The road kept winding and was flanked by tall trees that provided dense canopy.
Evelyn Harper had not seen a sign of civilization for what seemed like hours. The printed directions gave her confidence that she was headed in the right direction, even though her phone's GPS had lost signal a while ago. She felt a rush of excitement as she drove farther into the forest.
She was in dire need of solitude, tranquility, and a location away from the bustle of the city.
The manor's internet listing had looked too good to be true when she first saw it. For a fraction of the price of any small apartment in the city—a huge, historic estate? At first, she had been hesitant, believing that there must be a serious problem with the property or that it was a scam. Evelyn, however, had been sold after seeing the pictures of the manor, a sprawling stone building with ivy creeping up its walls and grand arched windows, at the real estate agent's office. Regarding its past, the agent had been evasive, merely stating that it had been for sale for years without any buyers.
The agent had said cryptically, "There are... stories about the house," with eyes moving as though to gauge Evelyn's response. "Some people in the area think it is cursed."
Evelyn had dismissed the caution. She did not think curses existed, and she was not worried about the house's troubled past. She preferred the calm, a place where she could at last concentrate on her work without the incessant commotion and diversions of the city. Isolation was a big selling point for me as an introvert. In addition, the price was too good to refuse.
Evelyn saw the manor for the first time as the road curved and the trees parted. Her breath caught at what she saw, and she slowed the car. It exceeded her expectations in terms of grandeur. With its sturdy yet worn stone walls, the manor loomed ahead with an air of timeless grandeur. Its dark slate roof and tall turrets gave it a decidedly gothic appearance. The front door was framed by elaborate stone carvings and appeared large and heavy. Ivy's green tendrils slithered up toward the roof as it clung to the house's sides.
A broad, circular courtyard was reached by a long, winding driveway. With her shoes crunching on the gravel, Evelyn parked the car and got out. The smell of damp earth and pine filled the crisp air. The only sound to break the deep silence was the distant rustle of leaves in the wind. It was serene, just what she had been longing for.
After admiring the house's magnificence for a while, Evelyn went to her car's trunk to collect her belongings. A shiver ran up her spine as she walked toward the front door with the keys in hand. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, but the great forest behind her was all that was visible. Dispelling the apprehension, she opened the door and entered.
Although it had an old, slightly dilapidated charm, the manor's interior was every bit as impressive as its exterior. With high ceilings and a sweeping staircase leading to the upper floors, the grand foyer was roomy. As she walked through the foyer, she heard the dark wood floors creak a little. The soft light coming in through the tall windows was caught by the dust that hung in the air.
Evelyn wandered through the house, her footsteps echoing in the vast halls. The manor was larger than she had anticipated, with countless rooms and corridors leading deeper into its depths. Each room had its own distinct character—some furnished with antique pieces, others bare and untouched for what seemed like decades. There was a library filled with dusty old books, a grand dining room with an ornate chandelier, and a drawing room that still had remnants of a forgotten era in its faded curtains and antique furniture.
Despite the dust and the occasional cobweb, the house was beautiful. It had character, a sense of history etched into its very walls. As Evelyn continued her tour, a strange sense of belonging settled over her. She hadn't expected to feel so comfortable in a place like this, especially so soon. It was as if the house was welcoming her, inviting her to stay.
By the time the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the house, Evelyn had unpacked her belongings and set up a makeshift workspace in the drawing room. She made a quick dinner, eating in the dining room as the last light of day faded, leaving the house bathed in darkness. sound being.
As she prepared for bed, a sense of unease crept back in. It was nothing she could pinpoint—just a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, like the sense of being watched. She dismissed it as nerves. It wasn't every day she moved into a centuries-old mansion deep in the forest, after all. She brushed her teeth, pulled on her pajamas, and crawled into the large, four-poster bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
The room was spacious, with tall windows that let in the pale light of the moon. As she lay there, staring up at the ceiling, she couldn't help but smile. This was her new beginning. A place of solitude, where she could finally focus on herself and her work. No distractions, no noise. Just peace.
But as the minutes ticked by and the house settled into the stillness of the night, the sense of being watched returned, stronger this time. Evelyn's heart began to beat a little faster. She turned over in bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, trying to shake the feeling. But the silence seemed oppressive now, heavy and thick. The air felt colder, and the shadows in the room seemed to stretch and twist unnaturally.
She closed her eyes, willing herself to relax. It was just her imagination, nothing more.
But in the quiet of the night, she could have sworn she heard a faint whisper, barely audible.
"You trespass on my property."
Her eyes snapped open, her heart pounding in her chest. city— There was no one there.
Just the wind, she told herself. Just the wind.
But deep down, she wasn't so sure.
As Evelyn sat there, heart racing, she listened closely for any further sounds, but the house had returned to an unsettling silence. The whisper felt too real to dismiss, but there was nothing to see—no one in sight. Forcing herself to lie back down, she pulled the blankets tighter around her and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the growing dread that crept into her mind.
Sleep came slowly, but even then, a part of her knew this was just the beginning of something far more chilling.
–––
The sun filtered weakly through the tall, ivy-covered windows the next morning, casting long beams of light across the dusty wooden floor. Evelyn Harper woke with a start, her heart still pounding from the strange events of the night before. She sat up in bed, trying to make sense of what she had heard. The whisper had felt so real, so close, but now in the cold light of day, it seemed almost ridiculous. Perhaps she was simply exhausted from the move and her imagination had run wild in the eerie silence of the manor.
Shaking off the lingering unease, Evelyn climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe. The house was much less intimidating in the daylight, though the air was still cold and the silence, though peaceful, felt unnervingly heavy. After a quick breakfast of coffee and toast, she decided to explore more of the manor, hoping to distract herself from the strangeness of the previous night.
The house was vast, with numerous rooms, hallways, and winding staircases that led deeper into its shadowy corners. Evelyn walked through the grand foyer again, her footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors. As she moved from room to room, she noticed more peculiarities—small things, like items slightly out of place, though she couldn't be sure they hadn't always been that way. In the library, an old chair sat slightly askew, as if someone had recently vacated it. In the kitchen, a cupboard door hung open, though she had been sure she'd closed everything the night before.
Her initial sense of wonder at the manor's grandeur was slowly being replaced by unease. She tried to dismiss it as simple paranoia—after all, it was an old house, bound to creak and shift. And yet, Evelyn couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't alone.
Later that afternoon, she found herself in the manor's large, overgrown garden, in an attempt to clear her head. The greenery had taken over almost every inch of the space, but it was beautiful in its wildness. Vines crawled up stone walls, and the faint scent of flowers still clung to the air, despite the neglect. The solitude was exactly what Evelyn had been craving, but the whisper from the night before echoed in her mind: You trespass on my property.
She had come here to escape the chaos of the outside world, to be alone with her thoughts and work, but instead, the manor seemed intent on making her feel like an intruder. Was it possible that the stories about the house were true? Evelyn didn't believe in ghosts, but something about this place felt undeniably... off.
That night, as the sun dipped behind the dense trees and the shadows grew long once again, Evelyn found herself standing at one of the large windows, gazing out at the surrounding forest. The house was isolated—far from any neighbors or towns—and though she had found comfort in that fact before, now it filled her with a sense of unease. She was truly alone out here. Or was she?
A sudden sound—a faint creak—pulled her attention away from the window. Her heart skipped a beat, and she spun around, scanning the room for the source of the noise. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just the dimly lit drawing room. But then she heard it again, this time clearer. sound being.
Evelyn's pulse quickened as she stared up at the ceiling, listening closely. The footsteps seemed to be pacing back and forth above her—directly in the room where she had slept the night before.
She swallowed hard, trying to rationalize what she was hearing. It's an old house, she told herself. Old houses make noises.
But these weren't the random creaks of wood or settling beams. These were deliberate, measured steps, as though someone—or something—was walking around upstairs.
Summoning her courage, Evelyn grabbed a flashlight and slowly ascended the grand staircase, her heart thudding in her chest. The steps creaked beneath her feet as she moved cautiously toward the hallway that led to the bedroom. The air grew colder the higher she climbed, and by the time she reached the top, her breath was coming out in small puffs of mist.
The footsteps had stopped.
Evelyn stood at the threshold of her bedroom, her hand trembling slightly as she reached for the door handle. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed the door open. The room was exactly as she had left it—empty and still. But the air was icy, as though someone had just been there and vanished.
Her eyes scanned the room, searching for any sign of an intruder. town—Everything was where it should be, but for one thing. The curtains, which she had drawn earlier, were now open, allowing the moonlight to stream in.
As Evelyn approached the window, a shiver went down her spine. Her heart pounded when she saw something else—the outline of a handprint, faint and hardly perceptible, on the frosted windowpane. It was smudged, as though someone had touched the inside of the glass.
With her heart pounding in her chest, Evelyn backed away from the window and turned to quickly leave the room. There was obviously a problem with this house, but she had no idea what was going on. What if the rumors and stories about the curse were true?
She heard it again as she started back down the stairs—that voice, low and almost mocking, hardly more than a whisper in the darkness.
"You can't leave now."
Evelyn froze mid-step, her skin prickling with fear. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, echoing through the house.
She raced back to the drawing room, trying to make sense of what was happening. Was she losing her mind, or was the manor truly haunted? And if it was haunted, who—or what—was haunting it? Her rational mind wanted to dismiss it all as a trick of the imagination, but deep down, Evelyn knew something far more sinister was at play.
The whisper seemed almost playful now, as though it was enjoying her fear. As though it was toying with her.
Evelyn sat down on the couch, her heart still racing, trying to calm her nerves. But the thought lingered: she wasn't alone in the house. Something, or someone, was there with her. And it wasn't going to let her leave without a fight.
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To Be Continued...