Episode 40

The chill that had settled over the old Tudor home in Bar Harbor was more than just the Maine sea air. It was a pervasive cold that seeped into the very bones of the house, a palpable dread that had begun to make even the bravest neighbors hesitant to cross the threshold. Kadja, now a woman in her sixties, felt it most acutely. The same moon phases that had once tormented her as a child now seemed to amplify the unease that clung to this new, imposing residence.

The house itself was a labyrinth of dark wood and shadowed corners, a stark contrast to the brighter, albeit haunted, homes of her past. Yet, the malevolent forces here felt different. Older. More deeply entrenched. It wasn't just flickering lights or moving objects; it was a suffocating presence, a weight that pressed down on her, mirroring the suffocating cough that had plagued her youth. This time, however, Kadja was not alone. Wesley, her son, now a young man, possessed a calm demeanor that belied the turmoil around them. His innate ability to sense and soothe the restless energies was a comfort, a steadying hand in the encroaching darkness. And Katha, the wise elder who had guided Kadja through her own trials, was a constant source of strength, her knowledge a beacon in the escalating supernatural events.

The rumors whispered by the locals spoke of a dark history, of gangsters and mafia figures who had once frequented the house during the prohibition era. The air was thick with the echoes of their clandestine meetings, their violence, and their secrets. It was a history that seemed to have left a permanent stain on the very fabric of the building. Kadja remembered her own teenage years, the relentless bullying, the labels of "freak" and "witch," the desperate moves to escape an unseen curse that seemed to follow her wherever she went. The pain of those years, the isolation, the feeling of being the cause of her family's misfortune, still lingered like a phantom ache. She recalled the time her family, in a desperate attempt to escape what they believed was Kadja's curse, had moved to Saint Andrews by the Sea in New Brunswick, building a new home on a vast, isolated plot of land. Even there, at Sir James Dunn Academy, and later hiding in the Revolutionary Torrey Cemetery instead of attending classes, the torment had followed. The bullying, the loneliness, the feeling of being an outcast had been a constant companion.