My House of Horrors

“So simple?” Han Qiuming and the few workers from Tian Teng Medical School were in disbelief. The tape recorder was quite huge, and it should not have been too hard to find.

“Boss Chen, you’re not kidding, right?” Ye Xiaoxin pulled out her notes. She had reviewed many Haunted Houses, and this was the first time she had come across such an interesting challenge.

“The tape recorder is from Tian Teng Medical School anyway, so I shall make use of this chance to return it to you.” Chen Ge locked the forms inside the cupboard. He had a feeling that he might need them soon.

“You’ve given up so early?” Han Qiuming seemed to be rather disappointed.

“This way please.” Chen Ge ignored him and led the group to the entrance of Night of the Living Dead.

“These props are from the beginning of the century, and it looks like they haven’t been maintained in the past month. The mannequins look like they were made by a child’s hand, and the props are allowed to stack over themselves in a giant mess. There’s no semblance of a plot. You want us to experience this kind of scenario? Are you trying to humiliate us?” Han Qiuming said wickedly. But at least the man was talented; he managed to pinpoint the issue with Night of the Living Dead with one glance.

Even Ye Xiaoxin and Su Luoluo felt the scenario was quite underwhelming. Listing the weaknesses of the scenario, Han Qiuming made to enter the scenario, but he was stopped by the proprietor, Guo Miao.

“Ol’ Gao, why are you stopping me?” The man shook his head. His heart was racing, and he had a bad feeling. “The atmosphere inside this place is very weird.”

“What is so weird about it?”

“I can’t really tell, but it is different from a normal room.” Gao Miao sucked in a cold breath. “When I went to inspect the hospital where Xu Zhenzhen had her incident, this was the feeling that I felt. My heart was all flustered even though it was broad daylight, and I ran out after a five-minute tour.”

“Don’t scare yourself for no reason.” Han Qiuming flung the man’s arm away and walked into Night of the Living Dead.

“I abandoned this scenario quite some time ago. Due to certain reasons, I had not had the time to remove it.” Chen Ge looked at Han Qiuming, and he was reminded of Fei Youliang. He had a feeling that Fei Youliang would not be so alone at the hospital after Mr. Han finished his tour.

Pulling up the wooden board, a draft of cold air surged forward. Chen Ge’s gaze scanned the group of visitors and pointed down the darkened stairs. “The Third Sick Hall you’re visiting is down there.”

“Underground?”

The group of visitors crowded around the entrance. Looking at the staircase that seemed to lead into endless darkness, a curious feeling formed in their hearts. Unfinished test papers settled on the charred steps, and a faded stench filled the air. It was not obvious, but it was enough to implant some horrible ideas in the visitors’ minds.

“The left side leads to Mu Yang High School, and the right side leads to Third Sick Hall. The two scenarios are connected, so make sure you go in the right direction.” Chen Ge gave a few final warnings. “The two scenarios are incredibly big, so I advise you all stick together.”

After explaining everything, Chen Ge took out his phone. “Find the recorder in twenty minutes and bring it out. The game will be over.”

The group of visitors did not move. It was unknown who pushed Han Qiuming from the back, but he staggered forward.

“You don’t have the time to waste.” With Chen Ge’s urging, the visitors took the stairs down into the basement. When the last of them disappeared into the darkness, Chen Ge picked up the wooden boards and waved at them. “Have fun.”

After closing the boards, Chen Ge went back to the main control room, but he faced a difficulty when choosing the background music. He rarely used Wedding Dress and Black Friday for his normal visitors. At most, he mixed them in between normal music as a hidden surprise of sort.

“Han Qiuming is a Haunted House designer. He managed to pinpoint the various weaknesses with Night of the Living Dead with just one glance, so he is more than just a mouth. The workers from Tian Teng Medical School are used to the atmosphere inside the Haunted House, so normal scares won’t work on them. Ye Xiaoxin is a professional Haunted House reviewer, so she naturally has a strong heart. Only Su Luoluo is the innocent victim who has been dragged into the mud by the proprietor.”

Since the visitors were all professionals, being too nice would be a sign of disrespect. His hand on the mouse, Chen Ge teetered between the two music tracks. “Which is more suitable? Oh well, only a child will pick one. Since we’re all adults, there’s no need to hesitate.”

He entered both songs into queue before going to the dressing room to put on Doctor Skull-Cracker’s outfit and some make-up. “They won’t be able to tell that the face under the skin mask is scarier, right?”

Chen Ge packed everything and entered the Third Sick Hall with the faceless nurse’s uniform.

…

The wooden boards closed as if sealing the hope and warmth of the outside world. The youngest, Du Chaojin, shuddered. He had only been in the place for ten seconds, but he had already started to regret. He should not have agreed so easily that day. I should have followed the examples of Sister Rui and Brother Lin—I’m still too young for this.

A cold draft of mysterious origin blew past them, causing the empty test papers on the left corridor to flutter. Shadows seemed to move in the classrooms on both sides like something was watching them. The place was dark, and the group stood where they were for a full minute. In the end, it was Gao Miao who stepped forward. “Mr. Han, you’re the most experienced among us, so we’ll be relying on you today.”

Han Qiuming pushed on his glasses. He had not stopped observing since entering the Haunted House. Based on atmosphere and recreation of the scene alone, Western Jiujiang’s House of Horrors was already better than most of the Haunted Houses that he had visited. “No wonder he dares call this the scariest Haunted House in Jiujiang, interesting.”

They stood in the corridor and looked down it. At the end of the left corridor were plenty of mannequins. They were either lying on the ground or standing up. Looking at the mannequins, fear gripped the visitors’ hearts. It was as if the mannequins were also looking at them.

“Boss, didn’t that mannequin’s head move?” Song An grabbed Gou Miao’s arm.

“It didn’t.” Gou Miao’s face was quite pale as well. “But I have a feeling that female student in the middle just smiled at me.”

“I saw that, too. Wait, did she just move? Why is she suddenly closer to us?”

“Should be some illusion…”

“Are you two done?” Han Qiuming walked ahead. “The scarier the scenario on the left side, the better it is for us. You all should be thanking me.”

“Why is that?” Xiao Du hid at the back, considering just calling it quit.

“That Boss Chen was definitely trying to trick us! The scenario on the left side is his Haunted House’s main feature, so it must be scariest! Thankfully, I saw through his ploy.” Han Qiuming walked down the right corridor. It was the door to a hospital building. His hands gripped the handle. “If not for me, we would be experiencing the left scenario now.”

“He has a point,” Xiao Du concurred meekly.

Song An also nodded. “The left scenario looks creepy. Thankfully, we selected the right one. Mr. Han, nice job.”

All of them moved to the right corridor. Only Gao Miao did not feel so good. “Boss Chen didn’t give me the impression that he was a liar.”

“We’ll know when we see what is behind this door.”

The group stood in the middle of the corridor, and Han Qiuming pulled the door to the Third Sick Hall open. The door creaked on its rusted hinges, and the first thing that hit them was the pungent smell of antibiotics. The old walls were left with scratch marks and blood notes. There were barely discernible screams that came from the depths of the hospital.

The most shocking thing was, along this dark corridor, innumerable mannequins wrapped in mattresses were left on the path. It looked like an open grave.

“This…”

Their limbs went numb, and a chill rose from the bottom of their feet to the top of their heads.