Lewis

A 16-post collection

Challenge #01071-B339: One Good Apple

A TV psychic with genuine ability and their crew end up on "This Old Haunted Mansion" -- Gallifreya

Pamela Aerie ran a very small psychic show on the local PBS with a budget so small that they had to recycle their shoestrings. She filmed a lot of it with the one camera she'd owned since 1988 and the help of her husband and children.

And she was one of the few who actually asked permission to guest on their webcast.

The instant she set foot in their haunted house, she said, "There is no malevolence here. A lingering spirit, severed in jealousy from life... but there is forgiveness..." And she dotted straight on to Lewis, hovering invisibly by the fireplace. "An L name. A male spirit. Louis... no. Lewis. Come on out, Lewis. We can talk."

He corporealised out of unadulterated shock. "Wow," he said. "It's not every day that a psychic knows I'm here."

"And you can keep your little puppets out of it, too. I know you and your friends like to prank the frauds. Why not have some tea?"

It became a mutual interview session. Pamela had never made it to the big leagues because she was actually psychic. People never wanted to pay money to see someone who was accurate. It scared them. They loved to pay for a fraud because frauds were the right combination of entertaining, vague, and completely wrong.

Pamela had never mastered the art.

But she was happy to provide a necessary service to those desperate enough to consult a genuine psychic. And in this case, it came as a blessing to the mind of Arthur. Inspiration. A vital step forward in the device he'd been trying to build for the better part of a year.

And a better charm for the arm he had built. To keep out any and all malevolent forces from him, as well as those he loved. Of course it was effective. It was so effective that it gave lawyers and politicians a rash from passing nearby.

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