Cohort of Phantoms(R. S.) Two pairs of feet tip-toed down the long corridors of the Carbuncle Lodge. They came at a standstill at the Sotheby Hall, waiting anxiously for another party to arrive. The portico was named after the enterprising Baron of Flintford, Charnocks Hans S. Sotheby, the founder of the Carbuncle Estate.
The other party arrived, even it consisted of two people, children to be specific. The four children gathered in the hall, namely Esmeralda Marian P. Margaret, Amalthea Elizabeth Louisa Ann, Walter Charles S. Flintford the fifth and Georges Octavian H. S. Flintford the second, all direct descendants of the Baron C. H. S. Sotheby. What a comic lot they were and what rib-tickling names!
Esmie was the eldest at fifteen, Amy was the fledgling among them at nine, Walt was thirteen and so was Joe (Georges). They were cousins and were at their Granny’s place, which happened to be the Carbuncle Estate (granny was baroness of Flintford).

Coming back to the present episode, they had gathered to decide their providence, for little Amy was certain that ennui at Carbuncle Estate would be the end of them.
Though the children loved their Grandma and enjoyed her company a lot, she was on bed rest and they were not allowed to go near her, lest they exert her. They felt that they had been denied and deprived of the fun they were entitled and authorized at Gran’s place. They could have reconnoitered the Estate, but sadly ‘the Estate’ was hardly an estate, it had been divided over the generations and what was left wasn’t much for exploring, just a regal and stately residential building and a few acres of turfs. The rest of the part was outside and formed luxury inns, resorts, marketplaces and whole ghettoes.

Now, they had decided to resort to some mischievous pranks on the household members, that meant Granny and aunt May, they had ruled out Gran, obviously they wouldn’t let even a particle of dust touch their dear, old Granny. So clumsy aunty May was the preferred target.
Aunt May was a superstitious, puerile and maladroit playwright and had written a few respectable books.
Not that they would have liked to laugh at somebody else’s cost, but aunt May had given them an open challenge. Last hols, when they were at granny’s, aunt May had been flaunting her Horror series’ success when she had proudly exclaimed that it was creepy and uncanny even writing the series and it had hardened her a lot and nothing could scare her now. The children had taken this as a challenge and were ready to scare the daylights out of her.

At breakfast, next day, aunt May was perplexed, she couldn’t find a suitable culmination to her story. A little while later she seemed elated and ecstatic, yelling with joy “Eureka, Eureka” and rushed off to find her little notepad.
As they were about to finish their breakfast, they saw aunt May returning, looking totally crestfallen. “I’m sure I kept it beside my pillow, I’ve searched the whole room and I couldn’t find it” she exclaimed, referring to her notepad. The children kept mum, but giggled to themselves for they clinched that Esmie had completed ‘scare aunt May stage 1’ efficaciously.

Few minutes later Mrs Alice, Bill’s wife, came out of the kitchen carrying a small scratch pad in her hand. “Oh dear! May, you can be really imprudent sometimes, I found this in the deep freeze” she remarked.
Aunt May thanked Alice and offered her prayer to God, she satisfied herself with some silly logical explanation that grown-ups tend to concoct.

The next day her diamond studded, precious watch was found missing. It was later recovered hanging by the stable. This was Walt’s doing.

Amy’s performance was unsurpassed, though. She thumped at aunt May’s ingress in the wee hours and wept the latter portion of the night with prerogatives that she had seen a headless cavalier, galloping down the lawns and he had Amy’s laptop which he chucked into a floret bush.
Aunt May seemed totally convinced about ghouls being behind the eerie occurrences at the Carbuncle estate.

This would have been the last night before the children would confess their actions to aunt and demand a reward from her for encountering her challenge.
For this stage Joe was to hide under aunt May’s bed to scare her. As he got into his position, he looked to his right and SHRIEKED. Aunt May was lying by his side, starring at him with an eerie smile. She had red highlights and was wearing long red robes.
Hearing him, aunt May climbed down from bed and dragged him out. She didn’t have any red highlights and there was nobody under the bed. Joe broke down and confessed everything.
Aunt May stared at him as if he was mad, but she was comforted that it all had been the children’s doing and no supernatural force was behind it. As for Joe’s hindrance, she sent a letter to his father that Joe was seeing things.

That evening the four gathered in Sotheby hall. Joe was feeling really sorry that he had thwarted the plan, when the others broke down.
Amy started first. “I really saw a headless horse rider in armour and all that, I even saw him throwing my laptop.”
Walt joined in, “I kept the watch in the library, I really don’t know how it got into the stable.”
Esmie confessed, “I kept the pad on the shoe rack, it’s just so weird.”
“And I really saw that ghost lady who looked like aunt May’s evil twin,” exclaimed Joe.
“We weren’t really the ghosts” they cried.
Suddenly the hall echoed “What a petrifying cohort of phantoms we made!” It was followed by a loud cackle.
Go figure…

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