“The Dead Shack” by Dylan Schweitnitz (1st year) – Halloween Horror Short Story
It all started on Hallowe’en when my friend George and I were dared to go into the Dead Shack, an abandoned woodcutter’s lodge in the heart of the dark forest.
‘‘Come on Mickey, just a bit of harmless fun.’’ He was wrong and he knew it. Dozens of thieves and murderers were found in the woods. All of them kill themselves. We had to be prepared in case we stumbled upon something we shouldn’t have. 23 hours later I met up with George. Our midnight antics would be the death of us, even though we didn’t know it yet. My name is Mickey Crowe, and this is the story of how I die.
It became more frightening the further we went. The trees became gnarled and twisted. Soon we caught sight of the Dead Shack. It reeked pure evil. A rotten pile of lumber sat on the side of the house. The tree line ended twenty meters before the door. The last few trees had bark that was so gnarled it looked like screaming faces were laced in with the wood. The house itself was made from the same dark wood. It was a windowless bungalow with a high placed roof. The dark wooden door was smashed from the inside. I didn’t like this one bit, but I took a deep breath and stepped into the towns deadliest house.
There was a noticeable change in the atmosphere. The air was dank and humid. There was a stale smell about the place. The floor was made of course black dirt. We were in a hallway with three doors. We chose the door to our left. Immediately, the stench of rotting corpses became apparent. There were about four rabbits and stag lying dead on the ground. At first, I thought the rats had done it but then I saw seven fat, rotted corpses of black rats nailed to the wall by their tails. Disgusted by the room, I walked out the door with George trailing behind.
The next room was the bathroom. The walls look as if they been freshly painted. I noticed some things in the bath. I curiously went over to check. I then realised what they were. They were heads of the missing criminals. They had maggots crawling all over their heads and into their eye sockets. I realised that the walls were covered with blood. A wave of sickness washed over me. I covered my mouth and ran out of the bathroom.
As we were checking the other rooms George suddenly stopped.
‘‘What is it?’’ I asked.
‘‘Nothing. It’s just, I heard a floorboard creak, but we’re standing on dirt. These words sent a chill down my spine. we turned to leave, but the door was replaced with a wall. We were trapped. We looked at the third door, then to each other.
‘‘Do you think it leads to outside?’’ asked George.
‘‘Only one way to find out.’’ I opened the door.
There was a flight of stairs leading downwards. At the bottom was a light from a torch. we nervously walked down the hallway into a room that had a door at the other end. We just got to the other end when a female voice called out softly
‘‘I hope you’re not leaving.’’
I turned to see a young girl facing the opposite way she had long, dark hair and a yellow summer dress
‘‘It gets awfully lonely in this house.’’ She whispered.
‘‘I just want friends to play with. People like me.’’
Suddenly, she turned. Her face was cracked like an old doll. Her eyes were gouged out and her mouth, chin and dress front were dripping with blood. she screamed with rage and launched herself at us. George screamed and turned to flee, but tripped instead. He started to crawl away but the girl grabbed his foot with her dirty hands. Then she was upon him. He was still screaming as she ripped his face to shreds and tore out his spine. I sprinted out the doorway as fast as possible.
After what seemed like hours of endless running, I came to room with a hole in the ceiling and a ladder protruding from it. I started to clamber up it when I heard a voice that filled me with dread.
‘‘Why are you leaving Mickey?’’
‘‘George, I thought you were dead.’’
‘‘I am,’’ replied George.
‘‘Elizabeth just wants friends. Friends like her. You’ll understand soon enough.’’
He turned. He looked just like the girl except for his face, which was horribly stitched up. In a flash he was upon me, tearing my flesh off in chunks. He gouged out my eyes and tore out my tongue. The pain. The blinding pain. It all ended when he snapped my neck.
‘‘Now we’re not lonely,” said George with a twisted smile.