31: House of Pain

“Jill…she…she killed Lizzy!”

Daijah rushed over to check Jill’s pulse and shook her head somberly. “She’s gone,” she reported. “I can’t imagine what she must have thought she was seeing. But now you can see what I meant about these weapons! We have to stay away from them and EVERYONE needs to remain calm. Just try and remember that what you’re seeing may not be real.” Daijah picked up the book where Jill dropped it and turned to the others.

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30: The Vampire's Lair

Lizzy found extra candles in a small bag beside the couch and lit a few.

“It’s starting…” Nedra said backing away in panic. “We’re all going to die!”

“No we’re not! Everything is…”

“‘Going to be fine, we’ll get out of here,” Daijah said as she gripped Nedra’s shoulders tight’,” Jill read before looking up at the group from the book that lay open on the coffee table. 

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29: Fractured

“Are they still coming?” Kalene asked as Karima looked out the window.

“No, I don’t see anything. Maybe Lizzy was right. I think they were just early trick-or-treaters. I can’t imagine anyone would want to actually go out on Halloween if things get as scary as Everett is making it sound!”

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28: Omen

They gathered around the table again and Lizzy started the chant. They waited patiently for his ghost and hoped that he was just as friendly as before.

“This is stupid,” Nancy said. “We shouldn’t be tempting fate like this.”

“We tempted fate when we walked in that front door! Now we need to figure out what fate has in store for us and stop it if we can!”

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27: Still Waters

“Kal look out!” Nedra yelled pulling her arm and pushing Jill back. The two of them ran down the flight of stairs quick putting as much distance as they could between them and the attic. 

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26: No Rest for the Wicked

Jill started for the door and heard creaking footsteps in front of it. Believing them to belong to the girls she ignored them and reached for the door knob. Slowly she pulled it open to make sure not to disturb the others and stepped out into the hall.

“Chilly,” she said rubbing her shoulders as suddenly the room temperature seemed to drop. She moved forward and found Nedra and Kalene asleep on the sofa just outside the room. She nudged them and they sat up groggy and looked at her.

Kalene jumped up. “We fell asleep! What time is it?”

“It’s 4am. I couldn’t sleep so I came to check on everyone. If you felt yourself getting tired…”

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25: The Forgotten Path

Dead shrubs and grass cluttered the vacant lot
there were moss covered trees and huge dirt clots
only the bravest or dumbest would dare go near
and only the luckiest or blessed came back from here

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24: Asylum

Blood stained floors are all that remain
of the building and people labeled insane
their cries for help went unanswered in the night
their family and friends were hidden from sight

The doctor would place them up on the rack
tortured and tested on they couldn’t fight back
the people that were here were never the same
and they all have the same illness to blame

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23: Resurrected

The girls tried to maintain a calm state while Jill read from the book. She kept glancing up at them every once in a while to ensure everyone was still sitting where she’d left them.

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22: The Forgotten

“We should try and get out of here while we have the chance.”

“How Holley? You want to make a swim for it? Try and beat the boat? We’re on an island in the middle of nowhere. Who knows what direction is the closest piece of land. It’s crazy to think you could make it,” Lizzy said as everyone gathered back into the living room.

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21: Fear Itself

“So what’s the verdict?” Nedra asked stepping back into the room. “Are we doing the ghost story thing or no?”

“Uh…ladies?” Daijah smiled.

Karima and Jill cleared out more chairs and the ottoman and moved blankets along the rugs and settled in.

“I guess that’s a yes,” Quiana sighed as she sat on a seat beside Karima. “At least we have more popcorn. Who’s going first?”

“I will,” Nancy volunteered. She grabbed a flashlight and stepped in front of the window as Freedom turned out the lights to the room and settled in with the others.

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20: Darkness Immortal

“Everyone just stay close,” Jill said as she took a seat on the couch. “We can get through this, just try and remain calm and focus on other things.” She flipped the remote and turned on the first movie.

Everyone inched as close to one another as possible as the blood red letters of the first movie were scratched across the screen. Leah held her pillow close to her face as she prepared for a night of horror, artificial and authentic.

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19: Fade to Black

“It’s still dark out,” Karima said staring out the window. “It’s 8 in the morning but the sun has not come out.”

Nancy joined her by the window and took a peek. “What is going on here?”

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18: Abandoned

There’s a deserted farm that sits in the trees
its wooden planks howl with the rustling of the breeze
the tenants have long since left but its arches stay true
and even more hideous things are hidden from view

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17: Dark Destiny

They said his estranged father was one of them also
a man who wouldn’t stop even hearing the word no
he’d wait in the dark and lurk for his victim all night
he loved the ones that ran and put up a good fight

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16: The Condemned

“Ok, so let’s hear it,” Jill said folding her arms into her chest. “The real deal behind the lore and the reason you still haunt this place.”

“Of course, but I need one thing from you first.”

“What’s that?”

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15: When the Fog Rolls In

“Nothing’s happening,” Leah grinned. “I guess that means we’re free to leave. And trust me there’s nothing more I’d like right now than to curl up under my covers and wait out the next few weeks.”

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14: Dead Men Tell no Tales

“Are you sure about this?” Leah again hesitated as she peered up the stairs after the others. “I don’t see how this is going to help put anyone’s mind at ease. In fact, snooping only makes things worse.”

“How do you figure that?” Nancy shrugged. “Wouldn’t knowing the truth about what’s inside this house and knowing what to expect be better than being in the dark?”

“Only if that truth is puppies and ice cream. 9 times out of 10 it’s just more bad stuff and scary happenings I’ve seen it a hundred times in all those scary movies.”

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13: From Beyond

The girls spent the day discussing their lives, stories they’ve written or had planned in the works and their plans for after Halloween. Eager to forget the events of the previous night, they distracted themselves with games and movies and sat around enjoying the evening over good wine and fun snacks.

“Ok so this afternoon, Lizzy mentioned that she’d like a little more information about this house’s background. She and Quiana found some papers upstairs and want to know what they mean and the significance of the lore regarding the murders that took place here. I thought it would be nice to open the floor to questions or concerns and what you are hoping to do here in our last few weeks.”

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12: Darkness Calls

“Goodnight,” Jill smiled as she walked down the hall to the other room.

Kalene stretched and passed Nancy on her way to shower and prepare for bed. They’d decided who would sleep where between the two rooms; no one wanted to sleep in the murder room.

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11: Scorned

“Everyone have a seat. I’ll grab some refreshments and explain to you exactly what happened here and my intentions for the party.” Daijah started for the kitchen as the group walked into the living room to take a seat. Moments later she reappeared with a tray of mini sandwiches and drinks. “Dive in,” she smiled and took a seat beside Karima.

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10: The Black Cat

They made it back to the location where they’d last seen Holley. Daijah looked around at them and with a silent nod; they entered inside the hollowed, stone building. “Everyone stay close and on your guard. There’s no telling what’s in here and I don’t think we want to run into that caretaker again.”

Jill leaned over the old coffin Leah had noticed upon their first trip. She released a small breath as she thought about the way the place was carelessly left in rot and decay. “I’d like to think that when my time comes my plot is more managed than some of these. It’s a little depressing to see the treatment of these markers.”

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09: Death Knocks Once

“Everyone grab a light and a coat. We have to go find Holley,” Daijah said stepping towards the front door and waiting for the group to get ready. The wind howled outside and the tree branches scraped against the windows and shutters causing a long scratching sound that got louder as the wind picked up.

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08: Soul Stealers

The girls looked around the cemetery, retracing their steps as they called as loud as they could for Holley. Nedra and Karima took the south end of the gardens checking behind the mausoleums and the larger headstones and trees that filled the area. The smell of freshly dug graves saturated the air as they moved quickly towards the front gate.

“Holley?” Daijah yelled as she Nancy and Leah moved around the west end of the lot. “Holley where are you?”

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07: Creeper

The girls walked into the hollow stone building, the door creaked behind them and the wind blew it shut with a loud bang. Nancy screamed and clutched at Freedom’s arm as Kalene and Nedra moved deeper into the open space. There were spider webs filling the majority of the room as well as dust balls the size of their heads.

Leah stepped towards one of the marble slabs and peered inside the opened top. She gasped at the sight of the old bones rotting within the coffin and backed away to rejoin the group.

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06: Eyes in the Dark

“When do you think they’ll get back?” Lizzy asked taking a seat next to Quiana on the couch.

“Not sure, I just hope it’s soon. I thought the graveyard would be creepy but this place is worse! It’s just unimaginable why anyone would want to spend a month in this place.”

“Didn’t Daijah say there was history here? Would you care to take a look around some of the rooms with me?”

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05: Grave Dancers

The next morning the girls all gathered in the dining room. “Breakfast is served!” Daijah chimed merrily as the groggy faces of her company poured into the small area. “I see we’re all anxious to get started right?” she joked as Karima, Jill and Freedom made a beeline towards the coffee pot.

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04: Into the Shadows

“I thought you said the ferry wasn’t available until next month,” Nedra said watching Holley and Lizzy enter the hall.

“It’s not. They must have gotten here earlier?” Daijah asked looking at Lizzy for an answer.

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03: Manor House

“Ok, since you don’t want to sleep on the floors, and for good reason, let’s check out the bedrooms. There are 3 upstairs and each has a bed or two,” Daijah said leading the way up the steps. “We can try and make it a little cozier since everyone will be here for a month, right?”

She opened the door to bedroom #1 and dust instantly flew from around the frames. Fanning it away from her face, she stepped inside and waited for the others to join her; lighting a candle to illuminate the darkened areas.

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02: Nightmare

 

“That was NOT something from a bedtime story,” Karima said. “It was more like something you’d read to scare the living daylights out of a child. Who would invite the reaper into their home?”

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01: The Sandman

“This place is creepy,” Jill said stepping from the car. She glanced up at the old building and let out a frustrated sigh. The windows were all boarded up and there was vulgar graffiti spray painted on the cracked and peeling walls. The dead and wilted garden on the side was a place marker for some long ago resident that apparently had a thing for flowers. The overgrown, dead grass was all that remained now and the trees even seemed to grow in an ominous and eerie shape. “What are we doing here?”

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