the haunted playground by summerfield

the haunted playground

a warning is posted near the tennis courts: if you are faint of heart, do not come alone. the ghost appears just when light and dark meet and part, at dawn and at dusk. if you see her, look carefully if you dare. if you are pure of heart, she is kind; if you have bad intentions, find out at your own risk.

a mansion used to occupy the land. it had fallen into disrepair. one day it was announced that a townhouse was to be built here, but upon digging the foundations, they found the bones of a young woman. murdered, with a cord around her neck, the remains of a baby with her - she had been pregnant. no one knew who she was. searches revealed of a young maid in the service of the owners of the mansion from four generations ago. the master and his wife said she must've run away. the present-day relatives would not submit to a dna test to confirm the baby's dna did not match the master's or his son's, as the lady's worn out diary revealed an affair between her husband and the maid.

the findings made the news and construction was halted. an anonymous person bought the land but was eventually abandoned. a playground and tennis courts were built instead.

now, she haunts the playground. sometimes she is seen during the siesta hour running on the grass with a little child, or sitting on the picnic bench singing a lullaby.

if you look hard enough she's there.
Brilliant editing! wonderfully creepy shot!
October 26th, 2014  
Fantastic processing and great results. Nice creepy composition.
October 26th, 2014  
I am assuming this is a great work of Vicki Sunmerfield fiction. What a great read, though!!!! Very scary!
October 26th, 2014  
She looks strikingly like the ghost in the old building you captured yesterday. Awesome processing my friend.
October 26th, 2014  
Yours is the second ghost story today! They all seem to be so sad! Did this really happen? They just uncovered some remains of a lady and her three year old daughter from a swamp under a bridge in Auckland!
October 26th, 2014  
Spooky shot and what a great story. Totally believable. Except for the bit about someone donating some land, however haunted, to build a public playground and tennis courts, I think that's unheard of these days.
October 26th, 2014  
Works so well!
October 26th, 2014  
Creative shot, fav
October 26th, 2014  
This ghost has been to lots of places! Really good story and brilliant scary photo!
October 26th, 2014  
Magnificent story and image! I can't decide which is better! A fabulous theme shot, Vikki!
October 27th, 2014  
Hmmm- someone said they were no good at processing? I think not!
October 28th, 2014  
see below, please.

@kwind - thank you, kim.

@anazad511 - thank you, ana.

@espyetta - thank you, MB.

@bill_fe - thank you, bill.

@maggiemae - thank you, maggiemae. that's a heartbreaker, especially when a small child is involved. see below.

@jazhirst - humankind is still largely a kind specie, but we have become increasingly skeptical out of our own doing. :-) thank you, jasmine.

@altadc - thank you, alta.

@ceilidh - thank you, margaret.

@678tabby - thank you, june.

@grammyn - thank you, katy.

@olivetreeann - thank you, ann.

the story is a composite of four events that happened over the years in toronto. indeed, at a construction site near my apartment building, several years ago, the skeleton of a young woman was unearthed. the woman had been reported missing in the late 1950's. when i went back to school in the 1995, i was doing a research at the reference library for my final project for my course when i came upon the story of a pregnant woman who went missing sometime in the late 70's. she was never found. in the upscale part of town, a rich family donated a large portion of land to be used as a playground for the kids in and near the vicinity. this is that playground. the story of a ghost appearing in a playground i picked up from another town during one of our drives around ontario.
October 28th, 2014  
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