A loving couple decide to take a local ghost tour in downtown El Paso, only to find the devil and his minions waiting for them...
Excerpt:
1885.
His black robe billowed out around him showing traces of red satin lining. In one hand, he held a wand made from hazel wood, polished and consecrated in blood, in the other hand, a ceremonial knife. Both were engraved with the symbols of his faith.
He started making a ceremonial circle on the dirt floor around him to contain the demon he was about to summon, “I invoke and conjure Thee...” While speaking the incantation he carved the large outer circle and then an inner circle filling the space between the two with ceremonial writing. He continued his incantation, “Sadai, do thou forthwith appear and shew thyself unto me...” he drew three obtuse triangles and continued the writing at the corners and insides of the triangles. He finished his incantation, “...do thou come without tarrying; come, fulfill my desires; persist unto the end, according to mine intentions.”
He stood in the center and waited.
Present
“Let’s go on a Ghost Tour.”
“A what tour?” her husband asked.
“It’s called a Ghost Tour. They’re having one in downtown El Paso on Friday night. We’ll make it a date night.”
“A date night? Just you, me and Casper?”
She slapped his arm, “No, silly. I mean they call themselves ghost hunters and have all the weird equipment with blinking lights and stuff, but they also tell you the history around the area and about the famous buildings. I went to one in Charleston, South Carolina and it was a lot of fun. We toured the downtown area and graveyard; it was really interesting.”
“Great, you, me and a history lesson.” She gave him the ‘look.’ “No, no it’s fine. Sure. Sounds like fun.”
The sun shot its last red, orange and yellow rays across Cleveland Square in front of the El Paso Downtown Library. Lynn and Lee Hoyt parked their car two blocks away and took a brisk walk to a covered area with benches. A handful of people gathered around waiting, mostly couples of all different ages and persuasions. Hector walked up, assured them they weren’t late, introduced himself as the tour guide, along with Marcos. Lynn paid for the tickets online so they only needed their ID bracelets to be ready to go.
First stop was the Library itself which opened in 1904 built on top of an old military cemetery. Hector told numerous ghost stories of Civil War soldiers, a nurse with a cap and cape and even a dog padding up and down the halls. Hector and his investigators experienced a book falling off the shelf for no apparent reason while trying to do an EVP session during an investigation. Lee looked at Lynn skeptically as she wrapped her arm around his waist.
The rest of the stops turned out to be buildings designed and built by Trost & Trost. Henry C. Trost and his twin brother Gustavus built over 200 buildings in the El Paso area. Lynn loved old architecture and often took downtown tours of any city she happened to be in when she traveled. Lee avoided these activities like the plague. “You so owe me for this,” he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her softly on top of her head.
She smiled and whispered back, “I know, I know.”
