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Harlow House Investigation	By : Need2ScreamNow Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Avenged Sevenfold Views: 1051 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not know/own anything associated with Ghost Adventures or A7x. I'm not making any money and this is all fiction

Chapter List
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            Sprawling over fifty acres the Harlow House was deep in southern Georgia. An unpainted rail fence ran the length of the property by the road and it is backed up by untamed rose bushes and lilacs big as trees. At the newly blacktopped driveway the simple fence became massive curling rod iron gates. Beyond them were tall twisted oaks, bent like old men and jacketed in trailing moss that undulated gently in the late fall breeze. The leaves weren’t as thick as a summer cover but still shaded the asphalt. At the end of the drive, one of the oldest houses in the south rose up over the land. Fresh white paint on the wooden slats and glossy black shutters flung back from the windows. Wide sweeping flagstone steps trailed up to the double oak doors like a woman’s gown. Antique light fixtures hung next to the doors burning now with electricity but at one time had held flame. Along the second story a balcony stretched across the façade centered over the front door. French doors with frosted glass were open to the pleasant weather, soft blue drapes blowing in the breeze.
            Johnny stuck his head out the window and watched the trees roll by, the too sweet scent of roses and lilacs blew through, just under the perfume was a weedy smell he knew simply as “country”. “This place is pretty cool.” He said softly, bringing his head back inside. Zack yawned and nodded while scratching his head, “it’ll be cooler if we see some ghosts.” He said. In the passenger seat, in front of Johnny, Brian lifted his head off the window where he’d been asleep for the last forty-five minutes, “damn.” was all he said. Matt tapped on the steering wheel and pulled into the small parking lot that had been made off to the left of the drive. Johnny frowned a little at the slick black that intruded on the soft green grass and the hot smell of asphalt overtaking the subtle scent of flowers. “They probably had to cut down two of those trees to put this in.” he said to no one in particular. Zacky ruffled his head, “you can hug the others to make ‘em feel better.” He said sliding out of the car. Johnny rolled his eyes and got out as well, “I’m just sayin’.” Out of the car the smell of asphalt was stronger and he followed the others past a black van bristling with antennas and a new sign, Harlow House History Museum written in elegant turn of the century script and intentionally faded in some places, it still smelled like paint.
            “See, they used the tree to make the sign, they recycled.” Brian said rapping his knuckles across the wood. Matt laughed and Zack put a friendly arm around Johnny’s shoulders while he flipped their lead the bird. Matt knocked on the door and a woman in a nineteenth century dress opened the door, “Welcome to Harlow House,” she said in a bright southern drawl. She caught Matt’s tattooed arms and reflective sunglasses, “you must be the band.” She said stepping back, “come on in, they haven’t started the tour yet.”
            Inside the house opened up, a long red runner with gold paisley ran the length of the foyer and ended at a sweeping grand staircase. The wooden steps and banisters gleamed with polish. To the left sunlight poured in from a bay window, a small recess was cushioned with stiff looking pink and white pillows. Further still, was a doorway leading to the kitchen where voices drifted out. To the right were more windows giving the house an open and airy feeling. A high backed love seat and a wooden rocker were set around a flagstone fireplace. No fire burned but there were heavy logs set and ready for a flame. “More recycling.” Johnny whispered. When Zack bit his lip his teeth clicked against his piercings. The woman led them to the kitchen and they passed another hallway that stretched several yards before making an abrupt right.
            In the kitchen Zak Baggins in the usual Affliction shirt and baggy jeans was talking excitedly with a man in clothes to match the woman’s. Aaron fiddled with the light on his camera, a deep frown on his teddy bear face, while scarecrow-like Nick filmed the two talking.
            “How many people do you think have died in this house?” Zak asked trying not to look at the camera or see what Aaron was doing. The man rocked back on his heels, “I’d say at least a hundred.” He said after a pause. Zak gave in and looked at the camera, “a hundred, at least. That’s a lot of death for one property.”
            “Oh no, the hundred is just for the house.” The man clarified, “for the property it’s got to be several hundred. This house was used as a confederate hospital during the civil war and many of the men brought here died. Before that of course it was a plantation and the number of slaves who died on the property are largely unrecorded. And,” he continued warming to his numbers, “before that this was the home of a wealthy English merchant by the name of Wren Smith, the house was built in 1734, and the merchant sided with the redcoats. During the War of Independence Smith was killed and his widow married into the Harlow family and it’s been in the family ever since.” He finished with flourish.
            Johnny listened to the story with about as much attention as he ever gave to a history lesson and he wound up looking over the large cooking hearth with plastic food set up for visitors to see the normal fare of a wealthy family from the nineteenth century. Zak noticed the five others that had joined them in the kitchen and asked Nick to cut. Once the camera lights were out the three ghost hunters came over and introduced themselves. Zak’s handshake was firm and the energy coming off him perked Johnny up a bit too, the guy was really excited to be at the house.
“This place has so many creepy stories, we interviewed people in town yesterday and almost everyone we talked to has had an experience, this was such a great find I’m hoping we get some full bodied apparitions tonight. Oh and I’m Zak by the way.” He gushed. Johnny nodded, “hey, I’m Johnny. Yeah man, I’d like to hear Matt scream like a little girl tonight.” He said for lack of anything else to add. The singer flicked the side of his head, “if anyone’s gonna be screaming like a girl it’ll be you. When I stuff you in a closet, brat.” He said. Zak laughed and pounced on Vengeance. Nick was the next in line and while his excitement wasn’t at the redline levels of Zak’s it was still prominent, “Hi, I’m Nick, nice to meet you. He’ll chill out, don’t worry. He had like four energy drinks this morning and this place is pretty awesome, we’ve been having technological issues since we walked in the door. The people keep telling us it’s the old piping in here messing with stuff but I’m almost certain it’s spirits.” He chuckled when Johnny looked over his shoulder at the bright foyer they had been in moments before. This place looked like an eighteenth century Martha Stewart set up than a haunted house. Aaron skipped the handshake and went for a fist bump instead, “sup, I’m Aaron.” He said, drawing out the first word. He was a couple inches taller than Johnny, like most people, but his enthusiasm was on keel with Johnny’s and that put them on even footing. “Have you guys had the peach pie yet? Man, you gotta get some before you leave, it’s so good.” He said nodding his head to a back window where a grove of squat trees grew in the distance. Johnny grinned, “sup man, I’m Johnny. Every time we’re in Georgia.” He said. Aaron gave him another fist bump, “that’s what I’m talkin’ about, nice to meet you man.”
            “Okay, so, we talked to the producers and stuff, they wanted to do like a big production kinda thing and the last time we did that, did you see that episode, we went live for Halloween, which was cool, but it didn’t have the right kind of feel to it.” Zak said once introductions were out of the way.
            “Too stressful.” Nick supplied from the side and Aaron nodded.
            “So we worked it out that this is going to be like a regular episode with you guys helpin’ us out. Sound good? I think it’ll be pretty neat, this whole celebrity Ghost Adventures was a great idea, I’m so glad you guys could come out. You know they tried to get Marilyn Manson but he was busy or something, which, no offense to him, but he scares me more than any demon or ghost, man have you seen him? He’s so creepy.” Zak charged ahead with the conversation and Johnny found himself looking out the window so he wouldn’t catch Syn’s eye. If that happened the whole band would be in a fit of hysterical laughter. Out in the peach orchard a tall man strolled along the rows of trees swinging a cane. Johnny snorted and Vengeance elbowed him. Johnny, “there’s a dude in the trees swinging a cane,” he said, “asshole” he said to Vengeance when the rest of the group looked out the window.
            No there’s not, dickweed.” Vengeance countered. Johnny looked out the window again but the weird man was gone, “huh, must’ve gone down a different row.”
            “Oh no, that’s Bernie.” The woman who had let them in chimed. Heads swiveled back around to look at her and the man in their costumes. The man nodded, “Bernie was an overseer here way back, he used the cane to whip any slaves not working hard enough. He wanders through on occasion.” He explained.
“Sometimes he goes after the guests too,” the woman said a little less flippantly, “we’ve had several people try to pick the peaches and get their hands rapped. Always scares them silly but he’s not bad, just likes for the rules to be followed.” She said. If at all possible, Zak’s eyes widened and at once all three ghost hunters turned and started throwing questions at Johnny. The bassist took a step back and held up his hands laughing, “sorry guys, it just looked like a guy swinging a cane. Nothing ghostly about him.”
“Yeah, but it was a full body, like legs and everything?” Nick said buzzing with excitement. Johnny shrugged and nodded, “yeah I thought it was someone else dressed up.” He said nodding at the two in costume. Zak was almost hoping from one foot to the other, “this is so incredible, broad daylight and you saw a full bodied apparition, just like that, this place is awesome, if you see him again yell, we’ve got to get that stuff on film.” He was like a little kid at Christmas and Johnny did his best not to laugh but Aaron saw him biting his lip and grinned at him.
“Well, now that one of you at least has seen Bernie, why don’t we start the tour?” the woman asked looking around. The Ghost Adventures crew took front and center and Matt dropped back and put an arm around Johnny’s shoulders, “who you gonna call?” he whispered. Johnny had to cover his mouth while the woman started telling them the history of the house and apparition sightings. As they passed the window seat Johnny looked out into the bright day and saw the man again, still swinging his cane. He froze and stared, a shiver worked up his spine as he watched the shadow stroll across the lawn. Knowing he was two hundred years dead gave the light hearted flip of the cane a more ominous slant. Matt stopped with him and looked out the window, when his arm tightened Johnny knew he saw it too. “Hey, he’s back.” Matt whispered. Brian looked over his shoulder and then darted to the group, “a ghost? Is it really a ghost or is it somebody playing dress up?” he whispered excitedly. Johnny kept his eyes trained on the shadow crossing the grass but asked, “why are you whispering?” the shadow disappeared again and Johnny shivered when it blinked out of sight. He continued staring where the figure had been and shook himself a little, “creepy.” He muttered. Matt put him in a half-hearted headlock, “well at least tonight you’ll have someone to keep you company.” He teased. Johnny laughed but it was a forced one, the thought of Bernie staying with him through the night made his stomach twist. He tried to shrug it off, as long as he didn’t try to steal any peaches Bernie wouldn’t show up again. Still, when he looked out the window he could feel the man was still there, and he was watching them.
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A/N: I have nothing against Arin, it’s just hard to write someone I don’t know anything about. So, until he gives me something to work with he shall remain conspicuously absent from most stories.
            Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing :)
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Harlow House Investigation