The Haunted Mansion

plottwiist
October 26, 2024
Horror
126 Comments

On his bed, Veer was lying down scrolling through Instagram on his phone as it buzzed with a call. It was Roy. He picked it up, displaying a big broad smile on his face, as he already knew how their talk would proceed.

“Yo, how’s it going man?” Veer answered casually.

“Nothing much, man. Just wondering if you’ve got any plans for the weekend?” Roy’s voice crackled over the line.

“Why? You need me to help you find a personality or something?” Veer teased, laughing as he heard Roy groan.

“Ha, ha, very funny. No, let us do something different. Go somewhere, you know? Like a road trip or something.”

“Road trip?” Veer raised an eyebrow. “You mean like when you tried to navigate last time and got us lost for three hours?”

“Hey, that was one time!” Roy shot back, though his voice had a hint of embarrassment. “I mean, at least I remembered the tents unlike you.”

They teased each other continuously until Veer finally spoke up, “Okay! Okay! Let’s go somewhere. But I’m not doing any lame camping trip again.”

A brief silence filled the line before Roy spoke, his voice carrying a hint of mischief. “How about we check out The Haunted Mansion?”

Veer blinked, his mind racing. “You mean that old haunted house everyone talks about? The one where that couple disappeared?”

“Exactly!” Roy confirmed. “It’s just an abandoned house. It’ll be fun to spook ourselves a little.”

“No way! Are you crazy?” Veer laughed, though a throb of excitement bubbled up inside him, “Why would we go there?”

“Because it’s an adventure! Plus, if we survive, you can finally say you’ve done something brave.” Roy quipped.

Before Veer could respond, a notification buzzed on his phone. It was a group message from Neha, one of their mutual friends. She and her best friend, Aisha, were in the chat, asking what the boys were up to.

“Hold on! Let me loop in Neha and Aisha.” Veer said, quickly adding them to the call. “Let’s see what they think about your crazy idea.”

“Hey, guys!” As usual, Neha said something cheerfully. “What’s up?”

“Veer and I were just planning a little trip.” Roy began. “We’re thinking of checking out Sunaina Mansion or The Haunted Mansion.”

“The Haunted Mansion?” Aisha’s voice was full of intrigue. “That sounds awesome! Count me in.”

Neha laughed, “You guys want to scare yourselves, huh? But I’m down too. It’ll be fun.”

Veer glanced at his phone, feeling a mix of excitement and dread. “You all are insane, you know that?”

“Oh, come on, Veer. Don’t chicken out now!” Neha teased. “We can easily handle a spooky house.”

“Fine!” Veer sighed, “Let’s do it. But if we end up as ghost stories, I’m haunting all of you.”

This was the next day, the car was full of four persons including Roy who took them outside the city to where Sunaina Mansion was located. Just after sunset, long shadows were cast against the spooky and ruined building.

Upon arrival, Roy parked and glanced at his comrades with a brief expression of anxiety on his face. “Are you guys sure about this?” he queried although there was no strength in his tone.

“Don’t say that you are shying away from the deal now” Aisha laughed as she opened the door of their vehicle to come out, “Up until now, we have managed.”

Veer, noticing Roy’s hesitation, clapped him on the back. “What’s the matter, man? You were the one who suggested this place.”

Roy mumbled, “Yeah! Yeah!” but it felt a little bit familiar to him and there was a tingle of fear running down his spine. Following his mates towards the mansion he couldn’t rid himself of the overwhelming sensation of déjà vu.

The creaking door opened wide into the old house they entered. The dust had settled on every item there was while a thick scent of decay permeated through the air.

“Let’s get ourselves ready for the night!” Roy went ahead to say.

The group split up in directions; ladies remained behind gossiping and laughing while preparing for the dinner while boys went out gathering firewood.

Suddenly from inside came an ear-piercing scream that made every boy drop whatever thing he was holding still a few seconds ago when they were collecting sticks and logs.

“What on earth was that?” Veer whispered, his heart pounding.

They ran back inside, finding Neha and Aisha huddled together, their faces pale. “What happened?” Veer demanded.

“We… we saw someone on the first floor” Neha stammered. “It was like a shadow of a lady, just standing there, watching us”

Veer exchanged a glance with Roy, who was visibly shaken but trying to hold it together. “Let’s check it out!” Veer said his tone firm.

The girls were reluctant yet at the same time, the boys wouldn’t give up, they were resolute not to yield at this point. Together they clambered up the groaning and screeching staircase onto the first floor where her foot fell on soft rotten boards that complained under their weight.

They searched every room carefully but all appeared normal or at least for an abandoned house with purportedly ghastly presence. Suddenly, they realized Aisha was missing.

“Where’s Aisha?” Neha whispered, panic creeping into her voice.

A scream echoed from the basement, and they all turned, their blood running cold. “That’s her!” Neha cried. “We have to go!”

They both hastened to the basement door and discovered it was secured from outside. Veer and Roy banged on it, attempting to prize it open. But nothing happened “Someone has imprisoned us in here” Veer spoke with a quivering voice.

They took some time but succeeded in breaking the door down and entered into a gloomy, dank cellar. It was in this room that they saw Aisha huddled in a corner, trembling.

“What happened?” Veer asked, kneeling beside her.

“I… I saw someone…” Aisha whispered tears in her eyes. “I wanted to chase after her, but the door shut behind me”

Roy’s features drained of color, and recollections—of an ancient evening they had spent here with his girlfriend, and something comparable had occurred—came flooding in. He had binned the reminiscences deep down; they now emerged like a monster from under the bed—and terror was the most usual feeling in him.

“Roy!” Veer told him, shaking him out of it. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling us?”

Roy looked at his friends, guilt and fear written all over his face. “I’ve been here before” he admitted, his voice trembling. “A few days ago, with Rumi. We thought it would be fun, but… things went wrong. We heard something while we were exploring the backyard but saw nothing. I was too scared to say anything, but I never wanted to come back here.”

Veer’s eyes narrowed. “And still, even after all this, you brought us here? Great!”

“I thought it would be different this time! And who knows maybe we can find her” Roy exclaimed, his voice filled with desperation. “I didn’t think… I didn’t think this would happen.”

Neha grabbed his arm, shaking him slightly. “We need to get out of here, now!”

Roy nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. “You’re right! Let’s go!”

The entrance door rumbled and closed solidly behind them. When they got to the main floor, they ran upstairs rapidly but heard a loud bang which paralyzed them in fear at first sight.

“Who’s there?” Veer shouted, his voice echoing through the empty house.

“Don’t you remember me, Veer? Didn’t your friend tell you everything?” a voice came from the other side.

Veer turned to him, his anger and fear replaced by concern. “What happened that night, Roy? Tell us everything”

Roy took a deep breath, his mind flashing back to that fateful night. “Rumi and I came here on a dare, just like this. We heard a noise but saw nothing. We were in the backyard together. I left her there, and I ran away from the mansion. We tried to find her later, but we didn’t find her. We searched everywhere, but she just… disappeared. We never found her”

Veer’s heart sank as he listened, realizing the gravity of the situation. “And now all this is happening..”

Roy nodded, his fear was recognizable. “We need to leave. Now!”

They headed to the door but when Veer held for the handle it turned independently and slowly the door creaked open. A cold rush of wind tore through them, and to their astonishment, stood there Rumi.

“Who are you?” Veer said, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him.

“I am Rumi, or should I say Rumi’s ghost?”

They couldn’t believe what happened. Roy fell down his body becoming lifeless as he reached the ground. Neha’s gaze swept across the scene with an edge of urgency in her voice that cut through the chaos, “Shh everyone! He’s shamed out. Show him the light! I hope it teaches him a lesson.”

Confused but relieved, they helped Roy regain consciousness by lifting him. As his eyes opened, they were glazed over and disoriented. What was once a playful room now felt oppressive and suffocating. Then they all burst into laughter which was sharp and mocking saying, “It was just a joke!”

He couldn’t face Rumi. This caused shame to bite at Roy while his heart sank with deep regret. Veer’s voice, passing over everything else was icy and hard. “Enough already! The message we came with has been sent. You should be ashamed of yourself for what you did to Rumi. It’s 8 pm and we need to go home now“. “And as for you Roy, you are just simply cowardice.“

Tears streamed down Roy’s cheeks as he slumped against the wall bringing out his guilt in every drop that fell from him like raindrops fall from skies. When everyone left except Rumi whose footsteps lingered behind and echoed along corridors, she started feeling frustrated out of concern. “Come on Roy, don’t hold us up all night…” “Let’s leave before anything else happens.“

However, Rumi felt an icy dread as she turned to summon Roy for the final call. Her gaze was glued on a shadowy form in the first-floor window and she couldn’t move. It stood still, less human than a shade.

“Who is that?” came the barely audible whisper from Rumi whose voice was shaking with terror and who sensed that the atmosphere was pregnant with something indescribable to both herself and Roy. This house which had so often felt like home now seemed strange – inhabited by an ungraspable presence.

[Blackout]