There's No Such Thing As Ghosts (Patreon)

A single chapter story commission from an anonymous patron who wanted something Halloween-themed. I decided to do something based partially on this article that I read a while ago and thought could make an interesting start for a story.

"Are you sure about this?" Mrs. Ayers fidgeted in her seat, looking much more like the anxious interviewee than the person actually coming to her, asking for a job. "You seem qualified, it's just... Well, you did hear, right? You saw the ad?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Abby couldn't help joking, before restraining herself, trying to come up with a more professional response. "I'm sure your other nannies saw something, but I can't... I'm sure there's some kind of an explanation. The house is old, right? It's probably just drafts or whatever."

"That's what we thought," Mrs. Ayers told her. "We've had five nannies quit in the past year, though... I've never seen anything myself, yet, with that many people saying they have, it's hard to believe something isn't going on. And this time of year, I was afraid we weren't going to find anyone willing to take the job..."

Abby bit her tongue, wanting to ask if the woman was sure it wasn't just her daughter being a terror. The girl had seemed sweet enough, but Abby had, so far, only played with her while her mother was watching... Abby was far from a professional nanny - she wasn't a professional anything at this point, after just dropping out of college - yet she'd babysat enough kids to know they behaved far differently in front of their parents. Maybe this one was just a brat when her parents weren't around... She could deal with a brat, especially when she was being paid this much. Her parents had been angry at her for dropping out, asking her what she planned to do with her life, but this job paid far more than just about anything else she could have gotten starting out, even with a degree.

"I don't believe in ghosts," she said instead. "I grew up in an old house, so some creaking in the middle of the night isn't going to scare me off... Not even this close to Halloween"

"I hope not," Mrs. Ayers smiled wearily. "I really do..."

A few days later, Abby was moved in and ready to start her new job. Her room was huge, much larger than the one she'd had in her dorm, or at her parent's house, with its own bathroom, and a private kitchen just down the hall. She wasn't sure how much she'd actually use that, since part of her job was cooking for Olivia, her charge, in the much bigger and more modern main kitchen... It was nice to have that option, however. The whole thing was better than a lot of apartments her friends had gotten, and she didn't even have to pay rent, plus, there was no commute to work. On the downside, it was also a lot more difficult to get away from work...

"Abby!" she heard a knock on her door, and a cute, tiny voice. "Abby, I wanna play!"

Abby pulled herself out of bed, forcing a smile as she crawled out of bed and over to the door. "Shouldn't I be the one getting you up?" she asked. "Can't I sleep just five more minutes?"

"No!" the little girl giggled, shaking her head. "Come on, let's go!" She grabbed Abby's hand, yanking at it until she reluctantly shuffled forward, letting herself be led to the girl's play room. There were all kinds of toys scattered around, though Abby was pretty sure the collection had grown as much as it did partially because nobody seemed to throw away anything... There were still baby toys off in one corner, and she doubted Olivia had played with those in years.

Once they were in the play room, Olivia planting herself in the middle and reaching for a pair of dolls, offering one to her new nanny, Abby looked at the clock, wincing as she saw how late it had gotten. Hadn't she set her alarm? She was almost sure she had... Why hadn't it woken her up? It definitely hadn't still been going off when Abby had woken her up with her knocking...

"Actually I think you'd better get ready for school," Abby told her. Olivia's face fell instantly. "Do you need some help?" Olivia pouted, not saying anything, which was answer enough. "Come on," Abby held her hand out.

"Can't we just stay home and play?" Olivia asked. "I don't wanna go to school today!"

"The weekend's just a couple days off," Abby pointed out. "We can have lots of fun then... But today, you have to go to school." Olivia still didn't move, so Abby bent down, lifting her from her spot on the ground to her feet, and taking her hand, half-dragging the girl to her bedroom.

Fortunately, Olivia's school had a uniform, so there was no arguing about what to wear, and she was old enough to dress herself. There was just one thing she needed help with, her little cheeks blazing as Abby pushed up her nightshirt and untaped her overnight diaper, exposing just how soaked it was. "There's no need to be embarrassed," Abby told her, cleaning her up and getting her a pair of panties. "I used to have the same problem."

"Really?" Olivia's eyes widened.

"Yeah," Abby nodded. "Now, get dressed and come to the kitchen." She wasn't sure if it was true or not... Likely, at some point, she'd wet the bed - most kids probably did at least once or twice - but she didn't remember it ever being a recurring problem. Either way, she didn't have time to deal with it right now, since she barely had time to even throw a Poptart into the toaster for Olivia. She was only supposed to give the girl those on special occasions, and she doubted 'first full day with a new nanny' counted... If her alarm had gone off, she could have cooked something a little more substantial.

It did seem to cheer the little girl up, however, even if it didn't stop her from asking one more time, as Abby escorted her to the door, if she could stay home and play. "Sorry, hon, not today," Abby told her, giving her a hug and pushing her out the door as she hid on the other side, not wanting a whole busload of children to see her in her nightshirt. 

Once the girl was off, she headed back to her room, immediately picking up her phone to see what she'd done wrong, why the alarm hadn't triggered. The answer, it turned out, was simple - it was dead. She frowned, pressing the power button, then trying to jiggle the power cord she'd plugged in before going to sleep. It was in tight, and, following it to the wall the other end was still in place as well. She unplugged it, taking it to another outlet; a moment later, the screen came to life, even if it was just to tell her she was at 1%.

That was going to take a while, so she contemplated going back to sleep. Instead, she decided to turn on the television, grabbing the remote from her bedside table and hitting the power button. Nothing happened, even after she took the batteries out and put them back in. Mr. and Mrs. Ayers had shown her where they kept extra batteries; they'd shown her a lot of things the day before, and she didn't really feel like wandering through the whole house trying to remember exactly which of the many drawers they'd opened.

It probably wouldn't have helped anyway, since the TV still didn't come on even after she got up and walked over to it, pushing the power button directly. Sure enough, it was plugged in, too. "Bad wiring," she told herself. The whole room was probably messed up... Annoying, but not really a huge deal, since there was nobody else in the house. 

She wandered to the living room, still not bothering to change into actual clothes, and tried the TV there instead. It was a lot bigger than the one in her room, anyway... But, unfortunately, it didn't respond to its remote, either. "Oh, come on," she rolled her eyes. She really didn't want to have to call an electrician her first full day here...

She double-checked to make sure it was plugged in, which it was, then spotted another outlet not too far away. It had worked for her phone, after all... She unplugged the TV, and yelped as she heard a voice fill the room. She dropped the cord, spinning around, confused, but didn't find anyone lurking there... She scrambled to her feet to look around, though she didn't have to search far to find the source of the voice - it was a reporter on the television.

She frowned, looking back behind the TV, making sure she hadn't lost her mind. The cord was still lying there, and when she followed it upwards, she was sure it really did belong to the television, and not any of the other electronics arranged on the stand beneath it. She stepped in front of it again, slowly picking up the remote control and pushing a button. 

The TV responded, changing channels to a cartoon before switching back to the news on its own. She tried going the other way, but it did the same thing, showing her the other show for a second, then changing back. She pushed the power button on the TV and the remote, to no avail. Despite herself, as she stared at the cord, sitting on the floor, loose, the hair on the back of her neck began to stand up. "Really... Really bad wiring," she told herself.

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There was no escaping the sound of the TV anywhere in its vicinity, so she eventually retreated to her room, checking on her phone hopefully. To her surprise, despite the charging light being on, it still claimed she was at 1%, still unable to actually turn it back on. She took the phone and charger to the kitchen to plug it in there while she organized things, getting it all set up the way she wanted, in case she ever did decide to cook just for herself here.

She quickly lost track of time, since, no matter what outlet she used, her phone firmly refused to charge any further, until, out of nowhere, she heard it chirp its boot-up noise at the same time as she heard voice in the house, again. They still startled her, though this time it was easier to recognize them as coming through a television's speaker, and, sure enough, when she crept down the hall, she found the TV in her room on.

She switched it off with the remote, then looked down at her phone, which had finished starting up, now claiming to be at 100%. "What in the...?" she shook her head.

"Hi, Abby!" 

She nearly leapt out of her skin as Olivia hugged her from behind, not expecting those tiny arms around her waist. "H-Hi," she tried to force herself to calm down. "Did you have a good day at school?" 

Olivia nodded. "Can we play now?"

"Let me get you a snack first," Abby told her. "I'll be there in a minute..." Olivia hurried off, giving Abby a few moments to compose herself before heading down the hall herself. The sound of the main TV was no longer echoing through the halls, and, when she poked her head into the living room, it was off.

"Hey, Olivia," Abby said as she entered the playroom, handing her charge a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts cut off, "have you ever seen this ghost that chased your other nannies off?" Olivia munched away happily, shaking her head. 

"Well, that makes sense, since ghosts aren't real," Abby responded, not wanting to scare the girl with that question, even though, despite herself, she sounded a little less confident than she would have liked as she said it.

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"Can't I spend the night with you?" Olivia pouted. "Your bed is plenty big... I don't wanna sleep here by myself!"

Abby nearly gave in, but she managed to stop herself. "You're big enough to sleep in your own bed," she told the girl. "My room isn't that far away if you get really scared, but I bet a big girl like you will do just fine on your own." Abby felt just a little bad; this was the first night both of the girl's parents were going to be gone the whole time, both off on business trips... Still, she was the one in charge, and she had to put her foot down.

Olivia sulked, then looked hopeful. "Can I at least go to bed without my diaper? Mommy and Daddy will never know!"

Abby shook her head, feeling much less guilty about denying the girl that, after changing her the last few mornings. "Sorry, no... I don't want to have to do laundry in the morning."

"You're the worst!" Olivia scowled, crossing her arms. "You said you understood!"

"I do, but that doesn't mean you don't need them," Abby told her, pulling one out of the girl's dresser. "Just in case!"

Olivia was still in a bad mood as Abby tucked her in and headed off to her own room. The TV had been working just fine since that first day, though she still crossed her fingers, at least mentally, every time she hit the power button on the remote. True to form, the screen sprang to life this time, too, while she changed, despite not planning on going to sleep for a while, and sat on her bed.

Eventually, she laid back, barely paying attention to what was happening on the TV as she perused her phone, totally caught up until she felt something seem to slide past her legs. "Olivia?" she glanced up, then over at her door, which was still closed. There was no sign of the girl, so she looked back down at her phone.

Again, she was sure she felt something against the bare skin of her legs, this time slithering upwards, closer to her crotch. She put her phone down, looking down, seeing only her blankets there, bunched up around her... She shivered, scooting backwards instinctively.

She gasped as something wrapped itself around her ankle and gave it a tug, pulling her further down the bed as she tried to kick it off with her other foot, only to realize there was nothing there but her sheet... Then, the other corner of the sheet slid upwards, lashing out at her free ankle, twisting itself around it and yanking it away from her other foot. She gasped as the blankets began to move again, bunching up beneath her, folding themselves as she tried in vain to free her feet. She sat up, reaching down to pull the sheets off of herself, only for the blankets to take that opportunity to crawl up her back, then her front, tying themselves in place around her crotch like a huge, multi-layered diaper.

She did manage to get the sheets off her ankles, however, and scrambled off the bed, heart thudding in her chest as she made a dash for the door. Before she could reach it, the heavy dresser on the other side of the room slid in front of it with an awful screeching sound, refusing to budge. She turned to the bathroom door, but a wardrobe had blocked that off, leaving her stuck there, all by herself.

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The next morning, the furniture was back where it belonged, though the damage had already been done... Thankfully, Abby's alarm did go off that morning, since, that night, she'd had no other way to relieve her bursting bladder after wrestling with the blankets, and the wardrobe, except to wet herself, soaking her bedding and her underwear. 

"Is the washing machine running?" Olivia asked as she ate her eggs, looking up at her nanny and sniffing the air. Abby blushed and nodded, hiding behind her coffee mug. "I thought you weren't going to do laundry today..."

"I realized I didn't have as many clean outfits as I thought," Abby shrugged. "Hurry up, you're going to miss the bus if you don't finish soon..."

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"You don't mind, do you? We really wanted to take her, but we can't get away this whole weekend..."

"No, it's no problem," Abby shook her head. "I'd love to go trick or treating with her! It'll be great! I'll have to start thinking up a costume, I wasn't really planning on doing anything... And don't worry, I'll take lots of pictures for you..."

"Thank you," Mrs. Ayers smiled. "You've been so great, Abby... And you've lasted longer than any of our previous nannies. You haven't had any ghost problems?"

Abby smiled weakly. "N-No, of course not... Ghosts aren't real..."

"Oh, one last thing... I think it might be best if Olivia had her night-time protection under her costume... It's just so exciting for her, and you might be out there for a while, so I just think it would be a good idea."

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Olivia did not agree. 

"No, no, no!" she raged, stomping her feet. "I'm a princess, not some stupid baby princess!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but your Mommy says..." Abby tried to soothe her.

"No!" Olivia crossed her arms. "If I have to wear them, you should, too! You wet the bed, too!"

"When I was a little girl!" Abby clarified. "I outgrew it, just like you will, but for now..."

"Nuh-uh!" Olivia shook her head. "That morning you were doing laundry, you smelled like pee-pee, and I think you wet your bed!" Abby's cheeks burned, but, unfortunately, she couldn't deny it. "If I hafta wear a diaper, so do you!" Abby watched the little girl's expression change from anger to fear in a flash, her eyes expanding as they saw something behind the older girl.

Abby spun, her stomach lurching when she saw something floating in the air, slowly bobbing through the playroom door towards them, feeling even worse when she realized it was one of the girl's diapers. "Th-the ghost!" Olivia gasped.

"Olivia, stop it!" Abby snapped. "I know there isn't a ghost here... I know it's you!"

Olivia shook her head. "What? N-No, it's a ghost, it's right there! I-I didn't believe the other nannies, but..." The little girl glanced at Abby, then back at the floating diaper. Slowly, Abby saw her expression change again, saw the terror on her face slowly drain away as she started to concentrate, and then smile.

Only then did Abby realize what a big mistake she'd made. She'd long suspected that these 'hauntings' weren't being caused by a spirit, but by some kind of latent power that Olivia had, a way of getting her what she wanted, or get revenge on those who didn't do what she liked... What she hadn't suspected was that Olivia herself didn't know the truth. Now that Abby had told her, she could practically see the girl figuring out how it worked, how to control it...

Abby gulped as she felt something furry brush against her ankle, looking down to see one of Olivia's teddy bears there, grasping at her. She kicked it away and stepped back, only to see a small army of toys advancing on her, slowly coming to life to defend their owner... "Olivia, stop!" Abby ordered. "This isn't funny... Stop it, right now!"

From across the room, she saw a particularly large teddy bear lurch to its feet and start bounding towards her. Even though she was going to have to go right past the waiting diaper, Abby headed for the door, wanting to get out of here while she still had the chance, only to see it slam shut.

She stopped, turning to tell Olivia to stop again, just in time to get tackled by the big bear, its soft, furry body planting itself on her chest, pinning her in place while the smaller toys began swarming over her, pulling away clothes as she squirmed helplessly. The diaper floated downwards to the floor just as the toys stripped away her jeans and panties, and a pair of stuffed cats grabbed it and began to walk towards her crotch.

"Olivia!" she started to yell, only for the girl herself to cut her off, picking up a pacifier from among the pile of old, baby things and wiping it off before stuffing it in Abby's mouth.

"I found the perfect costume for you!" Abby declared, as more of her toys emerged from her dress-up closet, carrying a tutu that might fit Olivia, just barely, though certainly wouldn't cover much of anything she wore underneath, and a tiara. "I'll be the big girl princess, and you can be my baby princess sister. Mr. Bear is gonna go get that pretty, sparkly pink shirt you have, and I bet it'll go great... This is gonna be so fun! I think we should play princesses all weekend, don't you?"

Abby gulped as she felt the toys tape the diaper into place around her - a snug fit, but a fit nonetheless. As the other toys began putting her into the tutu, she saw that her fears had been confirmed, and it did nothing to hide her diaper... She couldn't go outside like this, much less spend the rest of the weekend this way!

But, as she stared up at Olivia, she could tell the girl meant what she'd said, and she had no defense against her... Her only hope was to make it through the weekend, until Olivia's parents came home, and then leave, just like all the other nannies... If Olivia would even let her do that. She was completely under the girl's control, and, as she felt a dribble of liquid make its way into the diaper beneath it, refusing to stop no matter how hard she tried to make it, she realized she had no idea just how far that control could go... 

Olivia herself likely didn't, either, and, unfortunately, Abby had a bad feeling the girl was going to be figuring all that out on her. Abby whimpered, squirming on the floor of Olivia's playroom with all the girl's other toys, her diaper growing wetter and wetter around her, totally at the mercy of the child, just like everything else in the house.