The Stars

They said the farm was haunted. But nobody warned me about the stars.

Unexplainable noises, creaking floors, eerie silence, this quickly became the norm living in this old, rundown farmstead.

The Blackwood Acres.

Dead wooden floorboards creak with every step. Rotten window frames barely hold together. And a smell that can only be described as old and foul.

Great Uncle Jacob left this place to me. I didn’t ask for it, I just inherited this broken home. And my plan?

Get rid of it as quickly as possible.

Locals in the nearby town always mutter about the hauntings of Blackwood Acres. The farm has outlived generations, family members buried on these grounds. But the creepiest part?

Blackwood Hollow.

The forest that never sleeps.

The place where even the loudest screams fall silent.

Blackwood Forest is home to stories that keep you awake at night. Stories parents tell their kids just to scare them into behaving.

But are they really just stories?

Over 120 years ago, in the late 1800s, the forest was said to be inhabited by a large family known as the Lances. People who allegedly practiced dark magic. Distant relatives still exist, but none of them stayed. Everyone eventually left Blackwood.

The “hauntings” supposedly began when a group of teenagers, playing in the forest, heard a deep humming sound followed by strange lights in the sky. They brushed it off as animals, or just the sounds of nature. But deep down, they knew something wasn’t right.

That was the first documented report of “The Lights.”

Since then, sightings, reports and even photographs have continued to surface.

My opinion?

It’s all nonsense. Kids with overactive imaginations. Bored locals clinging to gossip in a town with nothing better to do.

So here’s the plan, spend one night at Uncle Jacob’s, find anything valuable, and leave first thing in the morning.

As eerie as Blackwood Acres is, the bright orange sunset behind the trees of Blackwood Forest is strangely beautiful.

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

It’s around 8 PM. The sun has set. The last shred of light is swallowed by darkness, and the world falls completely silent.

No birds. No crickets.

Just silence.

The smell of rotten wood mixed with decay is overpowering.

The lantern is my only source of light, though I’ve got a backup flashlight in my pack just in case. I’m in the main living area, the upstairs is far too cold to settle in.

My sleeping bag is laid out on the old, dirt-stained couch. The lantern rests on a mahogany table, illuminating the center of the room while everything else fades into the shadows.

Hours pass. I’m wrapped in my sleeping bag, reading. The sofa springs dig into my back, but I keep telling myself, it’s only one night.

The only sound is the soft flick of pages turning.

You could hear a pin drop.

Just as I’m about to blow out the lantern, I hear it.

A faint humming noise… coming from outside.

Probably just local kids messing around.

I blow out the lantern and lie down. But sleep doesn’t come. All I can think about are the stories.

Three hours pass.

Just as I’m about to drift off, a sudden light shines through the cracks in the wooden walls, flooding the room.

I jolt upright.

“If you don’t leave, I’m calling the cops!”

The light vanishes instantly. Darkness returns.

Silence.

Finally… I can rest.

Minutes pass. I lie on my side, staring into the pitch-black room. I can just make out the silhouettes of old furniture.

Then all of a sudden movement.

Near the door.

I shoot up, heart racing, and grab my flashlight, aiming it straight ahead.

Nothing.

Now I’m on edge. Whoever or whatever this is, they didn’t care about my warning.

I pull on my boots, throw on my jacket, and step into the hallway.

The floorboards creak slowly, unevenly… like someone else is moving through the house.

“The cops are on the way!” I shout again.

Even I don’t believe it, no one’s getting here anytime soon.

I check each room.

Nothing.

Now I’m at the base of the staircase, I have to go up. Each step groans louder than the last as I ascend. When I reach the top

Silence.

Complete silence.

I sweep the flashlight across the hallway.

Nothing.

I turn to go back down and then the light returns but brighter this time.

It pours through the window at the end of the hall, overlooking Blackwood Forest.

And there standing in front of it

A silhouette

Perfectly still

About fifteen feet away.

I don’t blink.

I can’t.

My eyes lock onto it like prey caught in a predator’s gaze.

Only… I’m the prey.

The light cuts out.

Darkness swallows everything.

I fumble for my flashlight and then I hear it.

Footsteps.

Charging toward me.

Fast.

Too fast.

My heart is in my throat as I turn and run. I stumble down the stairs, my knee buckling as I crash into the steps.

The footsteps are right behind me.

Closer and closer.

I burst through the front door and sprint into the night, running blindly toward town.

I don’t stop.

I don’t look back.

Not until I reach the open road.

Gasping for breath, I look up at the sky.

Relief washes over me.

The stars are out.

Safe

Free

But something feels wrong.

They’re too bright

Too still, too close

They’re not stars.

They told me about the farm.

But they never warned me about the stars.

They’re watching…