The Haunting

We try to uncover the mysteries in the morning light, but there is a whole other world out on the ranch at night. We know this because our dogs carry on so barking at things we have never seen during the day. Often I will get up to see what they are so upset about but I can see nothing out in the dark. I believe them though because in the morning there are often signs of the other life. The pole barn is wrecked with garabage scattered or feed barrels over turned and attempts made to open them. I have had to strap the lids on now because whatever the mysterious animal is they have learned to unlock my lockable barrels.
Last night was a little different though. I was woken not by my dogs barking but by a cackling mix of wimpers and distant howling. The eeiry part was that the dogs were not barking and the cackling was moving closer to my bedroom window as it approached from the pole barn. Hairs rose on the back of my neck as they moved past and descended down into the lower pasture. There were many of them, possibly a pack, as they loudly moved past as if celebrating a conquest. I listened carefully for the sound of horses in distress but heard nothing. Again, I thought, why do I not hear the dogs that bark at every branch that blows by.
I got up and looked out on the deck to see if I could see them but I saw nothing except my Austrialian Sheperd sitting on a lounge chair with her ears perked but remaining very still and quiet. There was no sign of the puppy.
I made the decision to scope out the property in the morning. As the horizon lit up well enough to see, I would venture out and calculate the damage. The puppy ran up to the bedroom sliding doors as soon as I mentioned his name to my son who was preparing to brush his teeth. "Did you hear that pack, last night." I asked. "Funny, I didn't hear the dogs barking and Samson wasn't on the porch." Yelp, yelp, now he shows up at the door.
"What was it, coyotes?" He asked, "I knew we shouldn't have moved here. The place is haunted that is why the other people wanted to move."
"Coyotes are not ghosts. They are just wild animals."
"It's the night time. Anything you can't see during the day that comes out at night is trying to haunt you."
I guess we got haunted then but this morning I felt a little victorious, the horses were all okay, all the cats and both dogs showed up for the morning feeding frenzy, and to my surprise my strategically placed barrels had not even been over turned. Victory!