I'm just hiding it really well,” Lucy replied with a poker face. And then, “You know she's lying, right? The girl couldn't even get her story straight.”
“Don't worry,” Dale grinned. “I think I've solved the mystery.”
“Okay then, let's hear it. And before you start rubbishing my story, I know what I saw, okay?”
“I believe you really did see someone up there. Probably a woman, and probably watching us, just like you said.”
“You do? Oh, that's a relief. I feel vilified.”
Ignoring the remark, Dale continued. “Don't you see? They're just perpetuating the myth.”
“They're doing what to the what?”
“Perpetuating. It means to continue something.”
“I know what perpetuating means, thanks.”
“They're obviously just trying to capitalize on the whole Maid of Sker thing.”
“How?”
“It wouldn't surprise me if they send someone up there a couple of times a day to stand in the window freaking people out. Like the Maid of Sker in the old legend. If people think they've seen a ghost, then they'll go back and tell all their friends about it. Word-of-mouth is the best kind of advertising there is. And its free. Well, apart from the ghost. And how much does a pretend ghost cost? They'd probably be available on minimum wage. Not much skill involved in just standing about looking scary.”
Lucy sipped her lemonade and nodded, “Ah, I get it.”
“And us being journalists... well, student journalists... If we go off and write in Solent News that we saw an actual ghost in this place, ghost hunters would flock here hoping for a glimpse, while sceptics would flock here hoping to prove us wrong. Quite a savvy move.”
“That's such an underhanded thing to do.”
“Underhanded? The hotel industry is very competitive. They're just playing to their strengths, that's all. Nothing wrong with that. They have a bit of history, a selling point, so they're trying to capitalize.”
“But deceiving people into believing they were seeing ghosts?” Lucy looked disgusted, as if she had just found out that the landlord was harvesting human body parts.
“Try not to take it personally. Maybe it's just a mannequin or a cardboard cut-out. Or maybe it really is Machen standing up there in a wig and a dress, who knows? The point is, that's all they're doing. Standing in the window. How you choose to interpret seeing someone standing in a window is entirely up to you. Some will just say 'Who's that woman?' while others, who may be more familiar with the history of this place, especially after hearing it from the staff, might think they are seeing the Maid of Sker. It's the power of suggestion.”
“But that's exactly what I
did
say! I
did
think it was a woman! You were the one who started talking about fucking ghosts!”
“So what do you think now?”
Lucy lowered her voice, “Call it women's intuition if you want, but I think the staff here aren't being entirely truthful.”
It was too early for Dale to make any judgements, but he trusted Lucy. If she thought something was amiss, it probably was. Suddenly, he remembered something. “While you were looking at the ghost... the woman, whatever, you took pictures, right?”
“That's what I do, Einstein.”
“Yeah, well, do you think maybe you caught something in one of the frames?”
“I'm not sure. I'd have to upload them to your computer, maybe run them through some enhancing software. If there's anything there, I'll find it.”
“Good,” said Dale. “We'll do it later. At least then we'll know, one way or the other.”
*
A short time later, Izzy brought two steaming plates of food over to the table. “Steak and ale pie and chips?” Dale raised his arm high in the air like an over-excited schoolboy. “Then you must be cheese and potato...” Izzy said, addressing Lucy. Lucy wanted to point out that her name was, in fact, Lucy Kerr, not Cheese And Potato, but she supposed the poor girl heard lame jokes like that all the time and didn't
“Don't worry,” Dale grinned. “I think I've solved the mystery.”
“Okay then, let's hear it. And before you start rubbishing my story, I know what I saw, okay?”
“I believe you really did see someone up there. Probably a woman, and probably watching us, just like you said.”
“You do? Oh, that's a relief. I feel vilified.”
Ignoring the remark, Dale continued. “Don't you see? They're just perpetuating the myth.”
“They're doing what to the what?”
“Perpetuating. It means to continue something.”
“I know what perpetuating means, thanks.”
“They're obviously just trying to capitalize on the whole Maid of Sker thing.”
“How?”
“It wouldn't surprise me if they send someone up there a couple of times a day to stand in the window freaking people out. Like the Maid of Sker in the old legend. If people think they've seen a ghost, then they'll go back and tell all their friends about it. Word-of-mouth is the best kind of advertising there is. And its free. Well, apart from the ghost. And how much does a pretend ghost cost? They'd probably be available on minimum wage. Not much skill involved in just standing about looking scary.”
Lucy sipped her lemonade and nodded, “Ah, I get it.”
“And us being journalists... well, student journalists... If we go off and write in Solent News that we saw an actual ghost in this place, ghost hunters would flock here hoping for a glimpse, while sceptics would flock here hoping to prove us wrong. Quite a savvy move.”
“That's such an underhanded thing to do.”
“Underhanded? The hotel industry is very competitive. They're just playing to their strengths, that's all. Nothing wrong with that. They have a bit of history, a selling point, so they're trying to capitalize.”
“But deceiving people into believing they were seeing ghosts?” Lucy looked disgusted, as if she had just found out that the landlord was harvesting human body parts.
“Try not to take it personally. Maybe it's just a mannequin or a cardboard cut-out. Or maybe it really is Machen standing up there in a wig and a dress, who knows? The point is, that's all they're doing. Standing in the window. How you choose to interpret seeing someone standing in a window is entirely up to you. Some will just say 'Who's that woman?' while others, who may be more familiar with the history of this place, especially after hearing it from the staff, might think they are seeing the Maid of Sker. It's the power of suggestion.”
“But that's exactly what I
did
say! I
did
think it was a woman! You were the one who started talking about fucking ghosts!”
“So what do you think now?”
Lucy lowered her voice, “Call it women's intuition if you want, but I think the staff here aren't being entirely truthful.”
It was too early for Dale to make any judgements, but he trusted Lucy. If she thought something was amiss, it probably was. Suddenly, he remembered something. “While you were looking at the ghost... the woman, whatever, you took pictures, right?”
“That's what I do, Einstein.”
“Yeah, well, do you think maybe you caught something in one of the frames?”
“I'm not sure. I'd have to upload them to your computer, maybe run them through some enhancing software. If there's anything there, I'll find it.”
“Good,” said Dale. “We'll do it later. At least then we'll know, one way or the other.”
*
A short time later, Izzy brought two steaming plates of food over to the table. “Steak and ale pie and chips?” Dale raised his arm high in the air like an over-excited schoolboy. “Then you must be cheese and potato...” Izzy said, addressing Lucy. Lucy wanted to point out that her name was, in fact, Lucy Kerr, not Cheese And Potato, but she supposed the poor girl heard lame jokes like that all the time and didn't
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