The Black House

Chapter 1

I Stared at the house, willing my feet to move. I watched as my friends disappeared behind the front door. I didn't want them to think I was scared, even if I was. It wasn't even dark outside and this house gave me the Heebie-jeebies. A full grey paint peeled off the siding all around the house and not a single window shutter stayed fully attached, each hanging off at awkward angles. The dark porch was warped in places, massive holes made from bugs on the rest. Not an inviting feeling to say the least. I took a breathe and took a step towards the rotting porch. My stomach felt like it was made of lead. 2 steps, and my hands began to sweat. 4 steps and I was at the edge of the porch, trying to resist the urge to vomit. Every fiber of my being told me not to go in this house, but I refused to listen. Chalking it all up to hyper imagination. I was not about to let these people think I was a scaredy-cat. I carefully placed my weight on the first step, and when it held I hurried to the top. I had just put my hand on the screen door, when the front door suddenly burst open, causing me to jump. I glared at Eric as he laughed. "Jumpy much newbie?" He winked at me before gesturing for me to enter the house. His blue eyes made my stomach flip. I rolled my eyes and moved in past him, clenching my hands to resist the urge to grab his hand like a little kid. I shook my head, angry at the effect this boy had on me, and took in What little of the house was left. To my left a small sitting room, a few pieces of furniture covered with white sheets. To my right, a staircase of about 12 steps lead up to an empty hallway. Nothing adorned the walls, but you could clearly see dust patterns, Indicating something had been hung there at some point. I could hear female voices coming from up the stairs, so I opted to go straight. The hallway was dingy, and lead into a tiny kitchen. A small stove and counter took up left wall. A small round wooden table with 4 chairs was in the center of the room, a small, likely in expensive chandelier hanging directly above it. The right wall and 3 windows spanning it, letting in the setting sun light. A small kitchen sink below the middle window. I walked towards to the table, my fingers grazed along the top of the chair, just as a felt a hot breath slide across the back of my neck. I gasped and spun around, and Eric laughed victorious again. I glared and swatted at him. "You're such a boy." He grinned at me, "and you're SUCH a girl." His wink caused my cheeks to flush so I quickly spun around, pretending to investigate the tiny sink. The edges of the sink seemed clean, but the smell that Emanated from it told another story. A disgusting looking black mold seemed to be growing up out of the drain. I plugged my nose as I got closer, the smell was overwhelming. I had just peered over the drain, when a shock traveled through my sides as they were squeezed. I let out a small shriek and spun around to Eric, laughing once again. "For the love of god Eric! Bugger off!" He smiled followed me around the table. "Mel I'm sorry I'll stop. It's just SO EASY!" I shot one finale glare at him before marching over the to kitchen exit. I stopped short just before plowing into Connor, the other boy of this idiot adventure. "What's goin on in here?" Where Eric was punk rock drummer boy, Connor was head to toe jock. Captain of the football team with a scholar ship to Pen state. The only jock trope Connor didn't fit was being mean. He didn't have a mean bone in his body off the football field and everybody knew it. "Connor please tell Eric to stop scaring me. It's not even dark yet I can't freaking take this." He laughed, but another voice responded. "Don't be such a baby Melody. The whole point of going to a haunted house is to have fun." Elizabeth sauntered in past Connor. Flicking her auburn hair as she passed. Pulling out a chair, she sat and quickly swung her high heeled boots onto the table. Emery wasn't fair behind her, slipping in standing against the wall. All 5 of us in the room made it seem even smaller. I took a deep breath trying to steady myself. "I'm pretty sure that's the exact opposite of what a haunted house is supposed to be Liz."Maybe. I guess it depends on the type of person you are." She looked me up and down as she said this. I starred right back at her, not willing to back down. Eric shot back at Elizabeth's comment.  "Elizabeth seriously? Did you just drag us out here for different scenery to be bitchy?" I had to bite back my own smile, and Eric tried (and failed) not to laugh, and Connor just out right let it out. She glared at me. "You guys said you'd help me with my senior paper. Well this is it." She took her arms and gestured around. I shrugged my shoulders, "So you're telling me, Prof. Mellor is letting you do your entire senior paper...on a rickety old shack?" I rose my eyebrows, not believing a word she said. She rolled her eyes at me as she swung her legs back to the floor. "No, not just some rickety old shack. This is the first house ever built in Kennewick. And it's the first recorded house to ever be haunted here too." I looked between my friends, waiting for somebody to contradict her. "Wait you guys don't actually think this place is haunted do you?" I was shocked when Emery was the first one to speak. "Everybody talks about it. People have gone missing from here since the town was founded back in 1820. My sister Bethany said that like, 30 years back they used to keep this place patrolled by the police, because a group of 6 teenagers went missing from this house. They found them on the property like, 3 or 4 weeks later- and they were nothing but a pile of bones." I looked at her incredulously. Connor then added, "Not only where they all just bone, but I heard that in the Coroners report....each set of remains had indentations of human teeth." I rolled my eyes, while Eric called Connor on the BS story. Elizabeth shouted for every one to shut it, as she started the story. "Believe what you want but this place has been haunted since before we got here, and it'll probably be haunted long after." I pulled out a chair and sat across from her, meeting her gaze. "And what exactly, is supposed to be haunting this place?" As annoying as I found Elizabeth, not even I could deny she was a good story teller. All of us listened closely, our full attention on her as she started. "Mark & Esther Maren had moved here from Boston, no one really knows why- although most have come to the conclusion they were on the run from the police for robbery. This house had actually been built for the mayor at the time, but Mark and Esther had come in and bought it out from underneath him. So they got off to a rocky start with the people here. Everyone thought they were so strange, they would wear weird clothes, they often smelled like strange Spices. People in town started to chatter they were working with the town Witch- Patricia Black." All the air escaped my lungs as she said that name. No freaking way. I chose to keep my mouth shut, waiting for the end of the story.
"But. Patricia had a young boy Jonah. And a couple weeks after the Maren's moved into town...Jonah went missing. The whole town searched for him, Patricia promised that whoever found him alive would get whatever they're heart desired." The silence in the kitchen was thick, Elizabeth sat and enjoyed the tension she'd created. She knew she had us all eating out of her palm. "But a week later, a farmer on the edge of town had found him floating in the river. Dead. naked. And mutilated. Word quickly flew it was all for a sacrificial rituals. So of course, Rumors flew around the town about who might have done it and why. But the night he was found, the lights in this house never went off. And people said they could see the Maren's running around their house getting rid of any evidence that they'd ever held the boy there. The next day, Esther opened her front door to see Patricia Black standing at the edge of their property with a knife in her hand. As soon as both Mark and Esther were in sight Patricia started to chant. The towns people said they heard the Maren's screaming, so of course they all ran to look. Patricia sat and tortured the truth from them. People say the screams lasted till 5 that night till they gave in, and admitted to kidnapping and killing the Black boy. Without a second thought Patricia Cursed the Maren's, their land, and any descendants born to them. The Maren's ran back into their house, leaving the town and Patricia Black all standing in the edge of their property. For 5 days people waited to see them emerge again. But they never did. On the 7th day, they sent in the police chief to check and see if they were still alive...but there was no one inside the home. All of their belongings where still there, as if waiting for the Maren's to come walking through the door. But no one ever say them again. The rumor is, that the curse had given them an uncontrollable hunger, a hunger where once you start eating-you don't stop. And people say that that night, Mark and Esther had sat, and eaten each other piece, by piece until there was nothing left. And now, there spirits are tied here, waiting to eat anyone who dares stay the night." We all looked around at each other, no one knowing what to say next. Elizabeth broke the silence again, "oh my hell you guys relax. It's literally just an urban legend. That's why I want to write my paper on it. I want prove the legend wrong and break the stigma. Which is whyyyyyy." She walked out of the kitchen, returning quickly with a rather large duffle bag in tow. "We're all going to spend the night here together!" Her tone implied that this was along the lines of being invited to Disney land. "Absolutely the fuck not!" I was the first to respond, but was quickly backed by 3 other voices all in protest. Elizabeth shouted over all of us, "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PEOPLE!!" We all paused our protests still glaring daggers at her. "We are all 18 and adults are we not??" She looked between all of us, "can we PLEASE act like it? You all agreed to help with my essay. Well this is the help I'm asking for. Besides you guys are supposed to be my friends. Aren't you?" She starred me down as she asked the last question. Anger and fear burned in my gut. But I wasn't about to let this bottle blonde make me back down because I was scared of some urban legend. I looked at Emery and Connor, before I locked eyes with Eric. My confidence wavering slightly I finally muttered out "I guess we better make some beds then." Connor shouted in excited and tickled Emery as Elizabeth grinned and ponded the table in excitement. Looking back, if we'd all just stayed quite a little longer we never would have stayed. If we had just stayed quite a little longer we would have heard the laugh coming from the basement.