Fear

Fears

One crisp December morning, a married couple and their adopted son were unlocking the doors to their rented mansion. Their secluded mansion was on the edge of a snowy mountain. The drive to house was long and dreary but the view was worth it. The couple had anticipated a week of skiing and relaxing. The house was an antique and built during the 1930's. The large structure was weathered but still standing. It gave off an eerie feeling. The doors were thick, sturdy, wooden slabs. They were quite heavy and required some force to open. As the family entered, the floor creaked from their weight. They stepped inside, brushing to snow from their boots and shrugging off their coats. They noticed the aged, mahogany furniture that was the center in the room. The once top of the line furniture looked worn and tattered. As they looked up, they saw massive chandeliers. A film of dust was layered onto the golden frame that seemed to sway ever so slightly on its rusty chain. To their left, the couple saw a massive grandfather clock. It towered above them; each second vibrated though their bodies as they got closer. The house had a ghostly sensation.

The family decided to get an early nights rest. They put their 9 month baby the bed. It was very peculiar how they found him, one morning, the father of the family Ted, was opening the door to get the newspaper and Leo was in a bundle at their doorstep. They didn’t want to have children as the wife Terry, was reluctant to raise children and was discouraged by the idea of giving birth. But they decided to raise the child because they were afraid of what could happen if they didn’t. Leo frightened them sometimes. He didn't act like a normal child. He was always calm and had no facial expressions. He always fell asleep instantly and never stirred. Ted and Terry, however, were learning to love him as if he were their own. That night baby Leo stayed awake all night. But he did not cry, he simply never closed his eyes.

His parents had a rough night. They tossed and stirred throughout the night. Ted and Terry both felt as if the air was getting thinner and thinner. They gasped for air, as if spirits were in the air. But they assumed that it was because of the altitude of the house. Slowly, they slipped into a deep slumber.

In the morning, they continued to explore the house. They discovered a cabinet in the corner of the office. The cabinet was battered, with deep scratches on its exterior. It rocked slightly when they walked around. The couple assumed it was because of the uneven floor. The couple felt a strange aura around them. They felt a sunken, depressed feeling. They felt almost lifeless. The strangest part of the room, however, was the cabinet that was locked shut. The lock was rusty; its luster was long gone. The numbers were dirty and looked worn. The bottom of the lock did not even have a key hole.  Curious, Ted attempted to open the cabinet but the lock was surprisingly strong and sturdy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open. They wondered what could be inside the cabinet. The husband feared that it could be a dead body. The wife thought that it could be another child. But they set aside their fears and left the room, shutting the door.

To their disappointment, they realized that there had been a terrible storm through the night. Nature had kept them confined in a monstrous house. They realized that suspicious things were starting to occur. The flames of the gas stove seemed to blow to the right, instead of upwards. Doors slammed despite the fact that all the doors and windows were sealed. Different objects that rested on tables were suddenly falling, with nothing forcing them to fall. Their fear for the house was increasing.

One morning, the couple noticed that Leo was not in his crib. Confused, they looked around the house to find him. They wondered how he climbed out of his crib. His crib was in the same room as them and Leo could not crawl either. Ted and Terry searched the house, looking for their child. Their fears heightened with each empty room. As they ran into the living room, found him sitting on the couch, sleeping contently. Baffled at how their child managed to sit on the couch, they watched him very carefully. But Leo made no attempt of crawling by himself. The mystery still remained at how Leo had managed to crawl onto the couch.

The young couple panicked and decided to go back to their suburban neighborhood. But nature was too powerful for them. When they went outside, the chilly wind whipped at their faces. The continuous snow paralyzed their hands and nerves. It looked as if Mother Nature made no attempt at stopping. When they tried to start their van, they realized that the battery was dead. They were stuck and had no other option but to stay. So they rushed back into the confines of the mansion.

Ted and Terry decided to get their money’s worth and relax and spend the remaining days in the house. As they settled in, Ted heard a rattling sound in the house. He wandered around trying to find the location of the noise. Ted located the noise to be in the room with the cabinet. As he entered the room, he saw a glimmer of light in the corner of the room. Ted squinted his eyes in an attempt to discover what was standing in the room. As he got closer, he discovered that it was the ghost of his father. His father had left his family when he was just 10. It was the Ted’s fear that one day he would return and his family would suffer again. He didn’t want his mother to try and adjust to another emotional situation. He let out a scream and heard Terry rush into the room. He turned to face her; his face was white with terror. He pointed in the direction of the ghost, only to discover that there was nothing there. His wife was confused, wondering what he saw. Baffled, the husband sputtered to explain what he just saw. Suddenly, they heard a click, and saw that the lock had locked itself.

Believing that it was just paranoia, Ted and Terry left the room and vowed never to enter again. They began counting down days until they could return to their home. Later that day, Terry was playing with Leo when he ball fell from his high chair and rolled towards the room with the cabinet. As Terry went to retrieve the ball, the door mysteriously opened. Terry suddenly saw a grim creature. It floated like a ghost, but instead of being white, it was an intense black. The light of the room seemed to be sucked into its body. It had a wicked look on its face and seemed to grow stronger at the sense of her terror. The figure suddenly began floating at her. Terry screamed in terror and began to back out of her room. Ted ran to room, and caught her just before she fainted. The last thing she remembered was the sound of a lock clicking shut.

Terry woke up terrified. She wanted to leave but the weather wasn’t clear enough to drive home. They decided to spend one more night and leave in the morning. Ted carefully put Leo in his crib and crawled into his bed. Terry and Ted both felt uneasy that night. They had a hard time sleeping. Hours later, they were awakened. In the middle of the night they heard a crash. Startled, Terry opened her eyes and looked around. She noticed that Leo was not in his crib. Waking up Ted, they both went to look for their missing child. He is nowhere to be found. They look in every possible spot, but there is no baby. They become very anxious to find the baby as they had become attached to him. The thought of losing Leo seemed unbearable.

Suddenly, they heard Leo wailing. Hopeful to find him, they dashed around the house looking for him. Their efforts lead them to the room with the cabinet. Inside, Ted and Terry saw Ted’s father and the grim that Terry had seemed earlier. They froze for a moment but then realized that their son was in trouble. Ted reached out and grabbed the lock, determined to open it. Surprisingly, it came off with ease. He ripped open the doors and saw that Leo was fine. As he calmed Leo down, he looked around the room. They spirits he had seen earlier had disappeared. Their fears had disappeared now that they had hope that their child was okay. Later that day, Ted and Terry packed up their belongings and left the house in a taxi. Realizing their attachment to Leo, they welcomed him into their house.