Haunted House I stood, still and silent, gazing in awe at the monstrosity before me. My throat
tightened due to the thick dust drifting through the gentle wind. Dark shadows lurked in the still air,
along with the faint smell of death that hung in the chilled darkness of night. Whispers of lost voices
echoed all around, creating a gloomy ambience. Before me, was a sight many would hope to forget.
The house itself was in dreadful shape, it was heavily dilapidated. There were icicles hanging down
from the roof like frozen teeth bared by a cold and heartless beast. A thick blanket of dust also lay
still on top of the roof, moving only to allow the odd speck of dust to slip away from it's support and
come tumbling down to the ground.
The air shimmered, and my eyes unwillingly shot a glance at one of the windows. Moonlight slipped
through the cracked board covering half of the window. To the side of it were withered, torn curtains,
and just behind I could make out the sight of a broken arm-chair and some peeling wallpaper. On the
floor was an old portrait, ripped down the centre leaving half a corpselike face staring endlessly at the
ceiling. Surrounding the portrait were a few shards of scattered broken glass, beneath which were
decaying, rat eaten, cracked floorboards. Another breeze picked up, and this time it was colder and
stronger. I heard the sound of branches scratching against glass as the wind rustled the trees, and the
curtains inside the house shook as if they were laughing.
I surveyed the cold, hard stone steps in front of me. Toward the centre they were worn smooth, but
nevertheless coated in dirt. The steps were much rougher nearer the sides, but it was difficult to make
out as they were overgrown with thorns, moss and weeds. Cobwebs matted the rusty metal rail that
ran alongside. I gently placed a sweaty hand on the rail, and all the hairs on my arm and at the back of
my neck stood on end. It was deathly cold. I looked up at the house once more and begun to breath
slowly, in a pitiful effort to control my racing heart beat. A hot, salty tear ran down my cheek as I
swallowed in grim determination