The Cabin and the Candle

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Like moths drawn to a flame, men and women found themselves compelled to inspect the unassuming house. At a glance, nothing would be of interest to anyone, and that statement should certainly ring true with the thrill seekers. And yet, they found themselves resisting what was described as a primal urge to enter the old cabin. Despite the odd circumstances, it seemed harmless enough. Until the first night of September, a horrific scene unfolded.

A couple that had heard the legends decided to explore the cabin themselves, but something was different this time. Police claimed that a fanatic hid within the cabin and viciously assaulted the woman with a plank of wood. The man that accompanied her was never seen again. Authorities had to formally close the building down and prepare for its demolition. However, tragedy struck once more as the two reporting officers were attacked soon after their arrival. One was found dead, and the other was rendered mute. The public was petrified that such a heinous assailant hid just out of sight in the woods. It was an outrage that his cabin was still standing, so the city tore the house down. The mischievous flame within was extinguished, or so they thought.

The cabin hysteria died down for some time, and people assumed the killer had simply moved on. Until the woods experienced a spree of vicious scenes once again, but it was no longer tied to a cabin. It spread across the entirety of the woods. Police were dumbfounded as some cases would outright contradict one another. Leads always went cold, and this began to make a mockery of the entire station. That led one detective to follow some rather unconventional leads and see the woods himself. He even allowed his sister to accompany him since most of these happenings occurred in pairs, and she was willing to risk it all for the truth.

Late that evening, the two siblings sat across from one another with a campfire to keep them warm on the cool fall night. The sister noticed, after some time, her brother’s gaze remained absolutely unbroken from the flickering flame. His mouth was slightly agape. His breath was slow. She called out to him, but he offered no response. A foreboding feeling came over her; the situation was just unnatural. In an instant, his eyes met hers. They appeared glossed over. She called out his name as he slowly stood up. The brother began to walk to her, and the fear consumed her.

The sister began to sprint out of the woods, but heavy footsteps were heard behind her. He would be on her at any moment, but the only thought in her mind was reaching their car. The sound of thunderous boots stomping behind her soon outpaced her heartbeat, and she was launched forward. Her entire body ached, and the shadowy figure of her brother loomed above. He pounced on her with his grip fixed on her neck; she struggled to breathe and squirmed for her keychain. In one last desperate attempt, the sister thrust her keychain taser to his neck. The brother’s body recoiled in pain, which gave her the opportunity to escape. She made it to the car and got away from those accursed woods.

That night, proceeded to file a missing person report on her brother and offered an ominous statement. “It is not someone in the woods committing these crimes, it is something. I think it’s the damn fire; it talks to people and forces them to do these things. You all thought you were helping by destroying that damn cabin, but you set it free. It wasn’t the cabin; it was the fire. Now all these campers are in danger just by crowding around one.” The police wrote her off as crazy, but there are some that hold truth in such a story. I am one of those people, and the next victim may very well be one of us.