The Hollow Mirror

Late at night, when the house was still and the moonlight filtered in through the curtains, Allison found herself drawn to the antique mirror she had inherited from her grandmother. It had sat untouched in the attic for years, its dark, polished surface covered in dust. But for some reason, tonight was different. Tonight, the mirror seemed to call to her, beckoning her with an unseen force she couldn’t explain.

It had always been an eerie thing. The mirror, with its intricate golden frame and ornate carvings, had a strange presence in the room. Most people who had visited the house over the years commented on it, but none of them stayed long enough to truly study its details. Allison had always thought it was simply old-fashioned, but now, something about it felt wrong, as though it harbored a secret.

With a hesitant breath, Allison approached the mirror. The dim light from the hallway caught its surface, causing it to glimmer faintly. She ran a finger along the edge, wiping away the dust, and was startled to see her reflection distort slightly, as if the mirror had drawn a breath of its own.

But it was just a trick of the light, she reassured herself. She turned to leave, but something held her there. Her own reflection seemed to linger for a moment too long, its eyes unblinking and cold. Allison shuddered and looked away, trying to ignore the unease creeping up her spine.

However, when she turned back, her reflection had changed.

Her figure was still there, standing in the same position, but something was wrong. Her reflection seemed… altered. It was no longer just an echo of herself—it was something more, something sinister. Her own reflection stared back at her with a strange, knowing smile. The eyes that once mirrored her own were now hollow, black voids that seemed to absorb the light.

Confused, Allison took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest. She raised her hand slowly, almost instinctively, and her reflection followed. But as she brought her hand closer to her face, her reflection didn't. Instead, it slowly tilted its head in a mocking gesture, the smile widening unnaturally.

"What's wrong?" Allison whispered, her voice trembling.

The reflection in the mirror didn't respond in words, but it gave a slow, deliberate nod. And then, without warning, its smile vanished, replaced by an empty, gaping mouth that seemed to stretch far beyond what was possible for a human face.

Allison recoiled in horror. She stumbled backwards, but the mirror seemed to pull her in, its surface rippling like liquid. In the split second before she could turn to flee, the reflection moved, and her own hand reached out of the mirror, not the other way around.

She screamed as the cold fingers of her reflection grasped her wrist, pulling her closer with unnatural strength.

"Let go!" Allison cried, but the reflection did not answer. Its hollow eyes were fixed on her, its grin now a grotesque rictus of sharp, broken teeth.

The world around her seemed to blur and darken as the reflection began to emerge from the mirror. The edges of the room bent as if reality itself was twisting, distorting into something unrecognizable. The mirror’s surface seemed to liquefy, and from the depths of its glass, the reflection stepped forward, its cold, dark presence spilling into the room.

In the darkness of the mirror’s depths, Allison could hear a whisper, soft but clear, echoing from the reflection’s mouth: “You shouldn’t have looked.”

With every ounce of strength left in her, Allison tried to pull away, but it was no use. The mirror had become a portal, and she had unknowingly crossed the threshold. The reflection, no longer bound by its frame, was now free—its distorted face inches from hers, its hollow eyes hungry and malicious.

As it closed the distance between them, its voice filled her mind, louder than ever: “There’s nowhere left to run.”

The last thing Allison saw was her own face, but twisted beyond recognition, smiling back at her from the other side of the glass. Then, everything went black.

The next morning, the house was still. But the mirror… the mirror was no longer there. It had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty, silent room.

Allison's family, confused and worried by her sudden disappearance, searched the house for days, but she was never found. The attic was empty, as if no one had ever lived there.

But sometimes, when the moonlight hits the spot just right, if you stand in front of a mirror in that very house, you might see a faint reflection in the glass—an unfamiliar face, with hollow eyes and a sinister smile, waiting for someone else to make the same mistake.

Thank you for reading The Hollow Mirror. If you felt the chill of the unknown, please hit the like button and share this story with your friends. Be careful—there might be something waiting for them in the glass as well.