The Haunting of Langdon House by Carrie Bates

I have been using Carrie Bates' supernatural short stories as part of my Monday Minutes.

It's been funny, and a bit comical, because at the age I am now, I view "haunted houses" and ghost stories a whole lot differently than I did when I was younger.

I grew up in the '80s and was a complete fan of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I was ALWAYS into Freddy Krueger!

"One, two, Freddy's looking for you..."

As we grow, we change. Our thoughts, our ways, and our opinions. Some stay the same, some evolve, and some are completely transformed.

Imagine my surprise when I found a completely different story in The Haunting of Langdon House.

Spoiler Alert

This book is part of a series of haunted house short stories written by Carrie Bates.

I was introduced to one of them, and one of the things I'm trying to do when reviewing books by authors is to read an entire series whenever possible.

In the prologue, a young boy is harassed and bullied by his peers.

As is often the case with bullying, he was different.

His facial appearance earned him the nickname "Sloth Boy."

His intelligence made him a target as well. The book describes him as being "freakishly smart" for his age.

Being bullied isn't something that only happens in childhood.

Adults are bullied too.

Sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes it's much more subtle.

People often do not understand or accept those who are different, which is interesting because we live in a world where so many people want to stand out. They want to be unique. They want to be noticed.

Take influencers, for example.

You can have three makeup influencers creating the exact same tutorial on how to contour your face.

Each will swear their process and products are the best.

They believe they're different enough to stand out. Yet, in the end, it's still the same tutorial... how to contour your face.

Back to the story.

When the young boy, Benjamin, escaped from his bullies, he made his way to the Langdon House.

Many people had tried to renovate it over the years, and many had failed.

He knew no one would follow him there—or at least he thought so—and he felt he could hide until it was safe to go home.

The house was old and abandoned, surrounded by overgrown grass and weeds where he could easily hide.

People were afraid of the Langdon House.

Rumor had it that the owner, Aaron Langdon, suffered from a skin disease that people feared catching during his lifetime.

Benjamin was fascinated by Aaron Langdon's story.

While others feared what they thought they could catch, Benjamin was smart enough to know he couldn't contract a disease from someone who had lived so long ago.

One day, Benjamin wanted to go swimming, but Blake and his gang were at the waterhole. He waited until they left before getting in.

Benjamin felt alone and unloved.

His father did not love him.

He was mocked because of his appearance and constantly ridiculed by other children.

He wondered if Aaron Langdon would have been friends with him. After all, both of them had been rejected by others.

Both were unloved.

Eventually, Blake and his friends returned. They taunted him, threw rocks at him, and eventually left.

When Benjamin came out of the water, he discovered they had taken his clothes.

He crawled behind a tree and cried.

Now, this part threw me a little.

The book mentions Benjamin looking for a leaf to wipe his tears.

Personally, I would have thought a boy would simply use the back of his hand.

My son and grandson always seemed to think their hands were napkins!

Anyway...

While looking around, Benjamin found an old fisherman's rope.

He wondered if anyone would even miss him if he disappeared.

This absolutely broke my heart.

He was so young and already felt unloved, rejected, and without value.

Unfortunately, Aaron Langdon made him feel wanted.

Made him feel loved.

And Benjamin chose to join him.

Yes, it's a ghost story.

Yes, it's fiction.

However, there are elements of this story that mirror real life.

Bullying is nothing new.

Being bullied can isolate people, damage their sense of self-worth, and sometimes contribute to devastating outcomes.

This is a sad story.

It deals with bullying and suicide.

For some readers, those themes may be triggering.

Others may simply see another haunted house story.

I saw something more.

I saw a reminder of how much impact our words and actions can have on another person.

Tell me...

Have you ever been bullied?

Have you ever been a bully?

Best,

Amy