Horror logo

Blind Date

The haunted house

By Suzanne Bennett McelroyPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
Top Story - April 2021
16

I met Kevin, my blind date, last week online. Both of us love haunted houses, so we're heading to a creepy old mansion near my condo for our first outing. The millionaire, who owns the house, throws a spooky shindig every month on the full moon. This year Halloween landed on a super blue moon, and we thought it would be cool to check it out. We're here said Kevin, as we pulled up to the mansion's rusty old gates. Slowly they began to open, letting us drive through.

"Whoa, creepy," I exclaimed, taken a little back when we saw phantom children playing on sea-saws entering the grounds. I turned towards Kevin, giggling, "They look amazing, don't you think?" as we watched them while driving by. Look over there," I cried when a phantom of a hunter roamed in front of us with his hound!" "Wow," "He has a lantern and a gun in his hands, pretty cool," I blurted out, amazed at how realistic they looked. "There's a man in the window, spooky, woohoo," Kevin teased, pointing to the lite-up mansion. "They went all out for this gathering, didn't they?" he exclaimed.

Looking up, I screamed, "Watch out," when a woman in a torn bloody nightgown appeared in the headlights. Slamming on the breaks, Kevin cursed under his breath. Freaking out, he pulled over to the shoulder of the driveway and got out of the car. He walked around the vehicle, making sure we didn't hit anyone. Shaking his head, stumbling, "There's no one there," Kevin open the door and climbed back in the car. They must have a projector, somewhere on the grounds," piped Kevin as he put his hand on my knee, noticing my apprehension. I muttered, "That was strange," while I looked back to make sure no one was still behind us on the ground.

A little shook up, we finally approached the mansion and parked the car. I turned to him nervously, proclaiming, "There are no lights on anymore, weird!" " Don't be scared. It'll be fun, I promise," he chuckled as we got out and looked around. "Are you ready," he asked me. Grabbing my hand, we headed towards the house. "The lights were on a minute ago," I replied, following close behind him. Taking the stairs two at a time, we reached the front door. Slowly they swung open without us knocking. Looking at Kevin, I stuttered, "How'd they do that?" "I don't know," he laughed as we walked in. Putting his arm around my waist, he whispered in my ear, "Remember, it's haunted," as the doors slammed shut behind us.

The first thing we saw when we entered was a registration book on a stand. An antique crystal merlot was on a ledge in front of an old mirror above the text. "I guess we're supposed to sign our names," sighed Kevin. As he grabbed the pen, the pages began to move, landing on a blank page. "This is awesome," Kevin declared after checking to see if there were any wires. "Holy, they have great side effects," he stated as we watched an apparition of a limping girl approaching, fading in and out. Nervously I said, "It doesn't look like side effects to me, and she sure looks natural," as the lady hobbled towards us.

I took out my phone to record her because I couldn't believe my eyes. I've never been a scared cat, but the hairs stood up on end while a disturbing shiver slithered down my spine, giving me a chill. Excitedly Kevin stated, "We're supposed to find the dining room and meet everyone there. Looking through the camera lens, the creepy woman crawled on the walls, following behind us. When I looked without it, she wasn't there. My flight or fight response begone to kick in. "Maybe we should go," I whispered as my voice shook, becoming fearful of being in the house. "Why? "asked Kevin. I showed him the video and, he snickered, "It's a haunted house, my dear. "Yeah, it's supposed to be a fake haunted house, not real," I complained as I watched her stand behind him.

"Don't you find it strange no one else is here but us?" I asked him when we were the only people on the house tour. Shrugging off my concern, he stated, "No, they probably went ahead of us." Looking around our surroundings, I pronounced, "If you say so," not being able to shake off the dread I was feeling. "Good Evening, I'm Mr. Babcock, the tour guide," claimed a man with a raspy voice. Jumping, I turned around to look behind me to see who was talking. An ancient man hunched over stood in the doorway. "Follow me," Mr. Babcock said as he began the tour. With my mind racing, I followed, wondering if I should leave."Maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me," I thought to myself as we entered the ballroom.

An old chandelier covered in candles dangled from the ceiling in the center of the room. While looking up, we notice a regal old lady circling the chandelier. Hearing us enter the room, she stopped in mid-air. Her head jolted up, glaring at us. She howled, "Get out, run, while you still can,” before she vanished into thin air. "Did you see her and hear what she said?" I asked the two men. "She part of the tour, realistic don't you think?" replied the guide. "She sure is," stated Kevin as we climbed the stairs that zig-zag up to the second floor.

Reaching the top, a vision of the limping lady appeared. Her eyes meet mine with a frightful stare. She began to beckon me to join her. I started to back down the stairs, almost tripping as she raced towards us and stopped in front of me. Beside her, three more women materialized with their hands stretched out. Their bony fingers started clawing me all over. Scared to death, I began to hyperventilate before they disappeared. I had to double-check the camera to make sure I saw them. "Come on, they're not real," laughed Kevin when I didn't want to go any further. "I guess your right," I replied as he took my hand, dragging me back up the stairs.

The guide brought us into the master bedroom. Kevin's face turned white as a ghost. "What's Wrong?" I asked him when he started to back out of the room. He pointed to a picture of the regal old lady on the wall. "That's my mother, and she went missing ten years ago," he exclaimed. Out of the image, a woman pulled herself out and headed towards him. Stopping in front of him, she screamed, "Kevin, he killed me, run." We turned around just when Mr. Babcock ran towards us with a knife stabbing Kevin in the chest. Turning, I tried to get away. Before I could, I felt the knife slice down my back. Dropping my phone, I fell to the floor, as everything went black. When I woke up, I stood in front of a car in its headlights covered in blood dead. I watched as a man got out of the vehicle to check if I was still there. I screamed to warn him right before I disappeared. I became locked in the house with the other victims, never seen in the outside world again.



16

About the Creator

Suzanne Bennett Mcelroy

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.