Dear Readers, And it is my great pleasure to welcome you once again to another spine chilling story form the other side.
When you sit down to read this, prepare for a horror that you will not forget in a hurry even as you close the book. Darkest Night’s engaging story of today takes us into the dark, damp halls of an apparently abandoned house where an illuminating hunt for spectres becomes a spooky meeting with horror. Thus, lower the illumination and get comfortable for the horror has begun...
Surrounded by bushes, grungy and spooky, Hawthorne Manor was an imposing building located several miles from town. For years it had stood vacant,
its magnificent exterior eroded by time. People in the area whispered about it as if it still housed some evil spirits from the past - a place where the distinction between life and the afterlife held no meaning. This is the story of a group of friends - Joseph, Maya, Liam and Sarah who turn up the volume on their stereo and invite friends to the scariest house party ever at Hawthorne Manor. It was going to be a night of fun and scary adventures against the 'ghosts' in the old house. Joseph, the one who took the lead among the four friends, was keen on things related to the spiritual world. Going to the manor, he did his homework and immersed himself in the folklore about the place - stories of people dying gruesome deaths, ghosts and goblins, and people disappearing without a trace.
To him it was the perfect place for their party.
Adrenaline-junkie Maya was ready to go along with the plan as usual. Liam and Sarah, despite being more practical, and didn't believe in the kind of luck that a night full of adventures could call for. One dark, and pitch black night, the group stood in front of the gate of Hawthorne Manor, a large, dark structure looming over and in front of them that seemed far more dangerous than they thought. The wind was blowing through the trees and was cool that brought the murmur of old days. Ethan opened the rusted gate and followed the rest of the group nervously to the door that was made of stone. Inside, the manor was an old house from an old and completely different era. Old dirty chandeliers hung from the ceiling and cobwebs were on the rotting furniture and the stench of death lingered in the air. As if someone had intruded into the house, the atmosphere was filled with all sorts of hostility and malice.
Joseph thought not to pay attention to all these details, and started preparing for the party in the grand hall. He made sure he took a portable speaker with him,
And in a matter of seconds music started playing in the room, making the gloomy mood even more disturbing. He took out candles and lit them, these candles were placed around the room in such a way that they created an eerie light. The light of the candles made the room very dim and when the flames danced, the shadows of the persons danced along the walls. As the night went on, everyone kept laughing and dancing, trying to get rid of the eerie feeling around them. They played games and told ghost stories, telling a more scary story each time. But when the last hour struck twelve, the temperature of the room dropped sharply, and the candles began to extinguish on their own. At this point, everyone was stunned when Sarah, who had barely spoken a word during the evening, spoke in a trembling voice.
"I don't think we're alone here!" she said softly, looking around.
Liam, who had always been skeptical of stories of paranormal activity, dismissed the words. The man walked to the corner and whispered to her,
"It's just the wind, Sarah, this place is old, even the furniture creaks!"
But Sarah could not be consoled. Ever since they entered the manor, she felt like someone was watching them, an evil spirit was present. To further confirm her suspicions, the music stopped and the room went quiet. Joseph, who was always the 'daredevil' one in the group, laughed nervously.
"Looks like the speaker is broken. I'll go check it!"
As he approached the speaker, it was pitch dark, the temperature had dropped drastically, and the cold air put out the candles. The room was dim, the only source of light was the presence of moonlight that was coming in through the openings in the windows. Maya was surprised by what she felt, she shivered when she felt someone or something touch her hand; she looked back and there was no one there. The rest of the people stopped moving and were still panting and breathing in panic. They felt a foreboding of despair and only then did they realize that they had made a huge mistake.
Then footsteps echoed in the darkness, loud noises,
Low and powerful, as if the throne of the hall was coming to life. This was followed by a silent pause holding a group of characters, where everyone's heart was in their throat. The noises, the footsteps gradually got louder, gradually getting closer until it seemed like they were coming from just outside the door. misery and the realization they are confined to a cramped, suffocated, and odorous mausoleum for the deceased. Liam, getting the hint and the seriousness of the situation, took Sarah and Maya by their hands.
"Let’s get out of here!" He yelled more as a loud and shrill clamoring came from the people around them. They hurried to the door and as they got there the door closed with a bang that threatened to bring the manor down. Suddenly there was a loud breaking of windows and the winds flew through the large bits of glass and they heard the hissing of the ghosts that circled them to taunt their terror. Making the best of their rude chances they looked for another way, but the confusion of the rooms had changed constantly and the supposedly solid walls enclosed only darkness. Every door, they opened seemed to bring them right back to the grand hall and the female spirit who became increasingly malicious each time they attempted to flee.
The door to the grand hall opened with a low, long sound and a figure was seen standing at the door.
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The door to the grand hall opened with a low, long sound and a figure was seen standing at the door. It turned out a woman; her hair hung over her face as might a man’s necktie; her gown resembled the ragged remains of a flour sack; her cheeks were stained with blood. She was frozen in that position, she was slightly tilted to one side as if she was listening to something that no one else could hear. As some scary words left the woman's lips, the sound of Maya's scream echoed in the air, her head lifted, and those blank black eyes followed them.
Silently she started walking towards them and it seemed that she was never touching the floor. The group members stepped back in fear, and their thoughts turned to looking for a way to get away. Joseph, seeing his friends in danger, tried to save them and thus he picked up a candle and struck the ghost. But the woman passed through it as easily as if there was a thin fog in front of her; all the while staring at Joseph. She extended her bony arm in his direction, and he saw that her fingers were long and crooked, then she tapped him on the chest. Circle 2 Circle - Cold Ethiopia Her ominous black powers surrounded Joseph's body. His eyes rolled back and in an instant he fell to the floor, unconscious.
The others were shocked when the woman's body began to transform in front of them.
She had become inhuman in appearance as well - her skin was pale and gray, her mouth stretched into a vampire's smile, while her crystal-blue eyes glowed sinisterly. Words were whispered, incomprehensible and infuriating, while the walls began to shake on both of them. The once grand hall that had seemed so spacious before did not seem so anymore; the atmosphere was more or less mournful, the air was heavy and smelled of death. Eventually, Liam realized the gravity of his actions and tried to grab Sarah and Maya's hand. "We have to go!" he announced amid the cacophony of voices.
They ran towards the door and unfortunately as soon as they got there, it immediately slammed shut so hard that it shook the entire manor.The windows went off, and the wind rushed into the rooms slicing the air with the sharp sound of breaking glass; the wind blew the eerie voices that laughed at their terror. They looked for another escape even desperation, and the house they were in turned into a maze with walls that moved and corridors that disappeared. Time and again, every door they opened, they found themselves in front of the grand hall and the ghostly woman with her vile smile.
Maya tried to remember what Joseph had told them earlier about the history of the manor.
"The basement" She cried. "Joseph told me about the basement, maybe we could run down there!" They ran up the stairs, as the scary woman laughed. The lower level was even darker and colder than the rest of the residence; the smell of dampness and mold filled the air. The cave-like walls were covered with mysterious carvings of symbols, carved by craftsmen of olden times, whose skill made Maya and Rembrandt shudder. At the end of the basement, they saw a thick iron door. Liam opened the door, and everyone walked inside, into what was almost a pitch-black cell, except for the flickering of candles. An altar was set in the center of the room, still stained with dried blood and with symbols repeated around it. Maya thought for a while before moving forward, a feeling of danger creeping into her body,
and she asked everyone to go back from there. But the sound of the woman's footsteps was getting louder, forcing her to move on. They couldn't avoid going into the chamber and they figured whatever was inside was the only way out. As they entered the chamber, the huge door slammed shut, trapping them in the room. Their skin began to prickle and they could feel the limb-like pulsation that spread through the room. Sarah moved towards the altar and her eyes settled on a small chest-like structure lying on one side of the altar. "Can it help us in any way?" she asked, her voice very low. Liam sighed as well as if he was trying to look nonchalant when in reality he was scared for his life. "I guess not, but we have to do something". Sarah touched the box to open it, however, as soon as her fingers came in contact with the box, a bright light began to emanate from it. The pictures on the walls began to light up and the sounds became louder and louder.
The light froze like a man in front of them - old, wrinkles reflecting the pain and loss of a life.
He stared at them with vacant ugly eyes, his voice a mere whisper in the background of the murmurings when he spoke. 'You must get out of here,' he told her. He attributed the house to being cursed; he said it would be the end of him if he stayed there. “But how?” Maya exclaimed anxious note in her voice. ‘We’re trapped!’ The old man lifted a hand and pointed at the box. “The key lies within. But beware – the price of freedom is steep. ” Without thinking further, Sarah take out the box and place it before her, and opened it revealing a small key which looked like an antique piece. She extended her fingers and at the very point where her fingertips met the cold material cold the whispers faded and the room went utterly black. The old man blinked, rising up into the air to become a ghostly image of himself. ‘But make sure that you use the key wisely,’ they said. ”It will open the door but it will also release the evil that has been contained in that house for so long. ” The rest of his form faded away and as the two stepped back a large metallic door creaked open to reveal a set of stairs leading up and into the darken unknown. After reading the last sentence, the group members looked at each other full of fear but there was no room for thinking twice. They had to seize the opportunity, because that means ‘they had to take their chance.’
Taking the key in her hand,
They quickly began climbing up the stairs their footsteps the only sound in the apparently abandoned manor. Around them the walls resembled faceless heads, as the temperature, growing colder the closer they walked, seemed to concentrate in this space. They got to the top and been in a small hallway, the far end of filled with shadows. Liam had the key and assumed the position of the leader. Before they could reach the shadows, they noticed a certain sound, the sound of a women laughing getting louder and louder. Time appeared to be infinite to them but at long last, there was a door before them, and this door was ancient with wooden material and there were those symbols which they saw on the walls as well. And as his hands shook, Liam managed to put the key into the lock.
When he turn it, the door opened and was filled with a bright light that was beyond the normal standard of illumination. Apparently, there was no need for any further discussions, and headed straight towards the door, and the manor full of darkness. The light engulfed them and for a brief moment they were in a state of free floating on a path of white light. Then at once the light was gone and they were in a barren plain of a field with only the remains of Hawthorn Manor looming behind them. That raging beast within their house was gone, just a pile of fallows and ashes, freedom from that malaise was gained. They were free, but it had not come for a cheap cost - Joseph was gone, consumed by the evil in the manor. When morning was over, only three candidates remained, and each of them was overwhelmed with the hardships they’ve gone through. They remained alive but knew the terrors of Hawthorn Manor were going to be etched in their minds for the rest of their lives, a revelation of fear that they couldn’t abate by simply not going out at night.!
"My dear readers, I hope you enjoyed this terrifying tour of Hawthorne Manor and I thank you for coming along with me. If you have reached this point and you are trembling, then the purpose of this story has been accomplished, and you will never look at Hawthorne Manor the same way again. Once again, thank you for enjoying the story and as always - stay safe, stay curious and some doors should never be opened. Until next time. keep the lights on."
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