A Visitor in the Night || A Halloween Story

A Visitor In the Night  

By: Kiersten Sahlberg

 I was suddenly roused awake by the whistle of the train sharp in my ears.

Stupid train, I grumbled, lifting myself out of bed begrudgingly. This was one of the things I had forgotten to factor into my decision to move back into my parents’ house. The late night screeching of metal on metal has been a constant source of annoyance throughout my childhood.

I pulled the curtains back from the windows. The storm had really picked up since I fell asleep around ten. The rain was beating sideways and the trees were doubled over in a struggle to fight the wind. The clock glared the time at me, 1:27 AM. I forced myself to my feet, fighting the veil of exhaustion. I had one intention; water.

Stumbling, I made my way out of the bedroom and into the hallway. It was dark. Quiet. The walls were lined with portraits from the past as many household hallways are. I remembered as a child I had always felt discomfort making the trek to the kitchen late at night. I didn’t like the way my deceased relatives watched me, their eyes empty, following my every move. 

I padded quickly past them. C’mon, I thought to myself, you’re 24 years old. Get a grip. Still, flipping the kitchen lights was a welcome relief from the darkness. I made a beeline to the sink and grabbed an empty glass from the counter, trying to avoid looking out of the window to the field in the backyard.

Suddenly, my eye was caught by something peculiar. The field was a blur of heavy fog. It was so thick that the flower pots on the patio, barely two feet from the window, were nearly indiscernible. The fog twisted and turned like smoke, unwavering and sinister. But hadn’t it just been pouring rain? It must have been a dream, I thought, pushing it out of my mind.

Without warning, the kitchen lights flicked off. I resisted the urge to let my silly childhood fear of the dark keep me from thinking rationally and took a deep breath. It’s no big deal, it was really storming out there, perhaps a tree fell on a power line. But when I glanced out again, there was no rain or wind. Just the fog, now inching closer to the windows, little wisps clawing at the window panes like fingers. I suddenly became aware of how eerily quiet it was. The hum of the refrigerator, the tick tock of the hallway clock, even my own shallow breaths seemed to be muted.

The pounding of my heart echoed inside my head, little beads of sweat forming in my palms. Quickly I dashed to the light switch and frantically switched it off and on again. Without protest, the light flipped on. A brief wave of relief washed over me followed quickly by the realization that the light had been turned off not by some electrical mishap, but by someone…or something.

I turned around, staring blindly into the hallway. The path to my bedroom seemed somehow longer and more ominous. I felt a prickle reach from the bottom of my back to the top of my neck. A soft scratching at the front door suddenly interrupted the quiet.

I stared at the door, paralyzed by the fear of what I might find either staring back at me through the peephole or waiting for me at the end of the long, dark hallway. In a snap decision, I bolted back through the hallway, avoiding the hollow stares from the portraits and jumping into bed before I could register the uneasy feeling in my stomach, the quickened beating of my heart.

That’s when I saw it. A figure, shadowed and grotesque, lurking at the foot of my bed.

It was a woman, her skin leathered and tight across her brittle arms, her white hair matted into knots against her face. She suddenly appeared to me as familiar.

“Gr-grandma?” I stammered, all at once relieved and confused. My grandma lived hours away, what was she doing here, and looking so worn?

She lifted her head and my heart stopped.

This face was not my grandma’s. The cheekbones were hollow and skeletal, her eyes sunken and glazed over, her lips cracked and bone white.

And then she smiled at me and the air went cold. The cracked lips turned into a wide grin that stretched across her face and her eyes pierced deep into me, registering no emotion.

“Come closer, Karel,” her voice dripped as she beckoned me slowly with her bony finger, “You’ve grown so big.”

I gasped awake. A pale dawn light peeked through the curtains. So it was all a nightmare.

I pushed my sheets aside and climbed out of bed, feeling oddly shaken from the experience. The portraits were much less intimidating in the morning light and I strolled past them with ease as I made my way to the kitchen. Mom was standing with her back to me in front of the sink, staring absent mindedly into the back field.

“Everything okay?” I asked. She slowly turned around and I knew something was wrong.

“I just got a call,” she said hollowly, “Your grandmother died last night.”

I felt myself go rigid.

“Wh-what?” I asked. “Do you know what time?”

Mom looked at me a little confused, slowly replying,

 “Around one-thirty.”

*This story was written by Kiersten Sahlberg. It is based off of true experience her mom had when she was younger. Hair, Makeup and pictures of me by Paige. Other model is Taylor. Be sure to check out yesterdays Halloween story, written by Dane, based off of a ghost experience my grandma had. 

That Final Drive || A Halloween Story

That Final Drive

By: Dane Pecha

I haven’t had a driver’s license since high school. My children, and eventually my grandkids always asked why, and I would tell them I didn’t need it. Or that I just let it expire... That was only half of the truth. My last night as a driver started off innocently enough. My friend Taylor and I had just picked up our dates for the homecoming dance. None of the guys had cars, so I was stuck driving everyone. I was bummed at the time, but it was for the best since I wasn’t ready to trust these guys to get us through the heavy, late October fog. I tried my best to socialize with the group, but navigating that fog was all I could concentrate on.

Another small fib I’ve told my grandkids is that I’ve never swore; I like to tell them it pollutes the air. And for the most part, I stay true to that. However, when that thing jumped out in front of the car, I let the expletives fly. My friends halted their yearbook club gossip.

“Did you see that?” I asked them. “I swear I just saw a hat and jacket FLOAT across the road."

Laughter filled the car.

“Come on Carol,” Taylor said.

“Probably just a giant owl, my dad saw one a couple weeks ago,” one of the boys chimed in.

 Yeah it was foggy, but that was no owl. Tough to blame them though, if I didn’t see it I would have laughed too. It was eerie.

We were at the dance for a few hours, nothing memorable happened. We did the whole dance picture thing, and the guys couldn’t dance a lick, which was expected. If I wasn’t their ride home, we would have ditched them after the pictures. Nevertheless, the four of us crammed back in the car. Unfortunately, the fog had stuck around too.

As I sat behind the wheel, concentrating on the twists and turns of the road, the boys started getting under my skin. I was in no position to talk, and quite frankly, I couldn’t wait to drop them off. Did we want to get something to eat? Watch a movie? Cruise down main street? No, no and no. I was tired, cranky and these boys were starting to make my Norwegian blood boil. And for the record, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of a Norwegian temper.

Just when I was about to explode I slammed on the brakes. The boys got nervous and started apologizing.

“Shut up,” I said, as I pointed forward. I didn’t stop to yell at those boys. I stopped because the disembodied figure had appeared again.

“Do you believe me now?”

The hat and long overcoat danced in front of us. Darting back and forth in the road, like a chicken with it head cut off. It moved in a very confused manner, it looked lost. The car fell silent. We were all fixated on whatever it was we were witnessing.

One of the boys broke the silence.

“So I think we’ll just go home now,” he said sheepishly. I ignored him. The figure started moving in our direction and that’s when Taylor lost it.

“Carol, drive, DRIVE!” she was hysterical.

That was probably the moment when I lost my cool too. You might think it’s silly to be running from something you’d find on a Macy’s clearance rack, but I’d like to see you keep calm when a paranormal phenomenon is happening six feet in front of your MAC covered face.

Tires squealed as I floored the accelerator. I was hoping to make it into town before it could catch back up, but Taylor’s shriek killed that thought. It was in full vision in the rear view mirror now, and gaining rapidly. The lost and confused movement patterns from earlier were now focused, fast and still hot on our tail. As hard as I tried, it was near impossible to keep myeyes on the road; they were fixated on what was going on in the rear view mirror.

The chase ended with a crash. It lasted no more than 30 seconds, but it felt like longer. With my eyes dancing back and forth and the three other sets all looking out back, that left really no one looking forward. Had someone been looking forward we could have seen the young girl slowly walking in the road. Instead, I saw her at the last possible second, giving me just enough time to jerk the wheel to the left to avoid her, and lose control of the car. We rolled the car multiple times, thankfully, we all had a seat belts on so we weren’t injured. The car on the other hand, totaled. We landed on the upside down, the four of us hanging from our seats by our seat belts. I wanted to believe someone was looking out for us that night, but we were still being chased by a disembodied object.

Through the shattered windshield, I could see the girl still walking down the road. She didn’t even bother to look back at us to see the destruction that she caused. Dressed for a dance, she looked stunning, but I didn’t recall seeing her at ours that night. Her dress was white, and her shoes shared the color of warm liquid that was now flowing down my head. I continued to watch her saunter down the dark road, when I remember why we were there in the first place. The disembodied figure had appeared at the top of the hill, and strangely, the girl perked up at its sight. She stopped, and stood there waiting, with an arm extended, waiting for it to take her hand. This did not make me feel any better about the situation. She was glowing when the figure arrived. The girl latched onto the figures lifeless arm, and they both turned in our direction. I could now see the other half of her body, and it was brutally disfigured and burned. The girl, finally recognizing the destruction this pair had caused started
walking towards us. The closer they got I made out a content smile on her face. Her physical
body started to vanish, leaving only a dress, and those blood red shoes. Coat, hat, dress and
shoes then began to ascend as one.

Eventually someone found us there. As driver, I got into a lot of trouble. I received multiple infractions, driving too fast for conditions and what not. I didn’t bother to fight it. No one would believe us. And I knew I would never drive again.

Months went by and we never discussed the incident. The four of us were going through dance pictures after school for the yearbook when we came across a vintage looking photo. It was taken at a dance 25 years prior. A sharp dressed young man with an exquisite top hat, held a young girl in a white dress and the prettiest blood red shoes you’ve ever seen.

*This story was written by my brother, Dane. You can follow him on twitter, @Dane67, for a good laugh and tell him I sent you. It is loosely based off of a ghost experience my grandma, Carol, had when she was younger. Pictures, hair and makeup by my cousin Paige and other model is my cousin Taylor. 

Halloween is next week?!

Can you guys believe that Halloween is next week? October just came and went so fast and now it is time to start getting my Halloween costume together. Im heading back to Pullman on Tuesday to enjoy the festivities over there and also go to a football game on Halloween. Its going to be cold but so so fun. I cant wait! Today and this weekend will be spent making my costume. Want to know what I'm going to be? Alright, I'll tell you... A Peacock! Hopefully I will get some pictures up on here of the costume once I am finished! Be sure to come back next week, because to celebrate Halloween week, I will have some ghost stories loosely based off of true events written by some special guests! You wont want to miss it!

Outfit Details

Skirt & Tights || Forever 21

Sweater || Boutique in Newport Beach

Shoes || Target

Closet Staples

So remember this post when I mentioned I wanted a burnt orange cable knit cardigan? Well looky here what I got... from my moms closet! I had no idea she had this and just decided to look in there for other sweaters she might have and found this one. I was so happy! I also just bought this dress from H&M and I cannot get enough of it. You can remix it so many different ways. Definitely a staple in my closet now.

Outfit Details

Dress || H&M

Sweater || Bass

Boots || Modcloth

Tights & Belt || Target

Necklace || Forever 21

Bow || Shop Pretty Lovely

Washington Beaches & 100 Posts!

Washington beaches are some of my favorites. They are cold and gray, but thats a good thing because you know its going to be cold when you go. You dont get your hopes up for a warm day at a Washington beach, only to be majorly disappointed when you arrive. Yeah, California beaches can be nice but only in small doses for me. Plus there are times when you expect a warm day at the beach, and its not and you are stuck being cold. Not fun.

This beach is Mukilteo Beach. The perfect place to pile on the layers and rain boots, grab yourself a cup of clam chowder at Ivar's and find a nice log to sit for the afternoon. Watch the ferries come and go or watch a storm. Maybe even have a fire in one of their fire pits. Just dont expect a warm day when you get here.

Also, this is my 100th post! I seriously love blogging and am so glad I started this and didnt wait any longer like I had planned! Sometimes you just got to do it! Right? Here's to 100, 200, 500 more! Thanks for reading my lovely readers!!

Outfit Details

Dress || Spool 72

Flannel, Belt, Tights & Boots || Target

Cardigan || Old

Meet the Lovely Alex & Paige of Whimsy Darling

I have got another wonderful blog for you guys to LOVE! Whimsy Darling written by two lovely ladies, Paige & Alex. I love reading every single one of their posts, from the outfit posts to the DIY's. Take at look at their interview below, then wander on over to Whimsy Darling and say hello!

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

Paige - For a romantic (and maybe less personality based) answer I would say a willow tree. Not that I think I’m a “weeping willow”, but I love the beauty of the willow tree. I have also always loved “The Wind in the Willows”, so there’s a bit of bookish nostalgia involved in my choice.

Alex - I would be a cedar tree! At first I wanted to say evergreen because I am obsessed with the Christmas season, but I had to go with a cedar just because they are all over our neighbourhood in Toronto and I just think they are so pretty. I also just love the way they smell! 

Which Disney Princess would you want to be for a day?

Paige - I would love to be Belle! Obviously if it was just for a day I would prefer not be Belle at the beginning of the story where she is chased by creepy men or locked in a semi-prison. If there was choice involved, I’d love to be Belle on the day she’s gifted an entire library! It’d feel pretty wonderful living in a semi-gothic enchanted castle too.

Alex - Does Pocahontas count? I’m going to say yes. This was an obvious choice for me because she was always my favourite as a child. I would always play “Pocahontas” outside and force my dog to follow me around so I could pretend that she was Meeko. My poor dog.

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall?

Paige - Fall! I really wanted to cop out and say I love all the seasons, but if I had to choose, it’d be Autumn. I love this time of year because of the beautiful changing colours on the trees, and the amazing hiking weather it provides. I’ve always associated Fall with back to school, which makes me view it as the start of a new year. Probably for this reason, Fall usually involves some sort of drastic change in my style.

Alex - Spring! Hands down. There are so many things I love about spring. The smells, the melting snow, blooming flowers, the temperature… It’s just the perfect season.

If you were to design a clothing line, what would your inspiration be?

Paige - So many things come to mind! At first I wanted to say Jess from New Girl, or Zooey Deschanel in general, but that might run the risk of just copying her style completely. I think I have to go with the artist Gustav Klimt. Hopefully my clothing line would abstain from the nudity that Klimt seems somewhat drawn to, but I love the rich colour palette and tones he uses. For me, colour is everything and I love clothes that have that richness in colour or design that make it a little bit different.

Alex - Salvation Mountain in Palm Springs. I have never been before but it is at the top of my “to-go” list. It’s such an inspirational place for me. I love the bright bold colours that are used but mainly I just love the fact that someone who normally wouldn’t be considered an “artist” was able to create something so beautiful while throwing all the rules of art out the window. I would love to do something similar with a clothing line. Be inspired by the colours but also create things that don’t necessarily follow trends or fashion rules, just create whatever makes me happy.

You're hosting a dinner party, where would it be and whats on the menu?

Paige - Weather dependent I’d love to have a dinner party on my back deck/gazebo surrounded by twinkle lights. As for food, I’m really not a great cook, so I’d probably stick to a relatively raw menu (and probably ask someone to help me bbq up some meat). I’m really a salad gal so I’d have 2 or 3 salad options. I’d also probably make a few pies to satisfy my dessert fetish. Other than the food, drinks are so important! I love having a drink that fits the occasion and is a little bit creative.

Alex - It would definitely take place at my apartment. Does that sound lame? I am just such a homebody and love hosting guests at our place. As for the menu I don’t think I would have any big meal items but instead would stick to appetizers and cocktails. I absolutely hate cooking large meals, but love creating cheese trays and simple hors d’oeuvres to share with everyone. And of course there would be lots of cocktails. They are my favourite thing to come up with before a party.

This Ol' Trench

This is going to be another one of those posts where I tell you, you should try on the clothes you have in your closet, often. This trench coat I bought when I was a sophomore in college and have worn only a handful of times. One day after wearing it, I got it stuck in my mind that it didn't look good anymore. And so it sat for a very, very long time. Until now. Having this blog, really makes me try on all of my old clothes and I love that. Its like I'm shopping my closet and finding new items that are actually pretty old.

Outfit Details

Dress || Target

Boots  & Tights || Forever 21

Trench || Old Navy

Necklace || Borrowed from my mom