The Shadow People

By Sam Smith

The Langfords were a normal family and no one would have expected Steph and Tony to disappear over night.

Things started when their new neighbours moved in next door and invited them over to play with an Ouija Board with strange messages. At first Steph and Tony dismissed them as nonsense but soon strange stuff started to happen in their own house and Steph started to noticing something following her where ever she went and then while their parents are away things started to get worse and more aggressive.

Along with their friends, Kirsty and Neil they start to witness poltergeist activity which eventually leads to their disappearance. In the end it seems that this is not new to them after all but history repeating itself. Will anyone be able to help them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sam Smith
• Release date: Aug 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310082160

Book preview

The Shadow People

by Sam Smith

copyright 2014 - Sam Smith

Smashwords Edition

Chapter 1. The new neighbours

The Langford family seemed to be a fairly ordinary family living in a coastal town in the south of England. Richard and Fiona Langford had two teenage children, Steph and Tony who where both in the sixth form at their local school. Richard worked as an estate agent while Fiona worked in a hotel as a restaurant supervisor and lived in a four bedroom house with a pet cat. To everyone they seemed like an ordinary family so it would come as a surprise when Steph and Tony would disappear almost overnight while Richard and Fiona where away during their wedding anniversary. Things seemed to have started when new neighbours moved in next door, the O'Connell family who at first seemed to keep to themselves but slowly started to meet the neighbours. They where a supposedly Catholic family and their two teenage children went to different schools. To most people they would seem to be a normal family and didn't seem to bother anyone so Fiona was happy to help Stella O'Connell into the area.

'I know it's not easy moving to a new town, I moved here from London when I was 13 and at first hated it, starting a new school and not knowing everyone but grew to like it,' said Fiona to Stella after inviting her over one morning. 'It's great living by the sea and looking back it was the best thing my parents ever did,' said she said.

'I think it would be good for Paige as he hasn't settled into his new school yet,' said Stella 'As this is the only Roman Catholic school in the area it is much larger than his old school and easy to get lost in. I guess he is the same age as your son?'

'Tony is 17 and Steph is 19,' said Fiona, 'how old are your two again?'

'Paige is 16 and Jade is 18 but she goes to a school in London, it’s a Catholic school for girls and she stays with her aunt during term time I hope she goes onto college in the future,' replied Stella.

It had been arranged that Tony and Steph would spend some time with Paige and Jade during the Easter holidays. Neil was in Sixth form doing an IT course while Steph was studying child care and in the third year of a three year course making her of the oldest students in the school. Both Tony and Steph looked similar, both with brown hair and where of average height and build for their own age. Often Tony would spend time with his friend Neil who was also doing the same course and Steph would spend time with her friend Kirsty who was studying a social care course at the sixth form but Fiona recommended they spend time with the neighbours children to see how they get on. Both Tony and Steph were unsure about the neighbours. It was a Saturday and they had wanted to do something else at the start of the holidays but Fiona had them up early to welcome the neighbours into the area. She had asked about their father but Stella had told them he was still in London working and didn't say much more about him. When Paige and Jade arrived Fiona had introduced them to Steph and Tony. Paige and Jade both had dark hair and looked somewhat pale making them look gothic unlike Steph and Tony who both had brown hair they had inherited from both their parents. First Fiona invited them into the living room to make small talk and sat all four of them down. The cat Trixxy who had previously been asleep woke up upon arrival of the guests and looked at them and quickly left the room. Jade stepped away from him showing that she was not keen on cats. After about five minutes of discussion Fiona left the four of them when she went out to go shopping.

'Do you play any games?' asked Tony to Paige feeling that he was already not sure about Paige's blunt behaviour 'Not really,' replied Paige rather plainly 'Watch TV?' suggested Tony

'Sometimes?' replied Paige again rather bluntly.

'Films?'

'I like horror films!' said Paige more excitedly 'Cool what ones?' asked Tony finally feeling that he was getting somewhere 'Dark films' replied Paige. Steph had also been having trouble finding something that Jade liked. Her taste in music was Gothic and although she couldn’t be classed as a Goth she seemed to be the type of girl who wasn't always easy to get along with

'You want to watch a film?' asked Jade 'What films do you have?' replied Jade 'I can't watch anything too soft, I'm too old for all that shit,'

'Erm, I have a few adult films, added Steph 'You got any horror films?' asked Jade 'I could ask my brother,' replied Steph and so the afternoon would be spent watching 'dark' horror films. Both Tony & Steph where feeling slightly glad when they went home later that evening.

A couple of days later it had been arranged that Tony and Steph had to go next door to visit the O'Connell's. It was clear that the house was in the process of being redecorated, the old neighbours had moved out and as they had younger children it would be clear that Paige and Jade wouldn’t want childish wall paper yet Paige didn't seem to mind as he kept his room as it had been left before while Jade had her room in a darker theme 'I don't stay here during the term but couldn’t stand the baby pink that was here when I moved in,' she told Steph without even noticing that Steph's room was actually pink yet Steph didn't take too much offence. There were a few posters on the wall which looked like they would have been either from horror films or heavy metal bands. There was nothing in the room that would otherwise indicate that it was a teenage girl's room. Only a small mirror on the wall and no soft toys or cute things. Paige's room was just as bare and had no carpets fitted and no lampshade on the light giving it an empty bare feel.

'You fancy playing a game?' Paige asked Tony 'I thought you didn't play games,' joked Tony 'No I mean a real game, like a board game,' replied Paige.

'Like snakes and ladders?' suggested Tony.

'No that’s a kids game, I mean a real game, a fun game,' added Paige 'you ever heard of an Ouija Board?'

'Yeah I have, aren’t they supposed to be dodgey?' asked Tony 'Only if you don’t know what you're doing, we could ask the girls to play it would be fun,' smiled Paige while Tony felt somewhat baffled at why someone of Paige's age would suggest playing such a game.

'Have you ever played before?' asked Tony 'A few times, nothing bad happens if you just have fun with it,' replied Paige as he got up and went to his wardrobe and pulled out a box. He then went to Jade's room next door to recommend that the girls join them. Jade seemed very happy to play while Steph was not so sure.

They all headed back downstairs into the dining room. Another partially decorated room with a table and a few chairs round it and an unusual black and white photo on the wall of some sort of building. Paige and Jade set up the Ouija Board and they both said a prayer in Latin while Tony and Steph looked at each other feeling rather amused.

'Close your eyes, it is more respectful,' suggested Jade as Steph and Tony closed their eyes and waited a for a while as Paige & Jade said something in a different language. Both Steph and Tony felt somewhat bored and almost fell asleep until Paige and Jade told them to open their eyes. The board was made of wood and had letters in the middle and numbers below them and in the left hand corner was a picture of the sun, a picture of the moon in the top right and in the bottom corners two pictures of woman. Just below the letters and numbers were the word yes and the word no and under the letters the word 'Goodbye'

'Can we film it?' asked Tony 'Like that film we saw the other day where those people where being haunted and decided to record everything,'

'why not?' said Paige 'We could make our own horror film,' he joked so they set up Tony's camera phone to film them while they played the game.

'Right all of us put our hand on the planchette,' said Jade 'and in time the planchette should start to move,'

For about 30 seconds nothing happened 'Is this thing meant to move?' asked Tony 'Give it time,' said Paige 'Nothing ever happens at first,'

Then the four of them noticed that slowly the planchette started to move towards the letter H and then letter E and then the letter L before moving away and back to the letter L and then letter O

'I don't believe it,' said Steph 'I swear that your making it move that way,' said Tony to Paige 'Not at all,' said Paige 'I swear its moving by itself,'

'Now ask it questions,' said Jade 'Like what?' asked Steph 'Like ask its name or something' said Steph 'Are you friendly?' asked Tony to the board yet nothing seemed to happen 'Are you a ghost?' asked Steph and again nothing happened 'What's your name?' asked Paige and after two seconds the planchette slowly started to move towards the letter P and then A and then T and slowly started to spell out PATRICK

'Patrick?' asked Tony 'Yeah that seems to be his name,' smiled Paige 'Are you here with us?' asked Jade and then the Planchette moved towards the yes symbol

'Wow that’s creepy,' said Steph 'are you a good spirit?' asked Jade but nothing happened 'Are you a bad spirit?' asked Tony and then the planchette moved back towards the middle 'that’s strange,' said Tony feeling slightly intrigued.

'Do you want to speak to anyone in this room?' asked Paige and after a few seconds the planchette moved towards the yes symbol 'I swear your making it do