Jacob froze as the living room plunged into darkness, all light being cut out at once by the turn of Rama’s card. Despite the sudden nature of the blackout none of the Tour Group audibly responded; they were growing used to Rama’s constant antics. Every room of the factory thus far had a surprise twist, and it seemed they were about to discover the next one. The entire experience seemed less like a tour and more like a test - though for what purpose was unknown. Jacob sipped his beer in the dark as he waited for the next challenge to appear, his other hand hanging wearily by his deck box.
The ancient television screen flickered on, and Jacob jumped slightly as he saw a young girl sitting on the floor in front of it. He heard a few gasps from the group as the girl suddenly appeared, sitting in silence in front of the flickering screen. She couldn’t have been more than six years old, and had what appeared to be long brown hair. She wore a simple white dress, with her face angled away from the tour group, staring intently at the television. Static flickered across the screen, black and white dots flashing in random patterns across it with no discernible order. The sound of white noise filled the space, while Jacob’s vision almost appearing to shift to black and white in the TV’s coloration. Around the room he saw the rest of the group staring at the little girl with concern, occasionally glancing around to see if any more jump scares or surprises awaited. Rama had disappeared from where she had been standing, just like every time she had tested the group.
“Oh for fucks sake.” Jacob’s grandfather grumbled, frowning at the sudden apparition.
The little girl started mumbling something quietly, though Jacob couldn’t make out what under the white noise. Several of the other members of the tour group glanced over at Jacob, and he took another sip of his beer. He had already done two battles in the factory, he had no intention of doing more.
“Something about this seems familiar.” Stan looked at the girl intensely, a thought on his mind “Like a movie I’ve seen a long time ago, but can’t quite remember.”
“How does that movie end?” Jacob’s grandfather stepped away from the child slowly, backing up to the edge of the room.
“I don’t remember.” Stan continued to stare intensely at the girl as he took a drink of his beer.
“I’m not sure I want to find out.” Jacob moved to stand next to the closest section of wallpaper, looking at it for a moment. He tapped his deck box, and it whirred as it dispensed a card. He placed it on the wallpaper just like the last card he had been given, but nothing happened. He frowned, and put the card back in the box. “Looks like Rama turned off the wallpaper.”
Jacob turned and saw the girl still staring at the television, muttering something under her breath. The members of the tour group glanced at each other again, uncertain of what to do. Unlike the mirrored room Rama hadn’t given any guidance; whatever she was testing was much more vague.
“So are you gonna talk to the creepy ghost girl, or no?” Veronica looked directly at Jacob, a nervous expression on her face.
“Why do I have to talk to the creepy ghost girl?” Jacob objected.
“I’m not talking to the creepy ghost girl.” Veronica scoffed “You’ve been handling everything so far, you should talk to the creepy ghost girl.”
“What if no one talks to the creepy ghost girl?” Jacob challenged back “What if we all just left the room, and didn’t do the obvious things in a horror movie that gets everyone killed?”
“Come to think of it, the movie I’m thinking of might have been a horror movie.” Stan sipped his beer, continuing to look at the creepy ghost girl, deep in thought.
“Rama said the challenge was to find a way out.” Jacob glared at Veronica “Not to introduce yourself to the houses 999 happy haunts.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely a horror movie.” Stan finished his beer, and placed the glass back on the bar “But which horror movie?”
“Rama also vanished into thin air right before the ghost girl appeared.” Veronica argued back to Jacob. “She’s clearly important, and you’re the hero of the group. Go talk to the ghost girl.”
“That’s right, go and talk to her, hero.” Jacob’s grandfather grinned at Jacob, and he sighed. He knew he wasn’t going to live that nickname down anytime soon. Knowing his Grandfather, the old man would be cracking ‘hero’ jokes even on Jacob’s deathbed. Jacob chugged down the last of his beer and put the glass back on the bar. He held his right hand to his temples for a moment, rubbing his forehead in frustration. He whiped the hand off his face, then took a deep breath.
“Fine.” Jacob grumbled “But one of you gets to fight the next life-threatening monstrosity.”
Jacob slowly approached the girl, who had entirely ignored the group. She hadn’t moved from where she was sitting in front of the television, muttering under her breath as she watched the static. She didn’t react at all when Jacob stood beside her, glancing between her and the television she stared at. Her expression was completely blank, with no indication of recognition that anyone else was in the room. For all intents and purposes she could have been a character on the television she stared at; acting in front of them but completely unaware that an audience was watching. Jacob crouched down next to her, staring into the blankness of her eyes. Her gaze never wavered for a moment, not shifting to another subject or even blinking. Even while crouching next to her Jaocb couldn’t hear what she said. He glanced back at his the group, and his grandfather gestured at the girl. Jacob sighed, and steeled himself to talk to her.
The girl’s hand suddenly grabbed his arm, and Jacob jolted. Around the room he noticed the members of the tour group jumping slightly at the movement. Jacob looked down to find her gaze had affized on him, the glassy eyes still looking unblinking as they pierced his soul. An ominous smile was on the girls face, and her right hand lightly gripped onto his right forearm.
“They’re here.” The girl said suddenly in a sing songy voice. She smiled deeper at Jacob, and he felt his heart begin pounding in his chest.
“Who’s here?” Jacob stuttered slightly as he looked into the girls glassy gaze.
“They are.” The girl turned to look back at the television innocently, the smile still plastered ominously on her face.
“Who is they?” Jacob asked, leaning inwards.
“You’ll see.” The girl giggled and looked at Jacob “They want to meet you.”
The TV flicked off, and Jacob’s breath caught in his throat. The room had plunged into complete black once more, without a speck of light within the space. The girl took her hand off his arm, and he heard her suddenly get up and run across the floor. She continued to laugh and giggle as she did, the sounds going up the stairs and into the hallway above the entry before disappearing.
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A few lamps flickered on, and the group stumbled backwards towards the wall in fright at what they saw.
In the brief period of time the room was filled with darkness, something had stacked all the armchairs and barstools in the room into the shape of a rough pyramid.
“Now I know what horror movie it is.” Stan stared at the chairs in fear, before his expression turned to one of admiration. He looked around the room slightly, taking in the furnishings. “Well I’ll be damned, it’s an almost exact replica.”
“Stan what movie is this.” Jacob didn’t look away from the chairs, his voice barely audible. One of the beer mugs suddenly flew across the room, shattering on the wall just above the television, glass exploding all over the carpet.
“Poltergeist.” Stan looks down at Jacob, the color in his face drained away by the sudden movement. Jacob gulped, glancing between the members of the group. No one moved a muscle, the group collectively holding their breath as they waited for the next thing to happen. The glass in one of the frames behind Veronica shattered, and she screamed. All around the group the glass of the picture frames began to break, exploding outwards and into the space. The lights began to flicker as a wind suddenly began to blow through the room, flinging glass everywhere. A shard flew across Veronica’s cheek, cutting a small gash into her face that began to bleed. Jacob jumped to his feet just as the room itself began to shake, moving violently as if there was an earthquake.
BANG!
One of the bar stools suddenly flew off the carefully arranged structure in the center of the room, breaking into multiple pieces as it hit one of the walls.
BANG!
Stan dragged his wife to the ground in just enough time to avoid getting hit by a second barstool, which flew into the bar. It shattered several of the bottles and glasses, adding to the tumultuous debris flying about. Jacob lifted an arm to cover his face, and winced as several splinters of wood and shards of glass cut across them.
“You know I saw that movie too!” Jacob’s grandfather yelled over the growing noise “And I don’t seem to recall any of this happening.”
“Everyone get low to the ground!” Jacob called out, dropping to his hands and knees as the third barstool flung towards him, breaking apart on the wall above the television where the first beer glass had been flung. He saw the other members of the tour group drop to the ground, doing their best to avoid the swirling mess of class and wood the wind was flinging about. Veronica screamed, and Jacob looked towards her. She was pointing in horror behind Jacob, a look of absolute terror on her face. Jacob turned, and saw the television had turned back on.
A skeletal hand of fog was reach out towards him.
“Oh hell no.” Jacob scrambled backwards on his hands and feet, rapidly moving to the other side of the room. His hands bumped into something, and he looked behind himself to find he was at the foot of the stairs. He looked to the top of them to see the little girl standing at the top. She started laughing , then ran down the hall.
“Everyone follow the creepy ghost girl!” Jacob yelled, scrambling to crawl up the stairs on his hands and knees.
“Are you out of your mind?!” Veronica yelled back. jacob glanced back and saw the rest of the tour group hunkered down, as more skeletal hands began to come out of the television.
“Would you rather be taken by whatever’s coming out of the TV right now?” Jacob called down. The rest of the group quickly began to crawl towards the stairs, with Veronica taking up the rear. She kept glancing between the stairs and the television in undertainty. As they joined Jacob at the top of the stairs he hurried the rest of the group through to the hallway beyond. Veronica hesitated on the final stairs, looking back at the living area in fear. Several lamps had lifted up and begun flying around the room, still providing light despite their cords being unplugged.
“Come on!” Jacob reached out a hand to her, and she looked back at him. She grabbed it, and he pulled her up to him at the top of the stairs. Behind them the stairs collapsed completely, providing no way back down. Jacob stood up and helped Veronica to her feet, before rounding the corner to join the rest of the group in the hallway. They had crowded together at the entrance to the corridor, looking down it in suspicion. Jacob made his way to the front of the group, where his grandfather and Stan stood, looking down with a troubled expression.
The hallway was fairly dark, with dim lamps attached to the walls every five to ten feet. The ground was carpeted just like the living room behind them, while the walls were painted a deep emerald green. Dark wooden doors lined both sides of the hallway, several of which stood open. At the end of the hall another door waited, this one painted black and completely closed.
“Well gee.” Jacob said sarcastically “I wonder which door we’re supposed to go through.”
“How much do you wanna bet we’re going to get several jump scares from all those doors.” Stan replied grimly.
“Oh, that’s pretty much guaranteed.” Jacob said “Given what we just went through downstairs.”
“Maybe the living room is a better option.” Jacob’s grandfather added grimly
“Stairs are destroyed.” Jacob sighed. “Fell apart just after we got up here.”
“Of course they did.” The old man sighed
“Whelp.” Stan gripped the hand of his wife tightly, and looked over at Jacob expectantly “Looks like we’re making our way down the creepy Scooby Doo hallway.”
Jacob glanced around at the group, who seemed to have crowded behind him. He frowned, and looked back at the hallway. He forced himself to maintain his calm, ignoring his pounding chest and startled nerves. The hallway was long, with at least a dozen doors on each side. Whether he liked it or not, he had to admit that Stan was right. Their only course forward was the haunted hallway; as the ‘hero’ of the group he was expected to lead them through it.
Jacob shook his head and slowly began to walk forward, seeing the group move behind him. He grumbled lightly under his breath as he did, steeling himself against the next scare that he knew was coming. It was inevitable; Rama had left them in a haunted house - they were bound to encounter some ghosts. Jacob didn’t know when he had become the leader of this group, but he knew if he didn’t start moving that no one would. He shouldn’t have been surprised; he had been the one to handle the majority of the monsters and battles thus far. The haunted house wasn’t going to be any different.
Jacob glanced to each side as he moved slowly, attempting to see the scare before it came. As a concept, ghosts didn’t naturally frighten Jacob. He was a law enforcement officer; he dealt in the real and tangible. The supernatural world was never a consideration for the work he did, and he had strong doubts that it even existed. There was no evidence of life after death, even with the existence of the magic of the cards. Whenever a card effect revived something that been destroyed it revived it to life; even spirit cards were some form of actual, tangible creature. The spirit form was just an archetype - something the casters would understand, which framed the creatures that were summoned. It didn’t prove any evidence of the world beyond.
Despite that, he still shook a little as he walked.
Something caught his eye, and he glanced into one of the open doors. It led to another door lined hallway, covered in red brochade wallpaper. At the end of the hallway a large three pronged candlabra floated back and forth, making a small figure eight between the hallway’s walls. The group paused next to him, staring at the floating candles.
“A little on the nose.” Jacob’s grandfather huffed “Let me guess, blood will start dripping down the walls?”
“No, that’s too obvious.” Jacob replied, his frown deepening. “My guess is there’s going to be a terrifying message like ‘GET OUT’ sratched into the paint.”
“Is this before, or after the terrifying monster jumps out at us?”
“Do you two ever stop cracking jokes?” Veronica whined from the center of the group.
“No.” Jacob turned without acknowledging her comment, continuing to walk down the hallway they had found themselves in. As he continued the group spotted several more ghostly objects: A cross spinning on the wall, a large pot of flowers that turned to watch them, and paintings whose eyes followed the group. All ominous and terrifying, but nothing like the sudden movements of the living room. After a few moments Jacob reached the black door, standing in front of it suspiciously.
“Huh.” Jacob placed his hands on his hips “Nothing jumped out at-”
He turned around and stopped speaking.
The rest of the group was gone.
Jacob was alone.
As promised, some light haunting. Not enough to stretch into full horror novel territory, but enough to satisfy my itch for creepy creeps and eerie eyes. I love writing ghost stories, and had been hoping to add one into the book. Bonus points if you caught the several references; the God Card Saga has been absolutely packed with references so far, and this chapter was no different. It’s been a while since Rama actively tested the group, though this time I had her not disclose what she’s testing. You won’t find out for another chapter or two what it is - Rama is doing yet more mystical nonsense at everyone's expense.
I also couldn’t help but poke a little bit of fun at the Main Character nature of Jacob. Storytelling in a serial format naturally demands a strong centralized voice to view a story from, and this one has been especially on the nose with it. Jacob has been at the forefront of every major encounter on the tour, and the group has naturally come to expect him to take the lead. I enjoy the begrudging relationship with his role in the group, and couldn’t help but having the rest of the group comment on it. This group of characters has a lot of banter, and it was a good moment to inject a little humor before things really kicked into gear.
I’m also really happy to say that this story is now on one of the genre rising stars lists! As of publication it is number 44 on the Thriller list, and is slowly climbing the ranks. If you haven’t already then please give the story a follow, rating, or review and add it to your favorites! All those engagements really help boost the story, and make it more likely that eventually it will make its way to the main rising stars list.
I hope you all like the next chapter, until then: trust in the cards…
What's your favorite Ghost Story?
