Maggy smiled, and reading the message she flustered in delight, “Been a long while sense I was called Mrs. Farson, mmm Matthew..oh the tall gentlemen is a Matthew..” Her little bony finger scrawled across the screen, not touching it but reading each word carefully, “Oh, sorry dear, must have used the wrong knob…mmm..” Growing rather still and silent on the library part and let out a raspy sigh, “That is the time of darkness, my dear, many had lost their lives and even now the living has refused to listen to the stories of the dead....” she paused and gestured for him to sit and waited for the others to gather, as she picked up the cookie from the small coffee table and nibbled at the warm snack, “It is a wound, that is still fresh but it is wise to say what had happen if you are here, maybe you will understand this place more if I do ..”
Maggy left the impression that the whole town was a large living creature/ person of its own, and wavered her free hand outward, “It had happen many many years, I was very young and six at the time but I was a really bright child before schooling. I was blessed or maybe cursed on being able to see something and still remembering what I saw…I see a date or a name, I could still remember it as if it was yesterday and the time I believe was in 1922 or maybe 1923.
She coughed and cleared her throat deeply before continuing and letting the others get the idea of how long ago it was, “I had gone to the library for bible study on the second floor, we had a two old nuns teaching us the way of the lord but all us school children kept calling them lady penguin. “ She softly chuckled and sighed, and opened her eyes to look at the ceiling as her soft voice started to become sadder in tone, “ My classmates consisted of other little children of many classes in town, from my age to being ten years old…Two girls were twins of 7 years of age and belonged to a rich family of the mine named Lacy and Lucy. They both always wore the same outfits and loved playing mean little tricks on people in order to get a laugh. One the little boys of eight was Randle, he was always scared and reading as many books as he could get his little hands on, his idea was to become a teacher like his father. Though Randle was raised by his father alone, he seemed to have such a kind heart and always was looking for a way to help someone in need. “ She set the cookie down and held a sad smile, “The last little boy was the oldest, he was ten years old and was named Markus, he belonged to the poorest family and yet he was also the bravest then any of the adults in the library.”
She sighed and finally looked to the group, “The librarian was miss’s Raven, the town called her a feather head dreamer because she always seemed to get the strangest books to fill up the library and kept saying that knowledge is power. When we were in the middle of our study, someone had screamed downstairs, it was so loud it almost shook the glass windows on the walls and loud crashes were heard. I was scared and the nuns took us further in the back of the class, as one of the nuns had left to see what the matter was and soon the screaming started up again. I heard gunfire, only once and strange demonic laughter, the one remaining nun had panicked and told us to hid. She was praying and appeared scared for us, and even tried to go to the large back window an open it up for us to escape. I could hear her fingers, clawing at the window and muttering about oh god why, it appeared the windows had been nailed shut because of the fear of one of the children climbing on the roof and breaking our necks.
I was hiding behind a small wicker bin with Lacy at the time, and we both saw the door open and close rather quickly. I could hear the dripping sounds of something wetting hitting the wooden door and peeking through the gabbing holes of the wicker bin, I saw Miss Raven, pale and having her hand to her side asking for help. I never heard Miss Raven speak in such a manner, it was cold and far off…I noted that she held her right side but her left side had more blood then her right and tried to warn our teacher. It was too Late…”
She paused as the loud shrill whistle of the kettle was heard, “Lets get something to drink before we continue.”
Tom was engrossed by the story and had offered to get the Kettle, as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed the tea and tea cup accessories he had made an off comment to Maggy that her stuffed animal had scared him a bit.
Maggy just chuckled, not wanting to scare Tom on saying she didn’t have any stuffed animals and took her tea, she had offered lump of sugars for everyone that needed it and stirred her hot brew. Taking a deep sip did she let out a sigh and continued on where she had left off, “Our teacher had taken the library to the far back, to get washed up at the basin behind the bookshelves. Only candlelight revealed what had happened, She had pulled an object and stapped the nun in the back, and soon as she fell to the floor.. She was on the nun and was choking her on her own rosary and all we could do was whimper in fear..
Markus must have snapped out of it, and quickly gathered us in silence and head out of the classes and downstairs, he seemed adamant to get us all out of the horrible place and get help. We all held hands, hearing the dying sounds of our teacher and found that the whole place was solid darkness. All the lanterns from the roof had been broken and oil an glass was everywhere on the wooden floor. Shelves had been knocked over, and from what cracks of light that could be seemed from the shutters, was red liquid lumps. I think Markus lead us to the door, and he found we couldn’t open any of the shutters or the door because of the locks and latches. So Markus told us he would get the key from her desk, he said we needed to hid and not to scream or whimper.
He had whispered all these orders to us and hinted the fear in his voice but he held such a brave face. I hid behind the collapse book shelf, and many others took random directions in the dark.
I heard Miss. Raven, calling for us, shouting out in a shrill giggling voice of children and even trying to say that everything was fine. None of us had left from our hiding spots, but I saw from the book shelf of her feet standing near my view and noted she was now wearing the nuns outfit. Fresh blood was on her and from there it seemed like an endless nightmare of her hunting for us, and I had almost bit the inside of my cheek in the sight of a severed head of the mailman being behind me the whole time of my hiding.
Over time, One by one, she found us, and I could hear them calling for help and pleading but silence took hold afterwards. I must have stayed under the shelf for days, I could only tell it was morning by the small little lights and could hear Raven yell for us to come out. I heard men outside the place, calling for Raven to come out, to free the children and at this time I decided I needed to get out. I had left the safety of my hiding spot and ran to the desk, I was weak but fear pushed me forward. I found a lantern that was still intact at the desk, and revealed that Markus had died on the floor holding onto a ring of keys.. I heard her footsteps and panicked, I didn’t known why I did this but my brain told me to grab the lantern. I noticed a lighter and took the steel lighter with me, and hurried into the fireplace. I was small and the fireplace was large enough, that I could hid and not worry about being grabbed. I wanted to have light in the darkness, even if it was to see the terror that roamed the library. I could hear the sounds of her feet go into my direction, feel sharp claws swiping at my Sunday flower dress and scrapped myself on the bricks to slip inside. I could hear her shouting for me to come out, and reaching her hands inside the fireplace to reach for me cowering against the back of the fireplace as far as I could. I managed to light up the lantern and saw Miss. Raven pull away in pain, scurrying from the sight of the light. Her eyes, her eyes were solid black, her teeth seemed to long for a normal mouth and her nails looked so long. I found she had slipped piece of metal under her nails to make them sharper and her outfit had fragments of skin stitched to the clothing. She had dropped something and I took it, almost risking myself to get stabbed but whatever I took, she wanted it and had demanding me to turn the light off.
I just cried and shook my head no, I could see with the fire light of the lantern, the sight of the books being scattered on the floor and all that blood. I could see the outline of her, hunching over her desk, cursing me and demanding me to come to her. To give her back the book and to kill the light…I don’t remember much after that..” Maggy frowned, “state of shock I guess, I think I tricked her and found ways to get candles that they stored nearby the fireplace and use it for light. I had so many handfuls and I knew if I didn’t stay in the light away from the monster. I would have died like the others, I knew I was the only kid and knew she would kill me.
In the end, I had fallen asleep and woke up in my mothers arms in small hospital. I was weak and ill, they had told me that they had stopped her and not to worry about Miss Raven anymore. They had asked about why I held onto the candle and book, and it had appeared I still held the book in my left hand. No one could pry the two objects out of my hold, and instead of hurting me they left it in my grip. I told my mother the book was Miss Ravens and my mother being as wise as she was buried the book when I gave it to her. Rumors spread of what had happen, an of the book I held but I knew that Miss Raven wasn’t gone..She wanted her book so I made sure I had candles as a child and as a grownup every night to light the darkness encase she returns.” She sighed looking to Dom, “A medium had come into town, much later to find the true story of what had happen, she went crazy and killed herself at the bridge. Towns folk being poor as it was, couldn’t move the dead bodies to far from town to the old graveyard, so we made a new one around the library and deemed the library just a shack for the graveyard. I know It seems far fetch to you youngsters but whatever happen downstairs was horrible, she had sliced and diced people into small chunks and feed on them. My class mates became part of her outfit and she was ready to do something with that book.
I know one other had lived, Adam the bag handler in the grocery store had lived for a short time and on the fourth day of the incident had died of complication. Something people tend to forget and listen to the spread rumors of the true story, Adam had the true story what had happen and wrote it down for the police. It was dismissed due to the lack of reality and got sold to the crook that is running that gaudy dark tourist trap Dark Secrets Shack.”