Tipsy Moon

"Yes, you're right. Let me move it closer to you".

"No, there might be cool air coming from the door. Let me put it closer to the lights. See, guys? A lot can be explained by the wind, or the natural sounds of the building, for example. Well, we have ancient stones here, which means we can’t explain the strange sounds by the settling of the building. By the way, Bridie, did you come down the stairs about twenty minutes ago?"

"No, I was here the whole time. Why?"

"I heard someone’s footsteps coming from the stairs when we were sitting in the living room. I thought maybe it was you…"

"No, it definitely wasn’t me".

"I see…" – I said quietly and went to move the EDI.

When I approached the window, music started playing.

"Oops! Guys, it’s me. Don’t be scared!" – I smiled and moved away from the window. – "As you can see, the music box reacted to my phone. Now, most likely, the lights will go crazy too".

I placed the device in the center of the circle of lights, which, as I expected, all began to flicker at once.

"Look, huh? You've got all the devices going crazy! Look at the EDI – it's twinkling like a Christmas tree!" – Bridie scolded me jokingly.

"Uh… I didn't do that… EDI doesn't respond to radiation. But let me step back just in case".

I returned to my original position near the entrance, where O'Connell was standing quietly, leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching us with a very serious face, as if he was waiting for something to happen.

I shook my head. Okay, I need to push these thoughts away.

"Kat, should we try the recorder?" – Bridie asked.

"Yeah, go ahead. Maybe we can catch something. When I came in here, I thought I heard something, like a whisper".

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the manager turn his head sharply in my direction.

"Did you hear it too?" – I asked him.

"No… I didn't hear anything…" – he answered with genuine surprise in his voice.

Does he always hear what others hear? And did I hear what others didn't?..

"Maybe it was just a rustling sound, not a whisper", – I tried to calm him down (or myself?). – "Or the sound of the wind, or mice… Or a bird. Downstairs you said something about ravens".

"Yes, you may be right", – he said calmly. – "And the ravens’ nest in that wall over there on the left. There are several steps down leading to a small observation room".

Bridie and I looked towards that wall. There was indeed a rustling sound coming from there, and a moment later a huge black raven flew out. It flew across the room and landed in the window opening. It sat there for a few seconds, looking at us with an inquisitive gaze, and then suddenly took off and flew straight towards me, landing on my right shoulder.

I almost dropped the camera in surprise! But I quickly came to my senses and turned my head towards the bird.

"Hey! Hi, buddy! How are you? Want to join us?" – I said, patting his feathered chest, which he didn't mind at all.

I don't know if O'Connell minded, but he looked at me strangely.

"What are you, a raven whisperer?" – he asked me, smiling. – "I've never seen the local ravens behave like that. They're pretty wild here. We feed them, so they're not afraid of people, of course. But to sit on someone’s shoulder like that – that's the first time!"

"He must have liked me", – I smiled back. – "I love birds. I've always gotten along with them. I've never had any ravens, though… Only parrots".

At that moment, the raven apparently decided that it had paid us enough attention and, with a loud flutter, flew back to its nest.

"Oh… He made me bleeding…" – I rubbed my shoulder where the raven had just been sitting. – "Such a beautiful bird, but those claws… It hurts, damn it!"

"It's okay, we have a first aid kit. Let's finish here and I'll give you some antiseptic", – Bridie waved her hand.

"Yeah, go ahead, it's getting close to midnight. I wouldn't want to spend All Saints' Day in this chapel!"

"Well, dear inhabitants of this castle, good night to you! Forgive us for this uninvited visit. We are not here to harm you or offend you in any way. We simply want to talk with you", – Bridie finally began the conversation.

"Bridie, we have already offended them by not introducing ourselves…" – I noted.

"Ah! Please forgive us! Yes, it was very disrespectful of us to barge into your home without even introducing ourselves. That brown-eyed brunette shaking with fear is called Katherine, or simply Kat," – Bridie took revenge on me for my comment.

"And that red-haired witch is called Bridie", – I responded in kind.

Bridie and I had known each other since high school and were very close friends. When the paranormal investigations became popular, I decided to start my own company that would organize such activities in the haunted locations. In Ireland, I was one of the first, so the business quickly took off. We have lots of such mysterious places in our country, so there is plenty of work.

"I have a small box with an orange light on it", – Bridie continued, raising her hand with a recorder. – "Please talk into this light, if you don't mind. We would be very grateful. I will put it here".

Bridie put the tape recorder on the floor near the altar and took a couple of steps back.

"Tell me, did you live in this castle?" – she paused, giving the ghost time to answer. – "Perhaps you were the owner of this castle or one of the employees?"

Pause. Then Bridie nodded her head at me, as if to say, go ahead and ask something too.

"Tell me, do you know what happened in this room?" – I asked.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door behind me. I immediately jumped away from it with a squeal.

Jesus! It was right behind me!

I pointed the camera at the door, praying that no ghost would fall out on me from there…

"Let me check, maybe one of the staff suddenly came", – our knight suggested to us. He slowly opened the massive door, behind which… there was no one…

"Guys, as you can see, there is no one behind the door", – I said to the camera in a trembling voice. – "Bridie, let's listen to the recording. I hope it managed to catch that sound. Although I’m sure it will be on the video too. I almost went deaf from that knock… Not even a knock! A strong blow even!"