Every time I talked to the contractor who’d agreed to fix the foundation of my enclosed porch, he told me he’d be able to do it “next week.” Well, yesterday he showed up! He and his worker got right to work, and ripped up the old floor of the porch. If the basement isn’t enough of a setting for a horror story (or at least a rather trite novel about a new houseowner who finds a buried body), this boardless porch certainly would add to the creepiness of the story.
We found an old cistern under the floor and decided not to open it. Not that there would be anything in there, though the contractor did admit he has found bodies buried at some of the sites where he worked. (That’s not as sinister as it sounds. In Colorado, some counties have no laws — or at least they didn’t — about not burying your deceased on your property, so many country-folk buried their own dead instead of forking out for the undertaker.)
Still, burial site or not, I took a photo of the hole under the porch in case I ever need inspiration.
By the time this particular job is finished, the porch truly will be enclosed. The new concrete foundation will go all around the porch, keeping out critters, moisture, and any nefarious types who might want to dig for whatever might be buried in the cistern, but the hole will still be there.
Out of sight, out of mind? Let’s hope so!
***
Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator.
Bertram's Blog 
April 5, 2019 at 7:42 am
That is spooky & somewhat scary sounding. It also sounds like good making for a new book! Good luck with the
repairs. Hope all goes well!
April 5, 2019 at 10:12 pm
The repairs are going well. I really like the guys who are doing the work. They seem conscientious keep me informed of what they are doing, and seem to be charging a reasonable rate.
April 5, 2019 at 1:34 pm
A built-in time capsule. Maybe you could send a message to the future.
April 5, 2019 at 10:14 pm
My books are my message. Maybe I can bury my manuscripts.
April 5, 2019 at 3:05 pm
If I was writing this, the cistern would actually contain something that in and of itself brings joy, but later on will attract evil and horrors to it. I find that sort of story much less predictable, personally.
April 5, 2019 at 8:09 pm
Ooh, much inspiration here… and I’m glad the porch will be fixed.
April 5, 2019 at 10:16 pm
Me, too! It will be nice to finally get everything out of my dining room and guest bedroom. With the work that each of the previous owners did, and the work I’m having done, this house is turning out to be a little gem.
April 6, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Nice, and I love sharing your delight in it.
April 8, 2019 at 8:20 pm
Glad to hear that everything is going well.
April 8, 2019 at 8:46 pm
Thanks! Me, too. I worried about moving somewhere I didn’t know anyone, but now I do.
October 15, 2019 at 5:32 pm
[…] floor of the enclosed porch was taken up in preparation for putting in a new foundation, we found an old cistern that seemed to be perfect counterpart to the basement. Then, there was Something Nasty in the […]