Terror on The Moors

Penny Limington has recently moved into Somerset Lodge in the village of Kingshill that is located in the moorlands of Devonshire. Somerset Lodge is a typical Georgian double fronted farmhouse with a floor to ceiling sash window on either side of the hall door, and three small windows above that are on the next floor. The interior is more or less like any other double fronted house, but at the same time a little different in other ways. There is the usual layout with a reception room on either side of the hall door, with a large staircase in front of it that graces the large square hall. Also in front of the hall door is an arch that leads to a door that has a third reception room. To the left of the arch is a corridor that wraps round the third reception room and has a servants staircase to one side of it and at the end is a fourth reception room to the left that is known as the snug and the kitchen to the right.

It is a winter's evening, and Penny has just lit the fire after coming in from work and is sitting down enjoying the comfort of the room, when she is alerted by the sound of footsteps in the room above. Penny quickly rises from her seat and goes to see if anyone is there.

‘Hello, is anyone there? Hello, listen I won't be angry if you come out’

Penny walks back down the stairs, and just as goes through the arch, she hears the pitter patter of footsteps again.

‘Alright, listen why don't you come out, and I'll make us a nice cup of tea and we can have a chat’

As Penny is standing on the stairs trying to make sense of this nonsense, she is looking towards a bedroom door and hears footsteps walking towards it, and the door starting to bang open and closed, but does not see anyone. It is then that an ultra chilling feeling is going through Penny's spine and quickly runs down the stairs and out the hall door. 

Penny runs out the gate and turns right, crossing the old stone bridge that belongs to the river that divides Kingshill village and Somerset Lodge.

When she gets to the village, Penny meets Mr Shakespeare, a tall man who wears a winter coat and a hat and speaks with a deep voice. 

‘Miss Limington. You look a little shaken. Is everything alright?’

‘I think I have a ghost in my house’

‘Oh that will be Sister Constantia’

‘Mr Shakespeare, are you telling me that I am sharing my house with the ghost of a nun?’

‘Exactly. Why do you think the house was up for sale for so long? Why do you think that you got it so cheap?’ 

‘Have you seen this nun before?’

‘Sister Constantia. Why, of course. The entire village has too’ 

‘Mr Shakespeare, you are scaring me, what is it you do all day?’ 

‘I sit in my library. Read my books. Smoke my pipe. Drink port. Deal with other important affairs’

‘I am going to go back home and make friends with Sister Constantia now’

‘I wish you the very best of luck’ says Mr Shakespeare slowly walking through the gate to his house 

Penny walks back to her house with a full moon shining across the moorlands. Even though a full moon is shining, it is still a dark night out and the winds are starting to howl across the moorlands as Penny begins to set up the avenue of her house. She hears noises in the moonlit woodland just inside gates as if someone is there, but she sees nothing. 

Penny goes into the hall and starts to make conversation with Sister Constantia

‘Now I know who you are, hello Sister Constantia’

After Penny says hello, she hears ghostly screams coming from upstairs.

‘Sister Constantia, there is no need to be scared’ Sister Constantia then lets off extremely angry screams and frightens Penny.

‘Sister Constantia I want to be your friend, there is no need to be scared or angry’

‘I.  Do.  Not.  Make.  Friends’ says Sister Constantia

‘Alright, well I’ll go on to bed, and you are free to roam the house’

‘That.  is.  What.  i.  Always.  Do.  Go.  To.  Bed’ says Sister Constantia glaring at Penny

‘Alright I am going, goodnight’ says Penny rushing up the stairs in a state of panic, realising that she is not liked at all by Sister Constantia

Penny closes her bedroom door, and locks it afterwards not knowing what is going to happen next, and hurry's into bed, and quickly turns out the light.  She lies there trying to make plans about what to do about Sister Constantia, and soon tries to get some sleep.

As Penny closes her eyes, she feels some movement in the room, and opens them only to be greeted by the figure of a nun standing before her bed in amongst the darkness.

‘Sister Constantia, what is it you want?’

‘Do.  Not.  Ever.  Ever.  Lock.  That.  Bedroom.  Door.  Again’

‘I’m sorry’ says Penny feeling extremely frightened

‘Unlock.  It.  Now’

‘I will’ says Penny quickly turning on the light and running out of bed towards the door

‘You.  Can.  Sleep,  Now’

Penny falls asleep, and several hours later she wakes and gets up.  She walks out her bedroom door and as the grandfather clock in the hall is chiming 3.45 am, she sees Sister Constantia’s habit rising up the stairs.

‘Sister Constantia, what is it you want?’

‘Do.  Not.  Ask.  Questions.  I.  Am.  Free.  To.  Roam.  This.  House’

The next evening, Sister Constantia does not make any appearance whatsoever.  However, just after she turns around from the stove with her dinner to put it on the table, she drops it on the floor as Sister Constantia is sitting in front of the chair she is about to sit in and is once again staring at her.

‘Sister Constantia, you look upset, can I help you?  Sister Constantia, what is wrong?’

Penny starts to get a strange feeling of ice being smashed off the inside of her back and very slowly trickling down her spine. She quickly runs to the hall door, and down to the village, and is greeted by Mr Shakespeare

‘Good evening Miss Limington’

‘Mr Shakespeare’

‘You seem a little surprised to see me’

‘It’s just every time I come down here, you are always there, here in the village square’

‘Oh but I live here, and it is only right for a person to step outside their hall door and get a little fresh air from time to time’

‘I suppose you're right’

‘Did you see Sister Constantia again?’

‘Several times, I tried to make friends with her but she said no, and now she is really scaring me’

‘Sister Constantia does not like anybody.  People get use to her, the village has got use to her’

‘How do you know when she is in the village?’

‘The village clock will chime out of sequence, and the river will stop running’

‘When did Sister Constantia die?’

‘1951’

‘How did she die?’

‘Between 1931 and 1933, Celia Wigmore was living in the house.  She took her poor mad sister Mildred in.  Her other sister, Sister Constantia came to try and heal her.  She thought with the hand of God, and her being a nun, that there might be some hope for poor Mildred.

On November 12th 1931, Sister Constantia was walking out of her bedroom when she met Mildred in the landing.  Mildred started to get extremely angry.  Celia tried to intervene but there was no stopping her.  Next Mildred pushed Sister Constantia down the stairs, and she died immediately’

‘That is terrible.  What happened to Mildred and Celia?’

‘Mildred was locked up in an asylum, and Celia moved to Sussex’

‘Will Mildred ever be let out of the asylum?’

‘She won’t’

‘But will that not be tough, and make it even worse for her?’

‘She doesn’t have to worry about anything now’

‘I don’t understand’

‘Not a word to anyone.  Yesterday I ordered her execution’

‘You did what?’

‘This morning, the execution of Mildred Wigmore took place at 10.am in the asylum’ 

‘That is awful, I am going back to the house’

Before you go.  She has been seen in the woodland beside the entrance to your driveway’

‘I will look forward to befriending her’

‘You are a strange man Mr Shakespeare, do you know that’

‘If you say so’

‘Before I go, what happened to Sister Constantia after she died?’

‘Sister Constantia was very much liked by her community in Pembrokeshire but Celia wanted her buried close to the house so the peak that has obelisk that is just up from Somerset Lodge is where Sister Constantia is buried’

‘How did Celia manage to bury her under and obelisk?’

‘The obelisk was put there as a gravestone by the convent she belonged to in Pembrokeshire’

Penny get’s back to the house, and the next evening it is raining very heavily.  Once again, there is no sign of Sister Constantia and even though Penny is getting her supper, she is keeping a lookout for her but nothing.  It is only when she is half way through her supper that she starts to hear strange rumbling underneath the house.  Then a few minutes later, Sister Constantia  bursts through the tiled floor as a vampire.  Penny grabs the keys of her car, and flees down the corridor by the backstairs being chased by Sister Constantia.  She quickly makes her way into the hall, and out the door and just about manages to get the car door open as Sister Constantia is running out the door.  Penny locks both doors of the car and begins pulling the starter lever of her Morris Minor but without success.  She tries several more times with the squealing and whining sound of the ignition, and engine getting longer and longer but thankfully after four attempts, Penny gets it going.  The rain is so heavy that she can barely see out the windscreen but drives as fast as she can down the drive as she notices the gates moving, realising they are about to close.  Penny looks out the rear view mirror realising she is being chased down the drive by Sister Constantia.  She just about manages to get out the gate as they are about to close.  With the car a little damaged by the gates, Penny drives in the opposite direction of the village away from the house and heads for her grandmother's house that is about a one hour drive away.  

‘Granny, please don’t be out, I’m coming to your house.  I’m coming to your house, granny.  Yes I am coming to your house.

‘Penny, it’s your grandmother Marigold, I am here, were you having a bad dream?’

‘Wait now, where am I?’ asks Penny looking around her still half asleep

‘After your graduation at college, you decided to come and spend a few days with me’

‘How did I have that terrible dream?’ asks Penny feeling completely confused

‘You were watching a film on the internet, and that automatically went onto this horror film, and I think you must have been listening to it in your sleep’