My House of Horrors

An evil Specter?

When he saw the drawing, this was the term that appeared in Chen Ge’s mind.

Why would the society draw an evil Specter behind the door? What is the meaning of this?

It was very quiet inside the Haunted House, and being stared at by ten eyes, even with Chen Ge’s experience, he still felt uncomfortable.

There have been five murders near New Century Park, and all the victims’ eyes have been gouged out. The monster here has ten eyes; could this be a coincidence?

Chen Ge slowly squatted down and used his finger tip to touch the board. The drawing had not been painted on the door but was more like inside the door. Chen Ge could not feel anything with his fingers.

Before departing for Coffin Village, Captain Yan told me some things about the case. All the victims were sinners, including thieves, robbers, and fugitives. Sinners are used for the ceremony, and the Specter is carrying multiple torture devices; it does symbolize punishment. The weirdest thing is that the drawing is facing inside, meaning it’s facing the world behind the door.

Chen Ge scratched his head but could not understand the society’s aim.

I should come back to look at midnight.

Chen Ge closed the door, and to prevent an accident from happening, he picked up the wooden boards and used them to seal up the cubicle again. After dealing with all that, Chen Ge picked up the torn rag doll and the white cat and walked to the props room. He switched the light on to find the needle and thread to repair the rag doll.

There were few males who knew needlework, but Chen Ge was an exception. When the Haunted House had not been making much money, most of the outfits had been handmade by Chen Ge. After poking his fingers several times, Chen Ge had become quite proficient at the job.

My parents were nicer to you than me when we were small. If they saw you in this state, they would be devastated.

Chen Ge patiently sealed up the wound on the rag doll’s back. The rag doll might have looked rough and simple, but Chen Ge knew it was hiding a beautiful and pure soul. When he was half-way through, Chen Ge realized that there was a long and thin red nail hiding in the doll’s sleeve, one that would not be discovered if one did not look closer.

Wait, isn’t this the nail I brought back from the Third Sick Hall?

During that trial mission, Chen Ge had found many letters inside the dresser in a room. The dresser had not been touched in all those years, and the four corners were sealed up by these long nails. At the time, Chen Ge had thought that they were useful to stop the ghosts, so when he returned to grab his hammer, he had pulled the nails out and brought them back to the Haunted House.

There is a blood stain on the nail, perhaps it’s from the killer. Tomorrow, I should call someone to test this.

Chen Ge pocketed the nail and continued his work. Time slowly passed, and the bored white cat started to play with the ball of thread. Eventually, its body was tangled up in the thread, and it started playing with it in the room. Chen Ge ignored the cat and focused on fixing the cuts on the doll.

There were two conspicuous cuts on the doll’s body, one old and one new. The new wound had been left behind by the ghost stories society, and the old wound was across its neck, almost chopping the doll’s head off. Touching the wound on the neck, Chen Ge thought back to an event that happened many years ago.

After making the rag doll, Chen Ge’s parents had told him to keep the doll with him no matter where he went. Chen Ge had refused because it looked weird for a boy to go everywhere carrying a doll, but he did not get into an argument with his family over this.

Since he had lived at a Haunted House since he was young, Chen Ge had greater courage than most and had a more vibrant curiosity. His parents never limited him but only barred him from going to the eastern side of Jiujiang.

Chen Ge could not understand his parents’ rule until that one time when the school arranged a trip for everyone to go the dam at the eastern side of Jiujiang to play. Initially, everything had been fine. At around three to four pm, Chen Ge had seen someone waving at him. The person had felt familiar and was calling his name. Chen Ge had told the teacher this, and with the teacher’s accompaniment, they had walked down that small path.

He could see a red house at the end of the road, and there were kids playing weird games around the house. He could not remember anything beyond that. Wen he woke up by the side of the street with his fainted teacher, he had the wounded rag doll in his arms.

“It should be you who have saved me then too.” Chen Ge touched the wound on the rag doll’s neck, and now he understood many things. “Before now, you’ve been protecting me, but from now on, I shall be protecting all of you.”

He placed the rag doll inside his pocket. Chen Ge grabbed the hammer and went to inspect all the scenarios.

Xiaoxiao’s family was inside the Murder by Midnight scenario. They were not hurt. He pulled off the wooden boards and entered the Mu Yang High School scenario. Twenty-four mannequins sat quietly in the sealed classroom—none of them was missing. They looked just like real mannequins. He moved forward, and when he entered the female dormitory, the Pen Spirit, who was wrapped up by tape, gave Chen Ge a surprise.

There was a sentence on the piece of paper.

“The killer is carrying a dead body on his back and he calls her his wife! Help me take care of Wang Xin and avenge me!”

Chen Ge was surprised when he saw the ‘will’ left by the Pen Spirit. “You sure are a kind person. Even at a time like this, you still care about that friend of yours.”

Chen Ge sighed in relief when he picked up the ballpoint pen and realized that the Pen Spirit was safe. He had a Pen Spirit that knew how to pen her own will; the chairperson definitely would not expect something like that.

The person is carrying a body, so it’s confirmed that the person who intruded into my Haunted House is No. 10. He called the body on his back his wife. That is a crucial clue.

After inspecting all the scenarios, probably due to the limited time, the chairperson did not ruin the Haunted House. His main target was still the door inside the first-floor toilet. Realizing that the Haunted House was untouched, Chen Ge felt relieved. He returned to the toilet with all of his equipment, waiting for time to go by.

The door inside the Haunted House was a treasure for the society, but it was worthless for Chen Ge. He knew too little about the world behind the door. He guarded the door until 11:59 pm.

The white cat that was playing suddenly rushed into the toilet while gnashing its jaw. Chen Ge also felt the changes in the room. Just as the door was about to open, all the souls in the Haunted House reacted.

Chen Ge gripped the hammer and had his finger over the recorder, ready to call Xu Yin for help.

The seconds ticked by.

When it was midnight. The drawing that was inside the door appeared on the other side of the door. All ten eyes came to life. They did not look like drawing but ten actual eyes that could move.

As time continued to move, blood vessels appeared on the door, and the monster’s expression turned twisted. The vessels crawled all over the monster. When they passed through the eyes, they would turn blood red, and that continued until the tenth eye. But no matter how long the blood vessels curled around the last eye, they could not dye it red.

Chen Ge got closer, and he realized that this last eye had been poked blind by something sharp.