Chapter 2: Lillian the hunted
Part 1: the concept of death
Case file #67
May 7th, 1974
Chicago Illinois, Johnson family home
After examining the home and interviewing Mrs. Johnson along with her two children, We do believe their accounts are credible and are to be looked into further. Though for ambiguity sake I remain skeptical, Lorraine has stated both seeing and sensing a form of energy attached to the house. However, she cannot formulate a description. Whether the daughter is exhibiting the first signs of possession remains to be seen.
"The good news is we believe you- but that's also the bad news. Meaning you could have a serious haunting on your hands." Ed Warren warned looking at Ms. Johnson gravely.
It was a rainy Tuesday evening and Heather had arrived home from school to find not only her mother but Ed and Lorraine as well sitting around the kitchen table. It had been two days since their first appearance in her foyer and while Heather's uneasiness towards them hadn't fully gone away, she did find it easier to trust the couple upon their blessing of the house. She no longer felt the panicked urge to run anytime they merely looked at her and this, albeit small, but impactful progress is what kept Heather resolutely planted in the room. Though she was scared, the idea of knowing what was happening to her family and why was just too strong to keep her from shying away.
"Groovy, this is just like Scooby Doo!" Her brother chirped from behind the refrigerator door. He obviously hadn't absorbed the gravitas of the situation and was still too concentrated on his afterschool snack to notice that nobody jumped to agree with him.
"Well if this is Scooby Doo then you're shaggy." Heather smirked, grabbing the milk carton out of Teddy's grubby hands. With the Wheaties tucked firmly under her arm, Heather made her way to the table to listen and eat. Or rather annoy her brother by doing so seeing as she wasn't really hungry. And it seemed to have done the trick too because a second later teddy stormed out the door.
Lorraine laughed lightly. "Not quite." She said more to Heather than anyone else but the woman's smile slipped slightly as she nervously wriggled her rings. "While it's fun to think of what we do as like a cartoon, it can be quite dangerous and lacking in all playfulness." The tone was sobering.
Ed glanced at his wife, his face betraying a look of shock for only a moment before he nodded. "Please understand we don't take hauntings lightly as we have seen them turn deadly in the past."
"Oh!" Mrs. Johnson gasped horrified. "Well if this- this haunting thing is happening to us what can we do?"
Heather's stomach knotted, feeling just as scared as her mother looked. listening intently, the young girl absentmindedly dropped her spoon in the uneaten cereal. Thinking nothing of the little plunk sound it made, she was too focused on what the couple had to say next.
"Well an exo-" Ed started but was promptly cut off.
"Oh look what you've done! You've spilled milk everywhere! Incompetent child!" Heather's mother exploded suddenly. "Now I'm going to have to clean this up because you can't do anything right."
Heather gawked as her mother fumbled with the napkins. 'Milk everywhere' was quite a strong term for the small white puddle that had accumulated under the bowl and it certainly wasn't enough to be shouted over. Heather tried to voice this, though as usual it was all for not as Mrs. Johnson was too busy hemming and hawing to even hear her daughter's complaints.
"Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Johnson please! It's only milk." Lorraine exclaimed, her words merely mixing into the chaos. So it was no surprise then, when rather than stopping Heather's mother continued with a fervor.
The young girl watched as the scene unfolded, scared, confused and wishing the couple could do something to help. Strange events like this, while becoming common after they moved in, never failed to frighten Heather and she was glad that Ed and Lorraine were there to witness it. Perhaps the woman sensed this because at that moment Lorraine leaped from her chair and reaching across the table, grabbed Mrs. Johnson's hands. The minute her fingers met the mother's wrists however, Lorraine gasped. Her face twisting into a look of shock and pain.
Startled, Heather's mother stared blankly at the woman as if not sure who she was, her napkin filled hands still hovering over the table. A strange sudden silence fell over the room.
Ed Warren's eyes darted between the three women as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. After a moment of this paused stillness though, the man spoke cautiously
"Alright, let's all relax. Mrs. Johnson please sit. Darling, are you ok?"
Heather's mother did as she was told, looking a bit dazed. "I'm sorry, I think I interrupted you." She said her brow furled.
Lorraine too slowly sat back down and as she did so turned to her husband. "She doesn't remember anything, just keep going." Lorraine's whisper was barely audible, yet Heather still heard it. Causing her worry to increase tenfold.
Ed nodded. "As I was saying- the end step would most likely be an exorcism of the home but these situations have procedures that must be followed. The Church cannot approve an exorcism of any kind without proof."
"What kind of Proof?"
This was the first time Heather had truly spoken since sitting down causing the other occupants at the table to stare at her. But the young girl wanted to know what else they possibly had to go through before someone in a stuffy robe would believe her. Just because the couple was there now, didn't mean everything was fine. Her nightmares still persisted. The past two nights Heather woke up in cold sweats only to find the girl eerily watching her at the end of the bed. She still had the bruises. In fact new ones had formed since Lorraine convinced Heather to let her see them, snaking her stomach in thick purple lines. So yeah hearing that all of it wasn't enough 'proof' to end her suffering made Heather brave enough to speak up.
"Video of the ghost activity is always preferred but we have several different ways of provoking an entity into revealing itself. And that would be our first step here," Ed replied in a business-like tone, almost as if he was used to the question.
"Of course your stories and experiences are important but now we must build upon them," Lorraine added.
Though Heather couldn't fathom being accustomed to catching ghosts in any manner, she was willing to do whatever it took, no matter how scared it made her. There was hope to hold on to and for the young girl that was enough. For the first time in a long time, Heather suddenly was feeling strong and more sure of herself than she had in months.
"One such way to provoke whoever is oppressing you is by knowing about it. Who it is. Where they came from and what life they led when living."
"And how would we find all of that out?" Mrs. Johnson sounded tired as she ran her fingers through her hair.
And though Heather was too, she felt a jolt of excitement run though her at the prospect of having a clear plan to make all of it stop.
Lorraine gave the mother and daughter a sympathetic look. "Research."
"We have contacted our technician and researcher Drew Thomas who should be here shortly. When we last spoke he said that he had some information on the house that should help." Ed further explained.
Looking slightly relieved, Mrs. Johnson let out a breath. Nodding, she reached out and grabbed her daughter's hand barely noticing Heather flinch at her mother's touch. Ed however, did notice.
"I think it's of utmost importance that we start the investigation tonight. In the meantime, is there a place Teddy can stay overnight? It's best if young kids who are not affected don't get caught up in this kinda thing."
"Uh yeah," Mrs. Johnson rubbed her face looking frazzled. "Teddy, he can sleep over at his new friend Jack's house. He's been asking for weeks anyway. But Heather-" the woman turned slightly to look at her daughter next to her, "Heather has had a hard time making friends, I don't know who…"
"We need Heather here, Mrs Johnson." Lorraine softly cut in.
"But why, you just said-"
"Heather has been profoundly impacted by this spirit in a way your son has not." Lorraine's eyes fell on the young girl, a look of motherly protection reflected in them. "I know it seems scary but you are strong. You can help us release this entity and have it never bother you or your family again. Can you do that Heather?"
"Yes!" The words shot out of her before she even needed to think about them.
Heather's mother on the other hand, looked unenthused by this change of events but ultimately seemed to choose not to fight it with a sigh. "If that's what it takes," Standing up she added, "I'll go get Teddy ready and call Jack's mother."
Lorraine nodded, watching Mrs Johnson leave, though neither Ed nor Heather saw this. Ed, preoccupied with scribbling in a small yellow notebook and Heather staring down at her soggy cereal, head filled with thoughts of what might lay ahead that night.
If Heather hadn't been too preoccupied with fears of ghosts and hauntings, she might have also noticed Lorraine pulling her husband out of the kitchen to talk in hushed tones. It was only the sudden silence of an empty room that brought the young girl back into reality. Almost instantly a feeling of uncomfortableness struck Heather, like an itch in the back of her mind, a constant reminder she was unwelcome. Quickly throwing her uneaten gloppy mess in the trash, Heather made a beeline for the door but stopped short when she heard voices coming from the other side.
"I'm worried, Ed. Whatever I saw that's attached to the mother she's - she's just so hateful. And what if it's the same one affecting Heather? She's just a girl! I keep thinking what if this were Judy and- oh, we just have to help them!" Lorraine's whisper pitched into a muffled sob.
"Lorraine, listen to me. Judy is safe and we will help this family," There was a pause before Ed spoke again. "Do you want to know how I know you're the best mother in the world?"
"How?" The woman whispered.
"You treat every child that you help as if they were Judy, with love, understanding and protection."
Heather was scared, worried and just so very tired but in that moment she couldn't help but smile to herself, hand hovering over the doorknob. Though she had severe reservations about the couple when they first came, she was glad they were here now. They were a light of hope in Heather's dark world.