One Night

“You can do this, Riley. It’s just one night in Hazelwood Manor, and then you get 20 grand.” Riley Grimes tells herself before grabbing her bag from her car’s passenger seat while staring at the imposing Victorian Manor.

Riley gets out of her car, closes the door, and solidifies her decision with the click of a button, locking herself out of her only escape, her vehicle. The manor looks like it is starting to decay, the bricks, in some areas, an off-putting dark colour. While looking at some of the cracked windows, Riley wondered when these bricks last housed a family. Everything about this situation made her skin crawl. Starting with the letter she received informing her of the $20,000 inheritance left to her from an estranged relative.

Weird.

Riley was adopted, so when she first got the letter, she thought it was a hoax. That was until Mr. Walsh, the attorney, came to verify she had received the unusual note and ensuring she read the fine print.

To receive the inheritance, Riley would have to sleep in the decrepit manor for one night.

Now she was here.

She takes another deep breath before heading up the manor’s steps as she pulls the key out and inserts it into the rusting lock. After a bit of effort, she heard the lock unlatch, and she pushed open the door gingerly, afraid it would fall off its hinges, and the door let out a loud groan.

Riley immediately felt uneasy as she steps inside and breathes in the mustiness of the place. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she felt like she wasn’t alone.

“Hello?” She calls out, and her voice echoes in the foyer.

“It’s just an empty house.” Riley tells herself as she goes fully inside and closes the door behind her.

It closes with a resonating groan and bang, uneasiness fills her once again. The windows, caked with dust, don’t do much to fill the place with light. She may as well have come when it was night rather than after dinner. Riley pulls her flashlight out of her bag and clicks the on button. The bright beam fills the heavy space with dim light as she casts it around.

Empty.

She takes in another deep breath before taking a few more steps into the foyer.

Riley’s light shines on a fallen chandelier in the foyer, right before the dining room. She decided to start at the bottom and make her way up. She pulls out a small black notebook and pen she brought with her to document the night. She opens it up and grabs the pen. Riley looks at her watch and sighs; it was only 8:00 PM. It was going to be a long night.

8:00 PM: My night has begun at Hazelwood Manor

Riley closes her pen and notebook before putting them back into her bag as she starts to head toward the door, her boots echoing in the foyer. Riley explores the first floor wearily but doesn’t find much to document. She wonders what happened to the previous residents, judging by the white sheet-covered furniture, it wasn’t good.

Nothing about this place made her feel good.

Finally done with the first floor, Riley glances at her watch.

10 PM.

She pulls out her little black notebook and pen again and writes.

10 PM: Nothing happened on the first floor

Riley takes a deep breath, goosebumps on her arms, and heads towards the grand staircase. Her uneasiness grows as she continues up the stairs and onto the second-floor landing. She starts down the hallway and feels eyes on her.

“Hello?” Riley questions as she looks around.

Riley rubs her arms before she shines her light down the expansive hallway. She starts her journey down that hall when what sounds like tiny footsteps start following her. Riley stops, and the footsteps stop along with her.

“You’re just imagining things, Riley Grimes, get yourself together,” she tells herself before starting to walk again.

While trying and failing to ignore the faint sound of tiny footsteps, Riley’s blood runs cold.

Giggles. Childish giggles.

She is tense, almost frozen, before quickly turning. She lets out a bloodcurdling scream when she sees a child standing behind her. Riley trips on her own feet and falls as she turns away, smacking her head on the floor in the process.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, Annabelle.” The little boy says as Riley’s head spins.

Riley tries to focus on the new figure who appears and sees an older girl.

“Who are you?” Riley asks as she clutches her head and slowly sits up. Her eyes dart around for her flashlight that is now several feet from her.

“Come play with us, Riley.” The boy says.

“How do you know my name?” Riley asks as she shuffles back away from the boy.

“We’re your family, Riley. Come join us.” She hears the older girl say.

Riley’s fingers come into contact with the flashlight, and she quickly shone it in their direction. She swallows hard when she doesn’t see anyone, nor does she hear anyone.

“Okay. Maybe I’m losing it.” Riley mutters to herself.

Riley takes out her notebook and checks the time.

10:04 PM: Possible ghost activity, boy approx. 7 and girl approx. 12.

She puts her notebook away and shakily gets to her feet, shining the light all around her to make sure she was alone. When she sees that she is, she heads to the first door. She takes a deep breath before opening it and shining the beam around the room.

“Why couldn’t there be lights?” She whispers to herself.

When Riley sees it’s empty; she continues down the hallway to the next door. Before she can open the door, she hears a crash and gasps, shining the light down the hall. There was now a broken vase on the floor.

“Crap. That’s not my imagination,” Riley mutters anxiously as her hands start to shake.

Riley takes in a deep calming breath and heads towards the vase.

“You can do this,” she repeats to herself a few times like a mantra.

She reaches the vase and bends down to pick up a piece.

“Come play with us, Riley.” A childlike voice says, and Riley stands upright.

Her mind jumps to all the horror movies she’s watched as she looks around. She was the person who went to investigate upstairs in the movie. That person never survived.

“Where are you?” Riley called out, sounding braver than she felt.

“Over here!” The voice responds, and a sound comes from a room ahead.

“This is such a bad idea,” she mutters to herself.

Riley heads to the room, and her hand hesitates on the doorknob. She is shaking as she turns the knob and pushes the door open. The sound seemed amplified in the quiet, and she hated it. She takes a tentative step inside and looks around right before she hears music. Riley shakily walks towards the source and spots the music box. It was beautifully designed with a ballerina spinning in the middle.

Why did it look so familiar to her?

Riley places the flashlight upright so it would still light the room. She picks up the jewellery box and turns it over. The name engraved on the bottom was ‘Riley Hazelwood’. She looks through the contents and finds a key. The key immediately piques her interest despite the terrifying circumstances.

“What are you for?” She mutters as she examines the key in her fingers.

Riley places the box back down and pockets the key. She grabs her flashlight again and turns, screaming when she sees the same little boy and girl.

“What do you want?” She asks.

“Play with us.” The boy says as he extends a hand.

“Why not? I’ve made a lot of bad decisions already.” Riley mutters before she steps forward.

Riley hesitantly grabs the boy’s hand and is surprised that it was solid. His hand was freezing but otherwise felt like a normal hand. The boy starts to pull her out of the room and back into the hallway. She follows him until they hear a loud bang.

“If mother catches you, she won’t let you leave.” The boy says, and she stares at him in shock.

“Where can we hide?” She whispers.

The boy pulls Riley along at a quick pace, and the little girl follows close behind. Riley hears a scream and feels as if all of her nerves are on end.

“Quick! In there!” The boy whispers.

The thing he was pointing at was a dumbwaiter. How was she going to fit in that? She hears the scream again and opens it up. Riley climbs in and closes the door on the dumbwaiter as she hears the children running. Riley takes a deep breath as she grabs the pulley, and the device starts to descend. She hears the rope strain and tenses; nothing happens. Phew, safe. Then she hears the dumbwaiter door begin to open; she doesn’t hesitate. Riley quickly pulls the ropes again.

SNAP.

Riley screams.

She plummets with the machine and hits the ground. With the wind knocked out of her, Riley takes a few seconds to gather herself.

As she gets to her feet and looks for a way out, she finds a door and runs to it. There was no way she was spending another minute in this house with that thing. She needed to find a way out.

Riley hears the door to the cellar open and turns towards it. The entity comes into view, and her blood runs cold. The thing was grotesque, burned beyond recognition, and heading straight towards her. When something that resembles a mouth on the entity opens crooked and wide, it lets out a guttural howl. Riley springs into action and sprints. She heads for the only other door in her vicinity and tries the handle.

Locked.

This was it; she was going to die. The key in her pocket burns, and Riley gasps as she remembers its presence. She quickly retrieves it from her pocket and fidgets with the lock, but it thankfully opens. She quickly enters the room and hides behind the door.

“This better work,” she mutters to herself but knew the key held the answer to her spectre problem.

The entity comes into the room, and Riley doesn’t hesitate as she runs back out. She slams the door shut and turns the key, hearing the door lock. Riley removes the key and takes a few steps back. She hears a scream and pounding on the door, but it holds. Was it over? She swallows hard and heads for the cellar steps.

Riley makes her way back to the foyer and sits on the stairs. She takes in a deep breath and pulls out the notebook before documenting everything that happened tonight. When she’s done, she looks at her watch and sees it’s time, feeling relief wash over her. She stands and looks at the second-floor landing, where she sees the little boy and girl wave at her. She can’t help but wave back before heading to the front door.

Riley opens the front door and shields her eyes from the sun. She spots Mr. Walsh leaning against his car before he approaches her.

“You made it through the night, Miss Grimes. I have the money as promised.” He says as he lifts a bag he’s holding.

Riley silently takes the bag and shoves the little black notebook at him. She gets into her car and immediately starts it up before driving. Now she was filled with questions that needed answers. Like how was it all connected to her? That would take more than a night to figure out, and she was determined to find out how she tied into Hazelwood Manor.