Cabin 23

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The camp had been shut down ever since the lake had become mysteriously contaminated with lethal microbes that wiped out a group of campers. The once crystal clear lake suddenly became murky on a hot summer day right after a torrential rain storm in 1998.

There was no explanation for its cloudy appearance and the campers unfortunately did not hesitate to jump into its deadly depths.

Legend has it that the town hermit once exiled from the community put a curse on the townspeople for all future generations to perish and sealed this prophecy by drowning himself as a sacrifice.

After decades of closure, the lake had undergone treatments and had now been deemed safe to swim – with caution of course. That’s why Sue, whose aunt and uncle perished in the lake on that hot summer day, decided to check out the place for herself with her supportive friends Godfrey, Nate and Shelby.

The campsite didn’t look as abandoned as one would think. Everything was tidy for the most part, thanks to the town cleaning crew who successfully managed to not only restore it to its original state, but also add TV’s and WIFI in order to bring in tourism revenue. Once Sue and her crew checked in and made themselves comfortable, they realized they were one of the very few campers there who were brave enough to spend the night.

The other two people there were a couple, Margaret and Chester. They were from out of town and were self-proclaimed thrill-seekers who were attracted to this campsite because it was regarded as haunted.

There was not much to do around the site, so Sue and her friends went for a 3 - hour long hike in the forest. They came back famished and exhausted by not bringing snacks for the laborious ascent. They spent the evening cooking up a feast and enjoying each other’s company outside until an unexpected thunderstorm broke the fun and left them to venture indoors. They were thankful to have a TV in their cabin to aid their relaxation on this stormy night.

The TV was situated on the fireplace and the couch in front of the window where you could see the rain clearly on the black TV screen. Shelby, who was sitting by the reading nook window, commented on the light coming from cabin 23, which was vacant. The rest of the group brushed it off as possibly being maintenance or a counselor settling in.

Shelby joined the rest by squishing next to Godfrey in the shared blanket to keep warm on this cold wet night. They rented the thriller Donnie Darko to make for a suspenseful night. Little did they know just how suspenseful the night would naturally become.

They chuckled at the vortex scene and Sue teased Shelby for being so antsy throughout the thrilling scenes. It wasn’t until they turned off the TV to play cards did the room suddenly become bone-chillingly silent.

Sue gasped at the blank TV reflection from the window behind them of a man with silver matted hair and a wicked smirk hunched with elbows in the air and a knife hovering over the friend group that everyone jumped off of the couch and in unison ran upstairs to close the bedroom door. Everyone except for Sue.

Shelby called the cops and Nate, being 6’3’, decided to go downstairs and look for Sue, but there was no one in sight. After scouring the cabin, he almost slipped over what looked like a puddle. It turned out to be one of the many wet footprints leading from behind the couch – meaning the strange old man had been directly behind them and not behind the window.

The footsteps trailed to the door that no one heard open or shut. Nate hastily went outside in the rain to search for Sue. All he could hear was this faint creepy humming, but he couldn’t figure out which direction it was coming from. It felt all consuming. Nate checked the cabin with the candle lit and was overcome with the rotten stench permeating its quarters. It didn’t look abandoned, but it didn’t look well taken care of either.

When he looked behind to head outside there he saw a wretched organism with rotting flesh and an evil grin brandishing a pick ax.

Everything went dark from there.

When the police finally arrived for what seemed like hours, Shelby and Godfrey were relieved, but also worried about their missing friends. The police sent out search dogs to locate them, but the rain made it difficult for the dogs to track their scent.

After hours of searching, the rain started to dissipate and the sun was popping up for the morning. By morning, the rain was gone and the dogs pulled their leashes towards the lake. There, everyone rushed to see that not only the lake was murky once again, but that there were two bodies floating in it.

Margaret and Chester consoled Shelby and Godfrey while law enforcement took boats out to retrieve the bodies. Once they were brought to land, there were no more doubts on their identities. There laid Sue and Nate.

No one ever could figure out what exactly happened to them and why the lake turned murky overnight, but the camp had once again been closed for good. No one afterwards would dare step foot on that haunted campsite, but on cold rainy nights, you could see a candle lit in cabin 23.