The Beach House

It was summer my favourite time of year, and I always try to go away for a few days in August time, I love the sea so usually rent out a small beach house somewhere on the coast, I like to go to different locations to experience different cultures and enjoy amazing views. This year I wanted to go to a small seaside coast in the southeast of England, I had heard it was a beautiful place to visit with lots of activities to keep me busy, i scouted online for hours trying to find a reasonable priced house to rent for a couple of days, it was quite expensive, must be a popular location for tourists, I had almost given up hope when i saw the perfect place, from the pictures it had everything I needed for a great time away, plus it was right on the beach, I couldn’t understand why it was so cheap to stay there, there must be an error on the website, it was owned by a private landlord so decided to contact them to enquire about the price, there wasn’t a phone number on the website just email address so sent an email to clarify the price and whether the house was available on the dates I needed. I sent an email and too my amazement I got an email straight back within seconds which was quite strange, the price was correct on the website and the dates were available, I was thrilled, and paid a deposit to rent the property for the days I wanted, the landlord sent me all the details for the house, and where to find the key, he gave me instructions to how to use the stove and how to operate the heating, but what was odd, he told me to always lock the house in the evening, and always keep the upstairs bathroom door shut at night, I thought this was a strange request but reassured him that I would do as he asked, and keep everything locked up at night.

The day has arrived, the car is packed up and my house locked, I kept thinking have I done everything and turned everything off, I am sure I have, I just need to relax and enjoy the next few days away by the sea. It was quite a long way down to the coast, over 5 hours, the traffic was terrible, so many roadworks along the route, I stopped after 3 hours into the journey for a quick break and something to eat. I arrived just after 6:20pm at the house which was easy to find thanks to the clear directions from the landlord and a reliable sat nav, i pulled into the drive, the house was not quite like the pictures and looked older, it had wood panels on the front which had a lot of weather damage from being directly by the sea, it was a lovely size house, it didn’t have much of a garden, there were sand dunes with long grass which sloped down to the splashing waves, there was a rickety wooden fence leading down the beach disappearing into the sand by the shore. I started unpacking my bags from the boot of the car, and set them down on the doorstep as a looked for the key, it was hidden in a fake rock mixed with a bunch of rocks by an empty flower bed, I unlocked the front door and pushed it open, I picked up my bags and walked into the hallway, as the sun was starting to set I looked for the light switch in the hall as it was getting gloomy, the light flickered into life but wasn’t the brightest glow, I decided to explore the house before sorting out my bags, the hallway was quite small with a wooden cupboard for storing coats and shoes, the first room to the right was the lounge which was very spacious and had a cosy fire place surrounded by old worn furniture, there were double doors overlooking the beach which opened up onto a weathered wooden decking covered in damp and mould, the kitchen was next, which had old appliances with a ancient looking oven, it needed wood to heat the stove, thankfully I had instructions on how to use the fire, there was a downstairs toilet which seemed quite modern compared to the rest of the rooms, each room had plain cream wallpaper which was old and peeling away in the corners, I headed up the wooden staircase to look at the bedrooms, there were 2 bedrooms with the same coloured wallpaper, and build in wardrobes, the master bedroom had a on suite bathroom with a freestanding bath tub in the middle. I was pleased with the house even though it had a few issues, it was a house of character. I headed back downstairs to grab my bags to unpack, once I had emptied my bags out and hung and clothes away in the wardrobe I was too tired to cook anything so just had some sandwiches and a packet of crisps. It was 8:10pm, it wasn’t quite pitch black out so decided to walk down to the beach to see the view from the sea, I went through the double doors in the lounge closing them behind me, and walked across the decking down to the sand, the wind was getting up and blowing quite a cold breeze across the dunes, even though it was chilly it was very beautiful, I bet it looks even better in the daylight, I looked back towards the house and noticed the doors into the lounge were wide open, I know I closed them, the wind must have blown them open again, I headed back up the beach towards the house and locked the doors behind me. I decided to get an early night as had lots of exploring lined up for the next day, so locked up the front door, turned off all the downstairs lights and headed up to the bedroom, I didn’t close the bathroom door after using it as didn’t see any harm leaving it open, Feeling extremely tired I climbed into bed which was very comfortable and soft, set my alarm for the morning and soon crashed out.

It was 2:30am and something loud woke me up, it sounded like a door slamming shut, I got out of bed to investigate the noise, it was cold so put on my dressing gown, which I was glad I brought with me, I put the bedroom light on and checked the windows, nothing was open so walked out onto the landing, nothing was open in the other bedroom or in the bathroom, so headed downstairs maybe I didn’t lock the doors properly, the front door was shut and locked and nothing was open in the lounge and kitchen, maybe I imagined it or even dreamt it, nothing seemed suspicious downstairs, so decided to head back to bed, when suddenly I started hearing footsteps above, it seemed to be coming from the master bedroom, I looked towards the ceiling at the wooden boards and noticed dust failing from the panels where the footsteps appeared to be, what could that be, I slowly walked up the stairs towards the landing, once at the top glanced in the direction of the master bedroom, I couldn’t see anything and no sign of anyone, I crept along the landing and into the bedroom, nothing, I double checked the windows again, still nothing was open, I was convinced I imagined it or the wind must have blown in from somewhere, there was no other explanation for the noise, I closed the bedroom door and climbed back into bed, I was so drained and needed to get some sleep, it didn’t take me long to fall asleep.

Something woke me again, I checked the clock, it was 4:15am, I saw that the bedroom door was wide open, this time I noticed a strange smell which seemed to be a salty seaweed odour, I turned on the bedside lamp and got out of bed, i slowly walked across the bedroom when I noticed water on the floor, there was a trail of puddles across the wooden floorboards coming from the on suite, I turned on the light in the bathroom and looked with astonishment at the bathtub, it was completely full of water, but not clean water from the tap, it was dirty water with seaweed floating on the top, what was going on, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, I rolled the sleeve up on my night gown and reached into the tub to pull the plug, the cold sea water started draining out, I followed the water trail which lead out of the bedroom, followed it onto the landing and down the stairs into the lounge, the double doors to the beach were wide open again and swinging in the wind, the water trailed across the decking and even onto the sand towards the sea, it was as if someone dripping wet had walked through the house, something bizarre was going on here, maybe there was someone else in the house or maybe I was dreaming. I locked up the doors behind me and went to the cupboards in the kitchen to find some cloths or a mop to clean up the water, I didn’t want the water to stain the wood panels. It was now 4:45am and I think I must have only had 2 hours sleep, i cleaned up the water and headed back to bed praying that nothing else strange was going to happen. My alarm buzzed at 8:30am, I felt very groggy and was in need of a fresh cup of coffee, I got dressed and headed to the kitchen to put the coffee on, the sun was shining through the kitchen window, it was going to be a beautiful day, I made myself some cereal and drank 3 cups of coffee to try and wake myself up, I planned my day which involved a tour round the coast and a trip to some local shops, after tidying and clearing up the kitchen I packed up my bag with my daily essentials, locked the front door behind me and headed off for the day.

I arrived back at the beach house at 6:35pm with a couple of bags of shopping including cod and chips for my tea, I dropped the shopping in the lounge to sort later and went to the decking out the back to enjoy my food in front of the setting sun with a bottle of crisp white wine. I sat there for a while staring at the crashing waves on the sand, I felt so relaxed and could feel my eyes getting heavy, I drifted off to sleep. I suddenly woke to the rumble of thunder in the distance, it was now dark, and a breeze was blowing across from the sea, I checked my watch it was 9:20pm, I can’t believe I slept for so long, I picked up my plate and went back into the lounge closing and locking the doors behind me, as I walked back through the lounge I noticed the strange smell again, the same salty seaweed odour from last night, I walked around the room trying to find the source of the smell, nothing. I was drained from the long day out and decided to head to bed early especially after the lack of sleep from the previous night, I just hoped nothing strange was going to happen tonight. I made sure that everything was locked up before turning in for the night and made my way up to bed, it didn’t take me long to fall asleep as I felt extremely tired.

A loud crash of thunder woke me, I checked the clock it was 3:40am, I could hear the rain beating down outside, lightning was filling the room which was making it hard to get back to sleep, I thought about reading a book for a while until the storm dies down so reached for the bedside lamp only to find it wouldn’t turn on, I got out of bed to switch on the main light but nothing, maybe a fuse had blown, I picked up my mobile phone from the bedside cabinet and switched on the torch, I wonder where the fuse box is, there was a small cupboard under the stairs maybe I will start there, as I walked across the bedroom I stepped in a puddle of water, as I directed the light to the ground I saw another trail of water coming from the bathroom, but this time it looked like boot prints and there was the strong smell of seaweed in the air, it was very cold and I could see my own breath, I followed the boot prints which led round to my side of the bed, like someone was standing there watching me sleep, a cold shiver went down my spine at the thought of it, I walked out of the room onto the landing and traced the boot prints downstairs into the lounge, the back doors were wide open again, rain was blowing onto the lounge floor, I know I definitely locked the doors, I quickly ran up to close the doors, something spooky was going on, I considered contacting the landlord to explain what was happening but I don’t think he will believe me, I couldn’t believe it myself. I cleaned up the mess but I constantly felt like someone was watching me, it made me feel very uneasy, i found myself looking over my shoulder, it was now 4:05am so headed back upstairs to try and get some sleep, once in the bedroom I closed the door, I wanted to lock the bedroom door as thought it might help with my anxiety and help me sleep easier, but there wasn’t a lock so decided to move one of the small bedside cabinets in front of the closed door, I was probably being silly but it made me feel better.

The storm was still going strong outside, the rain was still beating down on the windows, I struggled to get back to sleep, with the wind howling. I heard a strange noise by the door, there was a scraping sound, I slowly turned over to look at the door to find the cabinet had moved across the floor and the door was slowly opening by itself, I froze glaring at the empty doorway, there was a flash of lightning which lit up the whole room and standing in the frame of the door was a figure of a man which disappeared into the darkness, I grabbed my phone from the cabinet and leaped out of bed, I shined the light at the door, there was nobody there, I slowly walked towards the door, my hands started shaking as I could fell the fear growing, someone or something was in this house, as I walked out onto the landing there was a cold mist drifting through the house and was flowing down the stairs, I creeped down the stairs and into the lounge, the doors were wide open again, I rushed over to close them when I heard footsteps again from above, they were moving from the bedroom to the landing, I walked towards the hallway and glanced up the stairs, I was terrified, not sure what I was going to see, do I dare go up the stairs or make an escape, I looked in the direction of the front door, I was tempted to run but I was fighting against my curiosity to go up the stairs, the footsteps continued across the landing towards the top of the stairs, the salty smell was very strong and more mist flooded down the staircase, there was water dripping down the wooden steps, there is definitely something supernatural going on, I tentatively climbed the stairs shaking even more, water started dripping down the walls, the salty seaweed smell was getting worse, I couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore but the mist was getting thicker and had a dirty green shade, there was seaweed scattered across the floor on the landing with more wet footprints leading to the master bedroom, I crept into the bedroom shining my mobile torch in all directions including over my shoulder, I wasn’t sure if something was going to sneak up on me, the fog seemed to be coming from the bathroom, I followed the boot prints coming from the bathroom , once again the bath was full of dirty sea water and seaweed, I glanced over the side of the bathtub into the water where I saw a mans reflection in the water, he appeared to be standing right next to me, I screamed and turned to run out of the bathroom when I slipped on the puddle of water and crashed to the ground, I was to scared to notice if I had hurt myself, I scrambled to my feet and continued to run out of the bedroom and down the stairs towards the front door, I grabbed my car keys and jacket and headed to the car, the rain was pelting down and I had to fight the wind to open the drivers side door, once inside I locked the doors and sat to calm down to clear my mind, I need to think rational about what to do next, I couldn’t just leave with out my belongings, but wasn’t going to spend another night in the house, so decided to sleep in the car for tonight, at least I felt safe in here.

Somehow I managed to get some sleep during the night, and woke up to glorious blue skies and sun light shining across the beach, there was no evidence of any storm from the previous night, I unlocked the car and got out, I then noticed a black and blue bruise across my knee from where I slipped in the bathroom, I walked back into the house unsure what I would find, once inside a cautiously made my way into the lounge first, where the back doors were wide open, water had flooded the wooden flooring near the door due to the heavy rain fall from the storm last night, once I closed the doors I headed upstairs, there was more water on the stair case and on the landing, which also had trails of seaweed, the fog had disappeared and I couldn’t smell any salt or seaweed in the air, I had a lot of work to do to clean all the water up, I had cleaned up all the mess and packed up all my belongings, I loaded up my car with my luggage so I was all set to go, I needed to email the landlord to let him know I was going to cut my holiday short but when I tried to sent the email it gave me a error message of undelivered email, I rechecked the confirmation email I had received from the landlord, I definitely had the correct email, but it still wasn’t letting me send an email, I checked the booking website again but couldn’t find the property anywhere, there was no trace of it which was very strange.

I realised that I was extremely hungry as I hadn’t eaten since dinner last night, so headed to the kitchen to make something to eat, it was now 2:30pm and I felt much better after having food and a few coffees as still felt drained from lack of sleep, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to drive all the way home feeling this tired, so thought I would get a couple of hours sleep before going home, i didn’t want to go upstairs so just sat in the lounge, i set an alarm on my phone and tried to doze in the armchair. I finally woke to find it was pitch black, I checked my phone it was 8:45pm, I set the alarm for 6:00pm but It didn’t go off, why didn’t the alarm sound, I rose to my feet when I started to hear footsteps coming from upstairs, I noticed green mist flowing down the stairs, and it had become extremely cold, the smell of salt was strong again, I tried the light switches but nothing would turn on, I had to resort to my mobile torch again, I stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked towards the landing and what I saw chilled me to the bone, at the top of the stairs stood a man staring down at me, he was dripping wet and covered in seaweed, he looked like a sailor, he wore a dirty linen long sleeve shirt with a black waist coat, and dark brown trousers with a dirty red scarf tied around his waist, and black boots, he had long, wet, straggly brown hair with a matching beard, he had very pale skin and was extremely thin, the bones in his face was very prominent. I turned and ran as fast as my legs would go towards the front door, I grabbed my car keys and ran outside without closing the door behind me, I unlocked the car and jumped in, turned the key, and bolted away from the house as quick as I could without looking back.