THE HAUNTING PAST ENTER GHOST SHIP ONE

THE HAUNTING PAST #4 ENTER: GHOST SHIP 1 After completion of our report, on the events at the gaming house, Tami and I were more than prepared for a bit of rest. The agency also wanted us to take some time off, while they cleared my arrest record. For reasons, un-clear to Mr. Brown, Tami, or myself,it seems that, although Tami and I were performing, in excellent capacity, by keeping our investigations OUT of the media, someone else was VERY interested in our adventures. Some man contacted the firm, specifically asking for Tami and I, to work a case, in Europe, specifically in Scotland, for him. He was even willing to pay as high as nine figures in salary, for Tami and I to do an investigation, for him. When Tami asked the obvious question of "Who is he?" Mr. Brown would say that his agency staff was, still, reviewing this information. Tami and I would have found this strange to hear, from the always-fully-informed Mr. Brown. His staff made sure that he had full backgrounds on everyone, from office supply store staff, to law enforcement, to caterers, and even the buildings janitor staff. Mr. Brown had known about Tami's "severe depression", and my own, physical, disability, before we even met with him. In fact, Mr. Brown even knew our doctors names, and which drugs we took. Suddenly, though, something had changed. As if out of the blue, Mr. Browns agents were missing connecting flights, and reservations were cancelled. Mr. Browns secretary could not understand this, either. The woman was so into the smallest details that, on previous cases, everything was set up, and waiting, at each investigation, no matter whom the agent was. This was Mr. Browns policy. Mr. Brown actually felt that the public would pay much more attention to a person, who was awaiting connections, than a person who just walked through a port, and on, to their destination. Mr. Brown then brought an amusing message to our attention, when he said that the latest client was offering to supply Tami and I with the latest jumbo jet, in the Boeing 747 series. The 400 model. The client was even willing to customize the planes interior, in anyway that we chose, for our confort. The client even suggested a color scheme for the jet. Tami would say that this would be a great way to blow our cover. Start showing up in a jumbo jet. Yeah, real "low" key. I agreed, asking how loud we should make the "bells and whistles", announcing our presence. By way of being polite, to the potential client, Tami and I put together a lay-out of what we would consider to be a much more "conservative" aircraft. Tami and I suggested that, if a person wanted to offer us an airplane, that they make it one of those air force Starlifter units. Our rationale was that the public had seen so many of these planes, over the years, that no one would pay one the slightest attention. We suggested that the plane be kept the same as it was, in the air force. NO fancy paint jobs. From the outside, the plane would look no different from the thousand, or so, other transport planes the air force used, everyday. It would be the inside, which would be different. The inside, we would turn into a "mobile home" of sorts. Since the plane would be large enough, we could add not only living space, but a fully equipped lab, as well. When our suggestion was complete, Mr. Brown would e-mail it, to the potential client, while agreeing with us that the client would look elsewhere, for his agents, once he read our deal. After this, Mr. Brown had Tami and I start reviewing a case, coming out of the French Quarter, of New Orleans. According to reports, it would seem that people were alledging to see some of the victims, of Hurricane Katrina, walking the streets, especially after dark. If the reports were to be believed, when victims were seen, they would ask a common question, of the living. "Which way to my home?" In more than a few reports, the witness would claim to actually know the ghost. The witness would know the person was dead. Although Tami got irate, at reading this, asking how people could be so cruel, as to report seeing the dead walking the streets, I had to wonder how much of this could be alcohol, or drug, induced. Then, there was another possibility to consider. VooDoo Could some local practitioner be fooling people, maybe with actors? I would only consider this since the practice was wide spread belief, in New Orleans, and its outlying area's. Just how many citizens actually believed was un-certain, but I agreed with Tami that, whatever this was, it was a most cruel joke, to play on locals. Tami and I were just preparing to "march" into New Orleans,"guns blazing", and root out the source of talk of the Katrina victims, turning the chief architects over to the police, for prosecution, when Mr. Brown asked Tami and I to join him on a trip, to the airport. When we agreed, we drove onto the runways, past elegant Lear, and Gulf Stream, jets, and some larger planes, before stopping in front of the local air national guard hangar. Tami and I followed Mr. Brown into the hangar, staying as close as possible to him, even as we passed some very beautiful, and functional, planes. Mr. Brown then brought us to a halt before a cargo plane. We could see that it had been retro-fitted with its jet engines, as the weld-points were clear to see. What surprised us was when Mr. Brown gave the air personnel a code-word, and a staff sargeant called forth two men, from the plane. Neither one looked very friendly, atleast at first, but the staff sargeant told us that these would be our pilots. They were retired air force, but the men knew this cargo plane inside out. From the outside, the plane did not look like much. Just a non-descript military plane. That was the outside. What was amazing was the interior. It looked almost identical, to the letter, of our proposal. When we looked at Mr. Brown, he said "Thats right, the client took your proposal just as seriously as I want you to take this case". When Tami asked "But, what about New Orleans?", Mr. Brown would say "Taken care of. The question is "Do you accept this gift, and the case?" We agreed, just for the chance to see what this plane could do. Within 24 hours, Tami and I were packed, and the plane had its flight clearance. The pilot did tell us that this trip would be longer than on a commercial aircraft, since this was a cargo transport. It was designed for hauling cargo, not for speed. (I just wish I knew how our "benefactor" had been able to secure permission for the plane to keep its air force code number). Prior to take-off, the staff sargeant had told Tami and I that we were permitted to name the plane, if we chose to. I could see the pilots relief when Tami and I asked "Whats wrong with its code-name?" Over the next year, and some additional missions, ground crews would begin calling our plane "Ghost Ship". Primarily, I think that this is because we seemed to turn up any place where there were stories of hauntings. In time, our pilots thought they would heckle the arrogant ground crews, by calling the plane Ghost Ship 1, but the ploy back-fired. Instead of laughing it off, and returning to the air force designation, we would become, UN-officially, known as Ghost Ship 1. On this trip, though, Tami and I would read up on what our client wanted us to investigate. According to the file, some rich person, from way back, made a fortune, in an un-specified field, and used their riches to buy a mountain. This mountain, the person then hired stone masons to carve into a multi-level castle, with plenty of protective barriers. Even as the castle was being carved, out of the living rock, the owner hired another team, to begin building a very deep moat, at the base of the mountain. The report speculated that the castle took fifty, or more, years to carve, since it was not only the outside, which was carved. It seems that the interior was carved out of the very same rock. The report even said that a recent survey had found atleast ten above ground levels, and some more, below ground. From some drawings, which accompanied the file, Tami and I could see that it seemed like some "tunnel-rats" had carved out a large portion of the mountains interior. According to the cover letter, the client said that he didn't even know that the place was "haunted" until after he purchased it. He said that he purchased it as a "vacation" place, but that he, and his family, had been run out of the place, by something "in-human". Something with fangs,claws, and a wailing voice, which turned his blood to ice. His point, in hiring us, was to find out what was haunting the place, why it was haunting, then get rid of it. The man insisted that he was not being driven out of a property, he had paid $200 million for, not by some "spook". I wondered if the client understood that Tami and I were investigators, not exorcisers. Our job was to verify the details, of cases, and try to determine reasons for hauntings. This is when Tami would ask, out-loud, "I wonder if he understands that we are not GhostBusters? Not the originals, nor the later ones." Arriving in Scotland, by the feel, of the soft landing, I would have thought that our pilots landed us at an ultra-modern airport, not in an un-used meadow, not far from the castle. The worst part was that we arrived at dusk, right when such old, and historic, places take on the shadows, of gothic horror stories. Tami would say that the place reminded her of the Disney classic "Night on Bald Mountain". Personally, I wouldn't go quite that far, but, in the shadow, of twilight, it was not a place I would want to be alone in. This is why I suggested that our first night just be "local recon". Lets just watch and see what the castle had to show us. Multiple times, the first night, and other nights, Tami, myself, and even our pilots, would see candles moving about, but even our trained pilots, with their military binoculars, could not see what was behind the candles. This is why one pilot suggested that the persons, holding the candles, were just wearing classic, Halloween, costumes, like "Grim Reaper". The black material would blend in, with the background, and hide the wearer from view. When I asked how the air force would handle similar un-knowns, the pilots would say to send out recon, at first light, and study the area, for foot-prints. If any were found, we would know that our "floating" candles had human hands attached. Still, we slept fitfully, that night. I dont know why but I felt as though the castle was looming over our plane, as if it were observing our actions. Come daylight, the four of us (with the experienced soldiers out front), took a walk towards the castle. The soldiers were quick to notice that there were no tire tracks, near the edge of the moat. They also noted that some jerk had built access ways from the shore, to the castle, but had not taken the process of "settling" into account. The soldier showed us some carved, stone, steps, which lead down to the accessway, but even most of the stone steps were under water. With a simple measuring tape, we found out that the accessway was under 15 feet of water. The pilot guessed that, at low tide, it was under seven feet of water. The pilots figured that our client had used a small boat, to cross the moat, but then Tami thought about something which many old architects had included in castle design. Escape tunnels. Tami had become something of an expert, on caves, caverns, and tunnels, during our time, as investigators. She had read report after report, on how other explorers had found these "hidden passages", tucked away, where no one would find them. She wondered why this castle should be any different. Although it would take us two, full, days of searching, we found the entrance in an out-cropping of rock, which, as Tami noticed, was about the same color as that of the castle rock. Coincidence? The entrance was blocked by one of those age-old, "fail-safe", locks. The kind where stones must be moved, at the same time, for an opening to appear. Whomever designed this place, however, had gone one, further, step. As Tami would figure out, this door had four key-stones, instead of two. Tami took the two, on the right, while I took the two, on the left. When we pushed, together, a section, of the rock face, silently slid back, inside, then to the right. Wouldn't you just know it. neither the stairs, nor the passage way, would have electric lights. This, from a castle, which had been built as little as 800 years ago. Just beyond the stairs, the pilots found a lift, which was more than large enough to carry all of us. It was hand-powered, but better than risking those stairs. What Tami, and the pilots, noticed, before me, was how this lift shaft, and the tunnel, were carved from the solid rock. Only the entry, and the stairs, seemed to have been added. The four of us knew when we were passing under the moat, since we could hear the waves above our heads. Ironically, the air,in the tunnel, was dry, and dusty. We only knew we had reached the end of the tunnel when we came to another hand-operated lift, which rose into the dark above us. The waves sounded more distant, now. The lift rose, maybe, fifty feet, before stopping at a platform. Since the winch was directly above us, the pilot would say "All ashore whose going ashore", with a smile. At this height, though, there was more light, coming through openings in the walls. What struck us as "odd", though was how the floors, walls, and ceilings, seemed to have been carved out of the rock, just as the outside was. Only the remains, of window coverings, doors, tapestries, and ancient doors, looked to be add-on's. About three levels up, we found a terrace, also carved out of the living rock. Only a painted mosaic, or what was left of one,decorated the floor of the terrace. It was only on the tenth floor where we found evidence of recent habitation. Someone, probably our client, had laid rubber mats in the stone floor, and had some modern furniture brought in, as well. Although the furniture was made to LOOK old, it had the marks of modern, kit, furniture. Cant say much about our clients color sense either. First, the pilots, then Tami and I, found evidence that someone had used drills, and jack-hammers, to try to hang something on the walls. Whatever kind of rock this was, it seems that the tools barely made a dent in it. Whomever commissioned this place must have cared how it looked, to visitors, since most of the rooms had fireplaces, again cut right out of the stone. This place began to give a whole new definition to the term "seemless". Even the stairs were carved out of the rock. Now that we were among things, which we understood, such as the floor-padding, we began to focus on the decor more. In one closet, Tami found what might have been "standards", or flag poles. Some still had cloth attached. It was so worn, though, that the only remaining "color" was the mold. Still, Tami bagged a few, hoping that we could learn something from them. In another room, we found something, which made us laugh. In order to create the image of a fine dining room, ugly, wooden, hoists had been installed, with cross-members, which suspended crystal chandeliers, over a long, wooden, dining, table. In the natural light, of day-time, the devices looked humorous, while, when the lights were turned on, it looked disgusting. One of the pilots appearred, on some steps, and said "Come, look at this. You have to see it". When we followed the man, two flights up the stairs, we found ourselves in what was either another terrace, or a lookout post. We just couldn't decide which it was. When the pilot pointed, we followed his finger, and saw what he saw. From this height, our plane looked like a childs toy, and something which could be smashed to bits, during a tantrum. What we found truly amazing, and frightening, was how much castle was, still, above us. That, and how much lay, un-explored, around us. From the photo's the owner had sent us, we thought this place would be tall, and skinny, not tall, and wide. Once we got settled in, Tami was the first to notice that, every time we saw "ghost" lights, phantoms, or so on, it was never close-up. Every sighting we had, while on location, was at enough distance that we could see something, but never close enough to make out details. How many times, on some nights, did we chase around the castle, hunting "sounds", "lights", and so on? One good thing, about how this place was carved. even severe rain, thunder, and so on, these sounds barely penetrated the exterior of the castle. If a person were away from windows, and openings, they would never know that a storm was going on. When our "resident" spooks decided to play bashfull, Tami and I rigged up some traps, and managed to capture one, floating, glowing, "ghost". Although the man said that he was just doing his job, as were his co-workers, he insisted that even the site-staff workers had seen "real" haunts. What the man could not understand was the reason why the castle was so quiet, now that our team was here. When Tami asked "So, this place is full of spooks, until we arrive. Then, what, all the spooks take a holiday, until we leave? What do you take us for?" The man would say "Honest, until your plane showed up, this place was what you call "active"" This gave me an idea, for exposing this con. This I discussed with our pilots, then helped Tami as we packed our gear, to leave the castle. It took the pilots a few minutes to break us free of the ruts, in the mud, but, soon, we were airborn, and leaving the castle. What no one knew was that we had flight-plan, to fly two cities away, then return in other vehicles. Thankfully, Mr. Brown made a few contacts, and arranged for some military camouflauge vehicles to meet us at the airport. Our pilots took over driving, after Tami and I loaded our supplies, then began drive back, to the castle. This time, we planned to stay out of sight. Although we did not return until after midnight, we saw more of the very sights which we saw, on our first night. No floating spooks, but some candles, and glows, thats for sure. Sneaking in, including using some fiberglass boats, supplied by the military, the four of us sneaked onto the island, and made our way up the face of the castle. This is how we, finally, got "up close and personal" with some of the resident spooks. We got close enough to use thermal vision glasses on some floating candles. Problem was that thermal revealled no body heat, near the candle. A visual survey found no wires, either. When we found another, glowing, "ghost", our pilot used a silenced rifle, and rubber bullets, to see how this "ghost" would react to the sting of the rubber. Tami and I watched, through field glasses, as the shots went right through the ghost, this time. When the pilot said "Sorry, sir, I must have missed. AT this range, though..." I told him "Dont worry, you didn't miss", to which Tami said "Your shots went through that thing". The next evening, just after sun-down, there were sparks, and flares, along with other noises, then the "effects crew" ran from the castle, swam the moat, and ran some more. After they ran away, Tami directed our attention back towards the castle where, on an upper floor, standard binoculars revealled a glowing something. It appearred to be a text-book spook, and it seemed to be watching the effects team, running away. While we observed it, this "spook" seemed to move, around the castle, like a night watch-man. That night, we watched it perform the same routine, four times. By the final lap, we knew where it would be, and when. Come sun-rise, we moved back into the castle, and mapped out the "ghosts" route. In case it was a fraud, we put down some trip wires. We, then grabbed some sleep,and we rested, and ready, come early afternoon. One thing Tami and I had to admit to, and that was that military surplus rations tasted no worse, possibly even better, than the motel food we had eaten, on past assignments. That, and the fact that portions were larger. The only thing, which made Tami and I feel like children, was how we had to have our pilots tell us what the labels meant. For example: Tami thought that "Pasta with Meat Sauce" meant "Lasagna",not "Spaghetti". Ofcourse, I thought that "Poultry Slices with Garlic Enhanced Baked Flour" meant "Chicken Sticks with Garlic Bread". I was right about the Garlic Bread. "Poultry Slices" turned out to be "Chicken Breasts and Legs" "Slices" meant "Sliced from the chicken". As far as the portions went, it turned out to be very easy to fill our bellies, with just a few of the packets. The one thing Tami and I never did, while on assignment, was to talk about ghost stories. The reason was simple. Mr. Blue, and Mr. Green, both got tired of agents making false identifications, after talking of prior, or similar, cases. As the agency would learn, from experience, reminiscing, about the past, was the best way to screw up a current investigation. It seems that recalling old details caused agents to see things, where things did not exist. Worse, people tended to mis-interpret things, when comparing the current to the previous. As a result, the agency had us burn it into our skulls: Never idly compare cases. This is why, in the castle, all we did was to verify sightings, and study our assigned area's. Since the evening was unusually clear, the four of us enjoyed the sun-set, while lounging at our "stations". We stayed out of sight, though, in case anyone was watching the castle. Sure enough, right on schedule, our phantom appearred, just where it had, the night before. When it followed the same path, first myself, then Tami, sprayed around it, with spray cans. An old trick which would have exposed any projections, including lasers. All we managed to do, though, was to spray air freshener in the halls. When one of our pilots decided to stand in the phantoms way, we noticed that the phantom just floated right through the man, non-stop. The phantom registered no recognition, at all. The pilot, though, received a major chill. We did get a major break, though, when the recorded chains, creaks, and moans, recording accidentally slipped, just a bit. Problem was, after we found the embedded speakers, and pulled the wires, we expected the sounds to end. When the sounds continued, the four of us gave a collective "What the hell?" Still, we stood our ground, and tried to identify the sounds source. No matter how many wires we pulled, in an ever growing circle, the sounds seemed to continue. Sometime, during the night, one of our pilots was off, making his rounds, when we heard a combination of growls, and a human voice, cry out. Tami was the first to reach the man, yet all she could report was a great, dark, figure, and burning, red, eyes. She said she watched it take one last swipe, out of the pilot, with a huge claw, then it leapt away. The pilot was medi-vac'd out, the next morning, by the army, which suggested we, all, should leave. We decided to stay, especially to find out what it was, which had attacked the pilot. We felt we owed his family atleast that much. For the next nights watch, our pilot issued Tami and I stun-guns. This way, if anyone got shot, it would not be fatal. I just wish someone had told the spooks about that. Especially the one who came at me. For a centuries old spook, the bearded man came at me with a strength which I had not known, for many years. Although he seemed fairly solid, any blows I landed, on his form, just passed right through him. (Or, should I say, his glowing form). By contrast, every blow, he landed on me,felt VERY real, and hurt like ... When Tami arrived, and began shooting at the man, her shots went right through his body. Suddenly, the man turned from me, and asked Tami "Lass, why you be throwing those things at me? What has I dun to ye?" When Tami did not speak, but just held aim on him, the man said "Verily well. I will return when ye want to be talkin" He, then, faded away. As for me, I came out of the encounter looking like I had been through a slicer. Tami would be the first to ask "I dont understand. How was it that he could harm us, yet our weapons are useless, against him?" I would suggest "One of the "perks" of being dead?", but my humor fell on deaf ears. Her question was sound, though, even if I didn't have an answer. When our own search, of the castle, revealled some high-tech gear, in one of the lower levels, we THOUGHT we had found the source, of the "ghosts", but only until we examined the equipment. The machinery may have been plugged in, but, when touched, it was room-temperature, or "cold", as far as being in use went. This meant that the machinery was not turned on, within the last 24 hours. Although, over the next four days, each of us spotted the black "beast", with the "burning" red eyes, each time we gave chase, it just vanished, as we tried to catch up. We observed a few ghost monks, and some ghost nun's, as well, yet none responded to our inquiries. It was as if they didn't see US. When our supplies began to run low, our pilot contacted the company office, which sent us a new batch of supplies, and some GOOD news. Our other pilot was recovered enough to re-join us. We left our stock at the castle, then drove to the airport, where we found our pilot still bandaged, yet strong enough to review the in-coming shipment. When we asked, he asked us "You think this is my first, animal, attack? Why, where I come from, hunters would have just treated me, on the trail, and kept going". We had never thought to ask what part, of America, that our pilots came from. Due to the size of the shipment, the pilot had us load the containers onto Ghost Ship 1, saying he planned to air-drop the containers onto the castle island. If his aim was good enough, he planned to land the containers right on the roof of the castle. When Tami asked if it would be wise to land the heavy containers on the roof, of the centuries-old castle, the pilot reminded her that the castle was carved out of a single piece of rock. He was even willing to bet that the containers would not even scratch the rock. Once the containers were inspected, approved, and loaded into the plane, even I was amazed at how "surgically" the retired air force pilot could navigate the country-side. He brought the plane in so slow, and so low, that we could, practically, make out the details of the castles top watch point, even as we shoved the containers out the back door. Once the containers were delivered, the pilot took the plane to the local airport, and parked it out of the way. The man had the skill of a professional race driver. It amazed me that the air force would have let him go. His only response was: Even soldiers have a limited shelf-life. When we drove back to the castle, and used the underground entrance, then climbed to the tower, it seemed like it took us hours to climb the distance, but, when we reached the containers, we found the pilot had done an excellent job. There was barely a mark, of the touch-down. While Tami would go into the local villages, over the following days, and dig into the castles history, the pilots would maintain our interior base-camp, as well as provide security, while I spent my time chasing anything which moved, and trying to establish contact. I figured that, since some of the ghosts, from the original castle case, as well as some, from the light-house, had wanted to make contact, as had some, from the gaming house, TRIED to make contact, then there might be someone here, who wanted to make contact. The question was: Which one, and where to find them? When Tami returned to the castle, she brought back some most frustrating news. The castle WAS built, very long ago. In fact, all that remained, of the original record, was a document, so faded, the paper was, nearly blank. The owners name was long-since faded away. The library was, currently, trying to use lasers, and computers, to refurbish the document. As far as she could learn, the builder had surveyed the land, verified that it was not owned, by anyone, then laid claim, to it. He then left directions that, even if he did not live to see the completion, that the work continue, until the place was complete. Tami would add that it was no "accident", that the walls, floors, stairs, and so on, were so thick, and seemed to be carved out of the living rock. She had learned that the family, who built the castle believed in building "in harmony" with nature. To them, this meant that the castle would be beautiful, if it was carved out of the living stone. This would, also, add strength, to the fortifications. The bad news was that this rock is so hard, that construction took centuries, of chipping away, at the rock. Tami estimated as many as nine generations may have worked on this place. After all that time, and all that work, the last decendant, of the owner, pasted away, maybe just 20 years after construction completed. After that, due to the remote location, the first, of a series, of religions, took up residence, and the place alternated between being a convent, and being a monastery. In time, though, the castle was "lost", by church members, who, history said, were compulsive gamblers, and the castle went into private hands. Tami would add " But, what was most bizzarre was how OFTEN the land changed owners, after the church lost it." Tami compared the centuries, during which the original owner had the land, with the centuries, when the church held the title, then compared this to the decade, or less, that each, additional, private owner held the land. Tami showed me notes, from the file, showing that the church had made several attempts, to re-purchase the castle, but the owners put a price, on the sale, far beyond what any church could pay. As for our "client", it seems that, in order to secure the castle, he had researched the owners finances, and paid off the owners debts, in return for the owner signing over the castle, to our client. When I asked Tami "Does it say WHY our "client" wants this castle, so much?", a voice, behind us, said "It is not for money, brother", and we looked to see a monk standing before a group of spirits, behind us. When I asked the spirit monk "Okay, if not for the money, than for what?" The monk would say "For the status which this place would bring him", and the other spirits nodded in agreement. When Tami and I asked "What status?", the monk would say that this place was carved out of rock, centered over a power-source. "What your age calls "Ley-Lines". This is what the man wants. He thinks that he can become more powerful, if he lives here, and absorbs the power, from within". Tami would ask the natural question of "Is this why the original builder chose this land?" This is when my attacker materialized, out of thin air, saying "No, I did so because I liked the location" When Tami asked "So, why did you attack my partner?", the spirit would say "I thought you were here to drive US out". (So much for understanding, among life-forms). Thus began a drawn out conversation, about the history, of the castle, as the spirits would "fill in the blanks", for us. If the spirits were to be believed, then it would seem that the reason why the church continually vacated the castle, and returned, later, was due to invading armies, who wanted to use the castle as a "command base". Everytime there was a war on, the church would be removed from the castle, and would only return months, or even YEARS, later. It seems that this process was repeated, many times, as one army would leave, then another might come, years or decades, later. So, why did the church continually return to this place? As a monk would tell us, unlike most places, which shook, or fell apart, under the weather, or under attack, this was the first place which held its ground. When the spirits asked why WE (Tami and I, along with our pilots), were here, we agreed that we had been sent, by the current owner, to find out if the land was, really, haunted. When my now-gentlemanly attacker asked "Now that you know it IS haunted, what next?" Tami and I said it was our job to document just how many spirits were present. This is when a nun murmured "I hope you brought a LARGE pad". When Tami asked "Why?", the nun said "Honestly, we have lost count, over the centuries." Tami would take out her laptop computer, and open a fresh, flash drive. (Mr. Brown always kept us supplied with a surplus, of 64 GB flash-drives, since our investigations always seemed to run into thousands of pages, and photographs). Although Tami did her best, often working 18 hours per day, as ghosts told her of names, dates, and places, after awhile, even Tami had to get away from the task, for a full day. Although Tami promised me that the castle was not a "spirit-magnet", it was just that so many had died within these walls. One, 20 year battle, alone, brought almost 1,000 dead, while two kings vied for the hand of a maiden. Although the woman killed herself, early on, after finding out how many were dying, over her, it seems that it was years before the kings were informed, of the maidens death, then more years while the death was confirmed. Tami would tell me that she wasn't sure that even a 64 GB flash drive would be big enough too hold all of this information. While Tami took down histories, some of the spirits showed me where they had died. A few even gave details, such as the look of the sky. Our pilots even got a bit of "spirit" help, with some trespassers. People who thought it would be funny to shoot at "spooks", only to have the dead chase the living away. Mr. Brown made sure we were kept well-supplied, during the work. In the end, though, our report would document that well over 5,000 spirits inhabited the castle, and almost none of them liked the new owner, or his plan, to turn the castle into a hotel, and resort. This is why our recommendation, to the owner, was to donate the castle to the church, as a tax-deductable donation. Mr. Brown had made the mistake of bringing the owner back to the castle, to meet with us. When the spirits heard the man say "I have spent $200 million, to buy this place, and I intend to turn it into a $20 billion wonderland, and no damned spooks are going to stop me!" A moment later, the man found himself suspended, in mid-air, off a high turret, while a voice boomed, like thunder "Turn our home into a stinking tourist hole?!" When the man said "My property", the voice boomed "really?!" When the man produced his receipt, the spirit, holding him flashed a finger and, with a flame, the receipt was gone. When the man was rough-handled, to the ground, and caught his breath, he told the spooks "I will sue you, all". To this, Mr. Brown, Tami, and I just looked at one another. When the man said "You saw it! He attacked me. Thats Assault and Battery. I am pressing charges". This is when we three asked him "Against a ghost?" The man no sooner said "Against a g...", when he thought better of it. After all, HOW would one prosecute a ghost? Before he left, our client warned the ghosts "You have not heard the last of this!" Tami asked "What does that mean?" Mr. Brown said "For humans, it would mean getting a court-order, to force them to vacate the property." When Tami asked "And for ghosts?" Mr. Brown was as clueless as we were. How does one evict a ghost? In fact, how does one evict 5,000, or more, ghosts? Are there even laws about dealing with ghosts? As for the black beast, with the burning, red, eyes, a local bishop was able to exorcise this demon. Now, it was just the ghosts to deal with. Since Mr. Brown missed his flight, while trying to pursuade our client NOT to try and bring the ghosts to trial, we offered our boss a ride, back to America, aboard Ghost Ship 1. Two months later, we would learn that the rich man was in a rest-home, after trying to bring eviction charges against people who had been dead for over 800 years. It seems that, when the man told the judge that the castle was HIS property, bought and paid for, and that he wanted the law to evict the spirits, the judge decided that the man needed a rest. It would be his brother who would show the sense to donate the castle to the church. Man, what an assignment. I told Tami that I, definitely, needed a rest, myself, after this one.