Anthology of Horror Stories

by Daphne Haydens

  " It comes with the job," William says. "I do not care actually."

  " You do not fear death?"

  " Nope. It's all just a phase. I really believe in the eternal worlds. My spirit will carry on when I die."

  " Well, that's good to know. I am frightened of death. What if there is nothing after this life?"

  " Then I better take advantage of it," William answers. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to report to my leader. Thanks for the tea."

  " You're welcome."

  William returns to the castle and reports beating the dark shades. "Zero fatalities on our side," the report includes. Mark is proud of him. He lets William opt for the rest of the day.

  " Nice," William thinks. "All this free time for myself." Pleased with his achievement, he walks home and lies down on his bed. He closes his eyes. Time for a nap.

  William sleeps and sleeps. The battling has made him tired. Initially, all is serene, but when time expires, he is awakened by the same gush of wind.

  Woooosh!

  The door swings open again.

  " What is up with that door?" he asks himself. He walks over to close it, and then sees a weird animal in the distance with green eyes, hovering in the air.

  " What the ...?" But before he can finish his sentence, the animal flies at him and knocks him to the ground.

  " Ouch!" William says.

  He gets up and runs to get his sword. He gets it and holds it in front of him, looking around and just wondering where the animal is at.

  " Are you a ghost?!" William screams. "I am not afraid of you! What do you want from me ?!”

  The ghost flies at him again, but this time, William evades its attack. "Come face me like a man!" William yells.

  " Booooooh!" the ghost answers.

  " Booh? Is that all you have to say? Can you even talk?" William asks.

  " Obviously, I can talk," he hears.

  Huh? A talking ghost? He didn't expect that one.

  " Come here and I'll impale you with my sword, you coward," William says.

  " You wouldn't have the ability to, even if you wanted to," the ghost says. "You would stab right through me. I am a ghost, remember?"

  " Then what do you want with me?" William asks again.

  " Oh, I just wanted to have some fun. I am extremely bored, you know."

  " Well, if you want fun, then just come speak with me. What's the point of haunting me?"

  " Sure," the ghost says, and he flies over to William. Finally, William gets to take a closer, longer take a look at the ghost. It's incredible that he can see through him, yet still he sees him.

  " What's your name?" William asks.

  " I am Elijah. I used to be a guard, until I died ... and I have been flying around as a ghost since. It's pretty cool actually. No one can do anything to me, but I can do something to others. That's how I think it works at least."

  " So now what?" William asks. "Are you going to use your powers for good or are you just going to bully me and others around with your spooky noises?"

  " Well, since you are a guard, maybe we can collaborate and defeat opponents together," the ghost says.

  William thinks for a few seconds. Then he takes a look at Elijah and says, "As long as you stay out of the castle. If they find out I brought a ghost to do my dirty work for me, I do not think they will like it."

  " Fine. I will stay out of the castle. Anything else?"

  " Yeah. I need to know how you died exactly. Perhaps I can learn from your experience."

  " I died trying to protect the town," Elijah says. "I was surrounded by three-headed skeletons, but I was winning. It was a piece of cake. I slaughtered them one by one, and the dead skeletons piled up in front of me. Quickly I would have beat the entire army, but my pride got in the way. I celebrated in my mind before I was there. In the meantime, dozens of skeletons were killed by the slashing moves of my sword. But then, when I finally thought I had beat most of them, one of the skeletons stood in front of me."

  " What was so special about it?"

  " I had never seen anything like it," Elijah says. "It was enormous, two times as huge as the other skeletons. It was wearing some crazy armor, with signs and symbols all over it. I was scared. The skeleton frightened me. I didn't know what to do, so I stressed. I stabbed another skeleton and ran. He chased after me and swung his huge sword, missing the very first time but hitting me the 2nd time. That was it for me. I struggled with breath, and I died within minutes. If only I had had the nerve to stand up against it, I could have been triumphant. I still feel awful about it."

  " Where is this three-headed skeleton?" William asks.

  " I actually believe he is wandering around on the western border, but if I were you, I would keep away from it. I had my chance, and I died. Don't let that happen to you."

  " I will not, but I just feel like it's my duty to avenge you," William says.

  " You don't have to ... I mean ... it was my error. You still have an entire life ahead of you. Don't risk it."

  " What if you come with me? You could distract it, and I could kill it."

  Elijah has to think about that one. "Maybe," he says.

  William and Elijah talk all night. William finds out about Elijah's former life, gets the confirmation that there is life after death, and tells the ghost about some of the adventures he has experienced safeguarding Sprang Town. They are having many fun, until William tells Elijah he has to go to sleep. Ghosts do not sleep, so Elijah decides to fly away till the early morning.

  The next day, Elijah is standing next to William's bed when he awakens.

  " Waaaah! You terrified me to death!" William says.

  " No, as you're still alive," Elijah replies.

  " It's an expression, you weirdo. And by the way, you need to wait until I am done eating, as I am not going to protect the village on an empty stomach."

  " Fine. No problem."

  Elijah watches William eat some sausages, eggs, and bacon, but it doesn't do much with him since he does not have a nose anyway. When they go out the door and get to the castle, William tells Elijah to stay outside so he won't frighten anybody. Then William goes to Mark and asks him where he is needed.

  " At the westside of the city" is the answer.

  " Wow. What a coincidence," William thinks. "Who understands ...? I may come across that huge three-headed skeleton that killed my ghost good friend."

  William runs towards the west side of the village, near the edge of the woods. And there they are: An army of skeletons, ready to assault the village, spotted by some of the best spies from the castle. Prepared to attack ... yes ... but he is going to stop them.

  " Shall we?" Elijah asks while drifting beside him.

  " This ends now!" William says in a low voice.

  He takes his sword and storms at the skeleton army, dashing and slashing, killing dozens of zombies. His buddy, the ghost, flies along and punches some skeletons in their faces, making it simpler for William to stab them with his weapon. It goes on like this for a while. A big fight takes place on the plains in front of the forest border, but then they both hear a loud stomping.

  " Wha-what was that?" William asks.

  " I don't know," Elijah says.

  Suddenly, it jumps in front of them.

  Baaaaang!

  The ground shakes and William and his ghost pal are looking up at a huge skeleton, a monstrous figure with armor, a guard, and a huge sword, larger than William's own height.

  " That's him!" Elijah yells. "That's the skeleton who killed me! Don't just stand there, just ..."

  But it's already too late. The three-headed skeleton impales William with his sword. William coughs and drops to the ground. After a few spasms, his body remains still and blood flows from the wound, soaking the ground and turning it red.

  " Oh no, William! I tried to caution you!" Elijah screams. "What's going to happen now?!”

  Then he hears a voice behind him, something he didn't expect. "What is the whimperi
ng all about? Grow up and don't be a dumb idiot."

  Elijah turns around and is looking at another ghost, one that looks comparable but has blue radiant eyes instead of green. Is it ...? No, it can't be!

  " William?" Elijah asks thoroughly.

  " The one and only," William says. "Now, let's get this jerk and take him with us to the other world."

  William has become a ghost ... a ghost with tons of benefits: He can't be stabbed or hit or thrown around. He has become invincible and powerful. He loves his new form of life, well ... death actually, but life nevertheless.

  " Do that again, you idiot!" William says to the huge skeleton.

  The three-headed skeleton swings his sword at William, but as he tries to kill him, the weapon goes right through him. The skeleton tries it again ... and again ... but to no avail.

  William laughs. This skeleton can't do anything to him. When he is done, William says, "Now it's my turn, ugly head!" and he punches the skeleton in the face.

  Bam!

  The skeleton tips over. William flies around him like an irritating little fly. The skeleton ends up being disappointed and tries to hit him.

  " That's what you get for eliminating me and my good friend here," William says. "Let's finish this!”

  He flies towards the skeleton's sword and yanks it out of his hand. Then he intends and stabs the skeleton between the ribs. Fatality! The skeleton passes away immediately with a painful cry ripping the air in half.

  " Good," Elijah says when he flies over. "What are your strategies now?"

  " Now that I avenged you and died myself, I can still do my job," William says. "I don't need to be alive to do it. I am just going to fly around this town and make sure it's safe. And any opponent that ever comes near it, will have to answer to me."

  " Can I join you?" Elijah asks.

  " Obviously you can," William says. "How about you remain on one side and I stay on another side? Then we can switch off and stand guard."

  " Sounds like a great plan," Elijah says.

  Therefore, ever since that time, the town has been safe. Dark shades, skeletons, and zombies all stayed away. No one attempted get in Sprang Village without permission of these 2 invisible guardians ...

  THE END

  Story 2: Caution

  They were sitting in a wagon ... they both loved it there. Their mom had already stepped out, prepared to move into their new home. Roxanne ran to the horse and wagon. "Are you coming or what?" she asked.

  The 2 girls stepped out of the wagon and avoided the muddy puddle in front of them by leaping over it.

  " Mindful," the mother advised them. "The house is over there. Let's not lose too much time and get there before it begins drizzling again."

  " Mother, Sophia pushed me," one of the girls said.

  " But Emma was saying that I looked amusing with the bow in my hair," the other said.

  " I do not want to hear about it," Roxanne said. "Move along now. Come on."

  Before they knew it, it began raining again. They reached the home in time before they got soaked. The house was enormous. It had 10 different bed rooms, 5 hallways, and 2 sets of winding staircases. Its classy designs reminded Roxanne of the Victorian period, the "good old days." Now she was going to repossess the home that was already hers. Her spouse had left it to her. He had died a very long time ago, and Roxanne was raising her two daughters by herself.

  Now they were standing there, facing an empty home with more space they could have ever dreamt of. Roxanne looked at her two girls and told them to swipe off the moisture on their coats.

  " But we will be the only ones there," Emma opposed. "It does not matter if we are wet or not."

  " This home is going to be clean and tidy," her mother answered. "I will not have you abandon your good manners as we have no guests."

  The 3 went inside.

  " Whoa," Sophia exclaimed. "This is huge, Mother."

  " I know, Sophia. I inherited it a very long time ago. We moved away before you two were born."

  " I like it," Sophia said.

  " It looks a little creepy," Emma disagreed.

  " Well, you'll get used to it," Roxanne said as she walked to the windows and started aligning the drapes.

  " What is that painting on the wall?" Sophia asked.

  " That? Oh, that's a taking off beast. I don't know why anyone painted that. Let's get rid of it. It looks horrible."

  " Didn't Dad used to combat those things?" Emma asked.

  " Yes, he did," Roxanne said. "Your dad was a brave man."

  Roxanne walked to the horrendous-looking painting and gazed at it. Someone had painted a green beast with ugly teeth and mean eyes. The shadows behind it were even eerier than the creature in the foreground. It gave Roxanne the shivers, so she took it off the wall and tossed it out the door. The girls searched in amazement when they saw their mom's abrupt display of assertiveness. The painting and the frame were being flooded by the rain in the mud to be forgotten and discarded.

  " Don't look. We don't want it, right? So there is no issue, is there?"

  " No, Mom," her 2 daughters said.

  That night, they were sleeping in the same room. All 3 wanted to stay together, simply because of the dark, frightening house they were in. It was roomy, but it didn't put them at ease. They all slept ...

  All, except for Emma ...

  She was large awake, and she wouldn't fall asleep anytime quickly. "Such an inheritance," she thought. "Just because this place is huge, doesn't mean I need to like it. Take a look at the walls ... they're black, and the drapes are an ugly brownish color. I have to go to the restroom."

  She got up and left of the bed room. Her mother and older sister were still sleeping. They didn't see anything. Emma tiptoed to the opposite side of the corridor, where the restroom was. The corridor was long and high, and the shadows of the trees were giving it a dismal environment through the leaded glass windows on her right. Luckily, she found the light switch in the restroom and switched on the light. She searched in the mirror. There were big bags under her eyes. She was dead tired. Then she lifted the toilet seat.

  Thud! Thud!

  Huh? What was that? "Is any person there?" she asked.

  Silence.

  " Hey there?"

  Still no sound. Then unexpectedly ...

  Thud! Thud!

  This scared Emma so much that she didn't gamble and ran back. "Aaaaaah!" she shouted. "Mommy! There is somebody in the restroom!”

  Roxanne woke up. "What? What is it?"

  " I do not know, but there is somebody there. I swear," Emma answered while sobbing.

  " Oh, don't be so absurd," Sophia said. "It's not like there are ghosts in this house or something. Ghosts do not exist."

  " Be kind to your sister, Sophia," Roxanne said. "I will go check it out. Can you stay here?"

  " Sure," Emma said. "I'm not going back there."

  Her mom checked. After being away for several minutes, she returned and shook her head. "I found nothing," she said. "Sorry. It must have been your imaginations."

  " But I heard something," Emma insisted. "I do not know what it was, but there was certainly something there."

  " Well, whatever it was, it's gone now," her mom said. "Please go back to sleep."

  So she did.

  That was the first encounter ...

  The next day, Emma and Sophia were playing.

  " I am the magnificent princess who defeats the creatures in the underworld," Sophia said.

  " Then I am the sweet princess who gets rescued by the hero," Emma said.

  " Or I could rescue you," Sophia countered.

  " No, I will be saved by a handsome prince," Emma said.

  " A prince wouldn't want to marry you, since you're too scared. You're a wimp."

  " I am not a wimp!”

  " You are always making things up and start being scared of them," Sophia declared.

  " That's not true! I did hear something last night."

 
" Oh yeah? Then how come Mom didn't see anything?"

  But before Emma could answer, they both heard a thud, once repeated.

  Thud! Thud!

  " Wha-what was that?" Sophia asked.

  " I don't know, but it's the exact same noise I heard last night," Emma said.

  " Haha! Most likely just a rat or a dumb cat," Sophia said. "Let's go see what it is. It could be fun."

  " Nooooo, do not go over there. It might be a beast or something."

  " Ughh ... such nonsense, I don't know where you get all these ideas."

  But when they heard another thud, Sophia ended up being a little worried too. They both went to the other side of the room and opened the door. It was dark in the other room. The curtains were closed. They could not see anything, and the only light switch was near the other door.

  " Stay here," Sophia said. "I'll go switch on the light."

  " Do not leave me," Emma said.

  " It's all right. I will just be a few seconds."

  Sophia walked through the darkness to the other side of the room.

  " Aaaah!" Emma screamed when she saw a white, see-through figure standing in the room. Now she was certain the home was haunted. She just saw a ghost, a little girl like herself ... drifting above the floor, in a white dress.

  Sophia turned the light on and the figure vanished.

  " Now what?" Sophia asked. "Why are you shouting?"

  " You didn't see it? There was a ghost right there!" Emma said.

  " Then how come I didn't see it? I think you're just making it up again."

  " I'm not! I truly saw a ghost, Sophia."

  " Yeah, sure. There is always something. Let's just return to the room and play again."

  This was the 2nd encounter ...

  That night, the sky was dark, but the rain had stopped. The ground was still soaked but a round, clear, the full moon shone through the clouds. Roxanne had spoken to her daughter that day and assured her there was nothing going on, but Emma firmly insisted. The three relatives were in white sleeping dresses. Again, Sophia and Roxanne were vast asleep. They didn't seem to stress. But Emma was shaking greatly. She knew there was a ghost, but she questioned why. What did the little ghost girl want from them? Was she attempting to scare them? Kick them out of the home? What was happening here?