The Haunting of Sunnyvale Manor.

Matron Louisa Blackwell was very fond of her PA system. Every morning at 5am sharp...she adjusted her favorite amplifier for the acoustic, turned the volume level to the highest calibrated frequency...and equalized it to her satisfaction. Thus guaranteeing that she achieved clear, balanced and extremely loud audio across the entire sleeping population and listening area.

"If she could not sleep, then no one else should"...she would evilly mutter to herself... her crooked smile more menacing than pleasant.

But this morning was not like all the other mornings. As she reached out her hand to adjust the volume...the system screeched to life before she even touched it. Matron dropped her hand in consternation, taking a step back.

Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackwellllll!!!!!....Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrrt!!!!! Sang the eerie young sounding voices.

She heard it as plain as day, coming from the microphone.

Blackwell staggered back, falling over a chair and hitting the ground hard...her lungs exhaling.

Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackwellllll!!!!!....Maaaaatrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!!

She kept scooting backwards on her backside...frightened so badly, that her heart was hammering loudly in her chest.

She screamed. The voices kept jeering and giggling.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Sarai, Martin and Jackie---three of the teachers, dressed in slippers, robes and in various miscellaneous forms of yawning and dishevelment, ran in after a few minutes to find out the cause of the alarm. Usually, the evil witch would be waking them up round about now.

Seeing Blackwell on the floor gave them a certain form of joy and satisfaction. She was a horrid person who had been blackmailing them for years. They all had dirty little secrets - and she threatened them constantly.

The matron was whimpering and pointing to the PA system...but everything sounded and seemed quite normal.

"What's the matter". Sarai asked, trying hard to hide a smile.

"Can't...can't you hear it, the...the laughing and them calling my name"? Blackwell sputtered.

"Who, who is calling your name"? Jackie asked looking around.

The three looked at each other, puzzled...they could not hear any sound from the PA system, all seemed quite normal.

But Matron Blackwell heard it clear as a sunny day.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Louisa felt a cold breath on her face...laughter in her ear and a frigid hand on her shoulder. She screamed awfully again, swatting at her head.

Martin helped her up and back to her room. At least this morning the poor kids can sleep in a little later. Luckily, they were fast asleep in their wing of the house.

Louisa took a sleeping pill and slept for a few hours.

When she finally woke up and glanced at the clock... she was annoyed. Now everyone would have to have a late day because of her silliness...for surely she had been dreaming and had overslept.

But why was the room so dark - her eyes adjusted to the gloom, only to behold her bed surrounded by the faces of the children whom, because of greed, she had allowed to die, cold, hungry and alone.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

They chanted as they drew closer....and closer ...

Louisa leapt from the bed and ran out of the room trying to stifle the screaming. In the corridor, she stopped, realizing that she was fully dressed...so she had neither dreamed nor imagined this morning, It was real.

But these putrid little brats were not going to get the better of her. She had to have a talk with the nosy gamekeeper, even if he is her brother. He was getting nervous and making threats...Jeffrey can go keep the brats he loved so well company out in the woods.

Matron Blackwell always won...and not even the dead could meddle with her plans. She squared her shoulder and marched towards the great hall where the children had gathered for prayer.

Someone had turned on the heat and they would pay dearly...whomever it was would have their pay docked. She immediately switched it off.

The PA system began playing again....but only in her head... Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!!

Louisa pretended not to notice. She remembered that no one else could hear it.

Everyone fell silent as she entered the room. Their day had just been ruined.

The past twenty + years.

Duke Charlton Sunnyvale, upon his death, had bequeathed the old Sunnyvale mansion to Matron Blackwell. But, with the specific instructions to care for the unwanted, orphaned and needy children who needed a place to stay. The Duke, had made his intentions extremely clear in his Will.

He had known Blackwell for many years and thought her to possess a kind and loving heart.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Truth to tell, Louisa had the blackest of hearts...but, being a great actress, she had hidden her cold, unfeeling heart from the Duke. He never had children of his own, but his house was always filled with the neighborhood children, he had family...but they never cared for him. The Duke was happiest when his house was filled with laughter.

Louisa had met and married Charlton when he visited at the school which she worked, she was almost thirty years old then...he was much older. And for fifteen years she cared for him, loathing the many filthy and noisy brats whom he insisted on collecting. Even when she worked at the school, she hated the snot nosed little things.

After his passing, she reverted to her maiden name.

Thirteen years have now passed since the home became a school and home for children of all ages... The lawyers sent representatives often, to make sure that Louisa kept her promise...as per the stipulation of the Will.

But, they never really cared about the delicate nuances of the children's welfare - they listened to the matron, she was, after all...a respectable lady who kept the home running like clockwork. And so they looked at the few healthy-ish children which she presented, clean and tidy just for show - dressed in their visitor day attire...They looked at the deceptively well kept interior and exterior of the house...and they signed off that all was well, year after year.

For thirteen years. An ominous number for Louisa!!!!

And year after year, the children died in mysterious ways, half starved, freezing and buried in secret - sometimes some died while being locked away for days in punishment for the smallest of childhood mischief. Only Jeffrey had the spare keys and he tried his best to help them...most times it was never enough.

Everyone on the outside believed that the kids grew up and all left the home at age 18 to pursue their various dreams. Their deaths were never recorded, for the wicked matron kept collecting and squirreling away the money from the State.

A few actually did make it out after aging out...but it was merely for show. No one made any complaints... Matron saw to that. Who would have believed them anyway.

The workers all knew. But she paid them to keep their mouths shut. All except the old groundskeeper...he knew where all the bodies were buried...and he had had enough, sister or no sister...it was time.

"Matron Blackheart"...the children called her behind her back. They were almost always sick, the heat was almost always off in the winter months, except for the matron's quarters. Most of the more weak kids died of pneumonia and exposure to the cold. They were never well fed in the first place...there was hardly ever enough food to fill them up. Matron ate well, of course.

The tipping point came when Jeffrey threatened to go to the police.

The children all loved Jeffrey...he always took time to play with them and hid away food for them in his room in the back of the great house. Jeffrey would secretly visit the graves of the children, far out on the forested parts of the estate.

The children all knew, but under threat of their lives, they all kept silent. They had nowhere else to go.

The December night of the 12th was shaping up to be a real freezing one. The heat would need to be turned on.

Jeffrey: "Louisa, you have to turn the heat on tonight, everyone will freeze to death if you don't. The children will all become even more ill".

Louisa: "Do you have any idea how much that will cost, Jeff"?

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Never caring that all is not well!!!

Louisa swatted at her ears. "Shut up, you filthy things". She mumbled.

Jeffrey: "Who are you talking to. I swear Louisa, if you don't turn the heat on, I am calling the authorities".

Louisa: "Ok, ok. But first, you have to help me with a connection on the top floor, the heat leaks out up there".

Jeffrey: "Fine, let's get that done now".

Louisa contemplated the large window looking out over the vast meadow. A lovely view if ever there was one. A good place to shove her tiresome brother out that picturesque window. He can join the kids he claimed to love so much... he was as much to blame as they all were...greedy pigs. No matter what they all said, they loved money more than the kids.

They stepped from the elevator...her dearly departed husband had spared no expense for comfort and ease. He had been a generous man...sometimes she missed him dearly...but only sometimes.

In the distance, the moonlight shone down on the outline of the tiny churchyard where the duke was buried in his little marble house. He had made sure she had a spot beside him, all ready for occupancy.

Louisa: "Come look, Jeffrey...how lovely the night is". She threw the window wide open, despite the freezing cold. Jeffrey wrapped his coat closer to his body. Maybe she has gone mad...he thought. The others had told him of her strange behavior lately.

Strange and odd indeed, he thought, she was never one for admiring the outdoors.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Not Jeffrey, not Jefferey!!!!

This time, quite startled, Jeffrey saw and heard the ghostly mob of children as they stepped between him and Louisa. They converged upon her.

His sister backed up towards the window, arms flailing madly...

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha....Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackwellllll!!! ...Maaaaatrrrrron Blaaaaackhearrrrtt!!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Not Jeffrey, not Jefferey!!!

"NOooooooooooooooo". Echoed chillingly into the night, as Louisa met karma staring her starkly in the face.

Before he could react...Louisa went flying out the window, arms thrashing like bird wings...Noooooooooo!...echoing in the dead air of night.

Jeffrey found his motion, he was just in time to see Louisa fall flat on her face, her limbs splayed comically, arms out and her feet twisted sideways. At first there was no blood. Futilely, he though that she may be ok.

But the red ooze slowly crawled like a snake from her broken body. There was no movement.

It was one minute past midnight! December 13th.

The ghostly brood took Jeffrey's hand. They led him to the heating room. Numb and in shock...he turned the heat back on.

Over the PA system, the announcement began...now all of the adults could hear it.

Maaaaatrrrronn Blaaaaackheartttt issss no moreeee!!! So will youuuuu all be!!!

ghosts

It was now 13 minutes past midnight!

The moon peeked down upon the well kept gardens of Sunnyvale House ...and if one looked really close...they could see the little shadows being led into the house by a much taller one.

Matilda had been 16 when she died. She now led the younger ones in their quest for revenge.

They all would pay... The entire doors and windows to the house were mysteriously locked and bolted. No one was getting out...only the dead could get in.

The PA system began calling the adults by their names...one by one they emerged from their rooms. THE CHILDREN SLEPT SOUNDLY---GETTING WARM AND TOASTY IN THEIR BEDS.

.......

Fourteen year old Raphael called the authorities next morning when the children awoke at half past nine and could not find a single adult in the house. Even Jeffrey was gone.

The place was warm and comfy though...the kids had raided the food pantry and were feasting on everything they could get their hands on.

The bodies in the woods were found, it took weeks...and they are still searching for more.

The children got a new matron whom they all grew to love.

The puzzle of the missing staff remains a mystery. Their belongings were in their rooms...and their cars were still parked outside.

Only the Dead and the Air knows the truth.