A Collection of Short Stories

Sixth Sense

I've always been able to see ghosts. I see them when I walk to school, when I go out for a run, or when I'm hanging around town with my friends. I've seen little dead children, running around with dents in their heads, sad teenage ghosts hanging around bridges, mother ghosts weeping from inside their old houses, even elderly ghosts walking around like they're still alive. There are ghosts everywhere, there may even be one standing behind you right now, as unaware of you as you are of it. That's the balance kept between our world and theirs, they don't notice us and we don't notice them. How I'm able to see them is beyond me.

Tonight is October 30, the night before Halloween, also known as Devil's Night. Tonight is supposedly the night when all spirits are able to walk around freely, so my friends, being stupid and reckless, decided we should check out the haunted house at the far end of town. None of my friends know about my ability to see spirits, I never bothered to tell anybody in fear of being ridiculed. The thought of so many of them wandering around tonight unsettles me even more than normal, but I know if they don't notice me, I'm completely safe.

I take one last look in the mirror before heading to the front door. My friends sedan is parked at the end of the driveway, and I can make out the shapes of three of my other friends inside it. I open the door and climb into the back, greeted with a slap on the shoulder.

"Are you ready to get scared?!" Jack asks, his eyes wild from a mixture of excitement and whatever he's taken tonight. I shrug and offer up a weak smile as the car pulls forward and we head to the house.

20 minutes later we pull into the parking lot behind the variety store, which is a 10 minute walk from the house we're exploring. All five of us pile out into the chilly night air. Chelsea skips up beside me and wraps her arms around my shoulders.

"How excited are you?" she asks in a tone that shows she's more excited than I am.

"I'm...brimming with excitement. So ready to get so scared I won't be able to sleep for a week." I replied. Jack wandered up behind us and gave me another slap on the shoulder.

"Let's go!"

The three of us start ahead, Mike and Brit a few steps behind us. I scan the dark streets ahead of us, live kids dashing about in their costumes, dead ones thrown into the mix too, slightly greyer than the live ones. I try to focus on the path ahead of me, but feeling the energy of so many spirits pulls my attention away. There are so many tonight, but I don't feel like any of them are malicious.

The streets starts to empty as we get closer to the abandoned house. It slowly starts to come into view, decaying wood boards make up the outside, with a few boarded up windows here and there, and a door nearly falling off its hinges at the front. Your textbook haunted house.

We make our way around back and push the rotting back door in, hearing the hinges groan. As I step inside, the smell of the stale air assaults my nose, as does the sinister feeling lingering in the air. I've never felt anything like it. It instantly sets my nerves on high alert, a chill seeping into my bones. I grab onto Chelsea's sleeve and pull her close to me.

"Is this a good idea?" I ask, not wanting to sound chicken. She shrugs.

"Probably not, but I doubt we'll get caught." She slips out of my grasp and walks away from the door, completely oblivious to the aura the building is giving off.

I follow her into what used to be a kitchen, broken cupboards line the walls, the tiled floors cracked and covered in dirt. I walk up behind Jack and peer over his shoulder. He's looking through the cupboards, opening them and revealing nothing but cobwebs and dust.

"What did you find?" I ask. He jumps and spins around. I laugh at the look on his face, eyes wide and terrified.

"Jesus Kat, why do you have to walk so quietly." I suppress my laughter and he relaxes, once again slapping me on the shoulder and wandering into the next room. Chelsea, Brit and Mike are already in there, Brit hanging onto Mike's arm in a nervous way.

"This isn't even that cool." Mike complains, kicking at a plant that's grown in through the floor. Brit scowls at him and he shrugs, clearly unimpressed with the house. The bad feeling I got the minute I walked in the door is stronger in this room, causing me to shiver.

"I'm going upstairs." Mike says, and we all follow in his wake.

The stairs are bowing, and they creak with every step. I wonder if they'll even support our weight, but we make it up to the top without anyone falling through them. The air is thick with something bad up here, causing my fear to spike. My heart is now pounding in my chest and I'm breathing rapidly. There's someone up here, and they aren't good. Jack notices my unease and turns towards me.

"You alright? It's just an old house." he says, giving my a reassuring smile. I return his smile and nod, shoving my hands in the pockets of my sweater to hide their shaking.

Brit and Mike walk into the room on the left, Jack and Chelsea taking the room on the right. I ignore the part of my brain screaming at me to leave, and following the increasing bad feeling to the room at the end of the hall. I take a deep breath, gathering my nerves, and slowly push the door inward.

I scan the room right to left, taking in the dark corners and shadows. My breath hitches in my throat when I reach the far left corner. There's a figure hunched over, their back facing me. They're wearing tattered clothing, it's so torn and dirty that I can't even make out what it used to be. Long, stringy black hair hangs down their back. I can't take my eyes off of the person, I'm frozen in pure terror, eyes locked on this hunched over spirit.

Suddenly the figure snaps to face me, and I get a good look at their face. Its skin is dirty white, patches of something grey and something black appear every so often on the face. The cheeks are sagging, wrinkled and loose, its mouth puckered up in a snarl.

My eyes wander up to the spirits eyes, or where they should be. Instead, there are two black holes, and somehow I know it's looking right at me. Wait, that can't be right. Ghosts can't see us unless....we see them...

A screech rips out of its mouth and it starts moving, broken steps that move impossibly fast, across the room.

Towards me.