【I have a haunted house】Chapter 8: Black Friday

"Three entrances, three exits, the main house, the side rooms, the east and west wings, the corridor, the hanging flower curtains, the auspicious door, the inverted crossbeam, the thunder columns... This haunted house has quite the attention to detail, mimicking an ancient courtyard. It's quite immersive," Ice Sister remarked, wandering around the scene, her demeanor relaxed as she occasionally offered her observations.

"Senior, we're in a haunted house, not strolling through a Suzhou garden. Can you please consider my feelings?" Diff’s gaze was wary as he examined the desolate courtyard, filled with a sinister aura. Ghost banners floated in the air, paper money fluttered about, and everything about the place reeked of malevolent energy. To him, the haunted house felt entirely different from how Ice Sister perceived it. He was cautious, every shadow making him wary, afraid that something might suddenly leap out. "We should find the exit quickly. I have an ominous feeling about this."

"Since we’re here, let’s enjoy the tour. We're here to play in the haunted house, not be played by it," Ice Sister responded nonchalantly, her voice light as she wandered deeper into the corridor.

"Did you forget what the owner said before entering? He told us to find the exit within fifteen minutes. I have a bad feeling about him. If we don’t escape in time, something terrifying is bound to happen!" Diff tried to convince Ice Sister, but she was unmoved.

"The scare tactics in haunted houses are pretty much the same every time. The staff dress up as ghosts and chase us around. We’re not afraid of dead people, so why would we fear the living?" Ice Sister strolled aimlessly through the corridor, casually opening the door to a side room.

The setting for the marriage of the dead was a standard courtyard structure. The main house was for the elders and the head of the family, the side rooms for the eldest son and other descendants, while the ear rooms flanked either side of the main house and were where the servants and maids slept.

As she stepped inside, Ice Sister saw that the furniture had been overturned. The bed was torn, with cotton stuffing scattered across the floor. In the center of the room, a white ribbon hung from the ceiling.

"Senior, I’ll stand guard outside, please stay safe..." Diff started, but was abruptly pulled into the room by Ice Sister. His face stiffened as he watched the white ribbon sway gently, seemingly on its own, a chilling sensation creeping through his body.

"This is interesting. The ribbon is hanging about 1.5 meters from the ground—too high to hang anyone. The overturned furniture and the lingering signs of struggle suggest the haunted house is deliberately creating a false scene of forced suicide. The ear room is where the maids stayed. A malevolent spirit isn’t even sparing those with no blood relation to the family. Looks like it’s planning to torment everyone in this mansion," Ice Sister remarked calmly, but there was a flicker of excitement in her eyes. "The design of this haunted house is meticulous. There might be hidden surprises."

She rummaged through the room, throwing aside the bedding on the bed. Beneath it, she discovered a paper doll—a doll made of paper.

"A paper doll lying on a living person’s bed?" Ice Sister tossed the doll aside casually, then lifted the bed’s boards, only to find the space beneath was empty.

"Well, so much for expectations. Looks like I overestimated this haunted house. Let’s go. The exit isn’t in this room." She waved her hand dismissively, striding out of the room.

Left alone in the room, Diff stared at the paper doll on the floor, a shiver running down his spine. It might have been the angle, but it almost seemed as if the paper doll was grinning at him.

"Blood on the copper rooster, the paper doll opens its eyes... Wait for me! Senior!"

The door to the side room slammed shut, and the white ribbon inside stopped swaying.

"Can you be a bit quieter? Stop yelling. You're a grown man, but you sound like a frightened girl," Ice Sister shot him an exasperated look as she paused at the edge of the corridor.

"I'm not scared! This place just feels... wrong. The longer I stay here, the stronger that feeling of unease grows. It's as if the very things I fear most are being drawn out from the depths of my heart!"

At his words, Ice Sister paused for a moment, sensing something amiss. Her composure, usually unwavering, had faltered when she spoke to Diff just now, her tone unusually sharp—a reaction that had never occurred before in any other situation.

"Am I... afraid?" Ice Sister thought to herself, questioning her own fear. "I know everything here is fake. Why should I be afraid?" Her psychological defenses began to crack, and both she and Diff found themselves grappling with an inexplicable unease, their growing fear seeded by self-doubt and subconscious suggestions.

"You don’t think there’s really something unclean hiding here, do you? This haunted house is built on an old burial ground, and it’s even been reconstructed from an old hospital building..."

"Shut up! Our school’s morgue is far scarier than this place. You’re supposed to be studying medicine, but you’re acting like a scaredy-cat," Ice Sister snapped, though her pace quickened as she cast a nervous glance around. The ancient mansion, the mourning hall, the withered trees, and the scattered paper money weren’t all that frightening—but something still gnawed at her. "What exactly am I afraid of?"

Both of them were so absorbed by the oppressive environment that they failed to notice the background music had been playing on a loop.

The forbidden tune, "Black Friday," had subtly wound its way into their minds, much like a hidden current, eroding their spirits, drawing them deeper into an abyss of despair.

"Xiaoshan, how long have we been here?"

"I don’t know, but I feel like we definitely won’t make it out in fifteen minutes!"

"Don’t panic. I’ve been thinking," Ice Sister said, brushing off the dust as she walked toward the other end of the corridor. "This haunted house doesn’t have anything truly frightening. The real trick is that the owner’s been feeding us negative psychological suggestions since we entered. He keeps emphasizing words like ‘burial ground,’ ‘live burial,’ and ‘female ghost,’ hoping we’ll frighten ourselves. What’s even more devious is the time limit he set, but without telling us what exactly will happen if we fail. That creates pressure, making us imagine the worst possible scenario."

"So, what should we do now? This haunted house doesn’t feel like any other," Diff said, a simple, honest fellow who believed whatever Ice Sister suggested.

"You're right. In a normal haunted house, professional actors dress up as ghosts, and special effects create gruesome, terrifying scenes, guiding us step by step. But this haunted house is different. It’s been designed to let us explore freely, with no guidance or restrictions. No one knows what might happen next."

"I get it now. The unknown is the scariest part," Diff said with a look of sudden realization.

"At this point, that’s the only explanation I can offer," Ice Sister said, barely a wrinkle on her brow. "Alright, let’s move on to the next room."

The side room was adjacent to the main house, where the family’s head resided. Ice Sister pushed open the wooden door, revealing a room cluttered with mourning clothes. In the center stood a lacquered wooden altar.

A red coffin lay in the middle, its surface marked with a large, joyous character cut from white paper, while two rows of paper dolls knelt solemnly on either side.

Their backs were inscribed with names, their faces painted with makeup, and their eyes seemed almost lifelike, their expressions ranging from serene to eerie—almost as if they were secretly watching the two intruders.