Chapter 11
A few days passed and the words of Samantha's mother were beginning to make sense. More than that, she was starting to return back to her old self. She decided not to visit the young boy's grave, as she reached the conclusion that she had no right to be involved, emotionally or otherwise. What she needed now was a diversion and considered Henry's suggestion of visiting Portland's Victorian Mansion. As someone interested in the paranormal, Samantha had read a brief history on the house as part of a book on Maine's haunted places. It outlined the activity allegedly taking place in the house, as well as the deceased believed to still be occupying it. But Samantha was rarely allowed to drive her mother's car and certainly not to Portland. She would have to find her adventure closer to home. Again, Samantha found herself in Norway's science fiction bookstore but she wasn't led there by her interest in the paranormal. Samantha was bored and beginning to feel trapped. Without transportation, she felt the frustration of a caged animal. However, taking the time to examine every shelf in the store, she happened upon a book that had somehow been misshelved. She had read many books on such things as Maine's haunted lighthouses and other similar places, but this book was written with a focus on the town of Norway. Samantha had lived there all her life, yet she was only now beginning to see that Norway was a very active place and reading through the table of contents, found the book to be a treasure trove of paranormal gold.
Returning home with the book, she retreated to her room and spent the rest of the night reading it from cover to cover. She discovered that Norway was home to several historic homes, some of which had been abandoned for years. One in particular was on Main Street. She had noticed it several times on her way to the library, but on those occasions she had been so preoccupied that it had never occurred to her to investigate it. Here was an opportunity to kill the boredom that had begun to infect her life. She chose from several places in town where she would conduct her own investigations, and Samantha determined that the most effective tool for such work was her senses. She would observe furniture, curtains, and shadows, anything that could be effected by otherworldly activity. And she would listen for any sound that seemed out of place. Samantha had also decided that she would also conduct these investigations alone. She remembered the conversation when Henry cautioned her about visiting such places by herself but at this point, she needed the alone time. However, if she encountered anything that challenged her sanity, she would later ask Henry to go with her. Until then, she would document everything – its history, everything she saw, heard, and felt. Even the sudden presence of emotions would be documented. Any hand written notes would be polished and organized later.
It was now official, she was to become an amateur paranormal investigator, and although she was far from being a seasoned professional, Samantha would learn everything she could regarding research and investigative techniques. She couldn't afford the expensive technology that experienced investigators used, but would use what she had at hand, hoping that was enough. But for any investigator, the first step was always research, and Samantha would start at the library.