Chatter caught my attention. When I looked down the alleyway, I saw that the tour group had arrived. Most of the time my tour group consisted of couples. This night was no different.
The tour was perfect for dates. Especially if one of the twosome was more afraid than the other. Being scared gave a perfect excuse to snuggle close. A young man and woman in their early twenties and a couple in their mid-thirties walked down the alleyway toward me.
When they approached, I immediately started my speech. “Welcome to Devil’s Moon haunted tours tonight I will guide you through the haunted streets and buildings of Devil’s Moon.”
After handing out the flashlights, I continued with my tour, telling the group about the ghosts that haunted the graveyard. Sometimes I started the tour at the graveyard and sometimes I waited until the end to share the stories of the haunted graveyard. Simply because it was awfully spooky here obviously.
Tonight I decided to take them around the graveyard first and end at the tavern. After recounting the sightings of the woman in blue and the other spooky encounters, I led the group around the headstones and back toward the gate. Just as we moved through the gate to exit the graveyard, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.
Someone was walking down the alleyway, but her back faced us. A woman. It looked as if she was dressed in a black cloak. That was certainly an odd choice of attire, but not completely unheard of for around here. The thick dark cloak was actually quite pretty, but I wasn’t sure why this woman wanted to wear that tonight. It wasn’t particularly cold. A bit of a crisp nipped at the air, but nothing that a jacket wouldn’t take care of. The group seemed to notice the woman too, but they didn’t mention her.
We headed down the alleyway toward the tavern. It wasn’t awfully crowded in there tonight, so I decided to stop in now before more people arrived. Sometimes I had to skip the tavern entirely because it was so crowded. The tavern was in a building that had been built in the 1700s and was originally used as a stagecoach stop. Kings and other prominent figures of the time had even stayed in the building. Made of limestone, I thought the material helped in the aid of bringing out the ghosts. Exposed stone on the inside of the tavern continued the old charm that made Devil’s Moon such a special place. Wood beams ran along the ceiling. Every time I walked across the dinged up old hardwood floors I thought about the king, generals, and even a president that had once stepped across the same spots.
As I guided the group through the tavern, I spotted the woman at the back of the building. She still wore that cloak. Even weirder was no one seemed to pay attention to her. At least I thought that was odd. Her back still faced me. I’d have to ask Tammy about her later. Although Tammy wasn’t working tonight, she was in the corner of the bar with Matteo. They were enjoying a drink.
I waved and indicated that I’d see her later. I guided the group out of the tavern and down the sidewalk toward the restaurant, another one of the most haunted places in town. Its old brick building stored a lot of the energy from the ghosts, making it easier for them to manifest. Like they fed on their energy.
Once inside the restaurant, we bypassed the tables full of customers and I led the group up this narrow staircase to the top floor of the restaurant. This was where most of the ghost sightings took place. I guess the ghosts considered this part of their area of the building. I recounted the story of the bride of a Civil War soldier that watched out the window for her love to return home. The group clung to my words, occasionally glancing over their shoulders as if expecting to see the ghost standing right behind them. At least this let me know that my storytelling skills were on point tonight.
As I guided the group back down the staircase, and onto the sidewalk, I spotted the woman in the cloak again. It was strange. I would think she was following us, but she was always walking away from us. And I could only ever see her back, so I just assumed it was a coincidence.
The antique shop was the next on the tour. Mr. Byrd, the owner, allowed me to bring in the tour groups. Even after he was closed for the day. He’d given me a key so that I could come and go as I pleased. I always left things exactly as I found them and never allowed anything to happen to his shop. For that reason, he trusted me.
I felt bad that there were so many ghosts in his building. He experienced something paranormal almost daily. Once giving them a tour of the shop, I led the group back out onto the sidewalk. As I locked the door, I glanced behind me and noticed the woman in the cloak again up ahead on the sidewalk. I just didn’t know how to explain that I kept seeing her all over town tonight.
“Do you all see that woman up there?” I asked.
They nodded.
“Yes, do you know her?” the young woman asked.
“No, I don’t. I just thought maybe she was lost. I kept seeing her.”
“It is odd that she’s wearing that heavy cloak. It’s almost as if she’s trying to set the atmosphere for a historic tour of town,” the younger man said.
I laughed. “Yes, I suppose it does add to that scene, doesn’t it?”
I had no idea what her story was, but it was none of my business anyway. Once the tour was finished and we stopped in front of the tavern, I gathered the flashlights from the tourgoers.
“Thank you for joining me for the tour tonight. I hope to see you again. Please tell your friends and family about the Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour.”
After the tour was over, I went back to the tavern. As soon as I stepped inside, I spotted Tammy and Matteo. I waved and headed across the room toward them, weaving around a few people who stood chatting in the middle of the room.
I sat down at the table. “Hey, guys. Is everything okay?”
Based on the expressions on their faces, so I wasn’t sure.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. We’re just discussing the wedding.”
It seemed like they were having a tense moment and I felt like I should leave them alone. But I wanted to ask Tammy quickly if she’d seen the cloaked woman.
After explaining everything to Tammy, she shook her head. “I didn’t see her.”
“Is that her now?” Matteo asked as he pointed at the door.
The woman in the cloak was actually leaving the tavern. I wasn’t sure how I had missed her. At least this time a few other people looked her way. I suppose they wondered why she was dressed that way too.
“That is her,” I said. “I still haven’t seen her face.”
“It’s awfully hot for that cloak,” Tammy said and then took a sip of her bourbon.
“Yeah, I don’t know what her deal is, but I just thought it was kind of odd that I saw her all over town.”
“You know Devil’s Moon has its share of the quirky, don’t we?” she looked at me.
Was she trying to tell me something? Oh, who was I kidding? I knew I was one of the quirky ones and I was fine with that. After leaving Tammy and Matteo, I headed down the sidewalk toward my house. I kept my eye out for the cloaked woman. After seeing her so much tonight, I expected that I might catch another glimpse of her on my way home.
Chapter 18
This must be the night for seeing people out and about around town. Strange people around town. I’d seen this man before. I didn’t know his name, but he was the one I encountered on the sidewalk by the tavern. The man who had watched me and made me a bit uncomfortable. What made this even stranger was that he was near my house. Was he visiting someone or was there something else weirder going on around Devil’s Moon?