Adja immediately understood that she had taken an awful decision. She had followed her GPS instructions very carefully to the Maison Dormeaux and had only found it with the lights of her car, after a whole hour. Great. The house was hidden between two heavy groves, so Adja was not surprised that it remained protected from squatters and time. After slaloming between trees with her vehicle, Adja had stopped and taken her flashlight. I can barely walk straight with that...

Around her, the forest was silent. It was chilly for the beginning of October, and Adja regretted not taking her coat. She lit up the front of the house as well as she could and took her camera out, a beautiful device that could film 360 degrees. Well-equipped, she started her explanation to the future viewers.

'I was in front of the Maison Dormeaux, and it's a little after nine in the evening... I can't see much! I'm in a sort of forest and you can see right here that the facade is in a good state. You can also see, like me, that the only thing making the house look old is the presence of trees inside. I'm going closer...'

Adja took a few steps forwards and lit up the door. The varnished wood had been attacked by mold, but it still looked somewhat recent, maybe from a few decades. Adja had seen way worse in mansions younger than five years! This one was perfectly straight and rectangular and reminded her of countryside houses from the end of the XIXth century.

'I'm going to push the door open and see what's on the other side... let's go!'

Adja pushed in the door abruptly, and it opened without disintegrating – to her relief. She waited for a foul smell to hit her, but nothing happened.

'So... I have to say that this is surprising! The inside of the house is in a very good state and not invaded by plants, as I believed! I was wrong, I saw shadows through the windows but they were not plants.'

... most likely furniture, but it's good to maintain the suspense. Adja went on with the recitation of her common salutations spell. This ritual was mandatory to prevent being followed by spiteful spirits.

'Good evening, my name is Adja and I do not want to bother you. I will use several devices in this place to try to make a contact with you. I will explain in detail how to interact with my machines when I will use them. I am here to know your story, not to make fun of you.'

Adja tried to find her way into the entry hall, but it was way too dark. She was scared to trip and injure herself, alone, in the middle of the night, in a house where no one would ever rescue her.

'I will hurt myself in the dark, I will explore by day. While I'm here, I will use my Ouija board as a first approach.'

Adja squatted and put her camera in a way to film the board, which she took out of her bag with precautions.

'This is a Ouija board, she explained for her viewers and the possible spirits. I will put my finger on this planchette and let myself be guided. I will not lead the planchette myself, obviously! Is someone is there and wants to communicate with me, them will be able to tell me 'yes' or 'no', all the letters and numbers, and they will decide to leave eventually. Is there a spirit in this room?'

The planchette shuddered under her finger, but Adja knew this phenomenon extremely well: it was only a manifestation of her eagerness. She waited, then repeated:

'Is there a spirit in this room?'

Suddenly, her whole arm was projected toward the 'yes', so quickly that she contracted her abs not to fall on the board. Adja felt a cold sweat drip down her back and mumbled:

'Uh... Spirit, can you spell your name?'

Adja could hardly believe it. Was she finally experiencing something extraordinary? After two years of complete void, she didn't know what to think. The planchette started moving again towards the letters of the board, but Adja shook so hard that she dropped it. She scrubbed her cheeks, inhaling deeply, freezing from fear and excitement.

'Sorry, sorry, I panicked. Can you believe it? I had never had a single result with the Ouija, it's amazing! Sorry, Spirit, I will compose myself. Are you still here?' she asked, putting the planchette in the middle of the board.

Once again, the planchette jumped to the 'yes'.

'I swear that I'm not cheating, she whispered. I swear! I'm not trying to make the planchette move! You know me well, I'm not afraid of showing videos where nothing happens... So, Spirit, can you spell you name?'

Adja held her breath, watching her finger travel from one letter to another. She had read enough testimonies to know that ghosts didn't like their name to be misread. At least, it's not Zaza nor Zozo, she thought with relief when the name started with an S. These two names didn't augur anything good, as Lucifer or Satan. For her first communication with a ghost, Adja was lucky enough not to speak with a demon.

'Your name is Sylvana, right?'

The planchette moved to the 'yes'.

'That's a beautiful name. Are you part of the Dormeaux family who–'

Adja didn't dare finish her sentence. It wasn't very wholesome to remind a spirit that their family had been decimated.

'Don't worry about what I was about to say. Are you part of the Dormeaux family?'

'Yes' the planchette announced. Then it moved to the letters.

'Oh, is that a message...? A... L... L... D... E... A... D.'

Adja swallowed. She was in front of Sylvana Dormeaux, and this woman wanted to talk about the dreadful events that had led to the disappearance of her family. Maybe she even needed it. Adja licked her lips, focused.

'I would like to know if you were the family mother, or a young girl in this house, to understand your situation better. What was your age when you left?'

'1... 9.' Nineteen years old.

'Was there a generation after you in this house?'

'No.'

'So, you were a young woman here, amongst the last children of this family?'

'Yes.'

'Thank you very much for these answers, Sylvana. Had you ever answered these questions to visitors like me?'

The planchette almost flew over the letters – Sylvana was eager to tell her story. Adja watched feverishly the words appear, trying to remember everything.

'If I get it right, you tried to talk to a lot of people but no one listened to you... and they all fled.'

'Yes.'

'It's so sad! Everyone thinks this place is too haunted for anyone to be safe here. But don't worry, I will listen to you and tell your story.'

The planchette spelt two words back to back: 'Thanks' and 'Exhausted'.

'I will not force you to tell me everything through this board, understood. I hope you will help me investigate this house, Sylvana...'

'Yes.' Adja waited for the ghost to say goodbye, saluted her in turn, and put the Ouija board back in her back, slowly. She had never felt this calm, as if she had finally done what she was meant to. She was swimming in cotton. I need to talk about this to my subscribers.

~

Two hours later, after a ride that she kept no memory of, Adja uploaded a video on every social media from her hotel room.

'Hello, everyone! I have a problem, and I will be honest. Some incredible and novel things just happened to me. I know my videos are slightly creepy explorations and not pure paranormal... Some of you tell me that nothing scary happens onscreen, and you're right. But today, I have the reverse problem.'

She paused and shut the camera off. I have to look calm, otherwise they will think I'm acting. Adja closed her eyes a few seconds before going back to her explanation.

'Tonight, I went to visit for the first time the haunted mansion that I mentioned yesterday. I used my Ouija board, and... the results were completely nuts. I recorded a real discussion with a spirit, but it's so fascinating that it doesn't look credible! I'm scared of being accused of faking it, especially with the Ouija where one can cheat without any problem. I would like your advice! How can I prove to you all that what I recorded was real? Tomorrow, I will test other devices that can't be tampered with, maybe it will be a better proof than the Ouija board. Have a good night!'

Adja turned the small TV on and watched the weather in her pajamas. No rain on Toulon: perfect. When she picked her cellphone to see if her fans had answered, she was surprised to read that all of them had told her the same thing: using her Ouija board with someone else, preferably skeptic people.

She typed a message announcing that she would come back with a subscriber who doesn't believe in ghosts, preferably next week. In the meantime, she would film as many parts of the house as possible to understand the story of the Dormeaux.

Adja ate a few biscuits before going to bed, exhausted but excited to meet Sylvana again. A real ghost had talked to her! And she was going to communicate with her again! Is it real? It's so great... A well intentioned spirit as a first paranormal experience, she could have never dreamt of anything better.

After a few hours of insomnia, Adja fell asleep, imagining what Sylvana's face could look like.