The Witch's Cabin

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

The stories about the cabin were older than any residents living in the nearby town of Elmlock could remember, having grown up with them being recounted by older siblings, friends, family members, and any stranger who could hold the attention of the youths long enough to delve into the mysteries of the neighboring woods.

Ella was the only one the residents knew of who survived her encounter with the Witch's Cabin, and within a year she was locked away, her mind too frayed for her to remain in society. However, the story she told in the days following her return to Elmlock would survive long after she, herself, died.

It started with a sound in the distance, one that Ella couldn't quite place. However, the woods at that time were a popular site for campers to visit, and she felt the need to investigate in case somebody was lost or injured. Her kind heart refused to let her ignore that sound.

She told her family that she would be right back and left the spot where they'd set up camp for the night. Ella had always been a responsible child, so her family didn't think anything of it.

Her mom would later say that she regretted not going with Ella, or at the very least asking where she planned to go and why.

Having left as the sun was setting, it didn't take long for Ella to find herself surrounded in darkness and uncertain of which way she came from.

When she spotted the candlelight flickering in a cabin window, she was overcome with relief. How lucky, she thought. Perhaps the owner of the cabin could help her return to her family, or they would allow her to stay inside until the sun rose.

The door was unlocked and creaked as she pushed it open. It took no time for her to realize that this cabin was not normal.

Instead of a room with a wooden interior to match the outside of the cabin, Ella was in a stone corridor with only torches on the wall offering light. Against her better judgment, she ventured farther into the that corridor. How the cabin looked so normal on the outside, but was labyrinthine on the inside, she didn't know.

Later, she would say that it felt like she walked for days without finding any difference. No cracks in the stone or paths splitting off. But she knew, logically, that she couldn't have been in the cabin for more than a few hours.

She lost consciousness at some point, waking up when she felt herself being dragged along the rough ground by something latched onto the collar of her shirt.

Each lumbering step that the creature took echoed through the corridor. Ella tried to pull away, but each time she attempted to find purchase on the ground, another tug stole away her balance.

Her captor must have tired of her struggles, because she found herself raised from the ground. Then, her head was smashed against the wall until she lost consciousness once more.

What happened next, nobody got a straight answer about from Ella. Her family tried to get details, but her mental status fell apart when she reached that part of the story, her words turned into the ramblings of a madwoman with no sense behind them.

She would mumble about bodies that were made up of pieces of different people. Vials of blood and viscous liquids of unnatural colors. People who looked like skeletons screaming out for mercy.

All of it seemed too fantastical to be true, yet the residents of Elmlock took Ella's words as a warning.

Don't go into the Witch's Cabin unless you want to risk becoming part of a madwoman's ramblings.