2015
"Do either of you know much about the original settlers," Sidney asks, settled back in his chair despite how uncomfortable it looks. Taylor's not even that comfy in her own chair and she has plenty of room considering how small she is. "The ones that were led by the Butcher?"
"I never felt up to doing that research," Nico mumbles, glancing down at his hands. He still wears his wedding ring and he fiddles with it when he's nervous, twisting it around his finger exactly seven times like that's the magic number to bring Mommy back. Monica's moved on, she's not a ghost and she's not coming back. "I argued a little with the bank about selling the house without releasing any information about the deaths on the property, but that's about it."
"What about you, Taylor? Did you ever get curious?"
"Edward told me one day."
"Edward Mott? The ghost?" Taylor nods and picks up her backpack, settling it carefully in her lap. Eve doesn't like to be jolted, she gets cranky and refuses to cooperate.
"Yeah, I was in the basement with him when Mason took Flora home and Lee got drunk as a skunk."
"Can you tell us?"
"Once upon a time, a group of people came to America from England to build a colony of their own. They thought they'd build such a grand village that even their Queen would beg for the chance to come and visit them. The women and men alike worked hard to create small shelters and hunt for food, but North Carolina seemed to hate them from the start.
Native Americans would attack them at night and steal their food, trying to drive them off land that had been claimed falsely. New diseases made some of them sick and killed others, structures collapsed when they'd been sound just days before. A few of the settlers went back to England where rules were established and they never spoke of America for the rest of their lives.
One day, their governor decided to go on a supply run that would take him a few months and he left his wife in charge. Several men resented having to follow a woman's rules, but Thomasin White made it clear in the very beginning that she wasn't afraid of going up against anyone that questioned her authority.
Their food begins to dwindle and winter is going to be harsh without proper shelter, so it's suggested to Thomasin that they move inland until it grows warm again. She refused, she wanted to wait on her husband so he wouldn't think they'd all abandoned him. The men grow restless, they form a coup and lock her head in a scold's bridle and banished her into the woods.
She was out there on her own for days, no food or water, no company to keep her entirely sane. All she had were her prayers and the knowledge that she was about to be killed by a wild boar that had been stalking her since she left the settlement. So, in the moonlight, she knelt and offered up her soul to God, but it wasn't Him that spared her.
The witch of the woods, beautiful and sinful and full of old magic, knelt and spoke the old words and offered Thomasin the boar's heart and her own life in exchange for her soul. Thomasin accepted, the cage fell off her head and she devoured the boar's heart to get her strength back. The magic flowed into her, warmed her aching bones and gave her the strength to hunt down her colony, to drive a cleaver into a man's head and regain control over the settlers.
They were too afraid to rebel after that, starving and prepared to worship gods that they've never heard of if it means the hardships lessen. They prospered, praying to their gods and their witch, committing human sacrifice to stay alive just a while longer. Everything seemed so wonderful at first, but then the mumbles began again.
What would happen when they died? Because, faithful or not, everyone will eventually die whether for stealing crops or of sickness. Where would they go if they have no souls? Saint Peter surely wouldn't allow sinners into Heaven and that really only leaves one destination left.
Their chosen speaker was Ambrose White, Thomasin's own son, and he tried so hard to convince his mother to repent. To turn back to God and banish the witch back where she came from. He told her that he and the others would go back to England where they know their God is, where they can confess their sins and regain their souls. Thomasin didn't appreciate that very much.
The witch of the wood knew of a ritual that would keep the settlers from leaving, that would keep them in line under Thomasin's power. It's an easy task to manage and Thomasin knew it was the only way to keep things as they're meant to be. The next night, before the settlers would leave back for England, she made them a rich feast. She poisoned them and butchered them and bound them to the land with a single word.
Croatoan."
2014
Taylor jerks awake when she hears her uncle screaming, head foggy with sleep even as she stumbles out of bed and makes her way down to the first floor. Matt's frozen in the archway of the dining room, the color drained from his face and his eyes moving rapidly back and forth like he's sound asleep. She moves to stand next to him, the dining room empty of anything interesting.
"Mattie," she asks, looking up at him. He doesn't move, doesn't even seem to notice her at all. Taylor wraps her hand up in his and then she can hear it, the giggling laughter of nurses and the crack of gunfire seconds before her uncle begins to scream again. Matt tears out of the house, yanking Taylor along with him without even realizing until they're both standing by the cruiser parked in the driveway, Matt banging on the window with his free hand.
"Someone's in the house," he yells, frantic as the door swings open and the officer leans out. "T-they shot an old lady in my dining room! There's people in there!"
"Calm down," the cops says, getting out of his car and holding up a placating hand. "Easy, you're gonna scare your kid." That's about when Matt realizes she's outside with him in only her nightgown, shivering as the wind picks up.
"Jesus, Tay…." He trails off, horrified. "Come here, baby." Matt picks her up and she's grateful for his warmth, burying her face in his neck as he tries to explain to the cop what he'd just seen. It's not going to do him any good, the scene he witnessed is just an old memory that the house won't let go and the cop isn't going to find any dead people or crazy nurses inside.
"Alright, hang back and I'll go check this out." The cop starts forward but pauses at the front door when he notices Matt and Taylor right behind him. "I told you to hang back."
"My family's still in there." The cop rolls his eyes and continues inside, flashlight illuminating the dark spaces of the front entrance. Nico, Shelby, and Lee have gathered at the bottom of the stairs, watching on as the cop searches through the living and dining rooms. Taylor can spot the vague outline of one of the ghosts, clinging to the ceiling above the coffee table like a spider.
"Sir, there's no dead woman in your dining room."
"But they were here not two seconds ago." He stands next to the cop, shaking his head in confusion. He's normal, not a psychic bone in his body, but Taylor understands all the same. This type of thing, seeing death around every corner, is brand new and shocking for people like Matt. It shocked Taylor the first time it happened to her; a little girl in bloody clothes asking Taylor to have a tea party in their old house, Taylor only three and not understanding why her new friend had a deep gash across her throat.
"Did you see anything, sweetheart?" She remembers the last promise she made to her mommy, that she'd try and keep quiet about seeing the dead things. Taylor meets the cop's stare and holds it, giving a firm shake of her head.
"I didn't see anything," she says. "I just woke up cause Uncle Matt was yelling." The betrayal in Matt's gaze should probably make her feel guilty, but she feels nothing. She isn't lying, she didn't even hear anything until she held Matt's hand and the cop didn't ask her if she'd heard anything. "Can I go to bed now?"
"Yeah," Matt nods, setting her down. "I'm sorry I woke you up."
"It's alright." She pats his arm sympathetically, giving him a small smile that makes some of his worry lines smooth out. "This house is weird. I have bad dreams that seem real, too." She leaves the adults downstairs, not even sparing a glance at the other girl as Flora ducks into the little closet where Priscilla likes to hide.
Waiting on her pillow is Eve, the snake coiled up like a length of rope with the moonlight almost making her scales look blue.
Mason shows up two days later, just as broad and tall as Taylor remembered him being from the few times she'd actually seen him. He doesn't seem happy to be here at all, frowning as he glances around. "Hey, Mason," she mumbles, a popsicle in hand.
"Hey, kid." He doesn't talk much, mostly takes up space unless Flora is around to cheer him up. She's not, though, Flora's tucked away in the crawlspace upstairs with Priscilla. Taylor's a little jealous, the ghost seems to like the other girl better and Taylor's been ignoring them both for the entire weekend.
"Are you here to pick up Flora?"
"Yep."
"Cool." They stand in awkward silence for a minute, avoiding eye contact until Taylor decides Edward should definitely learn what a popsicle is and dashes off for the basement. He's taken to hiding out down there now that Nico is working for hours on end in the attic, the ghost grumbling about the dust building up and the clutter of useless junk.
She finds him sitting at the table Taylor had hidden under just a week ago, drumming his fingers against the wood without smearing the dust. Edward doesn't even glance up at first, mumbling under his breath about not having any peace and quiet even in the afterlife.
"You should try going outside sometime," she suggests, sitting across from him on a stool that's seen better days. "It's plenty quiet out there. Even the Butcher doesn't crawl out of her hiding spot until nighttime."
"Not always, little one. The closer it gets to the Blood Moon, the more you'll be seeing of her and her little band of miscreants."
"Tell me about them."
"About the settlers?"
"Yeah. Tell me why they got stuck here before you even had a house." Edward doesn't smile often but it looks nice on him, he's got the lips for it. His eyes, a rich brown that borders on black, light up and Taylor just knows that this will be the best story ever.
"Once upon a time, a group of people came to America from England to build a colony of their own…."
I just binged watched The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix and I can honestly see Shelby and Matt watching it for research purposes while Taylor forces Edward to have a tea party not five feet away. They wouldn't even notice. They're as observant as Harry freaking Potter.