House Of Horrors
It would be James and his wife, Mandy’s first home they bought. They had both saved up enough money to finally purchase the house.
They considered it their dream house. It was spacious and had a back garden for their future kids. But they would soon discover that their dream house was the stuff nightmares are made of.
A Dream Come True
James and Mandy Fisher were married for five years when they finally bought their dream home. They decided to settle in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with their dog, Scout.
It took a long time to finally find something they were both happy with. But when they saw the house from the inside, Mandy couldn’t contain her excitement. But the happiness would soon turn into sadness for the couple.
Moving Day
It was moving day and James and Mandy had packed up their belongings from the apartment they had rented. They were overjoyed to be leaving.
They only had a few boxes but they vowed to fill their new house with all the things they wanted and loved to make it a home they could cherish. When they stepped into the front door, they were met with something unusual.
So Much Space
They couldn’t believe how much space they had. It was two floors and on the second floor were all the bedrooms.
On the ground floor were the kitchen, living room, and home office. Mandy was so happy about finally having a kitchen big enough to cook all their favorite meals. Then, she noticed something strange.
Kitchen Floor
There was a floor hatch in the kitchen. She hadn’t noticed it before when the realtor took them on a tour of the house.
It could have been because there was a table over it. But then she saw that it was bolted shut with a lock. She showed James and they made a plan to try and open it to see what was beneath the kitchen floor.
Another Mystery
Mandy saw that there was something behind an antique cupboard that was left behind by the previous owner. It clearly made Scout uncomfortable and he started growling.
The realtor said the house belonged to an old lady who had no children to pass the house onto. The antique cupboard wasn’t bad looking, but Mandy decided that it needed a fresh coat of varnish. She moved the cupboard slightly and then made a strange discovery.
An Old House
Mandy could see that this was an old house. It was well-kept but still needed some touch-ups here and there.
Some of the floorboards needed to be sanded down and re-varnished. Although Mandy loved the old Victorian look of the house, she knew it needed some work. Especially when she saw what was behind the antique cupboard.
A Mystery
She moved it slightly with ease as it was clearly empty. She pushed just a little bit more and there it was. A door.
There was a locked door behind the cupboard. Why was the cupboard pushed against this door? It was something she hadn’t seen before. She knew she had to get to the bottom of this mystery.
No Such Luck
Over the next few weeks, Mandy tried looking for the key to the mysterious door in the kitchen. She even looked in the drawers of the antique cupboard but found nothing.
They had already moved in and minor renovations they had planned were put on hold because of the cold weather. It was then that the nightmares would begin.
Finally, Some Rest
Mandy and James were settling in after a hard day’s work of moving and rearranging their furniture. It was snowing outside and Mandy couldn’t wait to jump into bed.
James had switched on the heating system to warm up their room for the night. They settled in and Mandy took out her book to read a few chapters. It was then that they both sat up as a smell wafted into their bedroom.
A Rotten Smell
It was a rotten smell and it was so bad that they ran out of the room. Mandy fetched air fresheners from the kitchen to spray the area.
There was no way that they could sleep in there anymore. The smell lingered. James wondered where it had come from. They decided to relocate to one of the other bedrooms.
Relocation
They settled into the other bedroom and James once again turned on the heating system to warm up the room. Scout just stood by the door, not wanting to come in.
Just as Mandy climbed into bed and opened her book, the smell returned. Stronger this time. It was then that they realized that something was horribly wrong. They had a big smelly problem on their hands.
To Find The Problem
The next day, James knew he had a big task ahead of him. It seemed like the smell was coming every time he switched on the heating system.
It was both in the main bedroom as well as the guest bedroom. He had to figure out whether it was just those rooms or if it was the whole house. James braced himself for what lay ahead.
The Search Begins
James needed to test the heating system throughout the entire house. He switched it on in the other bedroom they hadn’t been in.
He also tested the living room and the home office. It seemed like the whole house had a problem with the smell. He felt like he wanted to tear down everything to see what was causing it. But he was sure it was something horrible.
Checking The Vents
It was time to check all the vents. All the rooms had it so it was just a matter of unscrewing them all and checking what was inside.
He started in the main bedroom. He unscrewed it and shone his flashlight inside. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. He then went through all the other rooms but noticed the living room didn’t have one. Where was the smell coming from, he wondered.
Professional Help
James realized that it could be something that he wasn’t able to do on his own. This job needed the help of a professional.
They decided it would be best to call in help. Just as James was closing the last vent in the home office, he saw something gleaming inside. He reached out and grabbed it. It was a key.
Another Discovery
James showed Mandy the key he found in the vent. It was silver and vintage-looking. It was then that Mandy realized which door the key belonged to.
It was the door behind the antique cupboard in the kitchen. Finally, they were able to open it and see what was inside. When they unlocked the door, something terrifying awaited them.
Something Unseen
Before they went down to the area which they now concluded was the basement, they heard Scout barking incessantly in the living room.
James rushed to tell him to be quiet but he kept barking at something in the corner of the room. There was nothing there but Scout kept barking and growling at something unseen.
The Basement
It was dark in the basement and they couldn’t find a light switch so they took a flashlight to light their way. Scout refused to go down there, they could see he was scared.
They left their pooch in the well lit house while they went down, spurred on by curiosity. They summized that the smell could have been coming from the basement. But they would find much more than just that.
Delving Deeper
Creak by creak, they slowly descended the stairs until all they could see were dust particles dancing in the light of the flashlight. James then made the mistake of delving deeper into the depths of the basement.
He tripped over something and landed on his back. His flashlight was on the dirty floor and pointed further into the room. He wasn’t ready for what it was shining on.
Spooked
As James lay on the cold basement floor, he stretched his arm out to retrieve the flashlight, casting an eerie glow over the room.
The sight before him sent shivers down his spine. They were looking at a house within the house. They had never been so spooked and creeped out before.
A House
Mandy and James couldn't believe their eyes. In the dim light of the flashlight, they saw a small, intricate replica of their own house, complete with miniature furniture and tiny versions of people.
It was as if someone had painstakingly recreated their home in eerie detail. It must have been the old woman who lived here, they guessed.
A Replica
As they examined the miniature house, they realized that it was not just a model; it was a diorama, a meticulously constructed representation of their own living space.
The level of detail was astonishing, down to the tiniest trinkets on the shelves and the miniature portraits hanging on the walls. It must have been what the old lady liked to do in her spare time.
Sinister Discoveries
A sense of unease settled over them as they noticed more peculiar details in the diorama. Some of the miniature figures had sinister expressions, while others appeared to be engaged in bizarre activities.
They couldn't help but wonder why the old lady would go to such lengths to create such an unsettling replica.
All Things Creepy
“Sheesh, what was the old lady into? Seems like she liked all things creepy,” Mandy said as another chill ran up her spine. The replica house creeped her out, and it made her feel like the figurines were watching them somehow.
But after they were done looking at the miniature house, they shone the flashlight all through the basement and couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Eerie Feeling
They saw more wine barrels, antique furniture, wooden chests, and lots of framed pictures. Mandy helped James up, and they started looking through the room. Mandy started with the chests while James looked at the photos.
All of the chests were empty, and Mandy wondered what the old lady had kept inside them. Things felt eerie and unsettling down there.
The Floor Hatch Mystery
When they hadn’t found anything of interest down in the basement, Mandy remembered the other mystery she had found in their kitchen. The floor hatch.
They thought that maybe the key would be hidden in the basement. After all, the vents had the key to the basement, so it felt like a scavenger hunt. James searched everywhere until he saw something shining in the darkness.
Breaking The Lock
James saw the reflection of metal in the room. He walked over and found something he could substitute as a key. It was an old crowbar that looked like it had seen better years.
They broke the lock and lifted the heavy hatch. There were strange jars, which looked like they had preserved foods inside. They also found a box inside and when they opened it, they would be amazed by what they would find.
Hidden Journals
Inside the box was a series of old journals, their pages yellowed and brittle with age. Mandy and James carefully began flipping through them, trying to decipher the faded handwriting.
The journals appeared to belong to the elderly woman who had once owned the house. As they read, they uncovered a disturbing truth about the house's history.
A Dark Obsession
The journals chronicled the woman's descent into a dark obsession with the supernatural. She wrote about strange occurrences, eerie visions, and encounters with malevolent entities within the house.
It seemed that she had been conducting her own investigations into the paranormal, attempting to communicate with spirits and entities that she believed were trapped within the walls of the house.
Malevolent Spirits
As Mandy and James read on, a sense of dread began to settle over them. The woman's writings became increasingly erratic and filled with paranoia.
She described how she had made contact with malevolent spirits who tormented her day and night. The more she delved into the supernatural, the more her mental state deteriorated.
A Haunting
It was clear from the journals that the old lady had believed their house was haunted, and she had been trying to appease or communicate with the restless spirits through bizarre rituals and seances.
Mandy and James were now faced with the chilling possibility that the strange occurrences in their new home might be connected to the old lady's obsession with the supernatural.
Terrifying Realization
With each journal entry they read, the couple's sense of unease deepened. They began to suspect that the malevolent entities the woman had described might still be lurking in the house, and they feared that they had unwittingly become the new targets of these vengeful spirits.
As they closed the journals, they couldn't help but feel the weight of the chilling truth: was their dream house really haunted? They didn’t know but they continued looking in the hatch.
House Mystery
They were surprised that the hatch was so small. It seemed like it was just for storage purposes. The box also contained old recipes. Scout had started growling again and they couldn’t understand his behavior.
It seemed like something old Victorian kitchens might have. It was probably used as a pantry once. But now it looked like things had gone sour over the past hundred years.
Blueprints
But the storage nook didn’t just have recipes and what used to be stored grains. There was something else that didn’t look that remarkable until James decided to pick it up.
There was also a rolled-up parchment and when James unrolled it, he was amazed to find that he was looking at the original blueprints of the house. It was dated 1887. James couldn’t believe what they had just found.
Doubts
They packed everything back in the box and lifted it out of the hatch. It was getting late and they still had so many things to do. They decided to look at it after dinner. But the box shouldn’t have been left unattended.
Doubt would soon be sewn into the couple’s minds as they reflected on what they had found all in one day.
Discovering So Much
As Mandy was cooking, she had a strange feeling about the house. They were discovering so much that they hadn’t seen or were told about by the realtor.
She wondered if they had made the right decision by buying the house. Soon, her doubts would be realized in full when they took a look at the box after dinner.
The Howling
Just as she was about to set the table for dinner, they heard a piercing howl coming from Scout. They had never heard him do that before. Their dog had never been so loud and disobedient before. What had gotten into him?
Mandy started feeling a creeping uneasiness wash over her. She dropped what she was doing and went to investigate.
Bad Smell
But just as she turned to leave the kitchen, it happened again. The rotten smell returned. It was coming in the kitchen this time. Mandy asked James if he had turned on the heating system, but his answer would leave her confused.
James was getting out of the shower and came down in a hurry when he heard her calling him. But when she repeated her question, she shook his head.
The Smell Returns
James hadn’t turned on the heating system this time and the smell just came out of the blue. They decided to call the realtor to ask a few questions.
They didn’t know if they’d reach her this late at night, but they were genuinely uneasy about the strange things occurring in the house. When she picked up she assured them that the heating system was new and the house had been cleaned.
Proof
They just had to look for the invoices in the cupboard in the kitchen. And sure enough, there they were. The proof that everything she was saying was true. But it still did not solve the mystery they had on their hands.
Their minds went to classic horror movies where demonic activities caused an unpleasant odor. But this was real life. Surely there was an explanation that didn’t include the supernatural?
Minds Raced
James and Mandy both felt nervous in their own house. They evacuated the kitchen and ate dinner in the dining room, where the smell was the weakest. Despite that, they couldn’t enjoy dinner because of the odor.
Things reached a breaking point when James angrily slammed his fist down on the table. “Dammit, I need to figure out what’s going on.”
Unsettled
Mandy reassured her husband that they would worry about it in the morning. For now, they finished dinner and went to bed. But neither of them could sleep easy in the strange house when their minds were on what was going on.
It was a mystery they didn’t know how to solve. They were unsettled and so was their dog. James reassured Mandy that the problem would be solved.
Middle Of The Night
Mandy woke up in the middle of the night and saw James wasn’t in bed. She feared the worst and slowly made her way downstairs. She crept as quietly as she could until she found him doing the most peculiar thing.
He decided to spray the house with air fresheners and get to the bottom in the morning. Indeed, it was something that they could handle, or so they thought.
The Next Day
The morning broke, and the two woke up. But neither felt like they had gotten quality sleep. Mandy had heavy bags under her eyes, and James had a sore back. The couple really regretted buying the house in this state.
But when James saw the distressing look on his wife’s face, he decided to try and cheer her up the best way he knew how.
Getting To The Bottom Of Things
They decided to relax in the living room. James lit the fireplace and it warmed the whole room up. Then they brought out the box they found in the floor hatch. Mandy would now be comfortable while they tried getting to the bottom of things.
It was time for them to inspect the house plans they hadn’t gotten a chance to the other night. But what they would find would have Mandy wanting to throw up.
Old Blueprints
They looked at the old blueprints and compared them with the one the realtor gave to them. There were noticeable differences. And then Scout started barking uncontrollably again.
It hadn’t been long since Scout last did this. It was now a normal thing for him to do. Was he warning them of imminent danger? The couple knew they had to figure things out before they went to bed again.
Barking Mad
Scout was barking at the same corner of the living room. James decided to have a look at what he was barking at. This was becoming too much for them to handle.
James felt like he was losing his mind. But he had to investigate the barking even if it might have been nothing. Scout had never steered him wrong before and he knew dogs had a keen sense people didn’t.
Another Vent
He lifted the carpet. And there it was. Another vent. But this was very strange because this vent was not on the new blueprint, but it was on the old one. James and Mandy were getting worried.
James remembered the key he had found in the last vent. Maybe this one held similar secrets? He thought it was worth a try to see if the answer to all their worries was waiting for him there.
Trying To Open It
James inspected the vent. He could clearly see why it wasn’t on the plans of the new house. It looked like it was an original part of the house. It was rusted shut, and he had no way to pry it open.
Like a madman, he chiseled at it and even tried using a blowtorch while Mandy sat on the couch scared.
A Dark Obsession
It seemed as if the vent had become a dark obsession for her husband. He couldn’t bear the smell any longer and snapped as a result. He tried all of his tools while Mandy sat, trying to muster up enough courage to stop him.
She finally got off the couch and put her hand on James’ shoulder. “Honey, it’s okay. Let’s get someone else to handle this for us.”
One More Dark Night
James Collapsed into his wife’s arms. He reluctantly conceded and called professionals. But they would only arrive the next morning. The prospect of spending another night in the house without figuring out what was going on scared them both.
That night, Mandy woke up again. To her horror, her husband was out of bed again. She knew exactly where he was. He was looking into the vent like a lunatic. Mandy slowly approached him and coaxed him back to bed. She knew things had to end now.
Help Is On The Way
The next morning, James called in professionals immediately. They needed to check if there wasn’t anything in the vent, as he couldn’t open it. It might be an infestation or a dead rodent inside.
They came in 30 minutes, equipped with everything needed to pry open the vent. When they eventually managed to open it, they made a gruesome discovery that made their blood run cold.
A Gruesome Discovery
They found various jars with putrid liquids in them and, most disturbingly, several animal carcasses and bones. James and Mandy were uneasy. This is what Scout was barking at, and the jars were causing the smell.
What did this mean? Mandy wondered if their house was used for rituals and sacrifices, and she didn’t want to live there anymore if that was the case. Then the maintenance man then told them it wasn’t as unusual as they thought.
Old Pennsylvanian Traditions
He told them that he and his team found these all the time in the old Victorian houses. It was Pennsylvania’s tradition of ritual healing known as powwow. He said they used animal carcasses to combine elements of religion and belief with health and healing.
It seems the old lady who lived here needed healing, but James and Mandy decided that it was best to remove the jars and carcasses so that the smell could disappear and they could continue to live normal lives so that Scout could be at ease.
Relief
Relieved and slightly reassured by the explanation, James and Mandy watched as the professionals carefully removed the jars and animal remains from the vent.
The foul odor began to dissipate, and the tension in the house slowly lifted. It appeared that the source of their nightmares had been a long-forgotten tradition rather than malevolent spirits.
A Renewed Sense Of Hope
As the professionals finished their work, James and Mandy felt a renewed sense of hope and relief. Maybe, just maybe, their dream house was not as haunted or cursed as they had feared.
They decided to continue their life in the house, determined to make it a home filled with love and happiness. They even decided to bring the miniature house out of the basement and put it on display in the living room.
Distant Memories
Over time, the house began to truly feel like their own. The nightmares and unsettling occurrences became distant memories, and they focused on renovating and decorating the place to their liking.
They even used some of the antique furniture from the basement. They also made sure Scout felt comfortable and safe in his new home.
Unique Charm
Despite the strange and eerie events of their early days in the house, James and Mandy discovered that their dream home had its own unique charm. They were grateful to be surrounded by history and tradition, and they embraced it as part of the house's character.
Although they heard the odd bump in the night, they knew it was only because the house was very old.
Newfound Appreciation
With their determination, love, and a newfound appreciation for the old Victorian charm of their home, James and Mandy turned their house of horrors into a warm and inviting sanctuary.
It became not just a place to live but a place to create cherished memories and dreams of their own with each other and Scout right by their side