Ghost Hunters...

"Are we rolling? I don't want to go into the room until we're rolling."

She looked back at the camera crew. No red light. "Not yet. Take a few steps back so we can catch you actually crossing the threshold then we will reset inside the room." Trying to get the shots just right was a challenge in these smaller houses. You didn't want the cuts to be glaringly obvious but there had to be cuts. Nobody rolled with multiple camera crews anymore. Not since the heyday of ghost hunting shows. 

"Do you have everything else ready?"

She nodded. She always had everything ready. She had worked for every ghost hunting show that had aired since she was 16. Fifteen years of being ready. Fifteen years of exploring haunted houses, graveyards, schools, insane asylums, barns, you name it she had been with a crew exploring the site. Filming ghostly encounters for the masses. 

Someone tapped on her shoulder. She looked back and saw that the crew was ready to go. Red light glowing. "And we're rolling...."

"This is the room we've all been waiting to see. The murder room. Walk with me." He crossed the threshold into the room and "CUT! Stop right there. Don't move!"

The camera crew tucked in around him now and shot from inside of the room for the rest of the scene.

She watched him work. Setting out a REM pod for communication with the spirits in the room. Using a Spirit Box to scan radio frequencies listening for words or fragments of words to communicate with the dead. The basic tools of the ghost hunting community. But he really was good. You believed watching him that he believed he was communicating with the dead. Not all of them could do that. Some of them you could tell they were using ghost hunting to springboard into something more lucrative. Maybe a stint on one of the reality dating shows. But not him.

She didn't know if he actually believed what he was selling, but he sold it well enough that he was still on the air and the others weren't. Which meant she still had a job. So she appreciated his dedication to the craft.

"Mazie? Are you here with us right now?" Silence. The room lit by candles even though the house had electricity. Darkness and shadows were important for mood. "Mazie, if you are here please give us a sign."

From behind her came her cue, a small tap on the shoulder. She reached into her pocket and hit the send button on her two-way radio. Just a quick tap and...BEEP! The REM pod lit up. 

He turned to the camera and mouthed, "You saw that right?" then out loud, "Mazie? Do you want to talk to us today?" Silence. A pause to build the tension. Then the tap on her shoulder again. Quick tap on the radio in her pocket. REM pod lighting up across the room.

This went on through a series of yes and no questions. Establishing that Mazie was in the room. She had been murdered. She wasn't alone. Others who had been murdered were with her. But none of the other names they had on their list answered the call. He switched to the scanner. She switched pockets and pressed the button on a small recorder she carried with her. 

"Tire, go, too, many."

"Mazie, I hear you saying that you are tired now. There are too many others around you and you'd like us to go. Is that right?"

"Go, soon, now, tired."

"Thank you, Mazie. Thank you for speaking with us today. We honor your wishes and will leave."

He backed out of the room with the camera crew tight on his face. If he didn't believe that he had just spoken to the dead he was one hell of an actor. 

"CUT! Freeze, don't move!"

The camera crew switched again to filming him from behind. Shooting into the room he just left. Catching the reflections of the candle light and the camera lights in the windows and mirrors. Casting more shadows, creating the illusion of movement. 

"Thank you, Mazie." he turned and walked down the hallway before stopping, "How incredible was that? Thank you for joining us on these special episodes of Ghost Gatherings, The Murder Files. Next week we will be in Savanah revisiting the Sorrel Weed House, won't you join us?"

The camera light went out and crew immediately started packing up. His face switched from open amazement to almost blank stare. He looked at her then, "Good job today. That flowed really nicely. Felt really good."

She nodded, "I think it's going to be a ratings hit for sure. I'll just get some publicity stills and see you all back at the hotel later."

He shot double finger guns at her, "See you later, investigator!" 

It was one of his favorite jokes. She smiled and gave him the guns back. "After awhile, paranormal!"

He was a dork and possibly a great actor, but honestly he was one of the best she had ever worked with. He got footage nobody else seemed to be able to replicate. Or at least nobody now that she worked for him and not them. Debunkers had proven over and over that there was nothing in the places he filmed. Or at least they had proven it to themselves and those that didn't want to believe in ghosts. 

She walked back into the room where they had just wrapped filming. She took the candles down from the mantle and the window ledges and set them out on the floor. Then she reached into various other pockets of her work vest and took out a different set of supplies. 

"Mazie? Are you still here?"

She felt the tap on her shoulder again. 

"Thank you for letting us film here today."

Tap tap

"Mazie? Do you want to leave this place?"

TAP TAP TAP

She set out the herbs and the water from the river that flows backwards and started her own production. People would still swear up and down that they saw Mazie in this room. Or heard her speak to them through the walls. But after tonight Mazie would be unbound. Free to go wherever she wanted to go. Move on to the next, whatever the next was. 

Ghost hunting shows were a huge hit. She had worked for all of them. But he really had the touch. She didn't know if he realized it or not, but he found actual ghosts in most of the places they filmed. 

And when he was done she stayed behind and set them free. 

"I am so sorry I didn't get here sooner, Mazie."

The rush of wind blew all of the candles out at once. 

She sat in the dark for a moment longer, then gathered her supplies and went back to the hotel. She needed some sleep. The Sorrell Weed House was going to be a big job.