The house was a small, two-story affair with white siding on the bottom floor and grey shingles on top. Three windows were facing the street: a large picture window; a smaller, rectangular one above that; and another larger window below that.
I got out of my car and walked towards the door. I knocked twice before it opened. A woman stood there wearing a blue dress with her hair tied back in a bun. She had bright green eyes that seemed to sparkle when she saw me standing outside her home. “Hello,” she said cheerfully. Her voice was soft but carried well through the quiet night.
“Hi. Are you Mrs Tanner?”
She nodded. “Yes, I am.” She smiled again and stepped aside so I could enter the house. It smelled odd inside. Not bad or anything like that—just strange. Like old books and dust. “Please come in,” she said as we entered the living room.
It wasn’t much more than a couch, a coffee table, and an end table with a lamp on it. That’s all I really needed for a place to sleep. The walls were painted yellow, which looked nice against the dark furniture. The carpet was black and covered most of the hardwood floors. There was a small kitchen off to the side of the living room with a sink, stove, and fridge. Everything was clean and tidy.
“I’m sorry about the mess,” she said while pointing to some boxes stacked in the corner of the room. “My husband died last year and I just haven’t had time to get around to moving everything yet.”
“No problem. I don’t mind sleeping in a bit of a mess.”
She chuckled softly. “Well, if you want to put your things away, feel free. Just make sure not to take too long since I have to leave in a few hours.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared down a hallway.
As I looked around the room I noticed something else odd about this house. The walls weren’t straight. They bulged outward here and there like they’d been pushed from the inside out by someone pushing their way through them. It was subtle enough that it didn’t bother me at first, but as I looked closer I realized that it wasn’t just the walls either. Every single surface in the entire house had these little imperfections, including the ceiling and floor.
I heard footsteps coming down the hall and turned to see Mrs Tanner returning with two glasses filled with water. She handed me one and took a seat on the couch across from me. “So what brings you out this way?” she asked as she sipped her drink.
I’m looking for a friend of mine, he went missing in this area about a month ago”
“Oh, that’s terrible! What happened?”
“he just… vanished.” I paused as I thought about how to explain it. “He was staying at an abandoned hotel nearby and never came back. We think he might’ve gotten lost in the woods.”
She shook her head sadly. “That’s awful. Is there any chance he survived? Maybe run away somewhere?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
She sighed heavily and leaned back on the couch. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help you find him.”
We sat quietly for a moment before she spoke up again. “I don’t mean to pry, but are you sure he isn’t still alive? Maybe he’s hiding somewhere or something?”
“Well…” I hesitated. “Maybe.”
“Do you have any idea where he might’ve gone?”
“I’m not sure, but I have a hunch”
She laughed softly and shook her head. “Well, let me know if you hear anything about him. I’ll keep my ears open as well.”
“Thanks,” I said as I stood up from the couch. “I better go get some sleep now.”
“Of course, ill show you to your room”
I downed the glass of water and placed it on the table. Even that seemed to be crooked. “Thanks again for letting me stay here.”
She waved it off and stood up from the couch. “You’re more than welcome. Please feel free to use anything in the kitchen if you need anything.”
“I will.” I followed her down the hallway to a staircase leading to the second floor. At the top of those stairs was another hallway that led to three doors: one on each side and one at the end. She pointed to the door on the left. “That one is yours. No one else is staying this weekend so the other doors will be locked.
She opened the door to my room and flicked on the light switch. There was a dresser opposite the bed with a window above it and a small bed with a nightstand next to it. The wall behind the bed was covered in posters of famous horror films, mostly slasher flicks. “This should be all set up for you.” She motioned towards the bed. “Make yourself comfortable. My room is on the third floor, if you need anything, please just knock on my door.”
“Okay, Thanks, I will do”
She walked over to the door at the end of the hall and closed it behind her before disappearing into her own room. I took a look around my room before lying down on the bed. The sheets were clean and smelled nice, but I couldn’t tell whether they’d been washed recently or not. As I got under them though, I noticed something strange about them. They felt… heavy. Like they were weighted down on one side. When I tried to lift them up, they wouldn’t budge. I rolled over onto my back and pulled them back down. Something was definitely wrong with this place.
I lay there staring at the ceiling for a while before drifting off into a deep but restless sleep. I woke up sometime later to a knocking sound on my door. I sat up and rubbed my eyes before standing up from the bed. “Who is it?” I called out as I walked over to the door.
There was no answer.
I unlocked the door and cracked it open. It was dark outside but the moon was bright enough that I could see everything clearly. I stepped out into the hallway and saw nothing except darkness. “Hello?” I called out again, but once again, there was no response. “Is someone there?” I asked as I turned around slowly.
I heard another knock from behind me and spun around only to catch sight of Mrs Tanner standing in the doorway to her room. Her hair had fallen loose from her bun and hung down past her shoulders. She was wearing a white tank top and blue pyjama pants with red stripes running down both sides. She looked like she was trying to hide herself by covering her face with her hands, which were pressed against her cheeks. “Mrs Tanner?”
She didn’t say anything and continued to stare at me with wide eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I approached her.
She nodded but kept her head down.
“What happened?” I asked as I reached out to touch her shoulder.
She flinched away from my hand and backed up until she hit the wall behind her. Then, without saying a word, she ran down the hallway and disappeared into the shadows.
I stood there for several seconds, dumbfounded by what had just happened. What the hell did I just witness? Was it real? Or was it just some sort of dream or hallucination brought on by stress or exhaustion?
I went back inside my room and locked the door behind me. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked the time. It was after midnight. I’d been asleep for hours. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at a poster of Friday the 13th hanging on the wall above the desk. Why would Mrs Tanner act like that? And why would she try to hide from me when I touched her? It made no sense.
I sighed heavily and laid back down on the bed. I wanted to go back to sleep, but I knew I couldn’t fall asleep now. Not until I figured out what was going on here. Maybe if I waited long enough, she’d come back out and explain everything.
I must’ve fallen asleep eventually because suddenly I was shaken awake by someone pounding on my door. “Wake up!”
I jumped up from the bed and opened the door to find Mrs Tanner standing in front of me with her hands balled into fists at her sides. “What’s wrong?”
“Get dressed! You have to leave right now!” she said frantically as she began to pace back and forth across the room.
“Why?”
“You don’t know how dangerous this place is! Get your things and get out of here now!”
“What are you talking about?”
She stopped pacing and looked me dead in the eye. “The house is cursed!”
“What?”
“It’s haunted! There are spirits in this house!”
I laughed nervously and shook my head. “There aren’t any ghosts.”
“Then what do you call that thing you saw earlier tonight?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. Was she talking about herself?
“I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”
“Please, just go! If you stay here much longer, something bad will happen to you just like your friend!”
“My friend?”
“Just go!” she yelled as she started running towards the stairs.
“Wait!” I shouted after her, but it was too late. She was already halfway up the steps before she turned around and glared down at me. “Tell me what happened to him!”
“He died,” she said simply.
“How?”
“They got to him”
“Who?”
“The monsters!”
I blinked at her and tried to process what she was telling me. “Monsters?”
“Yes, monsters! They came through the walls and took him away!”
“Are you insane!?” I screamed at her. “There’s no such thing as monsters!”
She frowned at me and shook her head. “There are more than you think.” She then pointed to the floor below us. “You need to leave right now before they come for you next.”
“I can’t leave! My friend might be here somewhere! He could still be alive!”
She let out a frustrated sigh and walked over to the window. She pushed aside the curtains and looked outside. The moon was bright enough that I could see everything clearly. I followed her gaze out the window and saw nothing except darkness. She pulled open the window and leaned out into the night air. “He’s leaving!” she called out into the darkness.
I heard a low growl coming from what sounded like inside the walls. Mrs Tanner slowly backed away from the window. Then, without warning, she fell backwards onto the ground. Her body hit the ground with a sickening crunch and didn’t move again.
***
I stood there staring at Mrs Tanner’s broken body lying on the floor for several seconds before turning around and sprinting down the stairs.
The whole house began to creak and moan and it seemed as if the walls were closing in on me. I ran past the kitchen and living room, both of which appeared untouched, and headed towards the front door. The only light came from the moon shining through the windows in the hallway. As I approached the exit, I felt something grab hold of my shoulder and pull me back. I spun around quickly to see a figure standing in the shadows behind me. It was tall and thin with oily skin and long black hair. Its face was covered by a mask made of human bones. I struggled against its grip but couldn’t break free.
The walls looked as if they were melting and more human bone-masked faces were emerging from all around me, surrounding me on all sides and closing in on me until I couldn’t breathe. I reached out to touch one of them but only grabbed hold of empty air. Then, suddenly, I was dragged back through the wall and felt myself descending into the pitch-black abyss beneath me.
I woke up gasping for breath and sat straight up in bed. My heart was racing and my body was soaked with sweat. There was a loud bang on the door and I jumped out of bed. I unlocked the door and opened it slightly, just enough to see who was knocking. But when I did, I wasn’t surprised to see Mrs Tanner standing there with her hands balled into fists at her sides, “Get dressed! You have to leave right now!”