The Governor’s Ghost

by Celine Rose Mariotti

Governor Roy Macolf of North Carolina had just been sworn in. He had been governor for only a day when strange things started to happen, things he just could not explain. Since he was not one to believe in the supernatural, he didn’t know how to account for the strange occurrences.

He had no idea that the sarcastic ghost of Percival Uncus lived at the Governor’s Mansion and that this ghost was the reason that former Governor Mallard had decided to quit. He also had no idea that Percival Uncus had worked for Zebulon Vance, who was Governor of North Carolina during the Civil War. Everyone thought it was only because of Mallard’s heart problem, because that’s what he told the media.

Percival Uncus was sitting in the Governor’s office, waiting for the Governor to return. Of course, he was invisible, and the Governor could not see him. And Roy Macolf was so engaged with all the official ceremonies that he was quite exhausted when he finally returned to his office. Looking through some of the legislative papers left on his desk, he knew he had to get to work.

The door to his office slammed shut, the lights suddenly went off, and the startled Governor looked around. Maybe a fuse had blown, or maybe the light bulbs had gone out for some reason. He stood up to take a look and suddenly he heard a loud, roaring laugh. He gazed around the room, but there was no one there.

A man laughed again, and Roy was baffled. “Is there someone here? I hear someone laughing. Come on out, whoever you are!” The Governor waited, but no one appeared. He sat down at the desk and searched the drawers for a flashlight.

All at once, the lights came back on. Governor Macolf turned on his computer and went to work on some letters he wanted to write to some of the neighboring governors. He also wanted to make some important phone calls.

While he was writing a letter to the Governor of South Carolina, he felt a force in the room, and suddenly words were pouring out of him and onto the page he was writing. He couldn’t believe the prose he was writing; he just kept going, and the force kept guiding him.

Governor Macolf made some phone calls and tried to forget his uneasy feeling. He was on the telephone with one of the state Senators when he felt someone’s hand on his shoulder. He turned, but no one was there. The state Senator started reeling into him about an e-mail the Governor had sent him, but Roy had no recollection of it.

“What e-mail are you talking about, Fred? I never sent anything like that. Why would I accuse you of being an obstructionist? It’s not my style to do things like that. I’m new here, and I want to get along with everyone.”

“Well, either you sent it and forgot about it or someone there is doing some sort of hanky-panky in your office.”

“I will look into this matter at once, Fred. And I apologize.”

“I’ll speak to you tomorrow!”

Governor Macolf was stunned. Who in his office would do such a thing, and why? Did he have a detractor in his midst that he wasn’t aware of? He would have to call a meeting of his staff immediately. He didn’t want to have the same problems that Governor Mallard had. The poor man had had a stroke. Roy didn’t want to suffer the same fate.

* * *

Over dinner, his wife asked, “Roy, are you ill?”

“Ill? Why, no! I’m fit as a fiddle. Why do you ask, my darling wife?”

“Because you’re eating your salmon so fast. I never saw you eat that fast in my life.”

“It’s just jitters and excitement. Don’t you fret none, because I’m fine. I just had a strange conversation with Fred Minters. Seems he got some kind of e-mail from me, and he claims that I called him an obstructionist. I never sent any such e-mail. I have to call a meeting of my staff.”

“That is bizarre, Roy. Sounds like someone is making some kind of trouble for you. They say if you want to get your name made into mud, you go into politics.”

“That’s true, Cynthia. First thing tomorrow morning, I have to get this straightened out.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

* * *

Governor Macolf called a meeting of his staff early the next morning. His secretary, Mary Ellen, took notes as the meeting began. His legislative assistants, Roz Cole and Troy Manton, were fast to state they had nothing to do with the alleged e-mail. His legal counsel, Sam Rousseau, vehemently denied having anything to do with it, and his mail clerk, Donna Weston, told him she knew nothing about it. Mary Ellen told him she regularly checked all incoming and outgoing e-mails and had never seen any such.

The governor had a mystery on his hands. He adjourned the meeting and hurried over to see his Secretary of State, Paula Orson. Paula was a no-nonsense lady who had had an illustrious career as a prosecutor before running for her office. The issue of voter fraud filled the headlines, and some of the media kept saying that Roy had stolen the election.

“Paula, how is it going with the voter fraud case? Find out who is behind it?”

“I’ve been working on this case night and day, and I just came across some earth-shattering information that one of your campaign staff was involved with hiding absentee ballots.”

“Which one?”

“Kale Tillman.”

“Kale? I can’t understand that. Why would he do such a thing?”

“To make you look bad. And he must have been paid by someone to do it.”

“People will think I had a hand in all this hanky-panky.”

“Leave it all to me. I will find out what really happened.”

“How can I get anything done? No wonder Governor Mallard quit.”

Roy went back to his office and tried to get some work done, but just then he saw a shadowy figure standing in the corner of the room.

“Excuse me, who are you?”

“I am your ulcer growing!”

“Pardon?”

“I am the ghost of Percival Uncus. I am the reason Governor Mallard quit.”

“You mean, you drove him crazy?”

“Yes, in a very mean way. I don’t like any governor who comes to live here. I don’t like you, either. You’re a little nicer than Governor Mallard, but I still don’t like you. And, yes, I sent that e-mail! Ha, ha!” With a sound of malicious laughter, the ghost of Percival Uncus disappeared.

Governor Macolf poured himself a glass of brandy. His insides were shaking; he had just spoken to a ghost! And the ghost was the reason for his troubles. How was he to handle this and how was he to stop this ghost from making any more trouble?

If he told someone he had seen a ghost, they might think he was nuts. Tomorrow was another important day: the State of the State address. Roy put the finishing touches on his speech and Troy went over it with him one more time for the final proofread.

“Go break a leg tomorrow, boss!”

“Thanks, Troy. I’m a bundle of nerves.”

“Just take it easy. You’ll do fine.”

Roy poured himself another glass of brandy and then another one. He was scared of what might happen during his address to the General Assembly. What if the ghost did something to him?

* * *

The next morning before he went over to deliver the address, he poured himself another glass of brandy. Then he walked over to the Chambers with his wife at his side. She was all smiles, holding his arm and talking with the press. She took a seat in the upper balcony.

Governor Macolf waited while the Speaker of the House introduced him. “Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly, I’m proud to introduce the Governor of our great state of North Carolina, Roy Macolf.” Applause resounded throughout the chamber, and everyone was on their feet.

Roy walked up to the podium and began to speak. “Thank you so much for your warm welcome. I have been Governor of this state for only about two weeks now. It is an honor, and I plan to do a lot of good things for our Tar Heel State. One of those things was my proposal for a better education for all of the children of North Carolina—”

As he spoke, everyone listened attentively until, all of a sudden, the light above the podium broke and pieces of glass splintered down, almost hitting the Governor. Everyone shrieked in horror. A maintenance man quickly swept up the glass while a security officer made sure the Governor was all right.

Roy then continued with his speech. “As I was saying, I want to build the economy of our state. I want to entice more companies to come here and invest in our state’s resources—” Suddenly, a burst of loud thunder and lightning knocked out all the power in the Chamber, and everything went dark.

Security escorted the Governor out of the Chamber. He went back to his office at the mansion and poured himself another glass of brandy. Then he heard the malicious laughter again. And there he was, the ghost of Percival Uncus.

“Did you enjoy yourself, Roy?”

“Did you cause all that racket?”

“Of course. I told you I make it hard for any Governor who comes to live here. You’re no different, my friend.”

“But why?”

“Because there is no more Confederacy, and I worked to keep the Confederacy and further the Southern cause. I worked for Zebulon Vance, who was a Unionist till he adopted the Southern cause and became the ‘War Governor of the South.’

“After the war, nothing was the same. I became very angry and, one night, I had a big fight with another veteran. He shot me dead. Since then, I have been the ‘Governor’s Ghost’ hoping to get the Confederacy back. You can’t get rid of me, Roy! Ha, ha!” And there was that malicious laughter again.

* * *

Roy thought he was losing his mind. He decided to tell his wife about the ghost of Percival Uncus. “Cynthia, I have something to tell you, but you’re not going to believe me.”

“What’s wrong dear? You’re shaking all over! Is it because of what happened during your speech? They’re just going to reschedule it for next week. Everything will be fine then.”

“No, it won’t! There’s a ghost in this mansion! The ghost of Percival Uncus, a Confederate soldier, and he makes sure that anybody who is governor is miserable. He wants the Confederacy back, all over again! He’s appeared in my office several times and told me he sent that forged e-mail, and he caused the racket today during my speech. He says he doesn’t like me.”

“Roy, I’m calling the doctor for you. You don’t look well. Sit down, dear.”

The doctor thought the Governor was having a nervous breakdown and recommended that he rest at a special hospital. The Lieutenant Governor took over temporarily.

While Roy was taking a break at the hospital, Percival Uncus appeared to the Lieutenant Governor, playing the same old tricks. After more than a century and a half, Percival Uncus just would not give up being the Governor’s Ghost.