Mystery of the Haunted House

Jack and Laurel were twins. They lived with their mom and dad. They also had a dog Tommy who was only a few months old. They loved open land and even creepy spaces and would often go for camping trips in the forest. Laurel was a very brave and outgoing girl whereas Jack was completely into books. He liked to study old languages, ancient history, and civilizations. They both had one thing in common though. They both loved to watch science-fiction movies.

One day their parents told them that they were moving into a new house in a clearing in the woods. The house was built and decorated in Chinese style since an orthodox Chinese family used to stay in that house earlier.

The reason for shifting into the new house suddenly was that their parents needed a bigger space in the house so that they could work from home when need be. They allocated an entire top floor of the new house as their office area and the ground floor was given to the children.

When they were shifting into their new house Tommy started behaving very oddly. He didn’t enter the house at all. So they made a kennel in the garden just outside the house for him.

A few days passed, and then one day the parents were suddenly called to the city for a few days for some business meetings. They left their kids with their dogs and went away. They thought that their children were big enough to be on their own now.

As soon as they left certain mysterious things started happening around the house. Some of their books disappeared. Some books were torn. The pictures on the walls started breaking. The doors banged in the night time on their own. Birds that came near the house would hit the window and die.

Laurel and Jack felt that all this must have some explanation. Then Jack noticed a few words written in the corner of the books which were torn. They were in ancient Chinese. Since Jack had knowledge of old languages he could translate it. They all read “Help Me!”It was written in a very light and shivering hand. Laurel and Jack were confused and decided and even if their parents were not around they would not be scared and will solve this mystery, no matter what!

In the next few days, they searched their parents’ library for information on the history of the various old houses or any clue which might help them. They could find very little material. Then suddenly one day they discovered a hidden door behind the bookshelf. It leads to a cellar. They both decided to wait for their parents to return before entering inside.

Then Tommy disappeared. This made them very upset. They finally decided that they had to take matters in their hands and try and locate Tommy. Maybe that will help them decipher the reasons for all the paranormal activities happening in the house. They devised a plan, gathered a few tools to protect themselves and step inside the hidden door. They put all the little knowledge that they had gathered over time into finding their dog.

It was very cold inside. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. As if no one had entered the place in decades. It was like a dungeon. As they went further they found dog tracks leading to another old and rusty door. When they opened the door it made a creaking sound. As they stepped inside they were stunned! They faced a beautifully decorated, neat and clean room with flower pots and antique furniture. It was surprisingly warm inside this room. In the center of the room, on a chair sat a white shimmering figure of a girl.... a ghost???!!!

On her laps was Tommy. He was extremely quiet. They got very furious. Without thinking they just quickly ran towards the girl to snatch Tommy back from her. As soon as they reached near her, Laurel stopped and held Jack back. She said, “Jack, this has to be a pure soul. See! The air in this room warmer than outside and Tommy also seems very peaceful and quiet in her laps.”

Laurel found the courage and tried to talk to the girl, whom she thought she recognized from somewhere. She asked, “Who are you? And why are you sitting here like this?” The girl replied, “Hello Laurel and Jack! Thank you for finding me. You both are really brave and pure souls, for no one else could have found me. I will finally get my salvation.”

Laurel and Jack were surprised that she knew their names. She said, “I am Lin. I used to stay in this house with my family a few years ago. My father was a very wealthy man. He had a younger brother. At the time we thought that my father’s brother was very fond of us. Once he came to stay here with us. I was only 17 years old at the time and was away on a school trip that day. When I came back I realized that my parents were no more. My uncle told me that they had died due to severe food poisoning. I was completely broken. After their funeral, the lawyers read their will.

My parents had left the house and all their wealth to me but made my uncle my guardian till I turned 18 years old. None of us knew my uncle’s intentions at the time. He was actually a very greedy person who wanted the entire property for himself. With very little time to spare before I turned 18, he got me killed in a car accident. This way he got hold of the entire property and the house. But just as all actions have a repercussion. My uncle too died in a car accident a few days later.”

“When I went to heaven, I came to know that my parents never died due to food poisoning but they were poisoned by my uncle. He was a genius and even the postmortem results didn’t suspect anything malicious. He was into black magic and somehow his soul stayed back and it is he who is haunting this house, to make sure no one stays here, ever. He is going to perform a ritual on this Halloween night, which also happens to be a full moon’s night. It will give him immense powers and make him very powerful. He may even come back to life as a monster.”

“God gave me the power to come back and stop him. But he also told me that I won't be able to accomplish my mission unless a pair of very brave and pure souls came to rescue me. Halloween is now just one night away. His plan is to kill both of you and make his sacrifice to get his life back. His plans were to scare you both so much after your parents left that you will easily come into his trap. He would then hypnotize you so that you follow all his orders and do as he says. With your help, I can now stop him.”

“Tommy sensed me in the house. He didn’t enter the house earlier because he knew of the presence of an evil spirit in the house. But he found me.”

Laurel and Jack were dumbstruck. They didn’t know what to think of all this. They both were very rational children who believed in what they saw. But they didn’t really believe that ghosts were for real and there was an afterlife after death. But they knew that Lin was sitting right in front of them. And she was real. They believed her because they had found a picture of a family who used to stay here before them, and they saw her in it.

Jack asked, “How do you want us to help you?”

Lin gave them a silver dagger, a golden rope, and a pair of dark glasses. She said, “You can use these weapons I have made to kill him. I cannot do it myself. I have been forbidden from it. My uncle’s ghost will be visible on this full moon’s night. He will try to overpower you by hypnotizing you. But you have to make sure you wear these glasses before you look at him. That will prevent you from coming under his influence. You cannot touch him directly, so you will need this rope to get hold of him. Then one of you must put the dagger straight into his heart, to end all of this. His spirit will vanish from the earth and I will get salvation, and will also return to my place above. I will unite with my parents there.”

“We will”, said Jack and Laurel.

Arming themselves with their weapons, Jack with the dagger, and Laurel with the rope, they marched to the far end of the garden, under the banyan tree just before midnight. They saw the ghost forming from black dust. When he saw them, he ran towards them. Laurel grabbed the ghost using the magical, golden rope. The ghost tried to possess her. But she was too strong for him. She tried not to let him go free. As soon as the moon was right above the ghost’s head, Jack jumped and put the dagger in his heart.

As soon as this happened, Laurel fainted and Jack fell back. Suddenly the ghost lifted up in the air and then sucked into the earth, leaving both of them lying on the ground.

The girl finally came out of the room. Revived both of them, and thanked them for their help. She also asked them to stay in the house and look after it, as she knew that they were the rightful owners of this house. She knew that they would cherish it as she would have, had she been alive. She then flew upwards, breaking into what looked like stars in the sky.

Next morning their parents came back home from their trip. They were not at all aware of all that had happened behind them. Jack and Laurel had decided that they would never tell their parents about all of it, or they would immediately sell the house and move somewhere else.

From that day onwards Jack and Laurel would always remember their friend Lin and look up into the sky and knew that she was at peace, finally!

***THE END***