House Of Fear

• Kara Richardson, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2022

As I crept up the street towards the house I thought, ‘Why am I doing this? I’m not prepared.’ I was walking in the shadows avoiding being seen because I was heading up the street to see if the spooky house at the end of the road was really haunted like so many people had said. In a bush near me I hear rustling and something jumps out and I jump backwards, but it was just a cat. I keep going. I step onto the deck right outside the front door. Being terrified I still opened the door and went inside.
The first thing I saw was a dusty old couch, but it looked like it had been sat on. There were lights but they were flickering and very dim so the lighting wasn’t the best. I felt something brush past me, I don’t know what it was but it freaked me out. The air felt clammy which wasn’t very comforting. I then saw movement in the shadows, was it the thing that brushed past me, I don’t know. Why did I come here?
What, what was that, was it giggling? Creeeeeaaaaaaak. Creeeeeeeeeaaaaaaak. Went the floorboards. Then, I heard crunching, like someone was eating chips. I then heard whispering, I really couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I heard, “Out” and “Quiet.” I’m scared, I wonder who it is? Is it those runaway kids in the news, is it ghosts, is it some creepy old person, who knows?
The light stayed on and wasn’t flickering. My heart was racing. I heard something from behind and turned around. It was the runaway kids that were on the news. I asked them why they were there and they said they had always been runaways. They asked me to have a seat and I did. I asked why they chose to hide here, they were all silent. Then the oldest (who looked about my age) said “I suggest you leave.” I said goodbye and ran and ran and ran and ran all the way home. I made a promise to myself to never go near that house again.