Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase

.’
    I stared at it.
    ‘ That’s right . . . Little me. Cuddle up close, and let’s have a chat .’
    ‘Not a chance.’ I considered the jar. It was silver-glass, which kept the ghost trapped. I’d struck it when I’d fallen, but hadn’t broken it. The glass was whole. So what had changed?
    ‘ Oh, don’t be like that .’ The face now wore a wounded look. ‘ You’re different from the others. You know you are .’
    I bent closer, inspecting the plastic seal at the top of the jar. Yes: up at the seal, one of the yellow flanges had twisted where I’d knocked against the jar. It had swivelled like a tap, exposing a little grille of iron that I hadn’t seen before.
    ‘ You’re not callous, like that Lockwood, or downright nasty, like that Cubbins ,’ the ghost went on. ‘ Ooh, the things he’s subjected me to, the cruel indignities! One time – you’d scarcely believe it – he put me in the bath and— ’
    I reached out for the yellow tap. At once the mouth in the jar flexed urgently. ‘ No, wait—! You really don’t want to do that. I’ll make it worth your while. I can tell you things, you see. Important things. Like this. Death’s coming .’ The mouth grinned wide. ‘ There. What do you think of that? ’
    ‘Goodbye,’ I said. My hand closed on the plastic.
    ‘ It’s nothing personal ,’ the ghost cried. ‘ Death’s coming to you all. Why? Because everything’s upside-down. Death’s in Life and Life’s in Death, and what was fixed is fluid. And it doesn’t matter what you try, Lucy, you’ll never be able to turn the tide— ’
    Maybe not, but I could sure as hell turn the tap.
    I did so. The voice cut out. I stared at the face in the jar. The mouth continued to move; the whole face shook. Bubbles fizzed and spiralled furiously through the plasm.
    No. This was our night of celebration. No dumb ghost in a jar was going to spoil it for me.
    I pulled the spotted cloth back over the top of the glass, picked up the tray, opened the door and left the storeroom. I crossed the basement and slowly climbed the spiral stairs.
    Halfway up, I heard Lockwood roaring with laughter inthe kitchen. George was talking. He was in the middle of some anecdote.
    ‘. . . and then I realized he wasn’t wearing any! Imagine that! Spending eternity without your trousers!’
    Lockwood laughed again. Really laughed, I mean. He’d thrown his head back, I could tell.
    All of a sudden I wanted to be in there, sharing the joke with them. I hastened my steps. Bearing a tray of slightly squashed doughnuts, I climbed quickly out of the darkness towards the warm, bright room.

Glossary
    * indicates a Type One ghost
** indicates a Type Two ghost
    Agency, Psychical Investigation
    A business specializing in the containment and destruction of ghosts . There are more than a dozen agencies in London alone. The largest two (the Fittes Agency and the Rotwell Agency) have hundreds of employees; the smallest (Lockwood & Co.) has three. Most agencies are run by adult supervisors, but all rely heavily on children with strong psychic Talent .
    Apparition
    The shape formed by a ghost during a manifestation .
Apparitions usually mimic the shape of the dead person, but animals and objects are also seen. Some can be quite unusual.
The Spectre in the recent Limehouse Docks case manifested as a greenly glowing king cobra, while the infamous Bell Street Horror took the guise of a patchwork doll. Powerful or weak, most ghosts do not (or cannot) alter their appearance. Changers are the exception to this rule.
    Aura
    The glimmer or radiance surrounding many apparitions .
Most auras are fairly faint, and are best seen out of the corner of the eye. Strong, bright auras are known as other-light .
A few ghosts, such as Dark Spectres , radiate black auras that are darker than the night around them.
    Changer **
    A rare and dangerous Type Two ghost, powerful enough to alter its appearance during a manifestation .
    Chill
    The sharp drop in temperature that occurs when a ghost is near. One of the four usual indicators of an imminent manifestation , the others being malaise , miasma and creeping fear . Chill may extend over a wide area, or be concentrated in specific ‘cold spots’.
    Cluster
    A group of ghosts occupying a small area.
    Cold Maiden *
    A grey, misty female form, often wearing old-fashioned dress, seen indistinctly at a distance. Cold Maidens radiate powerful feelings of melancholy and malaise , but rarely draw close to the