Chapter One

My foot carefully stepped across the threshold of this now abandoned house. This house was once so full of life, laughter would emanate from inside on a daily basis. My arm, now outstretched, began to search for a light switch, in hope that it would illuminate the room I was stood in. My hand lightly grazed the switch and a quiet click noise followed. The light didn’t work, much to my dismay. With a low grunt, I stepped further inside causing the floor boards to creak under my weight. To my surprise, they didn’t make as much noise as I was expecting. A small smile graced my lips as I allowed myself to venture deeper into the darkness.

My breath was the only sound to reach my ears once I had left the bare wood behind. I now stood on an old, dank carpet. I bent down slowly, my eyes examining the carpet and its inhabitants. From what I could see, which was very little due to the lack of lighting in my current area, a few different species of insect had taken up residence in this house. I reached my hand out towards the carpet but thinking better of it, I withdrew my hand. The thought of what could actually be in it held me back. Pressing my hands against my knees, I pushed myself up into a standing position once again. I let out a groan as I felt my back ache from the recent strain that I had put on it. I really shouldn’t bend down like that.

I rubbed the base of my spine for a few moments to alleviate the pain. Once it had been sufficiently soothed, I dropped my hand to my side. My eyes scanned the room, squinting in the darkness in an effort to make out the shapes around me. Not many were as distinguishable as I had been hoping. With a sigh of discontentment, I moved towards the largest object. I extended my arm towards it, allowing my finger tips to lightly brush against its exterior form. Its rough texture caused my fingers to tingle ever so slightly that it was almost electrical. It was as if something had happened at this very spot. I gasped as I withdrew my hand away, the sparking feeling had become too much to bare. What had caused this simple household object to feel this way?

A light gust of air gently swept across my neck, I shuddered at its icy touch. I shifted my gaze away from the object, which I had discovered to be a wooden table, and turned towards an open doorway. From out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn there was a dark figure. A darkness that could be distinguished inside a gloomy room. True to my nature, I stepped towards where the figure had stood. I peered into the darkness, attempting to find what had caused such an apparition. With no obvious cause within my sight, I shook my head to confirm to myself that I didn’t believe in ghosts. A silly gesture, I know, but an important one none the less. Without this, I would begin to over think my situation.

Not much was known about the events that took place here. It was almost as if the sudden disappearance of a once loving family had happened overnight. Having searched the newspapers and asked around for any information, I pulled up nothing, so I decided to investigate the scene myself.  Knowing how my friends would react, I purposely neglected to tell them of my location. The idea of others forcing their superstitions on me made my blood boil. It’s not their fault, but I reject the idea of otherworldly beings inhabiting our world. Although I do use the word “otherworldly”, I include all types of things. Ghosts seem to be very popular with the people around me.