The Haunting of Berkely Manor

Horror novel is about a psychic researcher and an anthropologist who find the quintessential" haunted house." The Haunting of Berkely Manor, is about a psychic researcher and an anthropologist who have searched all over the world for the perfect" haunted house." Dr. Hex Montaque, a psychic researcher, and Dr. Jeff Turner, an anthropologist whose true passion lies in the supernatural, field have joined forces to validate the existence of an actual "haunted house." Their search leads them to Berkely Manor, an old home in rural Georgia that was built in 1806. After interviewing several former students as well as researching the personal effects and papers that were left behind by the family that built the house, Dr. Jeff and Dr. Hex are elated to realize that they have found the real thing. Berkely Manor is the quintessential haunted house and is in the perfect location for the study that the doctors hope to conduct. But, as the supernatural begins to take over, they wonder if they will survive to present their conclusion.

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The Haunting of Berkely ManorBy ANNEAuthorHouseCopyright © 2010 ANNEAll right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-9427-0 Chapter One Three vehicles pulled off the street and rolled quietly through the open gate. The line of automobiles eased down the cobblestone driveway like a funeral procession. The black Jaguar was in front it is deeply tinted windows turned both driver and passenger into amorphous dark blobs behind the glass. Behind it, the rented U-Haul truck followed at a more than respectable distance. Thomas Williams sat up in the passenger's seat and blinked away the last remains of sleep. He looked around and frowned at the, unkempt landscape. "Where the hell are we?" He said. "I think we passed through nowhere about fifty miles back," said Tony Moore. The short chubby student was simultaneously fiddling with the radio and trying not to run into the back of the Jaguar in front of them. The ancient radio made a few garbled sounds, and then spat out a mangled ribbon of black tape. "This thing just ate you are tape dude." "What!? The, fuck! I just brought that!" Tony shrugged. "The university owes me another goddamn tape that is for damn sure!" "I was tired of listening to it any way," said Tony. "Luck you." "Speaking of which" Tony peered over the top of the Jaguar and saw the two other cars that were waiting for them in the courtyard. One was a gray Mustang and the other was a brand new station wagon bearing the symbols and colors of The State University. The driver was a young blonde female. She was standing at the back, leaning into the rear of the car to rummage through the boxes she would brought with her. As she leaned forward her short skirt raised his long shapely thighs. "The abominable snow-bitch Dan." How could she be more obvious?" """" The woman reached farther into the car. Her skirt responded by sliding up even more until it was about an inch shy of her crotch. "Panties or no panties," Tony mused." What do you think?" Who gives a fuck?" "Oh, I would love to" .... "You are about two-hundred thousand a year short." "Oh, is that all? I thought she went for allot more than that." As the Jaguar entered the courtyard, the woman pulled herself out of the station wagon and turned around. She waved with one hand while adjusting her skirt with the other. Her conservative white blouse was almost transparent in the afternoon sun. The lace of her mostly nonexistent bra was plainly visible. The Jaguar followed the edge of the courtyard and rolled to a stop. The truck pulled up next to the station wagon, and the final car. A Honda Civic. The Civics' door opened and a short, brown-haired in his late thirties stepped out carrying a tattered briefcase in one hand. He smiled the blonde woman for a moment before noticing the other car. His smile widened as he approached the Mazda. "Good old dog Hilled," said Tony. He unlocked his seat belt" Still slumming after all these years." The comment brought a chuckle from Dan "That must be the psychic," Tony continued. "Female. I wonder if she is a babe. Lets see." One side of the Mama sank almost to the ground as the huge woman in the driver's seat shifted her weight. She opened the door and literally struggled to get to her enormous bulk out of the tiny vehicle. The woman was just short 300 pounds, most of it concentrated around her midsection. Her stomach and breasts was one continual bugle hidden under a ghastly red blouse. "BE! Epee!" Tony winced. Damn." "Looks like two guerillas fighting in a yellow trash bag." Damn. Look at that car ... It is still rocking." The Mazda was indeed still lurching from side to side aftershocks from the woman's exit. Dr. Hill approached the woman and extended his hand in welcome. "Careful, dog," said Dan." Get too close and she will pull you right in." Dr. Hill's clasped the woman's piggy palm, and Tony made a wet slurping sound! Help me." He said in a high pitch voice. I'm trapped in her cleavage help me." "Jesse, you are immature, said Dan. "What?! Me Oh come on! Like the guerillas in the trash bag' remark was the height of maturity!" "Uh-oh. Here comes Jeff, Dan pointed to the Jaguar. The door opened, and a tall, gray-haired man was getting out." Guess we would better get the show on the road. Ready?" "Let's do it." Dan and Tony flung the truck's door open and hopped out. The both made the same dramatic pause, then walked to the rear door with the same exaggerate swagger. The blonde in the short skirt glanced at them with disdain. "Hello Linda," Tony said. He would lower his voice a few octaves and winked at her. "Good afternoon, "she said. Reluctantly, then she looked away. Dr. He and the woman in the red blouse were walking toward them. "Uh-oh!" Tony mouthed. He held onto the van's door-latch and pretended to strain as if he were being pulled toward the fat woman by an invisible force. Too" much gravity losing grip must hold on." "Stop it," Linda mumbled. "Oh, I have not even started yet, replied instantly going back into deep-voice mode. Linda flashed him a fowl look. "You wish," she said. "Yeah, how would you know?" "Gentlemen?" said Dr. Jeff. The man was in his mid-fifties, wearing a tailor made gray sport coat with perfectly pressed slacks. His hair and goatee were immaculately trimmed, with not a single hair out of place. "I was just introducing everyone," said doctor. Brunette, this is Dr. William Jeffries research physicist." "Pleased to meet you," said Dr. Jeff "There are two of his more talented graduate students Tony Moore," "And Ron Davis. They helped bring our theories to life. Without them, all we would have are equations and lofty ideas. This is Linda Hill, of the computer science department. She developed the software we use to collect and decipher the data. And of course, you know me." "Physicists and parapsychologists working together," Ms. Hill said with an often does that happen?" "Once in a; lifetime," said Dr. Jeff. "So, dog you going to tell us what we are her for?" "We are her to become famous, Dan. You know that.' "Yeah, but why here? What is with this place? You tell us to pack for the weekend and bring all the equipment, and then we all end up in the boondocks somewhere?" "And her eel was thinking that you might actually enjoy a field test." Field test?" said Tony. He glanced suspiciously at Dr. Hex and Ms. Reynolds. "But, hush anything we may do here, we may do in the lab." "Ohm, no said Dr. Hex. "We are not testing psychics or probing anomalies. This time, we are after the real thing. "" Real thing?" "Welcome to Berkeley Manor, "Dr. He continued. "Arguably the most haunted location in America. What better place for science and the supernatural to inspect. "This is a haunted house," Dan said. He turned to look at the house behind them. It was big and old but it did not look particularly frightening. "And we are here to what? Talk to ghosts?" "We'll be doing more than talking, "said Dr. Jeff. "Once the Sampler is up and running, we will be gathering cement, scientific proof of life after death. The afterlife will no longer be a question of faith or religion it will be a matter of research, and hard evidence, and indisputable fact. All of which will be due to our work here these next few days. Believe me, gentlemen and Linda the six of us are about to forge our place in history." "Six?" Ms. Reynolds pointed to Dr' Jeff's car." Or seven?" A teenage boy was leaning on the hood, getting handprints all over the freshly waxed paint. He looked like a younger and messier version of Dr. Jeff. "Do not mind me said the boy. "I'm just the kid." He hopped onto the hood. The mettle gave a little under his weight, making a loud-clunk! That brought a collective gasp to everyone's lip. Especially Linda's. "Kyle is my son," Dr. Jeff said apologetically. "His mother suddenly decided she had to go Florida on her weekend to keep him." "How inconsiderate!" said Linda? "That is putting it mildly ." "I'm sure he will not be much trouble," said Sarah "And I'm sure he will be," said Jeff." He always is. Let's get all of the equipment inside, then Dr. Hex may get everyone up to speed. Kyle fined you a chair, and sit in it. You seem reasonably good at sitting on you are ass, so I know you may manage that." "Yeah, whatever," said Kyle. The boy trudged across the courtyard while Dan and Tony each grabbed a heavy box from the rear of the truck. The three of them reached the door at the same time. "Hey, kid," said Dan. "You want to help us carry this stuff in?" "No," Kyle replied. He yanked open one of the large double doors and slipped inside. He did not bother to hold the door open for any "Nice kid," said Tony as he caught the door with his foot. "Nothing that a few ass-whippings will not fix." "Hey, it is dark in here!" Kyle called from inside the house. Tony and Dan joined him in a dark foyer. "Whom," said Tony? He paused and looked around at nothing. The light from outside should have illuminated at least to the end of the hall but it did not. The air itself seemed to swallow the light before it could penetrate more than a few feet inside the ancient house. Dan, Tony, and Kyle stood in a tiny island of sunlight just inside the doorway everything beyond that was cloaked in abysmal darkness. The sound of their footsteps on the hardwood floors continued to echo unnaturally as if they were standing on the verge of a deep, empty cave that stretched for miles in every direction." This is cool." "Does this place even have electricity?" said Kyle. "Oh, great," said Linda. She joined the trio in the foyer. She was carrying a computer monitor with a keyboard perched previously on top of it. "No lights?" "We brought a genitor and a battery-wrack," said Tony. "If you are really nice to me we'll let you plug you are stuff into it." "Fuck you." "And women say that they may read minds." "We'll all be partaking of the generator," said Dr. Hex. The beam from the doctor's flashlight sliced through the darkness like a sword. He aimed it down the hall, where it caught the edge of a large open room and revealed the lurking, twisted shadows of what must have been furniture." I brought plenty of candles and flashlight as well. We'll gather there when you get everything inside." "Yes, sir," said Tony. Dr. He placed the flashlight on the top of Linda's keyboard and then returned to the courtyard. "You do not have to call him sir," said Dan as they started down the hall." It is just hex." Oh yeah right." "This thing's heavy" Linda grunted. She glanced expectantly at Kyle, whom walked right passed her, pausing just long enough to grab the flashlight. He swept the beam along the walls as he walked. The white paint looked relatively new, and clean unmarked by stains or cobwebs. "You smell that?" said Tony. "What?" Dan sniffed. "What do you smell?" "Not a damn thing. No dust no floor polish or air freshener nothing. Creepy." "Only if you are a dweeb whom watches to many horror movies, "said Linda. "Obviously somebody's been keeping this place clean." "With what?" Said Tony. "You smell any chemicals?""?"" "Chemicals would strip the floor, dude." Dan stomped his foot on the wood floor. "Calm down, it is just a fucking house." "Oh yeah well tell me this: How long have we been walking down this hallway?" Tony and Dan stopped, and then looked back the way they would come. The hallway was only fifty feet long at the most , yet it seemed like they would been walking for fifteen minutes. "What the fuck "Calm down," said Tony. "It is just a house." "Trick of the light," Dan replied." Hallway's longer than it seems that is why the light is funny in here." Yeah funny.' "What is the matter?" Linda called back after them. She is dropped off her equipment in the living room and was coming back for a second trip. "Little boys scared of the dark?" "I got you are are little boy' right here," said Dan. "So we got to have knights or what?" Kyle had already planted his self in a large overstuff chair in the living room. His random, lazy sweeps of his flashlight revealed several other chairs some tables and a large sofa all were either antiques or skillfully crafted fakes. This stuff looks old, Kyle remarked. "Actually ," said Tony, "It looks brand new." Dan and Tony had made it the rest of the way down the hall in a normal number of times, even though neither of them was completely sure if anything strange had been going on before. They dropped their boxes on the carpet and went back outside. Dr. Jeff and Dr Hex were wandering the perimeter of the courtyard. Dr. Jeff was going on at length about things that He could not hope but understand. Meanwhile, Ms. Reynolds stood by the door and stared intensely at the front gate. There did not appear to be anything of any interest there, but she watched it nonetheless. "You think the outside of this place is creepy," Tony said as he past her." Wait I will see you inside." "I already have," she replied. "Been here before? "That thing scared me!" "Really?" said. She gave Dan a curious look. "My aunt used to have a little barking rat like that. Damn thing was not happy until it had pissed on everything in the goddamn house. Daily. Fucking mongrel. You keep that damn thing away from me." I take it you do not like animals." "Fuck no." Dan gathered as much of the equipment as he could carry without a box and then returned to the house. He brushed passed Linda on her way out. "Excuse you" Out of my way.' "Lovely group we have here," Sarah remarked as she wandered off to join the two doctors. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said as she came up on them. "Rescuing would be more like it," He chuckled. "Jeff was explaining some modifications he is made to the Sampler but physics never were my strong point." "Perhaps it should have been," said Dr. Jeff." Greater challenges reap greater rewards yes?" "Parapsychology is rewarding enough for me, thank you." "But when you get down to it, they are really the same thing. Searching for the same answers just using different tools and expressing their findings in different terms. One just pays significantly more than the other." "Yes, there is that." "Show me the garden," Sarah blurted. "Garden? Oh, yes! I will give you the grand tour while the kids are unloading." Dr. He led the two of them down a short cobblestone path that wound through a maze of waist high shrubs. It took them a to a large garden on the east side of the house. The garden was in disrepair a sharp contrast to everything else on the property. The only thing that grew there were more bushes an unpleasant species wham's sharp green leaves bore tiny spikes on each tip. They looked lush and welcoming from a distance, but up close they became nature's tribute to the art of medieval torture. Without regular pruning, they had grown wild taking on huge, twisted shapes on either side of the walkway. In some places they jutted out into the path, almost blocking it entirely . Getting passed them required squeezing through a curtain of sharp greenery. The leaves pricked their skin, even through their clothes; the stiff spines jabbed them like dozens of hypodermic needles. They were especially difficult for Sarah, whim's wide girth brought her into contact with more of their tiny barbs. The painful shrubs tore holes in her clothes and tangled themselves in her hair. But the psychic plowed through them complaint almost as if she had not even noticed. "Where ever did you find this place, doctor?" said Dr. Jeff. He plucked a few kamikaze leaves from his coat. "It was mentioned in an article that I read.' "You and I must read different newspaper." "It was research, actually . I was looking for a place with high psychic activity...Places where other investigations failed to find a scientific explanation. There were allot of possible but this place just seemed to jump out at me. So , I contracted the owner." "And they agreed to let us come and dissect their family ghosts?" said Dr. Jeff "Actually I told her we were making another sequel to the Blair Witch Project." "The what?" "It is an old movie, "Sarah explained. "I think. Is it not? I may never keep up.""."" "Well, she did not know what it was either, but she agreed to one weekend." "Will that be long enough?" "Ohm, yes" He smiled giddy." The ghosts in this place are anything but camera shy. We'll get some action soon. Probably tonight with or without the Sampler." "And what does you are psychic say?" "Anything yet, Ms. Reynolds?" "Fear," said Sarah." Fear. And a definitive sense that we are not wanted here." "Not wanted by whom?" Sarah shrugged. "Hard to say. But there's something else." "What?" Sarah paused on the path and looked around at the shrubs that rose like walls on both sides of them. Then she looked down at the cobblestones. She frowned then walked forward toward one of the shrubs, her eyes still fixed on the path at her feet. "Here' she said. She pointed to the large bush. It is foliage was too thick to see if anything lie beyond. "" Through here." (Continues...) Excerpted from The Haunting of Berkely Manorby ANNE Copyright © 2010 by ANNE. Excerpted by permission. 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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