Room for one more!

Room for one more! - Rona Barbour

The time is early 1960s Britain.

An exciting and prosperous time in Britain, the era of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Mods and Rockers!

Two sisters are living in the heart of the city of Glasgow and their life is about to become a little bit more exciting!

They knew their great Aunt Edie and had spent summer holidays at her house with their parents when they were much younger but they had not seen much of her lately since she had been in an old folks home for some years and so they were utterly amazed to discover that when she died, she had left her big old house to them and not their father, who was her much younger brother.

The big old house was in remote countryside, 30 miles from Glasgow and just too close to Carstairs. Carstairs was the ancient, always full and overflowing state mental hospital for the criminally insane and the home of many a twisted mind and hundreds of terrifying tales.

The sisters, Julie 23 and Hannah 21 were very excited about the prospect of moving into their own place. Julie was a young newly qualified teacher and she had a car. Hannah was in her final year of training to be a junior nurse. Soon she too, would have her own car.

They had great plans for the house, parties every weekend and maybe they would even live there together like two young upwardly mobile adults.

Now, finally in possession of the keys to the house, the sisters agreed to meet there the following Friday to decide what they would do with the place and how they would spruce it up. Hannah, finishing work much earlier than Julie on a Friday would take the train and then the short walk through the deserted countryside from the small, fairly isolated Carstairs station to the house. Julie would drive out after work and meet her there; she expected to arrive between 5.30pm and 5.45pm.

Hannah got the 4-04pm train from Glasgow Central and arrived at Carstairs station at 4.27pm. It was only a ten minute walk to the house and since it was October it was already getting dark and Hannah was thinking, she should have brought a torch.

At this point she was much too excited about the house to worry too much about the desolate, spooky surroundings and paid little attention to them as she hurried on to the house anxious to see it again now that it was hers, and Julie’s.

Minutes later she stood in front of the old house and looked around. She could see Carstairs hospital, dark and gloomy, looming against the darkening skyline, wisps of white smoke coming from its’ tall chimneys.  She remembered with a shudder how people used to talk about that smoke, which was always present, even in the height of summer when there was no need of fires, what were they burning there?

She was desperate to get inside the house now. After a short struggle with the key the heavy door swung open with a loud creak and she was in the small kitchen.  She flicked the switch and the kitchen flooded with the much appreciated bright light from the 250 watt bulb. She found the old radio and switched it on.

As she listened to the Radio, she wandered from room to room around the house it was just as she remembered it as a child, old fashioned, musty and draughty but she liked it. She started to plan in her mind the changes she would suggest to Julie when she arrived.

Now however as time was passing and it was growing darker outside, Hannah became a little bit anxious and was slightly unnerved as she explored the old house. Suddenly and without warning, she began to feel very afraid… she felt that someone was watching her…

She waited and worried, where was Julie? She should have been here by now, she listened for the car wheels on the gravel but no sound came.

At least not that kind of sound…

She heard the soft noises at first, the whoosh sound of the trees outside, strange creaks and wind noises that filled the air and then the storm outside began to whip up into a frenzy of shrieks and screeches as the trees outside trembled and shook.

The wind continued to screech and thunder crashed. The rain was now torrential and the bushes and trees thrashed around in the garden outside the window, creating terrifying images and sounds. Hannah cowered in the corner of the cold kitchen.

The first thing she was going to tell Julie when she got here was that there was no way she could ever live out here it was far too remote and definitely too scary to be on your own at any time. The house would have to be sold.

In the car Julie had been slow to get out of Glasgow due to the heavy traffic and was running a bit late but she was getting closer to the house now.. She was listening to the radio as the 6 o’clock news came on and the newscaster was saying… “This man is extremely dangerous if you see him do not approach him he is a homicidal maniac. Contact the police at once if you do see him. He escaped from Carstairs a few hours ago, however, please be assured that the police are satisfied that they are on his trail and will pick him up soon”.

Julie prayed that Hannah hadn’t heard this and she said to herself, there‘s no way I‘ll be stopping for anything or anybody on this road tonight.

Hannah hadn’t heard the news because the power cut happened just seconds before the 6 o’clock news began, the house was plunged into darkness and Hannah screamed in terror.

She began searching frantically for some form of light; she knew there was bound to be a torch or candles somewhere.

She opened the front door to get some light from the moon outside but the noises freaked her out and the darkness terrified her so she quickly closed it again and as her eyes became a little more accustomed to the darkness, she fumbled around and found two small candles in a kitchen drawer and remembered the box of matches she had seen by the cooker when she arrived.

She lit both of the candles and put them on two small saucers she found in a cupboard. She put one on the window ledge of the kitchen so her sister would see it and she held the other in her shaking hand.

She tried to convince herself there was nothing to worry about. There’s no one around for miles but it was now well after 6 o’clock… where was Julie?

Should she put on her coat and head back to the station? The blackness and the terrifying noises outside were her answer.

She was freezing now and wanted to find some source of heat.

She didn’t‘t really fancy going up to the bedroom and climbing into the bed where the great aunt had slept but that was her only option. She took it and climbed the creaking stairs to the bedroom and leapt on to the bed crawling under the blankets, pulling them up to her chin.

The sound of the door creaking open nearly made her pass out and as the draught blew out the candle, she searched for the matches in the dark.

Why hadn’t she heard the car? Never mind, Julie was here at last. That’s the main thing. “Julie” she cried out… but the only answer that came was a horrible gurgling sound and the sound of slow, heavy footsteps dragging something on the stairs. Thump, drag, crunch, thump, drag, crunch, “JULIE answer me, what on earth are you doing, you’re frightening me, stop it”.…

The only answer was the sound of someone struggling with something on the stairs then a bump and then another thud, those horrible, dragging footsteps and that strange gurgling sound, coming up the stairs

“JULIE stop it, JULIE, please”. Still no answer, only the horrific sounds and the dragging footsteps.

Hannah couldn’t find the matches; she was completely frozen with fear.

Suddenly there was a screech of tires, car doors slamming shut, running footsteps and shouts. A loud angry shriek from the staircase as the huge shape appeared, looming in the bedroom doorway and a sickening bump as something landed right inside the bedroom door.

Hurried footsteps now, descending the stairs, and another scream, not hers, and a shot rang out.

More footsteps now, running up the stairs and the policemen’s torches shining, “what the hell is that”… Julie’s bent and twisted body lay against the bedroom door, her blood creeping fast across the floor towards her sister, who was now sitting up, staring wild eyed in the torchlight and screaming from the bed.

The older policeman looked at the stunned grey face of his young fellow officer and said, “never mind son, every cloud has a silver lining.

Now that we’ve shot that mad fiend on the stairs there, there will be room for one more in Carstairs”.

He jerked his thumb towards the stricken Hannah, still screaming from the bed as she stared at the sackcloth like shape of her sister, oozing blood onto the floor.