Thirteen Locks, One Lie: A Chilling Mystery Behind the Doors of Black Hollow Manor

By- AK

STORY:

Part 1: The Letter That Changed Everything

Eleanor Gray never liked surprises—especially not from dead relatives. So when a letter arrived claiming she’d inherited an entire Victorian mansion from her estranged uncle Victor, she didn’t know whether to be excited or concerned.

The envelope was sealed with wax. Inside, in her uncle’s tight handwriting, it read:

> “To my only living relative, I leave my home and all its contents. You may live there, sell it, or burn it. But beware: there are thirteen locked doors on the second floor. Twelve tell the truth. One is a lie. If you find it—do not believe what it shows you.”



Most people would toss the letter, but Eleanor had just lost her job and was three months behind on rent. So she packed a bag and drove six hours to Black Hollow, a forgotten town that didn’t even show up on modern maps.

When she arrived at the manor, the wind howled as if the house itself was exhaling. The towering black shutters, ivy-wrapped walls, and broken gate gave it the look of a place long abandoned. Yet the door opened easily.

Inside, the air was cold and stale, as if time had stopped the day Victor died.


---

Part 2: The Thirteen Doors

On her second day exploring, Eleanor found them: thirteen identical doors, each one locked, each with a strange symbol carved into it—a crow, an hourglass, a knife, a moon, and others she didn’t recognize.

In the study downstairs, she discovered a small wooden box with thirteen skeleton keys, each labeled with a matching symbol. A yellowed note lay beneath them:

> “Each door hides a truth about our family. Only one holds the lie that ruined us all. You’ll know it when you see it—but by then, it may be too late.”



She should’ve turned around right then. But curiosity is louder than fear.

Eleanor made a decision: she would open one door a day.


---

Part 3: Unlocking the Past

Day 1 – The Crow Door

Behind the first door was a small room, walls covered in photographs. Each picture showed her uncle standing with a group of people wearing black robes. The same phrase was written on the back of every photo:

> “The Watchers are always near.”



Day 2 – The Hourglass Door

This room held only a table and a glass hourglass filled with dark red sand. As she watched, the sand flowed upward instead of down.

Eleanor felt her chest tighten. The air in the room was colder. She left quickly.

Day 3 – The Knife Door

Inside: shelves of surgical tools, some rusted and stained. Open notebooks littered the floor. On one page:

> “Subject #12: Memory erasure unsuccessful. Containment breached.”



Every day, the truth became more horrifying.

By Day 7, she stopped sleeping. She kept hearing footsteps outside her door at night, whispers in rooms she hadn’t entered yet. The manor was waking up—or maybe, something in it never slept.


---

Part 4: The Lie

By Day 12, only one door remained.

The Moon Door.

Eleanor hesitated. This one had a cold presence, like it was waiting.

The moon key felt colder than the others.

She inserted it.

The door creaked open into a white room. No furniture. Just a full-length mirror on the far wall.

She stepped inside. The door slammed behind her.

The mirror flickered. Then a girl appeared in the reflection.

Her face. Her eyes. But not her.

“Hello, Eleanor,” the reflection said, smiling. “Or should I say... the new Eleanor.”

She stared, heart pounding. “What are you?”

“I’m who you were before the lie. Before Victor used the thirteenth door.”

Eleanor stepped back. “This isn’t real.”

“Isn’t it?” the reflection said. “Why do you think you don’t remember anything before age ten? Why do you dream of fire and screaming?”

“I... don’t,” she whispered.

But she did.

The mirror glowed brighter. The reflection pressed its hand to the glass.

> “Let me out—and remember who you really are.”



The walls began to shake. Cracks spread like veins in the mirror.

Eleanor screamed and ran for the door. It wouldn't budge.

Then everything went dark.


---

Part 5: Missing

When the police arrived days later—alerted by a friend who hadn’t heard from Eleanor—they found the house abandoned.

There were no signs of struggle. Nothing was stolen. But on the second floor, they found thirteen doors.

All unlocked.

Every room was empty—except the one behind the moon door.

There, a mirror stood with a message scrawled in red:

> “There were never thirteen truths. Only one lie. And she believed it.”



Eleanor Gray was never found.

But some nights, local teens dare each other to approach Black Hollow Manor. They swear if you look in the mirror, you’ll see her standing behind you.

Smiling.