Ina and I had stayed with the Moores that night. We had attended church with them earlier that evening. The service was delightful. Ina and I had been given the downstairs bedroom to sleep in. The room was painted a sky blue. There was a sewing table and a wooden chair in the left corner of the room along with a window behind it. There was a dresser of a tan and aged look pushed against the left wall with a mirror upon it, and next to it was a wicker laundry basket. The bed was a single. You could say that it was an uncomfortable arrangement, but there was no way we could have strolled home safely due to the street light going out prior to us returning from the service.

Around 9 O’clock, Mrs. & Mr Moore had reckoned that we ought to head to bed, Ina and I did as we were told. Ina fell asleep rather quickly, after all, we did have a long day. It must have worn her out. Once everyone was in bed for the night, all of the lights had been shut off from Mr. Moore. Before he headed up for bed, he had checked on us and wished us a good night. Once he went up the stairs I had an eerie feeling. The Moore’s house was very nice, but there was something about it tonight that raised the hair on my arms.

I had fallen asleep maybe a hour and a half after Ina, but it wasn’t long until I was awoken to loud squeaking footsteps. The steps were irregular. They were coming from upstairs, so I assumed that it was one of the Moore’s, but something was off. The steps were going from room to room. Weird sounds were being made. I couldn’t even describe it. Getting up from my bed, I tiptoed to the door. I peered out and saw the lights had been turned on upstairs. A shadow of a man holding a strange object laid against the wall in the hallway upstairs. I wanted to get closer, I needed to see who this was. And that’s when I saw him. It was not Mr. Moore. He was holding sheets in his hand and he walked from room to room, returning with one less than he had before he entered the room. I quickly sprang to the living room and looked around. All of the mirrors in the room had been covered up with sheets. This was strange. The Moores wouldn’t have done this, there was no reason to do so. The footsteps grew louder and closer in proximity. I quickly moved closer to the stairs, I just needed a glimpse of who this was. The stranger walked out of the last bedroom and had no more sheets. He then turned towards me and I ducked. He then grabbed an axe that was leaning against the wall and headed towards Mr. & Mrs. Moore's room. My stomach dropped. I waited nervously, praying that everything was alright. The sound of a sharp hit echoed through the house. Then he hit again, and again, and again. This couldn’t have been real. The footsteps moved, but stayed in the room. Then the horrific sound continued, again and again and again. It seemed to never end. After what seemed to be thirty minutes, he paced out of the room. My stomach dropped at the sight of him. His eyes bugged out of his head like a fly. Blood covered him, plastered all over his face. He dragged the axe behind him and he moved on to Herman and Katherine's room. The sounds continued, but grew more aggressive than before. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I ran back to my room and woke Ina up.

“Ina, Ina, wake up.” I whispered. “Ina!”

Ina’s eyes fluttered open, revealing her sea blue eyes. She was so innocent and pure. Whatever was happening upstairs, was not going to end with us.

“Lena, what is it?” She asked.

“We have to go, we can’t stay here! We have to go, now!” I told her.

“Lena, no. We can’t leave, the lights are out and the Moores will wonder where we had gone.” She said.

“No, trust me. They will had understood why we chose to leave.” I assured her.

Footsteps walked out of Herman and Katherine’s room and moved to Boyd and Paul”s room. The dragging of the axe made my skin crawl.

“Ina, we have to go, now. Something horrible is happening. We need to get help immediately. We have to go get Mama!” I said. And that's when I heard it. The creaking of the steps leading to the living room. The axe hitting each step, one after another. I turned back to Ina, right passed her was the mirror. The mirror was covered with a white sheet. We were next and we couldn’t do anything about it. The footsteps stopped and the axe hit the landing of the steps. Ina looked at me with fear and I covered her mouth with my hand, in a gesture to stay quiet. I looked around for a place to hide but there was none.

“Ina, I love you so much, but you need to close your eyes. Do not open them, keep them shut. Okay?” I said with tears streaming down my face.

Footsteps finally reached the doorway. I closed my eyes, in fear of what was inevitably going to happen. Footsteps creeped up on us, like a wolf stalking its prey. The last thing I heard was the axe dragging and my sister’s scream.