Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26117009-20150216231915

My dad was a long time collector of The Spectral Times magazine. He died earlier this year and when I was going through his things I found this letter he had pulled from the magazine and laminated. What struck me as most odd about this was, as I read through it, I suddenly saw my own home address! I include below the letter in its entirety. Dear Editor   I am writing this in the hope that your readers may shed light on this strange episode. The last few weeks I have tried to find out all and any history to my home but nothing has so far helped explain the behaviour of my little 3 year old daughter Lucy. The incident itself happened last week (14th of April) during a day when I was off work taking care of my daughter. We had spent the day together at the zoo and when we got back, Lucy was understandably tired. I allowed her to head to her bedroom and rest whilst I took a little 'me' time downstairs. I read my book for a short while before deciding to check on my girl. I came into her room and saw her sitting on her bed making a strange face. She wasn't looking at anything in particular as far as I could see. I stood in the doorway for at least one minute before she noticed me and smiled. I asked what it was she was doing. She told me she was playing. I'm not entirely sure what made me do so, but I asked her who she was playing with. "The lady mummy." She replied. "Which lady?" I asked "The lady with the braided hair." She said and then looked slightly beside me and made the silly face again, tongue out and head tilted. I carefully looked around me and saw nobody and nothing that might have given her such an idea.  I have done much research as I say into this matter and have found much interesting information about my house. It was built in the late 1800s, conflicting sources suggest two dates - 1879 and 1884. During the two wars it was situated too far north and inland to be affected by home front action. It has been occupied since construction by several different families over the years. However, through all of my research, there is nothing in the history of the house to suggest what I learned next from Lucy.  I decided to question Lucy a little further on her lady with the braided hair. "Where is the lady?" "She's just to the side of you mummy, just there." She said, pointing toward the ceiling at the side of the door. "What does the lady look like?" Lucy looked into the space by the side of me very carefully. Slowly she explained "She's quite short...she's very pale and her eyes are white...her brown hair is very long, so long it goes right round her neck...and she's pulling a funny face at me, like this." She showed me again, this strange contorted face she had been pulling when I first came in. Her neck muscles pulled tight, her eyes slightly crossed, her tongue pushed slightly out of her mouth and her head tilted slightly to one side.  I suddenly realised that I recognised the face. It was the face of a person choking, gasping for air. A person hanging from their neck. Hanging from a noose tied to the ceiling rafters. Hanging from a rope until she was dead. <P> My address is [address supplied and held by the magazine - Ed] and if anyone is able to assist me in my research into any incident of a young lady hanging herself there it would be gratefully received. <P> Yours, <P><BR>Karen Middleton<ac_metadata title="A Letter to The Spectral Times (first submission, constructive criticism received)"> </ac_metadata>