The Haunting of Roan Mountain Read online

  Outside of Jim and his wife Kat, no one knew I had the book, not even Linda. Comfortable in seeing it was still present, I shut the safe, spun the dial, and closed the closet. I took a deep breath and sat down on the old fabric office chair behind the desk. I started to thumb through the files of paper with no real purpose. It just felt nice to sit there in the same way I used to. Back then I had so much drive. I’d spent nearly every night in that office feverishly seeking any small nugget of information I could find for a case. Now I was fighting to even remember those days. That passion was gone, and I missed it.

  I glanced over to the old phone and answering machine on the corner of my desk and noticed the flashing red light. I pressed the play button and the ancient mini-tape in the machine started to rewind and shift into gear. Soon, the message played, e static in the background making it sound strange.

  “Um...hi David. This is Mel. Look, I know it’s been awhile, and I don’t even know if you check this machine anymore, but I need your help. Please give me a call, and I can explain.”

  As she gave her number, I feverishly scribbled it down on a Post-it note. It was Melanie. It had been years, but her voice was still unmistakable, even through all the static. I put the Post-it down on my desk and stared at it. Part of me wished I had a newer answering machine with a date stamp, but that was silly. I mean I had what, one message after a whole month of being gone. I pulled out my cell phone and started dialing her number.

  With my finger hovering over the call button, I hesitated. I was simply not ready to call her. I saved her number to my phone instead. I wasn’t afraid of calling her, but I wanted to know why she was looking for me. I wanted to think she was actually just looking to reconnect with me, but she said she needed my help, and I couldn’t imagine what that would be for. It had been years since we even talked. Even if she was going through some stuff, I didn’t see how I would be on the top of her list of people to ask for help.

  I continued staring at my phone, debating whether or not to call. Before I made up my mind, the jingle of the sleigh bell attached to the door disturbed my thoughts.

  “David, my dear, where are you?”

  It was Linda. I stood up to exit my office when the door flew open, and she walked in. She wrapped her arms around me.

  “I see you redecorated the place Linda,” I said, flashing a sarcastic smirk.

  “You really didn’t think I could keep it like it was. At least I left your office this miserable shade of vanilla.” She waved her hand dismissively at my mess of an office. “So, have you decided to leave that TV show behind and come home?”

  “What? Nah, I’m just in between taping and post-production with a few weeks off. I figured I would make sure everything is good here.”

  “David, David, David.” She shook her head. “You forget who you’re talking to. You really think I can ignore that blatant lie?” She looked at me with sincere concern.

  I silently cursed myself for playing coy with her. I knew better than to think that might get by her.

  “I’m just beat from the whole damn thing. I want to be myself again for a bit.”

  “Oh the life of a two-bit paranormal investigator in a one-horse town,” she said. “C’mon dear, you were lucky to grab that last paid gig. Without the TV show, you were gonna have to get a real job or something.”

  “You’re right. I just never thought doing this would become one of those jobs. You know, the jobs people sleepwalk through while saving their real lives for when they clock out.”

  “David, everything has a price. You know that better than anyone. What you don’t know is if the price of financial stability is worth the price you are paying. You answer that, you know what to do. Find yourself, find your answer.”

  2

  I went home with Linda’s voice echoing in my head. I’d sat on the opposite side of the table a thousand times listening to her spew that kind of crap to clients. But now to me? Worst of all, I understood what she was saying. She was right. I needed to find myself and realize what I really wanted to do. I was far better at solving other people’s problems than I was at understanding my own.

  I fished out the piece of paper where I’d written Melanie’s number and just stared at it. I ran through all the possible reasons she may have called, realizing the only way I would get an answer was if I asked her. I took a deep breath and dialed the phone.

  After a couple rings, she picked up. “Hello?”

  One word was all it took for visions of her to come flooding back into my head.

  “Melanie? It’s David. I got your message. What’s going on?”

  “David! Oh my God! I can’t believe you called back. I kinda assumed you would never get the message. Look, I really need your help. Um, professionally. There are a lot of weird things going on here, and you were the only one I felt like I could call.”

  “Wait, like paranormal stuff?” I asked, feeling a bit taken aback.

  “Yeah, of course,” she said. “Listen, I’m at work and don’t really want everyone here knowing about all that. Are you home now?”

  “Yup, I’ll be home for a few weeks,” I replied.

  “How about you come meet me so I can talk about this?”

  “Uh yeah….sure. When and where?”

  “How ’bout you meet me up at the Carvers Gap, where we used to go hiking, tonight around six?”

  “Damn, I haven’t been up there in forever. Sounds good. I’ll see you then!”

  “David, thank you,” she replied. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tonight.” I hung up the phone.

  That explanation for the call was not what I’d been expecting; deep down I’d hoped it was something else. Eh, it’s easier this way.

  A few hours later, I started getting ready. After putting on my jeans and hiking boots, I spent almost ten minutes picking out a shirt. I realized I’d spent more time looking in the mirror than I did when getting ready for a recording. I felt foolish. I splashed some water on my face and tried to tell myself not to think about her. This was a gig, nothing more.

  Soon, my truck sped out of Erwin en route to Roan Mountain. Despite all the games I was playing in my head, I was excited about this. I used to spend so much time up at the Gap hiking the Appalachian Trail. Simply going up there would be a welcome reprieve from the life I had been leading.

  It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun shone brightly across the pavement. After navigating the switchbacks, my truck finally reached Carver’s Gap.

  Despite the near perfect weather, there were only a few cars up there. It was the highest parking area on the mountain, as well as the trailhead for the Appalachian Trail and various other paths across the mountain balds. I was a little early, so I parked the truck and stepped out. Even there, away from the trail, the fragrance of the rhododendrons in bloom was overwhelming. It was truly a beautiful area.

  I made my way to the trailhead of the current Appalachian Trail and entered the canopy of trees surrounding the trail. It always amazed me how the temperature dropped so much in the wooded trails. The sun was blocked out, and it was cool and dark. It was like stepping onto another planet. As I headed up the first part of the inclined trail, I marveled a bit at how easy the walk was. Years earlier, it had been far more taxing for me. I realized that all the work I’d done to get in shape for my on-camera life had its benefits.

  With that new-found energy, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to take on the trail. I paused to look at my watch and realized it was time to head back to the parking lot and meet up with Melanie. I took a deep breath as apprehension started to sink in and made my way back.

  I slowed my pace as I neared the trailhead. The canopy of trees started to open up, and I began to get a line of sight to the lot. I saw a car parked in the lot that hadn’t been there when I’d started on the trail, a black Jeep Wrangler. Melanie leaned against the fender, her long dark brown hair blowing in the breeze. She looked gorg
eous.

  “Melanie!” I yelled as I clumsily stepped off the trail into the parking lot.

  As her name left my mouth, I realized that for all the time I’d spent honing my laid back and suave persona for the TV, I was clearly still the same clumsy odd kid as back in high school. I forced a deep breath to try to harness my more refined persona.

  Melanie slowly turned around to face me and a smile appeared on her lips. As clumsy as I was, Melanie was equally cool. Whatever happened, she had always taken it in stride. She was a bit of a tomboy, a jeans and a t-shirt kinda girl, but there was a natural beauty in that. No, she’d never been the prom queen. At the same time I’d always found her to be more beautiful than any prom queen I’d ever seen. Her green eyes had always stood out to me, and on that day it was no different. Of course, I couldn’t help but notice her perfect figure. All these years later and even now, the sight of her still took my breath away.

  As I neared her Jeep, she walked around it to greet me.

  “David! Thank you so much for coming,” she said as she greeted me with a hug.

  “Like I’m gonna miss an excuse to come up here,” I replied.

  She looked me up and down cautiously.

  “Uh, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s good to see you, just surprising after so long,” I said realizing that didn’t sound any better.

  “David, it’s fine. It has been forever. I get it. I’m just glad you showed up.”

  Rather than prolonging the awkwardness any longer, I decided I should get to the point. “So what can I help you out with?”

  “Shit, I don’t know where to begin.” She bit her bottom lip in distress. “Look, the last few years have been a bitch. We’ll just leave it at that. Then, I finally got my shit together, finally bought a house. I was standing on my own for the first time in like twenty years, and then this house starts messing with me.”

  “I’m sorry Melanie. I really am. Tell me about this place.”

  “It’s an old tiny home, but every time I step inside, I feel like someone is watching me. I’m constantly looking around for someone. I’m constantly hearing things. I can’t sleep. Hell, I can hardly go back there, but I have nowhere else to go.” She put her hands on her head as if she were fighting a headache.

  I’d witnessed a lot of different reactions to the supernatural. Some ignore it and pretend like it’s nothing. Some get angry. Some start sobbing during our first conversation about it. I knew Melanie, she wouldn’t cry. However, it was clear that she was in pain. I put my arms around her in an attempt to comfort her, but her body was rigid.

  “Okay, it’s alright,” I said. “We’ll figure this all out.”

  Looking at her, conflicting feelings washed over me. I knew there’d been a divorce. I saw the strange tattoo of a clock on her wrist. So much had changed since I last saw her, but it was still Melanie. I realized no matter how far we had come in life we were still the same people at our core. That put me in a very difficult spot. She was calling on me for help, but what if her problems had nothing to do with the paranormal? Half the time, people imagined these things in a subconscious attempt to excuse or explain every unresolved issue within their psyche. If that turned out to be the case here, I didn’t know if I would be able to tell Melanie that.

  “Listen, I want to help you, but you should know upfront I may not be your best choice on this.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” she said, not hiding her annoyance. “What the hell do you mean you’re not my best choice? This is your world. I spent days on end listening to you ramble on about this crap. I can’t even turn on my TV without seeing you wearing night vision goggles while walking through some old hotel. Now you’re back here, and you can’t help me?” She turned and started walking back towards her jeep.

  “Jesus, Melanie! That is not what I’m saying. I’m here because I want to help you.”

  She stopped and turned to look at me.

  “Then just tell me what you are trying to say….’cause it sounds like you’re blowing me off. Just like everyone else has.”

  “Listen, these things are not always simple. It isn’t a matter of throwing some holy water around and being done. It takes time. I am here right now but will be leaving again in a few weeks for post-production. I am only concerned I might not be able to see it through. Not to even mention that no one can know I’m doing this. My contract forbids me from even having this conversation without clearing it through the production company.”

  I felt horrible saying that. I hadn’t lied. They were all true statements. However, my deepest concern was the potential that the problems might not be paranormal at all.

  Her eyes softened a little as she thought through what I’d said. “Look, I am sorry. It’s just after the last few years, I really needed this house to be a fresh start for me, a chance to let go of the past and start new, but from the moment I moved in…well...it’s been a nightmare. I’m getting close to losing it here.” She stepped closer to me. “I get it, you have your life and everything else going on. But you’re David, the kid I grew up with, the guy I spent countless days and nights with up on this mountain. I don’t know. It just felt like if anyone could help me with this, it would be you. I just need someone to be honest with me. There is no point having someone come in there and string me along on this. I can’t afford to leave, but I also know that if I do have to leave, you’re the one person who would tell me that.”

  As she said those words I realized just how judgmental I’d been. She needed my help, and I was not being the friend she always had been to me. I was treating her like that woman in the airport.

  “You’re right,” I humbly replied. “I’m sorry, Melanie. I come home from the show, but I guess I don’t really let go of being the person on the show. I forget sometimes that here, I need to let go and be me. That isn’t right. If you want my help, you got it.”

  For a few moments, she didn’t respond. She just looked at me. After what felt like minutes, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you!”

  For the next half hour she gave me a bunch of completely vague descriptions of what was happening that did little to quell my reservations. It was hard to form an opinion without being in the house and feeling it. Yet, it was good to talk to her. It helped break the ice after the turn the meeting had taken. We agreed that I should take a look at the house itself. We got in our cars, and I followed her down the mountain to her home.

  As we descended the mountain, I replayed our meeting in my head. Typically, I didn’t get emotionally involved with my cases, at least not at the beginning. I was able to approach them objectively. That was not the case with Melanie.

  I replayed the range of emotions and reactions I’d had since receiving her message. Those thoughts unnerved me. She meant something to me. That much was clear. I knew I had to separate those feelings from the case itself. I hoped I would be able to.

  After a few minutes, we had made it down the mountain. I followed closely as her Jeep slowed to pull off onto the short gravel drive. The drive led to a set of cabins. She pulled to a stop in front of the second small cabin. The cabins were old but held a certain charm. There was a wide front porch extending across the entire windowed front. It was the image of a cozy mountain cabin.

  I parked my truck and got out, looking at the beautiful scenery.

  “Wait, you didn’t tell me this is where you lived,” I said. “Damn, I’ve been by these places a thousand times. Didn’t they used to be vacation rentals?”

  “Nobody has vacationed here for a long time. They were owned by a father-son combo for a few years. They kinda trashed the place. Anyway, they came on the market not long ago. Given the size and condition, it was about the only place I could afford without moving back to Erwin full-time with my mom.” She paused. “So how does this work? I’ve seen your show. Do you camp out with a bunch of equipment or something?”

  “Hell no! That show, well that isn’t what I do. This... this is a little more per
sonal. I’m less concerned with making interesting TV than I am with feeling what this house has to say to me,” I replied.

  “Well, come on in then, I guess. I’ll get you some tea.” She walked up the steps to the porch, waving for me to follow.

  Getting my first glimpse of the small cabin, I quickly took in the layout. There was a main room that served as both a kitchen and family room. Of course, no cabin would be complete without a stone fireplace. A small hallway led to the bedroom and bathroom. There was a vaulted ceiling over the main portion of the house, and a loft above the bedroom in the back, creating another space usable for a bedroom.

  Whenever I first walked into the location of a supposed haunting, I tried to get a feel for the energy present. Sometimes, it was overwhelming, like a thick fog. Other times it was completely tranquil. This cabin was neither of those extremes. There was certainly some energy present. However, it didn’t feel particularly strong or menacing.

  Melanie hurried to the kitchen and pulled out a pitcher of tea from the refrigerator. The cabin was clean and neat. There wasn’t a speck of clutter. It took me a moment to realize why this stood out to me. Then, I realized that it wasn’t just the lack of clutter, but the lack of anything personal. There were no pictures on the walls, no magazines or books on the table. It was sterile, like a vacation cabin, not a home.

  “How much time do you spend here?” I asked.

  “I try to stay out as much as I can. When I first moved in, I was here all the time, but it’s hard. I can’t stand being alone here with all this stuff going on. It is completely unnerving to be alone and feel like someone is watching you. Lately, I pretty much only sleep and shower here. Other than that, I’m up on the trails or at work.” She poured the tea into two glasses.