Cecil

Molly Long

There was a heavy fog settled over the Hackensack River. It was cold, so cold I felt my bones ache with every step I took. I was on my way to Holy Name Cemetery, taking a shortcut through Lincoln Park. It was nearly sunset, the perfect time to lie in the grass and reflect on the lives of long departed souls. I saw the shining marble walls of the mausoleum as I approached my destination, and let out a sigh of relief through my shivering lips.

As I stepped across the threshold, something changed; I felt different. I couldn’t identify what exactly it was, but it didn’t feel necessarily bad.I strolled the narrow pathways, searching for a name or a date that piqued my interest. Cecil Thurgood, Loving Father and Husband, December 17, 1774 to March 3, 1803. Cecil seemed pretty interesting. I slid my bag off my shoulder near his headstone, sat in the grass, and laid my head on the bag. I watched the clouds for a long time; I watched the sky turn from periwinkle to salmon to eggplant. As I lay there, staring at the sky, violent chills took control of my body. I was cold and confused, and there was no wind to explain the sudden cold. I stood up as quick as I could, replaced my bag on my shoulder, and said what I thought were my goodbyes to Cecil Thurgood. It ought to be warmer inside the mausoleum, and I’d still have souls to meet there.

I was correct, the temperature of the mausoleum was far more pleasing than that of the outside world. As I paced the empty, towering halls, I noticed something strange- every few burial compartments was marked the same, “Cecil Thurgood, Loving Father and Husband, December 17, 1774 to March 3, 1803”. I was no longer just confused; I was frightened. The fog from outside was seeping through the thin space between the doors, leaving the mausoleum in an eerie, misty state.I slumped to the ground and closed my eyes, wishing for everything to return to normal. Although I was warm, there were chills running down my spine and my whole body was covered with goosebumps. I was afraid to open my eyes for what I might see; so I just sat there, still and silent, waiting for something to convince me to move. I remembered the small knife I always carried in my bag and promptly armed myself with it.Feeling somewhat braver with a weapon in hand, I opened my eyes, and what I saw shook me to my very core.

Before was a man who stood nearly seven feet tall, with eyes such a pale blue they could have been white, and hair that was dark and neat,. But this man’s hair was the only neat thing about him, his eighteenth century attire was torn and bloody, his skin was covered in rot, and jaw was nearly separated from the rest of his face. That’s when the most petrifying thing happened, he spoke. He spoke with a voice that could drive the pope to drink, a voice that could put tears in the eyes of sociopath, a voice that rattled my bones and froze my blood in it’s tracks. “How dare you disturb my rest, child! Have you no respect for the dead?,” his chilling voice echoed through the marble building. I could not speak, I had lost my voice somewhere in my panic. I held up my knife at the man; it was my only hope.

He boomed with laughter as the blade flew out of my hand and hit the wall to my right, fifty feet away from me. I was now completely helpless, my only viable option was running. I eyed the door behind the man and judged the distance. I might be able to make it, if I distracted him. I mustered up every bit of my voice that I had left and spoke shakily, “Who are you?”

“I am Cecil Thurgood and I do not like to be disturbed! Now, tiny human, you must die!”

“Mr. Thurgood,” I spoke softly still, but with more power, “I am very sorry for having disturbed you. I didn’t know the dead could be disturbed, sir.”

He opened his gaping jaw again to speak, but I was already running. I was nearly there. I had my hand on the door handle. It didn’t open. The door had become stuck shut, and Cecil Thurgood was approaching me, now furious. The last thing I saw was his eyes, those ghostly, chilling eyes. And now, I too reside in Holy Name Cemetery.