Denise Rocha

Salem Willows

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. That was the night six recent high school graduates decided to trek into the ‘forbidden’ forest to camp out for a night or two and have a good time. Sure, they had heard stories about the cabin and had been warned to stay away from the area since they were kids. All but one had obeyed. The one never told the secret of what was found there. Over time the memories faded, replaced with thoughts of track-team meets, homecoming rallies, and proms- normal teen stuff. Besides, the cabin itself was not easy to find unless you had a map and knew exactly where you were going. That is unless you believed the myths the cabin guided you there. Some people said you just knew how to get there but there really wasn’t any way to know because people that actually went to the cabin seldom returned. The ones that did were not themselves afterward. Sure, they looked okay, but they were usually found roaming in the woods completely incoherent and unable to understand things anymore. They initially called it some type of shock but no one recovered from it so people started calling it cabin curse- people just kind of sat around drooling and stuff. Only one kid was ever found at the cabin alive and unchanged. No one knew why but thought maybe it was due to the kid being so young. The one was found asleep laying on the porch of the cabin itself, using a jacket and some piled-up leaves for a pillow. Woke up perfectly coherent, asking for a PB&J sandwich. Mom was missing too but the kid had no idea where or even who she was at that point. The kid didn’t realize people had been searching the woods a little over 2 days, and now years later, that one was part of six, about to go into the woods once again.