In the center of Quanzhou, along the vibrant Jiu Yi Road, sits an old, three-story house that seems untouched by time. Surrounded by the city's modern buildings, the old structure is shrouded in silence, concealed behind layers of foliage and shadows from the ancient trees nearby. Its wooden exterior is weather-beaten, walls peeling and windows broken. This house, commonly known as "the haunted house on Jiu Yi Road," holds a dark reputation among the locals.
The house's story began years ago, when it was first abandoned. Over time, its mysterious emptiness made it a temporary refuge for those who had no other shelter—the city's wanderers and beggars. One cold night, a small group of these wanderers decided to rest inside the house, grateful for a place to sleep out of the cold. They arranged themselves on the dusty floorboards, their heads pointing west and their feet to the east, and soon drifted off to sleep.
But when dawn came and they awoke, they were shocked to find that they were all lying in the opposite direction. Somehow, during the night, each of them had been turned around—now lying with their heads to the east and feet to the west. They stared at each other, a deep fear settling in as none of them could remember moving. Terrified by this inexplicable occurrence, the group fled the house, never looking back. From that day onward, the house was left completely abandoned; no beggar or wanderer dared to spend the night within its walls again.
Word of the haunted house on Jiu Yi Road spread quickly. Locals whispered about the strange and eerie powers of the building, claiming that the spirits of the past roamed its empty rooms, unsettled and vengeful. The legend grew, and before long, tales of other supernatural happenings began to emerge.
Years later, a young man named Axiang became intrigued by the stories of the haunted house. He was known for his curiosity and his fearlessness, often taking on dares from friends to venture into places others avoided. When he heard about the house, he decided to see for himself if the stories were true. Late one night, he took a flashlight, made his way to Jiu Yi Road, and approached the house. The streets were empty, and a thick fog hung over the area, making the old building look even more ominous.
As Axiang climbed over the old fence and crept towards the house, he felt a chill that seemed to emanate from within. The air grew colder as he approached the building, and the shadows cast by the flashlight flickered against the decaying walls. Finally, he climbed up to the second-floor balcony, peering into a broken window to look inside.
What he saw made his blood run cold. In the corner of the dark room sat an old man, motionless and shrouded in shadow. His face was pale and wrinkled, his expression blank and hollow. The old man sat cross-legged, staring into the darkness, seemingly oblivious to Axiang's presence. Axiang felt a jolt of terror wash over him, his mind racing with questions. Had the man been there all along, silently watching the house in solitude? Or was this some ghostly apparition, one of the spirits that the locals claimed haunted the place?
Unable to bear the sight any longer, Axiang stumbled backward, nearly losing his footing on the narrow balcony. He scrambled down and ran, never looking back. His breath was ragged, and his heart pounded as he rushed home, the eerie image of the old man etched into his mind. But that wasn't the end of his ordeal.
The next day, Axiang fell ill with a fever that wouldn't subside. He grew delirious, muttering in his sleep about the "old man" and a "haunted room." His family was deeply concerned, calling doctors who were baffled by his symptoms, unable to find a physical cause for his condition. Friends and family tried to ask him what had happened, but each time he would shake his head, refusing to speak about that night. Over the next few weeks, Axiang's fever finally broke, but he remained haunted by that night, never daring to set foot near Jiu Yi Road again.
As Axiang's story circulated, more details about the house came to light. According to some locals, the original owner of the house had been a miserly man with few friends, known for his suspicious and unpleasant nature. He had reportedly wronged many people during his life, refusing to pay debts and holding grudges. Some whispered that his enemies had cursed the house, placing bones beneath its foundation and sealing a dark fate into the very structure. The curse, they said, would bind any malevolent spirit to the property, leaving it to languish there for eternity.
Over the years, the house's grim reputation only intensified. No one wanted to live there, and it was left abandoned, an eerie relic from another era. Children who walked by would glance curiously at its cracked walls and broken windows, but their parents would quickly pull them away, warning them never to enter. It became known as a place of bad luck, a site that even passing by would make one feel uneasy.
As night fell, strange things were said to happen around the house. Local residents claimed to see lights flickering in the windows, despite the fact that no one lived there, and a faint, eerie whisper would sometimes drift out from the empty rooms. People who lingered too long felt a sudden, inexplicable cold that seemed to seep into their bones. Some reported hearing low, mumbling voices, and others swore they had seen the same figure of an old man sitting by the window, staring blankly into the darkness.
One rainy night, a curious teenager decided to sneak into the house after hearing Axiang's story from his friends. He carried a camera, determined to capture evidence of the supernatural. He ventured into the house alone, his flashlight casting eerie beams across the moldy walls. In the dead silence, he reached the second floor and turned towards the corner where Axiang had seen the old man.
There, he saw a faint outline—a figure that was barely visible, like a shadow made of mist. It was the old man, sitting exactly as Axiang had described, his head bowed, face hidden in the darkness. The teenager took a step closer, his camera raised. But just as he prepared to take a photo, the shadowy figure raised its head, staring directly at him. The teenager froze, a chilling dread filling him, as though time itself had stopped.
Moments later, he fled, abandoning his camera in his frantic escape. The camera was later found lying in the house, damaged beyond repair, its last moments frozen in eerie, corrupted images.
The tale of the haunted house on Jiu Yi Road persists, adding to its legend. The house still stands, untouched, and residents continue to avoid it. It's a forbidden place in the middle of Quanzhou, where the modern world and ancient curses seem to collide, leaving a dark mark on the bustling street. Locals say that the spirits within remain bound to the house, trapped by the curse on its foundation, waiting in silence for the next person brave—or foolish—enough to enter.