House Hunting

 Some people hunt for houses
and some houses hunt for people.
I found this out the hard way
as a foreclosed house on our block
popped up on an internet auction.
Yet in digital space and time
no one wanted it.
Then in the last nail biting moment
two of us duked it out
in one hundred dollar increments.

I gritted my teeth
just before my bank account
flirted with blood red ink.
Then the other bidder dropped out and
the on screen clock clicked zero
awarding us a 110 year old house
complete with leaks, rot, peeling paint
and holes in the walls for squirrel condos.

I knew the house cried out for saving,
but what I didn’t know
is three owners ago
a secret coven of wicans and pagans
gathered on the third floor
invoking sprits unknown
to surrounding Christians.
To enhance their magic
they painted a pentagram
on the splintered attic floor.
Some nights I imagine the group
circling the 3,000 year old symbol
invoking positive earth, water and sky energy.

In time the symbol disappeared because
the next owner didn’t care for the spiritual art.
He covered it with latex paint, but
little did he know that when the house needed saving
the pentagram’s spirit would ooze through the paint
and surf digital space seeking architectural salvation.

Now that this house found me
I know historic structures may invoke spirits
you’ll never see listed in the real estate ads.