MANSION HOUSE

MANSION HOUSE

THE HOTEL

It was a rainy night, looking gloomy in the dark. In a nearby mansion, a person named Goutham is listening to the radio and smoke a cigar while lounging in a recliner beneath a massive chandelier. He started talking to himself, “Oh man... no matter what, Telugu songs are always the best.” and began humming along with the song. He was enjoying his time when suddenly his friend Thomas showed up, running towards him in a hurry, extremely terrified.

Goutham looked at him glancing at this face, and states, “Fuckin’ hell... I know that when you see ghosts, your eyes will instantly activate like a cat’s eyes, but this time it looks more insane. Don’t you try to check yourself in the mirror?”

With tension in his voice, Thomas said, “Now is not the time to talk about my eyes. We have a bigger problem. The ghost we sealed has gone...”

Gowtham doubtfully queries, “Define gone?”

Thomas replied, “Released, set free, unsealed, unleashed... Everything... That ghost left the mansion. We don’t have much time.”

Goutham calmed himself down and muttered, “Capturing that ghost was the hardest part of our lives... And now it’s been released... Man, it’s a hell of a pain in the ass...”

Thomas spilled more information, “The thing is not about that ghost, but before leaving, that fucking ghost set free of all ghosts in the mansion by breaking every photo frame...”

Goutham started sweating, “You’re saying that we must seize every fucking ghost and imprison them in their fucking picture frames? Excellent, my whole plan of taking rest is fucked forever. We can’t even be sure that we can pull it off... will we even be alive? Wait, why am I getting a doubt that this won’t be an easy task? Am I missing any terms and conditions here?” questions Gowtham.

Thomas took a swig of whiskey to calm himself, “Once the spirits leave the frames, they lose their purpose and resolve. They hold blank memories... it makes them even more powerful and dangerous. They might kill innocents.”

Goutham replied, “You bet. We don’t have any more options than meeting him...”

Thomas doubtedly asks, “Meet who?”

Gowtham replies, “You know... Well, this problem is fucking huge and needs the one who knows the roots of these ghosts.”

Thomas answered, “My dad? I thought you hated him?”

Goutham proclaimed, “Well, we’ve put ourselves in such a shitty situation... So that is the only option we’ve got. So let’s get out of here real quick and put an end to these spirits.”

Following Goutham, Thomas left the mansion to meet his father.

Very far away from this mansion, another story unfolds...

A family consisting of nine people, along with their driver, set out on a trip to visit pilgrimages in a minivan. After completing their Dharshan, they set off for their hometown. It was completely dark and raining pellets of ice. The rain became so intense that it was impossible for the driver to focus on the road. He advised the family to stay overnight at a nearby hotel and move on the next day as early as possible. To make matters worse, the minivan’s headlights had stopped working.

In the minivan, a 9-year-old kid named Aarav noticed a sign that read, “Resident Hotel nearby, 2 miles to the left.” He immediately informed the driver, and they decided to head to the hotel. After some time, they noticed the hotel, but it appeared abandoned, although the lights were still on. Despite this, they decided to stay as the weather was getting worse.

Swetha, Aarav’s mother, advised against staying there because she had a bad feeling about it. However, the old grandfather insisted he could no longer sit in the van in the same posture and needed a bed to rest. His waist was giving him trouble, and everyone was so exhausted that their only choice was to go inside and relax.

Glass doors welcomed them in, and the interior was immaculate. When the driver went to make a reservation, he didn’t see anyone at the reception desk. Then, they heard a booming sound from the wall clock at precisely midnight: “Tung... Tung... Tung...”

The abrupt noise scared the hell out of them. Suddenly, all the lights in the hotel went out, plunging everything into pitch darkness. The children, already scared of the dark, clung to their parents. The dust everywhere seemed to amplify the eerie atmosphere, making the place feel even more unsettling.

Arun (Swetha’s husband) and his brother Arjun took the luggage. They all moved further inside to look for a place to spend the night. Then they observed that the lights in room 205 were on and bright. Initially, Arun and Arjun checked the entire room. Seeing nothing unusual, they assumed it was safe to take a break here. They all entered the room to rest. Due to their extreme fatigue, Grandfather and Grandmother retired to bed.

The driver went looking for another room to sleep in. Laxmi (Arjun’s wife) and Swetha were attempting to get their kids to fall asleep. Aarav, Dev, and Nidhi were restless. Dev is the son of Arjun and Laxmi, while Aarav and Nidhi are the children of Arun and Swetha. Dev turned on the TV. Nidhi tried to watch YouTube on her mom’s phone, but it didn’t work, so she gave it to her mom(Swetha). Swetha explained that there was no signal. Laxmi chastised Dev for not turning off the TV as the grandparents slept, but Dev didn’t pay any heed.

Dev caught sight of an odd woman seated in a chair covered in blood on the TV. Her wet hair covered her face, and her eyes looked menacing. The pupils were tiny yet intense. Dev fixated on the woman. There were unsettling noises coming from the TV. He tried to use the remote to turn up the volume, but it didn’t work. Dev moved closer to the TV speaker and placed his ear near it.

The blood-stained woman mumbled, laughed evilly, and said, “You all gonna die today... I want to eat your brain... does it taste good?” Dev tried to tell his mother, Laxmi, saying, “Mom... On TV, I heard something. The woman... On TV looks scary and is saying... saying that she’ll kill us. She’s covered in blood, mom...” Dev spat out everything he observed, but his eyes revealed more terror than his words.

His mother replied, “Are you insane? You watch too much TV these days. Turn it off and get some sleep.” Dev moved back to face the TV to show her, but suddenly, it started to glitch. Fearful, Dev became agitated and turned off the TV.

After some time, the driver knocked on the door. “Sorry, sir, but may I use the restroom? There are no lights outside,” he asked. With their permission, he went to the restroom. Arjun and Arun were both starving, so they decided to head downstairs to find something to eat.

Swetha insisted, “Let’s go together... I don’t trust this hotel.” Initially, they felt it wouldn’t be a good idea because it was dark everywhere except their room, but after some deliberation, they all agreed and went in groups. “I will join you too. This hunger is going to kill me soon. Let your grandfather sleep; he is so tired,” said the grandmother as she woke up.

After using the washroom, the driver attempted to open the door, but it remained closed. Abruptly, he heard the sound of water falling into the tub. He slowly pivoted back, pulled back the shower curtain, and stared at the tub. He peered deeply into the tub and became lost in contemplation. Suddenly, the driver noticed an indistinct reflection in the tub’s water and raised his head.

There, he saw the most horrific thing in his life: a woman hanging from the wall, covered in blood. The driver’s heart began to pound so hard that he was scared of his own heartbeat. He felt his spine tingle as cool air swirled around him and a spooky noise surrounded him.

His eyes started to tear up, even though he didn’t understand what was happening. It was hard for him to determine if it was the suddenness or the woman that terrified him more. Then, his mind caught up to the situation... He understood that he might not survive. He felt utterly powerless, the same feeling one would have when thrown from a five-story building.... He felt HELPLESS.

The driver was so badly terrified that he didn’t even realize the woman had disappeared in an instant. He believed it was a bad dream and took steps back toward the door. As he moved, the woman suddenly appeared in front of the door. She grabbed his head so hard that it would have popped if she used any more force.

He observed a spooky smile between the gaps in her hair that hid her face. She started to rip his hair out with sheer force. The driver began to yell, but his voice stayed within the restroom. Even he understood that within seconds, he was going to die.

The driver begged for his life to be spared and vowed never to use a restroom again. She stopped smiling and smacked his head with both of her fists. His head detonated like a bomb. Splatters of blood covered the entire wall, making it look like a room freshly painted with red.

He was spot-dead.

The sound of the blast from the restroom echoed throughout the hotel. Everyone who had gone in search of food dashed towards the room as soon as they heard the terrible booming sound. Grandfather woke up from his slumber. The frightening noises caused the kids to wake up as well, and they started wailing. Laxmi gathered all the kids and left the room in an attempt to soothe them, but the children never stopped sobbing.

When the group members who had gone to look for food returned, they found Laxmi outside the room with the kids. They began questioning what had happened and tried to comfort the children. The grandmother turned to face the room, while Grandfather stood up and headed for the restroom. He hastily opened the door, and the rest of the family watched from outside the room. Grandfather yelled in response to the sight. Arjun and Arun attempted to dash in, but the room door locked on its own.

Panic struck all of them. Although Arun and Arjun kept banging on the doors, their efforts were in vain. They tried to open it with brute force but got nothing from it. The children were crying. Laxmi and Swetha tried to calm their children by covering their mouths, probably scared that something might also hurt them. Screams were coming from inside. They were all scared to death, tears pouring, men sweating with stress on their faces. Then, all of a sudden, the door to the room unlocked. In their entire lives, they had never seen a moment as terrifying as this one. Swetha and Laxmi immediately covered their children’s eyes.

Grandfather was naked, obviously dead, and covered in deep scratches all over his body, so deep that they could see his bones. He appeared to have been eaten by a person. His hair was torn along with his skin, with one of his eyes popped out and half-eaten. His neck was so badly eaten that there was no muscle left, just a bone holding the body intact. No one could have anticipated such a frightening scene. Grandmother remained silent, unable to express her disbelief. She couldn’t even cry. Everyone was terrified and puzzled, and they all felt emotionless. The horrific scenes brought more fear in them than humanity and their emotions.

With tears in her eyes, Swetha exclaimed, “Let’s take Uncle with us too and run from here; his soul deserves a peaceful rest as an end.” Arun furiously moved towards the restroom to check on the driver. Arun found it difficult to breathe after witnessing the visuals in the restroom due to his asthma. Arjun handed over his inhaler. Arjun then noticed that the room was completely covered in blood! “Driver with no head,” Arjun cried out loud. He was so stressed that he couldn’t hold it anymore. He was shouting random nonsense, worrying that they all would die, and he didn’t want that to happen.

Arjun closed the room door and stated, “I... It would not be wise to remain here. Let’s try to get out of this hotel and then decide what to do. I have a really horrible feeling about this place right now.” They were unable to control their tears, but they felt that Arjun’s advice was the only correct one. They all ran for the exit as if there was no tomorrow.

Using the torchlights, they all arrived at the reception area. It was still quite dark. In an attempt to exit the hotel, Arun tried to open the glass doors, but they were too hard for him to push or pull. Using a metal chair from the reception area, Arjun tried to smash through the glass doors, but his attempt failed. It appeared that the doors were indestructible.

On the street in front of the hotel, Swetha noticed a car going by. That car stopped suddenly. Swetha began to cry out for rescue. Unexpectedly, a massive thunderstorm hit a tree near the hotel, causing it to erupt into massive flames. Everybody was terrified.

Gowtham and Thomas were in the car. After glancing over the hotel, Thomas explained the circumstances to Gowtham, saying, “A joint family... A driver... A total of ten members are about to die in this hotel today. One of the ghosts that were released took control of this hotel. The ghost appears powerful and hungry.”

Gowtham reacts, “Then why wait? We should try capturing this one first. A family is in danger; there may be children who are unaware of this world.” Thomas answers, “There is nothing we can do. This ghost is out of our league. If we go inside, it will just add us to the spirit’s victim list. Solving the total issue is crucial; trying to capture a small spirit only buys time for the big ones... I feel sorry too, but there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

The thunder strikes the tree, setting it ablaze. Gowtham and Thomas wanted to help, but the possibilities were near zero. They simply prayed to God that the family might somehow escape from the ghosts.

Swetha saw them leaving and was disgusted. She questioned if they were humans and whether they had any empathy for her children, for leaving without trying to help.

ANY WAY OUT…?