The Laugh of the Unseen

Everyone avoided the old, abandoned mansion in the isolated settlement of Purbachal. Once a magnificent estate, the mansion was covered in dense vines, its walls collapsing and its windows damaged. No one dared inside, and it had been allowed to deteriorate for decades. The locals said it was haunted by a malevolent entity they called "The Unseen."

Generation after generation had heard the tales of The Unseen. A terrifying laugh that seemed to come out of nowhere and reverberated through the walls could be heard by everyone entering the estate. The laugh was something else entirely; it could freeze blood and break the bravest soul's courage. Many asserted that those who heard it either never came back or, if they did, they changed forever.

There was one young man in the hamlet who did not think such stories were true, despite these cautions. Arif was his name. Arif was an inquisitive and daring person who was constantly looking to push the limits of superstition and fear. He was intrigued by the mansion's claims, but he was also of the opinion that they were nothing more than the fables of old wives. Arif decided to investigate the mansion one evening as the sun sank below the horizon, illuminating the village with lengthy shadows.

Just in case, Arif packed a tiny backpack with a knife, a few snacks, and a flashlight. Excitement and fear pounded in his heart as he headed nearer the home. The mansion's path was choked with weeds, and the temperature dropped as he got closer. A deep purple hue enveloped the sky above, and a ghostly silence permeated the trees as the wind whispered through them.

Arif halted for a time, gazing at the imposing building in front of him, as he arrived at the home. With its cracked windows like vacant eyes, the mansion appeared to loom above him, observing his every move. Arif inhaled deeply before pushing open the creaky gate and entering.

The mansion's exterior and interior were equally dilapidated. The air was heavy with dust, and the flooring gave way beneath his weight. The wallpaper on the walls was peeling and discolored, and cobwebs hung like a shroud across the ceiling. His flashlight flickered as he moved through the dimly lit passageways, creating odd shadows that moved over the walls.

Then Arif heard a sound so faint, so indiscernible, that it chilled his blood. It began softly, then became louder, reverberating through the deserted hallways. The laugh was high-pitched, feminine in tone, but it had an otherworldly quality that made him shiver. Breath tightening in his throat, Arif halted dead in his steps. The chuckle continued, getting closer even as he tried to tell himself it was all in his head.

Arif, desperate to locate the source of the sound, tightened his hold on the flashlight and moved forward. He felt as though the laugh was taking him farther inside the home. He trailed it along a tiny hallway adorned with antique pictures and up a huge staircase, the steps creaking beneath his weight. He felt as though the eyes of the people in the photographs followed him, their faces frozen into contorted smiles.

Arif eventually came to a door at the end of the hallway. The chuckle seemed to be coming from behind the door and was getting louder now, nearly unbearable. Arif pulled the door open and entered with quivering hands.

With the exception of an elaborate mirror that hung alone on the far wall, the room was large and empty. The mirror was ancient and dirty, with filth all over its surface. Arif stepped closer, his reflection hardly discernible. The chuckle abruptly ended as he stood in front of the mirror, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

Arif briefly believed that the stories had ended and that they were only that—stories. However, things started to shift as he looked in the mirror. The eyes went completely black, and the face that was staring back at him contorted into an ugly grimace. With his heart pounding, Arif staggered back, but the reflection moved forward, putting its hands up on the glass as though attempting to escape.

Then the chuckle came back, louder and more sinister than before. Arif was overcome with a sensation of dread as it echoed off the walls and filled the room. Spiderwebs of fractures spread across the mirror's surface as it started to crack. Arif could hear nothing but the warped, frenzied laughter as it grew louder.

Arif turned to run, terrified, but the door slammed shut, keeping him inside. He was filled with panic as the laughter got louder and the air got colder. Arif tried to drown out the sound by covering his ears, but it was ineffective. He was on the verge of going insane when the laughing crept into his mind.

Arif came to understand in his last moments that The Unseen was real and the stories were accurate. Like so many others before him, the mansion had claimed him. The laugh, so horrible and otherworldly that it would reverberate through the mansion's hallways forever, was the last sound he heard before darkness overcame him.

The entire story is fictitious and unrealistic.