My House of Horrors

The small figure howled, and that finally brought his boss out from his joy. “A real ghost? A red ghost?”

As a Haunted House operator, he knew quite a bit about the rumors regarding red ghosts. Only people who had deep resentment and were heavily tortured before death had the chance to turn into a red ghost. Regardless of whether it was real or not, that was how most ghost stories and movies portrayed it.

“A red ghost appeared in my Haunted House, and he’s not one of my hired workers, huh?” That was how things currently stood, but the boss still had a hard time understanding it; certain things needed to be personally experienced to fully grasp it. “Xiao Zhao, do not panic, I’ll get people to go and help you right away! I don’t care what that thing is; as long as he is in my territory, he needs to listen to my orders…”

The call was ended by the small figure directly; he did not have the time to listen to his boss boast. Inside the dark corridor, the man ran as fast as he could. This was the first time that he had felt fear inside the Haunted House.

The previously familiar environment felt unknown. A thin layer of blood seemed to cover all the props and mechanisms that he came across along the way. All the speakers malfunctioned, and the static continued endlessly. If one listened closer, there were some whispers and painful wails mixed in.

The backstage seemed to be broadcasting a recording taken at a crime scene. The feeling of despair and pain spread through the Haunted House, torturing everyone’s ears, frightening their souls, pushing them to the edge of their sanity.

“What is happening? What’s going on? How come it feels like the whole building is coming alive? It feels like the building is going to swallow us whole!” The man screamed for help. He felt so helpless.

“How am I supposed to know? I came here from so far to visit you. I thought that I could come here to relax, but you found me a real ghost!” Chen Ge realized that the man was running too slow. Even though Xu Yin was purposely moving slowly, if they continued at this speed, they would be caught up to. Therefore, he picked up the man directly. “Stop wiggling! Where is the exit to this Haunted House?”

“The elevator! The elevator is the only exit! For some of the floors, you need the worker’s ID to access it. That is the exit!”

Chen Ge held the man by his clothes, and like a living suitcase, his body was dangling in midair, but that did not stop him from screaming.

“Okay!” Chen Ge memorized this detail and rushed to the elevator at the middle of the first floor. He pressed the button rapidly, but the elevator stopped at the first floor basement and refused to come up!

“What’s going on? Has the elevator broken down?”

“That’s impossible! The boss is conscious of the possibility of an accident inside the Haunted House, so the elevator is maintained every day!”

“Then, can you tell me why the elevator isn’t coming ‽” Chen Ge hissed anxiously like he was almost breaking down. “Is there another worker in the basement? Are they hogging the elevator?”

“No, I’m the only one arranged in the basement. The scenario is normally closed, but since today we’re being visited by…” At this point the man suddenly stopped, and the horror in his eyes grew. “Wait a minute, the elevator not coming up means that someone has been holding the elevator at the basement. Does this mean there is more than one ghost?”

The man was frightened by his own thought. Without the use of make-up, his whole face was already white.

“If the ghost has taken over the elevator, then this route is not safe anymore. After all, since they can control the elevator, they could use the elevator themselves!” The elevator was completely enclosed. The man did not dare imagine being trapped inside it with a ghost.

“What do you think we should do?”

“Run! Find other people! When we’re in a crowd, it should be fine!” The man was really panicking. He had seen how Xu Yin appeared; that impactful image was seared in his mind forever. In the future, whenever he dreamed about it, he would bounce up in bed. Without a better option and with the ghost approaching them, Chen Ge grabbed his backpack and the man and rushed to the nearest scenario.

He kicked open the door, and the sound of a piano drifted out. The music was sad like something bad had happened to the pianist.

“Should we find a place to hide?” Being carried by Chen Ge, the man finally had the chance to calm down and think.

“You sure? In most scary movies, the characters die because they corner themselves while attempting to hide.” Chen Ge had far better experience when dealing with ghosts.

As they conversed, the sound of blood dripping appeared in their ears. The dripping sound was like a note asking for their lives. It was too late to leave. Following the man’s direction, Chen Ge hid them behind the piano.

The smell of blood slowly thickened. Through the gap on the bottom of the piano, Chen Ge and the man saw a pair of bloody red shoes.

The feeling of despair grew like vines. As if sensing someone’s entry, the piano played louder and more violently. The melancholic aria entered Xu Yin’s ear, and the melancholy in his eyes deepened. He turned to glance at the door and saw the room name—Music Classroom.

Various musical instruments were placed inside the classroom, and the most eye-catching was the piano placed in the middle of the room. Above the piano was a rope, like someone had committed suicide by hanging using the edge of piano as support.

As the melody from the piano changed, the rope above the piano started to move on its own like the spirit had returned.

The blood flowed, and Xu Yin stopped in front of the piano. He reached out to pull on the swinging rope and sat down before the piano. After a moment, his hands fell on the piano keys as the memory from the past rushed into his mind.

The bloodied fingers moved on the keys, and a different melody rang around the classroom. It felt like a rushing river, like moonlight, a dream that was always out of reach.

Hiding behind the piano, Chen Ge looked at Xu Yin. Suddenly, he realized that he did not know Xu Yin as much as he should. This unique Red Specter seemed to be hiding many things in his heart.

“If there’s a chance in the future, I should buy a piano for Xu Yin. Perhaps he can use music to ‘narrate’ the words in his heart.”

When the actor was scared sh*tless, Chen Ge took out his phone to look at piano prices. He put it away after looking through few pages.

“A new piano wouldn’t be that familiar. Actually, this piano from Nightmare Academy is not bad.”

“Please, shush.” The man held onto Chen Ge for dear life. He saw Chen Ge as his partner, albeit one that he was not familiar with.

The music suddenly stopped, and blood seeped out from underneath the white and black keys. However, upon closer inspection, this weirdly bright ‘blood’ was not as viscous as real blood.

Soon, the piano went out of control, and it started to play a strange tune. Xu Yin, who was seated at the piano, was surprised, and then he heard a forlorn weeping sound coming from inside the piano.