I should’ve said no. I hadn’t even finished unpacking the breakup boxes in my room when Jamie texted. Something like “We’re filming again—abandoned town this time. Come with. You need this.” At that point, I would've said yes to anything that wasn’t scrolling through sad playlists alone. So I packed a hoodie, my charger, and zero expectations.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKnk5ZGu8d
It wasn’t until we passed the third dead signal zone that I remembered who I was with. Jamie, Leo, Mira, and Dani weren’t just friends. They were a horror-thirsty vlogging group with a decent following for poking around in places most people ran away from. Ghost towns. Asylums. Ruined churches. They called it "paranormal exploration," but let’s be honest — it was chaos with a camera.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQw6GXhopO
“GPS died again,” Jamie announced cheerfully as we coasted past thickening trees. “This place really said ‘get lost.’”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJRl3Zqfiz
“No signal either,” Mira said, double-tapping her screen. “Love that for us.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcMUaZZDzG
I looked up from my lap. “Do we even know where we’re going?”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8HoVNf2Wk
“Better when we don’t,” Leo said from the back. His camera was already recording.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSfl8nBVdf
They weren’t worried. In fact, they were getting excited — the kind of buzz you get before a roller coaster drops. I should’ve felt the warning in my bones.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3pDijiMCb
---
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyqaepGu2Y
We passed a sign:
> WELCOME TO ELORIA.
> Population: \[blank]
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC0zuvLh2T
Just that. No number. No date.
Like the town had erased itself on purpose.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjbTHUtgFN
“Creeeepy,” Jamie grinned. “I love it already.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVMEjHIynL
Dani leaned against the window. “It’s got that ‘lost in time’ aesthetic. Perfect lighting.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYmWQcVYND
“No people though,” I muttered.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNzbcKWLEF
“Even better,” Mira said. “No one to tell us to stop filming.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcx2f4d45p
---
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEorz4snzR
The town looked… paused. Storefronts dusty but not broken. Cars parked but empty. Windows intact, yet no lights inside. Like someone hit freeze and walked away. The only sound was the van’s engine and Jamie humming some eerie tune he made up on the spot.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqWDsjzlpK
Then we saw it.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2cLjVSMoj
A mansion.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0E04esLVwh
At the end of a long road, wrapped in ivy and shadows. Stone walls, iron gate bent open like it gave up years ago. The windows were cracked and blind, and the front door stood perfectly still.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxTxOOx9ZW
“Oh hell yes,” Leo whispered. “Are you guys seeing that?”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTq9qjUMuK
“That’s our thumbnail,” Dani grinned. “Ten million views.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6jA5OrEZj
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I said. “You wanna stay in there?”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKinECl2Um
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely.”
They all answered at once.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FvaGVpPcJ
---
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9oucAHY7g
We parked near the front steps. Jamie was already halfway to the door before the engine even died. “Place like this? We’re legally obligated to explore it.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvJidHf204
“You guys have issues,” I mumbled.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF988pBjWoq
They laughed like I told a joke.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNGX97s9Fg
To them, this was nothing. Another haunted place. Another night of EMF buzzers, cold spots, and maybe a faint whisper on audio playback that their fans would obsess over.
But me?
I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t used to chasing fear. I didn’t want thrills. I just wanted to stop feeling like a ghost myself.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZ3ipbvQGN
---
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7s5anxEcS
The door opened on its own. No wind. No effort. Just that long, aching creak — like the house knew we were coming.
Inside, it was colder. Darker. The dust hung in the air like it had nowhere else to go. The floor groaned beneath our steps. The air smelled wrong — like metal, wet wood, and something I couldn’t name but made my throat tighten.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIDHShhBHe
“This place is sick,” Mira said, snapping pics.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwurpso34dX
“I’m getting residual energy vibes,” Leo said, panning his camera slowly across the hallway.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5vHMTVLgq
Dani peeled a white sheet off a grand piano. “It’s like no one ever left.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQqpnHJIuv
I stood near the entrance, frozen.
There were portraits along the walls. Each one… the same girl. Pale face. Long black hair. Eyes scratched out.
My chest tightened.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRNvriahy9
“She’s kind of creepy-hot,” Jamie said, examining one closely. “Like, Victorian ghost girlfriend material.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UG2zdfKbb
“Dude,” Mira rolled her eyes. “Don’t simp for the spirit.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQZEChhNu5
They kept joking. Laughing. Recording.
I was the only one who couldn’t smile.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpZoAK7SwT
---
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqEB6QUYYz
We set our stuff down in what used to be the living room. The furniture was ancient but intact, like someone had tried to preserve it. I sat on the edge of a dust-covered couch, scrolling through my dead phone even though I knew there’d be no notifications. Not from him. Not anymore.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7fjJZF1r7
Jamie walked past with a headlamp and tripod. “We’ll shoot a tour first, then maybe some solo reaction bits. Riz, you wanna do yours in the attic?”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgRIER6J7K
I stared at him. “No.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioRYhEWbkf
“Aw, c’mon. You’ve got the ‘haunted heartbroken girl’ look. You’d kill it.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJT57ydqKp
“Exactly,” I muttered.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNG4b7riSF
---
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNZbI6ZqT1
Later that night, after they filmed two hours of shaky footage and a fake séance (for the vlog), I wandered through the house alone. Not because I wanted to. But because something was pulling me.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsppKuV2a1
The hallways were long and narrow. The air got heavier with every step. I ended up in a side corridor where a small, cracked portrait hung at eye level. Not a painting this time. A photo. The same girl again. Standing outside the very door we entered. Smiling. Head tilted. Eyes… gone.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKYG8ZmfFW
There were words carved into the frame:
> SHE SEES THROUGH WALLS.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMCLhc1O0b
I took a shaky breath and stepped back. Then I heard it. A sound behind me. Not footsteps. Not breathing. Dragging. Like bare feet sliding across wood.
I turned slowly. No one was there. But the shadows at the end of the hallway were deeper now. And I swear I saw something… just barely step out of view.
ns216.73.216.25da2
