A Test of Courage

Being young in a small town should be a crime. There is nothing to do all day except for maybe chill with your friends. No mall, no arcades, not even a shop really outside of the grocery store. If you wanted any real entertainment you had to drive thirty miles to the east. So what's a small town boy to do when he has a crush on the prettiest girl in school who doesn't even notice him? Feats of strength, wisdom, or courage are the answer of course. Problem is I'm not very strong, my grades are mediocre at best, and well just between you and me I'm very much a coward. I still call my parents in to deal with tiny spiders. But I can at least pretend to be brave and so courage was what I decided to go with.

Technically I lied before when I said we had no entertainment. We do have a haunted house. Not like the ones you see at the fair either. A true haunted house. The story is that in the 1700's there was a family living there. However the mom was certifiably insane and constantly thought the devil was trying to invade her house. Well one day her daughter snuck out of the house for a rendezvous with some guy. When she returned home, the daughter was attacked by her mother. The mother was screaming how her daughter had let the devil inside her. So to "heal" her daughter the mother decided she had to flay her daughter to expose the devil inside. Obviously the daughter died and so did the rest of the family eventually. Weirdly enough there is literally no mention of the father throughout the whole story and so many people speculate he got out before the mom snapped. But who knows?

Anyways after that the house stayed abandoned and eventually became a historical location for our town. So sometimes if one wished to prove what a badass they were they would go spend the night in the house. There is a whole ritual involved with this where other teenagers will play lookout to make sure you don't run away. If you somehow make it through the night you were the coolest person ever and all the doors opened for you. So I was going to do it. I would stay the night in the house. Succeed where everyone else had failed and then Roxanne would have to date me. It was the perfect plan. I mean it's not like a haunted house was a real thing anyways. It was just people letting their imagination get the best of them.

So on a Thursday I informed the proper people at my school that I intended to take on the challenge. It will happen on Saturday. I had already set up my alibi that I would be staying at a friend's house for the weekend. So Saturday rolled around and I'll admit I was nervous. I went over to my friend's place to chill there until night time came. We played some games for a bit and then had some pizza. As the sun was setting we both headed out to the house. Even though he wasn't part of the watch crew he had come for emotional support.

I once again acknowledged to everyone there that my intention was to stay the night in the house. That if I left I would be branded a coward by everyone there as well as the entire school. With that I walked into the house. The entrance was a grand foyer with a number of doors to either side and a staircase in the middle leading up to the left and right. I decided I would tour the downstairs first.

From the moment I walked in it felt as if someone was watching me. I simply assumed this was from me being nervous and my senses being heightened because of it so I tried to pay it no mind. I walked off to the left first, finding only two doors. Both of which opened into an utterly massive dining area. It could easily have sat a hundred plus people and yet the only table in here was a small square one that could have four at it. Along the walls were drinking carts still covered with various dishes now nothing more than mold. The table still seemed to be in good condition all things considered and weirdly enough I couldn't find any dust on the chairs. At the end of the room was a giant portrait of an older woman and a small girl. The woman was gorgeous beyond belief but something even in the eyes of the painting portrayed the madness hiding underneath. The girl's face was one of sadness. She obviously didn't want to be posing for the painting but she had to.

I left the dining room and went across the grand foyer to the right side now. Two more doors that both led to a massive kitchen this time. Walking around I noticed random spots on the counter where the dust had been disturbed. As I decided I was done with the kitchen I suddenly heard the sound of a kitchen knife slamming down on the counter. I didn't stop to look for the source of the sound. I just took off out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Once I reached the landing I stopped taking a moment to catch my breath. I looked to the left and then the right trying to decide which way to go. I finally decided to head to the right to explore.

I walked down the hallway which had doors every ten feet. I finally stopped at the fourth door on my right. Staring at it trying to will myself into opening the door. I finally threw my hand out grabbing the door knob gripping it tight. I took deep breaths counting to myself. I finally hit ten and turned the door knob, throwing the door open. What greeted me was a simple bedroom. A bed and a drawer being the only thing in the room. I stepped in and looked around messing with the drawers to see if there was anything in them. All I find is neatly folded clothes, a hairbrush, and some rope of all random things. I laughed to myself at my own imagination when I heard a pounding somewhere in the house.

I ran out of the room looking around and there was nothing to be found. I figured it was probably nothing more than one of the watchmen outside messing with me. Trying to make me quit and ruin me. But I wouldn't have it. I'm going to finish out the night in this place. All for Roxanne. I went back to walking down the hallway stopping another two doors down on my left. For some reason I felt the need to investigate this room. I didn't know why but something was calling to me from behind this door.

This time I felt no hesitation in opening the door. It was almost easy compared to the last door. This room was much more ornate than the previous one. The bed was larger, there were three drawers each made of different wood, and an actual walk in closet. Clothes were filling the drawers and the closet was almost overflowing. A variety of dresses were in the closet all some shade of black. Very beautiful dresses but still rather creepy. The sensation of being watched had magnified ten times over since coming into the room. I went over to the bed and found a nightstand with a book on it. I picked it up noting that it had absolutely no dust on it. I figured I could bring it back out with me as an extra bit of proof if anyone tried to lie about me being here. I took a seat on the bed to flip through it.

When I opened the journal the first thing I noticed was the name on the front page. "Elizabeth". I wondered if that was the name of the daughter from the story. I started flipping through the pages to discover that it was a journal. Most of the pages were about her daily life and her interactions with the various help staff. There was some stuff about her schooling in it as well. But the last two pages were what caught my attention.

June 27th, 1753

"I met a young man today. Well not exactly. I saw him through the window and he saw me. He was delivering something to the house. When he saw me he smiled and I couldn't help but smile back, he was rather handsome. I beckoned him over to the window and asked him if he would like to meet later that night. He told me that he would return later that evening at the tenth stroke of the clock. I must get ready. He's the first boy I've gone out with. I want to make a good impression.

I went and met with him!! Oh, he was so wonderful. His name was Jacob and as I saw he works as a delivery man for one of the local farmers. He brought with him a loaf of bread, some wonderful cheeses, meats, and a delicious red wine. We sat under the stars and talked about our lives while we ate and drank. It was wonderful to finally talk to someone who wasn't my mother or one of the servants. At the end of the night before he brought me back he kissed me. He tasted of a freedom that I didn't know existed and I want more."

June 28th, 1753

"He came back tonight. Again he brought food for us to go dine on. After we ate I was the one who kissed him. Something overtook me and I felt something in myself I had never known before. I hungered to feel him within me and I did. It was a moment of ecstasy that I doubt I will ever find again in my life. For a brief bit of time I was truly free from all the things that plagued me in this world. Mother is coming now and she sounds angry about something. I'll write more later so that I can preserve this night even if I should ever lose my memory of it."

As I had read I could feel something like a presence growing in the room. I closed the journal, got up off the bed, and I went to leave the room. As I headed for the door I began to hear a loud pounding again somewhere in the house. Followed by several loud screams. The noises all blend together into a mass cacophony. My whole body is shaking to the point where I can actually hear my knees hitting against one another. Off in the corner of my eye to the left I see something crawling across the floor but when I look there is nothing there.

At this point I decide this isn't worth it anymore. I'll be branded a coward. Whatever is still here is very real and quite terrifying. I turn to my right to head back for the stairs. I start running down the hallway counting the doors as I go but when I get close to the landing all I find instead is a brick wall. I turn back around as the noises around me suddenly stop. But they are replaced by the sound of my own beating heart. It gets louder and louder with every passing second. I lean against the brick wall wondering what I was going to do now. It didn't take long for me to decide I would just find a window and jump out.

As my heart finally started to calm down the pounding returned. This time it sounded like it was something coming across the floor. I started to run forward as I heard pounding coming from all the doors. The floors were creaking non-stop and I stopped running, closing my eyes tight trying to scream into the noise, "Stop stop stop!!!"

It all stops just as sudden as it had come on. I stand there panting, tears in my eyes. From behind my right shoulder all I hear is "Boo."

I wheeled around only to see nothing there. As I turned back around was a young woman whose face sliced open and mangled. I screamed upon seeing her. She screamed back, lunging herself at me. That was the last thing I saw.

When I didn’t come out the next morning of course all the watchmen just left. Only my friend was willing to go to the police and tell them what happened. Of course this wasn’t the first time they had received a report of some teenage punk going to the house though it was normally during the day that they knew of never at night. After a couple of days they decided to go check out the house and look for me. They walked all over the place and couldn’t find me. All they found was a small black book at the landing of the second story slightly off to the right that when they opened it, revealed a journal. They flipped through and got to the back where there was an entry that looked fresh.

October 25th, 2014

I finally found him again. I was able to relive that sweet moment of ecstasy that was the cause of my mother murdering me. It was just as wondrous as before. He was delicious.

I hope you all enjoyed this story. This was actually a story based off of my poem “What is that?”. The idea to adapt it came from fellow Vocalite Melissa Ingoldsby. So thank you Melissa. I hope you all enjoyed it and if you did then please leave a like, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. Till next time.