The Midnight Man's Game

### The Midnight Man's Game: A Deadly Challenge Hidden in the Shadows of the Night

The town of Ravenswood was known for its eerie legends, but none were more feared than the tale of the Midnight Man. According to the old stories, summoning the Midnight Man was a deadly game, one that promised terror to those brave—or foolish—enough to play.

Emma Sinclair had always been a skeptic. A psychology student with a penchant for debunking urban legends, she believed the Midnight Man was nothing more than a figment of overactive imaginations. Determined to prove the legend false, she gathered her friends for a night of exploration.

"Come on, Emma. This is just a waste of time," her friend Jake grumbled as they gathered the necessary items: a candle, a piece of paper, a drop of their own blood, and a wooden door.

"Exactly," Emma replied, her voice full of confidence. "We'll do this, nothing will happen, and we can finally put this silly legend to rest."

At precisely 11:55 PM, they wrote their names on the piece of paper, each pricking their finger to add a drop of blood. They placed the paper on the doorstep, lit the candle, and knocked on the door twenty-two times, finishing the last knock exactly at midnight.

"Now we walk around with our candles," Emma instructed, "and if the candle goes out, we have to relight it within ten seconds."

The first few minutes passed in uneasy silence. The house, usually so familiar, felt alien in the flickering candlelight. Shadows seemed to move just out of sight, and the air grew thick with tension.

Jake's candle was the first to go out. "Very funny, Emma," he said, assuming she had blown it out. But the look on her face told him she had done nothing of the sort. With shaking hands, he relit the candle just in time.

A chill ran down Emma’s spine. "Okay, maybe this is just a coincidence," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt. They continued to walk through the house, the silence pressing in on them.

Then, one by one, the candles began to flicker and die. Each time, they managed to relight them just in time, but the feeling of being watched grew stronger. The whispers started—faint, unintelligible, but undeniably real. They seemed to come from every corner, every shadow.

"This isn't funny anymore, Emma," Sarah, another friend, whispered, her voice trembling. "Let's stop this."

Emma wanted to agree, but the rules were clear: the game had to be played until 3:33 AM. Stopping early could lead to dire consequences, or so the legend said.

As the hours dragged on, the sense of dread intensified. Doors creaked open and slammed shut on their own, and a cold, malevolent presence seemed to follow their every step. The whispers grew louder, more insistent, as if the Midnight Man was drawing closer.

Jake stumbled and fell, his candle going out again. This time, it refused to relight. Panic set in as they tried to help him, but the darkness seemed to swallow them whole. Jake screamed as an unseen force dragged him away, his cries echoing through the house.

Emma’s heart raced as she clutched her candle, desperate to keep it lit. "Stay together!" she shouted, but it was too late. Sarah’s candle flickered and died, and she vanished into the darkness with a terrified scream.

Only Emma remained, her mind racing to find a way out. The whispers were deafening now, and she could feel the Midnight Man’s presence closing in. She ran through the house, the candle barely illuminating her path. Every shadow seemed to reach for her, every whisper taunted her with the fate of her friends.

As the clock struck 3:33 AM, the house fell deathly silent. Emma collapsed to the floor, the candle finally burning out. She was alive, but barely. The Midnight Man had claimed his victims, and she was left to tell the tale.

The town of Ravenswood never saw Emma again. She disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a chilling journal entry recounting the horrors of that night. The legend of the Midnight Man grew stronger, a cautionary tale for those who dared to challenge the darkness.

And so, the Midnight Man's game continued, hidden in the shadows of the night, waiting for its next victims. The whispers lingered in Ravenswood, a haunting reminder that some legends are better left unchallenged.