Some Friday Fun - a ghost story - The Bouncing Ball submitted by Shirley van Staden
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The Bouncing Ball
by Shirley van Staden
John and June were excited as they walked into their newly purchased country home. Forest green paint peeled off the broken shutters which clung desperately to their weatherworn posts and the little cobbled pathway that led up to the front door was overgrown with weeds, but this did not stop them from signing the Agreement of Sale. It was pure love at first sight. It was the home that they wanted. As they opened the front door an eerie, musty silence enveloped them. The agent said the house had been vacant for some 6 years, so as could be expected, there was much maintenance and renovation that would have to be done. John and June nodded in agreement but this still did not deter them from buying their dream home. This home, surrounded by a forest of unspoiled nature, was the perfect setting to start a family.
Eventually the last of their belongings were packed from the removal van into the large entrance hallway at the foot of the wide wooden staircase. June sank onto the bottom stair and let out a sigh. She sat, staring at the boxes. Suddenly a gust of wind rushed through the front door and up the stairs. The door slammed shut and the house was thrown into darkness. June jumped up and ran to the door. The sudden chiming of the grandfather clock echoed through the house. She struggled with the door handle but it would not budge. Eventually it relented and June ran out the house and into the arms of John. He held her close and looked at her in bewilderment. She just smiled at him and laid her head against his chest, determined to not let anything put a damper on this joyous occasion.
The rest of the day was spent moving boxes to the various rooms and packing personal items into their bedroom cupboards.
As the evening approached, John and June decided to call it a day. They sat on the porch swing and ate pizza. June removed the pineapple from John’s portion while he, as always, questioned the sanity of someone who put pineapple on pizza. He remarked on the brightness of the stars. June nodded and smiled contentedly, lying back into his arms. She looked at the brook wending its way through the property which separated them from the lush, green forest in the distance. The moon reflected long ribbons of light across the brook. June caught a fleeting glance of someone in the distance and gave a little shiver. When she looked again, it was gone and put it down to her eyes playing tricks on her. John held her close and asked if he should get a blanket, but June shook her head. They chatted and laughed as they shared a bottle of pinotage. June however couldn’t get rid of the strange, uneasy feeling as if someone was watching her.
Totally fatigued, they went to bed. June fell into a deep sleep. John however was up all night. The window shutters of the bedroom at the end of the passage banged constantly. He tried every means to secure them but nothing worked. He eventually ripped the shutters off their posts and flung them into the garden below. As the last one landed with an empty thud, a deadly shocked silence filled the house. John crawled back into bed and cuddled up to June.
The following day John went into town to buy tools. His main priority for the day was to repair the shutters. June stayed at home as she wanted to finalise the unpacking of the kitchenware. She took the empty boxes to the outside shed and saw a swing hanging in the tree. June pushed the swing and smiled. Suddenly, out the corner of her eye, she saw a movement on the other side of the brook. June shielded her eyes against the sun and saw a pretty little girl of about 6 years of age standing at the edge of the forest. June called to her and asked where she stayed. The little girl did not answer; she turned her head slowly and gazed in the direction of the house. Bewildered, June followed her gaze but when she looked back at the little girl she had disappeared. June shrugged her shoulders. She wondered where she had come from and where she lived. It was dangerous for a child to be alone in the forest. Some mothers! June would make it a strict rule that her children would not be allowed to wander off into the forest away from home. For the rest of the day, on many an occasion, June for no reason, felt the hairs rising on the back of her neck as if someone was watching her every move. She heard doors squeaking and slamming. On one occasion it sounded as though someone was walking upstairs on the wooden flooring. In fear, she had run out to John who was attending to the repair of the shutters. He had followed her back into the house and checked every room. Everything was silent. However, as soon as he went back to his duties outside, the noises started again. Eventually John lost his patience with her and told her it was her imagination. June decided to rather keep quiet as she had just returned from the hospital suffering from a nervous condition and did not want to be re-admitted for any further unpleasant treatment.
June was awoken that evening by the sound of someone giggling in the house. She turned to John but he was fast asleep. She decided to let him sleep. June crept out of bed and slowly opened their creaking bedroom door. She saw a light coming from the bedroom at the end of the passage and edged her way along the wall, ensuring that she did not step on any creaking floorboards. Suddenly the bedroom door was flung open and a ball came bouncing past her along the passage and down the stairs. June pushed herself against the wall. She recognized the ball – it was the same red ball that the little girl whom she had seen that morning had been holding. June heard the sound of a child’s footsteps run past her and down the stairs. Petrified, June sidled her way to the top of the stairs. Was this her imagination or was it for real? She peered over the banister – everything was deadly quiet – the giggling had stopped and the ball lay motionless on the floor at the bottom of the staircase. The little girl appeared out of the shadows. She picked up the ball and walked slowly up the stairs towards June. June clung to the banister, her knuckles white and her body shaking uncontrollably. She couldn’t move. “Leave my house” the little girl uttered. June looked into the black angry eyes of the little girl. She knew this was no mortal being – this was something sinister. The house was possessed by something evil and June knew without a doubt that they would have to leave the house. As June backed away in fear, the little girl’s mouth twisted. She ran down the stairs and disappeared. June hurried after her but she was nowhere to be seen. June picked up the ball, flung the kitchen door open and tossed the ball out. She watched as it bounced out of sight. The sound of giggling started again in the distance and then turned to blood curdling laughter which grew louder and louder.
June ran upstairs and slammed the bedroom door behind her. She crumpled into a heap, covered her ears and started screaming. She was inconsolable. All she could utter between terrified gasps was “John, please we must leave.” John called the doctor. He told him about June’s nervous condition, fearing that she was possibly heading for another nervous breakdown. The doctors nodded understandably and diagnosed June as suffering from mild stress. He gave her an injection which he said would sedate her and make her sleep. June’s pleas fell on deaf ears. She did not want to sleep. She was afraid of sleeping. No matter how hard she tried, her lids grew heavy and she felt herself drifting off.
The next morning, June awoke to the sound of merry whistling at the window. John was repairing the bedroom shutters. She sat up in bed and called to him. He blew her a kiss which she caught and held to her heart. Suddenly his smile turned to a look of fear. June saw the ladder tilting backwards. She rushed to the window and tried to reach out to him but he was too far. She saw the terror in his eyes as he shouted that there was a little girl on the roof pushing the ladder over. She watched helplessly in horror as John fell to his death on the vicious spikes of the palisade fencing. As she looked at the spikes protruding through the lifeless body of her husband she heard herself screaming.
June suddenly heard muffled giggling downstairs. She turned and ran to the stairs, determined to put an end to this. Whoever had caused the death of her beloved husband would most certainly pay! She saw the little girl standing at the bottom of the staircase smiling at her. June shouted at her to get out, but she did not move. As June ran down the stairs she tripped over her nightgown. She tumbled down, clawing at the banister, but to no avail. She came to rest at the bottom of the stairs – her eyes wide open and her neck broken. The little girl tilted her head to the side and stared at the body lying crumpled at her feet. A dark, deadly silence hung in the room.
Then the slow bouncing of a ball echoed through the empty house. As its pace quickened. the soft giggling of a little girl could be heard.
The ram shackled house has since been declared a danger and orders given for it to be demolished. However, everyone who has set foot near the house has met with a gruesome, unexplained death. To this day, the sound of a bouncing ball can still be heard coming from the empty house. Some say it is just the banging of the shutters... but I know different.
If you enjoyed reading this ghost story and would like to read more from Shirley, please send in your feedback and encouragement.
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