On the 31st Day of Blogtober the ghost in my attic gave to me a terrifying fright and a back story
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HARRY DRESDEN!
Okay, so here is the thing for my annual Dresden post I was stumped for ideas, so when I started my blogtober posts with “the ghost in my attic” it gave me an idea, to write a story about said ghost but it took me a while to come up with a story, in fact I wrote most of it today.
Just a few things to note:
- It is a self insert fanfic of Dresden and I tackling a ghost in the attic.
- This is set far before anything in Changes (Book 12 of the Dresden Files) happened.
- I have never written a combat/action scene before so please forgive me if it is bad.
- Also I have not written in long while so I am little rusty.
- Lastly, I have taken some creative liberties with this story, majority of the knowledge and logic behind this comes from the first 5 Chapters of Book 3 (Grave Peril) in the Dresden Files, it has been a long time since I have read Ghost Story (Book 13 in the Dresden Files) and it was not possible for me to reread it in less than a day so some info that may have been shared over there about ghosts and ghost hunting is kinda lost.
- The first 5 Chapters of Book 3 has a pretty epic ghost hunt which served as the base of this story
- To all my fellow hardcore Dresden Fans, I am sorry if there are inconsistencies in this story in comparison to The Dresden Files, trust me it pisses me off too and once I reread Ghost story eventually I will update this story.
- The names in this fic don’t mean anything, they have been randomly generated using an online name generator
- THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS.
So let’s just jump into the story
The Story behind the Ghost in my Attic – A Dresden Fanfic
The door in my attic opened with a creak and I was greeted by darkness that lay await there, the pitch blackness was terrifying but I was done with the footsteps, the scraping and the violent thuds that haunted me through the night, whose frequencies had increased in October.
I wanted to know what lay await there and what it wanted from me and why was it in my house. I hauled myself into the attic and was closely followed by Harry Dresden, his long frame barely contained in the normal sized attic.
I switched on my flashlight which quickly met its untimely death, groaning in frustration, I banged the flashlight on the palm of my left hand, hard, it spluttered pathetically and died again, this caused me to glare at the annoying wizard to my right.
“Hey, you knew this was gonna happen when you invited a wizard in your home” he said defensively, which was true, for some reason wizards and technology never got along, so every time the titan was over, I had to make sure all my electronics were safe guarded and well away from his magic particles, replacing them would cost me a fortune.
“Well then why don’t you provide us with light, you Giant Slenderman” I sassed back, he scoffed but obliged, his pentacle amulet started glowing will be soft, silver-blue light which lit up the attic, it was barely bright but it was manageable for what we hand planned, a stake out to catch a ghost.
We stacked up a few boxes at a corner in the attic and crouched down behind them where we were hiding waiting for our ghost to show up.
“Do you think it was a good idea doing this on Halloween night?” I asked.
“It is the best, the veil between here and the Nevernever is very thin on Halloween, so whatever is in here will definitely show up today” he replied, his eyes still staring in the now dark attic as I nodded at the information he had shared with me.
“Don’t worry, we are gonna be just okay” he added which made me smile because I knew if I was with him, I was going to be okay.
———
The day that we first met is still vivid in my mind, I mean how could it not be. I was walking home from work, it was late and the streets of Chicago were unusually quiet that night, all I wanted was to get home and binge watch some TV.
I was close to the station, passing an alley when something grabbed me and threw me to the ground, I remember the pain in my hand as I tried to break the fall. I was scared and terrified but when I heard an inhuman growl behind me, my heart stopped and my blood turned cold.
Terrified out of my mind, I turned around to face the creature I knew was gonna kill me but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. A greyish, demonic creature was staring at me, it’s eyes hungry and its mouth drooling blood, it had a weird and terrifying smile on its face as it made a slow crawl towards my fallen form.
Slowly I started backing away, it was something like you see in the movies, but there was nothing I could do, I was a mere human against a monster, it pounced, I screamed, everything seemed like it was in slow motion but before it could land on me…
“FOZARE” screamed a booming voice and with it came a gust of wind so strong that it threw the creature away knocking it on the wall of the alley, it screeched in pain and searched for what attacked it, its eyes turning away from me.
The source of the voice came near “Get away from her” it ordered the thing, who screamed in return and tried to attack the man with the staff in his hand but the man dogged it as he got between me and the creature, the creature tried to attack again, this time the stranger hit it with a ball of fire that erupted from the wooden stick he was carrying, making the creature flee.
“I got it” screamed another voice and in my peripheral view I saw a man in a white cloak run after the demon though my stare was fixed on the man with the staff but my vision was already blurring as I started losing consciousness, before my head could hit the ground the man with the staff was next to me, holding me, telling me I was gonna be okay.
“Hey, hey hey…stay with me, I am Harry Dresden and I am going to get you to the hospital now” was all I remembered hearing before I woke in the hospital, where on inquiry the staff told me that a tall man in a coat had bought me in saying he found me unconscious in the street and left before anyone could ask him anything else.
——–
We met again two weeks after that, well more accurately I tracked him down because I wanted to thank him for saving my life and also for answers, I couldn’t get that weird demonic creature out of my mind and I needed to know what it was and how could I keep myself safe and there was no one better to ask than the man who saved my life.
It took a while for me to find his contact information, of all the places I could have found it, it was in an old yellow pages book in the public library where his name was listed under the occupation wizard.
Early Friday evening, after finding the information, I went to his listed address and climbed down the stairs and rang the doorbell. The person who opened the door was very similar to what I imagined well minus the long white beard; you know coz wizard but he was wearing a robe.
“Hi, how may I help you?” He asked, his voice was so familiar and for some reason it felt safe.
“You are Harry Dresden, right?” I confirmed.
“Yep, the one and only” he replied.
“I need your help” I blurted out in a rush, my brain was short circuiting but his face grew grave and serious.
“Please come inside” he stepped aside as let me walk through the door.
~~
“It was very kind of you to come and thank me in person, not many people do that but I cannot teach you anything” he said after I had explained the situation to him.
“Why not?” I asked him, startled.
“Because you don’t possess magic, not even in a latent form and teaching you to fight paranormal creatures would lead to your death” he explained in a calm voice.
“Pepper spray is not gonna do anything to that creature, I want to feel safe, I have a right to feel safe so why can’t you help me do that” I was close to tears, the attack still fresh in my mind.
“Because you will most definitely die, I can give you some protective charms instead” he offered.
“I have a feeling that is not gonna be enough” I said in a low voice and he did not respond, which was all the confirmation I needed.
“I can pay you if that is the problem, your standard fee, I just wanna feel safe to walk out at night again” with this offer he sighed and got up.
“You wanna go out for a bite? He asked and I nodded in affirmation.
~~~
He had taken me to Mac and Alley’s his favorite bar in Chicago and ordered steak for the both of us and beer for himself after I refused the alcohol. We spoke for awhile and he agreed to teach me the basics of self-defense over the next few weeks, just enough to help me run away but not engage in combat and he gave me a protective talisman, he did not charge me for it, no matter how much I insisted and that was the beginning of our friendship and now here we were hiding out in my attic, waiting for a ghost to show up (okay so in the books, I know Dresden would just give her a talisman to ensure that a civilian doesn’t go off fight demons but for the fic let’s pretend this happens)
—–
“Did you find out anything about this ghost?” I whispered to him, tired of waiting for something to happen.
“I had Bob do some research and he found out that a construction worker was killed after he caught one of his co-workers drunk whilst handling heavy machinery and when he confronted him the drunken man killed him in outrage and he legit nailed him using a drill gun for good measure” he supplied, I felt sick to my stomach.
“You know, information like that should be disclosed in the rental agreement” I said as a shiver ran down my spine, making Dresden chuckle.
“You know you can wait downstairs while I deal with this. I will be significantly less worried if I know you are safe somewhere” he offered.
“And I hope that that ghost kicks your chauvinistic ass just enough before you actually capture him” I retorted, making him chuckle again but before he could respond we felt the temperature of the room beginning to drop.
Both of us went silent and still as a translucent figure materialized in my attic, he was wearing a hard hat, he looked dazed as his figure began to float out of nowhere, he took a hammer and began hammering down something invisible to the wall and the thudding noises began.
“What is he doing?” I whispered to Dresden, my voice drowning out in the loud thuds that filled the room.
“Ghosts usually don’t remember they are dead and will carry out the tasks they were assigned when they did die, he is still constructing the attic, or at least that is what he believes” he answered, his eyes not moving away from the ghost.
“Stay here” he said, as he made his way out of our hiding spot and approached the ghost, his blasting road ready at his side.
“John Brown” he called out the dead carpenter, Dresden had once told me is the best way to face a ghost is to make it acknowledge you or else it is difficult to do affect them anyhow, so our plan was to face the ghost and try and get him acknowledge his situation and if things go south use the ghost dust to freeze it then banish it.
The Ghost John Brown turned around to face Dresden, he still had a lost look on his face, his eyes were unfocused like he was in some sort of a daze.
“You shouldn’t be here, the place is stiff under construction, it dangerous for civilians to come here especially without proper protection” he scolded Dresden
“John, the construction on this house ended over 30 years ago, 2 years after you died on site” Dresden said in a solemn voice, the ghost’s expression grew confused, it was fascinating how human like he was and if he weren’t translucent, I would have never guessed he was dead.
“If that is a joke, it ain’t very funny” John scoffed and began to turn away.
“Adam Walker” the name made John stop mid turn and face Dresden again, his face was now twisted in rage, he looked frightening but Dresden continued
“Adam Walker was drunk that day and when you confronted him, he killed you with a hammer and then nailed you the floorboard, he taught he could save his job”
Some sort of realization showed in John’s eyes and his anger only grew, he grew in size, his face became distorted in rage, the temperature of the room dropped even further, I saw Dresden reach into his coat pocket and pull out the ghost dust, ready to dump it on the ghost.
“HAS HE SENT YOU TO FINISH THE JOB” he shouted, his voice echoing in the enclosed attic, before Dresden could do anything the ghost charged him and with a swing of his hand knocked Dresden to the right, away from our hiding spot, the pouch of ghost dust few out Dresden’s hand and landed close to me, the scene playing out in front of me made me yell out Dresden’s name, which was a bad move because now the eyes of the ghost landed on me, he came hurling my way but I rolled out of there grabbing the pouch of ghost dust as I fled the hiding spot and ran to Dresden’s aid, the ghost had knocked all the boxes down, some of them slipped out their contents, making the attic more and more cluttered.
Dresden regained his footing just as the ghost reappeared from the messes of boxes, he raised his hammer and started towards me and Dresden again. Dresden grabbed my hand and pulled both of us out of the way just as John brought his hammer down with a terrifying thud, leaving a crack in the attic floor.
Lacing his staff with magic, Dresden struck the ghost hard, making him stumble but that did not stop his rampage, the blow that Dresden had delivered just made him angrier he let out a feral scream, so much like Red Court Vampire that had attacked me in the alley that it made me cold and full of fear, the temperature of the room to now drop well below freezing and a ghostly gale had filled the attic. John charged Dresden, who jumped out of the way and led the ghost away from me.
“CALL MICHAEL” Dresden ordered as he backed into a corner, blocking the ghost’s hammer with his blasting rod and using his magic laced staff to attack back but John was driven mad with rage and hatred, Dresden was not going to be able to keep up with the attack so I ran towards them. John was well distracted attacking Dresden so he did not notice me.
I opened the leather pouch of ghost dust and sprinkled some on one of John’s arms, on contact the ghost dust burst into blazing motes of scarlet light and John screamed, he turned and with his free hand knocked me away, the impact reverberating not only physically but also spiritually.
“MEHEK” Dresden screamed but as he tried to come to my aid, he was stopped by John still swinging his hammer at him although he was stuck in his place because of the ghost dust he was not done, he wanted vengeance and Dresden and I were going to pay the price.
Still distorted and panting, I pulled myself up to my feet, gather the pouch of ghost dust in my hand, some of it had spilled out, and started limping/running to them again, seeing this Dresden kept the ghost engaged, not letting John notice me approach and when I was close enough, he yelled “Shove the pouch into him” I obliged.
I thrust my hands holding the ghost dust into the translucent flesh of John Brown and pinned him in his place, John stopped moving, his posture stuck in attack form and he started screaming in agony.
“JOHN BROWN” Dresden’s voice was laced with magic, it was authoritative and commanding.
“You died 30 years ago, unfairly at the hand of Adam Walker, he was arrested 3 days later, sentenced to a lifetime in prison and died there 7 years ago, you got the justice you deserved and you were avenged, you have no reason to be here” upon hearing Dresden the ghost seemed to relax, the gale died down and the temperature of the room began to rise, John’s body dissolved and turned into some weird gooey substance.
Panting, I dropped to the floor, Dresden was next to me in an instance.
“It’s over” he assured, I leaned into him, my tears flowing freely now. Dresden helped me out of the attic and into the living room, I looked at the clock that read 23:30 which made me realize in shock that we were cooped up in the attic for a good 4 hours.
“The ghost kicked your ass” I finally rasped out with a dry chuckle making Dresden laugh as well.
“He sure did,” he acknowledged “and thank you, if it weren’t for your things wouldn’t have turned out so great for me tonight”
“I did not think it would become so violent” I thought aloud.
“That is the thing about these ghosts, especially the ones who have been wrongfully killed, they will do anything to avenge themselves,”
“Why did he disappear?” I asked.
“He found out that his killer was gone, that he got justice and probably decided that he had no reason to stay” he answered.
“I am gonna get us both some water” I declared getting up and limped into the kitchen has a nice long drink of cold water, got another bottle, white box and a knife and went back into the living room, I set the white box and the knife on the coffee table and handed Dresden the bottle, he took it without a word and gulped the water down, while I opened the box, revealing it contents.
“Happy Birthday Harry” I said with a smile, the look on his face made my heart ache, he deserved better than the world had given him.
“You didn’t have to do it”
“Oh, shut up and cut the cake will you”
He shut up and cut the cake, after we had 2 slices each, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Burger King. There were a lot of questions I wanted answered, there were some wardings that Dresden wanted to put up in my house but at that moment both of us were tired, both our souls still wounded by the blows landed on it by the ghost and we were staving so we just got into the blue beetle and drove into Chicago traffic on Halloween night, talking and joking with each other as the wind kept howling in the background.
Okay so how many of you got the reference of the howling wind being the wild hunt, coz I had to add it there 😁😁 I really hoped you guys like this fic, let me know me know in the comments what are your opinions on it.
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