It was a freezing October night in a remote village in the deep woods of Maine. The sky was overcast with dark clouds and the rain was pelting the roof of my old farmhouse. I sat alone in my living room in front of the flickering fire and tried to concentrate on my book. But the gloomy atmosphere outside seemed to creep into my thoughts.
At midnight I decided to make myself a cup of hot cocoa to warm myself up. As I entered the kitchen, I heard a soft knock on the door. My heart started beating faster. Who could be here at this time? I hesitated for a moment before opening the door. A drenched young man stood outside, his face obscured by darkness.
“Please, you have to help me,” he begged. “My car broke down near the woods and there’s something out here chasing me.”
I could see the fear in his eyes and let him in immediately. As he warmed up and told me his story, I realized he was in grave danger. He told of an old, abandoned mansion deep in the forest that was said to be haunted.
Legend had it that terrible things had happened in this house many years ago. A family had disappeared without a trace, and since then locals had rumored that their spirits were trapped within the mansion’s walls. No one had ever dared to go there until tonight.
The rain continued to beat against the windows and the wind howled around the house. It seemed as if nature itself was against us. The young man begged me to go with him to the mansion and see if his friends were still alive.
Even though I was scared myself, I couldn’t ignore his desperate look. Together we set off into the gloomy forest, illuminated only by a flashlight. The path was muddy and slippery, and the trees creaking in the wind sounded like quiet whispers.
Finally we reached the abandoned mansion. It stood there, in the darkness, like a memorial to past horrors. The door creaked as we slowly opened it and stepped into the darkness. Our flashlights illuminated dusty furniture and faded wallpaper. The place seemed deserted, but something felt strange.
Suddenly we heard a quiet whisper, followed by an eerie laugh. My heart was beating wildly with fear. We hurried upstairs to the bedroom where the sound had come from. There we saw them - the young man’s missing friends. They stood in a corner of the room, their eyes empty and their bodies pale as death.
The eerie laughter grew louder and the temperature in the room dropped rapidly. We ran down the stairs and out of the mansion, but the laughter followed us. The young man and I fled into the darkness of the forest, faster and deeper.
When we finally returned to my house, morning had already arrived. The nightmare seemed to be over, but the memory of the eerie laughter and empty eyes of the missing friends will haunt me forever.
The legend of the mansion was true, and I had experienced it myself. It was a night when the darkness of midnight came alive and captivated us, and I wonder if anyone will ever be able to banish the ghosts of this spooky place.