The Haunted Mansion

Prologue

The shadows grow long as the mournful winds chill in reverence to the dying of summer; the rustling winds and growing darkness herald the arrival of Halloween. It is time to gather your loved ones in a comforting and warm setting. Leaning on the support of one another, for no doubt you will need the strength of each other as the night approaches.

Now since you want a story, first let me ask a question... When does a house become a home? Is it merely the presence of its occupants, or is it the love of family that transforms the brick and wood into a nurturing sanctuary, a shelter from the cold and harsh realities of the outside world? A place we long for when we are away? So much a part of who we are, we cannot survive without it.

But what of the houses that never become homes? What is it that plagues them? What unseen forces confine them into a state of deep desolate loneliness? Despair and death are its occupants. It's furnishings sorrow and suffering. We know of one such home, don't we?

Its name is synonymous with the darkness that lingers in it wretched walls. A more appropriate name has never been bestowed. The Haunted Mansion. And it is truly exactly, just that. The history of this estate is steeped in mystery. And few know what it's like beyond the door of that cursed place.

Yet, I do. I myself stepped inside the dark halls of that house, years ago. But the story itself of what happened that night? That...I have not dared tell. Before now.