The Wraith's Manor
In a small coastal town in Maine, there is a house standing tall and unrestored. A nineteenth-century mansion, forgotten by time and unseen by the townsfolk — The Wraith's Manor. The mansion had an eerie reputation, with forbidden stories of phantom voices, disappearing objects and connections with the otherworldly.
On a stormy winter night, the town's eccentric antique dealer, Jonah Wickers, decided to unravel the mystery. Equipped with a flashlight, an old map, and an unwavering spirit, he ventured into the old mansion.
"This is it, Jonah. This is your chance to debunk those tales, or perhaps, get consumed by them," he muttered to himself.
The house, ominous in its decay, groaned with every gust of wind. Inside, it was an outdated time capsule with grand staircases, dust-covered chandeliers, cobweb-laden libraries, and faded portraits of the former residents which were barely recognizable.
Brushing off the feeling of being surveilled, Jonah started to explore. As he traversed the cold marble floors, he felt a sudden chill running up his spine as he heard a cacophony of whispers. His heart pounded in his chest, but he dismissed them as the product of the old mansion and the storm raging outside.
As Jonah ventured deeper, an enormous portrait of a lady adorned with pearls and a crimson dress caught his eye. Something about her gaze felt strangely familiar yet intimidating. The woman was Abigail Covington, the last lady of the house whose mysterious disappearance added to the mansion's infamy.
As he approached the painting, Jonah could hear a faint music box melody, a ghostly tune that drifted through the empty corridors. The melody led him to a hidden passageway behind the grand staircase. His hand trembled as he pushed the creaky wooden door to discover a forgotten room filled with antique music boxes each more intricately designed than the last.
"Beautiful... yet terrifying," Jonah murmured. He extended a shaky hand towards a particular box, at the centre of the room, that matched the crimson dress of the lady in the portrait.
As his fingers traced the surface, the room filled with a louvacious resonance, much louder than before. A cold, unseen presence brushed past him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
"Who.. who's there?!," a terrified Jonah stuttered. No answer followed his quivering voice, only the hushed whispers echoing through the room.
Suddenly, the heavy curtains of the room fluttered, and a violent gust of wind swept through, blowing out his flashlight. Jonah found himself in darkness, with his heart pounding wildly against his ribs in fear.
Pulling out his lighter, he barely managed to illuminate his path. The whispering, however, grew louder, with an eerie modulation that started to form words.
"LEAVE... NOW...", echoed a voice through the whispers. Fear rendered Jonah motionless. He could feel an unseen force, a cold gust trailing from the back of his neck to his spine, clutching him in a deathly grip.
The music box suddenly stopped playing, making the room fall into an uncanny silence. Jonah found his strength and bolted for the door. With his heart in his throat, he scrambled from the room, the force hot in pursuit. As he exited the passageway, the portrait of the lady seemed to have shifted, her eyes now filled with reproof.
Jets of icy wind attacked him from all sides, blurring his vision with his own disheveled hair. Objects around him flew as if in a tornado, books projecting out from the once loaded shelves, scrolls unrolling, chandeliers oscillating as if in a dance of death, driven by the tempestuous force.
Somehow, Jonah managed to stagger towards the exit, shoving the ornate front door open with every ounce of going strength. He jumped down the steps, away from the cursed mansion, just as the front door slammed shut with a bone-chilling thunderous sound, leaving him panting out in the cold.
He gasped for air and looked back at the mansion, the eerie whispering fading with the receding storm. He could see a ghostly figure, a woman in a crimson dress, staring unwaveringly from an upstairs window before disappearing into the shadows.
The town had its fair share of ghost stories, but none matched Jonah's terrifying encounter. From that fateful day forward, every stormy night brought shivers in the townsfolk's spine, reminding them of the chilling secret lying within the walls of the forgotten mansion - The Wraith's Manor.
