opportunity to find out more about the house and kill a few hours. She crossed over the road and entered the small brick building, stopping at the front desk to ask the librarian for help.
“ I’m just doing a bit of research on historic houses in the area and I was wondering if you knew where I could find some information about Colton Manor?
“Hmm,” said the young woman, scratching her head. “I’ m only a temp and I’m not from here so I don’t know much about the local history. We’re a bit unorganized with our records right now, but we do have archives of old newspapers out the back waiting to be scanned. You can start there if you like.” She showed Ursula through to a dusty room with three huge compactors. “I’m not really supposed to let you in here, but I’m sure you can be trusted.”
“Thank you.” With no real idea of where to start, Ursula plunged into one of t he compactors and began leafing through the newspapers. She decided to just to skim read for references to the house, the name Edward Stanton and any information about the women who’d died and disappeared there. Bonnie had told her the house was built around 1850 so she began with that year, and soon she was completely immersed in the past.
It was fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives of people from over one hundred and fifty ago and for a while she almost forgot the reason she was there. When she finally came across some articles related to Colton Manor they weren’t very helpful. There was a funeral notice for Anna Williams, the wife who had fallen from the cliff to her death, and a report about lightning striking the house during a severe thunderstorm. There were many papers missing from the archives and she could find nothing about the second wife who had vanished into thin air, or the third wife who had been found dead on the kitchen floor.
Feeling disappointed that she had not been able to uncover any significant information Ursula began looking through later papers. She was leafing through an edition from the 1960s when a headline in a section on local history caught her eye:
Black Magic Practiced at Colton Manor .
Locals in Paradise are familiar with the stories surrounding Colton Manor. For many years the house is said to have been haunted by the ghost of its former owner Edward Stanton. He is rumoured to have murdered his three wives as part of a pact with the devil.
It is claimed Stanton, who was once a fine and well-respected member of the community, began behaving very strangely in the years preceding his death. Those familiar with the old legend say he sold his soul to Satan in a deal to secure a great fortune. He also promised Satan the souls of three women in exchange for riches. Many believe he murdered his three wives to fulfil this pact.
Whatever the truth is, Stanton’s three wives all died in circumstances that can only be described as unusual. One plunged from a cliff on the grounds of the property, another was discovered on the kitchen floor with a lethal blow to her head which Stanton claimed was the result of a fall, and another simply vanished into thin air. If Stanton did indeed sell his soul to the devil he got a raw deal. Instead of enjoying great wealth he lived out his final years as a virtual recluse and died with barely a penny to his name.
To this day people claim they sometimes see lights in the old house which has b een abandoned for several decades, and those who are game enough to go inside say there is an overwhelming sense of evil in the house. The general consensus among the light-loving and God-fearing folk in Paradise is that Colton Manor is a place to be avoided at all costs.
Ursula was staring at the paper, trying to digest the latest information about the house when a hand on her shoulder caused her to scream and spin around. It was just the librarian.
“Sorry to scare you, but we close at three today. You can come back tomorrow.”
Ursula
“ I’m just doing a bit of research on historic houses in the area and I was wondering if you knew where I could find some information about Colton Manor?
“Hmm,” said the young woman, scratching her head. “I’ m only a temp and I’m not from here so I don’t know much about the local history. We’re a bit unorganized with our records right now, but we do have archives of old newspapers out the back waiting to be scanned. You can start there if you like.” She showed Ursula through to a dusty room with three huge compactors. “I’m not really supposed to let you in here, but I’m sure you can be trusted.”
“Thank you.” With no real idea of where to start, Ursula plunged into one of t he compactors and began leafing through the newspapers. She decided to just to skim read for references to the house, the name Edward Stanton and any information about the women who’d died and disappeared there. Bonnie had told her the house was built around 1850 so she began with that year, and soon she was completely immersed in the past.
It was fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives of people from over one hundred and fifty ago and for a while she almost forgot the reason she was there. When she finally came across some articles related to Colton Manor they weren’t very helpful. There was a funeral notice for Anna Williams, the wife who had fallen from the cliff to her death, and a report about lightning striking the house during a severe thunderstorm. There were many papers missing from the archives and she could find nothing about the second wife who had vanished into thin air, or the third wife who had been found dead on the kitchen floor.
Feeling disappointed that she had not been able to uncover any significant information Ursula began looking through later papers. She was leafing through an edition from the 1960s when a headline in a section on local history caught her eye:
Black Magic Practiced at Colton Manor .
Locals in Paradise are familiar with the stories surrounding Colton Manor. For many years the house is said to have been haunted by the ghost of its former owner Edward Stanton. He is rumoured to have murdered his three wives as part of a pact with the devil.
It is claimed Stanton, who was once a fine and well-respected member of the community, began behaving very strangely in the years preceding his death. Those familiar with the old legend say he sold his soul to Satan in a deal to secure a great fortune. He also promised Satan the souls of three women in exchange for riches. Many believe he murdered his three wives to fulfil this pact.
Whatever the truth is, Stanton’s three wives all died in circumstances that can only be described as unusual. One plunged from a cliff on the grounds of the property, another was discovered on the kitchen floor with a lethal blow to her head which Stanton claimed was the result of a fall, and another simply vanished into thin air. If Stanton did indeed sell his soul to the devil he got a raw deal. Instead of enjoying great wealth he lived out his final years as a virtual recluse and died with barely a penny to his name.
To this day people claim they sometimes see lights in the old house which has b een abandoned for several decades, and those who are game enough to go inside say there is an overwhelming sense of evil in the house. The general consensus among the light-loving and God-fearing folk in Paradise is that Colton Manor is a place to be avoided at all costs.
Ursula was staring at the paper, trying to digest the latest information about the house when a hand on her shoulder caused her to scream and spin around. It was just the librarian.
“Sorry to scare you, but we close at three today. You can come back tomorrow.”
Ursula
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