Uncle Roy

The Ford family was unlike any other family for several reasons. For one, they liked old broken down houses. For another, they liked to collect artifacts that had legends of a curse on it. Their most prized possession was a scepter from Ancient Egypt. However, rather than talk about it, they were very secretive. The Ford family never invited people over and rarely attended social gatherings.

One day, Mr. Ford, who was a telemarketer, overheard a rumor that his home was haunted. He decided to listen in on the conversation so he could have his facts straight.

"Did you hear about the strange noise coming from the old Ford place," Jane, a new intern at the telemarketer office asked John. "It was an eerie noise, kind of like a wolf howling combined with a creaky old door."

James, another telemarketer, answered, " I heard it too. I think it may be a ghost from the previous owner." With that said, the two of them went back to their desks to get back to work.

Mr. Ford, thinking to himself, they heard too much already. We have to be more careful about our ghost with dementia getting out. It could be devastating to everyone here.

The rest of the day passed without incident. Finally, when he was on his way out to his car, James asked him, "What was that noise I heard from your home last night? It sounded eerie."

Startled, Mr. Ford responded, "There wasn't anything from my home. It may have been a different place that was near mine."

James gave him a questioning look, and a wave, both men climbed into their cars and drove off. Mr. Ford quickly drove back to his home near the swamp, eager to tell his wife about what happened at work. Before he made the turn to the swamp, a ghost appeared to him. This was the ghost with dementia that Mr. Ford was concerned about.

"Where are we going," the ghost of Uncle Roy asked.

James answered, "We are going back home. You know you can't wander around outside. We can't trust anyone outside of our family."

Uncle Roy replied, "But I am home. I saw some strangers at a house I had never been to before."

"Uncle Roy, that house is our family home. We are in my car now. I leave home to go to work each day and blend in. It's not easy to do," Mr. Ford said. He was concerned about the family secrets coming out. He didn't know which one was worse, having a ghost live with him, or the whole family being unable to eat cheese due to addiction.

A few minutes later, Mr. Ford arrived at home. Once inside, he gave his wife a hug and a brief overview of what happened at the office.

"We have to be more careful. Uncle Roy has to stay here at all costs. If other people in town discover our secrets, it won't be good," Mrs. Ford said. "Now, let's have some dinner. I made our steaks rare."

As they are dinner, Uncle Roy, who did not remember dying kept trying to pick up a fork to eat, but it kept going through his hand. Finally, he gave up trying, and said, "I can't eat. This food won't go up into my mouth."

Thinking quickly, Mr. Ford said, "Its ok. Why don't you get some rest and try again later?"

Uncle Roy agreed but seemed sad about it.

With the Fords going about their normal home activities, no one noticed that they were being watched. Out in the bushes, James was watching everything that happened. Even though he couldn't see Uncle Roy, his camcorder picked up an unusual voice that didn't belong to Mr. or Mrs. Ford. Smiling to himself, James thought to himself, I have you cornered now. Let's see you explain this to everyone.

The next day at work, James approached Mr. Ford. Once he got to his desk, he asked, "Who's voice was echoing around the swamp near your place last night?"

Mr. Ford tensed up, and asked "What are you talking about? I had a nice dinner with my wife last night."

James said suddenly, "Look, people from the office have been following you for a few days now. I got some video recording last night." Then he pulled out the camcorder and pressed play. Unfortunately, the video did catch bits of the conversation with Uncle Roy. Mr. Ford looked worried, then said, "That's just a Halloween trick. My wife and I put that up this year to have fun with any trick or treaters we may get. You know to scare them a bit in the spirit of fun."

James, feeling uncertain about this explanation, said, "Remember, this was just last night. Other people have reported seeing similar things around your place. Hopefully we are just getting suspicious because of the kind of home you have. It looks like a haunted house."

Mr. Ford said, "I'm positive about that. We have nothing to hide."

James, not sure what else to do, decided to walk away quietly.

Mr. Ford, unsure of what to do, decided to invite a couple people over for dinner the next day. He called his wife and told her the plan over his lunch break. She agreed to it. After lunch, Mr. Ford quickly went to James and invited him out to his place for dinner the next day. James agreed.

At dinner the next night, James arrived and was surprised by the warm smells of pork chops and baked potatoes coming from the kitchen.

Mr. Ford, said, "We are lactose intolerant here. That's why you won't see much in the way of dairy products. It would make us sick."

"I see," said James, as they enjoyed their meal.

Everything had gone smoothly, until Uncle Roy made an appearance. The ghostly sound scared James to death.

Uncle Roy, who came to dinner often, sat down next to James.

Upon feeling the frozen rush of air, James lost his color and rushed out the door.

The Ford's were happy now because they would be left alone. James was so shaken that no one could make sense of what he was saying anymore.