In The Woods

By Magda G.

In the desolate heart of a forgotten forest, a dilapidated cabin stood alone, shrouded in an eerie fog that seemed to devour all light. The tales told of this forsaken place sent shivers down the spines of those who dared listen, and it was simply known as “The Haunting Cabin.”

For generations, no one had dared to approach the cabin. The bravest souls would take wide detours to avoid even catching a glimpse of it through the dense trees. But one fateful night, a group of friends, emboldened by liquid courage and youthful recklessness, decided to challenge the legend. They were determined to spend a night in the cabin and prove to themselves that it was nothing more than an old wives’ tale.

The moon hung low and bloated in the sky as they arrived at the cabin, its decrepit facade more menacing than they had ever imagined. The air was cold, the silence unnerving, as they entered cautiously, their flashlights flickering in the inky darkness.

The cabin’s interior was in ruins, the walls rotting, and the floorboards creaking with every step. The scent of dampness and decay lingered, clinging to their senses. The friends nervously laughed off their unease, joking and mocking the legends as they huddled together in the main room.

As the night wore on, strange occurrences began to unfold. Whispering winds outside grew into incoherent murmurs, seemingly carried by voices just beyond the veil of hearing. Shadows danced in the corners of their vision, too quick to be grasped, but they dismissed them as tricks of imagination fueled by fear.

Then, the cabin itself seemed to come alive. Doors slammed shut with force, and windows rattled as though unseen hands were trying to break in. Panic spread among the friends, and their laughter turned to cries of terror. They realized too late that they were not alone.

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the cabin, freezing them in their tracks. They followed the sound to a narrow corridor leading to a basement door that had been hidden beneath a tattered rug. The cries came from below.

Summoning what little courage remained, they descended into the darkness, their flashlights piercing the blackness like feeble beacons of hope. In the dim glow, they discovered a nightmarish sight: a decrepit cellar filled with rusty chains, shackles, and walls adorned with crude etchings.

At the centre of the room, a figure clad in tattered rags hunched over, her long, matted hair obscuring her face. Her hands trembled as she scraped a jagged piece of metal against the stone floor, etching symbols that seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy.

One of the friends, trembling with fear, recognized the symbols from an ancient book of dark rituals. They had unwittingly stumbled upon a cursed place, and the woman in the cellar was a vessel for a malevolent force that had long sought release.

The moment their flashlights fell upon her, the woman’s head snapped up, her eyes devoid of humanity, filled only with malice. She let out an ear-piercing shriek that reverberated through the cellar, and the very walls seemed to tremble in response.

Panicked and desperate to escape, the friends rushed back upstairs, but the cabin had transformed. Walls shifted, hallways twisted, and doorways vanished, trapping them in an ever-changing labyrinth of terror. The ghostly whispers grew louder, more insistent, urging them toward madness.

One by one, they were separated, each facing their own nightmarish horrors. The walls bled, the floors writhed with spectral hands, and the air grew heavy with dread. The malevolent force that had possessed the woman in the cellar toyed with them, savoring their fear.

Morning light eventually pierced the cabin’s nightmarish facade, but it was too late for the friends. They had been forever changed by the horrors they had witnessed, their minds shattered, their souls trapped within the Haunting Cabin to torment others who dared to enter.

As the cabin faded back into the depths of the forest, it left behind a chilling warning to all who would listen: some legends are not mere tales; they are cursed truths, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the next unsuspecting souls to wander too close to their malevolent grasp.