Initially written during a writing sprint in a Writer’s Pen meeting

A Ghostly Prank

by Rosemary Gooding

Marlene was a regular visitor to our coffee morning group. I think she might even have been the founder with Jean. Last week she did not turn up and was not at home when I rang her. Di said she was not well, but then we heard through the grapevine that she’d had a fright.

At a recent meeting, she randomly mentioned that she’d found pillows in the garden and when we quizzed on their provenance, she told us she did not know. I stayed at her house once and in the middle of the night I woke to hear someone playing the piano. There was no piano in the house; Malene was not even interested in music and when I told her what I’d heard she laughed it off.

At the last coffee morning she handed out the coffee, but the cups were empty! And then as we nibbled on her homemade biscuits, we quickly realised there was no sugar in them! Marlene laughed it off again and proclaimed it was time we were all shaken out of our complacency and forces unbeknown to us were making their presence felt. Marlene said she was bored and ready to stir things up. 

Tempting as it was to give her a taste of her own medicine, Jean and I chose to left well enough alone.   Although it is surprising what goes around comes around.

Di heard Malene’s engagement ring and a string of pearls her mother had left her had disappeared from her house but there was no burglary. Someone advised Di’s husband Jack to call in an exorcist. The exorcist said Jack and Marlene should remove some paintings because they have a bad vibe, and said an evil entity possessed their house.

Jack didn’t need to pay an exorcist for that information – Joan and I could have told him for free!

July 2023