Chapter Two: Old Slippery Returns
There was something of real interest, situated on the right outside the wall. That was a Regency Chair. This was made using mahogany with rosewood veneers, along with a very rich dark brown leather upholstery. The chair was roped off with a red chord. These were attached by two large rings to a stately pair of bronze stands. This was complemented by a large ornate grandfather clock placed in a corner by the fireplace. The mechanism fascinated both cats. The clock chimes brought the occasional howl from wee Jock upstairs.
Why the fuss? This fuss is because this chair was used by 'The Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom', or 'Slippery Jake'. The resident ghost of the Bull Public House.
He had been 'dormant' for several years. People were now noticing slight rattles and a cold breeze every time anyone approached his chair. The poltergeist was active again! Old Slippery had been a renowned highwayman during the early 19th century. He eventually ended up being hung on the crossroads opposite the Bull Inn as it was then. There was a pub called the Old Hangman, across the road from the Bull which had closed down several years ago. A hanging at the crossroads had been a spectacle in many cultures. You only have to think of the classic blues by Robert Johnson, Cross Road Blues, as an example of this. The crossroads was the ideal place. Many people had to pass through it.
An example had to be made of Old Slippery. There had been too many killings. After the order "Stand and deliver", the highwayman would often let rip with his brace of pistols. He would quite often finish everyone else off with his rapier. No quarter was given. This often applied to ladies as well who were violently assaulted.
Old Slippery's preferred sword was the rapier. This was a stabbing sword used in duels with a long thin blade. However, Old Slippery made sure the blade was as sharp as a cut-throat razor along its whole length. He mostly specialized in a direct thrust to the heart which was highly effective owning to his speed with the sword. He sometimes went in for cutting and slashing. So he wanted maximum versatility which he achieved in his lifetime.
Again, there was this dilemma, who was the real Old Slippery? As I have stated several accounts have survived that directly contradicted these stories of the ruthless highwayman. The highwayman was very gallant and courteous towards ladies and other passengers. The stagecoach riders were let free after being disarmed. Of course, everyone was robbed of money, gold, jewelry, and any other valuable belongings.
These discrepancies may be down to the advent of the 'Victorian Period' in 1837. There could have been a need for this more salacious account of Old Slippery's life to be downplayed. This did not fit the so-called 'Victorian morality that was starting to evolve.
Another strong theme in the highwayman's life had been his liking of the ladies. The advent of the young Baltic barmaids in the Bull, maybe causing this current 'awakening'?
Yes, the Bull Inn or Tavern as it was then, in the early 19th century, had a reputation as a 'bawdy house', a 'place of ill repute'. All kinds of 'low life', pickpockets, tricksters, thieves, and highwaymen, hung out there. Ladies, of a certain profession, were also present. The Bull Inn had pretty well become Old Slippery's base.
This brings me back to the present. The presence of these young ladies may have dragged him back from whichever recess of Hell he had been residing. The rattles seem to coincide when Lina. Magda, and yes Sven, approached or cleaned and polished his 'chair'.
Beryl and Sid had noticed this. "Aye, Old Slippery is back!" commented Beryl in her distinctive Scottish Glaswegian accent. She came from Port Glasgow. This had a reputation for being a very rough area. She was a good Catholic girl, who fell in love with Sid. They were then both 'Rockers'. She wore full skirts and he had full Teddy Boy drapes and a quiff. She was the daughter of a landlord of a Port Glasgow pub, so she would take no-nonsense. Beryl thought that the 'sassenachs', the English, were a pretty soft bunch on the whole. Sid came from a long line of landlords that had run the Bull Public House over many years.
"Aye, it's the lasses that bring him back."
The 'rattles' consisted of the floors and walls being shaken. There had been actual sightings of the ghost over the years. His chair was there for him to sit on. He would be fully decked out in his full Regency regalia. He had appeared from time to time and had roamed around the pub, seemingly aware possibly of what was happening. The haunting was starting again.
Both Sid and Beryl thought that he was about to come back. The barmaids were understandably terrified. They got on with the duties around the chair as quickly as possible. They all felt that there was somebody there. Marigold and Percival knew full well something was up. They had taken to sleeping in 'Old Slippery's' chair. They now both jumped off this pretty quickly. Cats have very developed senses. They were both very worried and slinked off to a safe spot under a radiator.
I sat back and looked at the chair in detail. The craftwork was exceptional, as was the design. This chair was also very valuable. It was Old Slippery's chair and this was how it would remain.
Maybe it was my imagination playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw the outline of Old Slippery starting to appear on the chair. There was a crooked three-cornered hat. It seemed to have rich gold braiding around the edges. Slippery appeared to have quite a thin face and a long thin aquiline nose. There was also an imperious look about him. He projected a superior manner and countenance. The ghost had thin pursed sneering lips. He was decked out in a jacket with a very high collar. Slippery wore high white and blue striped trousers or britches along with a pair of long riding boots that appeared to be leather. This was set off by a large white lacy cravat. Was he also wearing an ornate wig? There was no mask. He was not about to 'stand and deliver'. He was quite the 'Regency Dandy', the 'Play Boy' of his age.
Percy and Humphrey saw him and both were pretty aghast.
"So that is him, 'Old Slippery'!", exclaimed Percy.
"It certainly appears to be", Humphrey replied.
Beryl added, "Aye he's back!"
Beryl was very irritated and was far from impressed with his 'reappearance'.
The barmaids and barman were understandably pretty terrified.
"Aye, the lasses have brought him back." Beryl further remarked with a scowl on her face. She didn't seem at all phased by him, treating him just like another annoying customer.
Slippery's eyes seemed to be glancing over the young serving wenches in a fairly lascivious manner.
I tentatively went over and got my half-pint. Sid poured this out and we got into conversation.
"Yes, he has appeared from time to time over the years. It's the 'eye candy' that has done the trick this time. He can be quite active, It all depends."
Sid sighed.
"Sometimes he frightens away trade, sometimes more customers come along."
Sid went on to give a brief history of Right Hon Jake Horatio, Higginbottom'.
"So he could be bipolar?"
"He, he. Kind of Paul..."
"Beryl will only get angry if he drives away customers. He seems strangely alive at times and very aware."
"You mean the way he is looking at the young ladies?"
"Yes, considering how long he has been dead."
I sat down and looked at my watch. I will give it another 20 minutes. The pub ghost seemed to be fading and the rattling was dying down.
For some reason, I started to think about Sandra Smith. She was a 16 year old schoolgirl, the school 'Goth', an EMO. She was always dressed in black. She had black hair and heavy black eye makeup. Sandra had a hard time of it at school, Being 'girlie' was the norm. The ubiquitous pink was ever present, in eyeliner and facial makeup. There was a constant battle between the redoubtable Deputy Head and most girls in fighting this scourge of pink. I found Sandra's black quite a relief. She also had an interest in the paranormal. Sandra had heard of the Bull Public House ghost as well. She had a boyfriend Kevin, a fully paid-up nerd and ghost obsessive. He was a first-year student at University studying computing. I.T and the web. This was something they were both good at. Sandra knew of my stopovers at the Bull, well all the girls did. I also knew that they both had some specialized 'ghost detecting and recording' equipment. Maybe bring them along to the Bull with their equipment? I floated this idea in my head as a possibility.
Suitably relaxed I gazed up at the dull gray sky. I was looking forward to cooking Isabella a good meal and letting her unwind. As I have stated, she was a senior gynecologist at the local hospital and was dedicated, too dedicated at times. We had met at a social event and quickly got married. Isabella was from the Philippines. We got back there as often as we could. She missed her culture. Everyone is very sociable there. The land of karaoke and 'party parties'. Nothing like England in so many ways. The land where the net curtain is moved back and being too sociable is frowned upon. We had a social event lined up for Saturday with friends of hers from the hospital, mainly from the Philippines, nurses, and some doctors. I wanted her to enjoy herself. She would always jump to fill a vacancy if they were short-staffed at her hospital. I told her to stop being so dedicated. They were growing too used to her helping out at the hospital.
I got into Samantha, I turned the ignition. There was a splutter followed by a grinding noise. Much playing with the choke and accelerator brought some kind of half-life into the engine. The car jumped forward a few times, then the revs settled down. Samantha's windscreen wipers flopped languidly across the windscreen spreading the muck evenly across the glass. It was true, Old Slippery seemed more alive than my old car. She got me home, just!