The Ghost House

The Ghost House
By Stephen A Abell

Number of words: 1460


"Sit back. Relax and take a weight off. I have a tale to tell."
These magic words placed the audience under his spell.

"It's about a house that's as old as sin
"and the crux of this story is held therein."

As if for effect there came, from outside, a mighty crash of thunder
and lightning flashed: The old man crossed himself and hunched to cower

but steeled himself when he saw the party-goers smirk;
they must have thought him a senile old jerk.

"I am not a fool, nor a coward so please don't judge me as such.
"When my tale is over you'll understand why to reality I clutch"

The merrymakers took their seats around the blazing fire,
with glasses of wine, held tight, they awaited him to drag them into his personal gyre.

"The setting for this macabre story is a house on the outskirts of town.
"Me and my mates made a pact, one day, to meet there at sundown.

"For, you see, we'd heard rumours that the old place was haunted.
"And as the sun set all the want-to-be hero’s had gathered.

"It stood, ominous, forlorn, dark and brooding:
"It looked a million years old and still it seemed to be ageing.

"The stone walls of the house were grey due to the years;
"The windows were boarded and the doors stood solid with there rotting veneers.

"So straws were drawn to see who would enter first.
"I drew the shortest. Fear stole into veins, but I was coerced

"with punches, kicks and names of “coward" and "yella",
"but before my shaky hand could wrap around the door fixture

"it opened wide with an audible creak
"and all my mates laughed when they heard me shriek.

"A puff of dust was expelled into my face
"and a putrid, acrid smell escaped the terrible place.

"I felt a hand firm in the middle of my back
"as I was pushed forward Mickey yelled "There ain't no turnin' back."

"Over the threshold the smell was twice as bad, if not worse
"and I thanked God that my parents weren't there to hear me curse.

"I turned around to beckon my gang to follow.
"The stench must have hit them for their laughter and mocking sounded hollow

"to my ears as I waited for my eyes to grow accustomed to the dim light,
"for I knew that I wouldn't be any good without my sight;

"for what perils and dangers were held within this abode -
"stairs to fall down, tables to walk into, old gas lines that might explode?

"Mickey, Jimmy & Steve were now enshrouded in the darkness of the hall.
"From down the passageway a faint small sound emanated and I felt my skin crawl.

"Steve, with bravado dissipated turned to leave
"but stopped dead for what he saw he was unable to believe.

"Where once a door to reality stood,
"now there was only a stone wall and no sign of any wood.

""Oh No, Oh No, Oh NO" Steve repeatedly cried.
""Hey," Mickey said "everything's gonna be alright" and we all knew he'd lied.

""There has to be another way out of here, aint that right fellow's,"
""If the worst comes to the worst, we could always break one of the windows""

"The scream cut through the air like a razor slicing through paper,
"breaking our attention. We knew from where the horrible sound arose; The Cellar.

"Upon the shriek there came a weighty thud,
"like a heavy bare-foot slapping down on wood.

"There was only a seconds silence before we heard another footfall.
"Something was climbing the stairs out of the cellar at the end of the hall.

"All the heroes left, fast into the shadows and on into the night;
"leaving four teenage boys cowering in the hallway with fright.

"Mickey grabbed Steve's arm and started to run. "Into the Kitchen" he called
""The backdoor may be our only way out." As I started to move I noticed something scrawled

"on the wall, by the cellar door. "Beware the beast!"
"Is the door locked, I wondered, or will it shortly be unleashed

"to chase use around this old, dank and dark abode?
"I had made it to the kitchen, heart beating fast, when the roar bellowed

"causing dust and old plaster to fall and twist in the stinky air.
"I felt tears of fear fall from my eyes as I screamed "This ain't fair."

"Mickey was looking for the door to make good our escape
""This was meant to be fun, a laugh", I stated to deaf ears, "just a stupid little jape."

"Jimmy stood guard, looking out down the dust enshrouded hallway,
"When a babble of voices was clearly heard; another addition to our melee.

"I turned around and stood by Jim. Down where the front door should've stood
"were shadows moving in familiar ways and my heart jumped at the recognised falsehood.

""People" I cried; I practically screamed. We made to join the dark crowd
"when a new fear fell about me like a shroud.

"I was too late to stop my friends from moving as down the hallway they ran.
"I understood to who we were actually running, a group of dead men.

""No!" I screamed; "Stop!" I pleaded.
"All of my calls fell on deaf ears and my words went unheeded.

"Jim, Mike & Steve turned, entered the great living room, and vanished from my sight.
"I thought that I'd hear screams but was amazed at the laughter of delight

"that echoed down the lonely hall into my awaiting ears,
"and a slight ray of hope broke though the clouds of my fears.

"I hesitantly strode past the cellar door. My hearing listening sharply for another sound,
"But none came and quickly I entered the living room and what I saw left me dumbfound.

"For there was a party in full swing: Guests danced to music, others were schmoozing.
"Mike and the others came over and said we’d soon be leaving

"this house and that our parents were on their way to collect us
"when the roar from the cellar shook the house once again with all it's evilness.

"I turned tail and ran, for I know something was awry
"I wish now that I'd, at least, taken the time to tell my friends goodbye.

"Up the stairs I took myself as the sound of splintering wood screeched in my ears.
"I hid behind the top banister and tried to see through all my tears.

"Out of the darkness that the cellar held strode a beast of white.
"In my confusion I thought it might have been a man, but I knew that wasn't right.

"As the screams started to rise from the party below
"I saw, in my minds eye, the beast raging psycho,

"claws and teeth were shredding the living.
"The screams deafened me; I couldn't hear my heart beating.

“The screaming ceased and I was alone in the silence.
“And in the time of quiet I began to ponder my penance.

“I didn’t come close to imagining my dreadful fate.
“I would sell my soul to the devil if, from the house, I could vacate.

“Now from downstairs came a softer sound, a munching & crunching.
“My mind shouted at me, good God, the beast is lunching.

“As if to add vision to my thought the thing appeared at the doorway.
“The sight my eyes beheld was right out of the infernos of Dante.

“The white fur covered beast was merrily feasting upon a severed arm.
“A terrible sound of sucking attacked my ears as he drank the blood. To my alarm

“around his neck was someone’s intestine.
“Wet. Steamy. Repellent. And sickly glistening.

“I began to feel nauseous and dizzy. I begged for the world to stop its insane spinning.
“Then all around me darkness flooded in. When I came to I was back at the beginning

“of this awful night. Trapped in some mad time loop and this is my millionth try
“to get us all out of this accursed place and back to reality where things aren’t so awry.

“So put down those glasses and turn off the record player;
“Listen, here come my friends it’s time to get out of here.

“Why are you laughing? Do you think this a joke?
With a roar and crack of wood the old man shouts “THE BEAST HAS AWOKE.”

With a speedy stride he fled from the killing room,
up the stairs and straight to the back bedroom.

This was as far from the violence and gore that he could escape.
He pushed the wardrobe back behind the door and lay down on the bed to await

a new day.

The same day.





IN TRIBUTE to Richard Laymon – Thanks for the stories.

If you haven’t read “The Beast House” books then do yourself a favour and get on Amazon – right now.