Haunted (A Short Story)

They say it's haunted, that he died there. They say that all that was left of him was his arm. They say it was some sort of paranormal being, a very vicious one that tore him apart. They say to never go in there, that if you do the same thing will happen to you. But she didn't listen. If she had, this never would've happened.

* * *

She had just graduated from college and was moving into her first house. She planned on fixing it up and making it beautiful. It was a big two story red brick house with a small attic, just big enough to crawl through. There were a bunch of broken windows that were missing glass and a guest house that was surrounded by weeds. Behind the house, there was a small shed and ten acres of cornfields. She could just imagine how amazing it would look once she was finished.

Before she moved in, she thought it would be nice to learn the history of the house. She asked around and all the answers were the same: it was cursed. They all had stories about the boy who lived there. They said he met an untimely death. Some said it was a ghost but others said it was a zombie or some other supernatural creature. Their stories seemed kind of bizarre and unrealistic. She thought they were just trying to scare her. She never thought they might actually be true.

The next day, she started on the house repairs. The first thing she wanted to do was fix up the outside so it wouldn't look creepy anymore. She hired some people to help fix the windows. They fixed most of the windows, no problem but there was one window that they just couldn't seem to fix. Every time they replaced the glass and moved to the next window, they would come back and it would be broken again. At first they thought it was just a faulty piece of glass and the wind knocked it out. But after replacing it again, the same thing happened. The strangest part is that the broken window looked exactly the same as it did before they replaced it. It had the same ominous shape that gave her the chills. She decided to just leave it and board up the window.

After a few months of renovations, the outside of the house looked as good as new. The yard looked spotless, with a beautiful garden in the back. All the doors and windows had been replaced except for that one window that didn't want to be fixed. Now she could finally remodel the inside. She replaced all the concrete floors with shiny hardwood floors and repainted all the walls in beautiful, vibrant colors. She bought tons and tons of furniture. Some of it was bright and modern and some of it was old, classical stuff she found in antique shops. The house was almost done. All she needed was the finishing touch-a chandelier. It would complete the house and she would finally be able to relax and enjoy the beautiful countryside that was now her home.

She called and arranged for someone to come and put in the chandelier. A few days later, they started to work. They got out their big, twenty-foot tall ladders and their tools. As they worked, she went into the kitchen to get something to eat. She made herself a sandwich and went outside to sit on the porch and watch the sunset. It was so peaceful out there. She couldn't imagine how anything bad could ever happen in such a beautiful place. Just then, she heard a huge crash and someone screaming. She raced inside and gasped at the sight in front of her. One of the workers had fallen from the ladder and was now laying motionless in the middle of the entryway. The other worker was standing on the opposite side of the room with a terrified expression on his face. She walked over to him and tried to talk to him but he wouldn't respond. She reached for her phone to call an ambulance but there was no signal. She looked up and saw the worker staring wide-eyed at something just behind her. She slowly turned around and a scream escaped her lips. The worker that was on the floor was gone and there was someone standing in the doorway. She started to back away towards the door but it slammed shut and locked itself. She bolted towards the stairs and was halfway up them when she realized that the other worker was still downstairs. She called to him and what she got in return was not the response she was hoping for. He was screaming. The other worker started to run up the stairs but someone, or something, grabbed his leg and pulled him back down.

She screamed and quickly ran up the rest of the stairs and looked around franticly for a place to hide. She ran into one of the bedrooms and locked the door. She searched the room for something to use as a weapon and decided on a lamp. She put her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything but it was dead silent. She slowly walked to the window and looked outside. It was dark, which made it hard to see but she could just make out a figure standing in the middle of the road. It was about the size of an average person and had big red eyes. She covered her mouth to stifle a scream. She tried to stay quiet, hoping it would leave if it thought she was gone. But it didn't leave. Instead, it came toward the house again. She ran out of the room and into the study, which was at the back of the house. She pushed a desk in front of the door and walked to the other side of the room. She slowly opened the sliding door and went out onto the balcony. It was a cool night and the crickets were chirping. She could see the cornfield behind the house and the little shed. That was the first time she realized that there were no other houses or buildings as far as she could see.

She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she walked over to the railing and looked down. The balcony was about thirty feet up and the ground was still soft from the rain earlier in the day. She scanned the yard and the study for any ideas that could help her escape but she couldn't think of anything. She went back over to the railing, took one last look around, and jumped. She hit the ground with a thud and she heard a crack. Blinding pain shot through her body. It took all her strength not to cry out. She surveyed the damage and saw that her leg was at an odd angle. She tried to move it but it wouldn't budge. She lay there, feeling hopeless. She searched the yard, trying to find something, anything, that would help her but there was nothing. She closed her eyes, praying that she would be okay. She heard footsteps coming towards her and tried to pull herself away from it but she only got a few feet. She heard a low growl and screamed. She tried to move but her body just wouldn't let her. With tears pouring out of her eyes, she turned to look at whatever was trying to hurt her. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

She couldn't quite tell what it was but it was the scariest thing she had ever seen. It was the worker, the one that fell from the ladder. But he wasn't exactly human. He had red, glowing eyes and his skin was scaly and green. His teeth were sharp and pointed and he had an evil grin on his face. He was covered in blood. As he moved towards her, she noticed he was holding something in his hand. She couldn't tell what it was at first because it was covered in blood but as he got closer, she knew. It was a human heart. She screamed and tried to run away but he grabbed her leg and pulled her back. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as she buried her face in her arms. Her whole body had gone numb. She knew what was coming. As she closed her eyes, she prayed that it would be over soon.

* * * * *

No one knows what happened to her. All they know is that when the repairmen came the next day, all they could find of her was her arm. Some say she died but some say that the monster took her. To this day, no one has gone near that house. They know what will happen if they do.