House of Screams (Come on Writers!!)

I thought it would be cool if some of us could get together and write an awesome haunted house story! Add whatever you like and make it anything you want! I have started with just a few paragraphs and will add more after some of you have added your own flair to the story!!



It was the house of my dreams. A large two story house that sat back off the road in a grove of oak trees. What I loved mainly was the wrap around porch and the 2 sets of large bay windows. I had admired the home from an early age, dreamed of living there, and today my dream was coming true.
As I stood unpacking boxes, I watched happily out the window as my children played. They were chasing a butterfly around the yard, laughing gleefully with every step. The baby was sleeping in the cradle next to me. I was startled when my husband walked in yelling at me to get the kids out of the room upstairs and make them go outside if they were going to act like wild indians. "The kids are outside honey," I said. "Hell no they ain't they are up there tearing the damned house down, can't you hear them?" I walked over to the window and pointed to the children, all still outside playing. "See, there they are, and besides I don't hear anything". He walked over to the window and counted...there they were, all three kids...outside! "I'm telling you that they were upstairs! How long have they been out there"? "Over an hour! Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah, I'll go look up there, maybe a racoon or some squirrels got in". My husband wasn't normally one to be prone to exaggeration, but I knew that he was worn out with the move and I didn't really think anything else about it.
I continued unpacking boxes, forgetting the incident. Suddenly, all three of the children ran into the house screaming that there was old man upstairs in one of the bedrooms, they saw him looking out the window at them. "Shhh, one at a time please, and lower your voices, you'll wake the baby!" Jonathan spoke up and repeated what they had just said...there was an old man with white hair staring at them from the bedroom window upstairs. "That can't be, I reassured them, your daddy is up there and it was probably him that you saw, maybe the sun was shining on the glass and you were all just confused". "No way momma, it wasn't daddy! This man looked mean, like he wanted to hurt us!!", said Jonathan.

(I couldn't resist, a thought came to me and I have to add it!!!)

It was just then that my husband walked into the room carrying what looked to be an old oil painting. "Hey, look what I found in the attic! I wonder how old this is?" As he turned the painting around to face me, all of the children cryed out at once..."Thats him momma!!!! Thats the man that was staring at us from the window!!!!!"

[edit on 6-7-2009 by Greenize]

reply to post by Greenize


We stared in silence .... the children clinging to my legs, i could feel them trembling.

Suddenly my mind raced ......

THE BABY !

I rushed to the adjoining room .....

reply to post by UmbraSumus


Gooskies!!!! More more more....lol That was an awesome add!! Thank you!

Swiping a pile of boxes aside i found my precious blissfully asleep . I took her in my arms and through choking tears i felt something tickle my neck .....

I turned, there was nothing there. I breathed a sigh of relief until I saw the looks on the faces of my husband and children! "What...what is wrong you guys?" Through teary eyes my youngest, Liza said, " He was behind you momma, he was looking over your shoulder at the baby!"

Once again he became invisible, . . and left the room, returning to the
more familiar surroundings up in the attic. He had been seen ! Seen !
Those damn kids had seen him and now they were trying to convince their
mother that he existed ! He doubted she would believe them. Adults were
always the last ones to "see". But he had to be more careful.

They should have left that painting alone ! He knew immediately when the
father began poking around in the attic that his painting would be found !
Yes, his painting ! His life, his world ! And now the disturbance was almost
too much to bear. He didn't like these people being here, stirring up old
memories and touching things that shouldn't be touched ! They had no idea
what else lay in the attic, because if they did, they'd be just a little more
scared than they were now. Maybe a lot more scared !

He should've killed the man when he first noticed him snooping around !

With the fathers extensive background in military tactics being a retired navy seal, immediately he brushed such things off as imaginative creations, however with multiple witnesses he was genuinely spooked.

The day passed normally as any other day except for the event that had somewhat shaken the members of the family. As the mother washed the dishes while the children continued to eat their remaining meal she glanced out the window just wondering what the hell was the experience all about? As time passed and night slowly lowered its twilight curtains the event somehow had partially faded in her mind and she was closer to convincing herself that it was nothing or some type of rare phenomenon that only happens once in a lucky individuals life. But as the thought crawled through her mind she saw something outside and instantly jumped.

She looked closer only to reveal that the next ghastly turn of events was a cat which had leapt across the way. She immediately calmed down and started wondering once again but this time just finished the dishes. As her and her husband didn't speak at all about the incident earlier, they tucked the children in and sat downstairs in the living room for a drink, perhaps just to assure their minds that nothing really would happen further.

As the husband stared into some other realm, it seemed he was entirely lost in thought. His wife abruptly and amazingly, dozed off into the realms of sleep. As the shot glass was emptied the husband was just about to retire until he thought he heard something. He listened acutely for the noise to recur which sounded as some kind of mutating gurgle. When the noise did not come back he rationalized himself to sleep and then he had the dream. More of a nightmare actually to term it properly and even though it was odd it was still terrifying.

[edit on 7-7-2009 by N3krostatic]

[edit on 7-7-2009 by N3krostatic]

[edit on 7-7-2009 by SIEGE]

The ever protective husband awoke suddenly feeling as if he had just witnessed an actual event. The real world slowly crept back into his mind as he took in his surroundings. He hadn't had a dream that vivid since his childhood. His wife was lying lengthwise on the couch and her head was in his lap. Everything was fine. "Better stop having these nightcaps." he thought to himself.

In the dream he had been confronted by the old man in the picture. It was him although he looked nothing like the painting, but he knew it was him all the same. The old man's face was contorted in a snarl as he pointed his index finger at him. The man's hands were wrinkled beyond belief and looked like leather. "You get out of here. You leave me and Abigale alone. Do you hear me?!" the old man shouted.

It wasn't that the incident in the dream scared him so much. It was the feeling of dread that emanated from the old man. He was difficult to look directly at. It was as if he could read you from the inside out and whatever it was he was reading he didn't like one bit.

"Honey, I've got to move. I'm sorry." the husband said as he gingerly lifted his wife's head.

[edit on 7-7-2009 by jackflap]

She stirred briefly as her husband got up. She was exhausted after a long day of unpacking. She had forgetten really what a chore moving was. So much stuff accumulated over the years. "Honey please stop rocking in that chair, it needs moved. The floor board squeaks there...do you hear me Jon"? She raised up off of the couch to glare at him, only to see the that the chair was empty...rocking away...but empty!! "JON...JON...."!!!!!
Just as he entered the room, zipping his fly, the chair stopped..."What? What is it"? She tried to explain to him that the chair was rocking but empty. Jon replied that they were just tired and needed to go to bed and get some rest. "Its our first night in a new and strange place Lisa, we are just on edge thats all...now come on...lets go to bed". She agreed. They made their way down the hall to the master bedroom, both unaware of the long night that lay ahead of them!!

[edit on 7-7-2009 by Greenize]

John couldn`t sleep that night , he couldn`t get what the old man in the dream said out of his mind ........

"You get out of here. You leave me and Abigale alone. Do you hear me?!"

Should he mention it to her or not ?

She had such a stressful few days with the move and now this !!!!!

His eyes grew weary ...... he drew Abigales body close to him , kissed her forehead and drifted asleep.

[edit on 7-7-2009 by UmbraSumus]

[edit on 7-7-2009 by UmbraSumus]

He pulled her closer and raised his head to kiss her cheek. "What the hell!!" "What, what is it", Lisa cried as her husband jumped from the bed, shaking in fear. "Lisa when I bent to kiss just then...it wasn't you! It..it was an old woman. Wrinkled and haggard...I think it must have something to do with..." "To do with what Jon? WHAT? You tell me!", she screamed through tears..."I had a dream earlier, it was so real...it was the old man, the one in the painting...he said get out, get out and leave me and Abigale alone!" Lisa sobbed and asked him what they were going to do...she was afraid. " We are not leaving Lisa. We worked to long and to hard to buy this place and I am not letting a damned figment of my imagination, ghost, whatever it is run me off!" Of course, the old man was listening...he had friends in this house, several of them and he was about to wake them all!


[edit on 7-7-2009 by Greenize]

Slowly, the night eased on. Deep sleep finally arrived for everyone. At
01:45, the silence downstairs was broken when the faucets in the kitchen
suddenly began to spray water and air viciously into a sink full of dishes.
Plates were blown out of the sink and onto the floor where they broke
into hundreds of tiny shards. Glasses cracked and fell apart in place. And
the silverware banged noisely against everything, waking everyone in the
house to an eerie feeling of home invasion.
John was out of bed in a heartbeat, pulling on his pants, grabbing the
flashlight, and running down the stairs two-at-a-time until he reached the
kitchen door, where he hesitated just for a moment to get a better grip on
the flashlight, . . . and then he went in. Both the hot and cold water
faucets were running full blast. Quickly he stepped over the mess on the
floor and shut both handles off. It became so quiet so quickly that he was
amazed at how loud his breathing sounded. He moved over to close the
refrigerator door, and saw the white-haired man slink off into the dining
room, amid shifting shadows. He began to sweat profusely, and could not
stop swallowing. He slammed the refrigerator door as loudly as he could,
then crept on into the dining room, hoping to corner the son-of-a-bitch.
The room was empty !

Lisa joined him and together they searched the rest of the house, but . . .
found nothing. After a cold glass of milk, they retired once again to their
bedroom, checking in on the kids just to make sure everything was okay.

At 04:00, rain came, washing against the exterior of the house in sheets
blown by the wind.
Thunder and lightning crackled across the sky, waking the children. One
by one they came to check on mom and dad, and stayed. Everyone got
under the blankets and listened to the rain fall heavily on the roof, and
then they heard . . other things. Doors began to bang shut all through the
house. Bedroom doors, closet doors, cellar doors. Moaning and muffled
screams came down the hallway towards them, and no one moved at all.

Everyone was holding on to someone else, tightly ! Suddenly they could
hear their cat "Mittens" hiss loudly, then scream in absolute cat terror !
A loud thud against the door . . . and the cat ceased to be. It was silent for
a second . . . and then the sound and sight of a chainsaw cutting through
their bedroom door made everyone start screaming !

Originally posted by SIEGE
........

Everyone was holding on to someone else, tightly ! Suddenly they could
hear their cat "Mittens" hiss loudly, then scream in absolute cat terror !
A loud thud against the door . . . and the cat ceased to be. It was silent for
a second . . . and then the sound and sight of a chainsaw cutting through
their bedroom door made everyone start screaming !

cont.
............

Jon leap up from the bed drawing his huddled family behind him ..... a primordial guttural roar declared his resolve .... to defend- ....to attack !.
Breaking a corner post from the bed Jon drew the length of wood aloft ....

And as suddenly as it had started ......... silence engulfed the room.





[edit on 8-7-2009 by UmbraSumus]

reply to post by SIEGE


After a moment, silence again...no one moved...they barely breathed...Finally, Liza spoke...."ddaddyy llookk att ththe doorr", she said, her tiny voice quivering. The door looked just as it had earlier. Not a scratch on it. Everyone was in tears, including Jon! "It's ok guys, see. The door is fine, there is nothing there. Its like we are all in a bad dream, thats all." "I wanna wake up now daddy", cried little Jon.

reply to post by Greenize


Little Jon had never seen his Daddy cry before but instead of making him sad it made him angry . He wiped the tears from his eyes , his hand searched in his pocket .....

It was still there ..

The old lady told him he was going to need it soon .......

The time had come...............

He pulled out the amulet, letting it swing back and forth and . . . back and
forth, . . and then he carefully lifted the chain above his head and brought
it down around his neck, where it rested on his upper chest like a
protective badge.

She had told him he would need it soon, and now that his dad was crying,
could there be any better time ?

Across the road, Agnes Deerfield watched the hauntings take place in the
dark house of her new neighbors. She had seen it before and she
shuddered thinking about it. That house was evil ! Why did someone have
to move in there ? And now . . . it would all start again.

She peered out from behind darkened curtains, careful not to be seen.

She wondered if the boy had kept the amulet she had given him. She
hoped to God that he had ! No one knew better than her the danger that
existed over there in that house. Afterall, she had lost her sister Abigale
to that house, hadn't she ?