The Haunting Of Hill House Novels & Stories

' 'I owe you an explanation I didn't give you properly before I left. 'When I arrived at Harrow Hill I told you I was too late for the previous owners. That's true. But what I didn't tell you is that I was also too late once before that. Seventeen years ago. A house in the north of England. Not like Harrow Hill. Smaller. Less powerful. But the same principle. Something old feeding on something human.' 'Claire was my research partner. She went in alone because I was delayed. By the time I arrived she had been inside for six hours. She came out. But not all of her came out.'

"I'm just so devastated. I just got dumped, and Isla is being so cruel to me. I feel like I want to die." Hannah shot me a venomous glare as she came out of the break room. "Picking on a newbie—real classy. What goes around comes around." … I purposely worked late until eight. When I packed up to leave, I realized my house keys were missing. I searched every drawer and my bag—nothing. I figured I'd call the property manager and a locksmith once I got home. When I reached my door, I noticed it was cracked open—unlocked. My heart sank. A bad feeling washed over me.

I stayed silent. "The apartment where she had that accident was a company unit assigned to her," Stan said. "It's been empty ever since the accident. Later, the company wanted to take the place back, but the staff they sent over all got badly spooked. Over time, rumors that the place was haunted started to spread." He looked at me, his gaze sharpening. "But that changed when you showed up. When I first saw your rental address, I was shocked. I honestly thought you'd be running out of there in tears within three days. But you didn't.

The villa began painting the walls of a new haunted house. A heavy morning after a terrifying night. Morning at that villa was unlike any other. Even with the sunrise, it couldn't erase the traces of the terror that had filled the house the previous night. Its golden rays timidly peeked through the heavy curtains, as if afraid to intrude upon a place that had witnessed unspeakable psychological horror lurking in the darkness.

"Where is she?" I shrugged. It was obvious to anyone that I was the only one with my computer screen still turned on and illuminating my face. His question suddenly sounded a little dumb. The next day, when Lacey appeared at the company, she was immediately stopped by Xavier at the door, who had waited up for her all night. He sniffed around Lacey like a bloodhound. Then, his expression turned dark almost at once. "You weren't at the company last night. And this smell didn't come from our home. Where have you been, and what did you do last night?"

Now, here I was, walking down the lonely path to my house alone. From afar, I saw smoke climbing out of our chimney, and I guessed that Mom was probably preparing her bland meatloaf. That was my favorite dish, but something in me resisted the urge to head straight home. I didn't want to be indoors. Didn't want to see my strange looking room. At least, not yet. I turned at the fork in the road, and headed toward the hills behind our neighborhood. The same hills that had been rumored to be cursed, and haunted by monsters.

I steeled myself and opened the door. The hallway was awash in red. Smears and spatters of bright and dark blood covered the walls, the floor, and my door. My head reeled. What the hell happened? Why was there so much blood outside my door? Hadn't the guy in 603 seen it through his peephole? I couldn't help looking toward apartment 603. To my surprise, the door stood half-open, and it was dead quiet inside. I picked my way past the bloodstains and made my way to apartment 603.

A home that still held memories and emotions of her broken marriage. She got inside, tears streaming out of her eyes as she slid down to one of the couches. She stood there— seconds passed. Minutes went away and so did the hours. The abrupt thud that came from one of the rooms upstairs was the only thing that piqued her attention. She had another thud along with passing footsteps. Someone was surely in the house with her.

EMILY I sat still on the couch, hugging myself as if that could chase away the feeling of fear that wouldn’t stop crawling over my skin. The dark had a way of making your thoughts louder, your heart beating faster, and your mind believing anything was possible. The entire house was dead silent, apart from the faint ticking of the wall clock. And then, snap. The power cut off completely. I jumped to my feet. “Kent?” He was already up, phone in one hand, his other hand reaching for the drawer where he kept a flashlight. “It’s the whole street,” he said, peeking out the window. “It’s not just here.”