Behind the massive gate stood what was being touted upon the internet as the “most intense Haunted House ever!” The house itself was a massive three story mansion designed in all black. Several of the windows seemed to have been destroyed by the fallen dead trees that seemed littered across the compound. A massive cement wall seemed to stretch in a circle around the house, with the only entrance being the one the group was about to walk through.
“I heard the reason this place is surround by a huge wall is because they built the house on the remains of the largest prison in the US,” Echo said.
“Yeah? Well, I heard the reason the house was abandoned was the rats had gown so large they ate the previous owner!” Susan shot back.
“Oh yeah? I heard that the reason they shut down last year was because they managed to kill a tour group!” Spencer said in a serious tone.
After standing around for another minute just staring at the house, Veronica said, “What are we waiting for?” before stepping forward, the rest of the group slowly meandering behind her.
The walk up the path was beginning to set the mood perfectly. Branches and tree limbs from the surrounding dead flora littered the overgrown path, making each step slightly more treacherous. Eventually the group managed to get to the front of the house, stepping on to a rickety old porch with decaying wood. The house’s appearance was even more demanding up close. Knocking on the door, the group waited in anticipation as the door slowly creeped open…
“Howdy y’all!” A perky southern accent rang out from the doorway, startling the group. From behind the opening door emerged a girl roughly the same age as the rest of the group. She had bright red hair that perfectly complimented her red eyes and blue dress. She had a large pair of devil horns connected to a headband that caused her hair to bunch in an unusual fashion, and was carrying a green flag in her left hand. “My name is Scarlett! I’ll be y’all’s Tourguide from Hell!”
The group, a little shocked and confused, stared at each other.
“Umm… Is this the Mercurin Manor?”
“Why, it most definitely is! Which reminds me, I’ll need to see y’all tickets before you enter, and while I check those you can start signing these wavers!” She said in a chipper beat, handing out small pieces of paper explaining that what they were about to go through with the most intense haunted house ever created, and that they consented to whatever was about to happen. Everyone handed their ticket to the guide, before she closed the door on them once again.
As everyone was signing their waivers, Heather heard Lindsay mutter under her breath, “Great, and I thought Heather was going to be worst thing about this House.”
Once everything was signed and checked by Scarlett, she finally allowed everyone to enter the decaying building, stamping each of their wrists with a pentagram stamp “in case any of you kind folks manage to get lost during the small free roam sections”. Entering into the foyer, the group was met with a mixture of odors ranging from disgusting to outright vomit inducing. A discarded and broken crystal chandelier laid on the ground, the floor clearly broken around it. The walls were covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt
“Oh dear! This won’t do at all. I told them to clean up in here before the first group arrived. *Ahem*” Scarlett said, closing her eyes and seeming to concentrate intensely. Before the group’s very eyes, things around the room began to shift. It started only with little things shaking the dust off, but the attention of the crowd was pulled to the center of the room as the chandelier began to slowly raise from the floor towards the top of the room. As it climbed, the walls seemed to brighten as the dust on them slid to the floor being drawn to cracks in the floorboards as though they were vacuums.
“*Pshh* That wasn’t that scary.” Lindsay said under her breath to Echo.
"How do you think they did that?" Veronica whispered to Spencer.
"Probably just a wire and some vacuum cleaners..." Spencer whispered back, before taking a quick peck on his girlfriend's cheek.
Veronica gave Spencer a playful push before Scarlett opened her eyes again. “Great! Now that that’s clean, we can begin our lovely tour at our first stop! Onwards!” She raised her flag as she began taking confident steps up the staircase, her tour group following closely behind her.
Where do they go next?
1.) The Trophy Room
2.) The Music Room
3.) The Art Gallery