Case File: The Imaginary Friend
< Continued from page 2
Lullaby and terror
She opened the door and nearly dropped the flashlight. A scream caught in her throat. There in the room was a young girl, thirteen or fourteen years old, by Lorenda's estimation, dressed in a strange assortment of clothes. Lorenda's impression of her was a servant girl from the 19th century. She wore a long dress and a frilly white apron covered in soot. The girl was curled up on the floor, stroking sleeping Anna's hair and softly singing a gentle lullaby from days long past.
"Get away from her!" Lorenda shouted. But the girl didn't seem to hear her, continuing her song. Lulu lunged forward and started barking. The strange girl leapt to her feet, a look of terror on her face. She began to hop up and down, trying to shoo Lulu away.
"Who are you?? Lorenda screamed at her. "What are you doing here?" Still, the girl did not acknowledge Lorenda, intent only on Lulu and Anna. Seeming to want to get away from the dog, the girl hurtled at the door and reached out to seize the doorknob. Suddenly she froze, doubled up and started screaming in agony. Anna remained completely asleep, but Lulu was barking her head off at this girl.
"The girl jerked around so strangely, she looked as if she was being attacked," Lorenda recalls. "I just stood there with my torch in hand. The girl collapsed onto the floor, and then... she vanished! Right before my eyes, leaving only a large pool of blood."
Lorenda began screaming and screaming, and then the lights flickered back on. Anna suddenly sat up, yawning and looking around.
"Where did Jess go?" she asked sleepily.
Lorenda ran to the phone and begged Ben to come home. He was there in ten minutes.
The Priest's story
The next day Lorenda called a priest to the house and asked him what he made of the events, which she had detailed to him and Ben. A look of shock gripped the priest's face. Over a hundred years ago, he told the couple, a very wealthy Victorian family had lived in their house. They had a servant girl by the name of Jessica Harolds. According to the history of the house, the girl had been brutally attacked by the family's dog and was killed. The family had found Jessica the next day, lying in a pool of her own blood.
It was said that Jess, the servant girl, was always very good with the family's young children, and loved them dearly.
After the priest blessed the house, Lorenda never again saw Jessica Harolds, and Anna never mentioned her. Oddly, Anna didn't remember anything about her playmate, Jess. When asked about Jess, Anna would just stare back in blank, silent confusion.
"But sometimes," Lorenda says, "when the clock strikes twelve, I swear I can hear somebody singing softly nearby."
Lullaby and terror
She opened the door and nearly dropped the flashlight. A scream caught in her throat. There in the room was a young girl, thirteen or fourteen years old, by Lorenda's estimation, dressed in a strange assortment of clothes. Lorenda's impression of her was a servant girl from the 19th century. She wore a long dress and a frilly white apron covered in soot. The girl was curled up on the floor, stroking sleeping Anna's hair and softly singing a gentle lullaby from days long past.
"Get away from her!" Lorenda shouted. But the girl didn't seem to hear her, continuing her song. Lulu lunged forward and started barking. The strange girl leapt to her feet, a look of terror on her face. She began to hop up and down, trying to shoo Lulu away.
"Who are you?? Lorenda screamed at her. "What are you doing here?" Still, the girl did not acknowledge Lorenda, intent only on Lulu and Anna. Seeming to want to get away from the dog, the girl hurtled at the door and reached out to seize the doorknob. Suddenly she froze, doubled up and started screaming in agony. Anna remained completely asleep, but Lulu was barking her head off at this girl.
"The girl jerked around so strangely, she looked as if she was being attacked," Lorenda recalls. "I just stood there with my torch in hand. The girl collapsed onto the floor, and then... she vanished! Right before my eyes, leaving only a large pool of blood."
Lorenda began screaming and screaming, and then the lights flickered back on. Anna suddenly sat up, yawning and looking around.
"Where did Jess go?" she asked sleepily.
Lorenda ran to the phone and begged Ben to come home. He was there in ten minutes.
The Priest's story
The next day Lorenda called a priest to the house and asked him what he made of the events, which she had detailed to him and Ben. A look of shock gripped the priest's face. Over a hundred years ago, he told the couple, a very wealthy Victorian family had lived in their house. They had a servant girl by the name of Jessica Harolds. According to the history of the house, the girl had been brutally attacked by the family's dog and was killed. The family had found Jessica the next day, lying in a pool of her own blood.
It was said that Jess, the servant girl, was always very good with the family's young children, and loved them dearly.
After the priest blessed the house, Lorenda never again saw Jessica Harolds, and Anna never mentioned her. Oddly, Anna didn't remember anything about her playmate, Jess. When asked about Jess, Anna would just stare back in blank, silent confusion.
"But sometimes," Lorenda says, "when the clock strikes twelve, I swear I can hear somebody singing softly nearby."
