Don’t Enter Abandoned Houses

Most haunted house stories start with a dark and stormy night. This was not the case here. It was quite a nice day out. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and there wasn’t a stray cloud in the air. The leaves on the trees were still green. All people heard was the laughter of children. It was summer break; nothing could go wrong. Elaine was not a young child. In fact, she was a teenager. A blond-haired green-eyed teenager who loved to read and write, unlike most teenage girls. Most of the girls in her grade drooled over pictures on their phones of celebrities whom they had crushes on. They also played soccer and thought that they could be the next Alex Morgan. One thing that Elaine did have in common with the girls in her grade was a sense of curiosity. One time, she and some other girls went into the principal’s office during lunch to see what dirt they could find about their classmates’ trips there. There was a weird path behind the school down which the principal warned students never to venture, for the last kid who went down that path never came back. Even scarier, the two police officers who went to search for the child did not come back either. The path was blocked by a metal gate after the people went missing. No one dared to go down as they were afraid of death. Sometimes teenagers would dare each other to go a couple of feet, but they never went farther than that. Plus there was a sign saying: Do Not Enter Dangerous Surroundings Ahead It was summer, as previously mentioned, so the school and the surrounding areas were vacant. Elaine decided to go look at the path out of curiosity. It’s not even that dangerous. Plus, the last people who went down went 50 years ago! It’s safe now. Instead of going at night, she went right at noon, when the sun was shining brightest. As she came around the brick building that Natalie Todd-Weinstein was the school, there was a furry creature motionless on the path, its black eyes staring right into hers. Elaine felt scared for a moment but then realized that it was just a bunny. This happens all the time. Perhaps this was Elaine’s first warning, or maybe it was just a bunny. The path led right into the woods containing lots of oak and pine trees towering into the sky. The ground had old leaves and pine needles from last autumn. There was barely any visible dirt. As Elaine continued to walk further into the forest, she heard a rustling noise from behind her. The hairs on her neck perked up. Maybe this was a bad idea. Stop being scared. It’s probably just another bunny. It was not a bunny. Behind Elaine, she soon learned, was a small robin poking at the ground for worms. Its orange stomach stood out from the sad, brown forest floor. A tug later and a slimy earthworm appeared out of the earth, not prepared for its final moments alive. Perhaps this was Elaine’s second warning, or maybe it was just a robin living out its life. It had been a little over twenty minutes since Elaine started on the path and the only sights she had seen were the wildlife. But up ahead, there was something, a silhouette of some building. It was as if there was a normal house in the middle of the woods; a three-story house with a small roof over one of the windows and a large roof over the rest. The white exterior paint was faded and there were some roof shingles on the floor below, but other than that, it looked nice. There were no broken windows and the black shutters did not look too worn. Someone could live here if they wanted to. Elaine came up to the house, ready to explore. This could give me good inspiration for a story. Plus,

imagine what everyone will think of me if I tell them what I saw. Elaine walked up the wooden stairs to a large black door with a shining golden knob. She turned the knob and the door opened with ease, which she did not expect to happen. Inside the house was a mess. The walls sported a variety of water stains and teal paint was peeling from other areas. The furniture had been eaten by some animal. The filling was coming out from velvet green couches. The wood around the couches had bite marks on it and a leg of one couch had collapsed, making the couch leaning forward to the right. There were water stains from glasses on the coffee table and dust covered everything. “Now this could be some good inspiration,” Elaine exclaimed, but there was no one to hear her saying it. Or so she thought. ***

August 23rd, 1902 “Daddy, when are we going to do presents?” Lila was jumping up and down next to her father who was sitting on one of the green couches in the living room. He was reading the newspaper and not finding anything interesting: Anderson’s dog had nine puppies, Mayor William’s daughter gave birth, Farmer Dave had a higher-than-expected crop turnout. Nothing interesting ever happened in this town. Not yet at least. “After dinner, Pumpkin,” her father said. “Why Sadie Leveque don’t you go help your mother out?” “But I want presents!” she yelled. Lila was quite a young child. She was turning eight on this day and was very excited about what gifts she would get. “Why can’t I have them now?” “Okay fine.” Her father put down his glasses on the coffee table and got up from the couch. “Don’t tell mom about this.” “I won’t,” she pipped. Her father vanished upstairs. Lila, still full of energy, started jumping from couch to couch, laughing each time she landed. This laughter caught the attention of her mother who had just finished making a chicken noodle soup in the next room. She opened the door to the kitchen to find her daughter still jumping from couch to couch. “Lila! Stop jumping on the couches!” her mother commanded. “Fine, I’ll stop,” Lila said disappointedly. She jumped off the couch and onto the carpet below, landing with a hard thud. “Where is your father?” her mother asked. “Upstairs,” Lila replied. “Getting my presents.” She stopped and thought for a moment. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” “It’s okay, Pumpkin,” her mother consoled. “I’m going to go upstairs and check on him. Wait here please.” Lila’s mother climbed up the stairs and vanished from her view. “Okay. I will!” Lila chirped. She sat down on the couch and waited for her parents to come back. Hours passed. Lila had started jumping from couch to couch again. She did not know how much time had passed since it was still daylight. After a while, Lila got bored, so she picked up the newspaper her father

had been reading. Lila could read, but not well, so she did not understand most of it. “Wow! The Anderson family’s dog had nine puppies! That’s a lot of dogs!” More time passed and Lila started to get sleepy. It was now pitch-black outside, and the only light came from the lamps in the house. She curled up on the large green couch, putting one of the decorative pillows under her head. Eventually, she fell asleep. By the time Lila woke up, it was about ten in the morning the next day. Nothing had changed except for the daylight shining from the window. She opened her eyes slightly, adjusting for the bright light of the day. The room looked the same as before, but no parents. “Mom? Dad? Where are you?” Lila called. But no response. She sat up on the couch and her stomach made a loud sound. “Mom! I’m hungry! Can I have some

food?”

Again, no response. She slinked down back on the couch, holding her stomach. Lila knew that her mother wanted her to wait until she and her father came back. If she went upstairs, she might not get her presents. Her parents did not like it when she did something naughty. Lila knew what the punishment was, not a good one. Lila went into the kitchen. There was a big pot on the counter that smelled of the chicken noodle soup her mother had made. She reached for it, but she was too short. She stood on her tippy toes but still could not reach it. When she opened the cabinets she could reach, all she could find was various kitchen equipment, no food.

After looking in the kitchen for food, Lila curled herself up in a ball, hoping that her parents would come soon and give her the presents she desperately wanted and some food as well. When she woke up again, the house was dark. It was just an abyss of black. There were no sounds until Lila’s stomach rumbled even louder than before. She let out a small whimper of pain after, hoping someone would hear it and help her. “Mom? Dad?” Lila croaked with the bit of strength she had left. No response.

*** A rustle came from upstairs. Elaine turned towards the stairs, but she did not see anything. Maybe it’s some animal that lives here. Nothing to worry about. After looking around the first floor, Elaine decided to climb up the stairs towards the second floor. She passed through the living room and a cool breeze came through the front door she had left open. This was one of the few things that Elaine had gotten right. Creak! Elaine jumped after the fourth stair step she stepped on. It is an old house. It’s supposed to make weird noises. With this assurance, Elaine continued up, ignoring the other noises that other stair steps made. This was another warning. Her last warning. She went to the left first and entered the first door she saw. It was a bathroom. The tub had weird claws at the caps of the legs. The drain at the bottom of the sink was rusted, just like the chain that flushed the toilet. The room at the end of the hall was a large bedroom. The bed was made, but there were holes where animals had torn the covers and released bunches of filling. There were nightstands on each side of the bed with the wood chipped in a few places. On the other side of the bedroom, there was a vanity with peeling light blue paint. Elaine looked in the mirror to find herself, but she noticed something on one of the bedsheets. It was a dark stain, brown but almost black. Elaine touched it with her finger and felt it to be dry. The moisture had evaporated and seeped into the sheet. What is it? Maybe it was some sort of drink. Coca Cola? Root Beer? No, wait! Elaine startled backward at this revelation, tripping on a loose floorboard, and falling onto the bed, landing next to the bloodstain. Her breathing got heavy, and her chest started to tighten. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto her shirt, leaving yellowish stains behind. I need to get out of here. This place is not safe. Someone got hurt here.

Elaine ran through the hallway, not looking backward at the horrible sights of the bedroom. She ran down the stairs, not caring about the creaking noises that came each time she stepped on one. When Elaine got to the fourth stair from the bottom, the stair collapsed, and her leg fell in. Her hands went out immediately as she braced her fall onto the other stairs. Her other leg fell through the hole as well. “Shoot!” As soon as Elaine yelled, a strong wind gusted through the house, making her hair flow into her face. She brushed her hair away from her face to see something that she did not expect. A person. Howard Keeler It was no ordinary person though. Their entire body, including their clothes, was grey. It was a young girl, maybe ten years old or younger. Her dress almost blended into her skin color. The only things that were dark about her were her eyes and her hair, which were almost black. “What are you doing in my house?” the girl asked forcefully. Elaine just stared in shock. She could not answer because her mouth would not open. “Answer me!” When the girl screamed, a gust of wind came with it, blowing Elaine’s hair all over the place. “I was exploring,” Elaine blurted. She had no idea what to say after though. “Exploring? This is my house! Maybe you will be the next present my parents give me! They did give me that boy and the two men with those weird uniforms.” Elaine realized she was talking about the people who had gone down the path before her, but the girl launched towards Elaine, trying to grab her. Elaine ducked as she came into the hole created when she stepped on the fourth stair. The girl passed above her and went through the stairs. Elaine climbed out of the hole and ran out of the house through the front door she had left open. The girl chased after her and her hands reached out to grab her. Elaine ran and did not stop to look behind her. She only looked ahead of her, towards home, towards safety. The animals that she passed on the way did not matter anymore. Her getting out alive was the most important thing. Crunch! Elaine tripped on a root and looked behind to see the girl hovering about two feet away from her. She scrambled up from the ground and continued to run, panting as she went. I’m going to die! I shouldn’t have gone down. I should have listened to the warnings! She saw the end of the trail coming closer and closer to her. Elaine picked up the pace, gasping for air as she ran. This is it. I’m almost home. I will make it out alive. This motivation allowed Elaine to run the fastest she had ever run in her life. The ghost was still behind her and had picked up the pace, but Elaine did not know that. Elaine was just about to be back at the school. She jumped to try and get over the metal fence while the ghost lunged after her, trying to grasp her before Elaine made it out of her reach. Elaine landed on the ground and she thought she was safe. When she looked behind her, she saw the girl’s face right in front of hers, breathing heavily into her.

~ Abigail Lott