Haunted House

• Analea O'Neill Lindo, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2015

I heard an ear piercing scream. I turned around and ran towards the door. Just as I was an inch away from escaping this horrid place, the doors slammed shut with no trace of being touched. I tried to scream but no sound came out. I was absolutely petrified and frozen with fear. I heard footsteps approaching. I ran faster than ever before. I approached very old and creaky stairs. I couldn't turn back now so I ran up the long staircase. There were 200 steps. By the time I reached the top, I was exhausted. I needed a rest and immediately drifted into unconsciousness... When I finally awoke, I was in terrible pain. I pulled myself up only to find that I had been sleeping on a bed with no mattress or pillow. I sat wondering how I had got there, until my thoughts were interrupted by the now terrifying sound of the heavy footsteps climbing the stairs in sync with the ticking of the clock. I looked around for a place to hide or a chance to escape. Nothing. I looked again, closer this time. That's when I saw it, a crack in the window. I banged furiously at it until it finally gave way and shattered into a million pieces of transparent glass. I listened, the footsteps were becoming louder and closer. I heaved myself onto the window sill. My only chance to survive the gaining beast would be to drop onto the ledge below and hope for the best. Just then, I heard the sound of the door screeching ever so slowly open. I jumped and felt the cool wind on my face. Sadly, it didn't last long as I crashed onto the ledge in a heap of my mangled body. I pulled myself into a comfortable position and listened. I had to strain my ears ever so hard just to hear what sounded like a whisper. I couldn't make out much but I did hear, “Come out, come out wherever you are!" and "You can't hide forever!" The final thing I heard before the eerie silence was, “I will find you little girl.” I waited, it seemed like eternity. Then I climbed back up to the window from which I had jumped. When I finally reached the top, I had cuts and bruises all over my body. I climbed through the shattered window and to my surprise, it looked nothing like how I had seen it before. The bed I had slept on was turned upside down and the clock was smashed on the ground. There were holes everywhere in the wall, floor and ceiling. Chairs were broken and scattered across the floor. I gaped in horror. If the beast did this to a room, I would hate to see what he would do to a girl while he's angry. I decided not to stick around to find out, so I made a run for the door. It was locked. I was trapped!