy than that means she did get her happy ending and that she never got to worry about her brothers chasing after her."
"You're wrong at that part. When the war started and a lot of the newsies including Eliza's brother Jack went that's when hell started. Scarlet was walking home really late from work and she was ambushed by her own brothers and beaten and killed in an alley. Her brothers ended up here in Eastern State Penitentiary but they were one of the worst and two of the most violent prisoners here so they were sent to Death Row. The only reason I don't allow you to go there is because every time I or your father has led a tour a tourist usually female and always has red hair is attacked by an unseen force. We believe it's the spirits of Morris and Oscar Delancey and they think any female girl that has red hair is Scarlet. For you it will be worse because you share the natural red hair that Scarlet had and you are named after her. I just don't want you to get hurt."
Now this is ridiculous. They're protecting me from what's obviously not real. "Stop telling me this junk. Can you stop trying to scare me this isn't true!" I said. I've just about had it with this nonsense. This is why I'm so embarrassed of my parents. They believe in something that's obviously not true and they're protecting me from something that most likely not real.
"It's not junk it's true."
"I've just about had it. I'm so going in there tonight and finish up my rounds." My mom begged me to come back but I wouldn't listen and this is where things go down from here. I was finishing up my rounds in Death Row until I could hear footsteps running down the hall. I turned on my flashlight and went towards the direction of the sound. I wanted to also maybe catch some evidence of the ghosts here as a lot of ghost hunters have been coming to this prison. So I had my phone out. "Hello. You're not supposed to be here. The prison is closed. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." But when I reached the end of the hall there was no one there.
Suddenly I could feel a cold chill surround me. I could feel the tingles running up my spine. I kept recording the whole Cell Block. I could hear soft male voices coming from one cell in Death Row. "Who's there?" I could still keep hearing the voices. I followed the voices to the cell from right where I was in the beginning. I looked into the first cell and when I was about to leave Death Row when the voices stopped I felt someone push me from behind. I was starting to get scared. I could feel the cold sweat pouring down on me. I sat up and I could feel something wet and sticky drip from my neck. I could also feel pain coursing down. I touched my neck only to see blood on my hands and a lot of it.
I ran my hands down my neck only to feel three rough scars on my neck. "This is about to go downhill real fast from here…" I kept looking around to see where the voice is coming from. The voices kept taunting me. They kept talking about her coming back and how much fun they can have. I'm wondering who's her? "Who's there? What do you want with me?" The voices started to laugh at me. I started to search for my phone until I felt something strange. I looked down real closely and saw a picture. With my flashlight I unfolded the picture and saw a family.
I noticed one thing that was most prominent to me. The little girl in the picture is crossed out. I also noticed there were two brothers in this picture. "Oh my god the story is true." I whispered to myself. The voices appeared again and this time it's more louder since I'm in the cell. My battery was almost about to die. I kept beating my flashlight to keep it going. Out of the feeble light I could make out a figure. Two figures actually. I crawled towards to the figures but still making sure I'm still in the cell. I didn't expect them to turn around. When they turned around and revealed their faces they charged at me. I screamed with all my might and picked up everything I got.
I know now that the story is true. The Delancey Brothers are real and that they did kill their sister. I bet the cell I was in was their cell. I was almost towards the door until I could feel someone holding me back by my necklace. I fell to the ground and I was starting to get dragged off by a force so evil. I guess they think I'm Scarlet and that they're going to finish what they started. I found the clasp to the necklace and freed myself from this force. I ran to the door and I was greeted with the cold fall air. I immediately shut the heavy door and locked it. I didn't care if I left my necklace in there.
One thing I know now is that I was wrong. Very wrong. Ghosts are real and the story that my mom told me is real. But the most important thing is I got evidence that ghosts are real and that my parents aren't crazy like kids at my school think they are. When I got home I checked the footage I got from my phone only to find that the footage I got was never there. I looked at the video and all I found was just silence and black everywhere. It strangely didn't record. My evidence was gone. Something tampered with my phone.
Days passed after my incident and I never gone back to Death Row. But as days passed my attitude started to change. I started undergoing some physical and mental changes and after my parents ran some tests on me they found something shocking when they took a picture of me with their camera. That the ghosts that attacked me that night in Death Row are now with me. They're attached to my back and I brought it home.