The Lords of Hanrahan

Rumors circulate that the old McPherson place a couple of miles outside of Framingham, Connecticut, is haunted. But one summer day, fourteen-year-old Laura Mueller and her three friends summon the courage to go there. Just because old man McPherson committed suicide there a couple of years ago at age ninety-three doesn't mean it's been overtaken by ghosts. But Laura has no idea what the old house has in store for her in the future, and it's not going to be a pleasant experience. That house, which haunts unsuspecting young women when they are the most vulnerable, chooses Laura to receive its horrific powers. Worse, it waits until the opportune time-years later, when she's married and is expecting her first child. When she is seven months pregnant, Laura is summoned back to the old McPherson place by some mysterious and evil force. Held captive in a strange place, she wonders if she'll ever find her way back to her former life.

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THE LORDS OF HANRAHANBy DARRELL TOOKERiUniverse, LLCCopyright © 2013 Darrell TookerAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4917-0798-2ContentsChapter 1, 1, Chapter 2, 15, Chapter 3, 31, Chapter 4, 47, Chapter 5, 57, Chapter 6, 72, Chapter 7, 80, Chapter 8, 98, Chapter 9, 110, Chapter 10, 129, Chapter 11, 148, Chapter 12, 165, Chapter 13, 179, Chapter 14, 191, Chapter 15, 201, Chapter 16, 215, Chapter 17, 222, Chapter 18, 233, Chapter 19, 249, Chapter 20, 258, Chapter 21, 272, Chapter 22, 288, Chapter 23, 293, Chapter 24, 316, Chapter 25, 327, Chapter 26, 336, CHAPTER 1Laura was probably fourteen or fifteen years old when shefirst went to the old McPherson place that summer. It wasMichael's idea. He and Bobby had been there and toldthe girls how they had found a window unlocked and what a neatplace it was inside. She remembered the first time she saw it; shethought it was creepy, but they convinced her and Louise Merchleto go with them. She had heard about the old house but didn'tbelieve any of the stories going around about it being haunted.That was just some gossip and probably started by someone whowanted to keep kids away from the empty house. Just because oldman McPherson hung himself there several years ago didn't meanit was haunted. However, she never really had the courage to goout there, either, but that was about to change.The old house was a couple of miles out of the town ofFramingham, Connecticut, toward the old mill and over thecovered bridge. Several generations of McPhersons had lived inthat house over the years. It's a big wooden two-story structurebuilt on a large lot on a dirt lane off Fort McKinley Road. It sitsback off the street a ways and has an iron picket fence all aroundthe grounds. There are a few large oak trees in the yard, a coupleof gravestones off to the left of the house, and a broken sidewalkthat leads through an open gate and up to the front porch. There'sa second sidewalk that leads around the right side of the houseto a set of wooden cellar doors. No one has lived there for severalyears, and it was for sale for so long, they finally took the For Salesign down.When the McPhersons built this place in the early 1900s, itwas in the country, but as the town grew bigger, the house becamecloser and closer to town. Lots of folks think the house is spooky,and some actually think it's haunted.Old man McPherson was the last one to live there, a widowerof several years. He lived by himself except for a housekeeperthat came two or three days a week. He was kind of a recluse, sopeople rarely ever saw him. On occasion, he could be seen sittingon the front porch smoking a cigar or a pipe. His housekeeper didall the shopping for him and took him to medical appointments,as needed. One night in late autumn, he hung himself. Thehousekeeper found him the next morning in his upstairs bedroom.He was ninety-three years old. The house has been closed up sincethat time except for a few kids nosing around.Early one June morning, Michael and Bobby convinced her andLouise to go with them, so they all met at Laura's place, hoppedon their bikes, and headed out of town toward the old McPhersonplace. It was a couple of miles out of town. They rode down OakStreet past the fire station and then east on Fort McKinley Road.They made good time, and before they knew it, they were at theturn to the old house. The road didn't have a name; at least, therewas no signpost at the intersection.When they turned the corner and the old house came intoview, Laura stopped her bike and stared at its majestic loneliness.The old house must have had many memories and probably manypersonal stories of those who lived there. All inhabitants have beengone for many years. Nothing remains now but an old frame houseand its many secrets."Michael Parks, I don't think we ought to go messin' aroundhere," she yelled, trying to obtain a retreat."What's the matter? You babes scared?" Michael yelled back."Yeah, ya scared or somethin'?" chimed in Bobby Walters ashe skidded his bike to a halt next to Michael's. He did everythingMichael did ... at least he tried.He and Michael had been friends for about as long as shecould remember, and they were always together. Michael was oneof those boys who wasn't afraid of much and would do almostanything on a dare, if it would impress one of the other boys. Theyall looked up to him, but mostly from a distance. He wasn't a badkid—just kind of a know-it-all, at times, but not enough to get onyour nerves. Michael was Bobby's best friend and worshipped theground he walked on."Come on, Laura," called Michael. "Show us what you babesare made of." He turned his bike and headed toward the housewith Bobby right behind him.When they turned onto the street, the old house seemed tobeckon them onward, as if it wanted the company.It looked creepy and all alone, thought Laura. Maybe it neededcompany to keep its spirits up.Louise rode around her and said, "Come on, let's go," andheaded up the street and into the driveway, which ended in acircular dirt path in front of a large front porch. The shades in thehouse's upper windows were brown and warped, probably from thesun's rays shining on them all these years. The front porch was aslong as the house was wide, and its roof was held up by four largeposts about eight to ten inches square. There was a three-footrailing all the way around it except where the wooden steps led upto the front door. An area off to the right was where cars used tobe parked by an old unpainted wooden garage. The grass aroundthe house looked like it hadn't been cut in years. It was tall andfolded over like she'd imagined prairie grass would be.She stopped behind Louise in front of the porch steps. Michaeland Bobby had already dropped their bikes in the grass and wereover to the right side of the house, beside what looked to be a stormcellar, trying to pry up a nearby window. Bobby was standing onone of the wooden cellar doors trying to lift up the huge window.Once he got the window up, Michael put a stick under it to hold itup, and then they crawled through and disappeared."Come on, Laura," called Bobby as he stuck his head back outthe window, motioning the girls his way, and then he disappearedagain into the house."I'm not going in there, Louise," Laura stated with firmconvictions. "Are you?""Not on your life," she said strongly too. "But that won't keepme from checking it out on the outside." She dropped her bikeand ran up the porch steps and pulled on the door handle. It wasobviously key-locked.Laura dropped her bike and ran up on the porch to joinLouise. She heard rapping sounds on window glass, and when sheturned around, she saw Michael and Bobby looking out the rightporch window, laughing at them. Louise went over and talked tothe boys through the glass."They said there's no key in the front door," said Louise,looking at an old sofa sitting on the left side of the porch. "Andthe windows were nailed shut too. They said it's a good place tosmoke weed.""Nobody's smoking anything," yelled Laura. "So, are theycoming out?""No, they're going to go down into the basement and look fordead bodies," Louise added. "It would serve them right if theyfound one.""It sure would," agreed Laura."You know, this sofa smells really bad. Why would anyone leavea sofa outside like this?" pondered Louise. She was running herhands over the top of the sofa, as if she had some question deepin the back of her mind."Wonder how long it's been out here?" questioned Laura. "TheConnecticut weather hasn't been good for it. I'm surprised it's stillholding its shape."She wondered how many people had sat there over the yearsand what they had talked about. Maybe some had smoked cigarsor cigarettes or even a pipe while they conversed with each other.There appeared to be some cigarette burns in several places."I don't know," said Louise. "And another thing, why didn'tthey sell this old place off or something? Do you think there arestill some relatives of old man McPherson still alive?""Daddy said old man McPherson killed himself in 1987, and Idon't think anyone has lived here since."The girls were trying to imagine what it must have been like tolive in an old house like this one."Well, I don't know," said Louise. "It would seem to me that lifewould be awfully stuffy.""Like The Addams Family?" Laura chuckled."No. Not that kind of stuffiness. I mean like having to sit at along table at dinnertime and having servants wait on you and ..."She never finished her sentence. Laura waited for her to go on,but she didn't offer any more reasons for her stuffy-type feelings.She just stared off into the distance as if she was in a trance. Thensuddenly, out of the blue, she announced, "I'm going in!"She glanced at Laura's look of surprise. There was deadlysilence for a few seconds, which seemed like minutes to Laura. Sheremained in a shock-like position with her mouth wide open andher eyes dazed, in disbelief."You're what?""I'm going in!" Louise repeated with more conviction this time."What? Are you crazy? Don't do this," pleaded Laura. "You'renot serious, are you?""Yes, I am. I thought about it just now while we were talking,and I've decided I'm going to do it. What about you?" She lookedat Laura. Another long pause, as if she was groping for the rightwords or the right thought or the right excuse."I'm not sure, Louise, but I don't want to be left out here alone."She was trying to reason with her conscience about her decision.Then she repeated, "Just don't leave me out here by myself." Lauralooked a little frightened—well, maybe a lot frightened."Come on." She grabbed Laura by the arm. "We'll go in, andif you don't like it, I'll come right back out with you."The look on Laura's face was worth a thousand words.She noticed her lower lip was quivering just a little when shesaid, "Oh, God! I can't believe I'm going to do this. Louise Merchle,you stay right next to me, you hear?"Louise answered with a strong, resounding affirmative, butdeep down inside she was just as scared as Laura. They went downthe front porch steps and around the side of the house to wherethe open window stood. They could hear the boys talking insidethe house, and finally, after getting their attention, the boys cameto the window and helped the girls climb in."We were in the library," stated Bobby. "Some of those oldvolumes are really interesting."The inside of the house looked much larger to Laura thanshe had imagined it would, as viewed from the outside. It was notvery wide but quite a distance from the front to the back. Bobbygrabbed her arm and led her through a door to the right intoa room that was filled with books from floor to ceiling in someplaces. There was even a ladder with wheels leaning against thestacks, like you see in bookstores in the mall."How many sets of encyclopedias did this family need?" askedLouise, while she surveyed one wall covered with the oversizedvolumes. "Look at this. The latest copyright date is 1965." Sheappeared to be less emotional now and much calmer. She was veryinterested in the encyclopedias for some reason. Laura figuredthat must be why she always got As in history and geography."Think about all the history that's missing here." Louise kepther train of thought. "Just think. There's not much in here aboutthe Vietnam War, Nixon's administration, Watergate, Carter'sterm, and all the other presidents right up through Obama arelike nonexistent. That's so cool.""Check one out and see if President Kennedy's assassinationis in there. It was in '63, right?" Michael asked. Laura appearedpleased that Michael could pull that little tidbit of informationout of his hat.There were books on all four walls, arranged neatly in rows,hidden knowledge enclosed in their volumes. Laura was awestruckwith their presence. In the middle of the room was a rectangulartable with four wooden chairs, two on either side, and a largebook on the far end, probably a Webster's dictionary. Againstthe east wall was a rolltop desk with a matching wooden chair onrollers, the kind of desk her grandfather had in his study at hishome in Woodstock. The room appeared charming and full oflife, as though this was the room where heavy reading and seriousplanning took place. She wondered if the children used this roomfor their homework and studies; that is, if children ever lived inthis house.Laura left the other three in the library and walked out intothe foyer. At least, she thought it was a foyer. The room was aboutsix feet wide and ran the entire width of the house, except for acloset at the far end. There were two other doors leading fromthis room, one across from the front door and one at the otherend of the foyer just this side of the closet. The room at the farend appeared to Laura to be a sitting room of some sort. As sheentered the room it gave her a homey feeling. It was furnishedwith a couch, two soft chairs, two tall floor lamps, and a crudelyhand-carved coffee table, all sitting on a musty old dark brownbraided rug. A fireplace occupied the west wall, but it didn't looklike it had been used recently.The middle room, the one across from the front door, probablyhandled most of the family activities. As Laura entered the room,she felt a strange coolness that she hadn't felt before, like herwhole body got goose bumps all at once. The room was largerthan the sitting room or the library and extended farther into thehouse. It still gave off vibes of extreme loneliness, as though it hadbeen forgotten over the years. Entering into this house was likestepping back into time, not just five years but several years. All thefurniture was several decades old and in a state of disrepair. Theroom had hardwood floors with furniture placed in the center ofthe room. There were no rugs. Two torn and tattered sitting chairswere at opposite ends of a wooden coffee stand, and scuff markswere on the floor beside the stand where a sofa used to sit. It'sprobably the old sofa that's out on the porch. The west wall hadseveral shelves with odds and ends adorning them and a coupleof trophies. Toward the end of that wall sat a large glassed-in guncase housing three or four shotguns or rifles—Laura couldn't tellwhich—and two handguns. Sitting against the rear wall was anantique china hutch with a few plates and cups still on the top half.It sat just to the left of a door that led to a large eat-in kitchen. Tothe right of the door sat a wooden trunk about two feet high andfour feet long, and to its right was the beginning of a staircase thatturned to the right and disappeared up over the east wall. A closetwas tucked neatly under the staircase, and at the end of the wallsat a magnificent antique upright piano. Pictures were centeredon the top of the piano, one a family photo of four people—twoadults and two young children. She wiped the photo on the rightknee of her jeans to get the dust off so she could get a better look."Play us some music, baby," said Michael, standing right behindher.She let out this bloodcurdling scream that could be heardhalfway to town and jumped at least three feet in the air."Oh, my God, Michael, you scared the bee-Jesus out of me."She felt her pulse rate soaring to at least 150 beats per minute,and her knees felt like jelly. But she didn't drop the picture. As sheplaced the picture back on top of the piano, she saw every hair onher arm standing at attention."Don't you ever do that to me again. Being in this old house isbad enough, let alone sneaking up behind me." She turned in timeto see Bobby and Louise running through the door from the foyer."What's going on in here?" Bobby looked at her questioningly."We heard a scream and thought you'd seen a mouse or something.""No, it's this stupid idiot here you call a friend who snuck upbehind me and scared the liver out of me when I least expected it.""You know," said Louise, "I think we've been in here longenough for one day. I think we should go. Don't you, Laura?""Aw, come on, Louise. We've only been in here for twentyor thirty minutes," insisted Michael. Although it did seem muchlonger than that to Laura, and she could tell Louise wasn't at allthat happy about being there either."That's right," added Bobby. "We haven't even been to thebasement yet.""I'm not going to the basement," protested Louise. "I'm notgoing anywhere near the basement. You guys can go down therewhen you're by yourselves. Besides, I thought you guys had alreadygone down there.""Nah, not yet. We were too busy up here in the library," saidBobby."In the meantime, I'm going to sit right here in this chair tillyou're ready to leave this room." She wiped the dust off the seat ofthe chair and sat down. Then she wiped the dust off the near endof the coffee table and propped her feet up on it. (Continues...)Excerpted from THE LORDS OF HANRAHAN by DARRELL TOOKER. Copyright © 2013 Darrell Tooker. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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