The Hungry Cabin

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

The candles bright light shine throughout the dark forest. The candle reigniting could only mean one thing, the cabin has awaken.

The cabin was hungry for its next victim, was thirsty for blood. It knew that visitors were coming and it prepared itself for the feast.

The candle flickered out, and the forest was dark once again.

The following morning.

Mark, his wife June and their two daughters Meadow and Hanna, pulled up to the cabin.

Mark, who was driving, put the car in park and cut the engine. He looked to his wife then turned around to his two girls with a large smile on his face, “Are you girls ready for fun?”

His daughters ignored him, staring at their phones with their earphones in. Mark rolled his eyes as he turned back around.

“I thought they’d be excited about the cabin” June placed her hand on her husbands shoulder, “honey, they’re teenagers they don’t care about too much other than themselves” they both snickered.

Mark got out of the car and looked at the large cabin. He was pleased with himself. He purchased the cabin, and got an amazing deal. He was excited to spend the entire month with his children and wife. His daughters on the other hand seemed less amused.

As the family entered the cabin, the cabin’s floorboard creaked with excitement, the pipes clanked with anticipation of the deaths to come, the foundation settled in for the weeks to come. The cabin was ready to take its victims, but first it will let them get comfortable, they will let their hard down. Then slowly the cabin will begin to toy with them, frighten them, and make their skin crawl, wish they were dead and the cabin will make that wish come true.

The parents thought the cabin was beautiful. Two stories, oak doors, solid frame. They wondered why it sold so cheaply. The cabin had some glass stained windows, as the sun shined through it reflected an array of colours. The forest surrounding the cabin was also beautiful, they owned over an acre of land, and there was access to a lake.

Two weeks after their arrival the family sat down for diner, June prepared a nice meal in hopes that the family would come together while enjoying their meal. It had not been a great day, the girls argued with each other then with Mark over how there was no cell reception, how they were forced to come even though old enough to stay home, how they hated the forest, the cabin and them. Everyone ate in silence, the only sounds were the utensils scraping the plates. June gave a big sigh, “I heard there is a beautiful waterfall around here, we should all check it out tomorrow” Mark looked up from his plate and smiled, “great idea honey.” Their oldest daughter Hannah rolled her eyes, “I hate it here” “well you could at least pretend to enjoy it for our sake” June replied. She could sense another fight was coming.

There was a loud bang from the back of the cabin that made them all jump. “What was that?” Meadow asked looking around the table “probably a murder whose going to kill us all” Hannah said sarcastically. “It probably was the wind” June said reassuringly.

Suddenly there was another loud bang, this time it was much closer, it sounded like something fell in the hallway just outside the kitchen. Mark put his fork down and got up to see what was making that noise.

“What the hell?” Mark exclaimed from the hall way. The three of them quickly left the diner table, once they caught up with Mark they all looked at the chandelier that once hung in the hallway of the second floor, where the bedrooms were. It had fallen to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

“Good thing no one was under that” June said worried. “ going to take a while to clean up” Mark said “everyone go out on their shoes, there are glass prices everywhere.” “The cabin is trying to kill us” Hannah said “girls go out on your shoes” June ordered. The girls complied and left the hall way.

That night they were all in their beds and the lights were off. Hannah and Meadow were not happy that they had to share a room. They felt like they were being treated like children. “I hate it here” Hannah said into the darkness , “me too” Meadow agreed. The cabin groaned and sighed. “This place is old and shitty” Hannah said Meadow giggled.

. There was a light knock at the door. They both stopped talking and looked at the door expecting one of their parents to come in, but no one did. There was another knock this time harder than before. “Hello?” Meadow called out. No one answered. The knock became rapid pounding on the door, louder and harder.

“What’s happening” Meadow asked fearfully. Hannah was too afraid to answer. The door handle to their bedroom began to rattle. The door handle turned left then right as if trying to open the door. The door handle began to shake. The door banged against its frame, the girls thought whatever was on the other side would break through. They both didn’t know what was going on or what to do. They stayed in their beds in shock and petrified. The door burst open suddenly and both girls screamed as loud as they could. Nothing or no one was there. The banging stopped and the house was quiet. They both stared into the hallway for a moment silent trying to process what had just happened. Eventually Meadow got up from the bed and walked over to close the door, as she reached for the door handle the door swung itself closed with a bang. The two girls screamed, Meadow quickly walked backwards away from the door and into her bed.

What the girls didn’t know that down the hall, where their parents where, at the same time. They were experiencing something completely different. They kept hearing footsteps running up and down the hallway. They thought it was the girls. “Girls go to bed” Mark shouted laying down in the bed. “What are they doing?” June wondered. The footsteps continued. Mark sighed pulled off the covers and stormed to the door. As soon as he opened the door, the footsteps stopped. Mark stuck his head out, didn’t see the girls, he didn’t hear anything not any footsteps or what was happening in the girls room. Bewildered he closed the door, “there was no one” he said to his wife she looked at him confused. Mark got back into bed, the foot steps resumed. Then they heard a young child laughing in the hall. “What is going on?” Make said turned to his wife. She shrugged, but looked worried. The cabin began to creak and moan. There was a mouldy smell that filled the air. It was overwhelming, it almost smelt like a dead body. They both heard water running. Mark stood up in a puddle of water, it was strange it wasn’t there a moment ago, it suddenly appeared. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, he suddenly felt someone watching him. He quickly turned around, no one was there.

The cabin was done toying with its victims, it was time to feast!

The bedroom door slammed open, the wood door banged loudly against the wall. The door handle left an indent in the wall. Mark suddenly heard the girls screaming in terror. Mark turned to his wife who was now also standing in water. Mark quickly ran down the hall. As he got to the girls room, the door quickly shut. He tried to turn the handle but it seems locked. He began banging on the door yelling, “let me in girls.” He could still hear them screaming on the other side. He banged louder and louder. He took a few steps back and ran into the door, shoulder first. He tried it again and again, but the oak door wouldn’t budge. He ran his fingers through his hair, he was stressed, worried and overwhelmed. He looked down the hall and he saw his wife standing there. She stared at Mark “what’s happening?” She asked. Mark didn’t have time to reply.

The door to the girls bedroom quickly opened, the suddenness startled an already frazzled Mark. He stumbled backwards, he lost his footing, and fell backwards over the railing onto the floor below.

The sound of his neck cracking was unmistakable. June looked over the railing and saw her husband’s twisted body at the end of the stairs. She ran down the hall, passing her daughters room. As she rounded the banister, she felt something sharp, like a piece of glass from the chandelier, press deeply into the heel of her foot. June tumbled down the stairs, breaking her arm, two ribs, cracking her skull. She stopped rolling at the bottom of the stairs and was dead.

The girls stopped screaming, there was silence in the house. You could hear a pin drop. Hannah quickly got out of the bed and ran out of the bedroom, she also stepped on a sharp piece of glass, she slipped, falling backwards. Her head hit the ground with a loud thud. Blood slowly seeped out from her head onto the oak floors. Meadow could see the stream of blood flowing down the hall, past the bedroom.

Meadow slowly got up, bracing herself for what she will see. She rounded the corner and saw her sister, she cautiously walked over her sister then down the stairs. She gently stepped over her parents. The cabin wasn’t going to let her get away. As Meadow reached for the front door handle, she didn’t notice the chandelier hanging above her, nor did she hear it be released from its bearings. It crashed onto her.

The blood of the family seeped into the wood of the floorboards. Overtime the cabin consumed those decomposing bodies. The cabin savoured each moment until the only thing left of them were bones.

The cabin was satisfied for now. It would sleep until the candle burned once more, awakening it, getting the cabin ready for its next victims