The ancient walls of the dilapidated mansion creaked and groaned as the wind howled through it. Aside from the ghosts who roamed inside, it had been abandoned for a long time. Tormenting anybody who ventured inside, they lingered in the shadows, whispering sinister tales.

Hazel, a budding paranormal investigator, arrived at the estate in her hometown on a moonless night. Many years had passed since she had heard stories about the mansion’s haunting, and now her curiosity had finally taken hold. Equipped with her camera and a receptive mindset, she braved the unknown. A freezing shiver went up her spine the instant she stepped through the doorway. The house seemed to be burdened by a heavy heart, as the air became heavy. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her gut, Sarah pressed on.

She explored the ground floor, capturing the dimly lit rooms on film. Each one seemed frozen in time, with faded wallpaper peeling off the walls and furniture draped in dusty sheets. It was as if the house itself mourned its own demise.

There was a slight whisper in the hallway as Hazel made her way to the second level. Her heart thumping in her chest, she halted, shuddering as she went down the creaky steps and entered the basement. A bad smell assaulted her nostrils as the temperature dropped. Something evil seemed to be lurking just out of her direct line of sight; she could feel it in the space. With a fast snap of her camera, she checked it out, her blood freezing. A pale person with ethereal light glowing in its eyes was visible to her in the picture, standing in the corner. Although fear overcame her, it just strengthened her resolve to find out the truth. The spirits had made their presence known, and she was not going to turn back now.

As the night wore on, Hazel found herself in the attic. Among the dusty boxes and forgotten belongings, she stumbled upon a journal. Its pages were yellowed and brittle, the ink faded but still readable. The first entry caught her eye:

“I have made a terrible mistake. This house, once filled with so much love and joy, has become a wretched prison. I opened a door I should have left shut, and now the spirits torment me every moment. They whisper and taunt, driving me to madness. I regret ever setting foot in this godforsaken place.”

Hazel’s heart sank, realizing that she had stumbled upon the accounts of a previous homeowner. As she read on, the entries grew darker and more disturbed. A sudden gust of wind slammed the attic door shut, plunging Hazel into darkness. Panic flooded her senses as she fumbled for her flashlight, frantically clicking the switch. When the light finally came on, the room was different. The air was thick with an otherworldly energy, and the walls seemed to close in.

She tried to leave, to run back down the stairs, but the door was sealed shut. Panic welled up within her as she cried out for help. In the corner of the room, Hazel saw a shadowy figure. Its eyes glowed with an unholy light; its mouth twisted into a distorted smile. It was the same figure she had captured on film earlier - a vengeful spirit, thirsting for her tortured spirit.

As Hazel took a more careful examine of the photograph, she felt like the spirit’s appearance was familiar to her. It almost seemed like a copy of her, except for the fact that it looked much older with hollow eye sockets. Hazel, discovering the similarities between herself and the spirit, shivered as she recalled the memory of looking at her family tree with her mother in third grade, when she had pointed at her aunt and exclaimed that she looked exactly like her. Her mother had shushed her immediately, stating that it was a forbidden secret in the family, and no one should ever talk about her aunt.

Her hands shaking, Hazel held up her camera and took a picture of the room, hoping to identify the spirit’s location. To her surprise and fear, she could not find the spirit anywhere. Frantically going through the pictures, she felt as if a cold bucket of water had been poured over her head. It must be her fear, Hazel thought. Now that the spirit was nowhere to be seen, it must have been laid to rest by the discovery of the notebook, or maybe killed by the flashing lights of the camera.

Once more, Hazel walked through the mansion. Detecting no spirits within the walls, Hazel explored it with more enthusiasm, feeling more and more joyful by the second. She felt as if she had lived in it all her life and had a feeling of achieving something that she had longed for a long time, though she had no idea what it was.

Hazel felt a sense of relief and strangely unwilling to leave as she walked out of the mansion. Her legs felt stiff and frozen. She took a selfie of herself with the mansion. Why were her eyes looking so hollow? It must have been the dim light and the fact that she stayed up all night, she thought, no big deal.

The mansion stood tall and still. No more spirits roamed its halls.