HauntingAdeline {1}

C13

The Manipulator

“I just got back the first round of edits,” I say to Marietta through the phone.
“I’m starting on them tonight.”
“Wonderful, let me know if you need anything,” she says.
I’m walking down my dimly lit hallway towards my room when a flash of
movement catches my eye. I freeze, my finger just pressing the red button when I
see what looks like a woman disappearing through the attic door.
A smile forms on my face before I can stop it.
In all the years I’ve been in this house, I’ve only seen an apparition a few
times. More often, I’ve heard voices, footsteps, doors slam and felt the freezing
drafts, but rarely anything visual.
But I know what I just saw.
A woman in a white dress with tight blonde curls. I didn’t see her face, but
there’s a distinct feeling that it was Gigi.
Nearly dropping my phone rushing after her, I run down the hall and swing the
attic door open. It’s pitch black leading up the stairs, and there’s that nervous
tickle in the back of my brain, but it doesn’t stop me.
I tap the flashlight on my phone and quickly make my way up the stairs. A
heavy weight of foreboding presses down on my shoulders, but I trudge through
it. Whoever that was, they wanted me to see something. I shiver from the feeling,
both in fear and delight.
The moment I step on the landing, it feels like breathing in water. The air up
here is stifling and heavy, rife with negativity.
It feels like something dark has consumed this space. And it doesn’t like me up
here. I can feel it staring at me from every angle.
There’s a single bulb up here somewhere with a long string attached to it. I
swivel my flashlight around until I spot the string.
It’s swinging back and forth in an attic with no airflow and where the
atmosphere feels denser than the woods outside of this manor.
Rushing over, I grab the swinging string and yank on it, clicking on the light
bulb. A whirring sound breaks through the silence, adding an extra note of
spookiness.

I squint my eyes, readying myself to see some scary monster hiding in the
corner, but nothing is up here.
At least, not that I can see.
“Why did you lead me up here, Gigi?” I ask aloud, looking around the area and
trying to figure out what I could possibly see up here.
Of course, I don’t receive an answer. It’s never that simple.
My eyes track over every dusty item cluttering the space. I have completely
avoided coming up here and even opted out of renovating this space. I don't know
what it was, but I felt like if I did, then something evil would be unleashed.
I already have enough monsters haunting me.
There’s an old, cracked mirror in the corner with a white sheet hanging
partially over it. I make sure to avoid looking at it at all costs. I love to be scared,
but I still don’t have any desire to see a demon standing behind me in the mirror.
Loads of dusty boxes and totes are scattered throughout the area. It’s a fairly
big room, so there’s a lot of places to look.
Stuffing my phone in my pocket, I take a deep breath, feeling like I just filled
my lungs with toxic waste. And then, I head over to one of the boxes and start
digging.
They’re covered in cobwebs, and I almost consider going down to the bottom
floor and finding a pair of gloves. But I don’t want to stop when I’m already
committed. I might convince myself not to come back up once I’m no longer
sharing space with something malicious.
Ignoring the spiders scattering from the boxes, I keep digging. All I find are old
clothes, shoes, trinkets, and knick-knacks.
Nothing of importance, but maybe a few of these things could be valuable.
A loud bang sounds from behind me, and this time I scream loudly. The echo
of my scream rings out as I whip around and face whatever made the noise.
Nothing’s there but a dangling wooden board, hanging on by a single nail. The
entirety of the attic is made up of wooden boards, most of them rotted and
chewed up by mice. Where the wooden board once was is a bottomless black
hole.
“You want me to stick my hand in there, don’t you?” I say dryly, glancing
around to see if I spot another hint of Gigi. Still not looking in that fucking
mirror, though.
Hand over my pounding heart, I carefully walk over to the still swinging wood.
Grabbing my phone and turning on the flashlight once more, I shine the light
inside the hole.
It’s a platform, and deep in the hole looks like two pieces of crinkled paper.
I groan aloud. “Fuck, you’re really going to make me stick my hand in there?”