The Brush

"Come on guys, you're really not scared to go in there are you?"

Karen and her friends are walking home from school one autumn evening, when Karen decided to go on a little adventure; to the old Dorchester house.

Owned by Henry and Mildred Dorchester back in the 1960's, the house had been abandoned since Mildred's death back in 1964. It was rumored that she died a terrible death, with no known details on how, or what killed her. Henry couldn't bare the grief of his wife's death, so 3 months later, he took his own life inside the house. To this day it all remains a mystery. So word around town was that the house was haunted, so many feared to go near the old house. With no children or family, the Dorchester house had been abandoned every since.

"No way!" said Gina, Karen's best friend. "I take it that you haven't heard of the creeped out stories of this place."

Karen still brave and curious, decides that she wants to "test the waters", and see if those stories were true. Amber, Karen's other friend, chose to go home instead. The sight of the old house creeped her out, so she passed without hesitation.

"Chicken!" Karen yelled at Amber as she walked away briskly. "Well, I guess it's just me and you homegirl." She turns to Gina as they walk up the porch steps of the old Dorchester house.

Just as they approach the door, it seemed as if the whole scenery had changed. The wind had picked up a bit, and the skies seemed darker than when they arrived 5 minutes ago. Gina walked slowly behind Karen. She twists the doorknob, and it happened to be opened. The girls slowly walk into the old Dorchester house and close the door behind them. Gina, a bit scared, pulls her phone out to give them some light. The house was huge, vintage, but ominously beautiful. The whole placed seemed untouched, with furniture and all still in tact, as if someone still lived there. The girls slowly walk upstairs to get more viewing of the house. They walk to the first room on the right and ease the door open. It was the master bedroom, assumed to be Henry and Mildred's old room. The room was spacious, and oddly, the only dim light that was on in the house. Karen looked around in amazement, as Gina walked directly behind her, timidly. On the left side of the room, Karen discovered an old vanity table. The table was beautiful, and definitely Karen's taste. She goes over to the table and started to look over some of the old things. There was perfume, makeup, and an old jewelry box. She opened the jewelry box and discovered a beautiful gold brush, with jewels and some old school vintage designs on it. Karen was bedazzled. She instantly fell in love with the brush, and couldn't resist brushing her long, golden hair with it. She started to act if she was a movie star in the mirror.

"Hey, glamour girl?" Can we get out of here?" This place is giving me the creeps!" Gina says to Karen. As soon as Karen is about to speak, the girls hear a noise from down the hall, the sound of slow footsteps. Gina jumps out of her skin and takes off running downstairs. Karen runs right behind her, holding the beautiful brush she had found. The girls jet out of the house, and they run all the way until they make it to Karen's house a half mile away.

Karen and Gina head to bed after their creepy evening at the Dorchester house. Gina slept in the guest room next to Karen's room, while Karen got ready for bed. Just before she could hit the sack, she goes over to her mirror and pulls out the brush she had gotten from the Dorchester house. She brushed her long, gorgeous hair with the brush and finally decides to go to bed. The next morning, Gina woke up and walked over to Karen's room. She knocked on her bedroom door to see if she was up for school. Karen didn't answer, so Gina walked in to check in on her. Karen was still asleep. Gina walked over to wake her up. She looked peaceful, well rested, but tried to wake her anyway. To her surprise, Karen wasn't asleep at all. She was dead.

Gina ran out of the house screaming and yelling for someone to help. The neighbor saw what was going on and called the police. When the police and ambulance arrive, Gina cooperated and told them what she had seen and how she had no idea what happened to Karen. The police thank her and ask her if she needed a ride home, but she declined simply because she needed to get some fresh air and wanted to walk home.

On her way home, all she could think about was Karen, and what could have possibly happened to her to cause her death. While walking home, she approached a house a few blocks down from her house. There was a woman standing on the porch of the house, smoking a cigarette. It was something about the way the woman looked at her, that gave her the creeps, but she was also drawn to the woman. "Come in if you want to know the truth," the woman tells Gina, as she becks for her to come inside. Gina walks slowly over to the woman's house and went inside. She walked into the mysterious woman's home, and instantly felt that something wasn't right. The woman had appeared to be some sort of gypsy or fortune teller. The house was dim lit, with candles burning all around. There was some unknown calligraphy writings on her walls. She had substances inside of jars inside of her cabinets and chests. They walked to the far back of her house and the woman asked her to sit down at a round, black table, also with some strange writing on it. The woman stared at Gina, as Gina looked very uncomfortable to be there. "I don't quite understand why I am here," she tells the woman. The woman replied with a smile. "You want to know the truth, so I am here to tell you, Gina." Gina spooked by how she knew her name. The woman replied before she could even ask. "I know that you are loyal and would take secrets to the grave with you, if you must." Something about the way she made that statement that didn't sit right with Gina. She insisted on knowing what was going on so that she could go home. The woman still staring, pulled out a beaded necklace and started to play with it as she spoke to Gina. "You see darling, the way your friend died was no accident. She had taken something that was not hers to begin with, and suffered the consequences." Gina instantly thought about the brush that Karen had took from the Dorchester house. The woman continued to tell the story. The brush was owned by an Egyptian princess, back when the pharaohs roamed the earth. Beautiful she was, and the brush was one of her prized possessions, given to her by her father, The king. When the princess was caught with a young man, other than who her parents had arranged for her to marry, the young princess was cursed by the town witch doctor. The witch took something most prized of hers, the brush, and cursed it for all eternity. Who ever received the brush and used it, would give the brush eternal life and beauty, in exchange for their own life, unknowingly. This explains what happened to Karen, and possibly the Dorchester woman, back in the day. Gina in amazement, and very spooked, looked at the woman. "Wow, you know a lot about this back story!" exclaimed Gina. The woman replied, "Why yes, dear!" She looked at Gina mysteriously. "Who do you think set the curse?"