Part 1 here
Andrew Piquot had been the architect, initially he’d designed a magnificent building that would afford superb, sweeping views; especially from the 3rd story attic’s many windows. The plan reflected the owner’s wish for a very big house, rather than a small mansion. The house was to be stunning from the outside but the interior would be warm, communal rooms; to encourage family togetherness; with cosy bedrooms, instead of cold spacious reception rooms & stylish but impersonal bedchambers.
Edgar Metcalffe was called in to complete the project when Andrew had to ‘go away for a rest’. His vision was completely different and the family friendly design was reshaped bit by bit into an elegant but gothic mansion. The trouble had really begun when the first shovel cut into the earth, to prepare for the cellar’s foundations, in less than 2 weeks Andrew was taken off for his ‘rest’, only the first of many. Contractors, labourers even delivery people suffered from strange illnesses, unexpected breakdowns and inexplicable accidents. The workers were leaving, by choice or not, constantly. Metcalffe hung on right to the end; 18 months; but he was the only person to remain on the project for more than 3 months. Andrew Piquot returned to work in a little over a year, but he never returned to see the building. Despite his changes Edgar managed to get the house finished on time and on budget. So the Wildesteins were happy, for a while.
Benjamin Wildestein was an accountant, yes he was an incredibly successful businessman, but essentially at heart he was an accountant. So for this solid, reliable, utterly unimaginative man to move his family out of their newly built, seriously expensive ‘dream home’ within 8 months because it was ‘haunted’, was the last thing his friends, his associates or indeed complete strangers who read the finance papers expected. At first, he had said, there had been noises at night, and small things that appeared to have moved in the morning. At first the incidents were easy to dismiss.
Becky Wildestein had told her parents about the people she saw ‘crowding around’. The baby Adam smiled and reached out toward thin air. The house remained constantly cold regardless of the weather or the best heating money could buy. Close friends seemed reluctant to visit their new home. The four oldest of the Wildestein children didn’t like to stay in the house alone. This was a big admission for Rachel Wildestein, at 16 she was usually too proud to admit to any weakness.
Beth Wildestein started to drink heavily the last two months she lived in the house, a big change from the sober, devoted mother she had been for 23 years. Not one of the Wildesteins would talk about what had happened in the last 2 months at ‘Candlenook Close’. And only Beth had seen what happened on the 26th of October, the doctor where she was ‘resting’ would not allow any mention of the house or the time they had lived there near his patient.
Ben purchased a penthouse apartment, modern design constructed of glass and steel. Professional movers cleared everything from the house; the family had left with the clothes on their backs & a couple of stuffed toys. Candlenook Close was on the market for two years before the reducing price finally attracted some interest.
Josie’s company was the 5th realty firm to try and sell Candlenook. There was nothing unusual about that. Sean thought it was about 50, 50 proud loons wanting to show off their ghosts, and real estate agents trying to get publicity for their unsellable haunted property. It worked too, the houses they investigated were generally snapped up soon after the show was aired, by crackpots who wanted to own a real ‘Haunted House’ Sean said.
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