Haunted Orphanage Novels & Stories

Dante said. "There’s one thing you should know," Evelyn said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a final, small envelope. "The twelve orphans... they aren't the only ones. The project had a second location. In America. A place called 'The Orchard.'" Dante stopped, his hand on the car door. He looked at the envelope, then at Bella’s face on his phone screen. The labyrinth was never truly gone. It just changed its name. "Not tonight, Mother," Dante said, taking the envelope but not opening it. "Tonight, the orphans are just children. And the Orchard can wait for the morning."

Zara sat very still after the investigator left, the audio file sitting on her phone like something with weight and heat. She had known, walking into this, that the truth would be ugly. She had prepared herself for ugly. But this this was something else entirely. This reached back further than stolen companies and burned houses and a little girl’s lost sight. This reached all the way back to the beginning. To a baby. To an orphanage gate. To every morning of her childhood she had spent wondering why nobody had wanted her.

The children in the orphanage were enjoying the wind on the roof. The dean's mother would set up a few beds and tents for the children to play in. They told stories, guessed riddles, sang songs, and counted the stars. It was warm and happy, without any burden and pressure. Although she had no parents, she was happy and not lonely. As soon as Stella opened her eyes, she noticed a black shadow rummaging through something in her room. She closed her eyes without making any noise. If the other party had intended to kill her, he would have already done so. He would not have waited until now.

Until it all disappeared. One morning, the whispers started. The funding for their orphanage was pulled. The private donors withdrew without warning. Within weeks, the place he called home was shuttered. Children were split up, sent off to unfamiliar homes, cold institutions with less oversight and even less compassion. Elias found himself in a hellhole disguised as a sanctuary. The beatings started early. First from the older boys, then the staff who turned a blind eye—or worse. No books. No computers. No more teachers praising his mind. Just survival.

We stepped out. The sight in front of us stole the little breath I had left. Hope Orphanage. Nothing had changed. Not even the sadness in the bricks. The old paint still peeled off the cracked walls. The faded signboard still hung crooked. The same hollow quietness wrapped the building like a curse. In that moment, a memory slammed into me, the weight of a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket, my hands trembling as I sneaked through the gate twenty three years ago. That sin still echoed in my ears.

Mike stared at the building that looked like it was about to fall apart. The color was faded, and he couldn’t tell what color it used to be; bushes surrounded it like no one cared to take care of the surroundings. It was wide, and he was sure it would be dangerous for children. The long bushes could easily house dangerous animals like snakes or scorpions, but that didn’t seem to concern whoever was managing it. How could somewhere so unkempt be referred to as an orphanage? Wouldn’t it be better to have the children living somewhere else?

My steps halted before entering, my eyes widened as my mouth hanged opened “An orphanage. “Hello, welcome to the crystal orphanage, do you wish to see how we operate or are you here to donate?” An old woman smiled at me wearing a scarf, my eyes look for Adrian who is already disappeared, apparently, the woman senses the distress on my face “Are you looking to meet,sir I mean Mr Adrian.” she says.

He says as he sits on the edge of the bed and places his hand over mine, making me look up at him. "Are Jess and Orian okay?" I say, barely above a whisper, as my heart starts to beat erratically. "They are fine. It's about the orphanage. They found the orphanage up in flames when they arrived on the pack's territory." He says, and my heart feels like it stopped beating. "The kids all got out safely, but there is no sign of the orphanage mother." "She tried to kill them!" I whisper as I feel Dosha starts pacing in my mind.

***************************** [Flashback] The subtle scent of the grass and wildflowers surrounded a not-so-peaceful orphanage near the suburbs. Children with different personalities ran around the area; the younger ones played while the older ones simultaneously helped with the chores. Cries and laughter echo within the thin walls of the old building of the orphanage every day, transforming into silent sobs in the evening.

The quarters for the orphans, called ‘Safe Haven’ was the opposite of the Grahams’ beautiful mansion. Although the orphanage was very large and contained around 10,000–12,000 children from different places around the world, it was poorly built with wood in the far end of the estate.