Insomnia Horror Collection

The Harrington Trails Horror

It's been said that three of life's biggest stresses are changing jobs, moving, and getting married. Two of those were behind Hannah and I while the third was under way. We were married several months ago, both relocated jobs to southern Texas, and were currently in the final stages of closing on a new home in a beautiful subdivision just outside of the city.

It was a new build and still heavily under construction. Part of the neighborhood was finished and much was still undeveloped, save for some paved roads throughout the cleared land surrounded by thick forest in most directions. Hannah and I were excited as we entered the office of the builder located inside of the model home. We were also filled with that sick feeling in your gut that you may be making a huge mistake.

I guess this is normal when making any large purchase; it didn't sit right with me handing over a closing check of nearly thirty thousand dollars. The anxiety was soon taken away when the salesman took us inside the home once more. It was beautiful with a large island in the kitchen that merged seamlessly into an open concept living room, furnished with brand new appliances, and both bathrooms were spacious. The large bedrooms were complimented by beautiful hardwood floors. A big backyard was more than we needed, as we had no children or pets, but Hannah was already in design mode. I could see it in her eyes.

After the salesman felt confident he had sealed the deal, we returned to the front office to finish paperwork so that we could retrieve our keys. From inside the office, we could hear a commotion several offices down.

A Hispanic man was agitated and speaking loudly— sometimes even yelling— at one of the sales people. From what little we could hear and broken English we could make out, he was threatening to walk off the job site. He said that he and his crew were not going to work in the back, undeveloped area any longer, as it is bad. Bad... what did he mean by bad?

"Bad land," he said. "No good, evil".

That was a strange conversation to overhear. It wasn't anymore reassuring when the man stormed out of the office holding his hardhat under his arm. Covered in sweat and visibly upset as he removed his yellow safety vest, he stopped for a brief moment at the doorway of the office Hannah and I sat in as we waited for the salesperson to finish typing. He gave us a strange look, almost cursing us for buying the home. Or maybe pleading with us, warning even. Looking back now, I wish I had listened to my gut.

The salesman apologized and walked over to shut the door, giving us more privacy.

"I'm so sorry guys; sometimes our workers can be a bit... cranky. Overworked, due to the amount of people moving here lately. Slightly behind schedule and, with supplies in short order, it makes things even more tense," he explained.

Hannah looked at me and then back to the salesman.

"What did he mean by bad land, evil land?" She asked.

The salesman shook his head. "You know, our construction foreman is from Mexico. He and some of his crew are very superstitious. If the weather is off or he finds a beetle on his boot, they kinda freak out, you know? I wouldn't think on it too much. What is important, though, is that after we sign these closing documents, I'm handing you the keys to your new home!" He exclaimed, successfully taking our attention from the incident as Hannah lit up.

I can remember vividly picking the home we purchased for two main reasons: location and location. It was on a cul-de-sac in the back of the neighborhood and behind us were no neighbors. If you were to peek over the back fence you would see trees and more trees that were being cleared by the construction crew working for the builder. They were prepping the area and land for new homes to be built.

We were brought to a startle one afternoon when sirens filled the area. The fence was tall in our backyard, so we grabbed a couple of stepstools and placed them along the back fence to get a better look. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cruisers littered the area. This lasted for the remainder of the evening until finally, long into the night it was quiet, dark and empty.