The Abnormal House

A crumbling mansion perched atop the hill like a menacing watchtower had always stood out from the others in the small town of Hollowbrook for as long as anyone could remember. It was the kind of place children dared each other to approach, the subject of hushed whispers between adults, the one that everyone steered clear of. However, the stories about the house had become increasingly bizarre and unsettling over time. The Abnormal Horror House was its name. Not only was it haunted, but It was far worse than that, in fact. Rumors spread that the house itself had a mind of its own, a soul that fed on the fear of anyone who dared enter.

And, of course, there were those who didn’t believe the stories. People like Jack and Marissa, who, on Halloween night, decided to put the rumors to the test.

"Let's go inside," Jack dared, his voice a mix of defiance and excitement. He was someone who was always up for a challenge. Always more cautious, Marissa hesitated before eventually following him up the winding path to the door. As if to warn the trees, the wind whispered through them. As if it had been waiting for them, the door creaked open without a push. Jack raised an eyebrow. "That’s... not normal."

But Marissa was already stepping inside, her curiosity overcoming her wariness. The temperature seemed to drop as soon as they crossed the threshold, and the air smelled like mildew and something more metallic. The house, despite its outward decay, felt strangely alive. The walls were covered in faded wallpaper, the patterns unsettlingly shifting as if they were moving just out of the corner of their eyes. Paintings lined the walls, each one of an eerie, almost lifelike figure staring at them with eyes that seemed to follow their every move.

“I don’t like this,” Marissa murmured, her voice trembling. She turned to Jack, but he was already walking deeper into the house, the flickering light of their flashlight illuminating strange shadows in the corners of each room.

Suddenly, they heard it—a soft, distant laughter. High-pitched, echoing, and distorted, sounding like it came from the walls themselves, like a child's giggle. Jack froze. "Did you hear that?"

With a pounding heart, Marissa nodded. "We should leave. Now."

But as she turned to head back to the door, it slammed shut with a force that rattled the entire house. The walls seemed to breathe, expanding and contracting with an unnatural rhythm, as though the very structure of the house was alive. The floor beneath them groaned and cracked, shifting with an ominous sound.

Before they could even react, the room they were in began to twist. The hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly, the doors multiplying, appearing, and disappearing in odd intervals. The air grew thick with whispers—voices, garbled and indistinct, filled the silence around them.

Jack, now in a panic, looked around. "This isn’t... this isn't just a haunted house. This is something else."

Suddenly, the floor beneath their feet buckled, and they both tumbled through a hidden trapdoor into what appeared to be a dark, labyrinthine basement. There was no light, but the walls glowed faintly, pulsating with some kind of sickly green hue. They noticed the startling carvings in the stone walls as they got up and dusted themselves off. They were symbols that looked familiar, but they couldn't place them. “Jack,” Marissa whispered, her voice barely audible. “This place... it's alive. I can feel it.”

They both heard the faint sound of breathing, slow and heavy, coming from the shadows. A shape moved—too large to be human. It emerged from the dark, its face distorted, stretched beyond recognition, its eyes hollow black pits. The creature gave a gurgling grin with sharp, jagged teeth and an unnaturally widening mouth. The walls began to close in, slowly at first, then faster, and Jack could feel the very air constricting around him, choking the life out of him. He reached for Marissa’s hand, but she was already backing away, her eyes wide with terror.

"This is it, this is it. This is what the house does,” she gasped, voice barely a whisper. "It feeds on fear. It makes you stay. Forever."

Jack looked around, realizing too late that there was no escape. The house had already claimed them, its grip tightening with every passing moment. They were dragged deeper into the house's heart as the shadows began to swirl around them and the creature's laugh grew louder and filled the room. The Abnormal Horror House waited as their screams blended with the house's unnatural chorus. It always waited. It had no need for doors or windows—no need for escape. The house was not just a building; it was a living thing, a nightmare woven from fear, torment, and the darkness of those foolish enough to enter.

Additionally, it would find additional souls to consume each Halloween.