#or dark is the entity of the house or what haunts it

[rowarn]

bizarre thought.....shadow entity!ghost..... @sgtgarricks is responsible for this!!!

i already want to write another part to this LMAOOOOOOO

part : two

when you first moved into your new house, you knew it was old and had been vacant for a looooong time. it had a bizarre history of people living there and moving out months, even weeks later. most people declined offering a reason for their quick move but others would just vaguely supply that the 'energy was dark in that house', you weren't bothered.

it was a nice, big, house and for damn cheap too. you weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

your first nights in the house, you understood what they meant. there was something off about the house for sure. at random times, you would feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, as if alerting you to danger. when you would turn around, there was nothing there. but it would leave you with sweaty palms and a racing heart.

it wasn't until a week into your new life that the first weird thing happened. it was like something from a stereotypical horror movie. you heard a strange sound and got out of bed to investigate. when you got to your kitchen, all the cabinets and drawers were open and your kitchen chairs were placed on top of your table -- which had also been moved across the kitchen.

you tried to take some deep breaths to calm yourself as you returned everything back to normal. you went over and over in your head for some kind of explanation for the event before finally landing on the fact that this house was fucking haunted.

strange events kept happening after that. lights would turn on, your kitchen cabinets would be open, sinks and showers would turn on, doors would slam from across the house. you were losing sleep over it. every single night you'd be woken up by some strange event and you were beginning to understand why the past tenants had moved out so fast.

this was a rotten way to live.

the final straw for you was the night the activity really seemed to ramp up. whatever spirit was haunting you wanted you out now. multiple doors slammed, jolting you from your sleep -- your heart racing from how hard you had been startled from your dreams. you got to your feet and turned on your lamp only to find it wasn't working.

next, you tried the overhead light. same thing.

fuck. it had caused the power to bust.

now you were really scared.

you grabbed your phone, using the flashlight to navigate your way out of the bedroom. the floorboards creaked beneath you, considerably louder without the hum of electricity.

you were halfway down the hall when you heard it. quiet at first, but definitely there. footsteps. mimicking your own, as if echoing after you took your own steps, making sure you knew it was there.

you spun around, shining the light upon nothing. you let out a heavy breath, noticing the way the flashlight shook from how hard you were trembling.

"a-alright, ghost," you called into the empty house, too scared to feel stupid that you were talking to nothing, "i-i'll admit i'm pretty scared right now. i-i know you probably want me out of your house. this is your house, i get it. bu-but i already sunk all my damn savings into moving in here s-so i can't leave!" you swallow, a loud gulping sound that would be funny if you weren't about to piss yourself, "s-so if we could just live together for a little while longer. i-i promise i'll get out the second i have the money!"

there was nothing but tense silence. you felt like an idiot the more seconds that passed. were you trying to make a deal with a fucking ghost? a spirit of someone who probably died in this house? what kind of shit had your life become?

you peered into the inky blackness of the hallway, blinking as you try to futilely see. it takes you a moment to realize you're not just staring into the darkness of your hallway. it's something else.

pure darkness. a dark entity taking form in the blackness of the night. you want to step back, primal fear coursing through you like you never felt before. whatever fear you were feeling was primordial in nature -- as if this entity was something you were born to fear.

the darkness began to swallow up the hallway, eating away at the light your flashlight had created. the air felt heavy and oppressive, making it difficult to take in oxygen.

you swear you could feel hands on you, grabbing you and pulling at you. the longer you stared into the darkness, the more you thought you could see things. eyes. hundreds of eyes. but when you blinked, the images vanished.

then, all at once, the entity was gone and your light was shining down the hallway again unimpeded. after another second, the sound of the electricity slamming back on filled the house and you collapsed to your knees.

whatever that was, it was dangerous. you knew that now.

but it didn't hurt you. perhaps it agreed to your terms and would leave you be now?

oh how wrong you were. sure, it wasn't nearly as scary as that night but now you saw it.

around every turn.

you could see the shadow take shape from the corner of your eye but when you looked, it would be gone. you would be brushing your teeth and when you looked in the mirror, it stood behind you, making your heart leap out of your chest. when you would turn, it wasn't there.

you were no longer woken up in the night, at least. but you weren't sure if you preferred the regular haunting stuff to seeing the ghost or not. you were on the fence about which was worse.

after another scare from the ghost, you jumped so hard that you almost fell over, "alright you -- ghost! will you quit scaring me like that!?" you found yourself shrieking.

to your abject horror, you heard laughter in return.

the shadow shit was fucking laughing at you. like it was enjoying this.

it wasn't evil laughter either. it sounded like pure enjoyment.

you suppose it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for a ghost to make sounds but it didn't make it any less horrifying.

you started talking to it more after that. once you heard its voice - sort of- it became easier. the fear also dissipated in time. sure it would jump scare you from time to time to get a laugh but other than that, it became like living with a really annoying roommate.

"will you get out of my mirror!" you snapped, mouth full of toothpaste with you facemask on. its disappearance was marked with its mirthful laughter.

you also noticed as the days and weeks passed, it stopped looking like a shapeless shadow and more like a person -- a big one at least. well over 7 feet tall. if you looked for long enough, you could almost make out what you think is a skull where the face would be on a human.

one night, you're laying in bed, comfortable. there's rain pelting outside on your window and distant thunder, too nice of weather to sleep away. so you just choose to relax and listen to it.

"ghost?" you find yourself calling into the darkness, "are you there?"

its silent but you feel the air grow heavy and you know that it's arrived. it seems to have...consciousness, you realized. it reacts to you and listens to you. there's one thing that's been plaguing you that you want to ask, though you're not sure if it will answer -- if it can answer.

"you're not really a ghost are you?" you ask.

you're greeted by silence for several, long seconds before you hear it. it's deep and masculine, a whisper of an echo following its voice when it speaks as if multiple things were speaking but only one voice was amplified, "no."

it's the answer you were expecting but that didn't mean you liked it. you swallow harshly around the lump of anxiety in your throat.

"are you going to hurt me?" you ask it, dreading the answer to this one. just because it's been toying with you doesn't mean it's not still dangerous.

"no," it responds again. you can hear footsteps, the entity walking closer and closer to your bed.

you let out a relieved breath at that. though, you're not sure if you should actually believe the dark entity that lives in your house. but at this point, you've really got no choice except to take it's word for it.

"what's your name?" you find yourself asking it.

"ghost," it responds quickly.

you laugh at that, "no, you're real name."

"ghost," it insist, "you gave me a name."

a lightbulb goes off over your head.

"is that why you're being so nice to me?" you ask, not sure if 'nice' is the appropriate word to use.

"i wanted a name," it answers, "you gave me one."

"a name in exchange for living in this house," you muse, deciding to roll over in bed, "alright then. goodnight, ghost."

"rest well," it responds before vanishing, freeing the room from that oppressive feeling.

you close your eyes and will yourself to fall asleep, briefly wondering where ghost even came from and what exactly it was.

this is unedited i wrote it in a fury of inspiration i hope u enjoyed it regardless of how WEIRD this was LMFAOOOOOOOOOO

[harmoonix]

🪄Hocus Pocus🧹

🎃 Halloween - Astro Observations 🎃

~In life there are bitches, there are snitches,

but there is nothing as good as WITCHES~

🎃 Libra Moon/Venus/Mercury have a soft love language. They often like to share the same love language as other people

☠️ Scorpio Rising in your solar return chart can indicate a year where you will experience rebirth/death themes in your life, something is leaving, and something new is coming

👻 Placements in the 9th house deserve the 'witch' title since it is the house of magic and occult, moon/pluto, or venus in the 9th house can give witch vibes

🖤 10th or 6th hosue ruler in the 9th hosue can make a job out of magic/spirituality even occult, tarot readers, astrologers and spiritual gurus can share these placements

💚 Earth Moons and Rising fit the 'green witch' archetype, healing witch, herbal witch, using plants and nature in your power

❤️ To fire risings, how they look plays a big role in their personality and the way they show themselves to the world. Fire Risings always love to present themselves

💜 For Air Risings and Mercury, their personality can be enchanting, air rules over communication and expression. They're the ones with a cool personality

💯 Pluto aspecting Sun or Ascendant can give you the aura or vibe of a villain. Even if that's not what you are, people can perceive it that way

🧹 I love it when people associate Capricorn with endings because that's what Saturn is all about. Where you have Capricorn in your chart is something you need to end

🪄 Sometimes, the 4th house ruler in the 9th house or 8th house can indicate that family members were also practicing witchcraft but also losing family members (if it is connected with the 8th house)

🐈‍⬛ Pluto Dominants have the luck of a black cat, always perceived the wrong way, always in the negative yet powerful energy

🕸 I observed Scorpio Moons really love to keep it all for themselves, which is so common among the Scorpio Placements, so secretive

🫶🏼 Mercury in the 12th house can be a very spooky placement manifesting as hearing, seeing, or sensing entities/ghosts, etc. It's a haunted house placement

🤎 Mercury in the 8th house or Mercury in Scorpio can be recognized by their deep/ gloomy voices, can posses a raspy voice

🌓 Those born on the last quarter of the moon (moon phase) nay have the tendency to cling up the past, especially when they're afraid to change for the better

🫦 Sun in the 10th house natives make sure to always be seen in a good light, and thats how they gain attention. Those people who never do wrong, to an extent they don't want ppl to see that

👻 Sun in the 3rd, 5th, or 11th house natives love to do crafts or creative things such as DIY because they always find something creative to do

🩶 Mercury aspecting Venus natives can be into finding other people's voice attractive/sensual/magnetic

💀 Pluto x Mercury aspects possess a very dark and deep humor. Making jokes not everyone gets/ understands

👹 Aries Placements, but especially Risings and Mars love to play the dominant card even though deep down they like when they're more soft with others

👾 Juno in the 5th spouse can share the same talents as you, sharing similar childhoods, similar view of a relationship

🩵 Sagittarius Juno all the way up standing there beside Aquarius Juno for having different relationships rather than a traditional one (my fav Juno placements)

🤬 Malefics in the 3rd house like Saturn, Pluto, or Mars can influence the native to be more harsh in their talk, communication, and self - expression

🎃 Moon in the 1st house can make your face, especially the cheeks, more prominent and overall a very shiny skin

🐈‍⬛ Pluto in your 11th house can give a dark energy in the way ppl see you. You can affect them deeply, they will not get you out of their heads

🩶 Saturn in the 7th house [If it's retrogade] can indicate more lessons in the area of relationships, spouse, the downfall of a slow relationship (you can't stop the tears from falling down..lol)

🪄 Saturn aspecting the Venus natives sometimes expects the worst in a relationship/situationship to happen. Overthinking if they're good enough

💙 Water Risings and Moons, telling their feelings early in a relationship matters a lot. They want their partners to feel the same things as them

🌙 You can find a comfort place in people who have their 4th house sign in the same sign as your 1st house

🎃 If both partners share the same Chiron Sign, they'll share the same wounds, pain, and suffering, but at the same time, they will heal the same wound

💢 Natives who will have their 9th house sign in the same sign as your Sun will want to teach you. They will want to share the same values with you

╰╮🎃╭╯🪄╰╮🎃╭╯

Halloween in my opinion will always have its magic, It doesn't matter how you celebrate, whether with horror movies, sweets or decorations, it's important to keep it in the heart.

I hope you had an amazing October month from the first to the last day!! 🎃🎃🪄

By: @harmoonix 🎃🪄 October 2024!!!

[iateyourparents]

ghostie | c.b.

pairing: colby brock x fem!reader

summary: you met something very cute while waiting for boys to be done with exploring haunted place and decided to keep it.

warnings: fluff, use of y/n, bad writing and grammar(i’m sorry, english is not my first language), wasn’t proofread

pictures are from pinterest:)

You were sitting in the back of Sam’s car waiting for Sam, Colby, Seth and Nate to be done with exploring the haunted house.

You were supposed to be with them inside but because you felt ill earlier, you decided to stay in warm of the car, especially with the bad weather outside.

You knew it could even be hours till Sam and Colby will be done there but you weren’t complaining. Car was warm and you had a blanket, snacks, water and your phone so you were sure you wouldn’t die from boredom.

Currently you were watching old episodes of grey’s anatomy. No matter how many times you rewatched this show, you still were amazed by Addison’s entrance.

You were so into your show that you almost didn’t hear silent groan from under the car. Key word - almost.

Your first reaction was of course uneasiness, you were in a driveway of a haunted house so of course many possibilities went through your mind.

Then you heard it again and for sure, unless something wanted to lure you by pretending to be some animal, it wasn’t a ghost or some dark entity.

You were almost sure it was meowing of a cat, eventually really weirdly sounding dog.

But what concerned you was the fact that sound was coming from under the car and it didn’t sound nice. From just the sound of it you could say that the animal was scared and maybe even hurt.

So of course you did the only logical thing. You got out of the car and got on your knees to look under the vehicle. Rain was now pouring on you and you were sure your pants are already stained with dirt and water.

But there it was. Meowing silently, black cat was sitting probably trying to escape the cruel rain.

From its stained with dirt fur you deduced he must be a stray.

You carefully reached your hand in its way to see if it would escape but little creature only smelled it and went for pets. You peted it with smile and then you carefully lifted it from under the car and into your arms just to see that it was a girl.

“Hi baby, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?” you asked in baby voice and got into the warm car with cat in your arms “Do you have an owner baby?”

After moment of silence while you were petting her, you made a decision.

“Well, now you do have an owner. Even two owners” you smiled at her. Apart from dirt on her fur you didn’t saw any wounds so you carefully placed the cat on the blanket and reached for water to give it to her.

“What should I call you, hm?” you thought for a moment “Since you were here with ghosts maybe I will call you Ghostie? I think Colby will like it. Do you like it?” you observed the cat while she was drinking from your hand “I know animals don’t like visiting vet but we have to check you for wounds and some shit like flies, baby.”

You knew she wasn’t an old cat, for sure not older than few months so it broke your heart how someone could possibly leave that baby outside. Especially with that weather. It was certain death for that young animal.

After some time, in which you told Ghostie about Colby, you noticed Sam, Colby, Nate and Seth leaving the house so you quickly covered Ghostie with the blanket and your body.

You knew you would have to eventually tell boys about her but you decided it’s better for them to cool down after exploring first and then visit the vet.

You only hoped that Ghostie will be silent on your way home.

After few minutes while boys were saying goodbye to theirs guests, they got into the car and you asked “How was it?”

“It was great, love! We got so many evidences on the camera.” Colby smiled at you and started telling you everything about their investigations with Sam adding something sometimes.

So far your plan was working. You were already in LA, almost in your house and neither Colby or Sam noticed the presence of a little cat.

But unfortunately, Ghostie felt left out by boys and demanded attention by really loud meow.

Your eyes immediately got wide while Colby looked in the direction of the sound - your direction, and Sam narrowed his brows but didn’t looked away from the road.

“Y/n? What was that?”

“Why it sounded… like a cat?” asked Sam and you laughed awkwardly.

But you didn’t have to explain yourself. Ghostie did that for you by jumping out from where she was bundled in the blanket and got onto your boyfriend’s laps, demanding pets.

“And who’s that?” asked Colby while giving the cat pets she was asking for, but also looking back at you with something that was between amusement and resignation. He already knew what happened.

“Why there’s cat in my car?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, by the way Sam, turn left and go to nearby vet, please.” you asked and then you looked at Colby and laughed awkwardly again “Guess the cat’s out of bag now.”

He just sighed and shook his head.

“Does it have an owner?”

“Yeah” you nodded “Us.”

Colby looked at you with wide eyes.

“You don’t know if it had owners before?” he asked and you shyly shook your head “So you basically stole a cat?”

“She was under the car while I was waiting for you guys! And look at her, it’s obvious she was a stray.”

Colby only sighed but you could tell. He didn’t mind it, he just wasn’t expecting it.

“Her name is Ghostie.” you added silently and you could see that Colby was starting to smile.

“I like it.” he said and you bit back a wide smile that wanted to appear on your face.

“We’re here guys.” Sam announced parking next to an animal clinic.

You got out of the car with Colby while Sam declared he will wait in the car.

“I hope you know it was irresponsible.” Colby said to you while taking your hand with his free one and with the other one still holding Ghostie.

“Yeah, but you want to keep her.” you stated with a smirk and he only rolled his eyes and held door open for you.

“Whatever.” he snorted and kissed your forehead before heading to receptionist’s desk.

Now you were officially a family of three.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Horror

Horror is a genre within creative writing that relies on one thing: instilling a sense of fear in the reader.

The horror genre is multifaceted—there is a kind of horror for every kind of person.

For some, the most effective scare is the idea of being trapped in a haunted house. For others, it’s being chased by a serial killer on Halloween.

Some of the best horror comes from scary things that can manipulate an audience’s feelings, creating a sensation of uneasiness and fear that stretches beyond consciousness and permeates deep within the psyche.

Horror writing is sometimes categorized within the broader category of thrillers, but not all horror follows the thriller structure.

Classic horror fiction—whether expressed as a novel, novella, short story, or film—will tap into topics that reliably frighten most humans.

Common topics include ghosts, werewolves, vampires, zombies, serial killers, murderers, and the fear of the unknown.

These horror tropes can often devolve into clichés.

A downside of horror’s popularity is that many horror books and movies recycle old content in non-creative ways, but when properly executed, horror stories can thrill audiences and even provide commentary on the human condition.

Horror Subgenres

1. Apocalyptic - In this subgenre, the world is ending or society is collapsing. When this happens, it’s usually because of some creature, demon, or religious event (while climate-oriented apocalypses are more sci-fi).

2. Body Horror - Involves the mutilation, experimentation, or violation of the human body. It can focus on disease, dismemberment, infestation, sexual acts, or a complete transformation of the physical form.

3. Comedy - Horror and comedy seem so at odds with each other, but they work so well together (kind of like spice and chocolate). A trademark of comedy horror is how the protagonist somewhat stumbles through the story, arriving at the end through luck and ridiculous happenstance rather than skill or growth.

4. Cosmic/Lovecraftian - With its origins largely attributed to H.P. Lovecraft, cosmic horror makes us feel small against a threat that is ancient, massive, and incomprehensible. Cosmic horror looks at intergalactic entities, ancient gods, the machinations of the universe, and how helpless we are against it all.

5. Dark Fantasy - Another crossover, this time with the fantasy genre. In dark fantasy, you have elements of magic, fictional creatures or worlds, and everything else that makes fantasy great, plus you add in a good dose of scares. This can also involve other subgenres, like body horror.

6. Dark Romance - Another crossover genre, dark romance takes the feel-good romance genre and makes it horrific. While this subgenre can simply include morally questionable characters and a grittier tone than most romance, it can also include kidnapping, forced confinement, BDSM, psychological and physical abuse, and sexual violence or sex where there is no consent. Bear in mind that it still needs to include the tenants of romance stories, though.

7. Extreme Gore - Not for the faint of heart, this subgenre includes books that have detailed torture scenes or otherwise disturbing and depraved acts. This genre is all about shocking your audience with how awful your characters act or are treated.

8. Folk Horror - Embraces urban legends and folktales. These range from old pagan gods in the woods to weird rituals performed by isolated groups or villages. Sometimes there is a supernatural element to them, even if the “supernatural” is simply perceived or believed by some characters (e.g., Midsommar).

9. Found Footage/Documentaries - Though this subgenre is more common in films than books, found footage and documentary horror stories are about a crew of people recording their experiences, usually unaware of the true danger they are about to face.

10. Gothic - The great-grandparent of modern horror, gothic horror is the brooding, atmospheric genre containing what most of us would consider classics (e.g., Dracula and Frankenstein). Sometimes you throw in a dash of romance, but these tales tackle topics like death and mortality.

11. Post-Apocalyptic - After some world-ending disaster, how horrifying have things become? Post-apocalyptic horror shows us a world without rules or structure. It can contain unrealistic elements (zombies, demons, etc.) or realistic possibilities (cannibals, gangs, and so on).

12. Psychological - Places the spotlight on trauma, mental health, manipulation, phobias, and everything else that causes you to become stressed and anxious. Home invasion stories (i.e., The Strangers) fall under this subgenre.

13. Slasher - Involves violent horror that is more about a single killer stalking and eventually killing a group of people (traditionally targeting teens and using a blade). This subgenre isn’t necessarily as violent or gory as others, but uses suspense to make the reader hold their breath.

14. Splatterpunk - Is known for its disregard of limits when it comes to violence—both physical and sexual. Gore and depravity are grossly abundant.

15. Supernatural/Paranormal - Some folks separate these two subgenres into different categories, but there is so much overlap that they’re basically the same. If you have to, think of supernatural horror as stories that involve werewolves, witches, vampires, and other monsters. Paranormal horror, on the other hand, involves ghosts, demons, and haunted houses.

Tips for Writing Horror

1. Read more horror. There’s no better way to understand what a good story looks like than to read one for yourself. Read as much as you can so you are aware of what other horror writers are doing.

2. Focus on your own fears. Much like comedy, horror benefits from authenticity. So get personal: If you can scare yourself, you can probably scare an audience.

3. Create three-dimensional characters. Write characters whose character flaws feed the action of the story. All good literature and film contains well-wrought characters with desires, emotions, and a backstory. The more human you make the characters of your story or screenplay, the more their missteps and bad choices will resonate with an audience.

4. Recognize that the real can be scarier than the surreal. Sure, you can make up an army of googly-eyed bad guys or plant a severed head in your main character’s bed, but will you really scare your reader? Not necessarily. In most cases, psychological horror sticks with audiences far longer than a jump scare or gross-out moment in a slasher film. Toying with people’s real-life fears tends to scare them much more than just grossing them out.

5. Use the environment. Scary movies and television shows can use jump-scares as an easy way to frighten an audience, but writing scary literature requires its own method of manifesting fear. Setup your environment in a vivid way to fully immerse your readers into your setting. Vividly describing an enclosed space can elicit feelings of claustrophobia. A dark and quiet house becomes more frightening when a character suddenly hears the creak of an upstairs floorboard. Being an outsider in an unfamiliar place, like a small town with no cell phone service and where everyone knows each other, is already unsettling—and if you add a malicious paranormal force to such a setting, you can enhance the feeling of isolation and ramp up the anxiety of the scenario.

6. Write longer sentences. You can heighten your readers’ fear by writing paragraphs with longer sentences. Periods provide natural pauses for readers to take a breath, but if you stretch out your sentences, you build anticipation for the reader—which they might not even realize until they reach the end of the sentence. By using tactics like this, you immerse the reader into your horror story, making them feel what the main character feels and creating a heart-pounding connection.

7. Make your readers breathe faster. Whereas long sentences can amplify the intensity of a story, short one-sentence paragraphs can force your readers to take more frequent breaths while following your narrative. Crafting abrupt lines builds tension in your scary story writing, making the readers’ eyes move more quickly down the page searching for the relief that the protagonist is safe. This can make your audience breathe faster, contributing to the feeling of panic and anxiety.

8. Leverage fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown is a common theme that can be tracked throughout many of the best stories in horror fiction and horror movies. When there is something that negatively affects us that we cannot control or properly identify, it creates a feeling of panic and dread. Teasing your readers with something not quite definable or a bad guy no one knows how to stop can increase the level of tension and fear when writing horror stories.

9. Lean into dark imagery and your readers’ collective imagination. Consider what images might be frightening to a reader (and yourself). How much of a description of a clown do you need in order to make a reader feel uneasy? How large and grotesque does a rat need to be? Leaving some of these images more general than specific will allow a reader to fill in the blanks with what is most horrifying to them. Example: If you read the word beast, what do you see in your imagination? Most words carry connotations and personal connections. Allow your words to work for you to create the maximum scare.

10. Want tension? Sprinkle in some foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a powerful tool in your writing arsenal, but it is particularly effective in horror, especially when writing in third person. Foreshadowing is when an author alludes to a future event by showing us something now. The key to foreshadowing is to use it sparingly. We want to up the tension and the fear our readers are experiencing while they yell at the oblivious protagonist not to open the door. We don’t want the reader to know every single thing that’s going to happen. 

11. Focus on the moment where things shift. You should consider a pivotal scene in your story idea and try to build around that scene or that moment where the plot actually “shifts.” Sometimes that could be reflected in a realization by the protagonist. Other times it can be represented in some type of ironic twist at the end. By looking at that singular element of your story idea, you cut away the fat so that the reader is left only with the most resonant part of the story.

12. Establish the mundane. Mundane is just a fancy way of saying normal, but the message still rings true. Most story structures tell you to start by establishing the Ordinary World: what our protagonist’s normal life is like. This is important for showing us how important the larger conflict is, because it threatens the protagonist’s normal. In horror, establishing the mundane is arguably more important. In a story where connecting with the character and empathizing with them over the godawful stuff you, the author, put them through, the reader needs to understand just how bad life has gotten. Then you can take both your characters and your reader from a place of comfort and familiarity and plunge them into whatever shadowy hell you’ve concocted.

13. Choosing your POV. By choosing to write your story from a first-person perspective, you are putting the reader exactly where your character is. There are 2 types of third-person POV—limited and omniscient. It is advisable to stay away from omniscient. Part of writing a good horror story is withholding information from the reader, which third-person omniscient doesn’t really allow for. Considering the pros and cons of the different points of view, choose the right one for your story.

14. Avoid clichés. Clichés are boring and predictable, and a horror scene that is predictable is likely to not be scary. A good horror story can still use familiar horror tropes, but a great horror story makes them its own. Look beyond the obvious when trying to write a scary scene—what is something readers wouldn’t expect? How can you surprise them with fear? Use enough of the existing tropes to be identifiable as horror, but make sure you insert your own originality into the mix. One of the reasons people gravitate to genres in general is because they have certain expectations for what should happen in the story. Look for ways to flip archetypes on their heads.

15. Practice. If you’re struggling to get a handle on writing a good story that’s scary, practice with story prompts (see some sample prompts below). Writing prompts can expand your range of thinking and open up new avenues of imagination that you hadn’t thought of before.

Horror Writing Prompts

A scary doll comes to life.

A scene from a nightmare comes true the next day.

Days go by, and your parents don’t come home.

You feel yourself slowly becoming a monster.

Your friends start to disappear, and no one else notices.

You’re lost in the woods, and you don’t know how you got there.

You’re inhabited by a ghost that controls you and makes you do crazy things.

You have no reflection in the mirror.

The teacher is a monster, but no one will believe you.

You hypnotize your brother, and you can’t snap him out of it.

A fortune teller reveals that you are evil.

Someone follows you home, and it’s your exact double.

You find a diary that tells the future.

Every time you wake up, you’re a different person.

Your parents explain that you are actually an alien from another planet.

You know someone is watching you day and night from the house across the street.

You realize you are shrinking.

While reading a scary book, you realize that you’re a character in it.

Someone is living in your mirror.

Everyone knows the new neighbors are vampires, and the kids invite you over for a sleepover.

All the cats in a small town vanish in the middle of the night….and all that remains is a set of big, scary teeth smashed into a car door.

A group of friends takes on the zombie apocalypse.

Strange things start happening after the grandfather clock starts to speak.

You finally meet your child’s imaginary friend. Who turns out to be a serial killer.

When a local police officer goes to investigate the haunted house down the street, he finds a young girl who died decades ago.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[trappednyourheart]

A Haunted Doll's new kid

“A Damian and he's haunted doll”

Instead of Jason having Danny as his childhood doll or haunted doll, how about if Damian got haunted doll Danny?

--------------------------------------------

Where a young Talia Al Ghul stumbled across a very old and abandoned mansion in a middle of nowhere, only tall dark trees and harsh winds accompany her outside of the manor, at her vulnerable worse moments, her team was ambushed by a very cunning new group..took a lot of damaged out of her but she survived and now left wandering on her own, without anyway to contact the league or if she will faced punishment for being defeated, she decided to seek shelter inside the lifeless Manor for the time being, but to her surprise inside the manor it was warm as if no sign of abandonment as if it was alive, only one there was a beautiful baby doll.. something those rich young daughters would play at those times she heard from rich society of children..

Only Alive entity keeping her warm and welcome, so she decided to bring it to the League and no matter how childish this action was..she really can't stop letting go until she give it to her son in his 12 birthday, hoping him to take care of the Precious doll as if a heirloom, which it is😅

-----------------------------------------------

Damian knew what this Doll was, it was his mother's doll. A doll so clean and beautiful, he never understand why there was a doll back then at the league.

It was his first everytime to even see a doll up closed than reading and imagining it at textbooks and examples of words in his former lessons, the Doll was strange.

Unlike The doll, it felt alive, warm and cozy like a child would be clingy to it's parent

He could feel waves of emotions he could distinct knowing the Doll's feelings..

No matter how much time passed after his mother gave it to him, he knows understands why he's mother would take care of this Doll.

No matter how much his family freak out at the constant, chairs spinning too see the baby doll sitting in it, finding in other places standing, moving heads, and little joyful laughter's. (Except for Alfred cause he already accepted the doll,)

------------------------------------

Danny was absolutely not amused, after a whole prank war with the fam, Ellie and the others decided to trap him in this stupid girly baby doll, with a brand label with his name💀 and decided to drop him off to a abandoned version of Vlad's house just for funzies if a few mortals ever get scared, but it kinda backfired now he's been getting good care through this girl now turn woman then her son is now taking care of him, he is grateful he isn't some kind of heirloom..right? But it was fun haunting this so called bats, even sending Grey hairs to his new profound kid caretaker,

----------------------------------------

Danny appearance as a doll is a female baby doll, that is plump and porcelain, he also has a voice box for the original dolls lines, but he sometimes make some unholy and demonic noises to scare one of the bats except for Alfred or Damian, the doll that he was inside in had Caucasian skin, dark hair and deep blue eyes that look like had stars twinkling in it which he approved, his dress was a plump white dress that had green designs in it that was glowing, a small beautiful beach hat and a cute glowing green heels? Shoes ya that's the description and some cute accessories like a golden bracelet which had unique jewels like emerald, ruby, and etc,

when talia found him, the Girls, Ellie had created a very doll like luggage with his necessities, clothes, things for dolls..which he considers are now his own belongings after being used to the routine in the league and how he accept this as a vacay cause he knows CW is watching him😅

[the-thing-inside-your-closet]

Prompts I’ve seen/found online that I have used an inspiration for many things, but mainly DP X DC stuff.

There’s 200 prompts/quotes in there

1. They match each other’s freak to a degree that is dangerous to the public.

2. People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

3. “I have a solution.”

“Thank goodness.”

“It involves fire.”

“Absolutely not.”

4. Why are you hiding behind me? What did you do?

5. We can’t have a crisis - my schedule is already full!

6. “What’s our exit strategy?”

“Our what?”

“We’re all going to die.”

7. That is a terrible, horrible, incredibly foolish idea. Let’s do it and see what happens.

8. “This coffee tastes weird.”

“That’s probably because it’s not coffee.”

9. “Can I bother you for a second?”

“You always bother me, but go ahead.”

10. “Are you mad?”

“No.”

“So sharpening knives at 2am is just a hobby?”

11. I’m going to give my inner child a gun.

12. Your inability to learn complicated handshakes is tearing this gang apart.

13. I get so affectionate when I’m sleepy it’s disgusting.

14. Leaving a watermelon on someone’s doorstep in the middle of the night is a pretty inexpensive way to occupy a portion of their mind forever.

15. No offence to myself or anything but what the fuck am I doing.

16. I would love to be mysterious but I never shut the fuck up.

17. The divorce rate amongst my socks is astonishing.

18. Adulthood is a scam I want to be a crow.

19. Good morning! God has let me live another day and I’m about to make it everybody’s problem.

20. My house is haunted because I live there.

21. That’s my emotional support entity of questionable moral standing.

22. God released me into the wild and now he’s hunting me for sport.

23. No, no you don’t want to get to know me, I’m better as a concept.

24. I can’t wait until I’m old enough to pretend I can’t hear.

25. Do birds every just fly for fun or are they always on some kind of mission?

26. The older I get the more I understand why roosters scream to start their day.

27. ‘You’ll understand when you’re older.’ I am older and I understand absolutely nothing.

28. Source? It was revealed to me in a delusion.

29. Why do drugs after 30 when you can just stand up too fast?

30. I won’t ever be the bigger person in an argument. God made me 5’ for a reason.

31. This meeting could have been a fist fight.

32. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m never going to have a midlife crisis because my entire fucking life is a crisis.

33. Anyone fancy going off the fucking rails with me I’ve had enough.

34. Go ahead and get in the pond since you wanna act like a silly goose.

35. My life is like a romantic comedy except there’s no romance and it’s just me laughing at my own jokes.

36. Who the fuck decided to call it ‘emotional baggage’ and not ‘griefcase?’

37. I don’t have a nervous system. I am a nervous system.

38. “What makes us human?”

“Selecting all of the images with traffic lights.”

39. Don’t let anyone else ruin your day. It’s your day. Ruin it yourself.

40. The sixth love language is combat.

41. “I just told you 2 minutes ago.”

“I do not control the remember.”

42. Due to not wanting to. I will not be.

43. My flabbers be gasted daily.

44. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Like a hallucination, a therapist, or a person?”

45. “You’re the most ridiculous person I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you I try my best.”

46. I tried to embrace my inner child today and the little asshole bit me.

47. I think my dark under eye circles are adding to the aesthetic actually.

48. Being smart has never stopped me from being a complete fucking idiot.

49. Next time I’m opening up to someone will be at my autopsy.

50. Too many songs about love. Not enough song about sword fights.

51. “You’re cute.”

“I’m feral and chaotic, don’t touch me.”

52. I’m not as unhinged as I could be and I want everyone to be great full for that.

53. How dare you know stuff about things.

54. “I have a plan.”

“Is it a good one?”

“I have a plan.”

55. “Are you decent?”

“Not morally, but I’m wearing pants if that’s what you’re asking.”

56. I may have the right to remain silent but I do not have the ability.

57. I don’t want to look ‘pretty.’ I want to look otherworldly and vaguely threatening.

58. If you ever feel safe please remember that I’m out there.

59. “I’m too good for revenge.”

“Well I’m not. Give me the gun.”

60. “You know I really feel like we aren’t seeing eye to eye.

“It’s because you’re taller than me asshole.”

61. “They rely on you.”

“I can’t be blamed for their lack of judgment..”

62. Well, aren’t you a little Ray of pitch black.

63. I can get behind murder but I draw the line at misogyny.

64. In my defence your honour, I simply do not vibe with the law.

65. Life is a tornado and I’m just the cow being spun around for cinematic value.

66. You can burn all the sage you want, I’ll be back.

67. I believe in holding grudges. I’ll heal in hell.

68. You know…they make medication for the way you act.

69. I like men with massive, throbbing vocabularies.

70. My swear jar could finance the fucking space program.

71. “Well if you want my opinion-”

“I don’t. I have my own.”

72. I’m awake but not operational.

73. Due to personal reasons I’ll be going back to sleep.

74. The bags under my eyes are Prada.

75. I identify as a threat. My pronouns are try/me.

76. Audacity must be on sale this year…

77. “Have you ever been handcuffed?”

“Sexually or by law enforcement?”

78. I don’t like salad or eye contact.

79. “Come here.”

“Why?”

“Just come here.”

“No you’re gonna hit me!”

80. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“I didn’t throw it.”

81. I have to keep reminding myself that I am an adult and will be charged as one.

82. Apparently ‘spite’ is not an appropriate answer to ‘what motives you?’

83. There is a fine line between my crazy and my intelligence. I use that line like a jump rope.

84. I don’t know where you got your opinion but I hope you kept the receipt.

85. Sometimes when I close my eyes…I can’t see.

86. Is being stupid a profession or are you just gifted?

87. Some days the supply of available curse words is insufficient to meet my demands.

88. I’m running out of reasons to not stab you.

89. When I said ‘how stupid can you be?’ It wasn’t a challenge.

90. Love at first sight? Tired, boring. Love at first assassination attempt? Spicy.

91. I’m sorry I don’t take orders. I barley take suggestions.

92. And that’s a wrap on another day where I acted like I knew what I was doing.

93. Now if you’ll excuse me…tonight’s bad decision isn’t going to make itself.

94. I take super hot showers to practice burning in hell.

95. I wanna be 14 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.

96. Don’t be ashamed of who you are. That’s your parent’s job.

97. Being an adult is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

98. If I’m ever murdered, feel comfort in knowing I ran my mouth until the bitter end.

99. My spirit animal would fucking eat yours.

100. Some people will only like you if you fit inside their box. Don’t be afraid to shove that box up their ass.

101. I wonder if people look both ways before getting on my fucking nerves.

102. If I was a bird, I know who I’d shit on.

103. Giving a fuck doesn’t really go with my outfit.

104. I’m not insulting you, I’m describing you.

105. Life is full of disappointments and I just added you to the list.

106. And then I decided to take a detour to deliver an ass beating.

107. I wanna contribute to the chaos.

108. I’m gay and also stronger than all of you. So don’t try any shit.

109. With all due respect, which is none

110. What, pray tell, the fuck?

111. My arson charges don’t define me.

112. Those are bold words for someone in stabbing range.

113. I don’t understand your specific kind of crazy but I do admire your total commitment to it.

114. I am not above slashing my own tires to avoid going to this family brunch.

115. I don’t want to heal my inner child I want them to get revenge.

116. In order to insult me I must first value your opinion. Nice try though.

117. There’s someone for everyone and the person for you is a psychiatrist.

118. Keep rolling your eyes, maybe you’ll find a brain back there.

119. I think my guardian angel drinks.

120. In my defence, I was left unsupervised.

121. I believe in you. I also believe in Bigfoot so don’t get too excited.

122. If you figure me out I want an explanation.

123. I don’t think I meet the height requirements to ride your emotional roller coaster.

124. When killing them with kindness doesn’t work, try voodoo.

125. Another fine day ruined by responsibility.

126. You call them swear words. I call them sentence enhancers.

127. Stop petting my peeves.

128. What a year this week has been.

129. Don’t follow me I don’t know where I’m going.

130. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I am awake.

131. I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

132. Please don’t interrupt me while I’m ignoring you.

133. Everyone has the right to be stupid but you’re abusing the privilege.

134. I just know I will die trying to pet something I shouldn’t.

135. At this point, if a clown invited me into the woods, I’d just go.

136. I told him to take care of his eyes because they’re the only balls he has.

137. The trash gets picked up tomorrow. Be ready.

138. My last words will probably be sarcastic.

139. We don’t have time to unpack all that.

140. I may have committed light treason.

141. How is ‘pretty boy’ supposed to be an insult? I’m the prettiest goddamn boy in this town.

142. I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual.

143. “Based on statistical evidence, I’m immortal.”

“How so?”

“Haven’t died yet.”

144. I’m just here to establish an alibi.

145. Take the day off from being the bigger person and choose violence, you deserve it.

146. Forgive and forget? I’m neither Jesus nor do I have alzheimers.

147. People are so ungrateful. No one ever thanks me for having the patience to not kill them.

148. “I can see your bra.”

“Fucking good it was expensive.”

149. Sir, that’s my emotional support knife collection.

150. My idea of ‘help from above’ is a sniper on the roof.

151. “We’re surrounded!”

“Excellent, we can attack in any direction!

152. Lord give me patience or an untractable handgun.

153. Step back! I’m a professional idiot!

154. “Trust your gut.”

“I have anxiety. My gut is always telling me to abort mission.”

155. Keep your morals away from me.

156. Your existence gives me a headache go stand over there.

157. What, from the bottom of my heart, the fuck?

158. My heart is not a home for cowards.

159. Underestimate me so I can embarrass you.

160. “It’ll be easy. You just have to seduce them.”

“You’re kidding, right? I’m about as seductive as a cabbage.”

161. You’ve got heart, kid. Several hearts. Honestly, I’m a little scared of you.

162. It takes a very special kind of idiot to pull off what you just did.

163. I’m no doctor - but I think he’s dead.

164. I love you. You enormously stubborn pain in the ass.

165. “What brings you here?”

“A continuum of terrible choices.”

“You’d be surprised to know how often people say that.”

166. “I thought we agreed to tell each other when we were bleeding internally.”

“That’s a very specific promise I don’t remember making.”

167. “Did you really google how to flirt with a girl?”

“What? How’d you know that?”

“You do realise there’s a search history?”

168. “I’m gonna…”

“If you kick down the door, I swear…”

“I’M GONNA PUNCH IT WITH MY FOOT!”

169. “Is it still murder if I give them a heads up?”

“That’s a threat.”

“Damn.”

170. Surprise! I’m back from the dead! Isn’t that exciting?

171. Don’t mind me, I’ll just be in the corner, having another existential crisis.

172. I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.

173. You’re important to me you piece of shit.

174. “Why are your hands purple?”

“That’s a very good question.”

175. Can someone turn off the sun please?

176. “I had a thought.”

“Oh no.”

“I swear it’s a good one this time!”

177. I’ve met bread smarter than you.

178. “Please stop getting shot, it stresses me out.”

“Oh, well if YOU don’t like it.”

179. Dude, we are not asking the dragon for directions.

180. You’ve got as much charm as a dead slug.

181. For you, I could steal the stars - but I can also get them through legitimate means, if that impresses you more.

182. I am under no obligation to make sense to you.

183. You smile like an idiot when you’re talking to them.

184. Don’t you sign to me in that tone.

185. Excuse me. I have to go make a scene.

186. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t care. Shut up.”

187. Now that I made it weird, I’m going to make my exit.

188. So uh, I noticed you’re kinda naked. Is that intentional or…?

189. “Do you trust me?”

“No.”

“Smart man.”

190. Well, if you’d woken up properly the first time I kicked you, I wouldn’t have had to do it four more times.

191. “I have NEVER been so insulted.”

“You don’t listen much, do you?”

192. “Don’t you know who I am?”

“Yup. I just don’t care.”

193. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I just thought it would be amusing.

194. I would tell you to be yourself but that almost got us killed last time.

195. “Why aren’t you worshipping me, mortal?”

“Not interested. Thanks.”

196. “I’d rather be dead.”

“Then I have some good news for you.”

197. “Did you hear that scream?”

“Yes, I’m the one who screamed.”

198. “What happened to your-”

“I lost a bet.”

“Why-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

199. Reading way above my grade level didn’t get me as far in life as I had hoped.

200. Due to foreseen circumstances well within my control I will be late.

[wlntrsldler]

Three Hundred and Seventy-One Days | Luke Castellan

a/n: not canon-compliant! i hate this actually but i needed to write something to get me back in the zone! sunshine reader because i wanted a broody luke lol.

i. Three days.

Right before the sun sets behind the hill at Camp Half Blood, there's a chill in the air that hits Luke's skin in a way that makes him feel like he's back on the roof of his house in Connecticut. He found out about it when he returned from his failed quest when he was searching for a moment of solace, away from the pitiful eyes of the campers, away from the voice that haunted his dreams. Perched on a branch, hidden by the shade of the leaves, leaning against the bark of the tree with sticky amber clinging to the material of his orange shirt, Luke sits there until the sun disappears for the day.

It reminds him of the days he would crawl out of his bedroom window to escape the sounds of his mother's incoherent mumbling. He would sit there in nothing but a thin t-shirt and his cargo shorts, goosebumps rising on his skin, as he talked to himself. It was a bad habit he picked up in his younger years. He kept himself company at home because his mom didn't talk to him much, not really, and when she did, when her words made sense for once, all Luke could do was count down the minutes until he lost his mother again.

Before he was old enough to understand his heritage, who his father was, he used to pray to an entity he didn't believe in to give his mother moments of clarity, slivers of coherence so he at least knew something, anything, about the woman he called mom. But after the first time Luke's wishes were granted, he stopped praying. Somehow it was more painful watching his mother drift in and out of consciousness than it was living with a stranger he knew he loved, but knew nothing about.

For a year, that spot on the tree was a secret. Nobody knew that Luke would climb up there every day just to feel the breeze against his skin. Nobody questioned why the Hermes head counselor would disappear at the same time, until you came along.

"Whatcha doin' up there?"

Luke nearly lost his balance on the branch at the sound of your voice from under him. He looked down to see you smiling up at him, hands laced together behind your back. You were eighteen, the same as him, and when he first heard of your arrival, Luke was jealous. You got to have 18 years of childhood, while he was only granted half of that. It didn't seem fair.

"You should be at dinner," Luke replied, leaning back against the tree. The sun made the sky a soft orange color. The darkness of the night was creeping in through the corners of the sky, the chill he searches for each night engulfed him.

"To be fair, so should you, head counselor," You replied, analyzing the indents in the bark of the tree trunk that formed from Luke's constant climbing. You slotted your feet in the crevices, making your way to the tree branch beside Luke's. The two branches were close to each other, growing steadily until they almost touched at the tips. "Woah, this view is unreal."

"Be careful," He mumbled, clenching his jaw. "I'm not gonna take you to the infirmary if you fall and break a bone."

"Relax," You chuckled, situating yourself. "I can handle myself."

Luke nodded once and turned his attention back to the skyline. In this light, the scar across his cheek was prominent. It's healed well enough, but it still left a bump across his flesh that made Luke queasy every time he looked at it for too long. The two of you sat in silence as the sun disappeared. Luke tilted his head to look at you, only to find that you were already staring at him. He rubbed the side of his face against his shoulder as if trying to wipe away the scar on his shirt, "What are you doing here?"

You shrugged, "Not really into the whole offerings thing, to be honest."

"So you decided to wander into the woods alone?" Luke asked, "That's dangerous. There's a lot of things out here that you wouldn't believe. You can get hurt."

"But it's okay when you do it?"

"I know how to fight," Luke found himself taking on a defensive position. "You just got here."

"That doesn't mean I don't know how to fight," You replied. Your voice was calm, despite the slight bite to Luke's tone. "Just because I didn't spend my childhood playing with swords and bows and arrows doesn't mean I don't know how to fend for myself, y'know."

"The things out here are different from schoolyard bullies. I don't think you understand that."

"Are we going to ignore that I fought a hellhound on my way here or...?"

"You fought a hellhound?"

Luke wouldn't have guessed that by the way you walked into the Hermes cabin, all smiles and golden flecks of color in the irises of your eyes. You spoke in a preppy tone and he nearly had to grab his siblings by their ear to drag them away from you. If he was a betting man, he would bet that you were a child of Aphrodite.

"Mhm," You hummed, "See, I'm not so helpless."

"I didn't say you were."

"Yeah, but you implied it," You shrugged, not deterred by his tone. "Anyways, are you gonna tell me what you're doing here?"

"Well, I was trying to get some privacy," He replied. He should've been annoyed at the intrusion, but he couldn't bring himself to be upset with you as much as he should've been. "But that didn't go as planned."

"Sorry, sorry," You chuckled, putting your hands up in defense. "Didn't know keeping you company was a no-no. Maybe I do have some things to learn about camp after all."

He scoffed, "Hanging out with me should be the least of your worries."

"I dunno, I always seem to gravitate towards the broody types."

"I'm not broody."

"Right," You laughed. You turned to look at him, jaw dropping when you realized he was serious. "When was the last time you smiled? And not those fake, polite smiles you give to strangers trying to make small talk in the grocery store line, you know?"

No, he didn't know. He didn't go out much, much less to the grocery store to have conversations about the rising prices of produce or the lack of real milk options due to the infiltration of the non-dairy industry.

"I smile all the time," Luke replied, eyebrows furrowing in thought as he tried to remember the last time he smiled at someone. "I smile at campers."

"That's because it's your job, silly!" You giggled, shaking your head. "When was the last time you smiled just because?"

Luke pursed his lips, countering, "When was the last time you didn't smile?"

"When I was fighting the hellhound."

Luke felt his lips quirk up at that. It was a quick-witted response, he'll give you that. He stopped it from becoming anything more and cleared his throat.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it," You sighed, carefully stretching your legs down to the first indent on the tree. You skillfully climbed down and landed on your feet with a thud, "See you around, Luke."

Luke's mouth felt dry at the sound of his name leaving your lips. He was never a fan of his name before. He thought it sounded generic and unoriginal, but when you said it, it didn't sound half as bad as he thought it was. His stomach churned in a way that was foreign to him.

"Hopefully, not here!" He called out, watching as your figure retreated back to the main grounds. "Privacy, remember that!"

"I like the broody types, remember that!" You called back, waving to him before you disappeared into the maze of trees.

ii. Twelve days.

"You lied."

You looked up from your book with an eyebrow raised as you stared at the counselor at the foot of your bed. Luke was standing there, the signature stern look etched on his face. You placed your bookmark in your book, sitting up on your bed as you smiled at him, "Excuse me?"

He had his arms crossed over his chest, the beads of his camp necklace resting on the tops of his knuckles, "You lied. You didn't fight a hellhound."

"Okay, so I didn't fight a hellhound," You said, dragging on the word 'fight' for emphasis. "But I encountered a hellhound."

"Which you befriended."

"Which I befriended," You confirmed, "I named him Stanley. Wanna meet him?"

"No," Luke replied quickly. "That shouldn't even be allowed in here."

"He's sweet," You tutted, slipping your feet into your shoes as you stood up. "Give him a chance, I swear you'll love him."

"You're keeping a hellhound as a pet?"

"He's just a baby," You cooed, jutting out your bottom lip.

Luke felt his face twitch in half-annoyance and half-fondness. He didn't know if he found your naivete dangerous or charming, or both, but he was scared for you. You were too trusting for your own good, "He is not a baby. He's a monster."

"Don't talk about Stanley like that."

Luke rolled his eyes, falling into the same rhythm as your steps, "You don't realize how dangerous this is, Y/N."

"Here you go with the danger thing again," You teased, nudging him. Luke's breath got caught in his chest. Your simple touch seemed to burn his skin. Sparks erupted across his entire body. "Told you, I'll be fine."

"Not every monster you encounter can be defeated by the power of friendship. You can't rely on some kumbaya shit."

"Kumbaya?" You snorted, looking at him with an unreadable expression on your face. You scrunched your face up, a tiny smile tugging on your lips. "You're so...."

"I'm so what?" He questioned, planting his feet on the ground.

"Odd."

He tried not to take offense to that because while your words were like a dagger to his heart, the way you said it showed that you didn't mean it in a bad way. You seemed to be trying to figure him out, pressing his buttons, trying to see what made him tick. And you were succeeding. Luke never ventured to talk to new campers unless he was forced to by Chiron, but he couldn't fight the pull you had on him.

"Broody and odd," He said, resuming his steps, "I'm swooning."

The full belly laugh that escaped you made Luke's steps falter. Campers surrounding you looked at you, confused as to what Luke could've said that made you react that way. Surely, the Hermes Head Counselor wasn't that funny. He wasn't known to crack jokes, not since he returned. You couldn't help it, though. He said it in such a deadpan way that made your sides hurt from laughing so much.

"Just my type," You teased.

Luke didn't like how his cheeks were warming up at your comment. He's not one to flirt or be flirted with. He found girls attractive, sure, but most of them were too intimidated to talk to him so he never really had experience in that department. But he supposed since you grew up in the world, you were used to doing things like this. He wondered if you knew the effect you had on him.

"Dinner is supposed to be good tonight," He said, changing the subject. He was looking everywhere but you, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks that seemed to not want to subside.

"Oh, no you don't," You shook your head. "You are not gonna tempt me into going to dinner just so you can hide away in your tree. I'll be there, Castellan."

He grimaced. He was hoping that you'd fall for the trap, but he was learning quickly that you weren't as gullible as he hoped you'd be. Luke sighed, accepting defeat. "Fine, but can you just be careful? You've been lucky that there weren't any creatures lurking around."

"Why don't we just go together?" You asked, "So you can stop worrying about my safety and all."

"I'm not worried about your safety," He lied through his teeth. The idea wasn't bad though. It would keep him from wondering if you were attacked on your way to meet him. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about it. He didn't like this weird protectiveness he had over you. He didn't even know you. "But fine. Meet me at the Hermes cabin after they ring for dinner."

"You got it," You saluted him playfully as you walked away, skipping to meet up with members of the Apollo cabin. How did you manage to make so many friends so quickly? And why did you insist on sticking with him when it's clear that you had other friends you could be bothering instead of him?

Luke tried not to think about it too much as he continued on with his day, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept pulling him back to you. During his lessons with other campers, he took mental notes of what moves he should teach you, just in case anything happened so you'd be prepared. During arts and crafts, he found himself reaching for the gold glitter because it reminded him of your eyes. This caused raised eyebrows from other campers since it was well-known that the counselor didn't like glitter post-Glitter Gate where he was shaking out glitter from his curls for days.

By the time dinner rolled around, he was thankful he stopped thinking about you, but soon realized that it was worse now that you were in front of him, all smiles and banter as you always were. It was getting harder to contain the redness of his cheeks as you complimented him in your own way.

"Lead the way, Castellan," You grinned.

Luke couldn't help but return your smile.

iii. Sixty-six days.

"Stanley, down," You instructed, leaning over to scratch the hellhound behind its ears. "Good boy."

Luke's sword was raised in a fighting stance as he watched you giggle as the hellhound nuzzled into your touch. You somehow managed to make him agree to meet the monster. Pathetically, it didn't take much for Luke to agree. It took you batting your eyelashes at him with a small pout and he reluctantly agreed to meet Stanley.

"Luke," You called him over, still petting the hellhound. "Come on, he won't do anything to you."

"I'm good right here," He grunted, holding onto his sword. "If he tries anything, one of us should be ready and you obviously have your guard down."

"He won't," You assured, "He's sweet."

"Nothing from the underworld is sweet, Y/N."

"You don't think I'm sweet?"

Luke rolled his eyes. You'd been claimed by your father, Hades, a few days ago. It made sense the more he thought about it. The hellhound wasn't sent to attack you, but to protect you. It was sent by your father to guide you to Camp Half Blood. "You're not technically from there."

"Same shit," You shrugged, patting the spot next to you on the grass for him to join you. "Come on, Luke. Come meet Stanley."

It was against everything he believed in. He shouldn't walk over to you to pet a monster like it was a stray dog on the side of the road, waiting to be rescued. But his feet seemed to have a mind of their own because before he knew it, he was walking over to you, sword tossed somewhere beside him to keep his hands free to touch the surprisingly soft fur of the hellhound.

The hellhound purred under Luke's touch, gentle and loving. If Luke ignored the scary color of its eyes, he would confidently say that it was just a dog. Luke's shoulders relaxed, "Okay, he's not half bad."

"Told you," You said, leaning against him. Luke's hands froze for a second, making the hellhound whine. He resumed his scratches, not wanting to take his chances and angering the dog. "See? Not all of us from the underworld are scary monsters."

"You're not from there," He repeated, "Stop saying that you are."

"Hades is my dad, Luke," You whispered. "So I am. I am a part of him."

"You're nothing like the gods."

There was something in his voice that made your heart pound in your chest. It was no secret that Luke's relationship with his father, and all of the gods for that matter, was strained. Luke saying that you were nothing like them with such sincerity made your head spin. It felt definite. It felt like a fact that he could never think of you as that.

"Could be nice though," You joked, trying to cover up the swell in your chest with humor. "Immortality and all."

"Nah, this one life is enough for me, I think."

"What? You're not shooting for rebirth?"

If anyone else would've asked him the same question a year ago, even a few weeks ago, he would've said no. If any of his other lives were like this one, he would decline the request if he could. All that he'd gone through in this lifetime was enough.

But now you were asking him that question with a twinkle of hope in your eyes that made him wonder if he'd judged this life too soon. Maybe there was more to life than fighting and running. Maybe the moments of life when he sits on a tree branch watching the sunset, or when he's yelling at his siblings to stop running in the cabin, or hell, even when he was petting a goddamn hellhound, were enough to make him wish for another shot at this life thing.

Maybe he just needed to learn a thing or two from you. If he could continue to know you in each lifetime, maybe he'll turn out fine.

"Maybe," Luke poked his tongue out the corner of his mouth. He blinked, "I don't know."

"Keep an open mind to it, is all I ask," You said. "I wanna find you in every universe just so I can annoy the shit out of you in each one."

He chuckled softly, not missing the smile that widened on your face as you watched him crack. "I changed my mind. No rebirth for me. I can only handle you in so many lifetimes."

"You'll grow to love me."

I know, Luke wanted to say, and that's the part that scares me the most. Throughout his years at Camp Half Blood, Luke prided himself in knowing that when push comes to shove, he can do what's necessary to succeed. It's what made him the perfect Head Counselor, the best swordsman that Camp Half Blood has seen in years. It's what made him a hero.

But now he didn't feel like that was the case anymore. He was growing soft, weak. He'd spent so much time trying to protect you and keep you from danger that he forgot about protecting himself. You found his Achilles heel and well, Luke was just waiting until he surrendered to you.

He opened his mouth to speak, "If Stanley doesn't kill me first."

If Luke could bottle up the sound of your laughter, he would.

iv. Three hundred and sixty-five days.

"Who is that?"

Luke followed Percy's eyes to the other side of the field. His lips turned up at the corners as he saw you waving at him with a smile on your face. Luke waved back with the same enthusiasm, confusing the boy beside him.

"That's Y/N," Luke responded, picking up his steps to meet you halfway. "That's my girlfriend."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"I know, shocker!" You teased, placing a kiss on Luke's cheek. Luke wrapped an arm around your waist, tugging you closer, completely oblivious to the grimace that graced Percy's face. "Mr. Stick-in-the-mud head counselor has a girlfriend."

"Hey!"

Percy scrunched his face up, "You kinda are a stick-in-the-mud. No offense."

"Offense taken," Luke scoffed, poking your side. "Y/N, this is Percy. He's new here."

You stretched out a hand in greeting, "Nice to meet ya, Percy. Welcome to Camp Half Blood."

"Are you always this preppy?"

"She is," Luke said, shrugging. "Nice change of pace from the rest of us, don't you think?"

"Sure," He nodded, eyeing the both of you. Luke's arm didn't move from your waist and you didn't seem to mind. He was too young to understand why you and Luke didn't want to have any personal space. "Are you joining us on the tour that Luke is giving me of Camp Half Blood?"

"Wish I could, but the Stolls are planning to TP the Ares cabin as a prank and I should probably stop them before someone gets maimed at Capture the Flag tomorrow," You cringed.

Luke sighed, dropping his head to your shoulder. You tangled your fingers through his curls, trying to offer some comfort, "I told them not to do that."

"When have your siblings ever listened to you?"

"They used to before you came along!" Luke groaned, "But now they only listen to the pretty counselor."

"Must run in the family," You teased.

"Shut up," Luke grumbled, lifting his head up. Percy could see the blush on Luke's cheeks and he cringed. He hoped he'd never end up like this when he became a teenager. It was obvious you had Luke wrapped around your finger. "Go stop them before Lee gives us a lecture on the dangers of resorting to violence. Again."

"I'm going, I'm going," You laughed. You placed a quick kiss to Luke's lips before waving goodbye to the two boys. Before you were out of earshot, you turned around, "Tree later?"

"See you there!" Luke replied, grinning at you until you made it across the field. He turned to Percy, scratching the back of his neck, "Sorry about that. Where were we?"

"Archery."

"Ah, right! Archery," Luke nodded, continuing his steps, "It's down this way."

Percy followed Luke through the field, staring at the signs that pointed in different directions. Camp Half Blood was huge. This tour was definitely going to take longer than he anticipated. Not wanting to continue with a lull in the conversation, Percy spoke up, "How long have you and Y/N been together?"

Percy figured that Luke would have a lot to say about you which would fill the silence. He was right. Luke smiled at the boy, "A few months. She got here last year and it's been us two ever since. Took me a minute to ask her out, though."

"Well if you liked her, why did you wait? That doesn't make much sense."

"It was complicated," He replied, "I didn't really accept that I liked her until way later. Kinda kept my feelings to myself for a while."

"Is this what being a teenager is like?" Percy asked, cringing at Luke's words. He always imagined that falling in love with someone was easy. If two people liked each other, they should be together, right?

"Yeah," Luke laughed, patting Percy on the back. "Enjoy your early years, Perce. It gets worse from here."

"Geez, you really know how to inspire confidence in someone."

The laugh that escaped Luke reminded him too much of you. There were parts of you that weaseled their way into him. He didn't understand why you laughed so hard at his deadpan comments before, but now that he was on the receiving end of it with Percy, he saw why.

Percy reminded Luke a lot of himself, back when he was younger. It was a weird thing to meet a foil of yourself, someone who you could've been if things had been different. Luke wondered if he'd be like Percy if his life hadn't been so cruel. Not that Percy's life was all sunshine and rainbows, either. Luke heard through the grapevine that Percy lost his mom during the battle with the minotaur, but at least he had a mom that he knew. He had a mom that cared for him.

Luke was dreading the day Percy got claimed. Something told him that it would cause a ripple effect. Start things that Luke wasn't ready for, not yet. Maybe he'll never be ready for it. Had he known that he'd meet you, maybe he wouldn't have said yes to it. Maybe if you had stumbled into Camp Half Blood a day earlier, he wouldn't be facing this.

Luke faked a smile, shaking away those thoughts, "Come on, archery's just around the corner."

v. Three hundred and seventy-one days.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Luke closed his eyes at the familiar voice that joined him on the tree branch. The separate branch that you used to it on morphed into his own. Two branches intertwined, a simple work of nature, but it felt like a symbol. An omen.

The fireworks illuminated the night sky. Luke had never been up here this late before. The air was cold.

"What are you doing here?"

You let out a dry chuckle, "Dejavu for a second there."

"Y/N."

You gulped, slowly inching towards him. There was a crease between his eyebrows as he stared ahead. You sighed, "I came looking for you."

"Why?"

"Luke, don't do this."

He sniffed, rubbing his eyes with his balled-up fists. He winced as he put too much pressure on his cheek, his scar stinging at the contact. It's been more sensitive lately the more he spoke to Kronos. He shook his head, "I have to."

"No, you don't," You pleaded, placing a hand on his arm. "It's not too late."

"It is. Don't you understand?" He sobbed, "It's too late."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to break your heart," He whispered. He felt silly saying it out loud, but it made sense to him at the time. He couldn't bare to see your face when he told you about everything. That's why he was going to leave without saying goodbye.

"How's that going for you?"

How you managed to make him laugh even during this, even during the end, was beyond Luke's understanding. He wished you didn't have an effect on him like this. It would make things so much easier.

"I'm sorry."

"For breaking my heart or for betraying all of us?"

Luke licked his lips, "Both."

You removed your hand from his arm. Luke shivered without your touch. "I'll see you again, yeah?"

"I don't know."

"I know," Tears pricked your eyes. Maybe it was the shock of it all, but you were calm. Too calm. It didn't feel real that just a few steps away, camp was in disarray because of the boy beside you. "Rebirth, remember? In every lifetime."

"Sure," He said. Maybe the hope of it all will be enough to get him through this. "I love you."

"I love you, too," You said, leaning over to place a last kiss on his lips. You pulled away as you felt your tears mixing with his, "Go, they'll come looking here soon."

Luke nodded and made his way down the tree. You watched him fade away in the distance.

[petalsprompts]

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒; 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆.

change pronouns, tenses and other details as deemed necessary. & please specify muse when sending to a mumu.

Everything  you  see  in  here  is  either  haunted,  cursed,  or  has  been  used  in  some  kind  of  ritualistic  practice.

There  is  something...  horrible  happening  in  my  house.

The  Vatican  approved  the  exorcism.

A  dark  spirit  has  latched  itself  to  you/[your  family]  and  is  feeding  off  you.

What's  the  opposite  of  a  miracle,  Father?

I'm  afraid  there  is  something  very  wrong  with  this  place.

I  can  see  things  that  your  people  can't.

An oppressing spirit will try to force you to commit the ultimate of sins; murder, suicide, or both.

There  is  a  lot  of  evil  in  this  room. 

This one still haunts me.

I’m  so  afraid  this  thing  wants  to  hurt  us. 

There's  a  lady  in  a  dirty  nightgown  that  I  see  in  my  dreams.  She's  standing  in  front  of  my  mom's  bed.

Look  what  she  made  me  do!

Oh,  my  God.  A  Ouija  board?!  Have  you  two  been  playing  with  this?

Well,  ghosts  used  to  be  people.  And  not  all  people  are  bad.  So  maybe  not  all  ghosts  are  bad...?

It  was  the  same  vision  I  had  seven  years  ago.  I  had  a  premonition  of  your  death.

It's standing right behind you.

Whatever  you  do,  don't  stop  praying.

The  court  accepts  the  existence  of  God  every  time  a  witness  swears  to  tell  the  truth.  I  think  it's  about  time  they  accept  the  existence  of  the  Devil.

The  devil  exists.  God  exists.  And  for  us,  as  people,  our  very  destiny  hinges  upon  which  one  we  elect  to  follow.

[Name],  this  is  as  close  to  hell  as  I  ever  want  to  get.

Forgive  me,  Father,  for  I  am  about  to  sin.

Remember  how  I  told  you  that  an  inhuman  spirit  needs  to  be  invited?

There  is  one  spirit  I'm  most  worried  about  because  it  is  so  hateful.

Diabolical  forces  are  formidable.  These  forces  are  eternal,  and  they  exist  today.

It said it wants my family dead.

When  the  music  stops,  you'll  see  him  in  the  mirror  standing  behind  you

It  scares  us  just  thinking  about  it.

Our  presence  here  could  make  things  worse.

Help me!  It  won't  let  me  go!

There  are  things  happening  that  I  can't  explain.

An  inhuman  spirit  is  something  that's  never  walked  the  Earth  in  human  form.  It's something demonic.

No,  I  can't  feel  any  presence...  just  the  opposite.  I'm  not  sensing  anything  at  all. My sight is – blocked.

The  voice  doesn't  come  from  inside  me...  it  comes  from  behind  me,  like  I'm  being  used.

I  don't  know  what's  worse:  the  demons  or  the  people  who  prey  on  our  willingness  to  believe  in  them.

The  demon  in  your  painting  is  real.

It  wants  her.  So  badly,  and  it  almost  has  her.

Everything  they've  experienced  has  been  a  manifestation  of  the  demonic.

It  said  it  would  kill  you  if  I  didn't  make  them  leave.

In  my  vision  he  wanted  to  help  me,  but  he  was  too  afraid... and  he  kept  speaking  in  a  kind  of  riddle.

Knowing  the  demon's  name  gives  us  power  over  it  and  we  can  cast  it  out.

We  have  both  seen  the  same  inhuman  spirit.

I'm  just  so  tired.  I  can't  sleep  here.

Negative  entities  often  feed  off  emotional  distress.  They  like  to  kick  you  when  you're  down.

All  I  can  sense  is  their  own  fear.  I  can't  seem  to  see  beyond  that.

It's  something  inhuman.  Something  that's  taken  a  blasphemous  form  to  attack  my  faith.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Sephiroth isn’t normally one to believe in ghosts. So what happens when he moves into a house that happens to be haunted?

*AGSZ enter Sephiroth's new apartment carrying boxes*

Angeal: I can't believe you got Lazard to agree on letting you switch apartments.

Genesis: He's impossible. The man refuses to approve the modifications I want for my apartment.

Sephiroth: That's because your renovation plans include a giant crystal bathtub, an indoor koi pond, diamond chandeliers, a private theater, and your own butler.

Genesis: I could not be more humble if I tried.

*The sound of ripping velcro makes them look over to see Zack strapping a life vest on himself*

Angeal: What are you wearing??

Zack: It's an anti-ghost protection vest. There's salt, sage and holy water embedded into it. You know, to repel the ghosts.

Sephiroth: What ghosts?

Zack: Lazard told me this apartment is haunted! That's why it's been vacant this whole time.

Genesis: And you believed him? What are you, a child?

Angeal: Zack, ghosts aren't real.

Zack: Yes they are.

Sephiroth: No, they're not.

Zack: They are!

Angeal: They're not!

Zack: Really? Okay! Then how do you explain the fact that my mind is racing a mile a minute and I feel terrible energy surrounding me?

Sephiroth: You have ADHD and you're standing next to Genesis.

Genesis: Rude.

Sephiroth: You can take that off, Zack. I assure you, there aren't any ghosts here.

*Suddenly the lights start flickering on and off*

Zack: AH! WHAT DID I TELL YOU?

Angeal: That's just faulty electricity.

*Sephiroth shivers*

Sephiroth: Is anyone else cold?

Zack: GHOST!

Angeal: LACK OF SHIRT

Sephiroth:

*Suddenly the faucet in the kitchen sink turns on*

Zack: How do you explain that!!??

Sephiroth: I'm sure there's a logical explanation for that. Right, Genesis?

Sephiroth:

Sephiroth: Genesis?

*They look over and Genesis is kneeling on the ground in prayer with his arms in the air*

Genesis: Minerva grant me your strength, shield me from darkness, protect my soul from all evil. SURROUND me with your divine light—

Angeal: OH, GET UP

*Suddenly the TV turns on and a knife flies across the room*

Zack: OKAY! YOU GUYS ARE ON YOUR OWN!

*Zack runs out of the apartment*

Genesis: You know what? I won’t let a paranormal entity intimidate me. I'll drive this creature out of here by my own hand. *He draws his sword* Come at me, you ghostly bastard!

*The table moves on its own towards Genesis*

*Genesis runs out of the apartment at a speed Neither Sephiroth nor Angeal knew he could run*

Angeal: They're being ridiculous, aren't they, Seph?

Sephiroth: They are. It's reassuring to know that at least two of us still possess sound judgment and logic.

*The mirror shatters on its own*

Angeal: IT'S A DEMONIC ENTITY. I'LL GO GET THE SALT AND SAGE. STAY HERE

*Angeal runs out of the apartment and shuts the door behind him*

Sephiroth:

Sephiroth: It's unsettling to realize that I'm the most sane one.

Sephiroth:

Sephiroth, sighing: I don’t understand. Even if a paranormal entity were present, it shouldn't scare us away. We've faced wars and dealt with threats far beyond human comprehension. We're SOLDIER, and more than capable of confronting a demonic entity without fleeing.

*A disembodied Hojo-esque laughter echoes throughout the apartment*

*Sephiroth runs towards the closed door, smashes right through it, and flees*

.

.

.

*Lazard comes out from behind a corner with a remote that was controlling everything*

Lazard: And I'll do it again.

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

A Southern Myth

Summary: Leon had been sent to a rural place in Texas where sightings of a BOW were reported. But upon entering the forgotten town, he began to get entangled in a horrific twist of events involving a religious cult. Things escalate and now he must survive with the help of a girl who doesn’t believe in anything.

Warning: horror. religion. mentions of blood and gore like description. cult activities. violence. swearing. reader is fem. there is no romance/smut.

A/N: omg I’ve never written something like this before🙈 CAPCOM should hire me for script writing.

“You believe you're on the righteous path, you believe you're a force for good, but you're not.” - John Seed, Far Cry 5

“Come forth, my children. Let your souls become pure under His guidance.”

“Let us rejoice in purity as we bathe in this sacrifice. Let us become one for Him, for He has been waiting.”

-

The sound of the dirt rolling under the car’s wheel made the road feel bumpy for Leon. The heat was intense the further he went into the rural side of what was once a town named Giligand in Texas. Once a lively town that had become a ghost town.

Until a group of religious settlers took over the desert land and claimed it their new home. They built their own society, far away from modern civilization. The orange and dried plants surrounding the new town as the wind blew hard. The sun intensified and caused Leon’s sweat to trickle down his body.

Right in the middle of nowhere is where he got sent- yet again. The D.S.O has assigned Leon a more haunting mission. The government division found in Texas’ own legislation had found weird signs of an unknown entity roaming around the dried up land. He found himself standing in front of an agent in Austin telling him about this entity.

“Our homeland security experts have raised a few concerns regarding a secluded town in Western Texas. They believe that this could be related to the virus incident that presided in other countries,” The senior agent stated as he gave Leon a stack of papers containing pictures and files of the sightings.

The abnormality was big and round. But its eyes were the only visible thing in the dark of night. Pure white eyes protruding from the creature’s face, sending a wave of uneasiness to Leon. The monster seemed tall, definitely more than 9 feet tall. Leon couldn’t tell exactly what it was but he guessed there were some sort of horns coming out the creature’s skull.

Leon had finally reached the town, being greeted by a yellowing sign. The sign written in Times New Roman “Welcome to Cunstacin” on the bottom “previously Giligand” and then near the border edge “Pop. 189”

Such a small town for a big state. Leon didn’t think much of it. He wasn’t aware of how much his life would change the minute he passed the sign without seeing those pure white eyes watching him from behind his truck.

The town itself was small but seemed very busy. The roads were flat with gravel. The houses were old and barren but still usable. He wondered how people were able to make a living of such an abandoned place. As he neared a motel, he was met with the leader of the town. A tall man of tan skin, hair long enough to reach his shoulders as his beard grew to his neck.

He approached Leon’s truck and greeted him with a polite smile, “Ah, you must be the new guy they sent here.” Leon nodded as he turned off the engine and jumped out of his car.

The man walked up to Leon and patted his shoulder, “Hope the road wasn’t too tedious. The distance between here and the city is pretty stretchy.” The man chuckled and looked behind him where two young women stood. “Go fetch his luggage and take it to his room. We don’t want to make our esteemed guest work too much now, don’t we?”

The two ladies nodded and walked over to the trunk of Leon’s truck. They both carried the brown and thick luggages to the motel, their silhouettes getting lost in between the halls.

The man then gently forced Leon to walk with him, “I’m sure you’re tired and you might want to get some rest, but there’s an afternoon mass the town wishes for you to attend. The people want to meet the new guy in town,” the man laughed again and gave Leon’s chest a lazy slap.

“I appreciate the offer but I’m here for work- strictly for work,” Leon replied as he looked at the man and then around the area.

The man chuckled and took his hand away from Leon’s shoulder, “No worries- I get it. You’re a busy guy and your work ethic is commendable,” the man leaned towards Leon’s ear to whisper, “But if you find yourself in need of His words, do come to the church behind the Great Willowed Forest.” The man leaned back and gave him another toothy smile, almost unsettling. “Make yourself at home.” That was the last thing the man said before he began to walk away.

Leon exhaled through his nose. He already got the creeps from the background check he ran on the town but meeting the people in person made the whole experience much more precarious.

He began to walk along the town, trying to find any other civilians. He saw an older woman with two children outside a two story building.

“Excuse me,” Leon said as he jogged to the three individuals. One of the children, a little boy with a bowl haircut pointed to Leon and exclaimed, “Look, meemaw- ‘tis the new guy!” The older woman slapped the little boy’s head, “Pointing at strangers is rude.”

Leon cleared his throat, “It’s alright,” he looked down at the kid before looking back at the older woman, “I’ve heard there were some strange… sightings around this town-“

“Ah, yes-“ the woman cut him off, “You’re talking Tervin.” Leon immediately furrowed his brows. They had named the potential B.O.W?

“Tervin?” Leon asked and the woman nodded, “Yes. He was sent by God,” she looked up at the sky and then back at him.

“He was kind enough to send us a messenger. My boy, the end is coming. We must cleanse our souls of our sins in order to enter our Eden.”

Leon immediately felt a weird sense of unease in his lower stomach, the bottom pit sinking down after the woman spoke.

The woman took a step forward and cupped Leon’s face, “He is our savior. He will bring us to an eternal peace. Time is ticking, we must proceed with His plan.”

Leon took a step back, taking deep breaths. What was this feeling? His heart was hammering against his rib cage and he could feel his head become light. Maybe it was heatstroke or maybe it was fear.

The woman stared at Leon, seemingly in a trance. He swore he saw her eye color vanish for a moment, not right before she “came back” and smiled at him. She then took hold of the two children’s hands and walked away. He could only stay there watching as they got further away.

He exhaled shakily as he ran a hand through his hair, this would be harder than he thought.

-

For the next following days, he’s been trying to talk to these people but everyone said remotely the same things.

“Monster? He’s no monster. He’s our salvation.”

“God sent him, it is His gift to us.”

“We must act quickly, the end is nigh”

Leon was currently sitting on the edge of the bed in the room he was currently staying. His elbows rested on his knees as his gaze fell on the picture of the creature he had in his hand. Pure black, except for the eyes. Something felt sinister- almost too evil. But he couldn’t pinpoint what. Everyone looked normal-ish.

He left the motel and began his 15th round of research. He was so sure he’d get kicked out if he kept asking the people questions. His mind traveled back to what the leader said, something about attending mass.

He didn’t want to but he knew that he had to try. Maybe there was something that could be useful in the church.

So that’s where he was headed. To the Great Willowed Forest. A forest full of tall trees and tall grass. The sun was setting and the church came into his line of vision. A tall Victorian structure that was adorned in white and gold. A bell sitting on top of the highest tower peak of the religious establishment. He slowly walked up the freaking and old steps of the church. Muffled talking from just the other of the door. With a light inhale, he pushed the door open with gentleness and stepped into the church.

The inside was much more beautiful. The benches were neatly fixed in rows as the windows were stained glass depicting stories of their God. The church was packed and the leader stood on the podium, preaching about their path to salvation.

“We must obey the Lord’s rule. For we are His children as well as His servants. We must makeup for the loss of His journey.”

Leon found himself an empty seat at the very back. No one seemed to have noticed him enter, they were all focusing on the town’s leader words. Almost as if they were bewitched.

“Tonight, we must bring our sacrifice and cleanse our souls. We must savor the taste of blood as He has given us a vessel from his sacrifices. We must show him our devotion.”

The mass lasted for an hour and a half, and he didn’t find anything remotely useful. He sighed in defeat as he felt like he wasted his time, yet again. There were no signs of any B.O.W and these people were most certainly convinced that the monster was their key to heaven.

It was nighttime when Leon had left the church, walking aimlessly through the forest. His mind preoccupied with thoughts about potentially lying to the D.S.O and telling them it was just some southern myth.

Until he hears clinking sounds coming from behind a bush. His agent instincts activated and he quietly walked towards the bush to see what was behind it.

To his surprise, he’d found another person. A girl working on a garden. She had been couched down on the floor as her hands worked through the soil.

As he walked towards you, his boots crunched against the twigs lost in the grass. Your attention had been drawn to the sound and you quickly spotted the new man in town.

You furrowed your brows as he approached you, “You’re the new guy everyone’s talking about.”

Leon nodded curtly, “The one and only,” you hummed in response and resumed your duties.

“Can I ask-“

“No.”

He was caught off guard by your immediate answer. You didn’t even look back at him. He could only stare at the back of your head as your hands worked through the soil.

“You didn’t even listen to what I had to say,” he approached you and crouched next to you, glancing at the plants you’ve been planting.

“I don’t need to. You’re asking questions about this stupid and fake thing everyone claims to be salvation or some other bullshit,” you grumbled.

“Not necessarily-“ he sighed and looked at your side profile, “I’m not here for that-“

“What do you want me to tell you? That there’s some sort of monster roaming around the forest?” You turned your head to look at him, “Because I won’t. I haven’t seen anything and I do not believe it even exists. Those lunatics are hell bent on their stupid… belief,” you scoffed as you turned your attention back to your plants.

“Bunch of bullshit if you ask me,” you muttered. He looked at you some more before looking back down at your hands covered in dirt.

“So you aren’t with those people?” Leon raised a brow as he analyzed you. You shook your head no, “Hell no. You don’t know what they do to those who don’t believe in their God… you don’t know anything.”

Leon remained silent as your words settled down in his mind. There was more than what you led on and both of you knew this.

“Then tell me,” he replied quietly. You sighed and looked at him with an annoyed expression, “Doesn’t matter. Just go back to your shit and mind your business.”

He didn’t say anything, he just watched you for a few minutes before he stood up and left.

He went back to his motel room and laid down on the bed. Staring up at ceiling as he thought about the events that took place. He still couldn’t shake off the strange feeling he felt about this town. Something felt odd but he just didn’t know what. He sighed and decided to just sleep for the night.

-

Leon woke up early in the morning and tried to find the leader of the town. Surprisingly, he was at the church. He was sitting down on a bench, silently praying. Leon walked up to him and sat next to him as he waited for him to finish praying.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t our visitor. To what do I owe the pleasure?” The man said as he noticed Leon’s presence next to him. Leon cleared his throat and pulled out a picture of ‘Tervin’

“I need you to tell me about this. What do you know?” Leon’s brows were furrowed, he was serious. He didn’t come around to play. The man took the picture and stared at it. Something in his aura had changed upon seeing that picture.

“Where did you get this?” The man asked as he looked at Leon with an unreadable expression. Leon shrugged, “I can’t say.” The man hummed and looked back at the altar in front of them.

“Tervin is a gift from God. He was sent as a warning of impending doom,” the man replied in a flat voice. “If he isn’t satisfied, then he seeks blood. We must cleanse this town of impurities and relay a message to God that we are worthy of his Eden paradise.”

Something in that caused a shiver to run down Leon’s spine, but he didn’t show it. He remained serious and calm. Leon nodded once and stood up, feeling like no one will actually tell him anything.

“Thanks,” he muttered before he left the church. When he walked out, he nearly crashed into you.

“Watch it,” you hissed at him. He looked down at you with a raised brow, “I’m pretty sure you meant ‘excuse me’” he crossed his arms over his chest and kept blocking the doorway.

You sighed and looked at him unimpressed, “Excuse me.” Leon rolled his eyes and stepped to the side. As you began to walk past him, you noticed the picture in his hands. Your brows pinched together and you quickly pointed to it, “what’s that?”

Leon looked down at the picture and then back at you, “I’m supposed to investigate this… thing.” He watched you closely, trying to gauge your reaction as you stood there silently thinking.

“You’ll get yourself in trouble if you keep putting your nose where it doesn’t belong,” you warned before stepping inside the church. He saw you walk up to the leader. He exhaled and walked back to the town. When will someone actually help him?

-

It was somewhere past 11 pm, he was staring at the files he had about this town and his objective. It was impossible to think how he didn’t have any leads. It was the Leon S Kennedy! He always saw that the job got done, always.

He groaned defeatedly and began to walk around the town, he doesn’t even know how many times he’s done that.

The town was awfully quiet. There was a fog occupying most of his vision, making the place look eerie and unsettling. He heard the rustling of the trees and grasses but he paid no mind to that. Not right now, at least.

He saw you sitting on a fountain, staring at your reflection deep in thought. Why were you the only one out here. He walked over to you and spoke in a soft voice, “What are you doing out here?”

You looked over at him and then back at the water, “Could ask you the same.”

Leon sighed and scratched his head, “I just- I wanted to ask questions but seems like everyone just… disappeared.”

You hummed in response as your fingers played with the water, “They didn’t. They’re at the church praying or something.”

His ears perked up, praying at this time? He didn’t want to question it but it still lingered in his mind.

After a few moments of silence, he couldn’t help but ask, “You said you didn’t believe in God, why is that?” He asked in a quiet voice.

You looked at him before motioning for him to follow you, “It’s better if I just showed you.”

You led him through the dark forest, twigs snapping under your shoes and wind howling soft whispers as the moonlight glimmered down you two.

“This town ostracizes those who don’t believe in God. Do you know what happens to nonbelievers?” You looked behind your shoulder to glance at Leon for a brief moment.

“No, I don’t but do tell,” he followed behind you as his eyes scanned the forest for any threats.

You sighed and stopped walking once you’ve reached an abandoned cemetery, you walked up to one of the gravestones and stared down at the name, “Jeffrey Clyle. 1987-2024.”

“Sacrifice,” you whispered. Leon heard you and walked up next to you, your eyes distant and your expression solemn.

“Ever since rumors of the “messenger” started, they’ve been capturing and targeting those whose faith has been faltering…” your gaze remained down at the gravestone and Leon remained silent as he let you talk.

“They’ve been doing human sacrifices in the name of God. They believe that God would forgive them if they kill those who oppose him…” your voice trailed off for a moment before you turned your face to look at him, “It’s evil. Punishing people for not believing in something is inhumane. They’re all slaves to their own fucking religion, that God is not kind and I will never believe in it.”

“Then what are you still doing here?” Leon asked as he stared into your eyes, searching for an answer.

“Because my father is the fucking leader of this whole thing. I can’t just leave,” you mumbled and looked away. “I already get judged for not believing- imagine what would happen to me if I left?”

He remained silent once again. Your father was the preacher and the leader of the town? That makes things even more interesting. Leon never pictured himself to be in this kind of situation- not since Spain, at least. It all seemed the same to him. Religion controlling people, is that all it will ever be?

Then he remembered something from mass he attended,

“Tonight, we must bring our sacrifice and cleanse our souls. We must savor the taste of blood as He has given us a vessel from his sacrifices. We must show him our devotion.”

Leon’s eyes widened as he began to finally realize what might happen. He looked down at you, “You mean to tell me… that your father participates in human sacrifices? Why?” His eyes were narrowed as his breathing became faster.

You looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Because his idiotic self thinks that sacrificing people will help him and his goons reach their heaven.”

Innocent lives were being used for this town’s religion. This didn’t sit right with Leon. He quickly ran out of the cemetery- his heartbeat speeding as his legs carried his body towards the church.

Under the embrace of the moon and the night, a gathering assembled at the edge of the churchyard, shrouded by the shadows cast by the townspeople. Their faces unrecognizable under the dark night, their chants in hushed tones as they circled around a sacrifice.

Bound by chains, a person writhed in resistance, their muffled cries stifled by a potato sack over their head. Leon stood behind a tree as you came behind him to look at the scene unfold in front of your eyes.

The leader of the town emerged, wielding a sacrificial blade gleaming under the moonlight. Each stroke of the blade sent shivers down your’s and Leon’s spine, as the victim's anguished pleas echoed through the night, a haunting presence appeared through the tethered night.

“We give this sacrifice to you, our Lord. Let us repent for our sins and wash ourselves with the blood of those who’ve been cleansed.”

The creature- otherwise known as the B.O.W- emerged from behind the forest and entered the churchyard. Its stature was 11 feet, towering over everyone. Its black glistening skin reflected the moonlight as its pearly white eyes penetrated the group of believers. Its horns swirled upwards, reaching up to the sky. The townspeople all bowed to the creature as they chanted its name, “All hail Tervin.”

Leon’s eyes widened as he saw the B.O.W while your eyes widened at the fact that this “messenger” was indeed real. Leon took out his gun and aimed it at the B.O.W. You quickly pulled his arm down and whispered in a harsh tone, “Are you stupid? That thing could be dangerous.”

Leon narrowed his eyes at you, “I’ve fought those things before, I know what I’m doing.” He shook your hands away from his arm and aimed the gun back at the beast.

The beast approached the human sacrifice and with its claws, it picked up. Almost instantly crushing the human, letting the blood fall down like rain on the townspeople.

“Thank you, Lord, for this blessing”

The B.O.W then ate the human sacrifice after the townspeople showered in their blood. A scene so horrific and disturbing, it twisted your stomach upside down. The creeping sensation of the fact that it could’ve been you in that situation only made it worse.

To feel your rib cage cave in, piercing your lungs and heart as blood trickles down your mouth. Its claws clawing into your body, letting the blood flow like water.

It only made you shiver and writhe in disgust.

Leon then began to shoot at the B.O.W with his gun, drawing the attention of the townspeople. One bullet shot the creature’s eye, causing it to stagger backwards in pain. The group of believers all turned to look at you and Leon.

Their faces unrecognizable- their faces foreign as the creases and eyes all felt like distinct people. The group slowly began to walk towards you two as the monster howled in anger.

“God, forgive those sinners. They haven’t sought your guidance. Let us illuminate their path,”

The leader spoke as they approached you and Leon. Anxiety coursed through your body as you saw the B.O.W swing its claws at the group of believers. People flying left and right. The leader turned around and observed in delight.

“Yes, God, yes! We shall sacrifice ourselves for Eden.”

The whole group then began to chant, “For Eden. For Tervin.”

The B.O.W only had one goal in mind- and it was to kill the person who injured it. As Tervin kept walking towards you and Leon, Leon took hold of your wrist and began to ran. He dragged you through the forest back to the motel he was staying in.

He looked the door to his room and turned to look at you, “What the fuck was that!?” Leon was stressing, all these emotions resurfaced and he felt overwhelmed. Why was this happening, how was this happening?

“I told you, they’re fucking evil when it comes to their God,” you replied harshly.

“Yeah I wasn’t exactly expecting your father to be the leader of a cult with that thing as its dog!,” Leon replied as his hands traveled through his face and hair.

You scoffed and crossed your arms over you chest but just as you were to speak, the ground shook. Heavy footsteps were heard and Leon rushed to the window. He peeked through the blinds and saw the group of believers walking over to the motel with Tervin in following them. They kept chanting as they kept walking.

“We need to get out of here now-“ you said as you began to hurry out the door. Leon, however, stopped you.

“I can’t just leave, I have a mission to do and it requires me to kill that thing. I cannot go home until it’s dead,” he said as he stared at you with a resolved expression.

You could only stare at him in silence for a few moments before sighing defeatedly, “Fine, do whatever you want.”

“Stay here,” he instructed as he took his gun and walked out, leaving you alone in his motel room.

In the flickering glow of the moonlight, amidst the eerie chants of the cultists, Leon stood there, gun in hand as he scanned the group. He needed to be smart. They had a B.O.W to their advantage.

As the first cultist lunged forward, knife in hand, Leon countered with swift precision, deflecting the blade with a punch to the gut. His movements were a blur of calculated strikes and evasions. As he killed and wounded the cultists, they grew more frenzied, their chants escalating into desperate cries of fury. Yet, undeterred, Leon continued fighting.

“We must bring him to God!” They chanted as they kept lunging at Leon.

Amidst the chaos, the B.O.W stepped forward, its twisted features contorted with rage as it charged at Leon. With the gun pointed at the beast, he shot bullet after bullet, causing it to slow its movements.

“God, please forgive our brother for he has sinned. We must cleanse him.”

Leon ran out of bullets and just as the B.O.W was about to strike, he saw you throw a pitchfork at it. The blades piercing the creature’s skin, stabbing it right in the chest.

The B.O.W let out a screeching scream, “No! Our messenger!” The leader spoke in anguish as he watched the creature stumble back, falling to the ground with a thud. Leon reloaded his gun and began to shoot again, this time aiming for the head.

As Leon became busy, your father glared at you and it was like something turned in him, “You bitch. I’ve had just about it with you. You will submit to your God and you will repent!”

You’ve never heard him speak to you this way, so much malice in his voice that you didn’t recognize the man that used to be your father.

He lunged at you, his hands trying to reach for your neck to strangle you. You took a nearby torch and set his clothes on fire. He stood back and tried to set the fire off of himself- to which he fails. He screams and cries in pain as he began to get engulfed in the flames of his sins.

“Forgive me, my children!”

You finally understood everything. There was no God because your father believed he was that God. The flames burned up in hues of blue and orange right before the sparks flew into the night sky.

His skin melted, his eyes became a blobby mess and he fell to the ground. His screech becoming more faint as the life in being burnt away from his body. The flames expanding over the dried wheat of the town, engulfing the town in a pit of fire.

Leon had been too busy to even notice that you killed your father. He’s been shooting the B.O.W, making sure to blow its head off once and for all.

After two rounds of reloading, he finally was able to kill that damn thing. Watching it fall to the ground, sending harsh vibrations to the floor as silence overtook the ghostly town.

Heavy panting overtook the two of you as the silence grew deafening. You turned to look at Leon as he stared at the B.O.W all lifeless. You looked around and saw the bloodbath. Everyone was dead.

Pools of blood stained the gravel he once stepped, the lifeless bodies of the townspeople growing cold. The flames being the only source of light under the dark night.

Leon turned to look at you for a brief moment before looking up at sky as he tried to take deep breaths. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He couldn’t believe what he was brought into. But he was glad it was over. For now at least.

Leon packed his things and went over to his truck, he looked at you, “Aren’t you coming?”

You looked at him and then back at the town- or what remained of the town. You nodded and walked over to his truck.

Both of you driving down the lane of the rose, exiting the town. Passing by a sign that read, “Please visit soon!”

Unaware of the presence with the white eyes watching you two leave the town.

[theepitomeofamess]

ok ok it's theory time bc i'm rewatching mismag 1 as a coping mechanism so potential spoilers ahoy & forgive me if it's rambly i've also had a sedative

the serpent in the storm. the one without a name and only shown as an illumination in the Tome of Nimble Working. is that what was possessing evan? like is it the amalgamation of the "demons" that were haunting him, or even just The Main Guy? i'm not sure if this creature has anything to do with the breaking of magic, I just started thinking about this today at work, but hear me out.

in Class Conflict, the manifestation of the thing haunting Evan when it emerged to protect him was the blood cobra, and the barb that Tallulah hit Evan with after potions class was that all she heard was "hissing noises." so we know that snakes are something evil & monstrous in wizard culture (as much as they were in HP) but not because they're the mascot of the "evil house" Aqarbus. so where did the serpent symbolism come from?

later, in Family on Six when Evan makes the agreement to lean on the demons to save K, the "permanent change" that Brennan describes is that out of the shadow across evan's face "just goes black and is leaking black oil and water." aabira's description of the illumination of this creature was "a mix between a snake and an oil-soaked bird of prey." oil-soaked.

this is kinda what got me thinking in the first place, because what are the things you think of when you think of Evan Kelmp? Bird Facts and Gas Station Parking Lots. this absolutely feels like something Aabria would pull to make Brennan eat the lore he created.

it's also the type of shit she would do because of K's attempts to find any sort of books about what these "demons" might be during the exorcism, only to be met with "you think you're going to find me in a book?" maybe not named. not studied. no anatomical drawings or any sort of understanding as to what it is. but yeah. they'll find it in a book.

i do think that maybe this bird snake entity has been tied to Evan since before his birth---aabria's description in the latest S2 ep: "you feel yourself and the inside of you is empty, and something that was always meant to be poured in is beginning to pour itself back in" tells me that Evan was born to be a vessel for something. now, the demons at the exorcism said that Evan was promised to them. promised by whom? promised by what? maybe by the thing that knew it was going to be held within Evan, and knew that if he were to grow up with a dark enough childhood, if he were to be haunted enough, he might become the Dark One.

now, we don't really know the mythology of the Dark One. we don't know what sort of prophecy was told about it. going off of the general trope of the thing, we've gotta assume that it's something along the lines of "this person will unleash a great terror/darkness/evil upon the world." this likely was supposed to happen as a result of evan's torment like a psychotic break, or maybe as a defense mechanism in a life-or-death situation. either way, this creature and the magic that it represents would have wanted to be released, maybe still using Evan as a vessel and working through him to maintain its unknown, mythological status. this thing isn't Tad, it can't and won't be lulled to sleep.

could this creature have been accidentally released as a result of sam's exorcism? probably, it had to have been a thing or else it wouldn't be on the orery.(besides, this ancient monstrosity would never have anticipated Sam Black). could it be that it was released after K killed Evan? possibly, idk how often gm's rearrange lore behind the scenes to better fit what's happened in the story they're playing through.

whatever the case, I do think that it's not insignificant that Evan only started getting inklings of this sort of repossession leaking in after the events on Seeganpelater. the place where he saw the creature through the serpent's watch (a scene that in illustration implies that, maybe, the serpent could see them, too). the place where he snapped his wand. the place where he killed Boudicca. where we saw him be a magic murderer, where we saw him truly tap into the darkness he's been assigned his whole life. somewhere on cannibal Island, there was a moment of reconnection, and it helps that the very next places they went to were the islands that 1) stressed Evan out beyond belief, and 2) worked with amplification. it was able to strengthen its bond either the minute they landed, or as soon as Evan leaned into his strengths to scratch the tree with his shadow.

maybe this creature is what broke the well of magic. maybe it created the storm and destroyed Gowpenny. maybe this is a version of the Dark One prophecy coming true, breaking the rules of magic to the point that the entire system is broken and the world can never be what it used to. maybe it's not involved in anything and is just reveling in the chaos. I don't know. maybe all of these are coincidences between seasons. fun to think about, though!

[gurugirl]

The Séance Experience

ghost!harry | ghost!reader | horror | dark

Summary: A pair of spiritual mediums decide to host an underground seance on Halloween morning at the old abandoned Styles’ house, well know for being haunted. Things go awry. Not everyone escapes.

A/n: I'll have warnings listed below but just know this isn't for everyone! Read at your own discretion! This is dark and horror based. If you'd like some background on the story read the original one shot - On Halloween Morning but this can be read as a standalone.

Word Count: 9224

Warning: 18+ only, smut, dubcon, death, violence, murder, ghosts, evil spirits, use of Ouija board, horror, dark content

Cooper had been planning this for nearly a year. It had meant a lot to her. It wasn’t just a gimmick to make a quick buck and trick gullible souls like one would think. No, she was a real spiritual medium. Sensitive to energy from the presence of the dead among the living, as well as entities of the evil kind. And every time she passed the old Styles house she felt it call to her. It truly was a cursed graveyard, now home to dead souls and dark spirits alike.

Almost everyone had heard of what happened in that house on Halloween morning in 1968. An entire family was slaughtered. At first, the police didn’t know who did it but eventually determined it was the 20-year-old son, Harry Styles, who had killed himself after killing his entire family in their beds.

But it didn’t end there. Over the years people would sneak into the house and many would never be heard from again. And there was never any evidence of anyone being in the house. A missing person without a body is hard to investigate. Police had gone in numerous times to check out calls when neighbors heard screams or family members were concerned when a loved one never returned. Nothing was ever found except usually a few loose boards and pried-open windows or doors but they always chalked that up to squatters coming and going or the occasional thrill seeker.

All those missing people who’d gone in and never come back out led Cooper to believe the house was inhabited by a dark force. Not just ghosts of the dead. It could be common for a home to turn into a cemetery of sorts when people had died on the premises. But it wasn’t common for a home to harbor the darkness of evil and to lure and then collect the souls of the living.

But she still needed to go in there and make contact somehow. There was an intense pull. Something drew her in, called to her, and it only got stronger as time went on. She became obsessed with the house. Read every news article she could find, all the missing people connected to Styles house, police reports, and supposed first-hand accounts of those who had escaped (she knew to take most of those stories with a grain of salt).

She found out as much as she could about the original family members, especially Harry Styles, who she was sure was the cause of all the chaos that had surrounded the house for over half a century. Even in death, he was something to be reckoned with. There was some talk, accounts of old friends of the Styles boy before his violent passing, that he was evil. That he had a violent temper, and that he was into the worship of a malevolent spirit called Angra.

Then, after learning all she could, she put out a small ad in the paper, just to get some interest from other psychics and seers like herself. Anyone who would take seriously the idea that the Styles house was haunted and in need of someone to go in and communicate to the dead or to whatever kind of spirit it was that held domain over the premises. Perhaps they could do some good.

A few calls and texts came in. Most of them were just curious and nosy. Finally, one was like her. A spiritual empath and guide. He was interested in joining her in reaching out to the home and the spirits within. But he also had contacts with others who would consider themselves psychic or clairvoyant. He was in the business of healing and reading for a living. Cooper was hesitant at first but the least she could do was meet up with the man and get a feel for him in person.

When Bran arrived (she imagined Bran was short for Brandon but never bothered to ask) and sat down across from her at the diner off Spring Street in Chinatown, she looked up from her phone and smiled at the man, “Hi. Thank you for coming,” she reached her hand out to shake his and immediately she felt it. He was deeply intuitive and came with a wealth of psychic energy. But she still needed to be sure of his intentions because she was picking up something a little off with him.

They discussed the things they’d seen and felt over the years and shared stories amongst themselves that most would scoff at. Bran told her about his small business. He knew a lot of people who would be interested in doing a séance at the old Styles house.

“I need them to all be sensitive to what could happen. To be aware. I don’t want just anyone coming. I don’t want this to be a free-for-all and have disrespectful people who just want to have a thrill for fun. It needs to be people vetted and serious.”

Bran nodded with a somber expression on his face, “Of course. I can get the word out to the right people and to my group of contacts. I can already think of a handful who would be interested in joining and would take this very seriously.”

She nodded, “That’s great. Because the more of us the better. This house is seriously dangerous. That’s another thing I want everyone to know. That people who visit the house don’t always come out.”   

He took a bite of his tuna fish sandwich, “Well I don’t want to scare anyone off but I’ll tell them if you think it's necessary.”

Bran was a tall ghostly pale man. His eyes were sunken and dark, his nose long and pointy and his skin was smooth and free of any inkling that he could grow facial hair. In all honesty, he looked underfed. He was only a few years older than Cooper herself yet despite his smooth skin, he appeared to be 20 years her senior. He wore a brown corduroy, long-sleeved button-down shirt with loose-fitting, navy-blue athletic pants that dragged the ground. And Birkenstocks. He was balding at the front and his hair was already going white.

She reached out to some others, in hopes that she’d find someone she could truly trust. There was just something about Bran that didn’t sit right with her. She knew to listen to her intuition. She knew not to ignore the little warnings going off in her head, but there weren’t that many people like her. And even if he was a bit sketchy, he was truly like her and she knew it deep down.

So, the séance would move forward with Bran and whoever he could find along the way. She would keep her eye on him and make sure he stayed in line, but he was her best option, unfortunately.

She did not have a good feeling about what was to come.

30 minutes before Halloween

Harry and Y/n were preparing for their yearly Halloween ritual when they were disturbed by boards being ripped from the back door of their house, “They’re early.” Harry said.

“Well, early is good, right?”

“We can just have some fun. Fuck with ‘em a bit,” Harry grinned and thread his fingers into hers.

“But we can keep them, though?”

“Of course my love.”

Often when humans came into their home, Harry and Y/n’s favorite game was to lure the unsuspecting souls toward them with the delicious sound of sex. Make them think they’d caught someone fucking when in reality, they’d just fallen into their trap.            

Peeping Toms would peek into the bedroom door and see two lovely beings going at it, bed rocking, skin slapping, moaning… the whole nine.

Sometimes Y/n would seduce whoever it was, or maybe Harry would do the seducing, depending on the preference of their new victim. And people were dumb. They had no idea that they were being groped and kissed and fucked by a ghost. Worse than a ghost. Something dark and sinister. Something that was about to claim their soul and their life.

“Fuck, Harry…” Y/n was on top this time. Rolling her hips over him, one hand pressed into his chest, her other yanking at his long hair to keep his head down. He kept trying to flip her over but Y/n wanted the top this time.

“There we go… Good boy… just stay down. Let me ride you,” she moaned and worked her wet pussy back and forth.

“What’s that sound?”

“Fuck. I don’t know.”

Rick and Jacob began to unload their suitcases to start setting up for the séance. Just a few things were really needed. Signage was taped to the side of the house so the rest of the group knew where to enter. A table was set up outside the door (after the boards were pried off and the doorknob smashed in with a hammer). Candles would light the pathway to the basement, which is where their friend Bran told them they’d be holding the séance.

“There it is again. Hold on…” Jacob held a hand up as he stood from his position over his suitcase.

“Shit. This isn’t good. I’m getting a vibe man…” Rick whispered.

Both men stood silently and listened to what sounded like…

“Someone’s having sex?”

“Holy shit… I don’t think it’s human because I’m picking something up, but shit…”

“It’s a trap.”

The rhythmic clank of the bed and Y/n’s moans of pleasure grew louder. And both men knew it was a trap. Knew it was dangerous to go further but it was like they were in a trance. Without another word, the pair began to follow the sound up the hallway until they could hear the mattress bouncing.

And as expected, the door was pushed open just enough so both men could take a peek inside and feast their eyes on what was happening before them.

“You’re gonna regret this,” Harry smacked her bottom but it only made Y/n laugh as she ground over him harder.

“I never regret fucking your brains out, Harry,” her tits swayed as if made of real, warm human flesh.

Harry lifted his thigh and put his feet flat onto the mattress in another attempt to roll them over so he could get on top but before he got any momentum the two onlookers watched as the female slapped the face of the man under her.

She took her hand out of his hair and wrapped her palm around the front of his neck, pushing him down further, “Fucking said stay still.”

Harry loved it. Loved having someone to play with. He’d really gotten the answer to his prayer to Angra with her when she was led to him the year prior. From the beginning she was perfect. A little more spicy than he imagined but he liked her this way. She was always mad at him, which led to lots of fighting but then of course lots of sex as well. He never adored anyone when he was among the living. But Y/n? He adored. She was his gift. His eternal mate. They were bonded and even when she was smacking him around he couldn’t get enough.

Y/n squeezed tighter around his neck and Harry grinned at her, his eyes going wide at the sensation. He would have spoken back but he was busy feeling the euphoria he only got from his mate.

Rick nudged Jacob and jerked his head in a motion for them to leave but Jacob put his finger up and continued looking in.

“Like what you see?” Y/n sang out as she raised her hips just enough so the men could have a nice view of her pussy riding up and down Harry’s big, evil cock. She turned back to look at the door and made eye contact with both of them as she kept rocking over Harry and held him down with her hand on his throat.

“Fuck! Shit!” Both Jacob and Rick stood to run but before they could even make it to the kitchen Y/n was standing before them naked, holding her hands out, “Where are you going? I can’t believe you just left in the middle of the show we were putting on for you two. You didn’t like it?”

“I think these two have a special gift. That’s why they didn’t just come in and join us,” Harry spoke behind the pair causing them to startle and turn to see Harry right behind them. Also naked.

“You know? You’re right. That explains it doesn’t it?” She stepped in toward Jacob who looked like he was about to piss his pants. She drew her long finger over his collarbone and walked around his frame slowly. Inspecting. “You’re special aren’t you?”

She looked up at Jacob as she stood back in front of him.

He shook his head and looked at Rick, who was in the same state as Jacob.

Y/n’s finger pressed into Jacob’s chin and she pushed his head back so he was facing her, “Keep your eyes on me. Don’t you like this? Look…” she gestured with her free hand along her body. “You don’t want any?”

Jacob quickly shook his head again and Harry leaned in to speak to the man who’d just rejected his mate, “I’d say yes if I were you. Because this will be the last time you ever get to touch her in this way again. And you’re going to want to touch her once you belong to the house, belong to us. So yes is the answer. Not no.”

Harry stood up and placed his hands at Rick’s shoulders and squeezed, giving him a bit of a neck massage, “And you. You can have me. I can just feel the gay energy rising off your prick right now,” Harry whispered into Rick’s ear. He was trembling. Absolutely terrified. Both men were.

“See? This is all just about a proper introduction and welcome to our home. Come…” Y/n grabbed Jacob's hand and led him toward the bedroom where she and Harry had just been.

“I really like a man who lets me do all the work. Just lie there and enjoy. Okay?” She pointed at the bed but Jacob didn’t move. All of his senses were firing off. Run, hide, fight, give in… This was unlike anything he’d ever experienced and he’d considered himself someone very sensitive to spirits. But these two. They were different. He could feel the power coming from the male and the female ghost. He knew he was no match. In fact, he was sure none of the others, who would be joining him and Rick in the next twenty minutes or so, were also no match.

“What are you?” He finally found his voice.

“I’m Y/n. This house is our domain. We feed it and we take care of it. We’ll all get to know one another a little better once everything is said and done. Then you’ll understand more.”

She didn’t want to waste any more time as she saw Harry behind her with his prey. Harry was already sucking at the man’s neck, making his move.

“Come sit with me… what’s your name?”

She took his hand and led him to the bed, “Uh… Jacob.”

“Jacob,” she spoke his name like she was already having sex with him, “A nice Christian name. I hope you know God can’t save you here. You’re mine. So you might as well enjoy this.”

Harry kept his eyes on Y/n and Jacob as he cupped Rick’s crotch, “Oh? Does being scared turn you on?”

It did in fact. Rick’s connection to the dead was more than just a spiritual guiding. It was physical. He got turned on anytime he used his gifts to contact the unliving.

Y/n had slid her hand up Jacob’s thigh and made sure he kept his eyes on hers, “Just keep looking at me. You’re doing so good for me.”

Jacob’s chest began to rise and fall heavily as the hot naked woman got nearer and nearer to his crotch. He tried not to let the way she looked human and so supple get to him. It was a façade. Yet her breasts were soft and round, her nipples hard, and her tummy looked like he could nuzzle into it. Her thighs and legs were long and silky. She was breathtaking. She looked more like an angel than the evil thing she really was which had him confused.

“It’s okay to be confused, Jacob. Just let me take care of you. Let me show you why you came here tonight. The real purpose of your life. It’s all led up to this very moment. You and me, Jacob.”

His gaze dropped to her plush lips and that was her cue, “Do you want to try a kiss? See how real and warm and wet it is?”

She licked her lips as his eyes plunged to her mouth and then her pretty tits. But before he could nod she already had her mouth covering his. And that’s all it took for Jacob to surrender. She tasted real. She felt real. He put her hands up to her breasts and gently squeezed as she laughed into his mouth, “That’s right. Feel me. Enjoy me.”

Harry moaned as he pressed Rick’s lips down over his cock. Rick was much easier to convince. All it took was Harry’s dirty words in his ear and his lips on his neck and he was a goner. Rick had been turned on before he’d even stepped foot into the house.

He had one hand at the footboard keeping himself steady as he used his free hand to guide Rick over his cock. But he kept his eyes on Y/n as she kissed the other man and he groped her luscious tits. Harry tended to get jealous a bit. Sometimes more than others but he never enjoyed being a cuck. Because Y/n was his. But he could admit, it was awfully fun playing with their captives.

She backed away from the kiss and grinned, “See? So nice,” she thumbed at his bottom lip and then pulled at it, “I know it feels real. And it is real in a way. I’ll feel just like a human and for me, I’ll get pleasure if you’re good. I know you’re thinking a ghost won’t feel this since we’re technically, dead,” she laughed, “But I always feel it. Harry and I fuck every day and it’s just as good as when I was alive.”

Jacob didn’t move an inch, “Don’t you want to make a woman feel good, Jacob?” Harry grunted, “She’s offering you something special and you’re just sitting there like a dope.”

 Y/n shushed Harry, “He’s just nervous my love. Either way, we’ll get him naked,” she turned to look at Jacob, “I want you to take all your clothes for me. Can you do that for me, Jacob?”

The man nodded and with shaky hands began to take his clothes off.

Y/n smirked at Harry who had his mouth dropped open. Rick was pretty good with his mouth, he had to be honest, “Don’t forget the balls there Ricky poo,” Harry pulled Rick by the back of his hair to drag him off his dick before pushing his head lower to which the man quickly began to kiss and lick.

Jacob pulled his shoes off and then his pants down his legs before looking at Y/n.

“Take your underwear off. Can’t very well fuck you if you keep yourself tucked away,” she pointed at his black briefs.

Jacob looked toward Rick and Harry and then to Y/n, “I’d… uh… like some privacy maybe. Feels weird having them in here with us.”

Harry pushed Rick’s forehead, causing him to fall back onto the floor with a thud, “You want privacy with my girl? I should rip your throat out for even thinking you’d be allowed that kind of indulgence.” Harry rounded the bed and walked up behind Y/n, putting his lips on her neck with his eyes on the intruder. “No. You get no privacy in this house. Everything that happens here happens under my watch,” he spoke as he dotted kisses along her skin and up to her jaw.

Y/n laughed and turned in Harry’s arms, “He doesn’t know any better, Harry. Just… go back to your toy and I’ll go back to mine. Ignore the ignorant comment he made,” she stroked her nails down his chest. But she knew the look in Harry’s eyes. He wasn’t going to let this go that easily. He was in a mood, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Because soon, it would be Halloween morning and they’d be quite busy.

Harry walked away from Y/n, back to where Rick was still on his knees on the floor. He dragged Rick up to stand, “Remove your clothes as well. Let’s see what we’re working with.”

With both men naked and looking as if they were about to be devoured by a bear, Y/n hummed and circled around Jacob, “Lie on the bed for me. You’re free to jack off if you want. I’d actually prefer it if you did,” she gestured toward to the bed and the man hesitantly climbed up and laid himself flat as he was told. “See, I need you to stay hard for me, and sometimes when a man gets really scared he can tend to go limp. So I just need you to let go of all your thoughts and stroke your cock and just be in the moment with me. Can you do that, Jacob?”

He swallowed loudly and blinked his eyes as he kept them on Y/n who knelt next to him on the bed, waiting for him to answer, “I… I don’t know…”

She ran her cool hand up his sinewy thigh and brushed her fingers over his cock, “I know you can do it. You’re halfway there. Just submit to me, Jacob. Do as I say and this will be a lot less painful for you. In fact, you might even enjoy it if you let all those rational thoughts in your head disappear into nothingness. I need you as dumb for me as possible. Let me do all the thinking.” She squeezed his cock before straddling his thighs and grabbed his hand, pulling it down to his prick, “Here you are. Here’s your penis. Keep it in your hand and jerk yourself slowly. I know it’s a hard task but I believe in you, Jacob,” she spoke darkly. The insult was missed by no one in the room.

Harry had Rick bent over the footboard, his ass bare and open for him as he kept his eyes on his mate while she sat over Jacob’s face and placed her hands on his chest. She kept her own eyes on Harry’s as she began to rub her pussy over the stranger.

“Not bad…” she laughed, “But I want more tongue.”

Harry groaned as he pushed himself into Rick. The man cried out in pain at the sudden intrusion. And Harry had gone in dry so it was quite unpleasant. But Harry didn’t care about Rick’s pleasure. He was too busy watching Y/n. He didn’t like it when she enjoyed herself too much with anyone but him.

“No. No, no, no, Jacob. No good. You’re really not good at this are you?” She lifted herself and peered down at the man. “I feel bad for all the girls you attempted this with. Let’s try something else.” She climbed off of him and stood next to the bed pointing at Harry, “Can you be done with him already? I need your assistance over here.”

Harry grinned as he rammed himself into Rick one more time, causing a howl to fall from the man’s chest and he gripped the footboard with white knuckles.

“Ricky poo, it was a pleasure. Truly. It’s time for you to meet the rest of the house, now,” he spoke darkly to the man as he brought his slender fingers up to Rick’s neck and began to squeeze. Rick’s face grew red as he began to shake and struggle to get free from Harry’s grasp. But Harry had him pinned and he was far stronger than Rick.

Jacob lifted his head to watch in horror as the evil spirit began to choke his friend but Y/n sat on his chest and blocked his view, “Best not to look, Jacob. Focus on me and keep stroking your cock. I see you’ve been slacking off a little.”

Rick’s face turned from bright red to purple as the air was blocked from his lungs. Harry tightened his grip even more until the man was slumped and his neck was crushed.

Harry grunted as he dropped the man to the floor and then looked to Y/n, “Done.”

She gestured with her finger, a come hither motion as she opened her legs up, still sitting on Jacob’s chest, her back to his face, “Let’s show poor Jacob how it’s done,” she spoke teasingly.

Y/n climbed off Jacob’s chest and turned to look at the sad man, “Sit up, back against the wood. I want you to watch this. And even though you’ll never be able to use these newly learned techniques I think it’ll be enlightening for you nonetheless.”

Harry grasped Y/n’s hips as he dropped to his knees and pulled her to the edge of the bed so her ass was hanging off, “Got a good view, Jacob?” He eyed the man teasingly before dipping into lick over her cunt and moaning at the taste.

Y/n stuck her fingers into Harry’s hair and looked at Jacob, “See where his tongue is going? That feels so good. That’s the hood of my clit. That’s a spot a lot of terrible lovers don’t ever think about. I bet you’re one of them aren’t you, Jacob? No idea where the clit was before now?”

Jacob shook his head, “I know what the clitoris is! Please this is… I won’t tell anyone. Please let me go…” he sat up further and pressed his hands into the mattress as if he were about to push himself off the bed.

“Stop!” Y/n’s loud growl along with her grip on his cock had him immediately stopping. He hadn’t expected her to reach out for it like that, “Sit the fuck back and watch my pussy get licked by a pro. Unless you want me to tear your dick off? I will if you’d like. Just try that again and find out what happens.”

Jacob put his hands up and leaned his back into the board behind his head and looked to the floor at Rick lying lifeless. He was trembling and his heart was pounding in terror.

“And why do you keep defying my rules? Stroke. Your. Fucking. Cock. I need you hard for what I’m about to do. So chop chop!” She laughed and then looked back down to Harry sliding his tongue against her. His eyes were on her. She loved when he’d get on his knees for her. He did it often.

“Fuck… I don’t want to come yet,” she moaned as she pushed at his head, “You’re too good at that she smiled. “I want to come on Jacob’s cock. Really give him a special going away before the house takes him.”

Harry sat back onto his haunches and scowled at Jacob who was slowly pulling at his cock.

“What is it, darling?” Y/n placed a finger under Harry’s chin to turn his attention back to her. She knew what it was. Knew how jealous Harry would get when she’d play with other people. Cooing at him she leaned down to kiss him and reached a hand out for Jacob’s leg, “Aww… don’t be jealous. You know your cock is my favorite. Your lips and your hands… Baby, this is just for fun. You are forever.”

Harry clenched his jaw and shook his head at her condescending words, “Can I be inside of you too?”

Y/n laughed as she straddled Jacob once again, “Sure. You wanna share a hole with him or have your own?”

Harry got behind her with Jacob lying flat as he put himself between the man’s legs and reached his arms around to pinch Y/n’s nipples, “I’ll fuck your ass while you fuck his skinny prick with your cunt. Give you something to feel in one of your holes at least,” he laughed sinisterly.

Y/n laughed with him as she looked down at Jacob, “Is that okay, Jacob? Mind if I have two cocks inside of me? I will need a little something more because you really are a bit underwhelming,” she flicked at his shaft. Her words were filthy and rude.

“I umm… Please, I…” Jacob wined as Y/n took his hands and held him down by his wrists.

“Oh? Begging already? Well, that’s certainly a good sign,” she laughed dryly before lifting her hips to allow Harry inside of her first.

He gripped her hips harshly and began to slowly push in, her anus stretching out before him and she moaned. Jacob was lying still under the pair as they began to move together, his hands pinned down.

“Fuck me… Harry your cock is the best. Oh shit!” She turned to look over her shoulder and nearly forgot all about the man under her. The man she was supposed to be playing with.

Harry began to fuck into Y/n as his thrusts had her rocking back and forth. She moaned and clenched and hissed at the feel of Harry poking into her.

“Oh fuck!” She panted as she leaned in down to give Harry more access, her face only inches above Jacobs. She looked down at the man and grinned, “You never got this kind of response from anyone, did you? Can’t use your tongue or your prick properly. Poor man. We’re doing you a favor here. And all the women you might have tried to get into bed in the future as well. No more disappointing sex from you I’m afraid.”

Harry was pleased that she hadn’t put Jacob inside of her. He pounded himself into her harshly and made it so that she wouldn’t be able to angle herself enough to get the human’s prick anywhere near her pussy.

“Goddamn! I might not even want your prick anymore, Jacob. Ahhh!” She let out a guttural moan, “It’s too little for me anyhow. No fun in that…” Her words came out in punched breaths as Harry rocked into her.

Harry laughed as he heard her give him insult after insult. The bed was squeaking and the candles along the edge of the room flickered.

Y/n looked at the shadows on the wall and gasped when she saw the spirits arrive.

“It’s midnight. Let’s get this over with…” she said as she released one of Jacob’s hands and pressed her palm down over his throat.

Harry leaned in and placed his fingers over her clit and thrusted in harder and faster.

“Oh fuck! Yess… Make me come, Harry. I want all the spirits to see this.”

Suddenly Jacob gasped and his muscles tightened in his release. He hadn’t even meant to but the restriction of his airflow and some strange involuntary physical arousal had taken over. He poured out over his tummy as Y/n reared back into Harry’s cock with a gasp.

“Oh, he’s coming, my love!” Y/n laughed before groaning at Harry’s stiff cock slipping out of her.

Harry pulled her off of Jacob and angled her hips up as he sat back onto his haunches, “This is my fucking girl! Her body is mine!” His chillingly sinister voice sobered Jacob right up as Y/n’s hand loosened its grip with the new angle she was in.

Harry began to fuck into her pussy rapidly. His groans grew louder as he railed her deep.

Y/n coughed out a moan, “The best cock I’ve ever had, Harry. Right there. You’re gonna make me fucking come. Don’t stop!”

Harry pushed his thumb into her ass as he plunged into her pussy repeatedly. Jacob was caught in fright, unable to move to speak as his own throbbing cock splashed his come all over his tummy so he was a wet sticky mess as he watched the pretty ghosts fucking between his legs.

“Shit!” Y/n reared back into Harry and gripped her hands over Jacob’s thigh, her nails digging into his skin.

The scene of Jacob lying untouched with come on his tummy and Y/n and Harry orgasming together was watched by the ghosts of the house as midnight meant it was Halloween morning.

When the pair had finished and were slowly moving together in their come down Y/n looked at Jacob with a pout, “Sorry, Jacob. You didn’t get the chance to feel my pussy around your tiny cock. My lover here kind of took over and you’re a bit of a bore.” She laughed as the dark shadows grew near to the bed.

Jacob turned his head as he saw the obscure silhouettes moving in and began to croak out in distress but his neck was sore and his voice was caught in his throat.

Harry pulled Y/n with him off the bed as the spirits descended over Jacob until there was no body left and Jacob’s fate was sealed into the house.

Y/n turned to Harry with a smile, “The morning has arrived. I can already hear the rest of them. They’ve come. Let’s go play.”

“Where are Rick and Jacob?” Cooper could see two suitcases opened but nothing was done. Candles were still wrapped in paper, the planchette was still inside, and nothing had been set up. “This house hasn’t been cleansed either. I’m going to need to prep it and set intentions here.”

Bran looked around the space and cupped his hands over his mouth, “Jacob! Rick! You guys here?”

Cooper quickly stood up and grasped Bran’s forearm, “Shhh! This isn’t your home. You cannot come in and act that way. You need to be respectful of those at rest.”

“No one’s at rest in this house. Can’t you feel it? Today is their holiday. They’re preparing for a party. A feast. They knew we were coming.”

Cooper sighed and turned to look behind her as Marin, one of Bran’s acquaintances, bent down to start pulling items out of one of the suitcases, “Well, either way, we need to get set. Russ is coming in with the table and I’ll bring the chairs down to the basement. We’ll have people coming soon.”

When Cooper saw the table leaning up against the outside of the house with the chairs next to it she knew right away something bad had happened. Rick and Jacob were meant to come and set up everything. Cleanse the house, set intentions, light candles, and have the table and chairs set and ready to go. It shouldn’t have taken long. Yet nothing had been done.

The last two invitees arrived as Cooper went from room to room with a candle and spoke a protective prayer, asking the spirits for their permission and to safeguard them from the evil that lurked.

She could feel the house as if it were alive. Every room had a story, a haunted retelling of the horrors that had happened over the years.

“I invoke light and pure intention. I am a clear and kind channel. Light is my guide. I will not harm and my request is for knowledge and safe passage.”

Cooper repeated her words as she descended the stairs to the main floor, already feeling the way the spirits in the home were at odds within. Some were receptive, some were not. She knew this could lead to trouble if everyone inside wasn’t on the same page. If they weren’t sensitive and receptive.

She lit candles to guide everyone into the basement of the home. The rest of the people who had been invited to join would be arriving shortly for the séance.  

Bran, Marin, and Russ had set up the table and chairs, put the black cloth onto the table with candles in the corner, and Cooper’s old Ouija board and planchette atop.

She took a deep breath to center herself and felt the chill of the spirits all around.

“Bran?” She held her candle close to her heart as she stepped down into the basement and looked at the tall man.

Without responding to her verbally he turned to look at her. The shadows that cast over his face made it hard to see his expression.

“Jacob and Rick are still here. I can feel them. Maybe we can draw them out. I can’t tell if they’re alive or not.”

Bran nodded, “I can also feel them. I don’t know what happened but this house is full of darkness and despair. Are you open?”

Cooper nodded, “Yes. I feel the guiding of the good spirits here. I’m protected. You?”

Bran looked at a dark corner of the basement and back to Cooper, “I don’t know. I keep lighting that candle and it keeps getting blown out. Something here is trying to warn us.”

Marin suddenly ran into a chair and gasped, “What the fuck!”

“Are you okay?” Cooper rushed toward the young woman who shook her head in disbelief.

“Something just pulled me into that chair and whispered but I couldn’t understand. I… I’m okay. I think.”

Cooper looked down at the chair and back to Marin, “Have you spoken your intentions to the house? Are you protected?”

The young woman looked at Bran and then back to Cooper, “Protected from what?”

Cooper set her candle at the edge of the table and gazed toward Bran, “You told everyone about this house, correct? About its past? What to expect?”

Bran cleared his throat as three young men suddenly descended into the basement, laughing and speaking loudly.

Cooper pointed as she kept her eyes on Bran, “Who are they?”

Bran took Cooper’s arm and pulled her away from Marin, “Observers. I found a group who were interested in coming to watch.”        

Cooper yanked her arm from Bran and walked toward the three men, “Excuse me, you three will need to leave. It’s not safe for you here. I’m sorry that you were misled–“

“Who are you?” One of the men laughed as he took in Cooper’s appearance wearing a shawl and hood as if she were some old witch.

Bran interrupted, “They’ve paid to be here. They’re not going anywhere, Cooper.”

“Paid? Why would you charge anyone? What are you trying to do here? This isn’t some game!”

“Calm down. Nothing will happen to them. I’ll see to it.”

Cooper scoffed and rubbed her hands over her face, “How many outsiders have you invited?”

“Just four.”

“Four outsiders? Bran, they can’t be here. Two of our own are already gone. Maybe dead.” Cooper began to raise her voice. She knew it was a bad idea to get Bran involved. She felt it from the beginning that he was up to no good. There were only meant to be eight people in total for the séance.

The fourth outsider made her way down as well as Russ and two of the others Cooper already knew.

“We can’t do this. Not like this.” Cooper rushed out her words and grabbed for her board at the center of the table but Bran stopped her, putting his hand over hers.

“We will. The show must go on. I can already feel them. They want to be heard.”

Cooper shoved Bran away, “You’re making a big mistake. I’m out. This is reckless.”

She wanted her board and her planchette but she could already tell the evil that resided in the house had already gotten Bran. He was channeling the dark and she needed to leave before it was too late.

As she took the stairs up to the main floor the basement door slammed closed and everyone in the basement had their attention on Cooper.

“No one leaves this home, Cooper. Don’t you understand? The spirits are already among us,” Bran’s voice crawled through the chilled air of the damp, dark basement and one of the outsiders laughed.

“Fuck. This is creepy as shit. Worth every penny.”

“My cellphone doesn’t work at all down here. Not even the camera. Dude! What kind of show is this?”

“It’s not a game! It’s not a show!” Cooper’s voice wavered as she held onto the banister and made her way back down the stairs to join the other 9. She already knew the house was locking them into the basement. She wouldn’t be getting out by turning the knob. It would be useless for her to attempt it.

Harry and Y/n watched from their shadowed corner with pleased smiles. Bran was right. No one would be leaving unscathed, if at all. The ten living souls trapped in the basement were now theirs.

“This is going to be fun,” Y/n whispered as they watched the humans gather around the table and another candle blew out.

“Shall we begin?” Bran spoke loudly. An old fixture above the table flickered on, casting light down over the board, making the edges of the room appear darker.

Evil had arrived. Cooper knew it and she knew some of the others could feel it as well.

“Everyone, welcome. Tonight, we are in the presence of greatness!” Bran’s voice boomed as he stood at the table and lifted his arms upward, the features on his face morphing as if he were a decrepit old man, “You will be witness to the experience of a real séance tonight. You may see or hear things that frighten you but if you stay connected with us and keep your mind open you are bound to enjoy yourself.“

“Stop!” Cooper shouted, “There is something evil here and the four outsiders are acting as skeptics,” she looked toward them and continued, “It’s breaking the bond we might have together and this is dangerous. I need to…” She lifted her candle blowing out the flame, “I bind you evil!” She sat her candle down and tore her shawl, ripping a long section off. With the candle in her hand, she began to wrap it with the torn material, “Evil spirits, trouble us no more. I bind you from doing harm to others or to yourself. Your actions will only be for the highest good.”

She repeated the chant as she wrapped the candle and one of the outsiders laughed quietly.

Bran slowly moved behind Cooper and placed a hand on her shoulder as she continued her binding spell, “Useless. The spirit is already here. You cannot stop it, Cooper.”

She could feel it was useless but she needed to try. Sitting the half-wrapped candle down she looked at everyone in the room, “Everyone! Take your candle and repeat after me,” she tilted her candle toward the one next to hers and relit the flame, “Repeat!”

“Elements of the sun, elements of the day, please come this way,” she looked around the room, and only a few repeated, “Please everyone. I need you to all repeat. This is a protection spell. You may find this funny but in just moments things will be getting very serious and this is the only thing I can do for you now. Please…”

Repeating the first part of the spell she noted that still only a few repeated, but she continued, “Powers of the night and day, I summon thee. I call upon thee to protect me!”

The three men who were last-minute invitees chuckled and whispered amongst themselves. The fourth outsider, a middle-aged woman, seemed to take Cooper’s instructions more seriously.

“Hold your candles up,” Cooper demonstrated and she heard Bran sigh as he walked around the group slowly, “I infuse the power of the flame so that it may burn away all negative energy. We pass through the smoke so that it may protect and shield this home.”

The sound of Bran clapping slowly drew attention back to him, “Are you quite done? It’s time to give the people what they’ve come for.”

Cooper knew her bindings weren’t going to work on everyone, if at all, but she had to try. She didn’t have the proper equipment in reach and now that four of the people in the room were skeptics it damaged the circle of empathy and the channel of openness.

“Come. Everyone, have a seat at the table. Let’s begin.”

All but the three young men seemed hesitant. Pulling up chairs and looking around the table Cooper knew this wasn’t going to go down how it had been planned. Cooper was meant to kick off the séance. She was supposed to be the medium, the vehicle for communication but it was clear that Bran was going to be doing it now.

“The spirits are already here trying to make contact. I want everyone in our circle to place a finger on the planchette,” Bran spoke as he touched the wooden stylus.

Everyone reached across the table, chairs dragging over the cement flooring closer to the table and fingers were placed on the planchette at Bran’s direction.

“Spirits, we are here. We are listening. I feel your energy all around. Give us guidance. Show yourself!”

Cooper closed her eyes and felt the chill of something along her back and breeze along her neck. Slowly, everyone in the circle began to gasp or mumble something under their breath about having felt the wind.

“Shit!” One of the guys laughed in surprise and turned in his chair to look behind himself.

“You,” Bran pointed at the man who had just laughed, “What is your name?”

Cooper could see the shadow behind him. Something, someone, was already there and it had already selected its first victim. It wasn’t a surprise that it would be a skeptic. A person who would not know they were being hunted. Ignorance is not always bliss.

“Fred,” he answered. The light above the table flickered softly and Cooper was surprised none of the outsiders found it odd that an old, abandoned house with no electricity had a light working. Marin’s face told Cooper she was absolutely terrified.

“He’s chosen you first,” Bran spoke darkly.

“What?” Fred laughed again and let go of the planchette.

“Do not let go from the circle!” Cooper shouted but it was too late. Suddenly Fred was pulled away from the table, his chair dragged into the dark shadow of the edge of the room and his cries for help were quieted nearly as soon as he had begun to scream.

The woman who had been sitting near the men started to panic, letting go of the circle and standing, “What is happening?”

“Don’t break from this circle! Keep your hands on this planchette. It’s the only thing we can do to protect you,” Cooper rushed out her warning.

One of the men got up from his chair and turned toward where Fred had been dragged, “Fred?”

“Please sit! Come back to the table!”

A candle that had been placed on the floor was suddenly illuminated and there were sharp inhales of breath and gasps as everyone in the room witnessed Fred’s limp body hanging from the ceiling.

“No! What the fuck?” The man turned to look at everyone at the table and pointed toward his lifeless friend, “What is this?”

The woman who was standing began to grasp her neck and struggle when a dark figure appeared behind her. She was being choked and pulled into the corner where Fred was hanging.

The third man stood and looked at Cooper, “This isn’t funny anymore.”

The overhead light flickered and illuminated everything behind the man and by the time everyone at the table could warn him, it was too late. The light fizzled out and then the room was left only lit by candles. The glimmer of the fire danced finickily on each of the wicks and cast an unstable glow over four outsiders who were hung in a row in the corner of the dark basement.

Gone.

There were only 6 left.

“Now that they’ve been taken out of the equation,” a strangely upbeat-sounding voice spoke. Raspy, dark, unmistakably male, “We can get down to business tonight.”

From the shadows appeared a tall young man with dark curls and nearly clear, jeweled eyes, and a young woman next to his side. Harry was pleased to be taking over this get-together.

Bran stood up and just as he was opening his mouth to speak Harry took the floor once again, “No need to speak. This won’t take too long. And the Ouija board’s not necessary. Contact is made. I am the spirit that dwells in this house. This is my domain and you all have trespassed.”

Everyone was stuck in silence as they watched the haunted pair near the table. They looked just as alive as everyone else there if you didn’t pay close attention. If you didn’t know better. But if you were someone like Cooper you could surmise that they were sinister beings. Not quite dead but certainly not alive.

“I apologize for trespassing,” Cooper spoke softly, “I tried clearing the energy and making my presence known in the most gentle–“

“You’re cute,” Y/n spoke with an eerie smile, “Nothing that happens in this house is nice or gentle. You’ll see soon.”

“You haven’t met spirits like us before, Cooper,” Harry stated, “But we’re so glad you couldn’t shake the call of the house. We knew you’d bring us some company. You did very well to listen.”

Cooper shook her head trying to wrap her thoughts around what they were telling her.

“We didn’t need the four extras,” Y/n commented, “But the house will make use of them.”

“What are you going to do with us?” Bran spoke finally, still standing in his spot as he looked at Harry.

Instead of responding Harry just smiled toward Bran as a shadow covered his face from above. The room was already dark but soon Bran’s figure was completely shrouded in darkness. His mouth opened wide to shout but no sound could be heard.

“That… that is what we are going to do with most of you.” Harry watched on as Bran’s face contorted and the darkness slowly pulled him from the table in silence. As if he was disintegrating into smoke.

“But why?!” Russ stood up and his metal chair fell back into the cement floor.

“Because it’s part of the deal,” Harry’s voice was dark as he began to pace slowly behind everyone at the table, “Angra requires sacrifice. The house needs life. We take care of the house and feed it with the souls of the living.”

“Angra,” Cooper spoke the name quietly to herself. She knew of Angra. Angra was a high deity of destruction. A demonic force of greed, wrath, sexual deviancy, and envy. And he was there in that home, and it was clear he was orchestrating everything from the handsome ghost, Harry.

“That’s right, Cooper,” Y/n smiled, “This is his playground, and Harry and I get to keep it all running like a well-oiled machine. It’s fun for all of us, really.”

Y/n pulled at Cooper’s hand suddenly, “Stand back,” she whispered as Cooper was moved away from the table.

The moment Cooper was out of the circle she felt a cottony soft cocoon surround her. Her arms were pressed down to her sides, her legs melded together, unable to bend or part, her mouth sealed closed, but her eyes and ears opened as she watched and heard every one of the people at the table struggle and scream when they were being dragged away by dark shadows until they disappeared.

Harry and Y/n only stood and watched with scary grins and hands intertwined. The flickering of the candles intensified and a howling wind blew through the basement and brushed over Cooper’s face before there was nothing but blackness and the smell of damp cement and smoke from blown-out wicks.

“You need to understand what’s going to happen now, Cooper,” Harry’s voice could be heard but he could not be seen. “You are bound to this house and you will not be able to deny your desire to return here every year.”

Finally, one candle was lit, and then a second one. Harry and Y/n each held a candle in their hands as they stood before Cooper.

“It’s going to follow you. It might take a week. Or maybe just a day or so, but you’ll recognize the scent, the draw, the torment,” Harry's disturbing words crawled over Cooper’s body. She was still unable to speak or move. “But you’ll get used to it and soon you’ll enjoy coming to visit us.”

“Oh, and maybe you can bring some really attractive people for us. Yeah? Because… Jacob and Rick? I mean…” Y/n laughed and her flame jumped as if her breaths were real, “We make due, but sometimes it’s nice to really enjoy the body before we give them over to the house.”

It didn’t make sense to Cooper, what the ghosts were telling her. She was frightened and desperate to escape but she was stuck.

“Are you ready to be released, Cooper? Are you ready to finally begin living, to finally be free of the mundane?” Harry grinned and suddenly the basement door at the top of the steps was shoved open and Cooper found herself dropped to the cold floor. There were no lights. No candles, no table or chairs. It was as if nothing had ever happened in the basement.

With shaky hands and limbs, she gathered herself and began to ascend the stairs, gripping the railing as tight as she could and looking behind her in search of the spirits or the bodies or anything that was after her.

But the moment her feet hit the wood floor beyond the basement door she ran toward the exit. The door was open and she rounded the corner and dashed to the front in a panic as she reached for her cell phone to call the police. Inside the house, her cell phone had been dead. But the moment she stepped out it functioned normally again.

The house looked so unassuming in the daylight. So old and in disrepair, but it didn’t appear anything like what it really was. And the daylight was surprising. Y/n was expecting it to only be around 1 in the morning but according to her cell phone, it was already 9:30. She must have passed out in the basement for hours before finally getting out of the house.

As she was questioned by the first cop on the scene she couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to stare at the house. She recalled the warning from Harry. That something would follow her. Something would continue to draw her to it.

She didn’t know why she was chosen but her fate was sealed. She was just glad she was still alive. Harry and Y/n were also glad she was still alive. They would be waiting.

xx

The Halloween Call (can be read as a short follow up to this one shot)

Cop!Harry takes a call to check out the scene of crime at an old abandoned house, well known as the Slaughter House with a grim history.

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[atinyslittleworld]

Shadows of Longing

demon!san x f!reader

Summary: In a forgotten house shrouded in darkness, demon Choi San encounters mortal Y/N, drawn together by an inexplicable connection. Despite the danger and their disparate worlds, their bond deepens, but what happens when Y/N chooses to leave?

Genre: angst, sci-fi, au

Warnings: none of that I know

.

In the heart of a dense, ancient forest stood an abandoned house, its once-grand facade now weathered and worn, shrouded in mystery and whispered tales of a malevolent presence that haunted its halls. For centuries, the locals had steered clear of the decaying structure, attributing strange occurrences and unexplained phenomena to the sinister entity rumored to reside within its walls.

Choi San, a demon of considerable power and cunning, had made the abandoned house his home long ago, drawn to the solitude and darkness that permeated its every corner. Though his true nature remained hidden from the prying eyes of mortals, San reveled in the fear and apprehension his presence instilled in those foolish enough to venture too close.

It was on a moonless night, shrouded in darkness and whispered secrets, that Y/N and her group of friends gathered around a crackling campfire on the outskirts of town. As the flames danced and flickered, casting eerie shadows upon the faces of the gathered group, conversation turned to the abandoned house that loomed ominously in the distance.

Legends of the demon that dwelled within its walls had long captivated the imagination of the townsfolk, and Y/N's friends, fueled by a potent mix of curiosity and bravado, dared her to venture inside. Y/N, never one to back down from a challenge, accepted with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, determined to prove her bravery to her skeptical companions.

Armed with nothing but a flashlight and a rapidly beating heart, Y/N approached the dilapidated house, her footsteps echoing through the overgrown path that led to its crumbling doorstep. With each creak of the floorboards and rustle of the wind, the sense of foreboding grew stronger, sending shivers down her spine.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, Y/N stepped into the dimly lit interior, her senses on high alert as she cautiously explored the abandoned house. The air was thick with dust and the faint scent of decay, and she felt a chill run down her spine as she ventured further into the darkness.

Suddenly, a voice shattered the silence, sending a jolt of fear coursing through her veins.

"Who dares intrude upon my domain?" the voice boomed, its tone dripping with menace and malice.

Y/N froze, her heart pounding in her chest as she swung her flashlight around, searching for the source of the ominous voice. And then, she saw him – a figure cloaked in shadow, with piercing eyes that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light.

Choi San, the demon of the abandoned house, lounged in the corner, his gaze fixed upon Y/N with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. He had expected her to flee in terror at the sound of his voice, but to his surprise, she stood her ground, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and fascination.

"Who are you?" Y/N asked, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to steady her nerves.

San regarded her with amusement and irritation, unused to mortals defying him in such a manner. "I am the master of this house, the guardian of its secrets," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "And you, little human, are trespassing on my domain."

Y/N swallowed hard, trying to muster the courage to speak. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean to intrude. My friends dared me to come here."

San's lips curled into a sardonic smile, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Ah, a brave little mortal, aren't you? And what do you hope to find in this forsaken place?"

Y/N hesitated, unsure how to respond. She had expected to encounter a malevolent entity intent on driving her away, but there was something about San's demeanor that intrigued her, drawing her closer despite her fear.

"I... I don't know," she admitted, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I guess I just wanted to see if the stories were true."

San chuckled darkly, the sound sending a shiver down Y/N's spine. "And what do you think? Do you believe the tales of the demon who haunts these halls?"

Y/N met San's gaze, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "I don't know what to believe," she confessed. "But I can't shake the feeling that there's more to you than meets the eye."

San regarded her surprised, unused to mortals seeing past the facade of terror he projected. "You intrigue me, little human," he admitted, his tone softer now, tinged with a hint of something Y/N couldn't quite place. "Most mortals would have fled in terror at the sound of my voice. But you... you stand before me, unafraid."

Y/N swallowed hard, the weight of San's words settling heavily upon her shoulders. She had expected to encounter a monster, but instead found herself face to face with a being whose complexities both frightened and fascinated her.

"Are you going to... hurt me?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

San's expression softened, a flicker of something akin to regret passing through his eyes. "No, little one," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "I have no desire to cause you harm. But you must leave this place. It is not safe for mortals."

Y/N nodded, her heart heavy with disappointment. She had hoped to uncover the secrets of the abandoned house, but now she realized the folly of her quest. With a final glance at San, she turned to leave, the weight of his gaze following her as she stepped out into the moonlit night.

But as she made her way back to town, her thoughts were consumed by the enigmatic demon she had encountered in the abandoned house. Despite his terrifying exterior, there was something about San that called to her, stirring feelings she couldn't quite understand.

The following day, unable to shake the memory of her encounter with San, Y/N found herself drawn back to the abandoned house once more. Pushing open the creaking door, she stepped inside, her heart pounding in her chest as she called out to the demon who haunted its halls.

"San?" she called, her voice echoing through the empty rooms. "Are you here?"

To her surprise, San emerged from the shadows, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. "You came back," he said, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Y/N nodded, her resolve firm. "I couldn't stay away," she admitted. "There's something about you... something I can't explain."

San regarded her confused, unused to mortals seeking him out willingly. "Why do you keep coming back, little human?" he asked, his tone tinged with a hint of desperation.

Y/N hesitated, unsure how to put her feelings into words. "I don't know," she confessed. "But there's something about you... something that draws me to you."

San's expression softened, a flicker of something akin to hope passing through his eyes. "You shouldn't be here, Y/N," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "It's not safe for you."

Y/N shook her head, her eyes locking with his. "I don't care," she said firmly. "I want to be here. With you."

And so, against all odds, Y/N and San forged an unlikely connection amidst the darkness of the abandoned house, their bond transcending the boundaries of their respective worlds. As they spent more time together, their friendship blossomed into something deeper, something neither of them could deny.

But as their feelings grew stronger, so too did the danger that lurked in the shadows. For San was not the only creature that dwelled in the darkness, and there were forces at play that threatened to tear them apart.

As they faced the challenges that lay ahead, Y/N and San found solace in each other's arms, their love a beacon of light in the darkest of nights. And though their journey would not be easy, they knew that as long as they had each other, they could face whatever came their way.

However, as time passed, San's desire to keep Y/N with him grew stronger, fueled by a possessiveness he could not control. He knew that mortals were not meant to dwell in the realm of demons, but he could not bear the thought of losing her.

One fateful night, as Y/N prepared to leave the abandoned house, San's desperation reached its breaking point. With a fierce intensity burning in his eyes, he pleaded with her to stay, his voice tinged with desperation and longing.

"Please, Y/N," he begged, his voice raw with emotion. "Don't leave me. Stay with me forever."

But Y/N, though deeply drawn to San, knew that she could not forsake her own world for the sake of their love. With tears in her eyes, she gently refused his plea, knowing that their paths were destined to diverge.

Heartbroken but resigned, San watched as Y/N disappeared into the night, her silhouette fading into the darkness beyond. And though he knew that their love could never be, he clung to the memory of her, cherishing the brief moments they had shared amidst the shadows.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, San found himself consumed by a longing he could not quell. Despite Y/N's absence, her presence lingered in the abandoned house like a ghost, haunting his every waking moment.

At first, he dismissed it as mere wishful thinking, a trick of his imagination born from the depths of his loneliness. But as time went on, the visions grew stronger, more vivid, until he could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.

He would hear her laughter echoing through the empty halls, see her face reflected in the shadows that danced upon the walls. And though he knew it was impossible, he could not shake the feeling that she was still there, just beyond his reach.

Driven by a desperate need to reclaim what he had lost, San searched every corner of the abandoned house, hoping against hope that he would find some trace of Y/N's presence. But no matter how hard he searched, she remained just out of reach, a phantom haunting the edges of his consciousness.

Fueled by frustration and despair, San's mind began to unravel, his sanity slipping away like grains of sand through his fingers. He would spend hours locked away in the darkness, muttering Y/N's name like a prayer, his once-bright eyes now hollow and empty.

And then, one fateful night, as the moon hung low in the sky and the world slept soundly, San's descent into madness reached its climax. Convinced that Y/N was still within his grasp, he tore through the abandoned house with a feverish intensity, his shouts echoing through the empty halls.

But as dawn broke and the first light of morning crept through the windows, San's fevered frenzy came to an abrupt halt. For in the cold light of day, he realized the truth of his situation – Y/N was gone, lost to him forever, and he was alone once more.

With a heavy heart and a soul weighed down by regret, San retreated into the shadows, the echoes of his madness haunting the abandoned house like a whispered lament. And though he knew he would never see Y/N again, her memory would linger in his heart, a bittersweet reminder of a love that was never meant to be.

[theoneiroveil]

Did you wake up on October 1st, 2016 to a very strange channel in your subscription box on Youtube?

Well if not, here is a little bit that channel.

Soursalt is a series that began in 2016 with roughly 600 people waking up subscribed to it without knowing. That's a very real thing that happened, which is a great selling point of the story.

Over the next few days these weirdly edited potato-quality home videos get uploaded and nobody has any idea what's going on. Some descriptions keep changing, some are pieces of conversations, etc. People are immediately hooked because what the fuck is going on? Then Madman Re starts getting mentioned, is it a place, a God, Freddy Krueger, who knows. More cryptic and weird dream videos get uploaded and then suddenly there's a break. This is the end of the prologue of the story.

Suddenly, we started getting rapid fire uploads a few months later of these two idiots making a really shitty ghost hunter parody knock off sketch. This is basically meant to be like a needle in the haystack for viewers. There are moments in these videos that are completely filler and just dumb comedy or filler -- b u t there are teases that something is up sprinkled within these videos. You'll have one of them mention the path looks different (implying they scouted it out before hand), or they'll hear or see something the camera just straight up doesn't see of pick up. This continues on until it's obviously getting dark, but we don't see their journey home. Instead, a few days later, we're treated to another sketch. This time shit gets fucky.

The two do the Ghost Guy routine on a haunted road by the woods, but as the move past the housed area towards the side of the park, their patience with each other starts running thin, they start hearing strange things, and feeling off. After taking a break off the road in a nearby Gazebo, they find a mysterious grave site and a stuffed monkey. Here, we learn out of character that they were filming at locations posted on a strange forum ; the same one implied to have launched the Soursalt spread.

After getting covered in some shit, blood and rot the characters introduce the audience to the Madman of Re as Aidan "Ghost Guy" Calloway touches the Window of a spooky run down bus and a ghastly hand touches his back -- all separated thematically by … a Window.

And this is where Soursalt takes you, into the Window; a terrifying physical nightmare space that seperates the viewer from their body and traps them in their own mind, a mind that can be easily manipulated by the Madman of Re.

BUT WAIT

This is only the end's beginning.

Timeskip -- Seven Years Later:

The story returns with Eulacram on the eve of the Spread's seven year anniversary following Aidan as he struggles to live with the trauma of his past and present following the events he experienced in Soursalt. It's at this point where the shattering of Aidan's mind takes literal form and we're presented with various versions of him through a system that he calls the Crucible Channel.

Meanwhile, another entity has pursued the same goal as Madman Re and sought out those that were victims of various Spreads to put together what it calls the Eulacram Tribute, a tournament of survival that allows those touched by the Oneiroveil (the dream realm the Window is in) to compete for an evolution of their flesh. Aidan and the other Spread victims are unknowingly pulled into a shared dream where it seems reality is once again being manipulated as their lives are being toyed with. However, Aidan's access to the Crucible Channel may be prove useful in saving him and the other victims from this new nightmare.

Eulacram is designed both as an Epilogue to Soursalt and its own series. While Soursalt is to be seen as a more found-footage style story, Eulacram utilizes the idea posed by the prologue that the entity can create videos with dreams, to showcase a cinematic-like view of events within the story. Some episodes can transition between hand-held, cinematic handheld, and cinematic third person, to allow for a unique approach on telling the story.

New viewers of the series can pick up with Act 1 or Act 2 Eulacram (on 10/1/23) without having fully watched Soursalt or Eulacram's prologue ; which will allow for an easier transition into the new content while everything you need to know will be given to you through the story. Viewers of the past content, and even those part of the first 600 subscribers will get the full experience though, as they will have seen the journey of some of these characters from the beginning, understanding the trauma that led them to becoming who they are today.

Soursalt // Eulacram is unlike any other web series you have seen, or dreamed. It's dark, gritty, there's a talking lizard, it's sharp and brutal at times ; but comedic, light hearted and emotional at others. The characters feel real, their pain feels real. If you're looking for web series horror that breaks the mould, takes risks, and isn't afraid to pop out an eye or two… or three… or ---

Then on October 1st, 2023, you should wake up to a very strange channel in your subscription box on Youtube.

This is that channel.

[richincolor]

We have a nice mix of genres available to you this week! Which of these books are you interested in?

Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang First Second

Ash has always felt alone. Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life. The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was their Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin, deep in the California wilderness. Did he ever build it? What if it’s still there, waiting for him to come back…or for Ash to find it? To Ash, that maybe-mythical cabin is starting to feel like the perfect place for a fresh start and an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts their daily life. But making the wilds your home isn’t easy. And as much as Ash wants to be alone…can they really be happy alone? Can they survive alone? From New York Times –bestselling author and illustrator Jen Wang comes a singularly affecting story about self-discovery, self-reliance, and the choice to live when it feels like you have no place in the world.

The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee Zando – Gillian Flynn Books

Art student Isadora Chang swore never to return to Slater. Growing up, Isa never felt at ease in the repressive former mining town, even before she realized she was bisexual—but after the deaths of two of her childhood friends, Slater went from feeling claustrophobic to suffocating. Isa took off before the town could swallow her, too, even though it meant leaving behind everything she knew, including her last surviving friend Mason. When Isa’s abusive father kicks the bucket, she agrees to come back just long enough to collect the inheritance. But then Mason, son of the local medium, turns up at the cemetery with a revelation and a plea: their friends were murdered by a supernatural entity, and he needs Isa to help stop the evil—before it takes anyone else. When Isa begins to hear strange songs on the wind, and eerie artwork fills her sketchbook that she can’t recall drawing, she’s forced to stop running and confront her past. Because something is waiting in the shadows of Slater’s valleys, something that feeds on the pain and heartbreak of its children. Whatever it is, it knows Isa’s back… and it won’t let her escape twice.

Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies by Abigail Hing Wen Feiwel & Friends

Tan Lee finds himself embroiled in an unusual love triangle, all while trying to defuse a heist, unravel a conspiracy, and navigate the most complicated babysitting assignment ever in this YA novel by national bestselling author Abigail Hing Wen. After a magical kiss at Prom, best friends Tan Lee and Winter Woo agree to cool it off, a plan that goes awry when their parents jointly head off to Hawaii and leave Tan and Winter to babysit Tan's sister Sana together. If that isn't complicated enough, Tan's ex-girlfriend from Shanghai arrives on his doorstep with money stolen from her billionaire father and thugs on her heels. Tan soon finds himself on the run, trying to out-manuever international hackers and protect his friends, family and sister - and his own heart.

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko Amulet Books

The smallest spark can bind two hearts . . . or start a revolution. In the magic-soaked capital city of Oluwan, country bumpkin Small Sade needs a job—preferably as a maid, with employers who don’t mind her unique appearance and unlucky foot. But before she can be hired, she accidentally binds herself to a powerful god known only as the Crocodile, who is rumored to devour pretty girls. Small Sade entrances the Crocodile with her secret: she is a Curse Eater, gifted with the ability to alter people’s fates by cleaning their houses. The handsome god warns that their fates are bound, but Small Sade evades him, launching herself into a new career as the Curse Eater of a swanky inn. She is determined to impress the wealthy inhabitants and earn her place in Oluwan City . . . assuming her secret-filled past—and the revolutionary ambitions of the Crocodile God—don’t catch up with her. But maybe there is more to Small Sade. And maybe everyone in Oluwan City deserves more, too, from the maids all the way to the Anointed Ones.

Navigating With You written by Jeremy Whitley & illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro Maverick

Neesha Sparks is a disabled, vocal community activist with a passion for costume design. Gabby Graciana is an optimistic surfer - and, like Neesha, a new kid at school. When the two girls discover that they like the same manga series, Navigator Nozomi, they become more than just fellow new kids. But it was more than just having read the same book series--neither of them had finished it! Soon, they become new friends on a mission - to track down the remaining Navigator Nozomi books. This slice-of-life romance follows the two girls as they adventure across North Carolina to find each book, with their story intercut with the tales of Navigator Nozomi. Neesha and Gabby find more than just the books though—they find acceptance, friendship, understanding, and love.

[idesofrevolution]

My Best Friend, the Ghost

It was the best feeling in the world. Picture this: a simple spread of the legs in the summer heat, sweat dripping from your forehead. You feel a cool, slick touch slide down your inner thigh. It feels almost slimy, though it leaves no residue as it inches toward your taint and ever closer to your rear. You gasp as it circles the tight hole, as if an expert were rimming you with their cold, wet tongue. Then, quickly, a gentle thrust. You feel it enter you, slithering slowly, intentionally. It begins to fill you, that frosty ooze spreading all throughout your body. Your breath is laboured, as you begin to contort and expand as it is overtaken, washed and inundated with this foreign substance bubbling beneath your skin. It pushes up your throat, choking you, taking the last of your breath away before it presses at the top palate of your mouth. It would feel almost like drowning, though your sensations only fire endorphin after endorphin of euphoria. Pressure builds as it presses harder and harder, until... pop. The hard palate gives way as it rushes and balloons into your head. Thoughts and stresses fade away, and you're left in a state of total ecstasy as your body begins to move on its own.

Fuckin' amazing, am I right? Well, guess what? I get that incomprehensible experience whenever the hell I want. Perks of living in a haunted apartment! Confused? Let me explain.

I moved to New Orleans a year ago, give or take a couple of months. I graduated college, and after testing out a couple of places that didn't really pan out for me, I landed in the cement swamp in the height of the summer. I'd just left Salt Lake City, so coming from the tepid air of Utah to the brick wall humidity of Louisiana was a lot. Yet, I was determined to make the best of this one. I'd secured a low-level office gig at a non-profit, and rented out a cheap two bedroom just outside the French Quarter. The house was one of those old shotgun-style places. It wasn't well maintained, frankly incomprehensibly so to be up to purpose for a tenant, though I was still paying an arm and a leg.

The first few nights, I didn't sleep super well. It was hot, I was sleeping on a hard air mattress, and the tall ceilings and old wooden floors made every little creak and groan of the house sound like some demonic entity moaning in the darkness just out of sight. At the time, I was resolved to believe such a rational theory. After all, ghosts aren't real. That recent college graduate sensibility: anything can be rationalized. Looking back, I scoff at what I thought I knew compared to what I know now. But that skeptic within me was what I relied on. It got me through my courses, it got me my job, it is what guided me through the insanity of life. So, as more peculiar occurrences began to happen, that is precisely the lens with which I saw the world.

When things started to go missing: my trusty running shoes, a pair of underwear, my gold chain, my laptop, even my keys, it was just me being forgetful. I took my Adderall and just ordered new things. I hunkered down and just focused on my work. When I heard scratching in the walls at night, footsteps down my hallway, quiet breaths echoing in the shadows... I was just sleep deprived, I took my Xanax and zonked myself out. Those dark shadows that crept around the corners just on the edge of my peripherals? Eye floaters, nothing more. Though, after about two weeks of just a miserable living experience, I finally experienced something I couldn't rationalize.

It was after a soul sucking day at the office, having spent all day sifting through piles of meaningless paperwork to the grating click clack of my coworkers silently typing on their keyboards like mindless drones. I'd gone into overtime that day, and after five or six cups of coffee, I can't say I was even remotely physically tired that evening. My mind, of course, was entirely devoid of functionality. Walking through my front door, tossing my keys in the little dish by the door, I collapsed onto my couch and just scrolled through Netflix, looking for nothing in particular. That's when I saw it. I'd turned to grab my vape pen from the side table, and my glance had grazed past the mirror which hung above my mantle. Floating behind me, clear as day in the mirror, was a figure. It was larger than I, big broad shoulders and pecs, tapering down to a narrow waist, flanked on either side by two muscled arms. It's face was chiseled and sharp, brows furrowed, golden eyes narrowed and full lips twisted in a mischievous smirk. It had no legs; rather, its body was condensed into a long whippy tail. Most notably, I would argue, was the... well... rather sizeable phallus which stood erect above it's navel, with two grapefruit sized balls hanging beneath it.

I sat frozen, unable to look away from it sizing me up in the mirror's reflection. All the other things I could make sense of in my head were obliterated at the sight of what was merely inches behind me, and inches above the floor. I finally found the strength to merely exhale, letting a soft billowing cloud of breath out of my mouth. It was the middle of June, and perhaps 91 Fahrenheit outside. It was impossible. Everything about what my eyes were seeing was impossible. As it began to creep toward me, I fully expected to spin around and like every haunted house movie of all time, there would be nothing there. Though as I whipped my head to look behind, no such luck. I was face to face with it. It was grinning as we were nose to nose. Bringing it's cool, ghostly hand to my cheek, it caressed it with the back of its fingers and winked at me.

"Hey there." It's voice boomed like a timpani, yet it's timbre was gravelly and suave. I couldn't help myself. In a primal state of panic, I shrieked a terrified scream. It didn't last long. The spirit seized the opportunity I was entirely unaware I had given it- quickly shoving it's head into my open mouth. The force by which it had taken me was overwhelming, though I suppose with it's sheer size, in retrospect it makes perfect sense. I was flung down into the cushions of the couch, as it pushed itself into me. I grasped at my throat, which was bulging from the thing which was now flooding down my gaping maw. I could hear it laugh from within me as it squeezed itself in, it's massive upper body condensing in on itself and slowly pushing deep into my gut. My stomach ballooned out, stretching as if it were rubber while it's tail whipped aimlessly against my face before it slipped between my lips.

This was the first time I felt the sensation. The euphoria. The cascading waterfall of endorphins as my body was contorting and stretching as the ghost slipped me on like a suit. I could feel it thrusting it's hands into my arms which expanded and stretched to accommodate the spirit's size. I could feel my chest burst through my shirt, with two jiggling pecs now engorged with it's essence. I could feel my thighs and calves swell with thick muscle, and my feet lengthen and explode through my socks. It was as if someone had taken a water hose and filled me like a balloon, and as I felt it's head rising up my throat one last time and slither into my head, I can't say I wasn't in the throws of intense and indescribable bliss. My eyes opened, I was no longer in the driver's seat.

"Ahhh fuck." It's voice boomed out of my mouth as I found my body moving of it's own accord. No, rather moving of his accord. I stood up, feeling my jiggling muscles slowly firm up and tighten as I walked to the mirror. The thing which wore me as a suit was checking itself out! It had my skin, my face, but otherwise I was unrecognizable. I was indeed approaching 6' 4", my jawline was square and chiseled, my arms as large as my head, my feet probably a size 16, and my... appendage? Let's just say he was now an anaconda snaking down my thigh, his hood restored and flanked on either side by an impressive bulbous sac. "Shit, that feels nice." My voice was soft like velvet, but frayed with a coarseness which tickled the mind like sandpaper. It stretched my muscles and cracked my neck and knuckles before finally bothering to introduce itself. "Name's Antoine, nice to meet ya." My hand slinked down to my member giving it a playful tug. "Actually, tonight, your name is Antoine too, baby." He smiled with my pearly white teeth, and it would be an outright lie to deny I was not eager to see what this Antoine would be using me to do that night. We sauntered over to my bedroom, tossing shirts and pants out of my drawers before he found some shorts and a tank top that fit my new musculature whatsoever. I had but only one pair of sandals that he could force my massive feet into, but neither he nor I could care less. As walked to the front door, and stepped out into the humid New Orleans air, he took a deep breath with my borrowed lungs, sighing in satisfaction. "Aight, my man. Let's see what kind of trouble we can get in tonight."

Thus began our mutual understanding. Our partnership. Frankly, our friendship. That night was one filled with club hopping across town, hitting dancefloors right and left, drinking outrageous amounts of liquor, grinding on sexy men with our tongue down their throats... None of which I would have ever experienced on my own. It was an entire world I knew nothing about, nothing I could have ever imagined myself doing, but with Antoine it seemed like second nature. After a night of debauchery and a tryst in some leather daddy's hotel room, he returned near the crack of dawn, collapsing onto my bed in a sweaty, swampy heap. He closed my eyes and almost immediately afterward I reopened them. The sun had risen, and peering at my phone, it was then 9 AM.

For a moment, I sat there and stared at the ceiling. I waited for my body to move on his command, though when it didn't, I whipped my sheets off to see that I had returned mostly to my former stature. I did note that I had grown ever so slightly. Perhaps his presence within me had left some residual effects on my body, a pleasant fact of which I did not mind whatsoever. I sat up, stretching my arms above my head, a wet warm musk wafting from my sweaty pits and steamy feet from the night before. For the first time, I found myself rather enjoying the scent... Where it once used to make me grimace with disgust, it now made me nearly salivate at the slightest tickle on my nose. I peered to the corner of the room, where now even in broad daylight I could see Antoine's spectral self floating above the floorboards, his arms crossed and his bright smile greeting me in the morning light.

We stared at eachother for a mere moment, before I smiled back at him. It didn't take words for us to understand what was to soon come to pass. Frankly, from then on, it was an unspoken pact. An inseparable bond, bound by an awakened hedonism and carnal desire. Starting that morning, our boys night out became a regular occurrence. I'd get home from work, exhausted and tired from a thankless day of grinding in the soulless office, and we would come up with a plan for the evening. He'd take his time slipping into me, knowing full well just how much I enjoyed each breathtaking second of it. In fact, we took a Saturday to go shopping for "night clothes" which would actually fit us when he was inside me.

Antoine was a bit of a casanova, able to make any person he met swoon with a single glance. The parade of men strutting the walk of shame out of my home every morning did not go unnoticed by my neighbors, not that they particularly seemed to care. It was the spirit of New Orleans, live every day like it's your last. That sentiment was instilled in me, along with a new attitude. I began to care less and less about this dead end job which had only gotten more and more unbearable as our relationship grew. My boss began to notice this as well. He noticed that my productivity had slipped, that I'd begun to come into work with more and more tattoos (which were admittedly against company policy), that my musky scent was becoming stronger and more apparent, that I'd become more casual and laid back, that I was trying to force myself into work clothes that were increasingly more and more revealing as my body grew toned and large. This, to him at least, was unacceptable. I don't entirely recall what it was that finally set him off, though I think it may have had something to do with me having my feet up on my desk as I took calls and the delicious pheromones to which my coworkers had taken a liking to. Something to do with my cubicle mate Daniel lapping up the pungent sweat from my socks beneath my desk as I worked. Couldn't say. Either way, it was the last straw for me.

It wasn't much of a loss, as my frequent appearances at the clubs, or rather my appearance altogether, which the bar owners had taken notice of. I had a line of bartending and gogo boy offers to take up in it's stead. Though, it wouldn't be enough to cover the rent on my own. Thus, we hatched a plan. A solution to both our issues: my financial one, and a more permanent solution for Antoine.

It was an average night in the French Quarter, we were behind the bar, and there before us appeared our solution sitting on a stool near the drink well. He was a tourist, a particularly needy and rude one at that. No friends, failing every attempt to snag the attention of our regular hustlers with his more than lacklustre personality. He was perfect. It wasn't difficult to play into his inflated ego, all it took was playing into his cringeworthy advances and unwelcomed touches before he was licking our pits and nipples, ready to head to our place. A lack of a tip was the final nail in the coffin, we were ready. The 'three' of us stumbled back to our apartment, and it took merely five minutes of making out before the drunken asshole had passed out in our bed.

Walking back into the living room, Antoine regurgitated himself out of me. Feeling him exit was always a bittersweet experience, euphoric in sensation but longing in sentiment. He floated in front of me, winking as he compressed himself under the door of our bedroom, slipping in with a quiet pop. Wiping the sweat from my brow, and taking a deep whiff of my dank sneaker like degenerate scent pig I'd become, I popped open a bottle of our nicer tequila to celebrate. As the yellow liquor began to pour into the glass, I heard the delightful sounds of possession begin to loudly bellow out from behind the closed door. A shriek, followed by squeaks and rubbery creaks atop elated moaning and gasping. Taking the two glasses, I meandered over to the couch, kicking my wafting, wet feet up onto the coffee table and grabbing the bong to pack a nice bowl.

The sounds of inflation and gargling, stretching skin and growing muscle were like candy to my ears, as I wondered what Antoine would look like. The guy was less than ideal before, though as a host, the sky was the limit to how gorgeous he was going to be. I lit the bowl, taking a deep drag before blowing an adequate cloud. Antoine's moans got louder and louder, his voice all the more recognizable as it progressed. One more puff from the bong and the sound of that final pop soared through the air. The house was silent apart from the heavy panting quietly emanating from the bedroom.

I sat there for a solid moment. He always was the master of the tease, knowing full well that I awaited his reveal. I could hear his chuckling before I heard the click of the lock on the door. Slowly, I stood up and walked to the bedroom door, pressing my ear against the wood. Nothing. I grabbed ahold of the doorknob with bated breath, slowly turning it and pushing the door open. The lights were on in the bedroom, and there in front of the mirror taking a selfie with his host's phone was my Antoine.

He was better than I ever could have imagined. That lanky, sad excuse for a man was long gone and in his stead stood the dreamiest hunk I'd ever set my eyes on. Our bodies were nearly identical in stature, as over the past several months he'd completely stretched me out to his own measurements. Though, his delicious golden eyes on that gorgeous, masculine face sent me over the edge. He was stacked, he was tall, he was caramel, he was packing down there, and he wafted that buttery, salty musk that made me drool. All he needed to do was to turn to me and wink in his new body and I felt myself harden.

"What's up, baby boy?" He flexed his massive arms, seductively licking his sweaty bicep for me. Let's just say that tequila and that bowl were still there the next day. We were rather preoccupied throughout the dawn, the morning, the afternoon, the evening... Endless hours of carnal pleasures and sensual overload. Simply washing the bedsheets of our intertwined cum imbued into the very threads of the fabric took longer than expected. I imagine you get the picture, so needless to say, such days were and continue to be frequent.

I suppose that brings us to today. As I sit here and write out how we got to this very moment, waiting for an Uber to take us to our honeymoon, I'll go ahead and mention that my former boss just walked by us, feigning pleasantries as if we were old buddies. Asking if now that I had a partner, I was finally ready to knuckle down and come back to work in a 'real job.' I turned to Antoine, he turned to me, and as we found our hands sliding toward eachother's growing bulges, basking in eachother's beguiling musk while my frump of an old boss indignantly watched, I flipped him the bird.

He stomped off, I doubt I'll ever see him again. Why should I need to? I have my man, I have our future, we have all the delicious men of this raunchy city to enjoy... What else can a guy ask for?