The Haunting of Kelly Arnold

Chapter 1
The Haunting of Kelly Arnold

---

Chapter Description: This is a revised version Edited by a friend.

---

THE HAUNTING OF KELLY ARNOLD

BY

HEATHER K. ALEXANDER

© 2014 HKA STORIES

1.

“My house is haunted.” Kelly stated, as a matter-of-fact, while she sipped her coffee. Her blue eyes lightened up as she smiled, knowing that the real estate agent that was sitting across from her was thinking she was crazy.

“Kelly, I heard all of this before. Do you have any idea how many haunted houses I have sold in just the past year alone?...This time of the year hauntings are very popular.” Connie laughed.

“People are always telling me that the house that I sold them has a ghost, or a poltergeist, or even that the house itself is possessed by a demon. After a while the surroundings become familiar, and things quiet down."

"Really, it’s no big deal. Oh and by the way, happy early birthday!” She smiled at Kelly, and took a bite of her cherry cheesecake.

“Thanks. Having a Halloween birthday kind of sucks.” Kelly laughed.

“Get it? Vampires suck, Halloween birthdays suck?”

Connie rolled her eyes. “Well at least you’re lucky, you’re going to be twenty-five. I passed that two years ago.”

Kelly Arnold and Connie Bradshaw had been friends since junior high school, and when Kelly told Connie that she was thinking of moving to Shadow Bend, Indiana, Connie was thrilled. Connie started looking for a place that her friend could move into, and decided that the old Grant house would be good for her.

Kelly turned and looked out the window of the coffee shop, and sighed. The rain was falling heavily, and she muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, I’ll get used to it. I’ve seen the ghost.”

Connie’s mouth dropped, and her eyes widened, “You’ve seen her?”

Kelly knew at once she had her. “Yeah I’ve seen her, and I know that you know more than you are letting on. I never said the ghost was a woman!”

“OK,” Connie took a deep breath, “You’re right! I do know a lot more, but I just didn’t think that you needed to hear it, nor did I think you’d believe it.”

“Believe what?” Her curiosity was piqued. “That there were ghosts, and demons and such? I write about that kind of stuff every day, so why wouldn’t I believe?”

Connie softly put her cup of coffee down on the table, and lowered her head. “OK, I’ll tell you everything that I know, but you have got to promise me that when I’m done you’ll at least consider that what I’m going to tell you is a rumor.”

Kelly chuckled, “Isn’t that what I always do anyway?”

Connie gave her a smirk “Just don’t let anyone know that I was the one to tell you. This town doesn’t forgive, and another thing it does is eat. It eats friendships, and other relationships.”

“The only real friendship I have here is you. As for relationships? You might as well forget it. Being married to Jeff Slade for 3 years was enough hell for me.” Kelly laughed bitterly. “He was probably the worst possible mate I’ve ever had!”

Connie felt that a change of subject was needed. “So, how’s the new novel coming?”

“When I’m not being distracted, I am getting things done.” She smiled,

looking around, afraid her voice was carrying.

“Who’s distracting you?” Connie asked, with concern

Kelly grinned, “The ghost, who do you think? Now tell me everything you know.”

2.

“OK, you asked for it.” Connie nodded, “The house was built in 1902 by Thomas Grant. It was the grandest house in Shadow Bend, 14 bedrooms, 5 baths, all of the modern works of the time. It was a present for his young bride”.

“Thomas was probably one of the most successful lawyers in Indiana. There are rumors that he was going to run for office, that was before he died a mysterious death. He was coming home one night during a freak thunderstorm, and lightning hit a tree at just the right time, and the tree come crashing down on him. He died instantly.”

“Thomas and Bess had four children before he died, and Bess never remarried. It has been said that Bess died of a broken heart, but the house passed on to Julia, their oldest daughter. She lived there until she died, and then passed the house to her daughter, Molly”.

“Molly had a daughter in 1964 that she named Nichole. Nikki was always a mommy’s girl, very feminine. Although Molly was very controlling of her daughter, I would like to believe that she loved her very much. Too much I’m afraid. In 1985, Nikki finally found a boyfriend, named Eric Drake, and she fell deeply in love with him. There was a fight between Nikki and her mother, and Nikki said that she went out for a walk to calm down, and when she returned home, her mother had been brutally murdered.”

“Butchered, is what I heard. The murderer had hung her upside down, in the dining room, and slit her throat, letting the blood ooze onto the

floor below.”

“So that’s what the stain is in there. I was wondering if it was bloodstains.” Kelly interrupted, with a slight shiver.

Connie nodded, and went on, “Her boyfriend died that same evening, and people speculated that Molly had Eric killed, and Nikki went mad and killed her mother. There was never enough evidence that tied her to the crime, but it stuck in peoples minds.”

“You see the Grant family was always the prominent family here, they had all the money, they also had power, and they knew how to use it. Needless to say that Nikki was shunned by most people here in town, and she really didn’t seem to care”.

“The only thing that she wanted was a baby of her own. She finally found out she was pregnant in 1986, and she gave birth to a baby girl in October of that year. She named the baby Misty. No one knew who the father was, and Nikki never let on who it could be. Misty was a great baby, full of laughter, and spirit. She brought happiness to Nikki’s life. The townspeople finally started accepting her back into their society, but in 1989, on Halloween night, the worst imaginable thing that could befall a mother happened.”

Connie took a sip of her coffee, and asked, “Are you sure you want to hear the rest of this?”

Kelly nodded, mesmerized. “Please continue.”

“Misty was run down by a car, while her mother was trick-or-treating with her. Nikki was devastated, to say the least. It was ruled that the driver of the car had done nothing wrong and that the little girl had just gotten away from her mother and run out from between two other cars into the street. People were sympathetic for a while, and then she became a recluse. The only person that she would see was her attorney, and he was very closed lipped when he was asked about her.”

“On Halloween night, a year later, she just vanished. Her attorney had said that she told him that she had met a guy somewhere else, but she never told him where she was going. Nikki Grant was never seen again.

The house was taken over by the town after seven years, and it was sold to three different people in the past thirteen years. No one had stayed in the house for longer than a year.” Connie looked outside the window as if she was interested in the raging rain falling outside.

“People say that the ghost of Nikki haunts the house, and that the people that live there are doomed. That she is still looking for her baby.”

“That’s quite a story. It’s a good thing that it’s not night time.” Kelly smiled, her mind deep in thought. “I think you may be right about her looking for her baby.”

Connie tilted her head, and asked, “Why? What have you seen?

Kelly gave her an embarrassed glare, and said, “You’d think I was crazy. Anyway, I’m sure that it was all a dream.”

“What was it?” Connie prompted.

“Last night I was asleep, and I woke up with a woman standing over me. She had a diaper in one hand and a pink baby bottle in the other. I thought to myself that she was going to put that diaper on me, and I screamed. She made a face like she was mad, and then disappeared. I was so sure that I was still asleep, but I may not have been. At least not in a dream state!” She mumbled the last sentence.

Connie looked at her friend with concern. “Maybe you should get out of the house for awhile. I mean things like this happen, but I know that

sometimes people get it in their heads that something is wrong and then they start seeing things that are not there.”

“I’ve sold that house three different times since 2002, to you included, and the other two buyers left there with in a year. The Taylor Family lives over in Pleasant Run, and an old couple that lived there in 2004 both died. They never said what made them leave, but the

townspeople started telling stories, and they grew and grew. Even the cops avoid the place like the plague, after the incident with Blake Simpson. Now, the Grant house is a local legend!”

3.

She looked out the window watching the wind blow the tree branches around in the dark, as if they were the shadows of creatures of the night. Rain pattered on the window, as Kelly realized that she had been awake since three A.M., and she was bothered by the dream once

again. Lightning flashed and the old tree next to the window looked as if it was going to reach through the window and grab her.

Things were starting to go from bad to worse, and she found herself wondering if she was indeed going crazy. She fingered the dressing that she put on the wound on her arm, and again wondered if it was even a dream at all.

Tired from the story that Connie had put her through that day she went to bed early, around Eight O’clock, and fell immediately asleep. She remembered the dream vividly, and the smells and everything she heard were still with her.

Thunder clapped loudly, and she found herself afraid. She cried out, and a woman walked through the door. Kelly recognized her from the portrait on the wall in the sitting room. She was solid, and nothing like she thought a ghost would look like, Nothing transparent about her.

“Kelly wanted to call her by name, thinking that if she named the apparition, it would haunt her no longer. Trying to think of her name, all she could come up with was “Mommy.”, but she knew that wasn’t it.

Then it hit Kelly: her name was Nikki! Kelly opened her mouth to state her name. Her eyes widened as she heard a little girls voice call out “MOMMY!”

“It’s alright, sweetie,” Nikki said soothingly, “It’s just thunder and it can’t hurt you.”

Kelly felt her eyes fill with tears, as she could not control herself. She wanted to tell this ghost that she was not a baby, and that she didn’t believe in ghosts. Her lower lip quivered, and she let the tears flow.

Nikki produced a pink baby bottle, and stuck the nipple in Kelly’s mouth. She would like to think she fought it, but she didn’t. She felt the sweet liquid slide down her throat, as Mommy produced a diaper.

Kelly looked at the crinkly pink diaper in horror. Shaking her head, she cried even harder. She knew that she didn’t wear diapers, and that dreaming of wearing a diaper was something that she couldn’t bear.

“It’s ok, princess.” Nikki was saying. “You’re a good girl, yes my baby girl.” She smiled genuinely.

Looking around, Kelly noticed that this wasn’t her room any longer. It was made up for a toddler girl, and she cried out around her bottle. She was sure that she had been in every room in the house, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing this one. The walls were painted pink,

with white trim, a white dresser was in one corner, while a changing table with stacks of diapers on the shelf underneath was sitting next to it. The closet was open, and on hangers were an assortment of baby

dresses. A toy box was in the opposite corner, with dolls and doll houses around it. There was a kitchen playset next to it, and stuffed animals in a mesh canopy on the walls above.

On the headboard of her crib, pictures of blocks spelled out KELLY. Her pink blanket was rumpled up and she tried to resist wanting it to hold on to for comfort.

Nikki took off Kelly’s pajamas, and went to work changing her diaper. Kelly wondered how she could be in a diaper in the first place. She was wearing her blue satin panties and matching bra when she went to bed. Even though she knew it was a dream it felt so real. She could smell the odor of the baby powder and feel the texture of things when she touched them. Everything was in color, and that bothered her. She could feel her legs being forced apart from the diaper, and the feel of the padding on her bottom.

Nikki leaned down, and patted her diapered bottom, as she kissed Kelly on the cheek. “Nighty night baby,” She smiled softly. She started humming a lullaby, ’Hush Little Baby’.

She walked to the door, and turned out the light. She turned and smiled. As Kelly watched, she shut the door softly behind her.

The Rainbow Brite nightlight was the only thing that illuminated the room, and Kelly knew that she needed to get to the mystery of who the

woman was, and where she went. She rolled out of the crib, and started toward the door. The diaper made her waddle, and she looked around for her bathrobe in the cool dimness. It wasn’t there, and she realized

that she was in a nursery, and that a baby usually doesn’t have a bathrobe. “Dammit!” She thought to herself. “I’ll just have to wear this thing until I get to my room!

She stumbled out of the nursery into the hallway. Lamps lit the hall, as she waddled toward the end. At the end of the hallway there was a floor length mirror, and when she looked in it, she let out a gasp. Staring back at her was a toddler girl. She wore nothing but a diaper, and her hair was in pigtails. She raised her arm, and the toddler in

the mirror did the same. Kelly looked away from the reflection, and closed her eyes. “This has to be a dream!” she thought. “I’m not a baby!”

She opened her eyes as she turned the corner, and saw the ghost of Nikki gliding down the stairway. Backing up behind the wall, she peeked out to see where the spirit was going. When she reached the first floor, Kelly followed. Nikki floated through the living room into the kitchen, and Kelly stepped lightly, so as not to be noticed

by Nikki. As she entered the kitchen, she watched from behind the island as Nikki went through the door that led to the basement. Kelly crept her way to the door, and heard a soft growling. She came to a stop, and looked around with her lips pursed. Taking in a deep breath,

she felt the panic creep into her sides. A white German Shepherd stood by the island, and she bit the top of her lip.

“Good Doggy.” She said in the little girl voice, She found herself glad that she was in a diaper, for she felt her bladder let loose.

The dog bared his teeth, and growled louder. It was clear that the dog didn’t want her going into the basement, and that he would do whatever it took to keep her from it. The name of the dog flashed through her mind, and she didn’t have time to wonder how she knew. “No Cesar! NO!” She sounded just as she felt, like a demanding little girl trying to stave off an attack from a hostile animal. “Bad Doggy!”

Cesar stopped growling, and cocked his head. A look of recognition cross his face, and he whimpered.

Kelly’s stare softened as she smiled at the dog. “Good Doggy.”

She toddled towards the dog, as Cesar watched her carefully. The hackles of his fur rose, and he once again bared his teeth. Kelly stopped, and the fear once again enveloped her. Cesar jumped, and bit her right arm!

Kelly woke up in her own bed screaming! She sat up and looked around. She was in her own familiar room, and took a deep breath. She felt the warm wetness on her sheets, and knew that she had wet the bed, and at

the foot of the mattress sat a stack of pink diapers. Kelly gasped as she looked at the hateful things, as she felt something thick and sticky on her arm. She absently wiped it, and looked down, she cringed when she saw the blood. Upon closer exam, she saw the puncture marks

left by an animal, perhaps a big dog.

Kelly got up, cleaned herself up, and made a pot of coffee, and sat down at the window. Looking out now, the light of dawn was glowing in the sky, and she rejoiced.

Just as she was starting to feel better, her bladder let loose, and she realized that she just peed herself. “NO NO NO NO NO!” She exclaimed, aloud, and knew that the diapers were for her!

She anxiously picked up the phone and called Connie. “What was the name of that cop you were telling me about?”

4.

“I swore that I’d never speak of this again, but seeing as how you are living in the house, I feel that you have a right to know.” Blake Simpson confided over a cup of coffee in his kitchen.

“Two years ago, a group of 11 year old boys dared a friend to go and spend one hour in

there. They told him that if he didn’t then he was a chicken. After dark, the boy entered through a broken window in the basement, and the others waited outside for him to return. When he didn’t come back out, the boys got scared, and ran off. Luckily, I caught them running away, stopped them and asked them what was going on. One of the boys confessed “Kevin’s in the Old Grant House.”

“I drove up the long driveway, to the front of the house, and decided to walk the perimeter, to maybe get a good feel of what I may be facing, and hopefully to get the kid out of there without disturbing anything within the house. Walking around the house, I would poke the light in from time to time through a window, yet nothing seemed amiss,

so I would walk a little farther. I finally made it back to the front of the house, and walked up the concrete steps to the porch with pillars holding up the second story bedrooms. I was impressed that even though no one had been living here, the old house was still kept up.”

“I walked over to the window, looked in, and saw nothing. Then I grabbed the key over the door, I knew where the key was because I had been in there before, but never late at night. Opening the door, I got an overpowering odor of decay. There was a feeling of doom, as I

walked into the old house, and I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run. I walked into the foyer, and was overwhelmed by the coldness that chilled the air. I could see my own breath, and I knew that something was amiss. I swear that I could hear music from a music

box coming from up the stairs, and it scared the Hell out of me.”.

“I directed the beam of the flashlight into the dining hall, and jumped as the light illuminated a painting of the old couple that built the house. Their eyes seemed to glow and follow me around as I walked through.”

“Yeah,” Kelly nodded, “I know the painting, and it gives me the creeps also. It’s like anything you are doing they are watching you.”

“I could feel a presence in there, and I knew that I was being watched. Rationally I knew that me and the boy were the only people in there, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that we were not alone. I yelled out the boys name, and I could hear whimpering. I thought to

myself that the boy was in trouble, but I lost my way in that damned house. I got turned around somehow.”

“I had heard stories about the Taylor family who had lived there in 2009, and I found that I was suddenly scared for myself. I just wanted to get the boy and get the hell out of there! With each step the creaking became louder, and I was stepping softly. I could hear whispers, whispers from dead people. I wasn’t sure what was being said, but I could hear them I kept telling myself that it was just my

overactive imagination, but with every thought, there was something new. I walked into the sitting room, and all of a sudden the record player started going by itself. It was playing “Hush Little Baby” and I just about pissed myself. I knew that there was no electricity going to the Grant House, and that record player ran on electricity!”

“I drew my gun, knowing that whatever it was that was in there with me, it would have been no use to me. I just felt a little better holding on to it.” He smiled, nervously, and Kelly nodded her understanding. “

“The full moon was casting shadows on the wall, and I could swear I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I took it step by slow step, afraid that if I slipped up something terrible would happen. Something

that my mind was not ready for, and that would have been the end for me. I thought that I could hear the soft crying of a baby, and that concerned me, I thought maybe I may have stumbled onto something that I should bring the others on the force into.”

Blake stopped, and took a drink of coffee. Looking intently at Kelly, he finally asked, “Are you sure that you want to hear the rest of this?”

“Not really.” Kelly replied, “But, I think that I need to hear it.”

Blake stood up, went to the cabinet and poured himself another cup of coffee. “More?” He asked, and when she nodded her head he walked to the table and poured it into her cup. “Let me ask this. Has things been happening up there to make you want to hear these stories?”

“No.” she lied, “I just want to know the history of the house, and as a writer I maybe be able to write a story based on the house.”

“Ok.” He said simply, clearly not believing her.

“I decided that I needed to investigate a little more, but I thought that I should tread lightly. The funny thing was that Scooby-Doo kept running through my head. This was a crime scene, and the evil Mr. Botcher was donning a mask and scaring everyone off. I found myself

chuckling about those thoughts, and I found myself missing those Saturday morning cartoons from back when I was a little kid. Walking into the kitchen, I could hear the child crying even louder, and I knew he was down in the basement. I opened the door to the basement,

and shown the beam down there. I heard a growling behind me, and turned to look. There was nothing there, but the growling continued. I felt my bladder let loose, and urine streamed down my pant leg.

“SHIT!” I yelled before I knew that I was about say anything, and I jumped at the sound of my own voice. I started down the stairs, and the growling grew more intense.”

“I ducked and looked around. I could see the boy sitting on the floor whimpering. He was naked except for a diaper. Standing over him, was a woman, and I came out of the shadows. “Hold it right there!” I commanded, with my gun pointed at her. She turned to me, like she

ready for me. She smiled at me, and laughed.”

“She asked me why I wasn’t in a diaper, and said that babies need to be in them. My mind was starting to fog, and I said, poutingly “Not a baby!” She laughed and said,“Oh how can you say that when you have wet pants? Come over here and lay down, and I will get you in a nice and dry diaper.” she said reassuringly. My mind was trying to fight it, but was losing. I started to lower my gun, and walk over to her.

"She had a baby bottle in her hand, and I found that I wanted the bottle badly. She was right, I was a baby, and all that I needed to do was just go over to her and be the baby that I was supposed to be.”

I desperately looked around for something to stop me, and I ran into a metal pole that held the first floor up. The pain broke the spell that the woman had over me, and I raised the gun up, and fired five times. They each went right through her, and I gasped. I grabbed the child,

and took off up the stairs through the kitchen, sitting room, dining room, and the foyer! As I reached the door it slammed shut! Kevin was crying harder, and I could see that he was wet. A smell was coming off of him, that made me believe he had shit himself. I got down in his

face and yelled at him, hoping to break her spell, I remember saying that we had to get out of there, and that we both had just seen a ghost, and she would not stop until she had us, but we had to get out before that!”

“He looked at me like he didn’t understand, but he finally shook his head and said, “Me Sowwy.” I knew at that point she already had him, that he was going to be a baby for a while. I grabbed the doorknob, and twisted it, nothing happened, and I knew then that we were stuck inside this house with no way out. I heard the growling again, and

this time when I looked back I saw a White German Shepherd. I knew that he was also a ghost. Standing behind the dog was Nikki Grant, and she had a smirk on her face as if to say that I’d messed up.”

“What do you want?” I remember screaming out, and the ghost just stood there. The dog looked as if he was ready to pounce, and I knew that I needed to be ready. What came next surprised me. She let the door

swing open, and she smiled. “You can go, but leave the baby.” She offered. I was in shock. I looked at the child, and back to her. The boy didn’t deserve what she had done to him, and I wasn’t going to allow her to do anything else to the kid. I mustered all the anger

that I had in me at that point, and yelled out to her, “Go back to Hell where you came from!” I grabbed the boy and ran out the front door.”

“The door slammed shut immediately behind me, and I thought that we were out of trouble. I was wrong about that, I took the boy and ran for the car. There was a loud bark from inside the house, and I turned in time to see the dog slide through the closed door. He let out a

howl, and sprinted towards us. I shoved the boy into my squad car, and started the engine. The boy was crying hard, and I couldn’t even hear myself think. I put the car in gear, and I hit the gas! The back tires

throwing gravel all over the animal as he hit the back of the car. He let out a bloodcurdling howl as I drove down the driveway and onto the road, getting away from the house.”

“I took the boy to Parke County General, and they told the parents that there was nothing that they could do for him. That poor kid is going to be a baby for the rest of his life, and I couldn’t save him.” Blake shook his head sadly. “I have nightmares, when it comes to that house now, and sometimes I see the ghost of that woman in my bedroom

at night. She is wanting a baby, and I don’t think she cares where she gets one.”

“Have you tried to talk to the Taylors?” Kelly asked, getting her jacket on.

“Yeah, I’ve tried to, I made a trip over to Pleasant Run, a few weeks after that, but they wouldn’t talk to me. Roger Taylor said that they were just trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, and wished that they would be left alone.” He shrugged. “Tell me, Miss. Arnold, She’s gotten to you, hasn’t she?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Kelly asked, defensively.

Blake smiled, “I can hear the crinkle. You’re wearing a diaper.” It was not a question.

Kelly blushed, “I’m bladder incontinent.”

Blake Simpson nodded his understanding, “Yeah so am I, but I wasn’t before I entered that damned house!”

5.

Kelly left Blake Simpson’s house knowing that she would have to speak with the Taylors. Her thinking was that if they knew anything about what had happened to Nikki Grant, she might be able to piece it together and put her ghost to rest once and for all.

She found it strange that Blake, the boy Kevin, and her now had to wear diapers for bladder incontinence, and thought for sure that the Taylors probably had to also. It seemed that Kevin had become mentally a baby, and she hoped that no one else suffered from that fate.

This morning when she put the first diaper on herself, she thought that she would be humiliated, just by the fact that she was in one, but after taping it up, it felt even more comfortable than her panties, and so far today she didn’t even realize that she was wearing one. Except when she was wetting in it. She knew that in her own mind

she was going to become mentally a baby, and she wanted to stop that from happening if she could.

After leaving Blake’s house, she called directory assistance on her cell phone, and asked for the address to Roger Taylor. The operator gave it and she was on her way to Pleasant Run. Now, as she pulled up to the driveway, she found that she was scared. Afraid of what she may

find out, and more afraid that they knew nothing.

She composed herself and walked up to the front door. Just as she started to ring the bell, the door opened and a man, standing at least three inches taller than she did stood there. “What do you want?” He grumbled, wanting to intimidate her.

“I’m looking for the Taylor family.” Kelly smiled, hoping to disarm him, but the sour look on his face told her that she was not welcome.

“Why can’t you people just leave us alone!” He bellowed, wanting to scare her, but as she stood her ground, the man balled his fists, and Kelly was sure that he was going to hit her.

“Rog...” Came a feminine voice from the other side of the door, “Let her in!”

The man opened the door, and frowned. An older woman stood there and smiled at Kelly as she walked into he living room.

“You live in the house, don’t you?” She asked, with a smile.

Kelly was stunned, “How... How did you know that?”

“We lived in that house for almost a year, and then it got to be too much for us. I can tell, you’ve met the ghost!” She said grimly. Her eyes told Kelly a lot, and what she was seeing was that the woman was still scared.

“Mrs. Taylor...” She started but was interrupted.

“Call me Meg. And you are?” She smiled.

Kelly sat down on the couch and watched Roger looking out the window. “Kelly, Kelly Arnold.”

“Oh, you’re the writer!” Meg exclaimed, “I’ve read some of your books! I’ll say that they were quite good. Well you won’t be writing very soon. You will forget even how to even write your own name.”

Kelly was taken aback, “I don’t understand.”

“Since I have read some of your stories, I will tell you one, and mind you, it’s a true story, a story that had happened to us, while we lived in the Grant House.” Meg started, and Roger stared at her.

“Meg, It’s none of her business.” He whined.

Meg turned to him and frowned. “She has to know what she is up against!

Not only for her sake, but for the sake of others.”

He nodded, and Meg continued. “It started about two months after Roger and I moved into the house with our two son’s, Tom and Matty. Matty was always the sensitive one, and I should have known that if anyone saw a ghost, that it would have been him. As the oldest, Tom was

always chiding Matty about how he had the feelings of a girl, or that Matty always acted like a baby.

One night Matty came to me, because Roger didn’t believe in such things, and told me that he was seeing things. Things that scared him.”

“I asked him what he was seeing, and he told me that he was seeing a baby’s room, and that he was the baby that was in the crib, or even sometimes a playpen. He then said that a woman was in there giving him a bottle, and when he was drinking from it it felt so real to him. I

thought that Tom’s harassment was getting to him, and made a mental note to tell Tom that he needed to tone down on the kidding.” Meg went on, “He told me that he had been wetting the bed for the last few night, and that concerned me, but then again, I thought that maybe it

was just his brother playing tricks on him.”

“He started getting worse and worse as the months passed by, and he began to wet himself during the day. Matty started crying for no reason, and would throw tantrums like a little child. We took him to the Dr., and was told that there was nothing wrong with his urinary

system, and that it could all be psychological. So we took him to see, a shrink, and that’s how we found out that we had a ghost in our house.”

Kelly nodded, and thought she could tell the outcome, but let Meg continue.

“Roger laughed at the whole situation, and Tom just thought his brother was crazy. I bought diapers for Matty, and he seemed simply fine with that. Then on Halloween night, everything changed. That was our last night there, and we never set foot back in that house again.” Meg said, shivering.

Kelly was so engrossed in what Meg was saying, that she jumped when a little girls voice came from the hallway. “Mommy, Me pee pee!”

She turned around, and walking down the hallway was essentially a man wearing a white dress with a pink sash, with his brown hair in

pigtails, and wearing lace anklets, with white patent leather Mary Janes. He was holding a doll in his right hand, and had his thumb from his left hand in his mouth. She could see the bottom of his diaper hanging under the hem of his dress, and she wanted to cry. She felt sorry for the boy.

She turned back to Meg. “Matty?” She asked gingerly.

“No, that’s Tom, or as we call her now, Tina.” Meg said

matter-of-factly. “I’ll be right back, I need to change her.”

Meg got up, and took the man/child by the hand and walked out of the living room. Roger looked down the hallway and shook his head. He turned to Kelly with a sad expression, and said, “He’s been like this since the night we ran from the house. They say that he is brain

damaged, and he will always be like this. Miss, you have no idea how hard this has been on all of us. This is why I just ask that we be left alone.”

“Is Matty...? Kelly stammered, “Is Matty like that too?”

Roger shook his head, “No, He’s not a baby girl, but he does wear diapers. He had lost all control of his bladder while in that house.”

“What happened?” She was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. She found herself wondering if she would end up like that. Just a baby with an adult woman’s body. She wondered if Tom was still inside there somewhere, and was crying to get out, or if he was a baby girl in her

own mind.

Roger turned back to the window, and replied, “I’ll let Meg tell you the rest. It is just hard for me to be open about this.”

She sat there silently, and waited for Meg to come back. Things were racing through her mind, and she didn’t like anything that was there.

She was sure that it was Matty that the spirit was after, so how did Tom become the baby, and a girl at that? There was just more questions and no answers.

Meg walked back in and apologized. “Tina can be so demanding.”

She sat back down, and asked, “OK where was I? Oh yeah, Halloween night, Tom and Matt were in the living room, waiting to go to a party. You know how teenagers are. Matty had wet himself, and needed to go

change his diaper. It was dark outside, and Matty figured he had time. Tom started calling him a baby girl, and then all of a sudden, his expression changed to pure horror. He stared right past us, screaming out, “NO PLEASE DON’T!” Roger and I stood up, and we all felt it, it was like a force of evil pushing us out of the way. We watched as Tom

was pulled into the air, and slammed back down on the floor. Tom was screaming, but we couldn’t hear it over the screams and the yelling of both Roger and me. Roger was threatening the unseen force, and I was crying. Roger started for our son, and he was thrown back up against

the fireplace. I was frozen in place, and Matty was sobbing for his older brother.”

“Tom was lying on the floor dazed. He was just shaking his head and pleading. We thought the worst was over, and we started for him. A heavy gust of wind flew past us, and we were both knocked to the floor. I looked over to Tom, and realized he was being dragged away from us toward the kitchen, I yelled over to Roger to get up, but he

was as dazed as I was. I finally was able to stand up, and I heard a door slamming! I ran into the kitchen, with Roger following me. Grabbing the door handle to the basement, I felt a shock of electricity go through me. I screamed, and let go. On my right hand was a burn mark, and I knew right then that if I didn’t get down there we would lose our son forever.”

“Roger fished his keys out of his pocket, and threw them at Matty. He bellowed for him to go start the car, and stay out there with it. Matty took off, and Roger ran at the door to the basement. He hit it with his shoulder, and I could hear it creak. He backed up, and ran for it again. This time the door broke wide open, and I could hear Roger falling down the stairs. I ran through the door, and down the stairs, asking Roger if her was alright. He stood up, and brushed himself off, that’s when I heard it. I heard it, and knew. My oldest son, was now a baby girl. We both looked over at the same time, and sitting on the dusty floor, of our basement, was Tom. He was dressed

in a princess costume, and a diaper. He kept saying over and over, “Me be a good girl.” through the tears. Roger grabbed tom, and we ran up the stairs and towards the front door. It slammed shut, and locked.”

“I remember screaming out, “LEAVE US ALONE, YOU BITCH!” and the ghost of the woman finally revealed herself to us. She floated into the foyer, and gave us both a contemptuous look. “He got what he deserved.” The spectral woman said flatly. “He called the other a baby

girl, now in his own mind he is that baby girl. Poetic justice

wouldn’t you say?” She laughed.”

“I wasn’t going to take anymore of her, and walked towards her. “Let us go!” I demanded, and she just smiled. “Are you equipped to take care of an adult who thinks that she is a baby, for the rest of your life?” I wanted to rip that thing apart, but I knew that I couldn’t.

She offered an alternative. “Let the baby stay with me, and you won’t have to deal with it. You and the rest of your family can go about your way, and I will take good care of her.” I almost fainted.”

“I grabbed the crucifix that I always wear around my neck, and threw it at her. Yelling “NO!” The cross hit the ghost squarely in the chest, and in a flash of light she was gone. The front door swung open, and we ran out to the car. We got the kids in, and took off, never to go back.”

“Ever since then Tom has been a toddler girl, never to grow up mentally, and we have done our best to take care of him. Matty has fallen into a deep depression, and blames himself for what happened to his brother.” Meg looked dejected.

Kelly was shocked, wanting to console her, but she knew that the other lady would have nothing to do with it.

“Now,” Meg said, “I think it’s time for you to go.”

6.

Getting home late that night, Kelly knew that she would not sleep.

After a diaper change, she decided to read until the ghost showed up, and she was pretty sure that she would. She thought that she had some things pretty much figured out, and that she needed to confront her for the rest. She didn’t have to wait long, as after reading for about

twenty minutes, she looked up, and at the foot of her bed stood the apparition.

“Show me!” Kelly commanded, and Nikki nodded her head.

The room swirled around, and jumbled into a swirl of nothingness. When reality came back, Kelly realized she was watching Halloween twenty-five years ago. Children of all ages were everywhere. Going from house to house, trick or treating. Parents were standing around

talking to each other, and everyone was having a great time. All the children were dressed up, and most of the adults were too. The town celebrated Halloween as if it were Christmas.

Everywhere there were Ghosts and Goblins, Pirates, and Ghouls, Princesses, and other assorted creatures. Kelly found herself smiling at the thought of Halloweens she had as a girl.

Nikki stood with a group of others talking, and Misty was in her stroller. Cesar, the German Shepherd was sitting next to the stroller. Misty was dressed in a Rainbow Brite outfit, and looked as cute as could be. Misty was not belted in, and Kelly knew that the little girl was going to get out of her stroller without her mom noticing. Kelly

ran to the stroller and tried to strap the belt, but her hand went right through it. She understood that this was all an illusion, just to show her what had happened.

“Mommy?” The little girl said.

Nikki was too busy talking with the other parents in the group, and didn’t hear the child. Kelly found herself wanting to grab the woman and yell right in her face, “DAMN YOU! SHE’S GOING TO DIE BECAUSE YOU

WEREN’T WATCHING HER, YOU STUPID BITCH!”, but she knew that would do no good. She knew that she was just there to observe and understand.

Misty looked to the street intently, and smiled. Kelly looked and saw a chocolate bar just sitting there. “No.” Her mind cried out, as she watched the baby get out of her stroller. The dog barked. Misty giggled as she toddled to the candy that awaited her. Cesar followed her, trying to protect her. Kelly tried to stand in the girls way, but

she just walked right through her. Kelly hung her head, weeping silent tears, as she knew what was about to happen. She turned to watch the child bend over to retrieve the candy bar. She could hear the baby

laugh as she said, “Yummy.”

Headlights were approaching as the girl sat down, and tried to open the wrapper. Cesar stood next to her and whined. Kelly knew that she was helpless to save her, and knew that she didn’t want to see. She tried to turn her head, but found that she couldn’t. If she was in for

a penny, she was in for a pound. The driver didn’t see the baby or the dog, and ran over them with a heavy thud. Pandemonium hit the streets and people were all over the dead little girl. Nikki screamed out and

fainted as her baby died in a pool of blood. All Kelly could do was cry, and then she was back in her room. Nikki stood there and nodded, “You see?”

Kelly spat at the ghost, “It was your fault! You should have been watching her!”

“I know.” Nikki said sadly. “But there’s more. Follow me and you’ll see.”

Kelly stood up, and went quietly with her. The ghost didn’t upset her now, and she actually felt more comfortable with her than she did with other people. They went down the stairs into the sitting room, through the dining room and finally into the kitchen. Kelly knew that they were bound for the basement, but she didn’t worry. The Ghost Cesar

followed them down into the basement, and wagged his tail as Nikki vanished into a wall. Cesar followed and vanished too.

Confused, Kelly walked to the wall, and tapped on the paneling, one place sounded solid, another sounded hollow. She tapped again in more places, and got the same results. Kelly knew that something was amiss,

and she reached for the top of the wood. Pulling on it, the panel came loose, and she threw it aside. There was a door there.

She stared at it for a minute, and hesitantly reached out for the knob. Turning it, she could feel the door was locked, but it also started to bend, so she shoved it hard with her body weight. The door flew open into total darkness.

Feeling around on the wall, she finally found the light switch. She flipped on, and what she saw made her gasp.

It was a nursery, but everything was adult-sized. There was a large, sturdy crib, made of stained wood, and a big changing table. Pink diapers were stacked underneath it, and it had drawers. There was an open toybox in the corner with all kinds of girls toys. She could see

brightly colored and pastel dresses hanging in the open closet. She walked over to them and took one out. The style was appropriate for a small child, but big enough for an adult.

Looking around, her jaw was lax in disbelief. Nikki was into

fetishes!? Nikki came up behind her. “No.” She said, “The man I was seeing had the fetish. I just wanted my baby back.”

“So you were substituting him for your baby?” Kelly asked, starting to understand. “You felt so bad for what happened, that you were trying to make up some how for it.”

In the rocking chair at the far end was a decomposed skeleton, wearing a skirt and blouse under an apron. ’Nikki’s body was never found!’ She thought to herself.

The skeleton crumbled, soon all that was left was

dust on the rocker and the floor. Kelly found herself remorseful.

“How did you die?” Kelly finally asked.

The ghost gave her a heavy look, “Ask Richard Davis.”

“Who’s he?”

“My attorney.” Nikki disappeared.

7.

Driving through Rockville was an experience in itself. She had to remind herself that today was Halloween, and as an afterthought, her birthday. ’Twenty-five years old,’ She thought as she looked at all the decorations that invaded the town square. Scarecrows of all kinds of makings sat around the courthouse, and she had to chuckle at

everyone getting into Halloween. Blake Simpson had given her the address, and she was heading to where Richard Davis was staying. She knew that he held the key to all of this and could only hope that he

could help her stop it.

She drove out of town down highway 36, to Lee Alan Bryant, a place they used to call an insane asylum. She knew that that wasn’t politically correct, but she had no idea what she should call it.

Pulling into the drive, she drove the long road up to the main house. Kelly had waited for this all day long, and now she wanted nothing more than to just go home and forget all about it. She knew that some people would have thought she had become obsessed, but not she knew

that she would have to know all of it and see it through to the end.

Getting out of the car, she took a long look at the house before walking up to the door. She rang the buzzer, and a voice came from the little box. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m here to see Richard Davis.” Kelly said professionally.

The voice came again out of the box, “Oh you must be Miss. Arnold. We’ve been expecting you.”

Kelly nodded as she spoke, “Yes, I am. How were you expecting me?”

“Mr. Blake Simpson, called up here and told us that you were coming. You are very fortunate, today is one of Mr. Davis’ good days.”

Kelly frowned at that, “Good days? What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain when you get in here. I’ll buzz you through.”

The buzzer on the door went off, and Kelly opened the door. The inside was just as cold as the outside, and Kelly felt pity for the people that had to live in this place. She had always thought that all hospitals, or the like would look very clean, and sterile. This place was dark and dank. It made her think of the hospitals in an old horror movie.

A woman came out of a door, into the hallway. “You must be Miss. Arnold. I’m Eva, Mr. Davis’ nurse.”

“What did you mean when you said, ’He was having one of his good days’?” Kelly asked, curiously.

The nurse sighed, exasperatedly, as they walked to his room. “Mr. Davis most days, is not himself. You have to understand that a long time ago, he accidentally killed a little girl. She was sitting in the middle of the street, and he didn’t see her, but he has blamed himself all these years. In his mind he is repenting for what he had done.”

“He was the one that ran over that baby?” Kelly was shocked. “Halloween night Twenty-five years ago? In Shadow Bend?”

“So you know the story?” Eva responded.

Kelly nodded, “Yes -- I live in the old house the little girl lived in.”

Eva stopped, and turned to Kelly, “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

“Why?” Kelly seemed put off.

“He’s having a good day, and if he knows that you are living there, he may take a turn for the worse.” She stated. “Mr Davis is my charge, and I don’t want him to suffer more than necessary.”

“How would my being here make him take a turn for the worse?” Kelly asked, “What is it that happens to him?”

They stopped at the door, and Eva explained, “Mr. Davis believes he is a baby most of the time. The last time he had a good day was about a year ago. Most days he just sits there in his diaper, and plays with his Matchbox Cars. He drinks his drinks from a baby bottle, and only uses simple words.

Sometimes we end up having to feed him, and we always need to change him. That poor man is doing penitence for something that he had no control over, and I’m just afraid that you will put him back into that mode, if he even thinks that you can bring back those memories.”

“Well let’s see what happens?” Kelly suggested.

Eva opened the door, and the two of them walked in. Kelly was shocked to see a man sitting on the floor in just a diaper, and a smile on his face.

“Ah, Nurse Eva, good to see you.” Richard said without looking up.

Eva smiled, and turned to Kelly, “Ricky, I brought you a visitor.”

“Thank you. I really needed that today.” He said, looking at Kelly.

His eyes widened, and he said, “You! How?”

Eva started to usher Kelly out the door and said sharply “Miss Arnold, I told you this was a bad idea.”

As Eva was pushing her out the door, Kelly said hurriedly, “Mr Davis, I found the nursery in the Grant House!”

“No.” Richard sputtered out. “Eva you need to leave, I need to speak to this young lady alone!”

Eva stopped pushing and looked at Richard nodding. “OK, If you need me I will be just outside the door.” She turned to leave, and gave Kelly a hateful glare.

After the door closed, Richard sat back down, “So you found the nursery.” It was not a question. “That means you also found her body.”

“Yes I did. You killed her, didn’t you?” Kelly asked.

Richard hung his head in shame, “I didn’t mean to, It just happened. Nikki and I were lovers, and well I had a fetish, and she participated wholeheartedly. After Misty was killed, I felt sorry for her, and, I’m what they call an adult baby. Well, I’m a real adult sized baby now, I guess you’d say."

"But after about a year, Nikki asked me if I would like to be a real baby girl. She told me that they only way that the magic would work is if I gave in to her completely. I laughed at her, and that’s when she explained it all to me.

The Grant women had been witches down through all the generations. I looked at her like she was crazy, and started out the door. She grabbed me, and I spun around knocking her into the changing table. She hit her head on the corner, and it left a big gash in her head. She was dead before she hit the ground. I panicked, and shut out the light, and paneled up the door.”

“When I saw you just a few minutes ago, I thought that Nikki had come back to life. You look so much like a Grant.” He smiled at the girl.

“What time did Misty die?” Kelly asked thoughtfully.

Richard looked at her seriously, “It was a quarter till eight. Why?”

“That’s the time I was born, on Halloween night! I wonder...”

“Do you know that Nikki comes to see me? She loves seeing me in this torment, I am aware, yet I can only act like a baby.” He said sadly. “I messed up badly, and now I am afraid that I have put you in danger. If you are Misty then you are in even graver danger!”

8.

Kelly walked into the house, and directly down the stairs into the basement. She knew that ghost of Nikki would be down in the nursery mourning her daughter as she always did. She now knew the truth, and she was armed with it. Nikki would not be able to deny what she had

discovered, and Kelly knew that only she could restore everyone to their natural states.

She took a deep breath and walked through the doorway into the nursery. Looking around she didn’t see Nikki, but knew that her presence was near. She stomped her foot on the wooden floor and called out, “MOM!”

Nikki appeared with a smile on her face. “Hello Dear.” She said, whimsically.

“You knew!” Kelly stated, not questioning.

“Yes I knew.” Nikki said softly. “You were born the same time Misty died. I watched you grow up, and I wanted my baby girl back, and now you’re here!”

“Speaking of which, how did you get me here?” Kelly asked, interested.

Nikki giggled, “Your friend, the real estate lady, Connie I think is her name. I made a deal with her. I wouldn’t put her back in diapers, if she’d get you to move into the house. She agreed.”

“Mother, how many lives have you ruined to get what you wanted?” Kelly became angry. “How many more will you ruin?”

“That depends, Sweetie. All I want is you back in my arms. You are the last of the Grants, and I want to keep the line going..” Nikki floated around the room.

Kelly put her hands on her hips, and frowned. “I want the others restored to what they were when you changed them!”

“Only you can do that!” The ghost laughed. “You are the last living Grant woman!”

Kelly looked at her like she was crazy. She wasn’t a Grant, at least no any longer, that died with Misty, but some how she knew Nikki was right. It dawned on her that she had

the magic in her all along. “The Grant women were all witches.” She remembered Richard Davis saying.

“That’s right, Misty, when a witches soul passes from one body to another, it still retains the power that the previous body had. All you have to do is use it.” Nikki prompted. “Think back to the night you died, and will yourself to be there. Once that is done everyone will be restored to their natural order.”

Kelly closed her eyes and saw the three year old that she was on that fateful Halloween night. She was a happy little girl, and she loved her mommy. The room started spinning, and she could feel herself getting younger and younger. Her chest started flattening, and she was

getting smaller, her clothes kept changing as she regressed, and her hair went from long to short and back long again. She went from being a woman, to a teenager, to a girl, to a little girl, to a toddler, in about a minute.

9.

The room was gone and she found herself sitting in a stroller. She looked up at her mommy and said “Trick or treat!”, and giggled. Her mommy was talking to big people, and she sat there alone with Cesar,

her doggy. She loved her doggy, and she called his name. Cesar came to her and licked her face. She laughed.

Looking around she saw a candy bar in the street and decided that she wanted it. She turned around and backed out of the stroller, and toddled off towards the tasty treat. She smiled, and ran to get it.

Cesar bit Nikki’s pant leg and tugged. She turned to see Misty sit down in the middle of the street, and a car was coming fast. “NO!” She screamed as she ran towards the baby girl.

Misty looked up as the headlights bore down on her, and she was suddenly picked up by a pair of strong arms, as the tires squealed from the car. Misty started crying, and she knew she was in trouble.

“Oh, Thank you!” Nikki cried to the man. How can I repay you?”

The cop turned to her and smiled, “Well you could go out with me for dinner. My name’s Blake Simpson.”

Misty turned from the cop to her mommy, as they talked grown-up talk.

she smiled, and knew that everything was right now.

THE END

 

---