A Haunting (short story)

a haunting

This is a short story I wrote for my creative writing class, which I got a 97% on, this is not to brag I just wanted to share this little story.

Tell me what you think of it if you'd like. I'd really like to know what you think!

• What genre do you think this story falls under?

• Do you find it creepy or suspenseful?

STORY STARTS HERE:

Legend has it that the oldest house in Rose Creek was haunted. The ghost of a child rumored to protect the house. A boy about 17 unaging years old with ghastly pale angular features with deep set dead eyes that watched all those who dared to visit the Mackenzie Manor. Of course I wasn't scared, I didn't think ghosts were real, nor did I think this was a ghost at all. There must be some sort of reasonable explanation for the phenomenons at the house. I'd prove these stuck up city kids that all their hours of rotting in front of blue light screens made them as stupid as they acted. Ghosts are for scaring kids at Halloween and crazy people.

"Come on, Florence!" my friends called from a few meters away down the dirt road.

"Yeah I'm coming," I heaved. My legs burned and the blisters at the backs of my heels burned from biking up the huge hill. My rusted red mountain bike screeched and cried in protest with every forced turn of its un-oiled wheels and gears.

"She's so slow," I heard one girl whisper.

A boy nodded, "Let's just leave her, she'll catch up in a few hours." The others giggled and threw me looks over their shoulders as they pushed off faster down the road leaving me in the dust their shiny new bikes kicked up.

I tore my glasses off my face with a groan and wiped the dirt off the thick lenses with my sweater sleeve. Tears pricked my eyes but I fought them back, I wasn't a kid anymore. I was thirteen and more than capable of biking up one god forsaken hill, even if it killed me. I dragged my bike up the rest of the massive hill, dirt and rocks of the brown road crunching and sliding under the worn soles of my runners.

The house came into view not long after I trudged over the crest of the hill. Its tall spires climbed up into the pale sky like the towers of a castle. The place was painted black from door to window pane and every inch of rotting siding in between. The place had the same effect a nice midnight stroll through a cemetery would have had. It was creepy as hell.

Setting my bike against the rusting metal fence, I used all my weight to shove open the gates. They parted with a loud clatter of metal. I parted the tall grass before me as I made my way through the overgrown yard. I just wanted to see the house, then leave. Prove there was no such thing as a haunted house and head home. It was simple. I made my way to a filthy window and squinted into the dim foyer. I couldn't see anything but dusty painting covered walls and a set of staircases at the far center of the open room. I could smell the dust and mold of the place through the open window. My allergies flaring up as I sneezed uncontrollably for what felt like an eternity.

When I opened my eyes I was met by the haunting gaze of a dark figure standing on the stairs far in the darkness of the room. His eyes looked dead somehow, as if there was no light in them, and the way his iris was as dark as his pupils was unbearably creepy. Unlike his ghoulish features he wore what looked like a button down shirt and dark plaid trousers. His slick dark hair falling down over his face and ears almost like a veil, the shiny black strands a stark contrast to his pale complexion.

"The door is open, you may come in if you would like," his voice sounded small in the large room, but it seemed to magnify and echo slightly. The words left his mouth without any movement of his lips that remained upturned in a smile. A chill ran down my spine, this was such a bad idea, I knew better.

"Thank you but-"

"I'd recommend you come in. Your so called friends may come back... and I happened to hear a few things..."

"What sort of things? I know them. They aren't bad people. They wouldn't do anything bad. "

"I see," his eyes were downcast. "In the least could you close the window before you leave? There is a nasty draft. "

"But I'd have to go inside to do that wouldn't I?"

He hummed absently and nodded while shifting his feet around so that he moved the filth of the floor's surface with his sock feet. All of my better judgment told me not to set foot in the house, but something about the way he looked so disappointed made me want to help somehow.

"Fine," I grumbled, "but I'm closing the window and leaving, alright?" I'd better not die or something, I almost said but thought better of it. He said nothing.

I left my gawking position in front of the window and dragged my cement blocks for feet towards the front door. I shouldn't go in. He could be a ghost or some sort of psycho killer. I didn't want to believe it but ghost could be the answer to all the questions bubbling over at the back of my mind. Who was he? Why was he in this house? Was he alone?

I pushed open the massive stained wood doors with a loud creak like the door would fall off its hinges. The wood felt moist and almost slimy under my fingers.

"Gross," I hissed under my breath.

The door flung open wide and I stepped in, my legs carrying me forward without my consent. "What was that?" the boy asked inquisitively.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as he turned to face me. He was much taller and thinner than I had thought. "Nothing," I all but spat, "The door is rotten is all."

"Anyway, close the door behind you when you leave," he mumbled, "I will be up in the parlor if would would like to speak more in depth Miss--"

"Florence Parker."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Florence." He turned his back to me and stepped precariously towards the stairs, each step laboured and clumsy. " I am Joseph Terrence Mackenzie. When I was alive most people called me Terry."

I sucked in much needed air into my lungs. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath but my lungs burned. My hands shook slightly and I felt my stomach drop.

"Y-you're. Dead? Like actually dead? Like a ghost?"

"Yes. You will be soon as well. Welcome to Mackenzie Manor, where no one who enters leaves alive. Please, enjoy your stay."