Jane Gordon gripped her bag and took a deep breath as she stood in front of the massive mahogany door. The brass door knocker was a snarling gargoyle.<br/><br/>"Not very welcoming , are you?" she muttered to it. Smoothing back her red hair, tucking the few loose ends back into the chignon, Jane felt she was as ready as she could ever be.<br/><br/>The online chat group had surprising yielded a group of people looking to share rent for a few months and none of the seemed overly interested in being too social. They, like she, were mostly private but extremely intelligent people who were better behind a monitor than in front of one. She was excited to spend the next few months in research after hearing that this area was reported to be haunted. Jane knew that few of the reported sightings were ever any thing real but she would be able to tell more once she was in residence. The dead often spoke to her. It was a gift or a curse, depending on the entity who was communicating. Jane had worked at the Central Library at  the University over ten years and had earned tenure. They loved their doctoral staff to publish. She had requested a sabbatical for research and writing. The dean had jumped at her offer.<br/><br/>Jane knocked on the door or would have had it not swung open independently. She poked her head in,<br/>"Hello, I'm Jane Gordon. I'm expected." she called, stepping into the room which was flooded with sunlight. Her eyes were drawn upward to the wide curving staircase.<br/><br/>"Hello....." she called, her footsteps echoing through the room. From the corner of her eye, she caught movement. A short blonde woman came around the corner, humming.<br/><br/>"Hi, I'm Jane Gordon. I am from the online forum and have come to share the rent."