Chapter 7: In the manor

The Beauregard Sanders Manor located across the street from Coolsville Central High School was the last place Shaggy expected to be where he will spend his time in house arrest during the duration of the murder investigation.

As the officers led the gang to the front door of the manor, Shaggy shivered as he looked around.

The manor looked pretty dark, and it didn't help with the fact that it was cloudy that late afternoon.

Built in 1878, the Beauregard Sanders Manor is a staple of the typical architectural style employed in manors and mansions built during the Victorian Era.

The sight of gargoyles decorating the manor did little to calm his already-tightened up nerves, and as the gang were led into the manor once the sergeant unlocked the front door, Shaggy could've sworn that one of the gargoyles were staring right into his eyes.

However, the main reason why Shaggy was feeling uneasy as they entered the manor was due to rumours of strange sightings and hauntings surrounding it.

As the name of the manor suggests, its original owner was one Civil War veteran by the name of Beauregard Sanders, who was of Ohio origin and joined the Confederate Army when the war broke out, where he then raised through the ranks before getting discharged as a colonel after the war ended in 1865.

He eventually moved out west, settled down in Crystal Cove County north of San Francisco and started a family.

As a matter a fact, the Civil War veteran played a major role in founding Coolsville, whose location on the northern shore of the San Francisco Bay led to its growth into a commence and trading centre.

With the population growth that came with the Industrial Revolution spreading into Crystal Cove, Coolsville was incorporated as a city in 1872 and subsequently became the administrative centre of the county, on top of being the county's most-populous city.

As the city grew, though, so did the usual social problems like crime and poverty.

In fact, before the Beauregard Sanders Manor and the Coolsville Academy were constructed, the area was home to a massive slum with the site of the manor being that of an orphanage.

Then, in 1876, a faulty stove at the kitchen of the orphanage resulted in a massive fire breaking out in the area, a fire that quickly spread to surrounding buildings thanks to lax fire and safety codes of the day, combined with the poor material qualities used for constructing the buildings.

The exact number of casualties of that massive fire, now known as the "Great Centennial Fire of Coolsville", remained unknown, though various sources listed the victims to be as high as in the 300s, the vast majority of them children, due to the chronic overcrowding of the residential housing in the area.

While the cause of the massive Centennial Fire was officially attributed to the faulty stove in the kitchen of the orphanage, there has been theories spreading around that pointed the finger directly to Beauregard Sanders.

The reason: The ex-Confederate wasn't exactly well-liked in town. As an industrialist who, at one point, owned more than a dozen steel mills in town, he had acquired a reputation as being harsh on his workers and stingy.

He rejected the workers demands for better wages and safer working conditions, and he has made clear of his disdain towards the workers taking any form of labour actions, whether be forming a union or going on strike.

His private security was constantly referred as the "secret police" by his workers, due to the roles they played in breaking up any labour actions.

And last but not least, Beauregard Sanders was known for always looking to acquire more land for his enterprises and personal possessions, and many of the residents find him to be selfish as a result of the means he used for acquiring more land.

In fact, the site of the orphanage, being located close to a river, was picked by Beauregard as a good site for his new manor and he has offered to buy the land from the orphanage and redevelop the land surrounding the site, even though the directors running the orphanage were firm in their refusal to move out.

The Centennial Fire broke out two days after Beauregard Sanders made his third pitch to the orphanage, firm on his desire to acquire the land for his new manor, and many in town believed that Beauregard Sanders had a hand in sabotaging the stove in the orphanage's kitchen, although there was no evidence to back that up.

Anyways, after the debris was cleared, the Beauregard Sanders Manor was constructed, eventually becoming the home to Beauregard Sanders and his expanding family.

However, a few weeks after the family moved into the manor, rumours started swirling around about the manor being haunted by the spirits of those killed in the Centennial Fire.

Beauregard Sanders and his wife reported hearing strange noises at night time, noises such as ghostly howls and footsteps, even though everyone in the manor were in bed by then.

Another strange occurrence included toys and other household objects vanishing, only to turn up in another part of the manor.

Dark, creepy and weird-shaped shadows frequently loomed over the manor at night time, even when everyone was gathered in the manor's living room.

It didn't help that many in Beauregard and his wife were superstitious, and at one point, they even called in a priest to exorcise the manor.

Even so, the hauntings continued, and things got so bad that Beauregard's wife ended up suffering a miscarriage a few weeks after settling down in their new home, and she never recovered from the strain.

Without any children, Beauregard Sanders had no heir to his estate, and when he and his wife both died in the 1890s, the manor sat vacant on the site for decades as no other buyer expressed interest in moving into a manor that is rumoured to be haunted by the spirits of the children who died in the Centennial Fire.

The City of Coolsville eventually bought the site, declared it a heritage property and eventually have the manor and restored to its prime condition.

Speaking of which, the project of restoring the manor had begun in 1992, but due to political deadlock surrounding the county's budget and finances, combined with the original contractor going out of business two years into the project, delays and cost-overruns, the project costs ended up ballooning in the years that followed.

As the gang were led into the manor, Shaggy can see the construction equipment on the front lot and shook his head.

Even though he was intimidated by the creepy exterior of the manor, Shaggy wasn't sure which was worse. Spending several nights in this creepy old manor or facing George Blake's scorn.

Well, long before their first encounter with George Blake, Shaggy had reached the conclusion that George Blake was not someone to mess with, as Mayor Iverson had came close to figuring that out the hard way.

It also explains why Daphne was impeccably dressed and well-groomed. Her father is the richest man in Coolsville, as the owner of the city's largest employer.

He almost felt sorry for Fred, though, considering the way George Blake interacted with the blonde.

Shaggy promised himself that he will stand out of George Blake's way and never to cross any member of the Blake family.


Daphne wasn't sure if she should be amazed by the architecture of the Beauregard Sanders Manor or be afraid of the manor in front of them.

With all those rumours of the haunting at the manor, not to mention the still-incomplete restoration project of the manor, she can list out dozens of reasons why spending the next several nights under house arrest in the manor is a bad idea spelled in capital letters.

She knew that one of her father's competitors is involved in the restoration project, though the project itself has, yet again, seen its scheduled completion date pushed back another couple years due to another "unexpected" complication.

As they entered the manor, it didn't take long before she noticed one of the cover sheets was covering one of the walls that was being taken down, and it has a paper sign that says, "Warning: Asbestos"

She noticed the way Shaggy and Scooby were shivering, and she couldn't do anything other than shaking her head. Not that she blamed them for feeling frightened by the interior and exterior of the manor.


"Alright kids." The police sergeant announced after they entered the living room of the manor. "This is where you kids will be spending your nights and weekends for the time being. During this time, we expect you all to be in bed by 11, up by 6, and back here from school by 4."

The gang shared looks with each other as the sergeant continued, "None of you are to speak with your parents unless we give you the green light for doing so, and any of you who tries to break out of the manor during curfew will forfeit their house arrest and be spending the nights and weekends in custody."

Turning to look at the gang, the sergeant asked, "Any questions?"

It was then that Velma raised her hand.

"Yes?" The sergeant turned to Velma.

"When will we be allowed to go home?" Velma asked.

"When our investigation into the murder is concluded." The sergeant replied. "And that's only if we find evidence that points the finger at someone else and not you kids."

Shaggy almost scoffed at the sergeant's remark, knowing that there's a very good chance the investigators assigned to the case from the City East Division aren't going to go through the due diligence and process of properly investigating the case.

As far as many decent-minded people in Coolsville are concerned, when it comes to policing and solving crimes, only the Major Crimes Division under the command of Captain Sam Rogers is capable of closing cases.

The Major Crimes Division is considered to be an elite detective division within the Coolsville Police Department, fully devoted to closing cases, whether be homicides, robberies or cold cases.

Usually, whenever the detective squad in a geographical police division like City East catches a case that requires expertise or has made headlines in the papers, such case ends up getting turned over to Major Crimes to deal with.

"But I digress." The sergeant said. "It's gettin' late now, you kids need to have supper and then it's lights out."


After a rather lousy dinner, consisting mainly of cold pizza that who knows how long has it been in the freezer and soft drinks, the kids were granted visits from their parents, with the exception of Shaggy, whose sister Maggie came to visit instead.

They were given clean clothes, in addition to the opportunity to chat.

"Like, has there been any progress in the case, Mags?" Shaggy asked his sister.

"From what Dad knows, no, not yet." Maggie shook her head. "Last I heard, they still have not located the murder weapon."

"Typical." Shaggy shook his head in frustration as he rubbed Scooby in the head. "Meanwhile, the others, Scoob and I are staying in this creepy old manor for the time being, until the cops finds evidence that points the finger at someone else."

"You honestly think they will, Norville?" Maggie asked.

"I won't be surprised if they wouldn't or won't." Shaggy replied. "Especially considering the way the chief ordered Major Crimes to be off the case."

"Tell me about it." Maggie nodded in agreement. "Those guys in Major Crimes are the only investigators Pops trusted in closing cases, and now they're shut out of it."


A short while later, the kids were ordered to their assigned bedrooms after visiting hours were over.

Each of the gang were given their own room, and they all wasted no time getting changed and settling in for bedtime.

Before lights out, the sergeant once again warned the kids that officers will be on guard duty and anyone who attempts to break out of the manor will be escorted to the City East station to spend the night.

Shaggy found himself lying flat on his bed with Scooby by his side and staring up towards the ceiling. There was a queasy feeling in his mind as he stared at the ceiling, finding himself having trouble falling asleep.

He didn't bother taking his eyes off the ceiling as the hallway lights were turned off. Only thing he hears is the sergeant assigning shifts to the officers standing guard at the manor for the night.


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