Cursed Document is my short story included in the 'Haunted Tales: stories from beyond the grave' anthology - http://amzn.to/1F65DNY. It's based on the Declaration of Independence and combines fact with fiction in a chilling, spooky tale.

1. Cursed Document
By Samie Sands
We all stare at each other in turn, wondering who is going to build up the courage to go
first. My heart is pounding wildly, I definitely don't want it to be me. We know for a fact that
this document is going to impact on humanity forever more. What we don't know is why, or
even how.
...
The 4th of July. The day that would change everything. The day America would finally be
free of the oppression of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The day America will become in
charge of all it's own laws, finances and freedom. So, as Benjamin Franklin stood there,
staring into the reflective surface, he couldn't work out why he was overshadowed by an
impending sense of doom. He found himself wanting to stop being silly, to stop letting a
crazy homeless woman who is suspected of witchcraft, get inside his head, infecting his
brain. All he wants is for her words to stop echoing round and round in his mind, haunting his
nightmares, sending him to near insanity.
"As soon as your quill touches the cursed parchment, your life will be full of all the
suffering the world has to endure."
He had wanted to question her further, to find out what she meant by those words. To find
out if she was talking about the exact event that is about to transpire. But of course, that
would be accepting that she was telling the truth, and that she wasn't just an insane old fool.
Suggesting that would have lost him a lot of support from the others, who dismissed her
immediately and with no respect. It made him await the next stage of the day as nervous as if
he were going to his own hanging.
This was supposed to be the greatest day ever. He had worked so hard to make it happen -
to finally allow America to live up to it's potential and become the greatest country of all
time. This day will be celebrated forever more. The names of the men signing the document
will go down in history; Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and of course himself, Benjamin
Franklin.
Benjamin took a deep breath, struggling to get it down. He hated to admit it, even to
himself, but his weight was really beginning to cause him issues. It was making many things
difficult, things that he took for granted beforehand. He no longer enjoyed being in the public
eye - feeling that every whisper and every chuckle was about him, and that was also having
an impact on his emotions that day.
He wondered why the other men were so jovial about what was going to happen, did they
feel no concern at all? They had heard what he had, why was he the only one bothered by the
straggly haired woman? He had wanted to back out of the whole thing more than once, but of
course that wasn't possible. It was far to late in the day.
He staggered through the door, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. He just
wanted the entire day to be over, so he could return to his private chambers and treat his gout
an other ailments. As he reached the bench, he noticed that the other two men were already
there, dressed in their finest clothes, just as he was. He looked deep into their eyes in turn,
and was shocked to see the fear he was certain was mirrored in his own expression. Maybe
the woman's words had had more of an effect on them than either of the men cared to admit.
Thomas picked up the quill, trying to keep an unconcerned air about him. Only John and
Benjamin could see his hand shaking, his whole body trembling. He made an inane comment,
just to steady his nerves, but Benjamin doesn't even hear it. There was a buzzing in his ears,
or possibly his brain, that was making it impossible to focus on anything. The sensation that
this whole thing was just wrong would not go away. He was starting to feel nauseated and
dizzy, could he really go through with this, or should he follow his instincts?

2. A voice arose from within him, replying to a comment someone on the sidelines had
uttered. It was not him speaking, and he had no idea what the words even meant. They
just...sort of rolled from his tongue, as a statement, or maybe a warning.
"Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
He did not have the time to work out what had just happened to him, because before he
could react, the quill had been passed to him. His whole body became consumed by a chill,
like nothing he had ever experienced before. His movements felt robotic, almost as if he had
no control over them and before he knew it, a whirlwind passed him by and he was back at
his home, alone, with just his swirling thoughts for company. Benjamin forced his weary,
ailing body into the bedroom and before he could remove any of his fancy clothing, he
collapsed onto the bed, cold and alone.
He stood up, unsure as to where he was and what he was doing. It was pitch black, so he
could not grasp anything, to work out what was going on. Suddenly a face appeared, right in
front of him, causing him to jump violently. Before he could get any questions out, the person
screams. A high pitched violent scream that scratched on his spine and burst his ear drums.
The face then started to swirl and change into something recognisable. His heart stopped
beating, for what feels like an entire minute. It's her, the woman, the one who has made him
feel this hideous way. His brain wanted him to scream profanities at her, to tell her what
damage she had caused with her careless sentence, but his heart told him to be quiet, to just
wait.
Soon, she began to speak.
"You knew, I told you. I warned you about the cursed document. Now you have pressed
your signature on it. You have signed your soul away to the devil and can live no more than
50 years. Whatever you do with the rest of your human days will mean nothing, you will
suffer pain and anguish for eternity."
The cackling laugh that followed, continued for a long time. Benjamin's blood had run
cold, his spine had turned to ice. What did this mean? What could he do? He had always been
a religious man, but had he somehow turned to the dark side, without even realising it? He
didn't want to burn in the fiery pits of hell - no one could ever wish for that! Why was this
happening to him, he thought he was doing a good thing, was making America independent
really a bad thing? Or was he being punished for something else? This couldn't be simply a
random act from the devil, could it?
Benjamin awoke, covered in sweat, his head pounding as if he had consumed a lot of
alcohol the night before. He quickly scanned the room, pulling the quilt up to his chin. He
was truly afraid, more than he had ever been in his whole life. He could not bear to see that
woman again.
To his immediate relief, he was alone. He quickly changed his clothes, John and Thomas
in his mind. He needed to see them immediately, to tell them what had happened. He needed
to know why this was happening, what they had done. On his way out of the door, he hurried
down the street to where the homeless woman had always been sat. He had previously always
ignored her, avoided her, but not today. Today he needed answers and he was going to get
them if it killed him!
He turned the corner, dread filling his lungs, but she was not there. A strange emotion ran
through his veins. It was almost as if he had expected this, but he wasn't sure why. She had
always been here, as long as he could remember, and now she just wasn't. He continued on
his journey, trying not to let his brain accept the possible truth about all that had happened.