Arshi Khanal
I heard a demonic growl. I turned around and saw a head. I walked toward it until I realized it was just a head without a body. “Don’t go there,” the floating head screamed. “Stay home.” The head was coming closer now. I tried to run but could not move. Now the head was right in front of me. I screamed as I jolted awake.
Another nightmare, I thought to myself. I had been having the same nightmare ever since my best friend Neil and I decided we would go to the haunted forest of Pennsylvania; the world’s most haunted place, where many murders and battles had taken place. It is said that the place has over a million dead bodies and is home to the world’s deadliest serial killers and poisonous animals.
The most famous spirit there was a ghost named Eleanor. Legend has it that she escaped from a forced marriage and came to the forest where her two kids, Kai and Freddy, were. When a sudden tornado came, she was separated from her children. While she was searching for them, a man brutally stabbed her 22 times, instantly killing her. It is said that her body was never found, and she still roams the forest, looking for her children and seeking revenge.
Neil entered the room. “Hey, Nose, you good? Heard you screaming,” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Ready to go?” Lewis replied. They packed their bags and equipment and headed toward the forest. After an hour on the road, they got tired and decided to stop at KFC to eat fried chicken and drink boba tea. After that, they reached the hotel and decided to wait until midnight to go to the forest.
In the meantime, they decided to explore the hotel, as it was also known to be really haunted. Lewis and Neil decided to split up and explore separately. Lewis went to the 10th floor, and Neil went to the 3rd floor. Lewis decided to play a game, the Ouija board, the only game Neil was terrified of, and he had begged Lewis not to play it alone. Lewis set up the board but remembered the promise he had made to Neil. Just as he was about to remove the setup, a woman who looked around the age of 26 came and saw it.
“Hey, mind if I join?” she asked Lewis. “Sure, sit down,” Lewis replied. They started the game. Right as they asked the first question, the elevator doors opened and Neil came out. He looked shocked, but his shock quickly turned into anger as he saw Lewis. “What are you doing, Lewis? You promised you wouldn’t play it alone!” Neil screamed. “What are you talking about, lad? I’m playing with her,” Lewis said, pointing at the woman. “Who are you pointing at, Tummo?” Neil questioned.
Lewis looked in the direction he was pointing. The woman was not there. “Wait, what? She was right here, Neil. I swear she was right here,” Lewis screamed, confused and terrified. “Mate, are you doing okay?” Neil whispered, scared for his friend. Lewis stayed silent. After all, what could he even say? The woman was gone, leaving no trace behind.
Neil was still scared and confused. Then he remembered that the hotel was famous for a female spirit who acted friendly with people who tried to interact with spirits alone but disappeared once someone else arrived. “Let’s just go to the forest. This place is weird,” Neil said in a shaky voice.
So they headed to the forest. They found the entrance and went inside. Five minutes after entering, they found themselves at the entrance once again. Confused, they thought they had taken the wrong path. This happened five times. Each time they chose a different direction, but exactly at the five-minute mark, they were back at the entrance.
Spooked, they finally gave up and decided to go see a priest. When they arrived, the priest was already waiting for them, which was strange since they had never called or informed him. “I’ve been waiting for you two,” said the priest. “You are the ones who were chosen to see the mysteries of the devil. Now, let’s go.” “This dude has gone insane,” Neil muttered.
“Well, you said you could leave, but what I’m saying is true,” the priest said, laughing.
Lewis and Neil left, thinking the priest had truly lost his mind. But once they got home, they couldn’t stop thinking. What were the odds that out of their entire high school friend group, only the two of them could see ghosts? Throughout the rest of their lives, they kept seeing spirits everywhere. Even if they quit ghost hunting, they never truly escaped the ghosts.
After all, that was the hauntings of the two friends.
