In truth, few homes were haunted. The last home Ayanna had gone to where there was the serious presence of the dead was a thirtysomething-year-old movie star’s home. He had been popular to a harrowing degree when Ayanna had been a teen, starring in films where he was always tortured by his big emotions and big love for a girl while dealing with his drunk mom or his criminally disturbed older brother or with the fact that he was a vampire or with the fact that he was secretly dying of tuberculosis. Even in his thirties, he was working, appearing as a troubled math genius or a musician who could only think by pushing his lustrous black wavy hair away from his forehead. His house had been filled with the spirits of lonely teens who had died loving him and who wanted to be with the actor for all of eternity. Somehow the actor had become slowly attuned to them, had told Ayanna that he could not sleep at night because he would feel hands stroking his hair, the brush of lips on his forehead, sometimes the feeling of a head pushed against his chest as if attempting to snuggle in. She had somewhat solved it by taking the movie star’s manicured and well-moisturized hands between her own and calling all the spirits forward and organizing them into a fan club. The fan club president and the movie star struck a deal that one evening a month he would watch one of his own movies and comment on his feelings, speak his memories, and let them chastely lean their heads on his shoulders or their bodies against his long legs. Ayanna had been surprised by how chill he had been about the whole thing.

At this house, the owner was waiting for her. She looked vaguely familiar to Ayanna. The woman was very thin, wearing leggings and a large, oversized men’s silk shirt. Blond with light blue eyes, and Ayanna felt certain she had maybe scrolled past this woman on social media talking about the power of celery juice or about how her skin was so clear because she drank a “tea” of hot water, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice every afternoon.

“Before we start the ritual,” Ayanna said, “tell me about the house. What made you certain it was haunted?”