Do you like scary stories? How about monsters and things that go bump in the night? If you do, then I have the collection for you. This is an anthology of short scary stories, all of which are original; with more being added as time goes on. If you...
Carl was a lonely boy. He had very few friends and lived with his parents in the country. He had been sent to summer camp in the hopes of finding a friend. Unfortunately, he did not and as the summer dragged on, he felt lonelier and lonelier. There wasn't much to do at camp, aside from walking through the woods or going swimming in the lake. He often did this by himself or in the evening when not many people were around.
If he were feeling extremely sad, Carl would visit the mail house in the hopes his parents had sent him a letter. Sometimes, there would be one, but most of the time there wasn't.
It just so happened that one day near the middle of summer, Carl visited the mail house. Though there wasn't a letter waiting for him, he did notice a mail slot that hadn't been used in years. Cobwebs covered it, and a single letter waited in the slot. Carl knew that the slot lacked an owner and that they had been at camp long, long ago.
Perhaps it was curiosity that drove him to look at the letter. Or maybe it was the loneliness. Regardless of the reason, Carl read the letter in his bunk house as the night fell and the lamps were turned on.
The letter had been written by a girl in a distant country. How or why she knew the camper here was a mystery. Stranger still was the date. It was labeled for today! Yet the envelope it had been in was covered in dust. Carl couldn't understand what that meant, but honestly, he didn't care. As he read the letter, the girl seemed immediately familiar.
He told no one about the letter, and instead decided to write to the girl. As he sent his letter out, Carl couldn't help but feel a little foolish. What would this girl think of him? Would she even respond? Something inside him, told him she would. So he sent the letter off, hopeful that its recipient would reply.
He waited and waited. Days turned into weeks. Just when he thought she would never respond, Carl checked the mail house and found a letter in his slot! It wasn't from his family, but the girl.
To his surprise, the girl had been waiting for someone to write to her for a very long time. She was his age and was very lonely too. She told him of Paris and how she and her family lived there. She would roam the streets, painting and exploring. But she needed a friend, a calling Carl was only happy to accept. He told her that he would be her friend, which delighted the mysterious girl.
Though the summer ended, their friendship did not. They told each other every aspect of their lives, sharing photos and stories over months that turned into years. His family noticed the change and was glad their son had found a new friend.
Carl grew into a quiet but happy man. His friendship with the girl, whose name was Adeline, slowly became more. He fell deeply in love with her, and would tell her how he would one day cross the sea to be with her.
Adeline always admired his resolve, but dismissed the idea. She told him that such a thing was impossible and that their letters alone were enough for her.
But not for Carl. He swore to her that he would do anything for her hand. Nothing was too great a challenge if it meant being with her.
Adeline believed him, and once Carl was of age, he found himself a job and saved his earnings to buy a trip across the sea. The day came sooner than he expected, and Carl, with all the letters he had ever written to his precious Adeline, ventured across the great sea.
The journey was an uneventful one, though Carl did not mind. Every day on the ocean was a day he thought of her, until the time came that they touched land. He ventured into the old streets of Paris with only one thought on his mind; the address Adeline had given him.
She lived in one of the city's older districts, and as he explored the winding streets, it became very clear that not many people lived here anymore. The houses were an older sort and forgotten by all but the oldest souls.
No wonder the poor girl had been so lonely!
Like him, she had grown up in an empty place, far away from people. His heart beat in tandem with hers. They were kindred spirits, and the thought made him feel, perhaps for the first time ever, not alone.
Her home was at the farthest stretches of the district, where the neglect was its worst. This was true of her home, which seemed so old that a gentle breeze could cause it to fall. Carl checked the address again to make certain that his sweet Adeline lived here. The address was correct.
Confused, he knocked on the front door. At first, no one answered. Carl was suddenly afraid that the whole thing had been a cruel prank over the years. His heart skipped a beat, however, when a beautiful face answered the door.
"Hello?" The woman asked. She was lovelier than her pictures were to be believed. A scarf had been tied around her neck and a ruby red necklace hung above her heart.
Before Carl could reply, her eyes widened and Adeline threw her arms around him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Her lips and arms were cold. Did she have no heat in this house?
She said that it was so good to see him and invited him in. The house looked just as bad on the inside as it was on the out. Everything was on the edge of falling apart. Though Adeline was excited to see him, Carl felt odd being here. A thick layer of dust coated every piece of furniture and the air smelled of mold.
Adeline said that the house had been in her family for generations and that she had been there for as long as she could remember. Her parents had left it to her, of course, and her future husband.
Despite his surroundings, Carl focused on his precious Adeline. They talked for hours until the sun began to wane and night began to creep above the rooftops. The house did not have electricity and Carl suggested that he spend the night in a hotel, but Adeline would have none of it. She offered him her room and led him up the stairs.
She led him to a little room with a luxurious bed that had been partially eaten by moths. A chill ran through the room in the form of a small breeze. He saw the desk where she had written her letters, but it too was covered in dust as if it hadn't been used in years.
And then, he looked up into the rafters.
Carl wasn't sure what was there, but as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see a body hanging there. Then, he saw the dress they wore, and the ruby necklace and he realized it was Adeline. She had been dead for so long, all that was left was her skeleton.
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A cold, but gentle hand caressed the back of his neck as he saw another noose hanging next to the body.
Andthen he remembered what he had said, "I will do anything to be with you, Adeline."
