'Let's go into that one,' That house was pointed while we were at the edge of finishing our business of trick or treat.

'I'm not going.' The nurse declared before even someone asked.

'Why not?' A prisoner teased. 'Is it because you are scared?'

'You know whoever gets in, never comes out.' The pumpkin with glasses explained.

'These are just the myths.' The prisoner again showed off his bravery that was merely for the show. Everyone knew Steve. He couldn't even pee at night without his mom.

'My uncle once got in and he never came back.'

I remembered Jake's uncle with shiny bald head. The gold tooth and the fat belly had made itself numerous jokes. He was right. My mom had informed me of his disappearance and I did not believe it before neither did I do now.

'I'm not going in.' He had already concluded.

'They say the house has its lights turn on and off by itself.' The scared nurse told another fact about that house. I looked behind me and found the lights of the whole house turned on including the fairy lights draped outside the house for the sake of the decoration.

'Ooh, fun,' The prisoner showed his interest that was fake, 'someone should go in and check it out.'

'Why don't you go?' The nurse asked Steve who already had all the colours from his face drained out.

'I—I, Grandma's coming so I gotta reach home early.'

'Then that leaves Theo only,' They all threw their gazes at me, 'He would go wouldn't he?' Steve said.

'Why would I go? I'm not interested anyway.' I answered their question.

'Because, you are the only one left out,' William said.

'So?'

'So you're going in egghead,' Steve slapped his fat hand onto my shoulder, 'and you have to or remember I still got you PS.'

I glared at him. Being 11 and two years younger than him, I felt helpless in front of this bully. He snatched my PS4 with a silent promise of never giving it back. And if I could take it back just by going in the home to check the lights, I think it'll be worth it.

But again, should I say yes?

Well. . . it'll have me back my PS4.

Yes, then.

I huffed and blew a puff of smoke in this cold night. 'Okay. I'll go but you'll give me back my PS4.'

Steve smirked and patted another series of heavy slaps on my shoulder. 'Okay.'

"Okay". Was the end and start of the deal. With no intentions and any assumptions of what-so-ever waited for me in that house, I agreed.

I halted outside the house brightly lit up with red and white fairy lights trying to give off a spooky vibe.

The house was a single storey, painted red with a few squares of ground spread out as a garden. The house only had one odd thing because of which it acquired the level of 'The Haunted House', was because it had a clock tower instead of the chimney.

Looking behind for just a fraction of second, it occurred that the ones who dared me to go were already on their way home.

I lifted up my foot and placed it across the white chalk line marked for the visitors to stay away. My index finger made contact with the bell button and a faint ring chimed in my ears.

I waited for a while, perhaps for a warm welcome or just an invitation but neither came. The breeze—full of fury—signified to let myself in. My freezing hands and wobbly legs needed a little warmth. I deliberately touched the main gate that, noiseless though, cranked open.

Suspiciousness was what it should've drawn upon me, but it didn't. I pushed the gate aside and walked in. The leaves crushed under my shoes and the wind curled around my hair once again. I knocked at the door.

No answer.

I tried again. 'Aunt Mage?' I said out loud but no sound came. I vaguely remembered that a lady shifted in this house. I recalled the moment I crashed into her once she was shifting which was not a pleasing meeting.

I knocked again. Harder this time. A click sounded and I braced myself, but no one answered.

'Aunt Mage?' I called out her name for the door kept opening inch by inch but neither a hand nor a soul came into view.

The door  completely opened. Inside the house, the lights were flicked on and in between, strangely, a Christmas tree sprawled onto the floor. There was a chair and legs of a old women rested peacefully on the floor. The chair's back was turned towards me as it sat in front of the fireplace and it swung with, perhaps the weight of Aunt Mage.

'Can I come in?' I asked.

She did not reply but the chair instantly stopped swinging. I waited that maybe Aunt Mage is coming to answer me but my waiting seemed infinite. The chair was not swinging anymore and the fire burnt with more fury. Wait a minute. I thought. This house has no chimney then the fire. . .

'Aunt Mage, are you okay?' She might be suffocating if the fireplace had no chimney. I staggered towards the chair. 'Aunt Mage I think you should. . . ' I trailed off cause talking more was meaningless as there was no one on the chair. What about the feet? I asked myself. I just saw them.

A slow, melodious rhythm punctured around the house. I looked for the source and it was the room to my north west. The lights of the room were flicked on and so was the TV.

I had never heard that Aunt Mage was fond of any sort of music and it was what that aroused the curiosity in me. Someone's playing a trick on me. And if they are, then I'll catch them red handed. So I sulked towards the room.

The melody halted as my foot made contact with the bedroom floor. The TV turned off and and a twisting and turning of rope sounded around. I looked cautiously around the room consisting of one bedroom, one cupboard fixed at the corner of the room and a small dresser. None of them seemed to be the producers of the sound.

A swish, a peter patter and a thud called me in the bathroom. I pushed open it's door. My heart beat stopped midway, my breathe caught up. A nauseating feeling set in me.

In front of me; was Aunt Mage.

Her neck was surrounded my a rope and she was hung with the ceiling. The rope dribbled down the drops of blood onto the floor. Aunt Mage was dead and there were purple bruises on her calf's and her arms. Her eyes were horrendously popped open. Right in front of where she hung, was a mirror of venti. And there was no reflection of —though dead and hung— Aunt Mage rather it showed a flash of a black curtain.

My hands and legs shook. Fear wrapped its fingers around my throat and even I desperately wanted, my legs seemed to be rooted at the ground. A scream? No, even a whisper was difficult to be mustered up.

I took two or so breaths to calm myself and then when my limbs were in control, I ran.

I ran towards the door leading out of the house but it began closing with my every step reaching to it.

I struggled with the knob which came out of its hole and became completely useless. 'Open the door!' I yelled but my petite voice was dissolved under the loud, cold scream that sent shivers down my body.

I looked around for the window which was open and I ran towards it, tried to push it upwards and as I did so, my hands experienced something wet. I looked down, it was something . . . red.

I shrieked  and got back when my back hit something solid. On looking behind, I registered it was the chair and now, it's had turned the other way. The fire erupted dangerously and I was thrown forwards.

Panic plastered itself in my mind but I needed a way to get out. A little casting of look here and there found me a flicker of movement in the kitchen. Was it. . . ? I couldn't even form the question in my head.

Staying there like a wimp was not an option. Maybe, it was cat or something like that and if I follow it, I could find a way out. I got up and just as I was about to reach the kitchen, something soft was almost crushed under my feet. A flick of light onto the soft thing, and I was freaked out. It was a hand. Connected with the body of none other but Jake's uncle. His eyes, just like Aunt Mage were popped open out of fear.

My hands shook. He was stabbed right in his heart. I looked around and another flicker of movement caught my eye. My heart raced as if someone was already chocking me. Though scared I attempted to follow the movement which ended. I found another window and wanted to escape when a loud whimper filled my ears perhaps from a little girl.

I didn't give it any thought and walked into the room from where the whimpers came. As it was dark, it was hard to make out the figure, but I got that there was someone , curled up in the corner and crying. I cautiously raised my each and every step towards the figure. The cries got louder.

When I reached the corner, my eyes widened at the fear that I had been tricked. There was no girl but a doll, a horrible, ugly doll with her one eye popped out, was placed in the corner. Another roar of thunder with the light, and my heart nearly skipped a beat as I inspected a shadow on the wall, that as much as I could make up, was of someone with a big knife approaching me silently.

It detected my recognition as it increased its speed to kill me but I instantly picked up the doll that began crying harder and threw it at the approaching figure. The doll was stabbed right into the heart.

The woman groaned and jiggled her knife wildly to free it from the doll's possession. And soon it did, but I was locked. In between the woman who had his one side of face badly burnt, and the bed.

The woman let out a victorious laugh and raised his knife but I crouched down and escaped from in between her legs and ran. She threw the knife at me that I nearly missed.

I ran for the door while the woman staggered behind me. Her blood shot eyes sent shivers down my spine. My hands shook but the door didn't even budge. What is happening?

I needed to get out of here. The smell of garbage and dead fish began taking over me.

I struggled with the door and the woman was there, behind me, grinning from ear to ear (I was only able to see her lips for her face was covered in hair ) and waiting to take on another victory. 'No one,' she spoke with a high pitched voice that made me have goosebumps. 'Steps in this house. This is mine.' She spoke with just difficulty as if she had never spoke.

She raised her knife again, to stab me and I , strangely, kicked her leg hard enough to unbalance her. Her knife had her grip loosened so I grasped it.

She moaned and was getting up while I hit the knife at the lock of the door to break it. She made a terrifying sound from the depth of her throat and dug her nails in my back.

I yelled and screamed. The nails carved the skin as they moved down. My hands seemed feeble working on the lock but I needed to get out of here.

I hit the lock as hard as I could. Suddenly , all lights were flicked on and my screams were cut out as the women was no longer there. My hands shook. This was one of my worst nightmare. My hands were uncontrollably shaky and the lock seemed to be coming off. The was another flicker of dark before light.

The lock came out and the door opened.

I ran out of the house and before running away, I casted a look behind. There was, might it be a fault of my eyes, but I was sure as I watched Aunt Mage, alive, in a robe, walking towards the chair in front of the fireplace , picking it up and settling on it before the door automatically locked and the lights flicked on. . .