Disclaimer: Only the characters not recognized from the televison show are mine!

"The house was large and white, with green shutters and columns flanking either side of the front door. Above the front doors was the attic window. Instead of shutters, that window was hung with white lace curtains which swayed back and forth, even when there was no breeze. Despite the fact that it had been empty for 145 years, it was in near pristine condition. It was the kind of house that people avoided walking past at night; the kind of house that children dared each other to visit on Halloween. And of course it had a ghost.

They called her the Lady in Red and she was seen in the attic window. She supposedly was the fiancée of one of the soldiers who had served Mystic Falls during the Civil War. Not much else was known about her except that her initials were S.W.S. She was connected in some way to the doctor who had owned the house. Some people said she was his wife by choice. Others said that she had unwillingly become his lover. The most common version of the story was that she'd gotten engaged to the soldier before he shipped out, and then once he was gone had caught a fever. The doctor told her mother that he might be able to save her, but only if he could take her to his house. He did so and she was cured. She was so grateful to him that when he proposed, heedless of the fact that she was already engaged to the soldier, she and the doctor eloped, and were never seen or heard from again.

But there was another group who didn't see the Lady in Red as a villain. Instead of running off with the doctor, they believe that after she was cured of her fever, she rejected his proposal. Stung, he raped her, murdered her, and buried her heart somewhere on his property. That's why, they say, she stares out the attic window, and why there are holes in the front yard. She's looking for her heart, so she can be with her soldier as they couldn't be in life.

The doctor's dealings with the Lady in Red weren't his only shifty activities. When he first arrived in town, he had a large amount of money. People whispered that he was a doctor by day and a bank robber by night. And that he'd hidden his ill-gotten loot. And to this day, people still come to the house, thinking that they will be the one to find the supposedly lost treasure of Dr. Roger Stensrund, alias Bloody Roger.

"What do you think about that?" Jeremy put the journal down and looked up at Elena and Jenna.

"It's unbelievable," Elena replied. She took a sip of coffee and placed the cup back on the kitchen counter. "I can't believe people waste their time and energy looking for something that isn't even there."

Jenna smiled. "You know, when I was in high school I spent one Halloween night waiting for the Lady in Red. Me and some of my friends snuck up to the attic with pillows, sleeping bags and beer."

Jeremy placed the open book on his lap. "Did you see anything?"

Jenna shook her head. "No. However, I ended up with the worst hangover the next morning."

Jeremy shut the book. "Well, I believe in it. I think I'll go and get that metal detector I got for my birthday and see what I can find."

Elena looked out the window. "It's getting dark out. I'll go with you."

An hour later, Jeremy had covered nearly every inch of the front yard. He was on the last corner when the metal detector suddenly beeped. "I got something!" he cried.

"What is it?" Elena asked, more excited than she wanted to be.

Jeremy looked at the screen. "It looks like some sort of necklace. Do you have the shovel?" Elena nodded and the two of them took turns digging at the spot until they finally spotted the glint of metal. Elena pulled it out and studied it.

"It looks like a locket. And there's something written on the front." Despite the fact that the locket was incredibly tarnished, she could just make out three initials: "S.W.S.; didn't you say that those were the Lady in Red's initials?" Jeremy nodded. Elena paused and said to herself "He buried her heart somewhere on the property…" she stared at it for a few moments.

"It would look good on you," Jeremy said to snap her out of the locket's spell.

Slowly, Elena put on the locket, and as she did so, her eyes traveled to the attic window. And for maybe half a second, she thought she saw a flash of red. She blinked and it was gone.

"I think we should go now Jer," she said, her voice shaky. "I don't think we're going to find anything else here."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Yeah, just a little cold, that's all."

And as they left, a figure drew open the attic curtain and stared out. "It figures she knew where the locket was," she whispered. "But I'm going to get it back. She isn't going to take anything else from me."