THE WEDDING DRESS

I strolled down to where the crew had set up their cameras and saw Stan getting his make-up done. I couldn't believe that I had agreed to travel all the way to, Altoona, PA, from New York, to cover a story on a supposedly 'haunted' house.

The very famous “Baker Mansion” was being covered by “Network Newz” channel as a Halloween special. The mansion is supposedly haunted by Elias Baker the owner of the Baker mansion and his daughter Anna Baker. The story behind this place revolves around an affair that “Anna” had with a steelworker that worked at her father's Alleghany furnace.  Anna, who wanted to marry this ruggedly handsome labourer, bought herself a beautiful wedding dress, that stands to this day, displayed in a glass case in this mansion. They say she died a bitter spinster as she never got to wear that dress.

The dress too is haunted, as it is seen moving and twirling, as if Anna were wearing it and admiring herself in the mirror, a proud bride-to-be. Truthfully speaking, I don't quite believe in ghosts, but as the head of the channel’s website, I had been asked by them to put up a related article on the site. In order to do so, I was obliged to travel with these buffoons, all the way here. Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with Anna, and the tragedy that happened, but I don't believe that this place is haunted.

I walked out to the front lawn and continued walking away from the house. I stopped after 50 yards and looked up to the mansion, taking in the well-built place; I quite admired the Baker's tastes.

I pulled my sweater tighter around my chest as the chilly wind hit me in the face. I had to admit the place gave me quite an eerie feeling or maybe it's just the cold.

My eyes caught Bella, the make-up artist, trying to get my attention, to call me inside. I walked back .They had completed the first segment of the show, and would shoot the rest tomorrow.

“It’ll take about an hour to pack up, why don’t you explore the place till then. It might help with the article.” She smiled sweetly handing me a cup of coffee. I thanked her and made my way upstairs, recalling the entire time the stories and gossip that I had heard about the mansion.  The first room I visited was Anna's brother Sylvester's room, which gave the very predictable feeling of a bachelor's room in those times.  A Mahogany bed, silk curtains covered the window frames and the wardrobe cupboards on the other side.

Neighbours claim to hear screams, which many think belong to Sylvester Baker, who apparently was killed and stored in the deep freezer, until the ground had thawed enough for him to be buried.

I walked down the hall next to Anna's room, where there is a bed that was never made up.

A child of one of the house maids’, had fallen down the large wooden staircase, located in the main foyer. The child had been playing and stumbled, tumbling down the stairs to his death.

I kind of started to feel a bit spooky by now. The house in total has 33 rooms. But since I didn't have time to visit all of them, I next turned towards Anna's room. And by what I saw it seemed she lived a life of a princess. The bed made in mahogany, again, had four bed posts with a silk net. The bed was made with cream silk bedding and something similar hung on the windows.

I looked out of one of the bay windows and saw people putting the equipment back into the vans.

I walked towards the other side where the wedding dress was encased. And truly it was the most beautiful wedding dress I had ever seen.

I walked down to the entrance and realised that there was still a little time before we set off back to the hotel. So I decided, against my will, to visit the basement. That little part of my brain called curiosity defeated every bit of sanity in me and I walked down the fleet of stairs to the basement.

Even before I opened the door completely, I saw glimpses of something which I wasn't able to make out. I stood there peeping through the little space, and what I saw absolutely blew me away.

I saw a strikingly beautiful woman with a fair complexion and perfect features twirling her way around the room. She wore the same dress I saw in Anna's room. This sight stunned me into silence. And as if this wasn't enough, I saw a man in a black and white traditional wedding tuxedo, holding her hands in his and swaying to the sound of music which apparently only they could hear.

They seemed oblivious to the world as they moved around in circles, admiring and enjoying each other's company. I envied the blissful atmosphere they shared. Just as I was starting to feel like a part of this setting I heard someone calling my name.

"Maya! Maya!" Steve called out from behind me. I turned around with a haunted look on my face. "Hey, you okay? You look a bit dazed."

"Hun? Uh.. No I'm okay."

"Okayyy, well we're ready to go. Come."

"Yeah, let's go."

I looked back once, but the happy couple had disappeared, leaving behind a million un-answered questions in my head.