When Gregory had left the dining room, letting Emmeline handle Matthew, he first headed towards the library and noticed Ania on her seat, flipping back and forth through a cookbook. She was busy with the book and didn't notice him come in and she jumped when he spoke.
"Why are you not in the dining room meeting the boy, Matthew?"
Ania shrugged her shoulders, "Emmeline didn't want to freak him out, I'll introduce myself tomorrow." she paused for a moment and something clicked, "His name is Matthew?"
Gregory nodded in confirmation, "yes ma'am."
Ania whispered to herself, "Matthew."
"Well, I am going to go upstairs and prepare the master bedroom, will you come with me?"
Ania nodded and set the book aside and followed behind him up the stairs to the master bedroom. Gregory couldn't believe that he and Ania were the same age. He was just fortunate to live longer. The Spanish Influenza took her too soon. He thought to himself.
***
Gregory Casper was born in Rochester in 1908, to a couple of farmers. He had one younger sister, Isabella, who was two years younger. His father wanted to provide his children, male and female, an opportunity to learn, the reason they only had two children. Mr. Casper wanted to make sure his children had a better life than either he or his wife had. They both attended the local private schools.
Gregory always had a passion for justice and when the first world war happened, he wanted to take part, but he was far too young to even consider it. A little over a year later it ended, the troops came back victorious. He wanted to attend the parade, but due to the Spanish Influenza they were unable to do so.
The Casper family was fortunate to be isolated on the farm and were able to weather the Spanish Influenza with no deaths. They knew they were fortunate, some of their neighbors had not been so lucky.
Gregory did not lose his interest in war and justice. His father did not want Gregory to throw his education away and pushed the boy to become a lawyer, he did not want him to enlist in the Army, he had seen how the war had ravaged families. Gregory decided to attend law school, he decided he would fight for the little man! Meanwhile, his sister, Isabella decided to become a doctor and headed to the University of Michigan for her degree, she was one of the few women accepted that year into the program.
Gregory graduated from Michigan State law school and moved back home, he joined a small practice in Rochester. He assisted his parents and friends of the family with their land tax issues. On the weekends he would help his parents on the farm.
A year after he began working as a lawyer, he became engaged to a lovely woman from Romeo. He was head over heels for the woman. One evening in June, he decided to take his fiancée, Lilly, to the theater. Something they had yet to do together. They enjoyed the show, when they were walking to the car, thieves held them up. Gregory gave the men everything they wanted. He gave them his watch and wallet, Lilly handed over her jewelry and her engagement ring. It was all just stuff, it could be replaced. When the thieves had the goods, they beat the couple with baseball bats, they were not found until the next morning.
Gregory was barely conscious, Lilly was dead. Gregory spent the next five months in the hospital. He quit his job and moved back in with his parents. He helped them around the farm. He wasn't the same after Lilly's death. He had no interest in getting married, he decided he would remain a bachelor for the rest of his life.
His parents didn't force the issue, they knew it would take time, and it was nice having his help around the farm!
Isabella was married the following August. To a man that she was deeply in love with, but after a blissful year, things began to turn sour. Her husband started to beat her, if she made a mistake, she was beaten. She was too embrassesed to say anything initially to the family. Until she realized her brother could help her get a restraining order against him.
She went to her brother to assist with the court documents, and 10 days later she was able to file. But the piece of paper would not save her from her husband, he found her and he beat her till she blacked out. Unfortunately she would never regain consciousness again.
Gregory was heart broken, the laws were put in place to protect the vulnerable populations. But what good were they if people broke the law? It was at that moment that Gregory had decided to join the police. He entered the training program, they valued his expertise as a lawyer. A year later he was a full fledged officer and he was determined to keep everyone safe.
He did well and in his first year as a police officer he received acknowledgment from the chief of police. His entire reason for joining the police force was because of Lilly and Isabella. He kept them in his mind as he went out everyday and protected the population.
Unfortunately, Gregory's luck had run out. in the fall of 1937, he started his day like any other. He was doing his rounds. He noticed a woman walking with a stroller down the street. He walked up to them, "do you need any help?"
The woman shook her head, "No thank you officer."
What happened next was pure chaos. Several masked men came running out of the nearby bank. Gregory turned his head quickly. The next thing he knew, he was hit on the back of the head with a brick. Gregory fell hard, the woman hit him? Why?
He was still conscious in order to recognize enough of the situation; the masked men went up to the woman exchanged some words. One of the masked men stayed behind, and repeatedly stabbed Gregory. He lost consciousness after the fifth wound, and by the 22nd, he was dead. The masked man got away. The team to include the woman ran away with 30,000 dollars.
When he realized what he had done and what had been done to him he was furious, he spent the next decade trying to find them. But, they were masked and he had no clue. Gregory would haunt any human that crossed his path, terrifying them to their very core.
During one of the hauntings he heard about the Octagon House, and how the land was haunted. It was the first time he had ever heard of a haunted place and decided to head the haunted Octagon House. It was there that he found Emmeline and Ania.
While he had not been dead as long as Ania, his anger fulled his abilities, he was able to interact with the world over a decade ago. While there was some residual anger, most of it had dissipated the longer he stayed with Emmeline and Ania, his little family.