When you think about it, it isn't really that uncommon of a phenomenon; just about every other town, whether it be a rural or suburban one, has boasted about having that one house that's supposedly haunted. In fact, Beth had come across one of these very said houses when she was younger.
Back in the neighborhood where Beth spent her teenage years, there was an old, dilapidated, abandoned house not too far from the street she lived on that held this dubious honor.
Of course, as it usually turns out to be in these types of instances, most of the adults believed the 'haunting' was totally unfounded; nothing more than unsubstantiated rumors and gossip circulating about, which started from unknown origins.
Meanwhile, the children in the neighborhood, especially the younger ones, totally believed that the house was haunted; while considering the story behind it to be the sworn 'gospel truth', taking it to heart. They all feared that house and made every effort to avoid going near it.
But as those children grew older, while nearing and entering their teenage years, they became less and less fixated on the mysteriously dark, sinister aspect of the house and started questioning the veracity of it actually being haunted. Even so, they still reveled in taking the opportunity to scare one another with those spooky tales of the house; often testing each other's bravery by daring one another to enter the property ... a means of amusingly scaring themselves while still feeling safe; assured that nothing bad was going to happen to them.
Beth, on the other hand, took the matter more seriously. She was always convinced that the place was truly haunted ... she just felt it in her bones ... and that there was a definite supernatural presence in that house ... an ominous presence.
Constantly suffering from bouts of anxiety during that time, Beth usually tried to avoid those situations that might possibly make her feel uneasy and nervous; anything that may instigate and bring on an anxiety attack. But still, for some inexplicably strange reason, as uneasy as she felt being around that house, Beth was always drawn to it as if she was somehow being forcibly compelled to go there.
And whenever she wound up out in front of that place, intensely looking up at those sight-obscuring filthy windows on the second floor from the sidewalk, Beth would always swear that she saw an imposingly hulking, darkened figure skulking about up there; like a man, definitely the shape of a man.
A menacing silhouette emanating an evil aura ... an evil aura so powerful that she could feel it all the way out on the street sidewalk. And despite how uneasy it made her feel; Beth could never resist the urge to go and stand in front of that place.
So, after having experienced that once before in her life, it wouldn't surprise Beth if she once again found herself in the presence of another haunted house occupied by an evil presence ... this time, however, being the house that she and her family now lives in.
************
After hearing about Beth's 'conspiracy theory', Martin finds himself momentarily at a loss for words; but manages to eke out, "Beth, come on."
"I'm serious, Martin; you know how I've been telling you that I don't feel comfortable in this place ... that I haven't been able to sleep through an entire night without being woken up at least once because of these strange nightmares I keep having."
Beth wraps her arms around her chest, placing the palms of her hands on the back of her shoulders...
"I keep having this strange feeling that there's something here ... something here somehow tied to this property ... and it's always watching us. Like right now..." Beth turns to stare back out the window at the loft's doors. "I feel like it's waiting out in the barn, watching us from the loft."
"You know what I think..." Martin straightens his tie as he ... though done unintentionally ... insensitively dismisses Beth's concerns, "I think you've read one too many Stephen King novels."
Beth sharply turns to Martin, professing with a clearly evident frustration in her tone...
"I'm being serious here, Martin; there's something going on here, something not right ... something bad. And I'm pretty sure that people in town know about it but are refusing to talk about it; to tell us what's really going on here."
"Beth ... hon' ..." Martin places his hands on Beth's shoulders. "Not all small towns have deep, dark secrets that they keep from the new families about the homes they've just bought."
Beth takes it upon herself to quickly interject, "Let me clarify by pointing out that you said, 'not all small towns have deep, dark secrets', which to me stands to reason that there could be some that do."
Martin briefly rubs his hands through his hair as his eyes slightly roll, then lets out a terse, exasperated-like huff...
"Fine, I suppose so..." Martin takes in a breath before once again trying to rationalize Beth's, in his opinion, seemingly farfetched 'conspiracy theories', "But if you ask me, worst case scenario, this old house is just termite infested, and the realtor wanted to dump it off on some poor unsuspecting fools before they realized it ... which I truly hope isn't the case."
Appearing a bit annoyed by Martin's constant dismissive rebuttals towards her concerns; with an evident underlying perturbance in her tone, Beth scoffs...
"Okay ... so I guess then everything I've been feeling since moving into this house doesn't mean anything at all ... that I've been fabricating the whole thing, making it all up in my mind. Everything's just all in my head, and I'm blowing things all out of proportion; is that what you're saying, Martin?"
Realizing that he needs to choose his next words very carefully ... Martin is now 'walking on eggshells that are lying on thin ice' ... he gently rests the palms of his hands on her shoulders, then reassuringly tells Beth in an attempt to placate her...
"No; I'm saying that we've just made some major changes in our lives. Beth, between making arrangements for my new job and moving to a new area halfway across the country, you've been through a lot these past few months. It's no wonder that you're a little stressed out and on edge, it's perfectly understandable; anyone would be."
He removes his hands from her shoulders and steps away to finish getting ready to leave for work...
"You'll see; once things settle down around here and you get the chance to step back and take a breather, you'll realize that everything's fine, and there's nothing strange going on with this house." He makes sure to add, "And no one's keeping secrets from you. Okay?"
Beth still doesn't appear too convinced that this is the case, but she's too exhausted at this point to keep arguing...
"You think so?"
"I know so." Martin kisses Beth's forehead. "I have to go to work now; see you later. Love you. Bye."
"Love you, too. Bye."
Martin leaves the bedroom, and Beth goes over and sits on the padded wooden bench underneath the Bay window. She looks back at the barn's loft doors, still feeling that she's being watched. Beth mutters under her breath...
"Everything will be fine once things settle down; huh Martin? Well, I hope you're right."
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Beth catches a glimpse of what looked like one of the loft's doors slightly opening before quickly closing back shut. Beth somberly shakes her head as she once again mutters under her breath; this time with a hint of despair in her defeated tone...
"But I don't think so. ... No, you're wrong, Martin; everything isn't going to be fine. ... In fact, I feel that it's going to be far from fine."