The Haunting

Seven

3:00 am

Doris

My eyes fluttered open abruptly, only to realize it is the middle of the night.

The darkness surrounded me from every angle, and the only illumination in the room was emerging from the lamp I usually turn on when sleeping. Darkness had always been my biggest fear, and will always be, no matter how much I grow. My sisters like to tease me about it, saying that I'm such a scaredy-cat to sleep with a lamp on. But darkness truly intimidates me to an unthinkable extent, and I can never sleep or sit in a pitch-black room. 

My throat suddenly felt sore and itchy, and swallowing the saliva forming in my mouth didn't help. I knew I had to go down and get a cup of water, which made me groan. Removing the blanket off me, I got up off of the bed and opened the bedroom door, and I was greeted by a pitch-black hallway.

The hallway was dimly lit by the lamp in my bedroom, and I felt extremely unnerved to step out of my bedroom. I took a deep breath and tried to stop being so fearful; darkness is harmless anyway, so why am I so scared?

Taking another deep breath, I propelled myself out of the room. I began hastily descending the staircase, and I heaved a sigh of relief when I found the living room and kitchen lights turned on. I tried to calm my heartbeats as I walked into the kitchen. Grabbing a glass cup, I filled it with water and gulped it all down in seconds. The sensation of the freshwater gracefully touching my sore throat felt heavenly.

Escalating the stairs, I started heading to my room once I reached the second floor. As I was closer to my room, my eyes widened when the door creaked and started to close itself. I ran as fast as possible to hold it open but it was too late.

The door closed itself.

And I was left in darkness, all alone.

I started breathing in and out rapidly, as I started to twist the doorknob frantically. The hardwood floor started creaking continuously as if an overweight person was jogging on it. The running footsteps got closer and louder as minutes passed until they were already at the top of the staircase. I gasped and started pounding and kicking the door, to no avail.

"Help! Mom! Dad! Quinn!"

I screamed hysterically, hoping that anyone will hear me, but no one did as no one responded or came out of their room. The footsteps ceased reverberating abruptly, and I was relieved. But my happiness was short-lived as I heard a giggle coming from my left. Slowly glimpsing at my left, my eyes widened at the sight I saw. A girl with an appalling appearance, standing there, gazing into my soul with her coruscating green eyes.

"You will DIE!"

I woke up, panting, drenched in sweat. It was just a nightmare.

I investigated my surroundings attentively, ensuring that everything that happened was nothing but a hideous nightmare. I observed nothing wrong until my eyes landed on the door that was left ajar. I could see part of the hallway, which was indulged in darkness. I got up and walked towards it, and when I was about to close it, my name was called.

"Doris!"

My heart nearly stopped as someone whisper-yelled my name. When I found out it was only Lisa, I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay? I heard you screaming in your sleep!" Lisa whispered, eyeing me worriedly. I furrowed an eyebrow in confusion; did I scream? Perhaps I did, the nightmare was truly gruesome.

"I'm okay, it's just a nightmare," I said, sighing. Lisa kept staring at me in bewilderment as if I was some type of alien that had come from outer space. But then, the realization hit me when I noticed that her eyes weren't fixed on me, but behind me.

"What?" I asked Lisa, curious to know what was she staring at so intently. Her bafflement modified into horror, and she began backing away from me.

"T-there's... Something... Behind... You."

I turned around and wished that I didn't.

There stood the same girl from my nightmare, smirking sinisterly as she slowly tilted her head. Her brunette hair was covering most of her face, but I could easily see her monstrous features. When I came out of my frozen state, I let out a blood-curdling scream before I was dragged into my room and the door was shut.

I could hear Lisa scream outside my room, whilst I stayed there, lying on the floor. The girl looked at me and twisted her head, as her grin enlarged.

"Roses are red, so is your blood,"

She sang before the door was slammed open and she vanished. Mom and Dad ran into the room, and mom immediately sprinted towards me. Quinn, Judy, and Lisa stayed outside the room. Quinn and Lisa looked horrified, while Judy – as I could see – was smirking.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Mom asked worriedly as she hugged me. I was too overwrought to even speak, so I just hugged her and cried. What had happened is unexplainable, and I don't even know how to do explain it without seeming like a maniac.

Morning

Quinn

As we sat around the dining table, I could notice how awfully quiet Judy was.

Something is wrong with Judy, I can sense it. Honestly, something is wrong with the whole house. What had happened yesterday – Lisa screaming, Doris being locked in her room, and the banging I heard – is just mystifying. I had thought about it all night, trying to grasp what could be the cause of all of these impenetrable occurrences but I couldn't come to a logical conclusion. Only one thought sounded plausible, but I refused to believe it.

Can the house be truly haunted?

No, ghosts definitely don't exist.

But what if they do? What if our disbelief in ghosts and supernatural phenomena was something wrong that we shouldn't have done? What if the rumors about the house were true? Chills went down my spine as I considered those possibilities. But how can I figure it out? How can I know if the house is truly haunted or not? Only one way was available.

Visiting ghost hunters.

But surely, mom and dad will never permit me to bring some random ghost hunters into the house. They don't believe in the existence of ghosts, or the occurrence of paranormal activities, and it will be difficult to persuade them. But what can I do? If I don't ask for help from ghost hunters as fast as possible, I will never figure out what's wrong with the house and everything can get worse.

Chills ran down my spine. I can't believe I'm truly dealing with something I have spent my entire life disbelieving in. I can't believe that we have to deal with things we have never believed we would have to. It is just, unbelievable.

After we finished eating breakfast, I got up off of the dining table and was about to exit the house when mom spoke up.

"Where are you going, Quinn? It's Friday," She asked curiously, eyeing me in bafflement. I'm in fact going to meet my friend, Lindsay, as she's the only one that is vastly enlightened about ghosts and supernatural occurrences. I'm going to ask her if she knows any professional ghost hunters, and I'm certain she does. But, of course, I can't tell mom the truth. I tried to think of a credible lie and eventually came up with one.

"I'm going to meet up with my friends as we were planning on going to an amusement park together," I lied, trying my best to sound confident and persuasive as I spoke. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course, dear, have fun," she said, smiling slightly. I smiled back, glad that she did really believe my lie.

"Okay bye, mom!" I waved before I walked out of the house, closing the door behind me.

Here we go, the beginning of my journey.