My House of Horrors

“Such a real setting,” the large man mumbled. “How did he do this?”

“Of course, he has to be talented to have opened a Haunted House. Furthermore, Ye Xiaoxin gave this place such a high review. This means this Haunted House has its positive points.” The woman stood behind the yellow hair. She walked toward the other three visitors with a friendly smile.

“Are the three of you together?” The woman was good at socializing. Her tone and attitude were very friendly.

“No,” the man with his arm in his pocket replied coldly before he walked away.

“Be careful, this is a three-star scenario!” The woman grabbed the thin man’s sleeves. The man turned back to glare at her, and she quickly staggered back. “I just want to remind you.”

“Sister Mao, just ignore him. When he is spooked until he wets his pants, he’ll come back to us.” The yellow hair stood between the man and the woman.

“It’s alright. Since we’re in the same group, we should help one another.” The woman did not seem to mind the man’s offensive behavior. She walked back to him. “My name is Cassie, but you can call me Sister Mao like the rest of them if you like.”

The thin man thought about it and accepted her kindness. “The name’s Bai Qiulin. My mood has been very awful lately, so I came to this Haunted House for stress release.”

“Understood, a Haunted House is a place like that, right? To scream and release stress.” Sister Mao nodded with understanding before she turned to the other two visitors. “Then how about the two of you?”

The man in black shirt looked smart, and he was very friendly. “My name is Zhou. I’m a real estate agent. I came with my girlfriend today…”

“Who’s your girlfriend?” The woman beside him smacked his arm. She did not have any make-up on, but she looked pretty.

“Well, it’s only a matter of time.” Mr. Zhou winked at the woman as he grabbed the woman’s hand. “This is my girlfriend, Duan Yue. She’s a high school English teacher. Normally, she has no break and has to tutor kids at night. It’s rare that we both have a day off, so I brought her here to relax.”

“You two sure are sweet.” Sister Mao smiled. There was a trace of resentment in her eyes, but she hid it very well. “Later, the three of you can follow along. This way, we’ll be able to be on the lookout for one another.”

“You sound very professionally. Are you all professional Haunted House visitors?” Mr. Zhou asked.

“I’m a Haunted House reviewer. I have tons of fans online, and these guys are members of my team.” Sister Mao introduced the people around her. The yellow hair was Huang Xing, the large man Ma Tian, and the other girl was Sister Mao’s assistant, Zhang Lan. Sister Mao didn’t introduce the last man, who looked older than the rest of them, in detail, but she called him Brother Wong.

Each of them had a different personality. The only reason they could work together was because they had Sister Mao as the mediator.

“You all are indeed professionals. Then today we’ll be depending on you.” Mr. Zhou was a people person as well. He continued to chat happily with Sister Mao like he could not see the fiery gaze Duan Yue was directing his way.

“Don’t worry, we’ve completed more than ten of such Haunted Houses already.” Huang Xing was the bravest and the rashest of the group, so he walked ahead.

“Come on. The online review for this place is very high. I want to see how good it is.” To make it convenient for recording, Sister Mao walked into the scenario with her phone on. A wind of unknown origin picked up the paper money from the floor. The white lanterns swayed as the pale light washed the street white.

“There are three main elements to a Haunted House’s design—story, setting, and atmosphere. For this setting, I can give him six points, but alas, without a story to go with it, it’s difficult for visitors to feel invested. The atmosphere is the worst; I don’t feel afraid at all. It’s such a waste of these realistic props,” Sister Mao said and the two men next to her nodded.

Only Zhang Lan kept turning back to look at Bai Qiulin. She felt something was wrong with this man. How come he keeps his left hand inside his pocket?

The eight of them squeezed together, and five of them were professional players. Naturally they were not afraid.

“The boss said there’s a time limit. The place is so big, why don’t we split into two groups?” Mr. Zhou thought about it and voiced his suggestion.

“Forty minutes is more than enough for us to clear this game. For a Haunted House, especially one that is open like this, it is crucial not to fall into their tempo.” The yellow hair looked experienced. “The two of you just follow behind me. To tell you the truth, I’ve always been brave. Even if a real ghost appears, I’ll fight them with my bare hands, much less Haunted House actors.”

“Impressive.” Mr. Zhou and Duan Yue followed behind the yellow hair. Sister Mao walked with the tall guy while Zhang Lan stood between Brother Wong and Bai Qiulin. She realized Bai Qiulin had many habits that were quite abnormal. For example, his neck was slightly twisted like it was sprained.

“What are you looking at?” Brother Wong glanced at Xiao Lan. He seemed to have his own reason to be there. He was not familiar with Sister Mao’s team members. It was the first time Zhang Lan had met Brother Wong. She also had no idea why he was tagging along. “It’s nothing. By the way, I’ll be following you later. Sister Mao told me that.”

The group walked ahead, and Bai Qiulin looked at their backs with a smile on his face. The pale light pulled their shadows long as they formally entered Coffin Village. When they stepped into Coffin Village, the white lanterns lining the street on both sides started to sway. The village turned darker like something was waking up.

CREAK…

Yellow hair pushed open the door to the first old home. The empty courtyard had nothing.

“That’s all?” He sounded disappointed. With Mr. Zhou and Duan Yue accompanying him, the three entered the inner room together. There was a black and white picture sitting on the altar. The person in the picture had their eyes gouged out. There was painting of a mountain spirit on the walls, and a coffin sat in the middle of the room.

“The decoration is simple; there’s nothing particularly scary.” The yellow hair turned around the room. He picked up the picture on the altar and started to study it. “Why did they gouge out the eyes? Is it hiding the clue to clear the scenario?”

He undid the frame and took out the picture. “The person looks like he’s crying?”

The man prepared to examine closer when Mr. Zhou’s voice came from behind him. “What are you looking at?”

“It’s nothing, just looking around. I like to clear all the stories inside a Haunted House—it’s more fun that way.”

“I feel like we shouldn’t be wandering about. The crucial thing is to find the wedding dress. What if we run out of time?” Mr. Zhou and Duan Yue walked over on tip-toe.

“Don’t worry, there is enough time.” The yellow hair flicked his hair back and raised two fingers. “We can finish this place in twenty minutes, but there’s no need to. It won’t be fun that way.”

He faced Mr. Zhou, so he did not notice the ghosts in the pictures that were all looking at his back.

“You’re right. Taking it slow is more fun.” Mr. Zhou silently moved the black and white picture away. The position of the man inside the picture had changed like he had moved one step forward.