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The House Remembers Its Tenants

horror◐ Mature
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Daniel turned on his phone flashlight and headed for the stairs. "It's just the house settling," he said, but his voice shook. Mara followed. At the top of the steps, the pacing stopped the second their feet hit the landing. Every door up there was shut. They didn't remember closing them.

Mara tried the door at the end of the hall. Locked. Through the keyhole she saw a thin line of candlelight and a chair rocking on its own. She backed away fast. "Daniel," she said, "there's no power up here. So what's burning?"

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"Forget the door," Mara said. They went down to leave, but the front door now opened onto a brick wall. Daniel pressed his ear to a side door and heard the agent's voice, faint and pleasant: "Sixty-one thousand. Eleven rooms." She was already showing the place to the next couple. While they were still inside it.

TE
Tomas Eklund
6 votes · future 1 of 2