Ghost Detective Short Stories

The screams reverberate through our cemetery as soon as the casket exits the church, with its large group of mourners in tow. A new arrival. Not everyone graciously comes to terms with suddenly dying and becoming a ghost. Hardly any of us, actually. Especially when the person who killed us still walks free.

At the farthest corner of the cemetery, a very special mausoleum stands vigil. Tall, solid, and spacious, it houses the remains of our town's Jane and John Does. The bodies nobody claimed.Two police officers arrive with a new urn, to be placed in a slot without a name. Clothilde and Robert, the cemetery's only resident ghosts, attend the funeral from their side of the veil.Most people need time to come to grips with being a ghost. Most people scream for days.When a young girl pops out of the urn without so much as a squeak, Clothilde and Robert know they have a challenging new case on their hands.

Being one of the cemetery's two resident ghosts for three decades can be a lonely existence - even more so when your sole friend disappears for several days. While waiting for Clothilde's return, Robert decides to greet the newest arrival, an overly polite octagonarian who makes no claims of unfinished business. But as her story unfurls, it becomes increasingly likely the old lady's affairs and Clothilde's disappearance are closely related - in more ways than one.

Life as a ghost can be a lonely existence and Robert counts himself lucky to have had Clothilde by his side for thirty years. They watch the seasons pass and the mourners weep. Other ghosts come and go as they deal with their unfinished business. When Clothilde makes quick friends with a new arrival, Robert marvels at seeing her laugh and behave like a teenager again - even if it means loneliness for him. She deserves some happiness. But when a second girl arrives in their cemetery, a pattern emerges. Robert and Clothilde must once again apply their crime-solving skills to go after their new friends' murderer.

Double funerals are a rare thing in a tiny cemetery. Both deceased becoming ghosts even more so. While resident ghosts Clothilde and Robert wait for their new compatriots to emerge from their caskets, the screams coming from below seem tinged with quite a bit more... anger than usual. The promise of "till death do us part" takes on a whole new meaning with the fresh arrivals.

Depending on the quality of one's company (or the lack thereof), Christmas can be the most wonderful and heartwarming day - or the absolute worst.And of course, a nice covering of snow never hurts. Clothilde and Robert never experienced a white Christmas in their thirty years as ghosts. As long as they had each other, nobody complained. When the latest ghost arrives, buried the day before Christmas, Robert and Clothilde's decades-old traditions for the holiday are interrupted. Their new guest, impeccably polite though he may be, appears to have no desire to address his unfinished business. Why does he linger if none of it matters to him?