Skagway Stories – The Tale of the Red House Part II

Three bedroom, two bath home for sale. Includes shed, furniture, and malevolent entity.

Saturdays are supposed to feature Skagway stories but my wife’s ferret got sick and I had to drive up to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory to take it to the vet. I couldn’t get back in time to get a blog done so I fell a day behind. And here we are.

So this week’s Skagway Story is a little late. I apologize to all of you that reached out asking about The Tale of the Red House Part II. Ferrets are more important than true tales of horror but I least I am back on track. You are about to read The Tale of the Red House Part II!

Quick recap

In part one of the story, we learned about this legendary Red House in Skagway. Terrible things have happened there. So terrible, nobody will take up residence within its dreadful walls. So empty it sits, day after day, year after year. But why?

Part one was all about a young couple that came face-to-face with the house’s terrible secret. They moved away from Skagway but Skagway never left them. Rumor has it they were found dead in their beds mere months after leaving Skagway. However, the looks on their faces were not filled with terror but with relief, for whatever wicked thing possessed them during their brief stay at the Red House had finally given them leave.

The Tale of the Red House Part II

During the following decade, three more people tried to live in the Red House. All three experienced horrors born not of this world but from one that defies comprehension. However, there was a fourth person who decided to unravel the mystery of the Red House. That mystery resulted in tragedy.

His name was Mr. Peabody. He moved to Skagway right about when White Pass was reopening as a tourist attraction. It was 1988 and sensing a tourism boom, Mr. Peabody was primed for success and wealth. He bought the Red House even though the stories of its unique nature were legendary. You see, Mr. Peabody didn’t believe in ghosts and haunts. He was a man of reason.

Within days of moving in, Mr. Peabody started experiencing unusual occurrences. Sometimes lights would turn on and off by themselves. No worry, he thought, it’s an old house and probably needs new electrical wiring. Framed pictures sometimes fell from the wall and shattered on the ground. Probably seismic activity, he rationed, because Skagway lies near several geological faults.

About two weeks into his tenure at the Red House, Mr. Peabody started hearing faint scratching coming from beneath the floor. A small animal, he thought, amused by his own cleverness. As he lay in bed one night, the scratching began. Suddenly, he could feel hands around his throat. He was choking. Unable to gasp for air, he began to panic and claw at the invisible hands tightening on his neck. Then he heard a voice say, “Release me!” but the voice was not his own. Then the hands were gone. Mr. Peabody rolled over onto the floor gasping for breath.

Unable to rationally explain his experience, Mr. Peabody decided to fight back. The following morning he started to remove floorboards in his living room from the place above where he thought the scratching sounds had come. After removing a handful of boards, Mr. Peabody noticed what looked like a seal of some sort.

It was made of copper and adorned what appeared to be a hatch. He pulled at the handle and opened the hatch.

There, sitting on a pile of red dirt, was an assortment of bones and an ornate box. The same seal adorned the box but this one was made of gold. There were other symbols on the box, also made of gold. Seeing dollar signs in his eyes, Mr. Peabody unclasped a small latch on the front of the box. The hinges creaked as he lifted the lid. Then he saw what was inside.

Well, that’s all the time we have for this week’s Skagway Story! Be sure to come by next Saturday for part III of The Tale of the Red House!