Urban Legend: The Haunting of Langdon Hall: Urban Legend, #3

By lost lodge press

When Billy Sloan, reporter for the tabloid Urban Legend, travels to Pirate island off the, Oregon coastal town of Dungeness bay to write a story about the haunting of Langdon Hall, she discovers a malevolent spirit that she must confront.

• Language: English
• Publisher: lost lodge press
• Release date: Mar 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386145516

Book preview

Always for

Chris

Prologue

My name’s Whilamena Sloan my friends call me Billy, I live just outside Portland Oregon in the tiny town of Mossbrae. I work for the Urban Legend. Some people might call it a tabloid but it’s not. You won’t find any Mermaid or Bat boy stories among the pages. I’m 26 years old with a degree in journalism from Washington State and a healthy skeptics attitude about the supernatural UFOs and all that crap. That’s why the Urban Legend hired me. They didn’t want a yes man that dug up stories on ghosts and vampires. No, they wanted the real poop about things that go bump in the night.

Anyway I was feeling really flush since my last story and the 25,000 dollar bonus I received for finding the treasure from the 17th century Spanish Galleon San Jose. The assignment had taken me to Oregon’s ghost forest where in 1700 the galleon had been fleeing a pirate ship when it got caught up in a huge tsunami and went down with the trees when the ground dropped 26 feet during the last subduction zone earthquake. Long story short I talked William Jennings Legend, my boss, into financing an effort to locate what was left of the ship and the treasure, and it paid off. The ship as you could imagine was in pieces but the treasure was intact.

That was about two weeks ago. It’s 6:00 a.m. And I’ve bellied up to my computer desk in my usual morning garb of panties and a T-shirt. I live alone so I set the dress code. To get my assignment I type in the URL for the Urban Legend, when the website comes up I enter my code. The next page that fills the screen is my assignment.

Usually I punch in the code and immediately close my eyes and count to ten, don’t ask me why. This morning was no different, kind of. When I opened my eyes the screen was filled with a story from the Oregonian. A teenager had been found unconscious and drifting in a Zodiac raft just off Dungeness Bay. In an interview with Oregonian Reporter Brian Cross, the teen said that he went out to Pirate island hoping to get inside Langdon Hall. He claims he was chased off the island by the ghost of Jeremy Langdon.

The story dragged on with the mundane: How big the raft was, how long he’d been a drift and a detailed description of his rescue. At this point on an assignment page I try to imagine my stories angle. This was a no brainer. I was about to be sent on a ghost story. I scrolled down to a letter size window. It read as follows:

A note from the desk of William Jennings Legend. That’s all it was, three lines.

Sixteen reports of ghost sightings at Langdon Hall in the last twelve months. It’s time Urban Legend took an interest and reported on the facts. Your Legend card account has been adjusted appropriately for the story. Please keep me posted.

It was signed; enjoy your stay in Dungeness Bay. WJL.

I was going to be doing a lot of research before leaving town. I knew about Pirate island and that was it.

I pushed back from the computer desk, stood and removed my T-shirt, ready for a shower and to start my day. I was halfway to the bathroom when someone knocked at the door. I stopped, turned and listened to the pattern. It was Jerry, I pulled the T-shirt back on and answered the door.

Isn’t this kind of early? What’s up? 

He stood staring at my chest.

Just thought I’d stop by before I started my shift.

Jerry Campbell is a cop, a good friend and a sometime lover.

If you came to see if my breasts could come out and play forget it, they’re grounded.

Nope. Just thought the coffee might be on.

Good, then stop staring and come in.

Pour me a mug. I said, and danced down the hall to my bedroom where I pulled on some jeans and traded the T-shirt for a sweatshirt. By the time I got to the kitchen Jerry was sitting at the table with two mugs of coffee.

I sat across from him. So what brings the law to my door?

He searched the black brew in his mug for an answer. When he looked up with those hang dog eyes I already knew the question.

I thought we had something kinda special but we haven’t spent any time together since you got back from Neskowin and that Galleon story. He raised his eyebrows. It’s been two weeks.

The Galleon was the second story that had taken me into Oregon’s coastal town of Neskowin. It was there that I met the horror mystery writer Thayer Spelling and ventured into her world of Lesbian sex. To say that I now had questions about my sexuality was an understatement.

I reached across the table and lay my hand on his and lied through my teeth. I’ve just been really caught up in my research and I’m about to take off for Dungeness bay to check out the Langdon hall ghost.

I didn’t know if Jerry really did want to talk about a relationship or had attention deficit disorder and couldn’t stay focused. I know that when I’m naked he has no problem staying focused.

The Langdon Hall on pirate island?

Yeah what do you know about it?

You know I attended Bay County High in Dungeness bay. Well, in my senior year three of us went out to the island and found a way into the old mansion. But when we heard a loud moaning coming from inside we ran for the raft and swore not to tell a soul. He gave a short laugh. We didn’t want everyone to think we were chicken.

You’ve peaked my curiosity, I’d like to hear more. Can you drop by at the end of your shift, maybe with some Gun Pow Chicken.

I swear that Jerry’s eyes misted over with lust as his entire face lit up.

Sure thing. I’m doing a double shift so it’ll be around 7:00.

No problem, I’ll be up to my ear lobes in research.

He looked at his watch and bolted out of the kitchen. I followed him to the door where he accosted me with a sloppy kiss.

I stood staring at the closed door. God what did I say? I headed for the bathroom and a shower shaking my head. Had I actually invited him over. I’d gotten lost in his tale of visiting Langdon Hall and wanted to hear more