I moved into a haunted house for all the wrong reasons

The thought of moving into a haunted house was exciting for me. I didn’t really believe in the paranormal, but I also didn’t not believe in it if that makes any sense.

I’m in my mid-30s, single, and even though I always imagined one day settling down with a wife and dog and white picket fence none of that seemed to be happening. I’m not the most handsome guy and combine that with being a little socially awkward I realized it was more realistic to get the house first than a partner.

It’s not a big place either. It’s 1200 square feet with a tiny backyard and the neighbors are so close I can almost reach out and touch their house without leaving my yard. But it was mine. It was a long house; a shotgun style house I think they’re called. The previous owners had bought it with the intention of flipping it. They had only done half the work, stopping midway through renovations and selling at a loss. It was the fault of the ghosts apparently.

The outside was beautiful. The siding was all new, a dark hunter green with bright yellow door that felt both cheerful and welcoming. The landscaping was simple but well done. Once you got into the house you could see where the renovations stopped. Some walls were painted, and some were not. The kitchen was untouched and didn’t look like it had been updated since the 70s. But the one bathroom and master bedroom had been completely redone and looked great. It was all I needed. I was certain that I could update the kitchen later if I wanted too. If the stove and fridge worked, I didn’t really care what it looked like.

My mom was thrilled at first when I told her. When she first came to visit, she seemed less than impressed.

Her face dropped as she walked into the home for the first time.

“Oh James, this place is only half done. And it’s so small!” She sighed, as she looked around my tiny home.

My mood dropped when she said that though I tried to not let it show.

“It’s all I need mom. I’m just a single guy. I don’t even have a dog yet. Besides, this is all I could afford. Houses are expensive around here.” I explained.

My mom shook her head and kept frowning.

“But, honey, if you get married there won’t be enough room for both of you and your children!” she said sadly.

After mom left that day, I tried to raise my spirits. My mom was always like that, and I should have prepared myself emotionally before she came over.

I ended up ordering a pizza and settling down for some gaming with my friends. Most of my friends live in other states and even other countries. But we’re all gamers so we have that to connect us. I had been showing them all pictures and videos of my home throughout the day, and at least they were impressed.

“Dang dude, you’re like an official adult now,” my friend Yuri chirped over the headset.

My mood lifted with that. At least my friends could appreciate my new place.

“Thanks man, though I hate to tell you I’ve been an adult since I was eighteen,” I snapped back.

On the screen I could see him shrug.

“If you say so man. I know I didn’t think of you as an adult till now,” he grinned at me.

I laughed. On the monitor I could see my other friends rolling their eyes at Yuri or they were just focusing on the game.

There were six of us total. Me, Yuri, Robert, Cheryl, Sadie, and Travis. A pretty full game night. A few of my friends were married or had kids so it was rare that they could have enough time to join a game session.

I was finally settling into the game in between bites of my dinner when my friend Cheryl caught my attention through the headset.

“Hey James, is there anyone with you right now?” She asked.

“Yeah, all of you guys,” I said as I sipped my beer.

“No, I mean in the house with you right now. Didn’t you say your mom left? I just saw someone walk past your doorway.” She sounded concerned.

I glanced down at her face on the monitor. She was staring intently at me with her controller down by her side.

I turned in my chair and looked behind me. There was nothing in the hallway. And my mom had been gone for hours, and I absolutely lived alone.

Turning back around I shrugged. “Did you see a shadow or something Cheryl? There’s no one here except for me.” I tried to reassure her.

“Could you just go check? I swear to you that someone just walked past your doorway.” She sounded worried.

Mentally I rolled my eyes, but I smiled at her and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll just go check. Maybe it’s the ghosts after all,” I said trying to lighten the mood.

“Or maybe it’s just a good old-fashioned burglar, coming to steal your old Atari system and moldy pizza boxes!” Robert piped in over the headset.

“Robert, I’m being serious right now. I know someone walked by the door!” Cheryl hissed at him.

“Do you need us to have 911 on standby?” Sadie asked.

“You’re all the way in Kansas City Sadie, I don’t think they’ll reach me in time,” I laughed.

“Just yell if you need us, we’ll come running,” Travis joined in.

I loved my friends. I really did, but if someone was really in the house and I was about to be murdered they’d probably regret those jokes later.

I stood up and poked my head into the hallway. Nothing. I walked to the master bedroom. Also, nothing. Same for the kitchen and bathroom and living room. Say what you want about small houses but there is absolutely no place for a serial killer or burglar to hide in one.

When I came back into the second bedroom all my friends were waiting for an update. I shrugged, before sitting down and putting the headset back on.

“There’s nothing there, maybe the hallway lights or something caused a weird shadow. But I’m all alone in here,” I told everyone.

Cheryl still didn’t look convinced but everyone else accepted it. We kept gaming and everyone with kids or spouses started signing off as the hours passed till it was just me and Yuri gaming well past midnight.

But as 1am got closer even he was ready to call it a night. He lived on the east coast, so it was even later in the evening for him.

“I’ll talk at ya later. The sandman is finally calling me to bed,” he yawned over the headset.

“Same here. It was a good time. The best way to break in a new house is for a good gaming session,” I yawned back.

He laughed and signed off and I stood up with a groan. I was stiff from all the sitting. At least tomorrow was Saturday so I could sleep in and then get busy with putting everything away.

This would be my first full night in my new home. I was excited, but also felt a little nervous in a new place. The creaks and groans of the new house weren’t familiar yet. I hadn’t done enough to the place to make it feel like home. It almost felt like I was staying at an Airbnb instead of something I’d bought and paid for.

My bed was set up, but I hadn’t put the sheets on it yet. And I wasn’t going to either. No one was going to judge me except the ghosts if there were any. I spread out a blanket to cover the bare mattress and pulled a knitted blanket on top of me. This would be just fine till morning. I had my phone in bed with me, and even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t resist some mindless scrolling till sleep finally took me.

I felt my eyes closing. It was a relaxing feeling, that need for sleep pulling you down till you couldn’t ignore it anymore. As I set my phone down a flash of movement by the doorway caught my eye.

It was low to the ground and dark.

My heart started pounding as the small burst of adrenaline hit my system.

I know I was half asleep, but it had looked like hair. As if someone was peeking at me from the doorway with their head on the ground and then suddenly jerked out of sight.

...

“I’m home,” I said, feeling the tension leave my body.

“Welcome home,” a tiny voice said from somewhere deep within the house.

I chose to ignore it.