The Mansion

Passing by the old mansion Carol felt the eerie vibes that radiated from it. Checking behind her to make certain that her little brother was still close, she looked twice. Glancing over at the creepy building, she remembered the stories she had heard about the witch that used to live there. As she walked closer to the corner she felt like someone was looking at her so she checked the house and saw no one. She was drawn to a window on the top floor where she thought she glimpsed an old woman looking at her. Trying not to scare her brother, she tried to rush him along without saying too much.

“Michael, we have to hurry. Mom’s going to be mad if we're late.”

“Why is that lady staring at us?”

“What lady?”

“In the window.”

He pointed to the window where she had just looked.

“I don’t know. Let’s just go.”

She roughly grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her.

“You’re hurting me.”

“Then hurry up. Mom’s gonna be mad. Let's go.”

Michael stared at the lady as they tried to hurry past her house. As Carol and her brother reached the end of the property, she felt a pang in her stomach so strong she dropped to her knees.

“Carol? What’s wrong?”

Struggling to answer, she gasped out a response.

“My stomach hurts.”

“Get up. We have to go. She’s going to get us.”

Michael struggled to help his sister to her feet. Letting out a big breath, she collapsed onto the concrete.

“Carol! Get up! She's coming!”

“I can’t.”

Michael grabbed both of her hands and tried to drag her to her feet. Michael looked at the house to determine how much time he had left to get his sister moving. The witch was halfway across the lawn when Carol finally got enough strength to rise to her feet. Holding her stomach she quickened her pace. Fear being her biggest motivator she accelerated to a run. Rounding the corner they turned to see if she was following them, shocked to not see her anywhere.

“Come on, Michael.”

Both children stared at the house until they could no longer see it. Carol told her friends about her experience.

The next day Carol and her friends made a trip to the mansion. They stood on the sidewalk outside the house.

“I heard that she used people’s blood as lotion,” said Carol.

“I heard that she kept people chained in the basement and used their body parts to make spells,” said Emily.

“I heard she used the blood of children to bathe in,” said Sara.

“I bet you can’t spend an entire night there?” said Emily.

“I would,” said Sara.

“You guys are doing it without me,” said Carol.

Sara attempted to climb the fence and got halfway and dropped to the ground writhing in pain.

“What happened?” asked Emily.

“She’s watching. Let’s get out of here,” said Carol.

“She’s hurt,” said Emily.

“It’s the witch. We have to get out of here.”

Managing to get Sara back on her feet, they practically dragged her. Once they arrived back at Emily’s house the pain subsided.

“We can’t let her get away with this,” said Emily.

“What are you planning?” asked Carol.

Emily looked at her friends and smiled as she explained her plan.

Later that evening the girls gathered the things they needed to seek their revenge on the witch. They slunk out the back door carrying their supplies in a backpack. Once there Sara instigated the party.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

Sara reached into the backpack and pulled out a lighter and bottle of kerosene.

“Just set it on fire so we could leave,” said Carol.

“I want her to see her burn,” said Sara.

“What if we get caught?” asked Emily.

“What are they going to do? We’re eleven.”

“Sara, hurry,” said Emily.

Sara entered the yard with her tools ready. When Sara was halfway across the yard all three girls dropped to their knees in agony, screaming. Sara managed to push the pain aside enough to finish the task. Crawling on the grass to get closer she struggled with the pain, but managed to light the cloth and throw it at the house.

Urging Sara to hurry back to the group before setting ablaze as well, they groaned with pain. Returning back to the fence line in time to watch the house go up in flames she felt the pain subside. With the pain in their stomachs they helped Sara back over the fence before the fire got too big. The girls tried to crawl away through the pain. Slowly moving they tried to move while enduring the pain, but it became too much. They collapsed onto the sidewalk.

Michael asked his mom questions about the old house.

“I heard an old lady lived in the old house?” asked Michael.

“Sweetheart. Nobody has lived there for over a hundred years.”

“Then how is the house still standing?”

“You know… I never really thought about it. I only assumed that someone was spending the money on the upkeep.”

“I think it burned down.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“I saw it.”

“Saw it where?”

“In my dream.”

“It was only a bad dream.”

“Carol was there.”

Nervously she looked at her son and wondered if had witnessed the event she worried about her daughter. Leaving to search she became frantic. She walked to the old mansion to find the girls’ bodies lying on the pavement. Rushing to help them, crying hysterically, Emily’s mom noticed they had been burned. Looking towards the mansion she noticed it had also been burned and she realized they burned trying to escape.

The next day, Emily’s mom checked if the city had barricaded the house as they claimed. Upon arrival she noticed that the house was fully erect. Standing in horror, a scream froze in her throat. Turning to leave, she saw the old woman in the window.