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billy died

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The escape version 2.0 (short + movie version) 

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The escape version 2.0 (short + movie version) 

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Billy wakes up right before the Landlady dissects him with scissors.  Billy gets up out of bed, and elbows the Landlady right in the stomach. He runs down the stairs, grabs the parrot cage and throws it at the Landlady.  He picks up the dog and throws it at the Landlady, and the Landlady falls. Billy runs outside and yells,”The Landlady inside of the house is a psychopath, and she just tried to unalive me so call the cops!” The cops heard Billy’s screams, and arrested the Landlady.

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The landlady watched with a satisfied smile as Billy’s eyes glazed over. "The tea, you see, is a special blend," she cooed. "A little something to make the process more... cooperative." But Billy didn’t fall completely. The teacup slipped from his fingers, and he felt a jolt of raw, panicked energy. As the landlady turned to fetch her tools, a rustling came from the corner of the room. The stuffed parrot on the stand, its glass eyes fixed on her, shifted its head. A low, raspy whisper, the sound of drying cloth and ancient memory, escaped its beak. "She's... trying... to kill... him." The landlady froze, her skin going ashen. The stuffed dachshund on the rug began to twitch, its tail thumping with a grotesque, rhythmic beat. A slow, shambling procession of the landlady's former "pets"—the forgotten men, trapped forever in their new forms—began to move. Billy, half-paralyzed, watched with horror as his new housemates, animated by a vengeful, synthetic life, converged on their unsuspecting captor.

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The tea, with its subtle, almond-like flavor, was beginning to have its effect. Billy's eyelids felt heavy, his thoughts foggy. He blinked slowly, trying to focus on the landlady's face, but her features were swimming in front of him.

"You're not feeling ill, are you, my dear?" she asked, her voice laced with false concern. "Perhaps you should go and lie down for a little while."

Just then, a loud, insistent knocking began at the front door. The landlady's face, for the first time, showed a flicker of irritation. "Oh, who can that be at this hour?"

"I'll get it," Billy said, his words slurred. He stumbled to the door and pulled it open, his vision hazy. Standing in the doorway was a tall, gaunt man in a trench coat. The man gave Billy a strange, sad smile, before pushing past him and walking directly into the living room.

"It's about time, Mother," the man said, his voice a low growl. "I've been waiting for three years."

The landlady's face went white. She scrambled backward, clutching at the furniture. "Roger! No! You're supposed to be in the war!"

"The war ended a long time ago, Mother," the man said, his eyes filled with a cold, predatory glint. "But the war for my soul is just beginning. You see, I was a mistake. I was never a perfect specimen. But he was. And he showed me how to get what I want."

The man turned and gestured toward the two figures in the living room, their eyes open and unseeing. Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple.

"They weren't good enough for you, were they, Mother?" the man said. "But he is." The man pointed a long, bony finger at Billy, who was now leaning against the wall, paralyzed with fear. "He's perfect."

The man turned back to his mother, his face a mask of rage. "And he's all mine. All mine."

The landlady screamed, a high, piercing sound that was quickly cut off as the man lunged at her. The last thing Billy saw was the landlady's horrified face as the man's hands closed around her neck, before darkness, sweet and merciful, took him completely.

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Billy raised the teacup to his lips. He took a sip. A strange, bitter taste, like almonds, lingered on his tongue. Bitter almonds, he thought, and a shard of memory, sharp and cold, shot through him. Cyanide. The word didn’t come to his mind, but the warning did. An old newspaper headline about a poisoner came back to him. Something felt wrong. Very, very wrong. He looked at the landlady's beatific smile, and for the first time, saw something else entirely. Something ancient and chillingly precise.

He set the cup down with a clatter. "Excuse me," he said, his voice sounding thin and reedy even to himself. "I've just remembered. I've left my briefcase at the station."

The landlady’s smile did not waver, but her blue eyes hardened, becoming two points of ice. "Oh, but surely you can retrieve it in the morning, my dear? The weather is so frightfully chilly out there."

"No, I couldn't possibly," Billy said, his heart pounding like a drum. He stood up, swaying a little. The room seemed to tilt. The tea was already at work. "I must go now. Thank you for the tea."

He stumbled toward the door, each step a monumental effort. He could feel her gaze on his back, heavy and expectant. He imagined her leaning forward in her chair, a cat watching a wounded mouse. He fumbled with the latch, his fingers stiff and uncooperative.

"Come back, my dear," she called sweetly from behind him. "It's not good to leave in such a hurry. You'll catch a dreadful chill."

He finally got the door open, a rush of cold, cleansing air hitting his face. He scrambled out into the street, leaving the door ajar behind him. He could hear the faint, musical voice calling after him, a voice he knew he would hear in his nightmares. Only you, my dear. Only you. He ran, faster than he had ever run in his life, and did not look back. He never did.

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"Weird," he thought, "very weird." He set down the tea, already feeling slightly faint. Billy excused himself from the landlady by lying to her that he heard a noise coming from the door "I will be resting, thank you for the tea" he said afterward as he rushed to the 4th floor. He opened some doors and eventually found the two whose names he had been pondering. "I thought they were dead, but this… This is too much." He thought to himself. He took off, bumping into a tray with surgical equipment as if he had gone the wrong way. He already knew something was up given that the tea had made him so tired, but that had pushed him over the edge. He armed himself with the largest surgical knife, which seemed to belong in a kitchen, and ran through the narrow stairwell down to the first floor. The Landlady seemingly to have disappeared to another room yelled as if in response to Billy's heavy footsteps rushing down the stairs. Billy finally turns the corner at the end of the stairs, barely 4 meters from the door, the landlady gets in his way, trying her hardest to block his path. With the knife equipped, the landlady stood no chance, Billy hesitated for only a second before thinking of what could've happened to him if he had been just a hair less cautious and lunged forward with the knife, striking just right of his mark as the landlady narrowly avoided the fatal wound. Billy trudged past the woman who was now in agonizing pain on the floor, finally making it to the door and escaping out into the now deserted road, as it was nearly pitch dark out except for the sparse lighting from the moon and the occasional light. He made it to an alleyway just shy of 200 feet away before the wave of adrenaline that had suppressed the sleeping medicine to that point had worn off, falling into a seemingly endless abyss for what felt like days to him. Early the next day, he’d been woken, either due to the cold biting at his limbs or to the constant flow of people right outside of the alleyway, “I'm free at last,” he thought as he wandered among the crowd, still trying to cope with what happened not even a day prior.

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illy yawned. “Hmm him exhausted, I’m going up to bed now,” he said. “Good night then Mr. Wimmer”
Billy decided not to correct her, knowing she would forget by tomorrow anyway. He walked up to the second floor, changed into his pajamas and slipped into bed. Lying awake Billy thought back to Temple and Mulholland. He soon heard noises of a door closing and assumed the landlady had gone to bed, he decided to go and investigate the house for a clue on what might had happened to the two men.
As he walked up the stairs to the third floor where the landlady said Temple and Mulholland were staying he noticed there was a single door at the end of the long hallway. Billy slowly edged toward the door trying not to make a single sound. He slowly twisted the handle when he heard a loud BANG from beneath him; he quickly opened the door and slid in. Billy was mortified from what he had witnessed. There they were, Temple and Mulholland, stuffed, sitting around a small table in the form of teddy bears at a little girl’s tea party. As Billy stood there petrified it occurred to him that he mustn’t waste any time.
As fast as he could, Billy scurried off back into his room, packed his suitcase and made his way to the front entrance. He went to the check in book and scratched out his name in fear that the landlady may come looking for him. While Billy made his way to the door he heard footsteps rushing down the stairs, he panicked, dropped his suitcase and ran out the door. The landlady made her way down the stairs only to acknowledge the broken suitcase and door that had been left wide open.

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She had definitely killed a victim on that night from what she remembered. She walked over to the guest book. The date was not there. Her mind was boggled but she could not let that bother her. The landlady started to take Billy downstairs then she stopped. December 17, 1946, she thought. Billy’s head moved forward and his neck was bare. The tag on his shirt said Porter Wilkins, as if he was borrowing it from someone. “You are the son of Mr. Wilkins aren’t you?” Still talking to Billy’s dead body, she said “Now I remember! Your father, he had a scar down his leg and I had just found out right before I was about to stuff him! I could not get him to sign the book, he never agreed to it.” BRRRIIIIINNNGG! It was the doorbell, but the landlady felt that she should not open it. She felt it in her gut; it would not be good to open it. BRRRIIIIINNNGG! Again, she was just trying to cut a boy open. Could whoever that was stop ringing the doorbell? Then it stopped.

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“Seventeen.” “Seventeen!” she cried. “Oh, it’s the perfect age! Mr Mulholland was also 420 seventeen. But I think he was a trifle shorter than you are, in fact I’m sure he was, and his teeth weren’t quite so white. You have the most beautiful teeth, Mr Weaver, did you know that?” “They’re not as good as they look,” Billy said. “They’ve got simply masses of fillings in them at the back.” “Mr Temple, of course, was a little older,” she said, ignoring his remark. “He was actually twenty eight. And yet I never would have guessed it if he hadn’t told me, never in my whole life. There wasn’t a blemish on his body.” “A what?” Billy said. “His skin was just like a baby’s.” There was a pause. Billy picked up his teacup and took another sip of his tea, then he set it down again gently in its 440 saucer. He waited for her to say something else, but she seemed to have lapsed into another of her silences. He sat there staring straight ahead of him into the far corner of the room, biting his lower lip. “That parrot,” he said at last. “You know something? It had me completely fooled when I first saw it through the window from the street. I could have sworn it was alive.” “Alas, no longer.” “It’s most terribly clever the way it’s been done,” he said. “It doesn’t look in the least bit dead. Who did it?” “I did.” “You did?” “Of course,” she said. “And have you met my little Basil as well?” She nodded towards the dachshund curled up so comfortably in front of the fire. Billy looked 460 at it. And suddenly, he realised that this animal had all the time been just as silent and motionless as the parrot. He put out a hand and touched it gently on the top of its back. The back was hard and cold, and when he pushed the hair to one side with his fingers, he could see the skin underneath, greyish-black and dry and perfectly preserved. “Good gracious me,” he said. “How absolutely fascinating.” He turned away from the dog and stared with deep admiration at the little woman beside him on the sofa. “It must be most awfully difficult to do a thing like that.” “Not in the least,” she said. “I stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away. Will you have another cup of tea?” “No, thank you,” Billy said. The tea tasted faintly of bitter almonds, and he didn’t much 480 care for it. “You did sign the book, didn’t you?” “Oh, yes.” “That’s good. Because later on, if I happen to forget what you were called, then I can always come down here and look it up. I still do that almost every day with Mr Mulholland and Mr . . .Mr...” “Temple,” Billy said. “Gregory Temple. Excuse my asking, but haven’t there been any other guests here except them in the last two or three years?” Holding her teacup high in one hand, inclining her head slightly to the left, she looked up at him out of the corners of her eyes and gave him another gentle little smile. “No, my dear,” she said. ‘Only you.' 50

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“Temple,”  Billy  said.  “Gregory  Temple.Excuse  my  asking,  but  haven’t  there  been any other guests here except them in the last two or three years?” Holding  her  teacup  high  in  one  hand,inclining  her head  slightly  to  the  left,  she looked  up  at  him  out  of  the  corners  of  her eyes and gave him another gentle little smile. “No, my dear,” she said. ‘Only you.' I thought that was a little strange but she said she was very picky.

I started to think about it and I had realized that Gregory Temple and Christopher Mullholand were in the paper a while ago but I couldn't remember why.

The tea tasted weird; it tasted like bitter almonds. After that we talked for a little bit and she lived alone after her dog died.

I went upstairs and laid down and realized I was hungry so I went down and asked for something to eat. She gave me spaghetti and I ate the spaghetti. After I ate I got a drink then I went back up stairs

I looked out the window for an hour and I saw trees blowing in the wind and I saw a 14 point buck that had to weigh 150 pounds. It looked at me and quickly   ran into the pond. I got bored and curious so I went downstairs.

The landlady was asleep on the couch. I wandered to the cellar door and suddenly  the landlady tried to stop me but I ignored her and went down the creaking stairs and into the cellar.

I turned the light on and saw a human heart,brain,intestines and saw blood stains everywhere.

Then the landlady snuck up behind me and scared me then she  hit me in the back of the head with a book which knocked me out   then I woke up and ran up the stairs but I fell down the stairs and died.

Flash forward 1 day the landlady was trying to drag the body up the stairs and fell down the stairs. She got up and took a break after that she called her friend to come help her bring Billy up the basement stairs. Her friend named Jeff  came and helped her then he asked if he could help stuff him. After that  a neighbor guy heard them  and called the police; when she was done. The police came later that night.

Four cops came up to the door and knocked on the door with a gun. Jeff  came up and answered the door even though he was all bloody from stuffing Billy.

One of the cops took him and put him in the police car and went back in.They went straight to the basement and saw the landlady. She was working on stuffing Billy..They came down in the basement and saw Billy and the landlady. Billy  was laying on the ground dead with his intestines hanging out of him and his brain out of him on the floor.

They found a different door and entered cautiously. They found a bunch of old boxes. On the right side there was a bunch of stuff for gardening and on the left side  there was bunch of these boxes they took one box down and it was filled with organs,blood,brains and  intestines.Once they got all the boxes taken out and dealt with they decided to go upstairs.

They went upstairs and  they found even more boxes with brains,organs and intestines in them. So they looked in another room.

There were two people that had gone missing two or three years ago. Their names were Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple.After further investigation they realized that they had been stuffed when they were carrying them downstairs they saw her dog and they had realized it was stuffed too.After court the judge sentenced The landlady and Jeff to the electric chair.

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After we had our tea, I went back up to my room and found a new watch in my bag. The watch says “hello” on the back. My first thought was that it was from the landlady, but it doesn’t make sense if the landlady said hello, she has already met me, so she wouldn’t have to say hello on the watch. Then I remembered that Christoper Mullholland and Gregory Temple lived above me. I started to get up off the bed to go up the stairs to thank which one of them did it. I got up and walked out my door and up the stairs, I walked until I got to the third floor and knocked on the door. Christopher opened the door and he did look the same age as me, like the landlady said. Christopher said “hello” and welcomed me into his room, I walked into the room and saw Gregory sitting in a chair, reading a book. I said “hello” to Gregory, but he didn’t respond. I looked at Christopher and asked him if either one of them put a watch on my bed on the second floor, but they had no idea what I was talking about. A few minutes later, the landlady came into the room and asked if we were doing alright and we all said yes, except for Gregory, still reading his book on the floor. I walked over to him and asked him what he was reading, but he said nothing like always. I looked at the pages of the book and saw that he had the same watch that I had in my suitcase. I tapped him on the shoulder trying to get his attention, he finally turned around and acknowledged me. He said “what?” in an impatient manor. I asked him where he got his watch and he said he got it from the landlady. I told him that I found the same watch in my suitcase, and then he told me that the landlady gives to everyone who comes into her place to stay the night. I said ok and slowly left their room and went back down the stairs to my room and saw the landlady sitting on my bed. There was a few seconds of silence and then she said “we need to talk.”.

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At this point, Billy had remembered where he heard those names before, in the newspaper  headlines two years ago when both of them went missing with an officer, trying to stop them from entering 4239 weenhollow lane. His eyes widened and she must've seen it, and before he knew it she was lunging for the door. A sharp pain in his side told him she had sliced through his side as she brushed past him.

“AHA HA” she exclaimed, “You thought you could get out that easy? You have seen too much.”

“Wha- what do you mean?” he stammered, falling back.

“Oh, you know what I mean” she replied, a crazed look in her eyes.

Billy, now on the floor didn’t feel so great, his eyes slowly going black.

“Nighty night” was the last thing he heard.

When he woke up, Billy was in his room, the strange lady looking directly at him. Billy, afraid reached for his umbrella but couldn’t find it.

“Oh, you’re awake?” she asked, “Well, now that you signed me to your will all I have to do is obtain it.”

“I never signed you my will.” Billy replied, confused.

“Oh but you did, in fact I have it right here” she pulled out the sign in sheet from the piano. “Always read the fine print”

And with that she pulled out a spear, thrusting it towards him. He rolled to the left, nearly dodging the deadly shot. Before she could pull the spear back Billy grabbed onto it and snapped it in half, both ends clattered across the floor. The strange woman charged billy forming a fist as she drove toward him. In self defense Billy pulled up his arm, sending the strange woman’s sideways. Billy saw his opportunity and dove for the spear, hitting the hard wood ground with a thunk.

“Oh no you don’t” The landlady yelled, jumping on Billy.

He knew what he had to do, Billy brought down the spear onto the landladies’ leg, a shriek responded, telling him he hit the target. With the landlady on the ground Billy dove out through the window, a loud shattering sound filled the room as pain filled Billies’ face. Billy braced for a fall that never came, instead his face was stuck in the blinds. The landlady yanked on Billies’ shirt, pulling him back and smashing his head against the ground.

“Did you really think you could escape?” The landlady mockingly questioned.

She smacked Billy with the blunt end of the spear intending to kill. Billy scrambled from underneath her, darting for the door. When he reached the door he shoved it forward, his hands slippery from the blood. He could hear her right on his heels as he flew down four flights of stairs. He now recognized the lobby from when he first arrived, still as creepy. The door was wide open as he dashed through it. A thud sounded from behind him. Confused, Mr.Weaver twisted, seeing the landlady stuck on an invisible wall, pounding and screaming at the top of her lungs.

“I’ll get you, never think you’re safe”

A frightened Billy walked away, calling for an officer.

One Week Later

Billy picked up the weekly paper, a small smirk sneaked across his face as he read the headline; “Man escapes haunted hotel.”

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He suddenly noticed how cold and dead her eyes were, and shivers crept up his spine. He struggled to think of words to say, but they were ripped out of his mouth. “You said that Mr. Temple and Mr. Mulholland lived upstairs still, may I go meet them? They seem like quite interesting gentlemen.” He did his best to hide the shaky tone in his voice.

“Of course, my dear! I know they would absolutely love a visit! They always keep the door unlocked.” She replied, a sudden eerie cheer in her voice. With that, we quickly walked up the stairs. Paintings lined the walls of the fourth floor, the people in the portraits following him with their eyes. The floor creaked under his weight, and he did his best not to jump out the window. His eyes locked on the doorknob and his hand shook when he raised it. There’s nothing to be afraid of! His conscience screamed. She’s harmless, I tell you! He quickly reached out, turned it to the right, then pushed the door open.

The room was dark, with the curtains drawn back to let in just a little bit of moonlight. His breath hitched when he saw the bed, messy and unmade. Some kind of dried liquid was splattered on the sheets and on the wall. A figure lay in the bed, motionless. He closed the door, locked it, and turned on the light. He heard the lightbulb buzz, and he wandered over to the bed. Billy carefully pulled the bedspread off the person, and covered his mouth immediately. It was a young man, stuffed. His eyes were somehow more alive than the old woman’s. A fearful expression was cemented on his face, as if he was shocked when he died. Anyone would be, and Billy felt a tense feeling in the back of his spine. He felt sorry for the man, as he certainly wasn’t aware of the woman’s plans. His eyes wandered to the dried substance on the wall, blood. Clearly, the murder had been gruesome, something that probably wasn’t out of left field for the woman.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps from the outside. His heart rate picked up, and his eyes twitched out of panic. He had to leave, fast. There was no doubt that the old woman had keys to his room, but he could probably delay her. Billy grabbed a chair, and pushed it against the doorknob. He heard her now creaky voice.

“Mr. Weaver? Are you enjoying your visit?” He remained dead silent, though his beating heart was probably as loud as a shot from a gun. He ran, quickly, to the other side of the room, towards the balcony. He felt the cold air against his face, pushing him back towards the door. His breath hitched when he heard a crack. Don’t look back! This voice in his head warned. The moonlight shined upon the balcony, revealing the sweat that poured down his forehead, all the way to his back. He heard a smash, and the woman’s laugh echoed throughout the town. He climbed upon the iron fencing, and closed his eyes. A death from heights was much more peaceful than a death by knife, he thought, lifting one foot. He fell, and hit the ground with a thud.

“Well, Mr. Frankwell, you were exactly the person I was looking for!” The old woman said, with a gentle smile. Caleb nodded, about to sign the guestbook, before he noticed that there were only three names.

“How peculiar, I feel like I’ve heard these names before somewhere. It’s on the tip of my tongue.” He pondered aloud, clicking the pen he was holding. “Billy Weaver.. Maybe he worked in a factory I was involved in. Don’t know about the other two.” The old woman strode over to him. “Lovely young man. Very curious, he’s still here. If you’d like to meet him, he’s on the fourth floor.” Mr. Frankwell raised an eyebrow, looking at the dates. Mr. Templeton, Mr. Mullholland, and Mr. Weaver were checked in about 10 years ago, back in 1900. “Didn’t know this was an apartment building.” He scoffed, with a chuckle. She shook her head, petting the toy dachshund that had been in the corner of the room. “It isn’t, but the three of them liked it so much that they decided to stay!” Caleb turned to the old woman, noticing a bit of redness on her apron.

“I do hope you’ll do the same.” Her smile shined like the sun, however, it seemed quite fake. As if she was hiding something. “Maybe I shall.” He signed his name, and adjusted his tie. “So I’ll be staying on the-” “3rd floor.” She interrupted, a sense of urgency in her voice. He nodded, and headed up the stairs.

Caleb swore he could hear a knife being dropped, but he decided to ignore it. Perhaps she was cutting a nice slice of steak? His mouth watered at the thought of a juicy piece of beef. He hadn’t had the luxury of eating one since he was a child in Brighton. Times had changed since then, since he was nearly 17 years old. When he was about halfway up the second flight of stairs, he heard a thud from the kitchen. “Ms? Everything alright down there?” He yelled, making sure she could hear him.

“Yes, Mr. Weaver! Just dropped the kettle I was holding! I’m setting up the tea party for tomorrow morning! They’ll be biscuits, crumpets..” Her voice trailed on, and he raised an eyebrow. Weaver was the name of the boy in the guestbook. He shrugged it off, maybe the two sounded alike or she was beginning to lose her memory. She was probably in her 60s to 70s, so he couldn’t quite blame her for getting his name wrong. He continued up the stairs until he got into his room. He pushed the door open, and set his luggage down. The carpet that was laid on the ground was coated in hair, probably pet hair, and the bed was unmade. He let out a sigh, closing the door. He noticed that there was no lock on the door, which unsettled him. “Let’s hope that woman values privacy.” He chuckled quietly. He decided not to change until he got up, since he was so drowsy he started seeing statues in the corner of his eye. Caleb laid down on his bed, and fell asleep.

Mr. Frankwell awoke to the sound of pots and pans banging together. The sound stabbed him in the ear drums, and he let out a groan. When he did, the sounds stopped. He sprang out of bed, slipping a new outfit on. The trilby he wore was quite small for his head, but he didn’t mind. He decided he was going to join the tea party, maybe he would see the other gentlemen there? He went to open the door, but found it was already ajar. “Maybe she didn’t value my privacy.” He murmured to himself, walking through the doorway. He walked all the way downstairs, and saw the old woman carrying the stuffed dachshund into the dining room. “Good morning! I’ve come to join the tea party!” He greeted, with a smile. She turned to face him, and there was something off about her.

“Oh! Mr. Frankwell! How splendid! You can sit yourself in the dining room! Don’t start eating until I come in!” She replied, pointing him down the hall. He nodded, and walked a few paces. He let out a gasp, and almost dropped to the floor. There were 3 gentlemen, who were passed away sitting in the chairs. Except there was something strange, and it took him a second to realize they were stuffed. Mr. Weaver had a peaceful expression on his face, as if he was asleep. Mr. Temple was fearful, he knew that something was coming. And Mr. Mullholland was angry, perhaps he was trying to defend himself. Caleb felt like he was going to pass away himself, looking at all three of those bodies. He heard the old woman’s voice from the other room.

“Tea time!”

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(It starts out boring but gets better)
Billy sat up from his chair. He needed to go for a walk. All this travel business he had been going through was getting to his head, and he needed to get away from it all. Sure, his landlady was a little out of whack, but that was okay for just a one night stay.

Billy left the building. He walked down past the BED AND BREAKFAST sign on the front porch. The street wasn’t all to busy, and down the road there was a McMuffin bagel shop. A good destination for a quick little stroll. So off he went, down the front steps of the hotel and onto the sidewalk.

Billy walked past multiple cute little shops on his way to the McMuffin, but none of them seemed to hold his interest. His meeting with Dr. Eisenhoward was going to be vital to his business success. If Dr. Eisenhoward agreed to be an out of city funder, Billy could advertise and sell anything he wanted to. Maybe he could open a McMuffin back home. Would that be a good business idea? Where would I put it? Who would supply my McMuffin? All questions he and Dr. Eisenhoward could discuss at the meeting.

Billy got to the crossroads between Mercury avenue and Aluminum circle. This part of town seemed to be named after elements on the Periodic Table that Billy had learned in high school chemistry class. He never took much interest in how atoms react with each other, but he did learn the names of some of the important chemicals. A signalman waved Billy across the street, and he walked into McMuffin.

A cold gust of air smacked Billy as he walked through the door to the McMuffin. Everyone there seemed to be gathering for some sort of team building office meeting. That could’ve been a good idea to meet Dr. Eisenhoward. They could have gathered at one of the local bakeries and had a cupcake. But would Billy take the risk of Dr. Eisenhoward disliking cupcakes? Better to just play it safe and meet him at a hotel lobby.

Billy mosied over to the cash register. The line consisted of only a couple of people, so Billy could wait. The creme filled beignet looked like a very good treat to take his mind off of business and crazy landladies.

Billy walked back along the hard cement sidewalk. He could smell the beignet through the bag in which it was carried. Occasionally, he would take it out and take a bite, admiring the sweet taste of strawberry filling and the crystalline sugar on the top. Yes, a McMuffin would be a great business idea if Billy wouldn’t eat all the product. He bounded up the stairs and into his hotel.

The landlady still sat there in her chair. If Billy hadn’t spoken to her earlier, you could’ve sworn she was dead.

“Hello my dear, gone to the McMuffin I see?” She spoke in high pitched little squeaks that came off a little sarcastic.

“Indeed I have,” Billy answered. “Say, have you ever had a beignet as delicious as one from the McMuffin? We don’t have this kind of dessert back in my neighborhood of London.”

“Care for more tea Mr. Weaver? I can get some on the fireplace and it will be ready in a couple of minutes.”

“No, I have business work to attend to upstairs, but thank you for asking.” Billy didn’t exactly have business work to do, he just didn’t want to be around his landlady for the time being.

“Oh, I’ll just have some ready when you come down.”  Subsequently, she pulled out a truly hideous sight. It was a dual ended cocktail stick.

“No, this can’t be happening!” Billy screamed in horror as two killer grandmas parachuted in through the roof. Shingles and wood beams flew everywhere, landing all over the house. Billy sprung from his seat and looked to the exit, however a series of grandmas were breaking through the door with hacksaws.

“Oh Billy, it is okay. We only need your brain and upper achilles tendon to complete our transformation. Our path to Turkey Vulture hegemony is at the doorstep!”

Billy catapulted up the stairs. In through the door to his room, he needed to grab his company supplied Turkey Vulture Elimination Device 201.8. Billy slid the suitcase out from beneath his bed. Ripping it open, he discarded the contents across the room, desperately looking for his defense mechanism. In the pocket on the left, he unfolded the portable version and added the shock barrel to the end. He held his contraption in both hands, but the evil grandmas were chair lifting themselves up toward his room. Billy rushed to the door. Hand on the trigger, he would only have 23 shots at hitting his target. With immense speed, the grandmas were approaching him. Billy fancied for a fight.

He squeezed the trigger. A bolt of light shot from the barrel, and the first grandma was instantly vaporized. But the gun had jammed, and at that moment, Billy realized his mistake. He grabbed the wrong peanut butter from the train station. He strained as around six cocktail sticks began jabbing him in the upper thyroid.

“Yes Billy, your sacrifice to fuel the Turkey Vulture Supremacy will be deeply remembered. Now prepare to be debrained and have your Achilles tendon ripped out, and used as transformation fluid.”

Billy fought to crawl away from the evil grandmas, but they were quickly slicing into his inner skull and harvesting his brain. He moaned as shrieks of victory had arisen from the grandma cult. Billy knew he had only one defense remaining. As the evil grandmas were shanking him, he activated the Dance Party Initiation Device 142.92. As Sweet Home Alabama began emitting from the device, Billy no longer felt the jabbing of multiple cocktail sticks. Instead, he saw a squad of evil grandmas in rock outfits jamming away.

Billy ran to the window. He tripped over a dirty sock and landed on his knee, already hurt from the shanking of the cocktail sticks.

“No Billy, you must fuel our path to Turkey Vulture Supremacy!” Shouted one of the grandmas. “We have admired our king, Turkey Vulture for over three days! We must follow in his knowledge. Now hand over your achilles, brain and a big mac with extra sauce as your sacrifice!”

Billy fought his brain to ignore them, but he too wondered what it was like to be a Turkey Vulture. He knew the grandmas were forcing interest into his brain, however he could not ignore them. Suddenly, he felt the sting of a cocktail stick smacking against the back of his wrist. The pain absorbed Billy in suffering and agony as he fell to the ground. Thick carpet wasn’t wasn’t enough to cushion his fall, and sharp needles of pain ignited in his body. The Dance Party Initiation Device 149.92 wouldn’t keep the grandmas at bay for much longer. Billy struggled to move under what felt to be infinite gravity pulling him back against the carpet. The end was near, Billy could feel it, but he was happy to of had a creme filled beignet before his world collapsed.

The End

And now you know to never trust anyone who likes Turkey Vultures and has a dual ended cocktail stick. You don’t want to end up like Billy.

# data[].attributes.body
“Oh, well I better be getting to bed I have a busy day tomorrow.” said billy as he set down his tea, witch had a very unusually weird taste, and stood up. I turned around remembering he never caught her name. “Before I head up to bed I was wondering, what  your name is, I should know my hostess name shouldn’t I.”

“Oh, of course! How silly of me, where are my manners! My name is Mildred, dear.” Said the Landlady as she smiled toward Billy in a way that compelled me to stay forever but he was growing so tired so Billy headed upstairs and wondered why Mr. Mulholland and Mr.Temple hadn’t come down for dinner but he was sure he would see them in the morning. Billy arrived at his room and got into bed, It was so cozy, he drifted into a deep sleep.

Billy awoke to a sharp pain in his side, he wasn’t feeling well and decided to go down stairs and see if Mildred had any medicine to soothe his stomach. He got to the bottom of the stairs and didn’t see Mildred anywhere. The pain in his stomach was growing stronger. Suddenly he was knocked in the back of the head, he looked up and saw Mildred holding a frying pan and she said “Let’s go visit Mr. Mullholland and Mr. Temple, shall we.” Then It all went black.

Billy awoke, his vision was blurry but he could make out that he was in an attic, and standing in front of him he saw two men, they looked to be about his own age. Then it hit him those two men were Mr.Mulholland and Mr.Temple, Billy had recognized them from the newspaper, the front page, they had went missing, one three years ago and one was two. He tried to stand but the pain in his stomach had grown worse than ever, as his vision cleared he saw that Mr Mulholland and Mr. Temple weren’t moving, nor were they blinking. They were stuffed, Mildred had stuffed them and hid them in her attic that is why her hotel wasn’t recommended, how could he have been so stupid. Billy heard footsteps on the stairs, Mildred turned the corner.

“Oh, your awake! How lovely we can get started then.” she turned to a cupboard and pulled out some tools Billy couldn’t see, just then he noticed he was bound to a bed by leather strips and started frantically struggling, “That won’t do any good dear, that tea, it was poisoned, the more you struggle the faster you die.”

Billy tried to speak but the pain in his stomach hurt so badly that he just lay with his mouth open, Mildred stuffed a cloth into it. Then she pulled out an electric tool and said “This might hurt a bit dear.” Then everything went black. It felt like an eternity before woke up, he didn’t understand, he had been stuffed what had happened, he stepped forward, he felt so light. Then he heard two men speaking behind him

“Guess Mildred got another man perfect enough to be stuffed.” said the man's voice, he sounded young

“Ha, the more the merrier!” said another mans voice, he sounded a bit older than the other man. Billy turned around and saw Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple but they looked different, they looked pale and… are they, Billy thought to himself, “Gost’s!” Billy must have said it outloud because Mr. Temple and Mr. Mulholland turned to look at him, “Welcome, Billy, to the fourth floor. I am Gregory Temple, this is Chrisopher Mulholland.”

“Your ghosts!” said Billy, he stared at them with wide eyes

“Of course I am what else would I be?” said Gregory slightly annoyed.

“No, I mean you are real ghosts, I thought they were myths or something.” Billy replied still astounded at what he was seeing. He started walking toward them and saw that his food looked weird, it looked blue. Then it hit him, he was a ghost!

# data[].attributes.body
“I really should be getting to bed. Wouldn’t want to miss that really important meeting tomorrow.” Billy said standing up to leave.

“Alright then. Good night Mr. Werner.” the landlady said slightly disappointed.

“It’s Weaver.” Billy said.

“Ah, my apologies. Good night Mr. Weaver.” the landlady said warmly.

“Good night.” Billy replied.

Billy climbed the stairs to his room and fell fast asleep. He awoke a few hours later to the landlady standing over him. He sat straight up in bed, frightened.

“Sorry to frighten you, my dear. I was just checking to make sure you were breathing.“ the landlady said innocently.

The landlady left Billy’s room and closed the door. Billy barricaded his door with a chair. That’ll stop her he thought. He would be proven terribly wrong though, for not two hours later, the landlady was standing over him again, this time with a brown bottle of something. She was about to pour it into Billy’s mouth when he sat up again.

“Mr. Beaver, sorry to awaken you. When was that meeting of yours again? I planned on waking you so you didn’t miss it.” the landlady said hiding the bottle behind her back.

“It’s Weaver. My meeting is at 8:30. May I ask what is in that bottle of yours?”

“What bottle?” the landlady says revealing two empty hands.

“Never mind.” Billy said all the more confused.

That time, when the landlady left, Billy pushed all the furniture in the room except for his bed against the door. That was unnecessary though, for the landlady never returned that night to Billy’s utmost relief. He woke the next morning to the landlady knocking on his door.

“Mr. Weather, Mr. Weather. Time to wake up dear. Your breakfast’s on the table.”

“It’s Weaver.” Billy said tiredly. “I’ll be right down.”

Billy dressed and went downstairs to the table. Two settings were on the table in the dining room  across from each other.

“Did you survive the night up there? It can get rather drafty.” the landlady asked.

“Yes, it was quite alright. Will Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple be joining us for breakfast this morning?” Billy asked the landlady.

“No, not today. They prefer their breakfast in bed.” the landlady replied.

The landlady started to eat but Billy just stared and picked at his food.

“What’s the matter dear? Don’t you like eggs?” the landlady inquired.

“Oh, no. I do rather like eggs. I’m just a bit nervous for my meeting.” Billy explained.

“I see. You should probably get going then. Wouldn’t want to miss it.” the landlady said.

“You’re right I really should be going. Thank you for breakfast, I’m terribly sorry I couldn’t eat it.” Billy said as he got up from the table and moved towards the door and coat hanger. He grabbed his coat and hat.

“That’s alright dear. Best of luck at your meeting.”

“Thank you.” Billy stepped over the threshold and waved at the landlady, who waved back.

Billy walked toward the building where his meeting was to be held. He took a slight detour to the town cafe where he purchased a light breakfast. He didn’t want to eat at the landlady’s for fear he would be poisoned … or worse.

After his meeting Billy headed back to the boarding house. He rang the doorbell and just like before, the door popped open before he could  take his hand away from the button.

“Ah, Mr. Water, welcome back.” the landlady said warmly.

“Thank you.” Billy responded stepping over the threshold and hanging his coat and hat on the hook.

“I was just about to have some tea, would you care to join me?” the landlady invited.

“I was planning on just going back to my room, but I suppose I could stay for a little while.” Billy said.

“Marvelous!” the landlady exclaimed. “I’ll go get the milk and sugar, you just have a seat on the sofa. The tea’s already out.”

Billy walked into the living room and has a seat on the sofa. He looked at the cups of tea out of curiosity and noticed that they were different colors. Just then, the landlady entered the living room with the milk and sugar on the tray, again holding it unusually high. She added enough milk to each cup that the cups of tea are now exactly the same color. A thought popped into Billy’s mind just then. He decided to test his hypothesis. Now, how to get the landlady out of the room? he pondered. That’s it!

“Pardon me, but do you have any honey? I’m afraid I’m not feeling the best after my meeting.”

“I believe I do. Let me check.” the landlady said as she stood up to leave.

When the landlady went to the kitchen to check for the honey, Billy acted fast. He switched the cups around so the landlady’s cup was now his and vice versa. Remembering the bitter almond taste from the night before, Billy added multiple cubes of sugar to each cup to mask the flavor. If my hypothesis is correct, nothing will happen Billy thought. But if I am incorrect? Billy shuddered at the thought.

“Here you go dear. Hope that helps.” the landlady said handing Billy the honey. She seemed to appear from nowhere.

“Thank you.” Billy said adding some honey to his new cup of tea.

They then began to drink their tea. Billy noticed the landlady’s face after she had first tasted her tea.

“Is something wrong?” Billy asked the landlady.

“Oh, no dear. My tea is just a bit sweeter than I like it.” the landlady said.

And so they drank their tea. Every last drop of it. After the landlady had finished her tea she looked up at Billy. She then collapsed. Billy quickly checked her pulse. Dead. He had been right. He thought of the alternative, and he shuddered again. He closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. He thought about what he had just done.

The peculiar thing when he opened his eyes and looked over at the landlady, she was gone. Instead a book lay in her place. Out of pure curiosity, Billy grabbed the book and opened it to the first page. When he started to read, the pages turned all on their own to page 45. Billy started reading, intrigued.

and it was poison. Betty had killed another one. It’s not my fault, it’s the stupid curse’s fault she thought. She recited the curse from memory. You will die from the hand of your very own clan. It was a blessing and a curse. The only way she had found around the curse was to kill off all of her family, one by one. Betty felt the slightest bit bad about this one though. The Weavers. Her great-great-great-great-great-great grandson and his wife. She only ever killed the adults, for her poison was only for adults with the exception of a few. You see, her solution to her curse had turned into a habit, an addiction even, where she would let some of her relatives grow old and have children, and then poison them and so on. It was to the point where she was constantly finding new ways to poison her family. She had left the twins, Billy and Bobby. Betty had left their cousins Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple as well. Betty found the idea of orphans funny, as she had faked her own death many years prior so she wouldn’t have to take care of the ‘puny, helpless children’. They would come to her later, when they had reached the age of seventeen. “This poison is amazing,“ she said aloud to no one in particular. “The only way it can be reversed is if one of my family members reads the dead one’s entire book aloud on the fourth floor of my bed and breakfast where I will store the books. Only then will they come back to life. And that, will never, ever happen. I’ll make sure of it.” she then laughed the most evil, most gruesome, most spine-chilling, bone-breaking, skin tingling, goose-bump giving laugh ever to be heard on the face of planet Earth and beyond. Betty scooped up the books of the dead and left, quiet as a church mouse.

Billy stared in amazement at the book. He had known he was an orphan, but he was told he was an only child and his parents had disappeared without a trace when he was too young to remember. But they were wrong. They were all wrong. They hadn’t disappeared, they had been murdered! And his apparent twin brother? Bobby? Was he here too? Or was he still alive?

“On the fourth floor. The fourth floor, the fourth floor.” a voice seemed to whisper from Betty’s book.

The landlady, Betty, was right! Christopher and Gregory really had been here all along! Well, their books at least.

“Wait. I can bring them back to life! All I have to do is read their books! On the fourth floor!” Billy said aloud to himself as he raced up the stairs faster than humanly possible.

Past the second-floor landing, past the third-floor landing. Faster, faster, faster. Faster Billy, Faster. he thought as he opened the only door on the fourth-floor landing.

It’s safe to say it was not at all what he had expected. He had expected a study, with a shelf or two with nearly filled shelves. What he actually saw was nothing of the sort. He walked into a huge study. Huge. There were thousands of books. Billy walked around the study. Some of these must be actual books, not just life-stories. But, alas, he was wrong. Every single title was THE LIFE STORY OF (first name) TEMPLE/MULHOLLAND/WEAVER. Billy was confused. How could one woman kill thousands of her family members in only 45-50 years? Less even. Billy sat down in a chair along the wall of books. He felt something in his hand. He looked down and saw the landlady’s book. THE LIFE STORY OF BETTY WEAVER. The book’s pages turned and flipped until they landed on page 76.

And so she drank the magical elixir, one that promised forever life. I will live forever she thought. I will ensure that no one ever makes my curse come true. Until, that is, she met a boy.  A boy named Billy Weaver.

“That makes sense.” Billy said aloud.

He looked around at the books surrounding him.

“I’d better get started. But which one to read first? My parents? My twin brother who may or may not be dead? My cousins, aunts, uncles? Grandparents, great-grandparents?” Billy asked the books as he spun in a slow circle.

He didn’t have to choose though, for one book started glowing. Billy walked towards it and reached for it. It seemed to almost float into his hand. THE LIFE STORY OF CHRISTOPHER MULHOLLAND. Perfect.

Billy walked to the middle of the room where a large triangle with gold edging, red filling, and a white circle in the center was engraved in the floor. Billy looked closer at the corners of the triangle, the first had the name TEMPLE engraved in enamel letters, the second had the name MULHOLLAND engraved in enamel letters, the third WEAVER. He stood on the circle and began to read aloud. Billy would eventually read every single book on each and every shelf cover to cover. His voice would grow hoarse, his throat would hurt terribly and he would be hungry, thirsty, tired a million times again. He would take breaks, but he would never give up until each and every one of his relatives (except Betty Weaver of course) was freed from their suffering.

Billy would never forget the feeling when he released his first relative, Christopher Mulholland. When the last word on the last page had been read the book started to grow, very slowly at first but eventually faster until it was in the shape of a boy not much older than Billy himself.

“Are you Christopher Mulholland?” Billy asked in disbelief.

“Yes, that’s me. What happened? I feel like I’ve been cramped up for years.” Christopher said stretching his arms and legs.

Billy laughed “That’s because you have.”

“Really? For how long?” Christopher asked now stretching his neck and shoulders.

“Two years or longer.” Billy said.

“Wow. How’d I get, you know stuck?” Christopher asked.

“Do you recall having tea with a landlady who charged very little for board and stuffed her own dead pets?” Billy inquired.

“I-I think so. The tea tasted weird, like bitter almonds.” Christopher said thinking hard.

“She poisoned you and all of your family. As it turns out the two of us are cousins. I freed you by reading a magic book that turned into, well, you. Every book here is a member of our family.” Billy explained.

“Wow. How can I help? I want to free everyone in here as much as you do, if not more.” Christopher said.

“For now, rest up and find something to eat. When you’re feeling better, we can take shifts reading and freeing our relatives.” Billy said.

“Sounds like a plan. See you in twenty-four hours if that’s alright.” Christopher promised.

“See you then.” Billy confirmed.

Within the next three months, Billy, Christopher, and (later) Gregory would free every last man, woman, and seventeen year old child stuck in the books.

After they had done that they had to decide what to do with Betty’s book. They eventually decided to lock it in a safety deposit box and burn the key. They then created a password only they knew and no one could ever guess. (password)  After that matter had been handled, they refurbished the bed and breakfast and continued business. In their free time, they enjoyed family time, something that none of them had ever experienced in a very long time.

THE END

# data[].attributes.body
“I hope you don’t mind me asking but,” Billy hesitates with a nervous tone, ‘I never got your name.”

“Oh I was sure I mentioned it.” The lady says looking a little on edge.

“No I was just wondering, but I’m sorry if I have upset you,” Billy says while getting up. “I’ll go back up to my room now. I am still pretty tired, thankyou for the tea though.”

“Okay dear. Just ask if need anything. And I mean anything.”

Billy walks upstairs as quickly as possible without being rude. He gets to his room and tries to open the window but it won’t budge, he looks down to see if it’s locked but it’s painted shut. He looks around his room for anything to get out but there is nothing. As he walks around his room he trips. He feels the carpet and there is a latch. He is really confused because He’s on the top floor so it can’t be a cellar. Billy lifts the floor matt up and yanked at the latch, it wouldn’t move.

Billy sits on his bed and decides to go to bed, maybe things won’t be so weird when he wasn’t so tired. When he wakes up it’s pitch black he thinks it’s just the middle of the night. All of a sudden he wonders where the stars or moon were. He gets up and tries to walk where the window was but gets pulled back by what felt like a chain. Instead of the chain just holding him back he starts hearing some kind of machine. Then the chain started pulling back almost like it was getting looped around something like a rope.

He fights back but it’s too strong and as he gets closer he hears metal scraping against concrete.

“You found my secret.” The lady’s voice echoes. “ Now you have to pay for not respecting my privacy.”

“NO! PLEASE!” Billy begs but it’s no use the lady won’t stop.

As the chain is dragging Billy across the floor by his floor he feels a metal rod. He grabs it and go silent. If he can’t see neither can the lady so as long as he stays quiet he’ll be fine.

“Where are you?” The lady’s voice comes from every direction. “Hahaha,” she cackles.

Billy can feel the vibration from the machine now he sticks the meal rod behind him and hits something and it clinked. He realizes the chain is getting roped around a metal barrel, if only he could jam it. The metal rod gets ripped from his hands and he sees the shape of a man. He hears the biggest bang he’s ever heard within feet of himself. He doesn’t feel himself getting pulled anymore.

There’s a sound almost like fresh flesh getting squeezed. Billy didn’t care what it was he just wanted to get out.

“HAHAHA,” the lady laughs. “Now your here forever!”

Billy gets up and runs. He gets stopped by the man who saved him from the chain.

“Quickly we don’t have much time.” The man says in a hushed voice.

“W-W-Who are you?” Billy says stuttering in terror.

The man just grabs Billy and runs. They reach a ladder and he leads as Billy follows. Billy can see light as they climb. When they reach the top Billy sees the man’s face and is horrified. It’s covered in blood and chunks of meat.

“AWWWW” Billy screams and bolts.

“WAIT!” The man yells after.

Billy feels a tight grip around his arm and it’s the man. He struggles to get away but the man’s grip is too strong.

“Calm down kid. My name is Gregory Temple.”

“What? How?” Billy’s expression is blank.

“I’ve been in here for years! That lady is a psycho who lures men in and never lets them out, That sound you heard like flesh squeezing was just a piece of thawed raw meat from the kitchen I stole. It was either that or you.” Gregory explains with a calm but rushed tone.

“We need to get out.” Billy says still confused.

“There’s no way. We’re trapped.” Temple says.

They hear the lady scream with anger and start climbing.

“GREGORY!!!” she screams up the ladder

“Quick go downstairs, you might have a chance while she can’t get to you. Try and get out!” Says Temple.

“I’m not leaving you!” Billy says with a firm voice.

Billy suddenly got an idea. He closed the floor door that he had tried to open before and locked the latch. He broke a chair in his room grabbed a wooden streak and slipped it under the handle covering the door so the woman couldn’t get out.

“Let’s get out of here.” Billy says with a grin.

Temple and Billy ran downstairs but Temple steps in front of Billy.

“What are you doing we need to hurry we don’t know how long that trap will last.” Billy says

“”Do you know the reason I’ve been trapped in here for all these years?” Gregory asks Billy

Billy gets worried and asks “Where is Mr. Mulholland? Is he here too?”

“He died the first week he was here he couldn’t listen.” Gregory says with his eyes glistening as though he was happy.

“What do you mean he couldn’t listen?” Billy says stepping back slowly.

“I mean he couldn’t listen to me.” Gregory say following Billy

“Why have you been trapped here this whole time?” Billy says realizing he’s hit a wall and can’t backup any further.

“Because I’ve been a very naughty boy.” Gregory lunges towards Billy

Billy dodges him and runs into the living room hiding in a coat closet. He realizes that lady was trying to hurt him but so was Temple. Mulholland must have been like Billy, he was innocent. The doors open and Billy is knocked out.

He wakes up on the couch tied down so he can’t move.

Temple comes over and says “I’ve delt with that idiotic and annoying lady. Now it’s just us. So how are we gonna do this? Knife, gun, Oh or we could do it the old fashioned way?”

Billy struggles and screams.

“Your so right. All three!” Temple says with a chuckle

He grabs a knife and stabs Billy in the thigh. Billy screams but there’s no use. Temple drops the knife next to Billy to grab the gun. Billy grabs the knife and manages to cut his right hand free. Temple turns around with the gun aimed at Billy’s stomach. Billy reaches with all his force and stabs Temple in the neck.

Gregory falls to the ground. Billy cuts his other hand free then his legs. He struggles to the dorr and pens it realizing it was open the whole time.

He limps the way he was supposed to go. He limps towards The  Bell and Dragon.

He collapses into the building and everyone calls the police. Billy tells the police about the Inn at the hospital but they can’t find it. Like it’s gone. They explain that Temple and Mulholland had gone missing nearly 2-3 years ago.

# data[].attributes.body
Billy gives her a slight nod and says,” I think I’m going to head up to my room, if it’s ok with you.”

The woman says,” Well of course my dear you don’t have to ask, silly goose.”

Billy heads up the stairs and glances around his shoulder to see if the woman was watching him and to his surprise she was no longer in the room that he had just left. Since he knew she wasn’t there to watch him go up two  more flights of stairs to reach the fourth floor he decided it would be okay.

He approaches the fourth floor with caution. He reaches the first door and decides to give a good old knock to see if anyone answers, but there is nothing. He continues down the hall and does the same procedure until he reaches the end.

Suddenly out of the wall appears and older man who says with a raspy yet soothing voice,” Leave before you have to make the choice.” With that the man disappears. Billy has a look of shock on his face, no not shock terror.  As he walks down the hall back to the grand staircase another man about ten or so years younger appears from the lightbulb and says,” Leave before you have to make the choice.”. Now Billy really is confused, what choice are these spirits talking about, and who are these men are they the ones that are in the guest book?

It is morning now and Billy is absolutley exhausted, his body refused to sleep after the events of last nights trip to the fourth floor.  Obviously it can’t be real he was probably so tired that he was hallucinating, or was he? This was all too much to process on an empty stomach so he headed down stairs for that breakfast the woman had promised him the night before. Her had planned on asking the woman about what he saw last night but he decided against it, instead he would eat and get ready in silence.

He had to admit his breakfast was outstanding with piles of waffles and toast and eggs. It almost made him forget about his meeting, which is strange because Bill never forgets anything. As he stood up, he felt a sudden urge of dizziness that made him fall to his knees.

The landlady said,” Oh my, are you alright my dear?”

“I don’t know I just got really dizzy all of a sudden,'' groaned Bill.

“  I know you have a meeting Mr Weavers, but I think  you ought to stay here and rest. I’ll make you some more tea, why don’t you just go lay down upstairs?`` said the landlady cheerfully.

“ Yeah, maybe you’re right. Do you have a telephone I could borrow by any chance? I just need to call into the office to say I am taking a sick day, ``states Billy.

“ Why yes I do it’s down the hall and to the right next to the restroom.”, the landlady informed Billy.

“ Okay, thank you very much.”, says Billy politely.

After he has made his phone call he slowly ascends the stairs being cautious of every step. The moment he reaches the hallway he sees them again, the men whispering the same thing over and over again, “ Leave before you have to make the choice.” What choice, Billy wondered. HE was beyond confusion at this point, he frazzled. Should he listen to the men in the walls or is this illness he has really just making him hallucinate? He didn’t know the answer to that.

He finally came to the conclusion that it was the illness because he remembered how his body felt such a strong pull towards this place that it couldn’t be bad. He walks into his room to find the landlady sitting on his bed with a tray of tea. “ Oh, umm hello I figured you would just leave the tea on the bedside table you really didn’t have to stay.”, claims Billy.

“ My dear I am just making sure my top customer is doing all right.”says the landlady with a little giggle and hse stands up to exit the room but before she leaves she says one thing,” When you are feeling better I have something I would like to speak with you about.”

“Oh, ok”, Billy replies.

Billy lies on his bed pondering what it could possibly be that the lady had wanted to talk to him about. Maybe it was something about the men in the walls, or maybe it was something about how he did something wrong. He couldn’t figure it out in his state so he decided to get some sleep instead of filling his brain with all these situations.

Billy has awoken with a startle now the men in the walls have appeared in his room, but this time they are not spirit they are physical things that you can touch. The only problem that Billy notice is that they aren’t saying anything so he goes over to the younger man and decides to just touch his shoulder and see what happens, the moment he touched the man he turned back into a spirit and said,” What you just saw there is what you will turn into if you don’t leave my boy. The woman, she will give you a choice if you don’t leave, I hope for  you that you don’t have to make the same choice. Please leave before it’s too late.” With that the man and his stuffed colleague disappear into thin air.

Billy was sure now that it wasn’t his illness that was affecting him, he truly was seeing spirits in the walls. He just couldn’t understand why wouldn’t the man tell him what choice he had to make?  He wished he had someone to talk to about everything that has been going on in this place that he thought was perfect. Apparently this place really was too good to be true, he knew something had to be bad. Either way he had to get out of this place.

In that moment Billy was startled by the landlady, she came in with no warning which Billy thought to be very rude. “Hello my dear boy I was doing the dishes when I thought I heard someone walking around up here so I figured I would come in to check on you. How are you feeling, any better?”

“Oh yes I feel much better, actually I think I should go into the office to catch up on all the work I missed. Wait, didn’t you say you wanted to talk to me about something when I was feeling better.”

“Good memory my boy, if you would just come downstairs with me and I’ll make us some tea and we can chat.”

“Sure, but first I would like to change into some more fresh clothing.”

“Of course my dear take your time.” replies the landlady with a suspiciously sweet tone.

Billy finished dressing and headed down the grand staircase. He notices that the landlady must have moved some things because all the couches are moved over to the side and there is an archway with flowers on it. Then he sees the landlady, in a WEDDING DRESS.

“Do you like it dear, it’s special for you,'' croaked the women.

“What is this? What do you mean it’s special for me? Is this what you  wanted to talk to me about?” Billy questions.

“ Yes it is, you have a choice though. You can marry me or you can get stuffed like my little pets over there.” says the landlady as she points to the fireplace.

Billy finally understands what the men in the walls were saying. He wished he would have listened to them, he should have left when he had the chance. “ I am surely not marrying you and I would prefer not to get stuffed so how about we talk this through and we can figure out a solution.”

“NO!” screams the landlady “ You will marry me or get stuffed, you want to know why you felt so drawn to this place Mr. Weaver? It’s because I have been cursed with immortality while my late husband was not so I had to watch him die. I am just an old lady who needs some company and to do that I will go to extreme measures. Do you understand Mr. Weaver?”

“No I do not, why are you cursed. Also how did you get me to come here? If you need someone to be with I will go out and find you a man of your own age and we can find a way to make him immortal as well.” suggests Billy.

“Mr. Weaver, I don’t think you fully understand the situation we are in. I am giving you a choice now make the choice, marry me or get stuffed like the other two men I’m sure you have met, since I sent you up there myself to test your intelligence.”

“Mrs. … I don’t even know your name. Could you please tell me your name, it feels wrong to make such a large decision without your name.”

No, you may not have my name nor any other information about me. Now choose! I will give you five whole minutes to process this information and decide your fate. Choose wisely my boy because either way you aren’t leaving  this place.”

With that he said,” Well actually I know my choice already I would like to marry you. You are so amazing and perfect that I think it's only fair that you find love and here I am. But only one request, may we please get married on the balcony of my room I just find the view so beautiful and the breeze so fresh up there.”

“Oh. Of course, this is actually very shocking usually the men I choose would rather drop dead and be turned into a stuffy” replied the landlady with a light tone in her voice even though she is talking about stuffing people.

With that the women took him upstairs, gave him a brand new tuxedo and told him,”I’ll be waiting on the balcony, but hurry I’m very excited.”

Billy dresses in the tuxedo and checks in the mirror to make sure he looks alright and heads out to the balcony where the arch form the living room has been transported. He forces a smile at the landlady and says.” Shall we say I do?”

With that they start the wedding which is very strange because the woman goes from bride to officiator with every
sentence. They have reached the vows when Billy mumbles,” I’m sorry I had to do this.” he  runs over to the railing and jumps over it towards the ground. He chose to fall to his own death instead of marrying the women. The landlady has a look of terror on her face, but we all know she’ll get over it. She only wanted to marry him for some sort of company.

With that the lady went downstairs and picked up Billy, brought him inside and prepared him for stuffing. After she was done with him she would surely go on to find the nexxt unfortunate young man to have to make the choice.

# data[].attributes.body
Billy gulped.  “Really!” he exclaimed, trying to make it sound as if he was unaware of what she meant.  He had a pretty fair idea, however.  “That tea, it had a strange taste.  What type is it?”

“Oh, are you done with it already?  I hoped you liked it,” the lady remarked, seeming quite distracted.  “Are you sure you drank it all?  Oh, the type!” she added, as if just noticing his query.  “I, uh,” she faltered.  “Let me go check.”  And the landlady leapt up and dashed what must have been the kitchen.

“Let the old bird go,” Billy murmured, “While I make my fantastic getaway.”  Quietly but quickly, he snuck off toward the entrance, where his hat and coat resided.  Picking them up, he grinned.  Now, he thought, is the time for briskness.

Billy paused just in front if the door.  “Good-bye, old bat,” he whispered to the house at large, then twisted the handle and stepped…

Into his room on the third floor.

“What the-”

“Oh, dear, you really didn’t think I would let you get away, now did you?  And you haven’t even paid me for a job about to be well done.”  The lady smiled sweetly, though Billy was sure he saw some menace behind those rosy cheeks and pearly teeth.

“If it’s the payment you want, here,” Billy replied, thrusting much more money than was requested into her hand.  But, as he did it, she grabbed his hand and didn’t let go.

“I have to admit you are smart,” she announced, shaking her head.  “Much smarter than the others.  They never realized there was poison in the tea.  They just thought it was strangely flavored, maybe even exotic.  How well-read you are.  Such a shame, such a shame, such a smart boy, such a lovely, young, handsome boy.  I wonder if you’ll be front-page news, too. They were, you know.  Not as perfect as you, but still.  Quite perfect.  You will look nice up there, Mr. Billy Weaver, next to Mr. Christopher Mulholland and Mr. Gregory Temple.  Younger, perhaps, but very nice all the same.”  Again she smiled, the kind, yet ominous and threatening.

Billy panicked, frantically writhing his hand this way and that, wondering if he’d ever get free, or see his family again.  He had hopes, and ambitions as well.  He wanted to travel the world after a while, and meet new people and discover things nobody had ever imagined.  Finally, after a couple of suspenseful minutes had ticked by, he spoke.  “If you let me go, I will do whatever you want.  If you let me go, I will not turn you in.  If you let me go, I will send more people your way.”

Billy meant none of this, of course, but he said it nevertheless.  His plan was to get far enough away to notify the authorities, and by the time this crazy old bat realized she had been betrayed, she would already be arrested.  It was a perfect plot.  The landlady, however, tsked and beamed the way a young boy does when he has just pulled off a trick on his twin brother.

“Even if I believed you,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, “it would be too late.  I gave you that poison about a half hour ago.  It should have worked by now, and you are mine.  Don’t worry, I will make you just as handsome as you were before, if not more.”  She blinked slowly, her teeth slowly moving from a smile into a grimacing scowl.

Billy, terror-stricken, stared into her eyes.  The lady meant what she said, he could see it plain as day.  As soon as he died, Billy was getting stuffed!  He wondered how she had become such an excellent taxidermist.  Probably, he thought, closing his eyes, she had many years of practice with other victims.

“Here,” the Landlady offered, “Why don’t we, while you still have time left, go and take a look at the others?  You’ll be one of them soon!”  Billy’s eyes widened with unbelief, the thought haunting him as the lady tugged him up the stairs.

“Now’s the last chance to admit it’s all a huge practical joke.” Billy didn’t like how his voice wavered, and he swallowed.

“No, I’m sorry,” she said, though the expression on her face suggested she wasn’t sorry at all.

Suddenly, Billy gave a great shudder and fell, dead, to the floor.

A lone man trudged through the streets, searching for a place to stay for the night.  He wished he could be brisk, as everyone was brisk these days, but the snow was too heavy for any quick walking.  As snowflakes drifted around him and gathered at his feet, he couldn’t help but notice a sign bearing the words BED AND BREAKFAST…

# data[].attributes.body
He smiled, finished his tea and went upstairs. When he went upstairs, he started to feel unwell. He decided that he might need to eat something to settle his stomach down. He went downstairs and grabbed a snack to eat.

As he was going upstairs, back to his room, the LandLady asked him what he was doing he said, “ When I went upstairs I started feeling uneasy and thought I needed something to eat.”

“ Oh, I hope you feel better soon”

“ Thank you”

Just as he turned around and started going up the stair the Landlady said to herself, “Yes.”

When Mr. Weaver got to his room he decided to go to bed because he was starting to feel dizzy and nauseated. Then, he fell into a deep sleep and never woke again.

In the morning, the Landlady was starting to wonder were Mr. Weaver was because it was 10 am. Yesterday, he said he needed to be somewhere at 9 am.  She went to take a peek in his room, and there he was unresponsive.

# data[].attributes.body
It was at this point that Billy started to get very creeped out, because he remembered how a couple of years ago, he was very surprised to see when he had read in the daily paper that two young men had disappeared.

“I am very tired, and I have to go to bed soon,” he said with haste, “Thank you for your company, though. Do you mind if I say hello to Christopher and Gregory for a quick second?”

“Not at all, deary,” she said with a smile.

As Billy started to head upstairs to the fourth floor, he had a weird feeling that someone was watching him. As he turned around, he saw that the woman was looking at him with a forced smile, trying to look casual as she stalked him. He turned around and shrugged, thinking that she just hadn’t had much new company over the years. When he finally got to the fourth floor, he knocked on the door quietly three times. Rap, rap, rap. Nobody answered. He knocked louder. RAP, RAP, RAP.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Billy mumbled to himself. “Well, I think I can just go in without them minding.”

As he opened the door, he realized that the room had a very odd smell, almost like roadkill.

“They must not be very clean,” he thought as he held his handkerchief to his nose, and walked farther into the room.”

As he walked further and further into the room, he heard a small creek behind him. Billy whipped around, scared out of his pants. He was surprised to see that the door was slowly closing by itself! When he rushed over to stop it from closing fully, he found that the door was closing faster, and faster! Right as he got to the door, it slammed shut! He then tried to open the door, and found that the doorknob would not budge! He screamed for the woman to help him, but there was no answer. Now that the light from the hallway was gone, it was pitch black in the room. Because Billy was a smoker, he always had a lighter on him. He then took it out of his pocket, his hand shaking, and flipped it open. What he saw was a very oddly decorated room, with an assortment of knives and butchering tools hanging from the ceiling.

How did I not see those before? Billy wondered as he ventured further into the room. After about five minutes of looking around, he saw two lifeless men sitting down in huge chairs. There were three chairs, and one of them was empty.

“What th-” before he could finish his sentence, he heard a loud BANG and felt a very odd feeling in his chest. To his dismay, when he looked down, he saw that blood was gushing from his chest! When he fell to the ground, he saw the landlady standing over him, holding a gun. The last thing he heard was,

“The last chair’s for you, deary.”

And then he blacked out.

# data[].attributes.body
Billy thought this was strange yet he was not thrown off by it. He thanked the landlady for the tea and went up to bed. The next morning, his breakfast with eggs was already delivered to his room.

“This is strange,” he thought. The door to his room had always been locked and the landlady later said that there was no other key. Billy went down the stairs to the main room only to find two young men standing there, each with a policeman's jacket on.

The main Officer coughed slightly and winced as if he had a side stitch.

“Billy Weaver, we suspect you with contributions to the murder of Christopher Mulholland and Gregory W. Temple.”

At this time, Billy was still sleepy and hadn’t had any tea yet. He later described described him as being ‘still in a deep sleep’. Due to this, Billy hadn’t processed the information said and asked for it to be repeated.

Before either could say anything both collapsed on the ground, dead on contact with cyanide poisoning.

Sooner or later the landlady came down to the main floor only to find all three men lying on the ground collapsed. She rushed to the telephone and started to dial it but stopped, her eyes glancing over to the three bodies. A horrifying expression rose to her face.

She quickly put the phone down and started to rush out the door.

I cannot tell the rest of this story for no one has ever told it to me. But needless to say, when other police officers arrived at the scene of the crime there were only 3 bodies there.

# data[].attributes.body
“You would have thought that with a price this low you would have had more people.” Billy wondered out loud.

“Oh my dear, no one ever wants to stay here. Would you like to see Mr. Temple and Mr, Mulholland? They don’t get a lot of company these days.” she asked him.

“I’d love to see them. I would like to see if I recognize them,” Billy said.

They began to go up the steps toward the fourth floor but as they walked up the steps Billy began to feel an unease. He slowed down so he was a couple steps behind the landlady. When they turned the corner to walk into the room Billy paused for one small second, and then followed. What he saw was the last thing he would ever expect. The two men lying in bed were dead but they still showed life flitting through their eyes. That was the last thing he saw before he went under.

When he awoke it seemed like the next day but really years had gone by because you see the landlady would except only the finest of men. Once she had those men she would turn each one into a stuffing and the only time they woke was when the next victim came to town. That is how the landlady knows when to watch. When her stuffed men wake up again.

# data[].attributes.body
He tried to smile, but it probably looked like more of a grimace. He faked a yawn and mumbled, trying to sound sleepy, “I better head to bed. I had a long day today.”

“But my dear, I am enjoying your company so much,” she said, reaching to caress Billy’s face.

Billy ducked out of the way just in time and stood up to go upstairs. “I have been enjoying your company as well, but I really need my sleep.”

He walked upstairs, but instead of going to his room, he continued up the stairs to the fourth floor. He turned left, and ran right into the lady. She grabbed him with a strong grip and pulled him into the room.

“Take a good look,” she growled, quite unlike what she had sounded before. “That will soon be you.”

Billy looked over at the bed, and there lay a man, exactly like the picture he had seen in the newspaper. This one, he was sure, was none other than Christopher Mulholland. Billy recognized him from the papers. He looked just like he did in the picture, quite young. The only difference was that this man’s face was in a look of horror, unlike the paper, in which he looked excited. He laid under a white sheet, and his face was a pale color.

Billy turned his head, and at the other side of the room was another bed. He turned away, not able to bear the sight.

Billy opened his mouth to ask her a question, and a cloth was shoved into his mouth. The last thing he saw was her face, a smile creeping on to her lips.

# data[].attributes.body
He sets down his tea on the tray and says, “I’m very sorry but I think I may be be be…….”He doesn’t finish his sentence. He doesn’t have to. She already knows what happened to him. She looks around the room as if someone were there. Of course no one was. She was as alone as she was before the man came. “Finally, he was talking my ear off” she said sarcastically. She cackles and drags him upstairs.She doesn’t try to help him. She already knows nothing can cure him. After all, she should know. She poisoned the pen. She poisoned it so she could add him to the other stuffed creatures. That's all they are to her, the ghost. Creatures. She doesn’t dwindle on the thought for long. If she wants the body stuffed perfectly like the others she has to move fast. Then she thinks of something “I do so very much wish he could have seen my dear friends upstairs Mr Mullahound and Mr. Temple before he joins them forever”.

# data[].attributes.body
All of a sudden he sets down his tea, because he feels a little light-headed, he says, “I’m very sorry, but I think I need to to to-” He doesn’t finish. Everything goes black.
A ‘refreshing’ splash of water is the cause of Billy waking up, he looks out the window and sees a vehicle that he hadn’t noticed before. He sees the license plate- 666-DVL. “Wait, isn’t 666 the sign of the devil?” Billy thinks to himself, “I have to get out of here, this woman is trying to kill me!”
“Do you want to go up and visit the two men on the fourth floor my dear?” the landlady asks.
“Sure, now that I’m feeling better I would like to talk to them,” he responds, playing along with her little game.

They go upstairs only to see that the two men were also deceased and stuffed as puppets.
“See, they were very handsome, just like you, feel their baby soft skin, it’s so very soft!” she says, trying to encourage him…
He touches Mr. Temple’s skin, it was soft, almost too soft.
“Too bad he didn’t get to talk about how soft his skin was before he joined them,” says the landlady.

And she had taken another.

# data[].attributes.headline
“Weird he thought “very weird” He set down the tea“I will be resting,thank you for the tea” he siad He rushed to 4th floor. Opened some doors and found manicans.” I thought they were for sure stuffed.” He thought to himself. He took off both of their hats and found a note in both. They both siad they knew something was up so after they drink tea they replace their bodie with manicans. Weird. In both of the notes they siad that the lady made replica manicans of them they took off and headed to the nearest town.It all came back to Billy “two men found dead from poision” in the news papper. Sundely he felt sick he went to the window and fainted and fallen. He died 

# data[].attributes.subject
“Weird he thought “very weird” He set down the tea“I will be resting,thank you for the tea” he siad He rushed to 4th floor. Opened some doors and found manicans.” I thought they were for sure stuffed.” He thought to himself. He took off both of their hats and found a note in both. They both siad they knew something was up so after they drink tea they replace their bodie with manicans. Weird. In both of the notes they siad that the lady made replica manicans of them they took off and headed to the nearest town.It all came back to Billy “two men found dead from poision” in the news papper. Sundely he felt sick he went to the window and fainted and fallen. He died 