The three of them stepped out of the car, standing before the grand yet unsettling farmhouse. Despite its impressive structure, an undeniable eeriness surrounded it. The silence was almost tangible, making the air feel heavier than it should.
Samuel, never one to fall for superstition, scoffed at the unease creeping up his spine. "See, this is just psychology playing mind games with me. F**k off, man!" he muttered, shaking off the feeling.
Maya, the girl who had joined them, was practically buzzing with excitement. She had introduced herself earlier, explaining that she lived nearby with her two brothers. Being a Sunday, she had nothing to do and was bored out of her mind. When she overheard their ghost-hunting adventure, she jumped at the opportunity to tag along—just for the thrill of it.
Samuel and Danny had made it clear that no one should stay inside while they conducted their inspection. Partly to avoid contaminating their findings, but mostly to save themselves from the awkwardness of pretending to be serious ghostbusters.
According to Danish, the house was currently vacant. He had abandoned it after being relentlessly disturbed by unexplained occurrences. It was the perfect scenario for Samuel and Danny—an empty, allegedly haunted house with a distressed owner willing to let them investigate.
Danish had left the house key for them. With a deep breath, Samuel and Danny stepped forward, unlocking the door and cautiously entering. Despite their skepticism, a small, unspoken part of them remained wary.
Inside, the air was thick with the scent of old wood and neglect. Dust covered nearly every surface, and yet, an unsettling feeling of being watched was impossible to ignore.
Without wasting time, they got to work. They set up their ghost-hunting equipment:
Infrared Cameras: Placed strategically to detect any unusual movement or temperature changes.
EVP Recorder: To capture potential electronic voice phenomena.
EMF Detector: To measure electromagnetic fields, believed by some to signal paranormal activity.
Motion Sensors: To track any movement in the house when no one was supposed to be inside.
Thermal Imaging Camera: To detect heat signatures and rule out hidden sources of movement.
The living room transformed into a monitoring station, a setup straight out of a horror movie. With everything in place, the house was now fully under surveillance. The real test was about to begin.
Samuel turned to Maya. "Alright, your turn. Tell us what you know about this place."
Maya's lips curled into a knowing smile. "First, you tell me what you know. Then I'll fill in the blanks. This house has a history long before Danish bought it, you know?"
Samuel frowned, rubbing his chin as he pieced together what he'd heard.
"Danish bought this house two years ago. He wanted a quiet place to write, far from the chaos of the city. The previous owner moved overseas, and everything seemed fine at first. For six months, nothing happened. But then, everything changed after his family visited for a week."
Samuel pointed to a room on the left. "That room. That's where it all started. Danish told me his family stayed there, and the trouble began with an old cabinet. When he moved in, the cabinet had children's clothes inside. He didn't think much of it and left them there until his family arrived. The day they came, he emptied the cabinet so they could use it. He tossed the clothes out."
Samuel paused, his voice dropping lower. "But later that day… the clothes were back. Folded neatly inside the cabinet. At first, he thought the kids were playing pranks. But then, something else happened."
Danny and Maya leaned in, listening intently.
"His son was playing in the pool outside when, out of nowhere, he started screaming. When they pulled him out, he was gasping, crying—he swore something had grabbed his leg and wouldn't let go."
Samuel exhaled sharply before continuing. "That night, things got worse. The fan turned off on its own. When they switched it back on, the bathroom faucet started running by itself. Every time they fixed one thing, something else went wrong. His family was so freaked out that they packed up and left the same day."
Samuel crossed his arms. "But Danish… he came back. Alone. He wanted to prove to himself that it was all in his head."
He hesitated before delivering the next part. "The moment he stepped inside, something slammed into him. Hard. He blacked out. When he woke up, he was on the floor—his body covered in scratches. Deep, jagged marks, like claw wounds. And then he heard it."
Samuel swallowed. "A voice. Cold. Hollow. Telling him to never come back."
Silence settled over them.
Samuel shrugged. "Now he's desperate to sell the place, but no one will buy it. Word's spread. Everyone around here calls it the haunted house."
He turned back to Maya. "So? What do you know?"
Maya's smile widened. "Oh, I know a lot more than that."
Samuel and Danny exchanged uneasy glances.
"This house originally belonged to the father of the man who moved overseas. And according to old stories… he wasn't just any businessman."
She took a step closer, lowering her voice. "When his business started failing, he got desperate. So, he turned to something... unnatural. A black magician. They say he bought a pet demon—something powerful, something dangerous."
Danny scoffed. "Pet Demon? Like a guardian spirit?"
Maya ignored him. "There were rules. If you want the spirit's help, you have to take care of it. Feed it. Give it a place to stay. Fulfill its requests. As long as you obey, it grants your wishes."
Samuel let out a nervous chuckle. "Let me guess. The old man got greedy?"
Maya nodded. "His business boomed. But at some point… he stopped holding up his end of the deal. He abandoned the demon."
Danny frowned. "And?"
"The demon took his life."
The room seemed to grow colder.
Maya smirked. "Why don't we empty the cabinet again? See if the demon comes out."
Samuel scoffed. "Are you challenging me?"
Maya smirked.
Samuel moved straight to the old cabinet, yanking it open. The air inside smelled musty, like aged wood and something faintly rotten. Without hesitation, he grabbed all the children's clothes, clutching them tightly as he walked out of the room.
Once outside, he turned back toward the house and called out, "Danny, bring the camera! Record this!"
Danny, already intrigued by Samuel's sudden boldness, rushed over with the camera rolling.
Samuel's heart was pounding—not with fear, but with the adrenaline of proving Maya wrong. He stepped further into the yard, away from the house, and tossed the clothes onto the ground. Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a lighter.
Maya's amusement vanished the moment she saw what he was doing.
"Wait—what are you—?"
With a flick of his thumb, the flame ignited.
Samuel didn't hesitate. He crouched down and set fire to the old fabric. Flames licked hungrily at the dry material, curling around the faded cloth as it blackened and disintegrated.
Maya rushed outside, her eyes wide with shock. "What the hell have you done?!"
Danny stood in front of Samuel, camera steady but his expression uneasy.
Then—
A bloodcurdling shriek tore through the air.
It wasn't human. The sound was raw, agonized, and filled with fury. A bone-rattling force reverberated through the farmhouse, causing the ground beneath them to tremble.
Before any of them could react, the glass windows exploded outward. Every single pane shattered simultaneously, sending razor-sharp shards flying in all directions. The sheer force of the blast knocked Samuel off his feet, forcing him to shield his face as tiny slivers of glass rained down around him.
Danny staggered back, gripping the camera, his knuckles turning white. Maya screamed, ducking for cover as the house itself seemed to groan in agony.
Then, silence.
The fire continued crackling, but the air around them had changed—thickening, pressing down like an invisible weight.
Samuel scrambled to his feet, his chest heaving. He turned toward the house just in time to see something shift within the gaping darkness of the broken windows. A shadow. Like a child standing. Watching.
The front door slammed shut with a deafening bang.
A gust of wind surged from nowhere, snuffing out the fire in an instant. Smoke spiraled upward in thin tendrils, as if something had sucked the life out of it.
Danny, still filming, whispered under his breath, "Oh… shit."
Maya's face was drained of color. "You… you've pissed it off."
The wind picked up, swirling violently, rattling the trees and lifting dust from the ground. The house loomed behind them, dark and menacing, exuding a palpable rage.
Then came the whisper. Faint, but undeniable.
A voice.
It slithered through the air, coiling around them like an invisible grip.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Samuel's breath caught in his throat.
Danny lowered the camera, staring at the house as a shadow moved behind the fractured glass.
The front door creaked open just an inch, an invitation—or a warning.
And then… footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Coming from inside.
Something was awake.
To be continued…