I met Viola tonight
Really I have not seen her for many years
Come to think of it is must have been the summer of 1992
How is she
As well as to be expected for a time traveller
Really I thought she looked a bit tired and her coat was heavy
Where did you meet her
Farringdon Station it was late and I was waiting for a train
What happened did she just show up
No I saw her on the opposite platform and she waved to me
And then it happened
What happened
There was a blood curdling scream
At first I thought it was a worm hole that had accompanied Viola but she was quite normal
She just smiled at me and told me a story about the origins of the haunting
It seems that the haunting is that of a young girl called Anne Naylor
Go on
Well before I start please imagine Anne as a sickly child prone to bouts of illness who was apprenticed to a mother and daughter who ran a hat making business
Poor Anne who because of her frequent bout of illness was unable to keep up with the demanding nature of her job and it was not long before the mother and daughter started to abuse her
She tried to escape on a couple of occasions but was caught and things began to get gradually worse for Anne as she was locked in an attic room and was given just bread and water
Anne tried to escape once more but was again caught and was badly beaten and a few days later one of the other apprentices noted that she was not moving
She was attacked once again which was a wasted effort as the poor girl was dead
The mother and daughter then tried to hide their dreadful crime by leaving the attic door ajar and bringing Anne bread and water
Anne’s sister was beginning to grow suspicious and because of this and the state of the corpse it was soon cut up and dumped in a nearby sewer
The mother and daughter just said that Anne had run away again and had not been found
They might have got away with it as missing children were quite common in London but sometime later they argued over something and I believe the daughter confessed to the authorities
They were both tried and later hanged on the 19th of July 1768
It was soon after this that Anne began her haunting and this was intensified when the railway came along
Obviously she was not buried but it might be that the construction of the railway could have disturbed the sewer where she was dumped
That is a horrible story Jacky
I know but it is a truthful account as it was told to me by Viola
How long were you with her
Until the last train
Then we went our separate ways
And that was it
Yes and no because shortly before we parted Viola said that she would try to go back to the year before Anne’s apprenticeship and ensure that she would be cared for
Time Travel is very unstable so how could Viola promise that
She did not promise to rescue Anne but said she would try
But there was one thing about Viola that unnerved me
What was that
It was twofold
Firstly whilst we were sitting together a drunk started bothering me but he took no notice of Viola
He then ran away in a terror which spooked me as much as it spooked him
The man was drunk and I soon let it pass as Viola’s story was so interesting
But as a train stopped I for some reason looked at my reflection and it was then I noticed that Viola was not being reflected
I thought this to be a trick of the light but the same thing happened with all the subsequent trains
Viola did not have a reflection
What did you do
Nothing as I thought it to be a peculiarity of Time Travel
You are an expert on Time Travel have you ever heard of it
No
Mind you and I am not saying this to spook you but ghosts have been known to travel in time
Really
Yes as although you are not in one piece when you Time Travel you can still die and it stands to reason to say that if you have a ghost then that might travel in time
Did Viola seem different
No apart from her general shabby appearance and the lack of her reflection she seemed normal
Are you saying that Viola might be dead
I am not sure
How did she leave you or did you leave her first
No she looked at her watch and kissed me on the cheek and then opened a worm hole and that was that
When did your train arrive
About five minutes later
Did anything happen during that time
Yes there was another bout of screaming except it as more intense and deeper than before
What was the reaction of the other passengers
They did not seem to hear the screams
Sit down Jacky as I do not think you are going to like this
Why
I think that Anne is also travelling in time and has ended Viola’s Time Travel and that the screams that you heard were Viola’s screams as she was ended
Are you saying that Anne has murdered Viola
In a way yes
Is there anything we can do
Not that I know of
If I was you I would visit Farringdon Station from time to time and see if you can connect with either Anne or Viola although be warned that I believe Anne to be a malevolent force which makes the situation far far worse
to be continued