House of ghouls

DAY 0:

When Uni had stepped off the bus into the quaint little neighbourhood, he'd been enthusiastic, excited even. A quiet little town where he could buckle down, and focus on his online courses. It was beyond perfect.

The rent for the large house was so low, he had to do a double take when he saw the add for it. He messaged the landlord- or landlady, and was astounded to find that it wasn't in fact a typo. She had said something about superstition in the community or whatever, but Uni jumped at the offer right away.

It was a bright and sunny day, and he was feeling good.

He stopped and asked someone for directions, and they looked at him like he was mad. The landlord must not have been kidding about the superstition around here.

However, finding his way to the house wasn't all that difficult. It was the largest one in probably a ten mile radius. Large gnarling trees curled around it, keeping most of it cut off from view, but once he got to the front he got the full sight.

He pulled out the ad and compared the picture to the real view. He again looked at the nice clean looking house in the photo, and back up at the overgrown mess of a building.

Dull purple paint peeled off the ancient wood, revealing several coats of other colours underneath. The windows were so dirty they were practically opaque, and the architecture was an absolute mess. It looked as though someone had piled several small houses of different design on top of each other, nailed it all together, and called it a day.

"Well," He huffed to himself, observing the growing vines that had overtaken an entire wall. "She's a bit of a fixer upper, but that's all right!"

Determined to keep his optimism intact, he marched up to the the front door, only to have his foot sink right through the front steps.

He paused a second. "I suppose I'll have to patch that up, won't I?" He sighed.

Treading a little more lightly this time, he carefully climbed the rest of the stairs and approached the front door.

At least the front door was relatively intact. It looked old, but sturdy, the only thing in this place he'd seen so far that had been built to last. He fit the ancient key the landlady had given to him into the lock, and twisted.

It didn't budge. He tried again, with more effort but it remained unfazed by his efforts. He twisted with both hands, which he just managed to hurt himself by doing so. He cursed under his breath as he waved the pain out of his wrist.

"Stupid door," he muttered. "Just- open!"

His foot connected with the door, and it swung open at an alarming speed. There was a loud bang that echoed throughout the house as the door hit the wall, making Uni wince a bit.

"Oh. I guess it was unlocked."

After prying the key out of the door, he continued inside. He let the backpack slide off his shoulder as he reached around for his phone. He pulled it out and turned on the flashlight, light flooding the dark and dusty halls.

The house was furnished to his surprise. The moving guys weren't bringing that much to the house, but he had expected the interior to be empty. Then again, he highly doubted anyone had been in the house in eons.

The floorboards creaked in the most awful way as he made his way down the dark hall. He almost jumped out of his skin when his light flashed across a mirror, and he laughed nervously to himself.

"Just lil' ole me." He sighed, trying to calm himself down. Why was he so nervous? It was just an empty old house.

Something skittered behind him, and he whipped around, any sense of calm evaporating instantly.