on the spot. I grabbed the flashlights and handed them out. Where were Hank and Cady? I peered around the group, but didn’t see them.
Tonight’s group consisted of a middle-aged man and a woman, two women who appeared to be in their mid-twenties, and a single man around thirty. The couple looked as if they had been together for a long time based on their ease around each other. They both had graying hair. The woman wore jeans and a green sweater. I was sure that it was no coincidence that her partner had on the same combination. The single guy had short dark hair and wore jeans and a black leather jacket. The two women were dressed similarly in jeans and trendy black sweaters. They also had the same blonde hair styled to just below their shoulders. Maybe they were sisters.
“Tonight I will take you around the haunted locations of Devil’s Moon. Please remember to use your flashlights.” I hit mine again when it flickered.
The group turned on their flashlights, creating a small glow around us. I glanced around for Hank and Cady again, but they still were nowhere in sight. I couldn’t wait any longer for them. I’d have to do the tour without them.
“We’ll start with the tavern right around the corner and then make our way back to this graveyard.” I gestured over my shoulder.
Everyone nodded and waited for me to make a move.
“Why don’t we start with the graveyard?” one of the young women asked.
I smiled and said, “Since it’s the most haunted, I like to save the best for the last.”
Her eyes widened. “I guess that makes sense.”
“What’s so haunted about the graveyard?” the man in the leather jacket asked.
This was something I really wanted to leave for the end of the tour. But some of the customers wanted to cut to the good stuff. I wasn’t about to give in that easily though.
“There are a lot of spirits who haunt this area, but like I said, we will save that for last.” I smiled again, trying to convince them to be patient and wait.
I moved forward and motioned for everyone to follow me. Slowly they all started to gather around and walk beside me. Just then I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Did you see that?” the woman asked with shock in her voice.
She must have seen the same thing.
“Yes, I saw it,” I said.
“What was it?” she asked.
The leather jacket guy looked around. As if he didn’t believe us said, “I didn’t see anything.”
“That was a little creepy,” the woman said to the other woman.
I continued walking down the alleyway toward the tavern. “It was a shadow. What I refer to as a shadow person. They are all around here. I don’t know for sure who it was, but I can tell you about some of the spirits that have ties to the tavern.”
We had reached the sidewalk in front of the tavern, so I paused. “We won’t go inside since it’s so busy, but if it slows down by the time we come back we can step inside.”
They nodded, but appeared to be a little skeptical. It looked as if I wasn’t going to take them anywhere, but I really was going to get to the good stuff.
“This building was built in 1778. Originally used as a stagecoach stop, the place is reported to be haunted by a man who used to work here. He has been seen in the upstairs part of the building. Footsteps and cold spots are felt, along with people being touched and hearing their names called out,” I said.
The group stared at the building for a few seconds as if lost in the story I’d just told them.
We walked past the tavern and the group asked a few questions about the other buildings around us. The young woman looked over her shoulder again. I wondered if she sensed the same thing. It felt as if that shadow was stalking us. It wouldn’t be the first time that a ghost had followed me around town. The woman moved a little faster, as if the feeling was making her uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame her, I was feeling the same thing.
As we neared an old building
Learning to Kill: Stories