It's All Hallows' Eve, and you're gearing up for the most eventful night of your life. While young children are out trick-or-treating, you've made your way to the one house people always skip. It's the abandoned mansion, rumoured to be haunted.

Dared by your friends to spend a night in the haunted house, will you survive the night, or will you uncover the truth behind the rumours?

I would always hear stories about the Emerson house. The once happy family of three mysteriously disappeared, yet all their clothes and belongings remained, no one even bothered to get rid of anything. The tragedy happened over thirty-years-ago, with Halloween being the anniversary of their disappearance. Everyone in the town knew to avoid the Emerson house like the plague, no one bought it after their disappearance and the once bright and homey atmosphere the house carried was now dull and fear provoking. The once colorful flower garden is now dead, along with the grass, and most of the windows were smashed to pieces by troublemaking kids trying to act brave in front of their friends, but no one dared to go past the gates.

Dared by my friends, I found myself standing in front of the gates of the Emerson house. I envied all the younger children dressed in all sorts of Superhero and Princess costumes, none even glanced at the house I was standing in front of.

"You ready to go inside, Olivia?" My best friend, Cassidy, asked walking up with our other friend, Jenn.

As victims of peer pressure, we all needed to prove to our group of friends that we were brave enough to go into the haunted house. There were many rumors of what happened that day thirty-years-ago, and I wasn't sure which I believe, but the thought of any of those rumors being true brought shivers down my spine and goosebumps all over my skin. We've been dared to spend a night in the house, and even though I was terrified to my core, it was too late to back out now. So, in reply, I nodded my head and pushed open the gates, and a piercing noise was released since the gates were completely rusted. We followed the pathway, the only sound heard was the distant laughter of the trick-or-treaters and the crunching of dried leaves under our shoes, along with our heavy breathing. We reached the giant double doors and we took one glance at each other before we simultaneously pushed open the door. The door scraped against the wooden floor and released a lurid echo throughout the house. I breathed in the grimy air and started to cough as the dust caught in my throat. The wood creaked after each step we took, as we took in the surroundings of the home, the only source of light came from the bright glow of the moon reflecting through the windows. The home was quite spacious, and as soon as we stepped into the house we were greeted by a large spiral staircase. To our right, was a room filled with three giant sofas and a large wooden coffee table, and to our left, was the kitchen. The kitchen cupboards were all broken off their hinges, some were on the floor and others were dangling, on the verge of snapping off.

"This isn't so bad," Jenn said, but we could all hear the shakiness in her voice.

Suddenly, the door slammed with a loud bang and we simultaneously shrieked in fear. We eventually came down from the shock of the unexpected noise and tried to catch our breath.

"Perhaps it was just the wind," I uttered after a while of eerie silence, but I could barely reassure myself.

"I've always wondered what was inside this house," Cassidy spoke, analyzing every inch of the living room. "If we're going to be stuck here the whole night, we might as well look around."

I wasn't too fond of the suggestion, but I would rather we stick together than be alone. Each step we took released a creaking noise, the staircase was not at all stable. I tightly gripped onto the railing, just in case one of the steps were to collapse under my weight. There were various pieces of artwork hanging on the walls, along with fallen family portraits laying broken on the floor, shattered glass scattered around it. I reached down to pick up one of the portraits, it was covered in dust and I tried my best to wipe away as much as I could without cutting my hands on the broken glass shards. Once the dust had dispersed, I was able to clearly see the portrait. It was a portrait of a man, a woman, and a young girl about the age of seven, I had seen pictures of the family in old newspapers, and every year on their death anniversary, local reporters spoke of the tragedy. The people in the portrait were clearly the Emerson family, but in the background, I saw a young boy no older than eleven. I don't remember the newspapers speaking of the Emerson's having two children.

A loud bang was heard and a sound that was like nails on a chalkboard followed. The unexpected noise caused me to lose my grip on the portrait and the glass, once again, shattered into almost microscopic pieces.

"What was that?" Cassidy shakily asked.

A piercing wail echoed throughout the house followed by that same eerie sound. An ominous red glow illuminated from under one of the doors where the piercing sounds were coming from. My natural survival instinct must have kicked in, because before I could even form the words in my mind I screamed for us to run, and I immediately made my way down the stairs, not caring that they could collapse any second, the only thing I cared about was escaping. As soon as I reached the front door, I tried my best to open it, but it was locked. I tried once, twice, three times, but the door never even moved an inch.

"What are we going to do?" I turned to my friends, but Cassidy was the only one standing there. "Where's Jenn?"

"She was behind me when we ran."

As if it was planned, the familiar shriek of Jenn echoed throughout the entire house.

"Help!"

A loud bang resonated through the house and Jenn's wailing stopped.

"Jenn!" Cassidy and I simultaneously yelled and ran back up the stairs, but there were so many doors, how could we decide which one to pick?

"Jenn, where are you?" Cassidy yelled, a faint echo following.

"I'm in here!" Her voice boomed, and it sounded like it was coming from behind the door to our left. "No, I'm in here." Jenn's familiar voice spoke, but this voice was coming from the door on my right.

"How is she in both rooms at once?" Cassidy asked, tears rapidly running down her face.

"She isn't." I said and we both shrieked as a bloodcurdling scream was heard from behind both doors.

I don't know if it was just the first door I thought of or if it was out of instinct, but I ran to the door on my right and yanked it open. I examined the room, and it was your average little girl's room, except the dolls were now dusty and the bed sheets' original color is hidden by all the dust. I felt Cassidy standing close to me and I found it best that we stick together.

"Olivia, look!" Cassidy exclaimed and pointed to a wall that had blood splattered all over it.

The blood was oozing its way down the walls and my heart sunk down to my stomach. That blood is fresh, and the thought that it's possibly Jenn's turned me into a sobbing mess. I heard a bang coming from the closet, but I didn't want to investigate in fear of what I would find. I heard a bang again and Cassidy made her way towards it.

"Cassidy, don't!" I exclaimed, but I was too late.

She yanked the closet door open and out fell Jenn. She landed with a thud and that's when I saw the knife wedged through her heart.

"Jenn!" Cassidy exclaimed and we both knelt next to her body, sobs racking through our bodies.

As we lay sobbing over her lifeless body, I saw something moving from the corner of my eye. When I glanced up, the blood on the wall was moving and words were forming.

This is how she died.

"We have to get out of here." I managed to squeak out, my throat hoarse from all the screaming and sobbing.

"What about Jenn?"

"She's dead, we need to get out of here." It may be harsh, but if, whatever is in this house, killed Jenn then I highly doubt it will let us go free.

Childlike laughter echoed all around us, and I was certain I saw a figure walk past the bedroom door. I slowly tiptoed my way to the door and glanced out into the hallway, yet I spotted no creepy figures. I motioned for Cassidy to follow me and we stealthily made our way to the staircase.

"Come out and play." It was then we both spotted the figure standing at the bottom of the stairs.

He couldn't have been older than eleven years old and I recognized him as the boy in the portrait, but his disembodied figure had a sinister smirk plastered on his grotesque face.

"Come out and play." His voice echoed once again, followed by malicious laughter that sent chills through my spine.

"Run!" Cassidy yelled, but I failed to notice we ran in opposite directions until I locked myself in a bathroom and she was nowhere to be seen.

At just a glance, I knew this door would not barricade myself against him, a door would be no match against this ghostly figure. The smashing of glass and a chilling shriek brought me to my feet, that scream sounded like Cassidy. Without thinking of the consequences, I ran to where I heard the noise and found myself in what must have been the parents' bedroom. I stepped over dispersed shards of glass and made my way towards the window. Careful not to cut my hands, I leaned my head out the window and the sight that greeted me caused me to release a chilling scream. Cassidy's lifeless body could be seen at the bottom, her left leg and neck bent at an awkward angle.

"That's how he died." The chilling voice spoke, but the sound was coming from all angles, making it hard for me to detect its exact position. "Come out and play."

Adrenaline instantly kicked in and overpowered the fear. I steadily made my way out of the room and down the stairs, despite that being the last place I saw the figure. I made my way to the front door, but I knew it was wishful thinking for the door to suddenly open after an already failed attempt.

"Olivia." The voice echoing my name left a bitter taste in my mouth and the fear suddenly crept back in.

"Come out and play, Olivia."

I crept my way into the kitchen and spotted a door that obviously leads to the basement. I shakily opened the door and it produced a loud squeak, I clenched my eyes shut at my failed attempt of being silent.

"Olivia." The whispered voice caused me to scream and I turned to be met with the grotesque figure.

I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs, each step knocking the wind out of me. I landed at the bottom with a thud and tried my best to catch my breath, but the scorching pain in my chest didn't fade away. I felt something thin like wire wrap around my throat and all the oxygen was blocked from entering. I tried as much as I could to get the wire loose, but all attempts failed, the more I struggled the tighter it became. I could slowly feel myself drifting into unconsciousness, and I knew I wasn't going to survive this night.

"This is where we all died." The voice said with a sinister laugh before I suffered my inevitable death.