Horror Stories

It was a windy autumn day; dead, brown leaves were falling from the trees and resting gently on the ground. There was also a dog barking loudly, like every day, at God-knows-what. - Shut the f**k up damn dog, can’t you see I’m trying to study? – yelled Mary from her room, looking out the window and knocking on it to scare the dog. The animal seemed to quiet down, but as soon as the girl returned to her books, it started again. At that point, Mary crumpled up a sheet of scribbled paper, opened the window and threw it at the dog. The beast bellowed as if in dissent, but from that point on, it remained silent. - Honey, your father and I are going out. Are you sure you’ll be okay here all alone? – asked a woman as she entered the room. - Mom, I’m almost sixteen, I think you could stop worrying and enjoy these weekly date night with Dad. I’ll be fine, don’t worry. – Mary said as she got up to give her mother a kiss. - By the way, turn on the heat; it’s freezing in here. – said the not-old-but-not-young woman, before she left the house with her husband for their Saturday date night. Mary went back to studying for the chemistry test she was going to take on Monday, and after a few minutes she let her hair down. The brown ringlets fell back below her neck and tickled her, so she moved them to the sides, over her shoulders. - f**k. – she said, after a fingernail got stuck in her hair. She looked at her hands: the index, middle and little finger of her right hand were adorned with pastel pink gel nails, the middle one with a gold glitter to highlight it, while the thumb and the ring finger of her left hand had pastel yellow nails that faded to pink. The other fingers had no semi-permanent nails because they had all come off, the middle finger of her left hand still in the girl’s brown hair. She removed the nail from her hair and tossed it into the trash can. Then she went back to study; she only had ten pages left to underline and repeat. An hour and a half later, having finished sorting through her notes and the flash cards she always used, she grabbed her phone and flopped down on the bed. The only notifications she had were from her best friend, who was always texting her while she was busy; James’ timing was incredible some days. She smiled shaking her head as she read the messages: “Do you think a blue scarf would look good with my yellow shoes?” – “I ask because my new neighbors are having dinner tonight and they have a son not much older than me who is VERY cute.” – “How do I know? I saw him through my window, he had fabulous pecs.” There it was, yet another of his friend’s crushes on someone he barely knew. But yes, he was right. She had seen the boy in the school’s halls and she too had thought he was really handsome. “Blue scarf? Yes. Yellow shoes? No, please. Wear black shoes, because yellow I just can’t see. And neither can Henry, trust me.”  She answered him, even remembering the new boy’s name. She put down the phone after charging it and, having nothing to do, turned on the television. She couldn’t see any of the channels showing cute movies or cartoons from her childhood, so she was forced to leave it on the news. -And now we connect with Harriet De Santis, who is going to talk about the case of the 16-year-old girl who disappeared ten years ago, on the anniversary of her disappearance. Back to you. – Mary remembered that case; of course not very well since she was only six years old, but she remembered that after the disappearance of that girl there was a curfew for almost a year and she could no longer walk with James until ten o’clock, but only until six. She remembered the fear of her parents picking her up from school and even closing the window’s blinds as soon as the darkness fell. They were afraid to even turn on the fireplace at night, since then someone could have seen they were home, so they had bought the electronic stove. They wouldn’t leave their daughter alone for even five minutes after the sun went down, and she felt so overwhelmed that one day she burst into tears of anger and sadness that lasted at least half an hour. - Yes. Today is the 10th anniversary of Sarah Jenkins’ disappearance, the 16-year-old girl who mysteriously disappeared in her home, left alone in the house. The girl was wearing blue jeans and a black LEVI t-shirt, blue shoes with blue laces, all broken according to her parents. Even today, the mother refuses to prepare a funeral, because no body has been found: Sarah seems to have disappeared into thin air without a trace. Back to you. – Shit. That story really gave her the creeps. How could someone just disappear like that, with no clues, no body? Poor family. And poor girl. Maybe she was still alive somewhere and the police had simply given up the search and she’d never get justice. - Oh, come on, damn it! Can’t see my favorite channels, now I can’t see the news? What’s wrong with you, damn TV? – said Mary, as the TV screen turned completely gray and started making strange noises. Just at that moment, the lights in her room (the lamp on the bedside table and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling) began to flicker and, for a few moments, went out completely. A loud noise invaded the room. - f*****g dog! Will you shut up? I swear I’ll go out and punch you; I don’t care that you’re a dog, alright? – shouted Mary, her heart beating wildly because of the fright. Not even the time to realize that the lights had gone out, the dog shut up and the lights came back on. The girl heard the dog run away bellowing, as if frightened. After the scare she’d gotten, she figured she deserved a hot shower. She grabbed her pajamas from the closet and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the shower water and let it run as she undressed. Before stepping into the show, she observed herself: her naked body in front of the mirror showed a scar she had had for a couple of years now, just below her left collarbone, at breast level. All of a sudden it all came back to her: the years of bullying, the pushing her to the ground, the snide comments about her, the gossip about her, the feeling of fear with her skin touching the knife that was being placed on her in the place where the scar was now, the blood dripping from there and the giggles of the girl who were doing it to her, the frenzied face of the blonde girl who was holding the knife, firm and straight on that spot on her body. She shook her head to chase the thoughts away: it was water under the bridge now, she’d put a stop to it. She stepped into the shower and immediately a feeling of warmth invaded her body. After about ten minutes, while she was soaping her hair with her favorite shampoo (vanilla), she heard a door slam, probably the front door. It was early, Mary thought, for her parents to be back, perhaps they had had some inconvenience. It wasn’t until she came out of the bathroom, however, that she realized her parents still hadn’t returned. - I’m getting a bit carried away by the stupid movie James made me watch yesterday, I probably just imagined the door slamming. It must have been that damn dog eating through our rubbish again. – she said to herself before turning off the light on the beside lamp. She settled herself under the covers and, after laying sideways on the left side of the bed, closed her eyes, strangely falling asleep immediately. It had been a couple of days since Saturday and the anniversary of the disappearance of Sarah Jenkins, who would now be twenty-six years old: today was her birthday and. As she walked through the school, Mary noticed that her parents had set up a birthday feast, with sweets and everything, to celebrate the twenty-sixth birthday of their daughter, who had been presumed dead. Some people came over and took treats, other gave their condolences, and Claudia’s husband (the missing girl’s parents) always had to calm her down, as she would start yelling things like “My daughter’s not dead! Go to hell!”   Other people instead approached and left money to the poor family, that had fallen into financial disgrace after their daughter’s disappearance; some left them to encourage them to organize a funeral, other just out of kindness or, better said, out of charity. Mary approached the banquet: - Hello, my name is Mary. I live a few houses away from yours. I just wanted to wish your daughter well, wherever she is. I know it must be awful not knowing what happened to her, whether dead or alive. I’m sorry if I seem indiscreet. – she said, in the calmest tone she could muster. - Oh, honey, thank you so much. Our Sarah would be… she’ll be so happy you sent her your best, you’d have been good friends. You look a lot like her, you know? Come on, come, have some sweets for school, anything you want. – Claudia said, with her grey, weathered eyes glistening, trying to hold back her tears. Mary grabbed a few sweets here and there and put them in a basket that Jonathan (the woman’s husband, who stood there watching the whole time, without saying a word) had gone to get for her at his wife’s request. She then said goodbye and thanked them, leaving the two parents a tenner and went back on the road to school. Chemistry. Test. She had studied for two days straight, knew everything and yet knew nothing. Mary’s thoughts were all focused on the missing girl. She didn’t know her, not directly, yet she felt close to her. Perhaps because of what her mother had told her. The hour passed, she hands in with the answers marked (right, hopefully) even though she didn’t remember moving her right hand the whole time. - Guess who’s having dinner with Master Henry tomorrow night? – James’ booming voice sent Mary’s thoughts into disarray. - You don’t say! Okay, so tomorrow afternoon after school I’ll come to your house and help you pick out the perfect outfit. – she commented, happy to be able to help her best friend. - What about this? – James spun around as he exited the bathroom. A white t-shirt with a midnight blur s**t covering it. A pink and yellow tie detached the elegance of the top and bottom, consisting of pants what were also midnight blue. Even the yellow shoes stood out. Mary shook her head in disapproval. – James, you definitely need to take the yellow shoes out of your closet. And that tie? Please, remove it from existence. – The boy huffed and turned, disappearing behind the bathroom door. After an hour and a half or so of second-guessing her friend’s choice of clothes, they managed to decide what would suit him best: a white t-shirt with a red and black plaid flannel shirt on top, accompanied by a black leather jacket (in case it was cold, James had said), black jeans with a small rip in the right knee, and dress shoes, also black. The two had discarded the tie, as it was deemed too dressy for a first date. - And there you have it. – Mary said, spinning the chair James was sitting in towards the mirror. His fiery red hair was pulled back from the jelly and a spray of inconspicuous glitter covered his face. It was a quarter to six, they still had an hour before Henry showed up at his neighbor’s house. - James? – Mary asked. – Do you every think about that missing girl, Sarah? – she continued.  - It makes me anxious to think about it, actually. She disappeared without a trace. I feel so sorry for her parents. – the boy answered, with all the calm in the world.      Two hours later, Mary was back home and waiting for news about James and his date. She passed her time by taking a hot bath. As soon as she stepped into the water she almost burned her skin, because it was too hot, but that was okay, she liked it that way. She didn't even have time to soap up her hair, when the lights went out. - Mary? Did you turn on the hair dryer? You know it won't hold up when the oven is on! - her mother shouted from downstairs. - No, I’m in the tub! It must be the bad weather or maybe they're doing some work. - the daughter replied, always shouting to be heard. She finished soaping her hair and dipped her head under the water to rinse, but when she had to come back up to the surface, she couldn't. It was almost as if someone was holding her underwater. Unable to breathe, she began to struggle until she heard a loud scream, coming from behind her, and the lights came back on. She hurried back up and found that the water was frozen, the mirror and window panes all fogged up. She breathed heavily and grabbed the yellow bathrobe and putting it around her body she stepped out of the tub. She passed a hand over the mirror so she could see something. A figure stood behind her. It was a slender figure, with long brown hair, a clean cut on her throat, she could hear sobs as if the figure was crying. Breathing heavily, she turned towards it only to notice that there was nothing there. Her mind was playing tricks on her. But then there it was: there on the ground she saw a gold necklace. On it was written a name: Sarah. James was more than a little excited to recount how his date with the new guy had gone. They'd gone out to dinner somewhere romantic, Henry had insisted on picking up the tab for both of them, and then once they were back in front of their houses they had kissed before returning to their homes. - Earth to Mary. Are you listening to me? - Mary came to her senses from her thoughts. - Hmm? Yeah, sure. Happy for you. - she said, selflessly. Not that she wasn't interested, the opposite. She was just busy thinking and replaying last night's scene in her mind. - James, listen. I don't know if I'm going crazy, but yesterday I was in the bathtub and... - she was interrupted. - I don't need to know about your intimate life, thank you Mary. - James said, moving his hand forward. - It's not that, i***t. The power went out, and I swear, I swear, someone tried to drown me. I heard a scream and then the lights came back on. In the mirror I saw a girl with her throat cut and then I found this on the floor. - he said handing his friend the necklace. - Sarah? Sarah Jenkins? Are you sure? Come on, that's not possible. - James looked stunned, but he also seemed to believe her. - Do you believe me? Tell me I'm not going crazy, please. - begged him. - I believe you, M. And if you're going crazy, then we'll go crazy together. - Mary smiled. James always knew just what to say to make her smile and cheer her up. He suggested that she spend the night at his house that Saturday when her parents were out, so he could check things out, and of course Mary agreed.   Saturday arrived, and the girl went to open the door for her best friend. - What on earth is all that stuff? - she asked, amazed to see a huge bag that looked very heavy in addition to the bag of clothes and makeup she always carried. - Porn. Oh and then I brought some books on the paranormal so we could study the situation better, newspaper articles about Sarah's disappearance, then some salt to defend ourselves, a book of exorcisms by my grandmother and a baseball bat. Just in case. - he answered her. - A baseball bat? What for, Jem? Beating up ghosts? I don't know what kind of ghosts you know, but you usually go through them and piss them off badly. - James let out a grunt of disappointment and threw himself on the bed. Nothing happened for the next three hours, which were spent watching illegally downloaded movies and singing along to the Violetta karaoke that her parents had given Mary for her seventh birthday. Then, around 12:30 a.m. began the most awful night the two of them had ever spent. 12:36 AM The TV stopped working, just five minutes into the movie. - What a drag! What now? - James exclaimed, caught up in the film. He didn't have time to answer when the lights went out. - Are the ghosts here? Sarah? - the boy asked as Mary handed him a flashlight and lit a candle. 1:28 AM The loud sound of a door slamming. The bathroom door, Mary told herself. As she flipped through the now yellowed pages of the book on the paranormal, James tried to communicate with them, or at least yell at them. - SARAH????? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US? - - Look, ghosts are dead, not deaf. And they certainly don't communicate that way. - James' eyes gave off a small spark that only Mary could identify when he had an idea (which usually didn't lead to anything good). - Don't you dare, Jem. You're not going out to buy an Ouija board or whatever the hell it's called. I'm not going to find my house full of demons. - Mary stated in a firm voice. James sat down on the bed and sighed. 3:33 AM - Come on, stop being an i***t, you know it bothers me when you touch my hair James. - Said annoyed the girl intent on reading a paranormal page that talked about how to defend against ghosts. - What are you talking about? I'm not touching you. - James' voice came from outside the window. Mary looked up at him. Looking terrified, she slowly turned her face away. Her heart was racing and it certainly didn't help to see that there was no one behind her to touch her. Yet her hair was moving. Soon, the gentle touch on the brown ponytail, became more bloody. Something pulled at her hair so hard that the girl found herself on the ground. A scream hurt her ears. James ran over to help her as the girl was in tears. They could see nothing, there was no one there. - THAT'S ENOUGH! - a female voice appeared out of nowhere, just as her figure did. Sarah's figure. Dried blood oozed from her slit throat, and her face was white as if she had dipped it in flour. Her body (or, rather, her spirit) emitted a blinding light and soon only the three of them remained in the room. - He'll be back soon; I have some explaining to do before he comes back to hurt you. - said the spirit. November 2010 The leaves were falling incessantly; the streets were covered in them. Sarah would jump on them so they would crunch like she liked to do since she was a child. Although, now the creaking of anything didn't appeal to her much. The doors of her house always creaked, as did the doors of her closet in her cozy, warm little blue room. But even that was no longer warm now. It was cold, very cold now in her room. She always had the heat on full blast, her parents were afraid she would freeze in there. But the problem wasn't the room. The problem was the dreams she'd been having for the last three weeks or so, those damned dreams (or, more accurately, nightmares) where she'd see very bad things: death, fright and more death. And then the next morning she would get up with bruises. Luckily there was her boyfriend, Nate, who reassured her: he often told her that maybe she had just slept badly and that's why she got those bruises. But she didn't believe that anymore. One day she decided to figure out what was going on. Her parents had gone out and she was alone in the house with her boyfriend. She never imagined the danger she would be in that night. It all happened quickly: Nate holding her arms and legs bound while a necklace he hung around her neck spoke words in a language she didn't know, that frightening spirit, the cold sensation of the knife on her throat, the light. The light. She was forced to live for eternity with the spirit that had killed her. Nate disappeared from the city, left. She saw her parents crying every day because she was gone too, and they didn't know what had become of her. She had decided that she would help the next poor spirit victim because she knew, she was certain, that he would attack again. 5:47 AM The sun was not yet up and Mary's parents were not yet home. They told her they'd be very late. But there was a knock at the door. - Oh, Henry, hi. Up already? - asked Mary going to see who it was. - Yes, I'm sorry. I knew James was here and since I found one of his necklaces in my jacket I wanted to return it to him. I get up at five to go running so I thought I'd stop by. - Henry justified himself. Mary let him in, even though she was aware of the danger given the situation. When Henry entered the room, as soon as he crossed the threshold, he was thrown out. - Sarah? What are you doing? - James yelled at her, worried about his friend (or boyfriend?). He lay unconscious for a couple of minutes, just long enough to discover something shocking. James' necklace, the one he'd lost in his jacket, was a familiar shape. - This is Nate's necklace. The one he used to summon the spirit that holds me captive. - Sarah stammered. - It's definitely not mine. - James confirmed. When Henry woke up, everything went wrong. - Oh, Sarah, Sarah. You've always been naive, but it seems in ten years you've gotten smart. I watched you so much before I took you. And I've been watching this little morsel of a Mary, too. She'll be mine too, or at least she'll be Glem's. Her youth will be mine. And while we're at it, I'll take this i***t friend of hers. Can you believe I had to pretend to be gay and kiss him? Gross. – James was deeply hurt; Mary was shocked at what was happening. Then it all happened too fast: Sarah disappeared and then an arm came out of Henry's (Nate's) chest. His dying body fell to the ground: first on his knees, then still with his hand to his chest, he slid to the ground. Sarah with his heart still having a few beats in her hand. - Tell my parents to stop looking for me, I'm fine. Tell them I love them. - and then disappeared. 7:05 AM Mary opened her eyes, hoping it had all been a bad dream. But it wasn't. Henry's body was gone, though, and also was the blood. There was only dust. She didn't even try to come up with a decent explanation. With James sleeping clinging to her, she tried to get up and, in the same clothes as the day before, went out. She had to talk to the missing girl's parents. - Oh my God, are you serious? - the woman's eyes were so tired from trying to hold back the tears. - It sounds crazy, but yeah. The person who did this to her is dead. She killed him herself. She told me to tell you that she loves you, to stop looking for her and that she's okay. – Her mother burst into tears, and with her, a few tears came out of her husband as well. - Oh, I forgot. - she said before she left. - She dropped this in my bathroom. Maybe she left it there, I don't know. - she continued, handing the two parents the gold necklace with Sarah written on it. She set out for home, the sun was shining and Mary felt like she was almost walking into it, it was very blinding. She couldn't wait to get home and lie on the bed, sleep all day. 10:23 AM - What's all the fuss about? - a loud voice woke James up, pulling him away from his beautiful dream of cotton candy and chocolate. He realized he was hungry. - Where's Mary? - his best friend's mother asked him, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest in a reproachful tone. James noticed that she had gained a little weight, or maybe she was pregnant. Mary was definitely going to need a baby brother. It was at that moment that all the events of a few hours earlier came back to him. He quickly got out of bed to grab the phone. He punched in his number, "Hi, you've reached Mary. I'm sure I'll get back to you later; I'm busy now. Please leave a message." he hung up. He dialed the number again, "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service." James threw the phone on the floor in a panic. Lying next to it was a necklace. It was a pentacle, now that he could see it better. And it glowed a bright red light. It didn't take long to realize, even for the girl's parents, that Mary was missing.