( a journal written by Gray William, 2019)
Everyone thought it was a joke, even me.
That's the part that still twists my insides- how we laughed at first.
If i close my eyes, i can hear Jack snorting soda out of his nose, Jenny howling with laughter, and the click of the phone camera capturing us all, frozen mid-giggle in that horrible, horrible moment.
It was April 1st. The perfect day to test Jack's "genius " prank- in his words not mine.
A fake seance, some Ouija board nonsense.
He found this dusty old board at a yard sale, it was practically falling apart, which should've been the first red flag.
"Mediaeval aesthetic", he said, " let's go summon the demon of good vibes .
We laughed.
We set up the prank in the abandoned Kerry house on the edge of town.
You know, the type with peeling wallpaper, shattered glass windows, and black mold colonizing every corners of the wall like it was trying to consume the place from the inside out.
It was said that a young woman named Becky Kerry had murdered her family in there back in the early 90s before hanging herself in the attic.
Every town has a story like that, right?
I wish we had took it seriously.
It was me, Jack, Jenny, Maddie and Alex.
We brought candles, a Bluetooth speaker for some spooky sound effects, and a six-pack to keep the mood light.
The plan was simple: fake a possession, post it online, get a million veiws, and let the comments roll in.
Isn't that what those YouTubers do?
Jack even rigged the board to rattle on command using magnets.
It was going to be hilarious.
Yeah....
We circled around the Ouija board in the living room, Jack started chanting some gibberish he found online, he widened his eyes for dramatic effect.
Jenny played along, feigning terror, Alex was filming the whole thing, his phone catching the candlelights flickering off our faces.
I remember Maddie looking uncomfortable, biting her lip like she wanted to speak but didn't.
I should've paid attention then.
When the board began to move, we all laughed.
" who are you?" Jack asked in his best B-movie voice.
The plan was for the magnets to guide the planchette to spell D-E-A-T-H.
The classic.
But instead, it slid to S-T-A-Y.
None of us had rigged it to do that.
We all paused, Jenny snorted, " ooh, how spooky" she teased.
Jack, trying to keep the mood alive, played along, " why? Why should we stay?"
The board responded again.
I-W-A-N-T- T-O- P-L-A-Y
We all paused again.
Alex laughed nervously, "Nice one Jack "
But Jack was not smiling," that....wasn't me"
The lights on the speaker flickered, though it wasn't even playing anything at that point.
A cold wind swept through the room, snuffling out the candles.
The smell in the air was not right, like rot and mildew and something coppery underneath.
" okay okay, great prank, hahaha" i said, standing up, " you guys got me, now jokes over"
Then we heard Maddie screamed.
Not like a fake scream, that part was not in the game, no, her scream, this was raw, primal terror.
Her eyes were wide , focused on the door behind us.
We all turned our heads.
There was a woman standing on the hallway, or something shaped like a woman, it was gaunt, tall, her neck was too long, the head was cocked at an unnatural angle.
She had no eyes, just black sockets leaking thick tarry tears. Her mouth hung open, stretching wider than it should've, revealing rows of too many teeth.
God.
No one moved.
The thing took a step forward.
Jack fumble for the speaker, yelling, " alright, good costume you have there, who is this anyway Alex?"
We all turned to Alex, but Alex wasn't filming anymore, his phone was on the floor, screen cracked, the lens pointed at nothing.
Alex was shaking, mouthing silent words, his pupils were dilated like someone had just injected ice water into his veins.
The thing took another step- and the temperature dropped like we were suddenly in a walk- in freezer, our breatth fogged, Maddie started praying under her breath.
"Alright, enough with being spooky , you got us" Jack stepped forward, and reached for the thing's mask.
The thing grabbed him.
I don't remember hearing a sound, but suddenly Jack was in the air, limp like a ragdoll , his neck was bent at the same awful angle as that thing's.
Then we heard a snap.
We ran.
I don't remember how we got out of the house, i think Jenny had tripped over the porch steps.
I know Maddie pulled me by the arm when i was frozen in shock.
I remember screaming and tripping, i remember Alex didn't make it out.
We heard him scream just once then silence, we reached the street.
No one had a signal, Maddie flagged a passing car, Jenny was sobbing, repeating,
" this is a prank, this is a prank" over and over like a mantra.
The police was called, they found no bodies in the house, Jack and Alex were no where to be found, just the burned out candles and Ouija board which was split in half.
We were suspects at first, we were detained and questioned for weeks, but with no evidence eventually they ruled it as an "unexplained disappearance "
Case closed. Move on.
Just like that.
But it didn't.
Jenny couldn't speak again and was committed three months later after she attacked a teacher with a chainsaw, claiming that the teacher looks like that woman from that house.
And Maddie.....i don't know, i heard she left town.
Her number changed so i can't get in touch with her, sometimes i wonder if she still alive.
That leaves me.
I've tried to live a normal life, i go to therapy, take pills, i tell myself that trauma does things to the brain, that there was no ghost or demon, just a tragic prank gone wrong.
But i know better.
Every April 1st, i get a letter with no return address.
Always the same phrase, " i want to play"
But this time, it came with a photo.
Jack, neck bent.
Alex, eyes gone.
Both of them, standing in the woods, smiling.
Its been years since the Kerry house, i changed my name, i burned my old journals.
Last week, i received a news that Maddie had drowned in a lake.
I moved five towns away and took a job, i stayed off social media, and blocked every number that looked even slightly familiar.
But i still hear it, sometimes on ratio when i drive at night, it was like a whisper of a snake.
" i want to play"
And am still receiving those letters.
I have something to confess, i saw it watching us before we even enter the house, it was standing in the attic window.
No one noticed it, the shadows moved too easily in that place, but i felt its presence.
i brushed it off, thinking it was part of the plan.
When i first stepped inside the house, it felt something was not right, but for some reason i couldn't get myself to leave.
Now that i think about it, am the only one still alive.
Then.....was it talking to me?
[ Kai returns]
"....."
April fool's day huh?
A haunted house, an Ouija board, a demon.
The best combo it is.
Gray thought he had survived, that he was lucky.
He was wrong.
He was right when he said it was talking to him.
But here's the twist, the thing has noticed him for a very very long time.
It wasn't summoned, it was waiting.
It was watching Gray long before it knew his name.
Long before Gray even had one.
You're asking how did i know?
Its a secret.
And now, its with him.
It never wanted them.
Just him.
And not to kill him
No.....
But to wear him.
You ask why?
*shrugs * i don't know.