My House of Horrors

Standing in the dark alley, Zhang Jingjiu and Lee Changyin studied each other. Neither of them spoke; they had not interacted directly with a ghost before, and the atmosphere turned strange and awkward.

Zhang Jingjiu coughed once. He had worked in sales before, so his personality was more outward than Lee Changyin. He knew they could not just stand there all day, so he decided to move the conversation forward.

“Don’t panic, can you tell me what the thing looks like? Like the size or length, or does he possess any special characteristics?”

“Describe him to you? Size, length, and special characteristics?” Lee Changyin was stumped by Zhang Jingjiu’s question. Is that even a question that a living human would ask?

He had merely come up with a story earlier; he did not expect the man to treat it so seriously. But since the tale had already been spun, after a moment’s hesitation, Lee Changyin stated, “His face is blurred, and he’s covered in blood. He keeps crying, complaining about how cold it is.”

“Well, it’s going to be a bit troublesome if he has a blurred face.” Zhang Jingjiu held his chin and started to contemplate it seriously. “If he said he’s very cold, then he might be placed inside the freezer, but if that’s the case, then his blood should be frozen, so that possibility is not that high. Let me think where else could cause him this chilling sensation. Oh yes! The hospital’s morgue! Your child probably sneaked into the hospital. I think you can go there and check. Pay attention the sound of crying—the room with the loudest cries should be where your child is hiding in.”

“Are you serious?” Lee Changyin had immense confidence in his make-up technique and acting. He was the best actor at Nightmare Academy, but he started to doubt himself before Zhang Jingjiu. The man cooperated with his story to the best of his ability, but that roused the suspicion in Lee Changyin’s heart that he had seen through everything and was trying to lead him to the morgue.

Zhang Jingjiu had no idea what Lee Changyin was thinking. He nodded. “If he’s not at the hospital, there’s no need to worry. After all, this place is only so big. Eventually, I’m sure you will be reunited with him.”

Lee Changyin failed to understand that he had been consoled by a ghost—how would one describe the feeling? It was a little bit scary and quite exciting.

“Thank you, I think I will go there now.” Lee Changyin’s voice was shaking. He hid himself in the shadows with his head lowered to hide his Adam’s apple.

“No problem. After all, we’re already family.” Zhang Jingjiu thought that the ghost was quite polite and knew how to show her appreciation. It seemed that the other employees at the Haunted House were not as unapproachable as he had first thought.

“We’re family? What do you mean?” Lee Changyin’s heart raced. Was the ghost going to kill him and seal his soul inside the Haunted House to indenture him there forever as well?

“Currently, we’re still unfamiliar with each other since this is our first meeting, but after we work together for a long time, we’ll naturally get to know each other better.” Zhang Jingjiu squeezed an awkward smile on his face.

“Work together for a long time?” Lee Changyin’s heart creaked, and his fists tightened! The true purpose had been revealed! So, all along, the ghost had been targeting him! This man with the strange smile had seen through his disguise, and he wanted him to stay at the Haunted House forever!

Sweat wetted the make-up on his forehead. Lee Changyin knew that a normal Haunted House worker would not have run to him and spoken about a future of them working together should they encounter a pregnant stranger in the Haunted House.

The more Lee Changyin thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. He finally understood why he had been feeling so unsettled since he stepped into this place. This place was really haunted!

“We’ll chat in the future then.” Lee Changyin hurried to leave.

“The hospital on the left side!” Zhang Jingjiu saw Lee Changyin leave in such a hurry, and he scratched his nose. “Did I say something wrong to offend her? It feels like I’ve been wronged for some reason.”

Before Lee Changyin wandered too far away, the walkie-talkie in Zhang Jingjiu’s pocket rang. He quickly took it out.

“Jingjiu, why did you summon me earlier?” Chen Ge’s voice came out from the machine.

“An old worker came to find me and asked me some questions, but don’t worry, we had quite a pleasurable interaction.”

“An old employee came to find you?” Chen Ge was confused. “A normal worker wouldn’t leave their building. Without an anchor, they will continue to weaken. Both of the Red Specters are seriously injured, and they have promised me that they will not actively go and seek out the visitors. Jingjiu, what did the person that you encountered look like?”

“It was a pregnant woman…”

“Okay, I understand it now. That was not one of us; some other party has infiltrated our place.”

“What should we do now?” Zhang Jingjiu was panicked. He really did not think that the pregnant woman was not a Haunted House worker.

“You’ve seen the ghosts and monsters at Eastern Jiujiang. When there’s light in the world, there will be darkness. If there are people like me who uphold justice, there will be people who have wickedness in their hearts. But don’t worry, no matter who it is, if they dare to cause trouble inside my Haunted House, they should be prepared to enjoy an experience of their lifetime.”

“Understood.” Zhang Jingjiu described the pregnant woman’s appearance in more detail to Chen Ge before hanging up.

…

Putting the walkie-talkie away, Chen Ge stood at the junction. When he first heard Zhang Jingjiu’s report, he had thought that the shadow had sent some of his underlings. But the more he heard the report, the more he felt that something was wrong. The pregnant woman was probably being played by a living human.

There were professional Haunted House actors mixed in the visiting group. They followed the live-streamer Yellow Wolf, and for the sake of effect, some of them might pretend to be ghosts.

“Hopefully, I’m worried for nothing.” Haunted House was Chen Ge’s base, so he could not afford to be too careless. For the sake of insurance, Chen Ge contacted Tong Tong and had him awaken all the ghosts within the scenario so that they could locate the suspicious visitor as soon as possible.

Laughter and cries echoed through the small town. Shadows climbed out from the walls and corners; the hidden spirits were awakened, and they started to wander the streets. In just a few seconds, Chen Ge received the message from Tong Tong and Scissors.

Tong Tong had found the man, but Scissors did one better. He told Chen Ge that he had been following the man. The man acted very suspiciously, unlike a normal visitor.

“Hold on, we’ll move together when I arrive.” Chen Ge glanced at the time on his phone. It was about time for the tour to end.

…

Tossing the pregnancy outfit and bedsheet into a random room, Lee Changyin hustled toward the exit in his mind without even taking off the make-up. He did not dare make too much noise lest he attracted more supernatural beings. He called his colleagues, but no one answered as if he had been isolated in a different world.

As the visiting hour came to an end, the small town turned scarier and darker. The streets that should have been empty filled with shadows. The fog around the town thickened, and one could smell the scent of blood in it.

“It feels like there’s a pair of eyes on me.” Lee Changyin scratched his neck. He was flustered and comfortable. He would turn back to look whenever there was a draft. “There’s someone behind me!”

After running around a corner, Lee Changyin suddenly picked up his speed. He switched on the flashlight on his phone and shone it behind him. In the fog, there was a strange man in a trench coat holding a large pair of scissors chasing after him.

“I knew it!” Lee Changyin was still relatively calm then. He knew that the light from the phone would expose his location, so he immediately switched it off. “I’ve been to this building before. After you go in the front door, you can jump out from the back window. I’ll use this chance to lose the monster.”

That was a good idea, but when he started to run forward, he stopped moving.

At the corner of the street, a man wreathed in chains, wearing a doctor’s outfit and dragging a scary-looking hammer, was slowly walking toward him.