Something in the Floorboards
There’s a house on the hill which everyone in town whispers about. They say it’s haunted, they say it’s a semblance of death. The adults whisper about the incident, but no one knows what they say. It’s not been occupied for years, but they’ve all seen the moving vans. Someone from out of town is coming in, they’re coming in to a place where the townsfolk whisper and wait for their death. They’ve seen the children playing in the yard, they whisper about the ghosts lingering in the halls. They say there’s monsters under the bed, but nothing has been creaking. The say the rugs will eat you, but not one of them has quivered. The people say they hear screaming at night, but everyone has emerged none the wiser. The kids are shunned at school, the children call them demons because they live in the house on the hill.
Year pass and old memories and stories are forgotten, the town accepts those who live in the house on the hill. None of them know, none of them are aware, something is in the floorboards there. One night in the creeping dark, a shadow lingers in the timid light. There’s a creak and it’s gone, one of the little ones has to pee. The time passes on and the kids grow old, no one remembers the stories of the house on the hill.
A day in September, warm and clear begins the scary tale which lingers in the town still. When no one was home a maiden was killed, not a person knew her name. The family stepped carefully across the threshold, scared of what had broken their door. They laid still all laying in one bed, they didn’t dare to move because the curtains were moving with no wind. Laughter rippled through the halls, their screams were suppressed and they couldn’t breathe. In the morning they ran screaming down the path and waking those in the town, telling them of what they saw. That night a guard stood watching, but not a thing in the house moved. The family returned reassured, thinking it had been the fright of a murder in their home.
At night it was quiet and they relaxed into the calm, in the morning they were horrified to see the blood stained walls. The children’s stuffed animals were no longer stuffed, and horrifying messages led them through the house. There was a body at the bottom of the stairs, but no one knew who it was. The family dared not return and nobody blamed them. They stayed in a hotel a few blocks down, but it seemed as though the haunting screams followed and the house became ever the more terrifying. Old stories began to surface and no one dared approach, but there was one thing inside the family dearly needed. Creeping during the day, they made their way up the path.
The stones were stained with blood and the front door was no longer on its hinges. Stepping inside they were greeted by a gruesome sight, a woman hanging from a chandelier. Their footsteps echoed as they crossed the hall, their eyes ever roaming around the room. The floorboards creaked and they dared not move, for it felt like something was below their feet. Speaking softly they continued onward, hoping this was all a nightmare. On the top floor they met a scene where coward humans had no play. At the end of the hall a skeleton stood, with a glowing in its eyes. The bones rattled as it took a shaky breath, the shutters blew from outside the house making their hair stand on end.
They continued forward as the skeleton shakily walked towards them, they couldn’t leave it here in the house. Shuffling past they made it to the door and the skeleton continued onward. Huddled in the corner of the room was a cowering puppy, they scooped him and made to leave but something blocked their way. Chattering in the doorway with venom dripping fast was a giant spider, they wouldn’t be able to pass. The little ones started screaming and the adults nearly dropped the dog. There was nowhere to run and not a soul would dare come after them.
The house went silent after the family disappeared and no one dared approach it. Two teenagers once tried to solve the mystery on a dare, but they ran screaming after seeing what was lurking there. The stories remained forever told and the house unoccupied, for everyone knew there was something lurking there. Underneath the stairs and down far below, it was underneath the floorboards ever watching for another stupid soul. Late at night one could see a pair of eyes, glowing brightly in the darkness and on a never ending hunt.
When one approaches too close the house will creak and things will roll. The house will beckon strangers to try its twisted door. Yet across the floor will fly an unattended eye, lightning cracks, and people die; it’s told you must not go there because there’s something in the floorboards.
