The Twelve Chimes of Maligna Manor

Living Nightmare

The bottom of Grave's Hill was as far as the Taxi driver was willing to go.

"Can't go no further, love," The Man had said, "I'd be trespassing."

It was a lie. The actual land of the Manor didn't begin until the gates, which were still a good half a mile away, and whilst the grounds were technically still private land, it was open knowledge that no one took responsibility for it. Despite all this, Maggie knew there was no argument.

Everybody knew there was something wrong with the manor; they all told their kids not to play there and told the same stories down the pub or in their houses.

But no, Maggie was crazy. You see, Maggie talked about all that ghost stuff like it was real. We all know it's just good fun, but Maggie actually believes it.

And yet, 23 years later, Maggie was the only one who seemed willing to go anywhere near the Manor.

In theory, anyway. She had hoped that getting herself this far would make it impossible to turn back. Now that she was faced with getting out of the taxi, she found this conviction was less than solid.

In all these years, she had avoided even looking at the Manor, and now it was closer than ever. She could almost feel it hanging over her, as if it had arms to stretch out and grab her. Every time she did as much as reach for the handle, she felt a desperate urge to beg the driver to take her home.

But every time she was about to open her mouth, she would think of Ben and Sara. They might not have come here. They might have just wandered around the village and headed back to her house. They might even be there now.

Or they might not. And if they weren't and she didn't check, would she ever be able to forgive herself?

"Listen, love," said the Taxi driver, "are you getting out or what?"

Maggie looked at the driver and felt a revulsion rise in her. If there was any doubt about asking him to take her back, it was settled.

"Yes," said Maggie, "I am going, thank you."

Maggie opened the door and stepped out of the Taxi.

"And you can be sure that I will never be..."

The driver didn't even wait for her to close the door. As soon as her body had left Taxi, it sped off back towards the village. Maggie was left all alone on Grave's hill.

She didn't do anything for a moment. She just stood there, overwhelmed by it all. Even before that night, the Manor had been an intimidating sight, but now, she knew better than to consider it a dead husk. It had a dark life to it. A true malevolent presence that spread its shadowy wings over Winter's Green. Maggie could feel it now, even as she saw its empty facade.

Now that she knew the truth, the quiet of the Manor was all the more disconcerting. Maggie was under no illusion that the house was in any way dormant or even that it may have been in some kind of rest. No, the house was as aware of her as it had ever been, but it was simply lying in wait for the moment its prey came too close.

The Manor seemed to grow before her on the hillside till it was all she could see. It felt stupid to move because the Manor was clearly coming to her. It would soon descend from its perch atop Grave's hill and pluck her from the earth, never to be seen again. Maggie was saved from the urge to run away only by the fear of moving at all.

To her shame, Maggie had to put in a great effort to bring Sara and Ben back to her mind. All other lines of reasoning which suggested they might not be at the Manor fell quiet as she did so. Here and now, looking up at the haunting structure, it was impossible not to feel that her niece and nephew had indeed fallen into its trap.