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“And the ghost is keeping your firm from moving forward on the plan?” Simon was used to encountering people who didn’t believe in the supernatural. He was more surprised when he found someone in the business community who not only believed but was willing to factor the paranormal into their decision-making.

“I know that wouldn’t make sense to someone who isn’t from here,” Oscar replied. “But my folks are all Myrtle Beach born and raised. We know the history, and it’s pretty clear that until the Bride Ghost is laid to rest, this hotel will never be a success no matter when it’s built or what the amenities are.”

“Do you mean the legend of Alice Flagg? I’ve heard that story,” Simon said. “She was engaged to a man her brother disliked, and she died from malaria. Her brother threw her engagement ring into the swamp, and Alice supposedly wanders looking for it.”

Oscar shook his head. “No. If Alice is real, she doesn’t haunt the Sea Foam Inn. This ghost is named Dorothea, and she was supposed to be married to Cecil West, her true love, in 1918. Then the war started in 1917, and he was sent away very suddenly, so they had to cancel the wedding that was planned. When he died, Dorothea is said to have collapsed from grief. She haunted the ballroom in the original hotel where the wedding was to have been held, waiting for her groom.”

“But that building is gone and has been replaced several times,” Simon countered.

Oscar shrugged. “She’s determined. Something is keeping her here, tied to the location even more than the hotel building. I don’t pretend to understand these things. That’s why I hired you.”

Simon nodded. “Surely people have tried to lay her to rest before this, especially if the haunting was inconvenient.”

“That’s what I was told when we bought the place. There were séances and ghost whisperers, and one guy had a TV crew to film the big event, but Dorothea didn’t show up.”

“How do you know she’s still haunting the location?” Simon reached out with his senses and picked up strong psychic residue, but it felt old, strong, and oddly tainted.

“She shows up at intervals,” Oscar replied. “The original wedding date. The day her fiancé died in the war, her birthday, and the date she died.”

“And the séances didn’t try to connect on those dates?” Simon got the feeling the paranormal experts were more showmen than real psychics or seers.

“They did. She just came at other times,” Oscar said. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I wondered if her ghost is stirred up because she thinks someone means her harm.”

That was actually possible, in Simon’s experience, but it took a strong and stubborn ghost to remain so involved given how much time had passed.

“Why would the ghost feel in danger? And since she’s already long dead, what kind of harm do you think could happen to her?” Simon asked.

Oscar chewed on his lip for a moment, searching for words. “It’s hard to explain. You’ll think I’m nuts.”

“I promise I won’t.”

“Okay, here goes. Most of the time, Dorothea’s ghost has been peaceful, like she just doesn’t want to be forgotten. Over time, those of us who got over being frightened by her found the visits to be strangely peaceful during the times the hotel was open. But lately, in the last month, she’s shown up more often to the maintenance crew that’s still working even with the hotel being closed to customers, and when she does, it leaves everyone jangly. I don’t know how better to put it.” Oscar shrugged and turned his hands palms up in a gesture of futility. “She doesn’t seem to be trying to scare us, but she isn’t just visiting like in the past. It’s almost like she’s trying to warn us, or that she’s scared of something on the ‘other side.’”

“You don’t have any ideas about what that might be?” Simon asked.

Oscar shook his head. “No, sorry. I know that doesn’t give you much to work with, but it’s the best I’ve got.”

Simon silently went through a list of things that could scare the dead: necromancers, demons, dark magic, and some nasty supernatural entities that didn’t fit the normal categories. Like the fire spirit from the Ocean Visions Hotel.

“I’m not sure whether we can verify if the ghost is afraid or not, but maybe we can start by figuring out what keeps her here,” Simon said.

“In the Alice Flagg legend, part of what’s said to bind the ghost is her missing engagement ring,” Simon pointed out. Everyone in Myrtle Beach knew the story. He had never bothered looking into it, because whether the tale was true or not, Alice’s ghost was a popular tourist attraction. She didn’t seem to mind the attention, and no one would thank Simon for ruining their ghost hunt.

“Is there anything that Dorothea lost that would be important enough to keep her spirit here?” Simon couldn’t believe that no one had been able to send the ghost on her way to the afterlife, which made him suspect there was an important detail missing from the story.

“Dorothea was the owner’s daughter. Her family lived here in the hotel. One story says that she was pregnant and had a miscarriage at the news about her fiancé’s death,” Oscar replied. “That sort of thing was much more of a scandal back then, and if his military orders hadn’t come early, they would have already been married.”

“Is it true?”

Oscar shrugged. “No idea. No one at the time substantiated it, because that would have been speaking ill of the dead. I don’t know if they even checked the body to confirm. The family may have figured it was better not to know for certain.”

“Dorothea lost both her true love and their child. That’s a powerful reason to become a restless spirit, but what’s tying her to the site of the hotel?” Simon asked.

“Years after her death, when her ghost had become famous, we found a locked trunk under the eaves in the attic with Dorothea’s diary,” Oscar told him. “She was young when she died and didn’t have many other valuable possessions. She didn’t even have an engagement ring, just the wedding rings they were supposed to exchange.”

“What happened to those?” Simon asked. Spirits valued sentiment, not dollar value.

“They were in the trunk as well, along with the diary and some clothing. The clothing is boxed up with our archival materials. The diary and rings were put on display behind glass in the lobby,” Oscar replied.