The Not-So-Haunted House

We knew that going into the abandoned house wasn't the smartest idea we ever had, but when you are 12 years old and bored-and it's the day before Halloween-what else do you do?

I had been spending a lot of time with my cousins that year. Danni was a year older than I was, and Joanna was a year younger. Danni's friend Julie was also hanging out with us. She was a strange girl, always trying to push the limits for herself and for us. Julie liked to dare us to do certain tasks and then tease us when we hesitated or complained. She was kind of a bully, but she and Danni had been friends for years.

Today's dare was the old abandoned house on the corner about two blocks away from my aunt's house. I was always fascinated by derelict buildings and every time I passed this one, my imagination ran wild. What happened to this house? Why did the people leave? Why didn't anyone else move in? Were there ghosts? Did some horrible event take place there that drove everyone out and forced the city to board up the windows and doors? I obviously watched too many movies.

"Let's go inside," Julie dared. "Halloween is tomorrow. This would be a perfect way to celebrate the season."

Joanna, the youngest in our crew, immediately said no. She was almost in tears, begging her sister and me not to give in and take Julie's dare.

"How are we going to get in?" I questioned. "The front stairs are missing and I know I can't climb up there without breaking something important."

"There's a porch in the back," Julie said. She had obviously planned this and anticipated our questions.

As we circled around the large, dilapidated house, I couldn't help but observe, in awe, just how majestic the home used to be. It was huge, a mansion. Though boarded up, there were plenty of windows throughout all three stories. There was a large bay window near the front entrance. Though mostly missing now, there were still remnants of the front porch and stairs that used to lead to the large ornate front door. The door was weather beaten and chipped, but I could still see the finely crafted details underneath the sad layer of dirt and abandonment.

As we walked, Joanna spotted a kitchen knife in the overgrown grass. Julie said it was the murder weapon used to kill the family that lived here. According to her, it was their ghosts we'd find. I knew she only said that to scare Joanna, and oh boy did it work. I had to shove Joanna forward; she would have stayed frozen in that spot for hours if I hadn't.

We came upon the back porch, just as Julie said. The latch on the backdoor was broken and wouldn't connect with the door frame, letting the door swing gently in the October breeze. The weather wasn't too cold yet. Summer had refused to leave that year, warm weather extending almost to the end of September. It wasn't until this last week in October that the wind started to develop a slight chill.

The porch stairs didn't look safe; I gingerly tiptoed onto what looked to be the sturdiest planks. The porch itself seemed strong, though. Before I could observe the back area of the house, Julie was shoving us inside. We nearly piled on top of each other, she pushed us in so quickly.

The room we entered was the kitchen. The green and white tiled floor was stained with mud and muck. The chipped cupboard doors swung lazily as the wind seeped in from cracks in broken windows. There were papers scattered across the kitchen table, some falling onto the floor. There were no dishes though. An old refrigerator sat decaying in the corner, unplugged, door ajar. Julie led us into the front room.

There was less light in here. Thick green drapes still hung over the boarded up windows. I could see we were now in the room with the bay window I noticed outside. There were two moldy green couches and a broken coffee table. The staircase that led to the second floor was completely demolished.

"I guess we can't go upstairs," Joanna said happily. "Let's go home."

"No," Julie said calmly. "There's another staircase off the kitchen."

We crossed back through the kitchen to a door I hadn't noticed when we first entered. Sure enough, behind that door there was a second staircase leading upstairs. We started to climb carefully; it was so dark that we couldn't be sure if we were stepping onto a broken plank or no step at all. Julie led the way, followed by Danni, then me, then Joanna, who clung to my sweater so hard I though her nails would tear it. Just as we reached the top, a gust a wind came through the back door and swung the staircase entrance door closed with a loud thwack! Joanna screamed and pushed me up the last few steps, forcing us to topple onto the landing. Julie laughed for a good five minutes while Danni helped us to our feet.

The second floor was surprising. There were five rooms, all painted in very bright colors, but all of the walls were covered in graffiti. There were drawings, names, lyrics to songs, and a few phone numbers. Someone tried to be funny (or scary according to Joanna) and drew a pentagram on one wall of the smaller, pink bedroom. They even went as far as taking a red marker and drawing a hand on the wall as if it were covered in blood. The bathroom door was completely broken, as was the sink and toilet, but the tub was still in tact. It was filthy, and someone, probably the same person who drew the hand, smeared red marker in the tub as well. Joanna began to whisper, "let's go let's go let's go."

There were stacks and stacks of old magazines and newspapers in every room. There were boxes filled with them, too. I thumbed through a few magazines at the top of one stack in the yellow room. It was a women's magazine from 1962. The other magazines were all from around the same time period. Funny that all that remained here were old periodicals. Tons of them.

We found the staircase to the attic behind another door. Joanna's panic increased as the light upstairs decreased. We started to climb the attic stairs, but we were soon halted by four missing steps. Julie was the only one willing to attempt to get past this point, and by now we were willing to leave her there to try all by herself.

"Come on," she pushed, attempting to bully us again. "I'll help lift you up."

At that moment, we heard a noise downstairs on the first floor. A door slammed. Footsteps. Another door. Footsteps even closer. Joanna stopped breathing altogether at this point. Just as she was about to let out a squeal, I put my hand over her mouth, feeling the condensation from her breath collecting on my hand. We were frozen on the broken attic steps. Danni and I looked to Julie for some guidance, but our "leader" was stone still, eyes wide with fear. Danni nudged her, but she didn't move.

The footsteps stopped right at the attic staircase entrance. We then heard a whistle, as if someone were calling their pet home.

"Who's up there?" the voice sang in a whisper. I heard a muffled laugh. Another whistle.

BLAM!

All four of us screamed and scrambled to get off the steps. At first we started up, away from the noise, forgetting the missing attic steps. When that stopped us, we turned and flew down the attic steps and bolted past whatever had been taunting us, screaming the whole way. Laughter rang out behind us as we dashed down the steps to the first floor, through the kitchen, and out the back door. We ran so fast around the side of the house and over the front lawn that we didn't stop until we reached the sidewalk of the next block.

We stood there panting for what seemed like forever. Danni and Julie were arguing about the whole experience, Danni yelling at her friend for making us do something so stupid. Joanna had her head between her knees, trying to prevent herself from hyperventilating. As my breathing slowed, I looked back at the house. Coming around the side, doubled over in laughter as they jogged to the sidewalk, were three boys about our age. I could hear their howling and random bits of conversation.

"Did you hear them scream?!" one yelled through his hysterical laughter. The three boys jogged in the opposite direction, thankfully never looking our way. I could hear them laughing until they disappeared around the next corner. Happy Halloween!