Susan's Ghost

What would you do if you could see ghosts?










What would you do if one of the ghosts was your twin sister?










Vote for "Susan's Ghost" in the Ethereal Tales Halloween Contest to find out. If it wins, "Susan's Ghost" will be in the 2010 Halloween edition of Ethereal Tales.

Excerpt:

Tabitha Desdemona Drake hated October.

It wasn’t the shift in the muggy Charleston weather that got to her. It wasn’t the department stores going Halloween crazy, trying to make sure they had enough Halloween supplies for their customers. It wasn’t even the witch costumes. Having been born a witch herself, Tabitha Desdemona knew that those hags were just a product of a fearful human’s imagination. No, it was none of these things.

It was the ghosts.

From November through September, Tabitha Desdemona rarely saw a spirit. It was refreshing. But October… The closer it got to Halloween, the worse it got. Half of the time she didn’t know if the person she was speaking with was alive or dead. She would just hang in there, doing her best to ignore them until 11:59pm on October 31. Then, when the clock struck midnight, it was like they had never been there.

But this year was destined to be different.

It was Halloween, and the ghost was in her bedroom; a first. The ghost looked just like her, with blonde hair and striking cerulean eyes. Tabitha Desdemona stared for a minute, thinking that she was looking at her reflection until she could see her bed though the ghost’s transparent stomach. Then her heart lurched.

“Oh Susan…”

Susan.

Her twin sister.

Susan had died in April, the victim of a drunk driver. Tabitha Desdemona sat on the edge of her bed as Susan paced in what used to be their bedroom. Now it was hers.

“T.D., you’ve got to help me.”

T.D.. It was the nickname Susan had given to her when they were little. Tabitha Desdemona was a bit of a mouthful for a three year old.

“No. No. No.” The words slipped past T.D.’s lips as she hung her head, trying her best to ignore her sister.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Don’t you ignore me, sissy. This is important.”

“But you’re dead.”

“And you’re not. And I need a live person to do this for me.”

“I will not harvest human brains for you.”

Susan gave an exasperated sigh and swatted at T.D.’s shoulder. Her hand never made contact; instead travelling unfelt through T.D.’s shoulder. “I’m not a zombie you moron. Just a ghost.”

T.D. sighed. “What do you want me to do?” This would be the first time T.D. had ever asked a ghost what they wanted. She wondered briefly if it would be the last.


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