The moon looks big and bright in the sky. Aunt Esther’s house always looks imposing when the moon is full and for a few days on either side. I think the shadows make it look worse, especially the one that appears down the left… it makes me laugh as well, as it reminds me of Aunt Esther when she wears her Sunday bonnet – it was always too big for her – her ‘shadow’ looking as though she’s hiding or spying on someone.
The dry ground crunches beneath my feet as I walk along the pavement approaching the house. Something growls behind me, but I know it’s the sound from the animals in the woods across the road settling down. That’s what I tell myself as I quicken my pace.
I run up the steps, convinced there’s something behind me, but I quickly look and see nothing and no one.
I pound on the stained glass window on the black painted double doors at the entrance to the house.
The wind whips up a cold breeze around me as I wait. It feels like cold breath on my cheeks and neck.
I pound on the window again, and, surprisingly, the door creaks open into the dark hallway. I walk in and shout ‘Aunt Esther’, but all I hear is my echo that disappears up the stairs to my left.
I walk forward slowly and step on something padded and round in the hall. I run back toward the door, which slams shut before I reach it. I flick the light switch beside the door, which illuminates upstairs, but not the floor I’m on. It’s OK though, as the light provides just enough light to reveal I’d trodden on Aunt Esther’s bonnet.
I walk into the first darkened ground floor room, which is lit up by an unexpected flash of lightning outside. The thunder that follows sounds as though it’s from in the hall behind me.
I hear a bang upstairs.
I walk back into the hall and begin to shout Aunt Esther again when I notice the door is wide open. Wide open.
Another bang.
Another crash of thunder, followed by another bright flash of lightning.
Still hearing nothing, I begin to climb the stairs. The door slams shut as I feel bony fingers grab my right ankle.
Now, I wonder if you’d like to continue the tale… either in the comments below or on your own site, linking back to here. Just for fun, obviously…
The Mansionic Perspective 
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