Sker House Read Online Free Page A

way. A bit like you and your guest book. Must be a Welsh thing. Are you ready?”
    Machen the landlord took an over-dramatic deep breath and said, “I'm ready.”
    “So you've owned Sker House for over two years now. Is that right?”
    “Yes. That's right.”
    “Have you ever experienced anything... out of the ordinary here? Anything that you would call supernatural or paranormal?”
    The landlord's face immediately darkened. “What kind of bloody question is that?”
    Scrambling, Dale said, “Given what we already know about the history of the place, its a legitimate one.”
    “And what do you already know, exactly? What have you heard, like?”
    Dale wasn't expecting such an angry reaction, nor was he expecting his question to be answered with another question, and was hopelessly unprepared. “I'm sorry if the question offends you, but the legend of the Maid of Sker is quite well-known. I was wondering if you'd come across her at all.”
    “The Maid of Sker? Is that what you came here to talk about? “The landlord's eyes narrowed still further as he looked Dale up and down. “You know, come to think of it, you look awful young to be a journalist. More like a student, I suspect.” His eyes bored into Dale's, searching for an admission of guilt.
    Dale tried to stonewall his facial expressions, but was powerless to prevent a red flush brightening his cheeks. Playing the percentages he stayed silent, allowing Machen time to continue, hoping that he would. Eventually, he did.
    “I don't see what this has to do with your story, but if you must know, then yes. I don't know if you'd call them supernatural, or para.. para...”
    “Paranormal?”
    “Yeah, that. Thing is, strange things happen everywhere, like, don't they? Not just here. It's a funny old world we live in.”
    “It certainly is. But would you mind giving us a few examples of what you've experienced?”
    “I suppose I could. Though I don't know whether I should or not
.
What if you print all this stuff in the, what you call it? Solent Newspaper.”
    “Solent News.”
    “Yeah, Solent Views, or whatever. What if you say something in there that scares away all the punters? There's me out of a job and owing a fortune to the creditors. This is a new business, you know. I can't have any negative publicity.”
    He wanted to ask what guests the landlord was referring to as the place was empty, but instead Dale smiled reassuringly and said, “That won't happen. It's true what they say. Any kind of publicity is good publicity. Even if we
did
publish stories about supernatural occurrences at Sker House, the place would be swarming with visitors in no time at all. Ghost hunting is big. People pay a fortune to stay at haunted locations hoping for some kind of experience.”
    “They do, do they?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “But some of this stuff is... private. You know? We... I... wouldn't want it splashed all over the bloody papers, like. Whether it attracts visitors or not.”
    “I completely understand, but this isn't the Daily Mirror read by millions of people every day. It has a much lower circulation than that. Unfortunately. But if it makes you feel better, we'll let you have copy approval before we go to press. Fair?”
    “What's that?”
    “Copy approval means we'll let you read over what we write before it's published, and if there's anything you don't like, we'll change it.”
    The landlord considered this for a few moments, then said, “I suppose that's fair enough... You're going to think I'm mental.”
    “I can assure you, whatever you say, nobody is going to think you're mental.” Dale tried to sound convincing, and resisted adding, 'because they probably already think you are.'
    There was another long pause while the landlord composed himself. Finally, he continued, “Okay, okay. I'll tell you. It's not so much what you can see and touch, but what you can feel. You know what I mean?”
    Dale didn't know what the man meant, but nodded