It all started on a regular Saturday afternoon, the kind of day where you could feel the boredom hanging in the air. The four of us—me, Lily, Marcus, and Sam—were hanging out in the park by the basketball courts, sprawled out on the grass with nothing to do. Summer was winding down, and soon school would be back in session. We needed something exciting, something big, to close out the season.
Marcus was tossing a basketball up in the air, catching it lazily as it fell back down. "You know what we should do?" he said, sitting up, a sly grin spreading across his face. "We should go to Granger's place."
That got everyone's attention.
"You mean the haunted house?" Lily asked, sitting up straighter. She looked nervous just saying it out loud, but there was a flicker of curiosity in her eyes, too.
Marcus shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. "Yeah, why not? It's just a house. Besides, everyone's always talking about it, but no one ever actually goes inside."
"Because it's haunted," Sam said, leaning back on his elbows. "There's a reason no one goes there, Marcus. Old Man Granger's place is cursed or something. They say people hear voices and see weird stuff in the windows at night."
I stayed quiet, listening. We all knew the stories. How Old Man Granger had lived alone in that crumbling house for years before he died, never talking to anyone, never leaving except very rarey for groceries. Some people said they saw lights in the windows at night, long after he'd passed. Others claimed to have heard footsteps or whispers when they walked by. The house had a reputation, and not the kind of reputation you messed with.
But Marcus didn't seem bothered. He tossed the ball aside and leaned in, his voice low and serious. "Come on, aren't you curious? We've heard those stories a million times, but how do we know if any of it's true? We should be the ones to find out."
"I don't know…" Lily muttered. She was always the cautious one, but I could tell the idea intrigued her. The same curiosity was bubbling up in me too. We'd heard about that house for years. No one ever went near it, especially not at night. But part of me had always wondered—what if the rumors weren't just stories?
Sam was the next to speak up. "I mean… it would be kinda cool to see if something actually happens." He glanced at me and Lily, his hesitation slipping away. "It's not like we're going to get another chance to do something like this."
They all turned to look at me, waiting for my opinion. I was the oldest, so they usually looked to me for the final word. I could feel the weight of their stares, but the truth was, I'd already made up my mind.
"We could go," I said, trying to sound casual even though my heart was already racing a little. "Just for a little while. See what's inside. If it's too creepy, we can leave."
Lily frowned, but she didn't say no. I knew her well enough to tell that her curiosity was winning out, just like mine. And Marcus, of course, grinned like he'd already known what I was going to say.
"Alright, then," he said, clapping his hands together. "Tonight, after sunset. We'll meet by the park, and head over together."
As the plan was set in motion, I felt that familiar twinge of excitement mixed with fear. It was crazy, yeah, but that's what made it so tempting. We were about to do something no one else in the neighborhood dared to do.
We stood at the edge of the overgrown lawn, staring up at the dark, looming house that had cast a shadow over our neighborhood for as long as I could remember. Its windows, long since cracked and covered in grime, seemed to watch us as we debated going in. It was me, Lily, Marcus and Sam.
"I don't know if this is a good idea," Lily muttered, hugging herself against the chilly October air. She was the youngest, but she wasn't a scaredy-cat—just cautious.
"It's just an old house," Marcus said, puffing out his chest like he wasn't nervous, though I could tell by the way his voice cracked that he was. "Besides, we promised, didn't we? We've gotta see if the stories are true."
I grabbed the flashlight from my backpack, clicking it on and off to make sure it worked. "Alright, let's go," I said, my heart pounding a little harder than I wanted it to. I didn't want the others to see how nervous I was. As the oldest, it was my job to lead the way.
We crossed the yard together, the tall grass brushing against our legs. The house smelled of mold and something else, something old and musty, like a place that hadn't seen the light in years. When we reached the porch, the wooden steps creaked under our weight, the sound too loud in the eerie silence. Sam reached out to touch the rusted doorknob, hesitating for a second before turning it.
The door swung open with a long, slow groan.
"Maybe it's not too late to turn back," Lily whispered. But no one moved. We all stood frozen in the doorway, staring into the pitch-black interior.
I swallowed hard, took a breath, and stepped inside. The air was heavy, stale. Dust swirled in the beam of the flashlight as I swept it around the front room. Old furniture, covered in white sheets, stood like ghostly figures around us. The wooden floor creaked beneath our feet as we shuffled forward.
Suddenly, something crashed from upstairs—a loud bang that made us all jump.
"What was that?" Marcus hissed, his eyes wide. He was usually the brave one, always daring us to do stupid stuff, but even he looked freaked out now.
"I'm sure it's nothing," I said, trying to sound confident, though my stomach was doing flips. "Probably just the wind or something falling over."
But as soon as I said it, we heard it again—another thud, then the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Slow. Heavy.
They were coming closer.
Lily grabbed my arm, her fingers digging in. "Let's get out of here," she whispered, her voice shaky.
But Marcus shook his head, his face pale. "We've come this far," he said. "We have to see what it is."
None of us wanted to argue with him. I mean, we did come here for this, right? To find out if the stories were real. But now that we were actually here, I wasn't so sure I wanted to know.
We crept toward the staircase, our steps slow and careful. The wood groaned under us with each movement, but the sound from above had stopped. It was dead silent now, except for the thumping of my own heart.
When we reached the second floor, the hallway stretched out before us, dark and narrow. I shined the flashlight down it, but it didn't seem to touch the end. Doors lined both sides, each one slightly ajar, as if they'd been opened in a hurry.
"What room do you think it came from?" Marcus asked, barely above a whisper.
Before anyone could answer, there was a loud bang—closer this time, like it was right next to us. It was coming from a door at the end of the hall. The other three looked at me, as if it was my responsibility to go first. I sighed and moved in front of them, and opened the door. The air turned cold, freezing cold, like someone had opened a freezer. And then I heard it—breathing. Soft, raspy, and too close for comfort.
I looked behind the door to see a mouth with no lips, coming towards me fully open.
I didn't even had time to scream, it swallowed me whole.
---
As the three of them stood frozen, listening to the creaks and groans of the old house, Lily took the lead and slowly pushed open the door to the next room. The hinges squeaked loudly, but the room beyond was empty—just like all the others they had explored so far.
"See? Nothing here," Lily said, her voice calm but tinged with disappointment.
Sam shuffled forward, peeking into the dusty corners. "I was sure we'd find something… anything," he mumbled. He was trying to hide his relief, but the tension had clearly drained from his face.
Marcus, still uneasy, scanned the room for any sign of movement. "Maybe it was just the wind all along," he said, still unconvinced but tired of jumping at shadows.
They continued their search, moving through the halls and peering into rooms that all looked the same—empty, abandoned, and filled with dust and broken furniture. The excitement that had driven them here slowly ebbed away, replaced with boredom and frustration.
Lily, usually the bravest, finally sighed. "I guess this place isn't haunted after all. Just a run-down old house." She glanced at the broken windows rattling in the breeze. "Kind of a letdown."
Sam nodded. "Let's just go. I'm hungry anyway."
Marcus was the first to head back towards the door, his pace quicker now that the thrill of the unknown had worn off. Sam followed, casting one last glance around the house. Nothing. Just an old building that had been abandoned for years.
As they stepped outside into the cool evening air, the sun was setting behind the trees, casting long shadows on the ground. The house looked less menacing now, almost ordinary.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Marcus muttered, kicking a stone down the path.
Lily smirked. "Maybe next time we'll find a real haunted house."
Sam shivered, half in jest. "Next time, how about we just stick to the park?"
Three children laughed as they headed home, the thrill of adventure fading into the night, leaving the house behind them in silence. Nothing had happened—nothing was forgotten.