She walked down the old creaking staircase that lead to the basement of her new house. She was investigating something that probably wasn’t even true. Twenty-six-year-old Samantha Murtin had just bought an old abandoned house for a very good price. Too good of a price. Once she moved in her neighbors kept telling her to leave the home, and that the place was haunted by the ghost of Mrs. Berkin who fell down the stairs and died in the basement of the home in 1842, 128 years ago, and now she wants others to join her. But that’s ridiculous. Samantha is a woman of science. She doesn’t believe in the supernatural. It doesn’t exist. At least, that’s what she thought she believed. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Something woke up Samantha in the middle of the night, and it was coming from the basement. She grabbed a flashlight and started walking down to the basement. That rumor about a ghost haunting the basement wasn’t real, so why was she shaking? Rrrrrrr, went the wooden stairs whenever Samantha stepped on them. The sound sent shivers down her spine. But why? Samantha couldn’t be scared, ghosts aren’t real. She shone her flashlight around the basement and saw nothing.
She made a sigh of relief and started walking back up the stairs when she felt something tap her shoulder. She spun around her shoulder but saw no one behind her. Samantha clutched her chest. She had heart problems, and just couldn’t handle this stress. This stress caused by fear that she couldn’t believe existed. Samantha made a split second decision to go upstairs, sleep here for the rest of the night, then try to start selling the house the next morning. Even though she doesn’t believe in ghosts, Samantha just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something in the house. Although it’s crazy, she’s starting to believe that there really is a ghost inside her house.
Samantha scurried up the stairs of the basement to the first floor. She then climbed the stairs to the second floor and opened the door to her bedroom. She walked over to her bed and laid down. Samantha stared at the ceiling and tried to relax. She tried to forget that there’s a ghost in her house. NO! What is she thinking!? There’s no ghost. There’s no ghost. There’s NO ghost! Samantha drifted off to sleep and had a dream that was quite peculiar, but it didn’t really seem like a dream. She woke up in the middle of the night and felt thirsty, so she walked downstairs to get a cup of water. Suddenly, she felt a compulsion to go to the basement. No, she thought to herself firmly, you’re not going down to that creepy place. Besides, you have no reason to go down there. Why go if you don’t have to. But something overcame Samantha and it urged her even more to go down into the basement. So she did.
Step after step the stairs creaked as Samantha cautiously walked down into the basement. She stopped when she was almost at the bottom. What are you doing? she thought to herself, Go back upstairs. Samantha walked back up the stairs and she could feel her heart racing. Then, out of thin air, she heard a voice, “Samantha,” it whispered, “Samantha!” The whispers grew louder and louder. Samantha spun around and screamed. She saw the face Mrs. Bekin looming over her. She gasped, and as Samantha collapsed her limp body rolled down the stairs.
A man walked down the staircase and asked an older man who was bent over by a body, “Cause of death?” The older man, who was a coroner, paused for a moment and answered, “Must’ve been a heart attack. She also got hit in the head, probably from her fall down the stairs.” The younger man wrote the information given to him on a notepad. “You know officer, she just moved here. I think that she might’ve been scared from the ghost stories.” the coroner said. “Yes,” the officer responded, “We should hold a memorial service. Maybe put a plaque here so that she can rest in peace,” the officer removed his hat. “Yes,” the coroner responded as he removed his hat, “She should finally be able to rest.”
A couple people in the neighborhood gathered the next day for the memorial service. The pastor said, “Friends, today we gathered to remember the life of Samantha Murtin who was a new resident in our neighborhood. At age 26, Samantha had so many good years ahead of her. Unfortunately, her life was cut short from a heart attack that was most likely induced by the ghost of Mrs. Berkin. Although she called herself a woman of science, the tales of a ghost residing in her house was too much to bear. May she rest in peace and protect the living from the ghost of Mrs. Berkin.” “Amen!” the people responded.
It was 2012 and Rachel Montgomery just bought an old house after moving to a new neighborhood. She was about to unlock the front door as a young woman walked up to her. “You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?” the woman asked. “No,” Rachel replied, “I don’t believe in such things.” “Okay,” the woman responded, “I would still be careful. I knew someone who didn’t believe in the supernatural either, but she died from fear of the whispers in her house.” “Umm, okay,” Rachel responded, “Can I ask who you are?” “I was the former owner of this house,” the woman said as she gestured to a plaque placed next to the front door. The plaque read, Samantha Murtin, 1970-1996. A woman of science whose fears of the supernatural drove her to death. May her spirit rest peacefully and protect others who reside in this home. Rachel gasped and turned around, but the young woman was nowhere in sight. In her place was a note that read,
Remember. You may think ghosts aren’t real, but be careful of Mrs. Berkin, and NEVER go in the basement.