“Goodnight, Evelyn,” the woman gently kisses her daughter.

“Mom, please don’t leave. I’m scared,” the girl worries.

“Don’t be silly. We’ve already bought you a nightlight. Now we don’t even turn off the light.”

“But Mom, I’m still afraid.”

“Not another word. You’re already grown up and perfectly capable of sleeping alone. Goodnight.”

The woman leaves the room, not fully closing the door. She always does this so she can be sure her daughter is lying in bed, not playing with toys.

          The nightline mentioned by her mother is placed opposite the door. It emits a soft and warm light, illuminating the immediate area but unfortunately not reaching half of the room. This way, the children’s room remains visible but dark. And the darkest part of this place is slightly open door leading to a long corridor.

          The girl wraps herself in a blanket so that only her eyes peek out. She watches intently as the darkness outside unfolds. It seems that if she looks away even for a moment, something irreparable will happen.

          Ten agonizingly long minutes pass for her, in this state. It becomes unbearably hot under the blanket. With each second, the desire to escape from imaginary shelter grows.

          However, the girl is too afraid. In her thoughts, she briefly takes her gaze away from the darkness and, unfortunately, in the corner of her eye, she notices some movement.

          At that very moment, a wave of heat and sweat washes over her, while her limbs grow cold. Her little heart jumps to her throat and starts pounding mercilessly in her temples, marching into her ears. Someone is there…

          She looks intently into the corridor, squinting with fear. Her eyes struggle to see in the darkness, gradually adjusting to it. Somewhere deep in the abyss, drowning in the saturated blackness, she sees the outline of a shoulder smoothly transitioning into an arm. When eyes fully adjust, a figure appears. The black figure stands motionless, peering through the crack only partially, showing itself.

          Evelyn can’t move. Fear has paralyzed her body and mind. She can’t hold back any longer. She closes her eyes and starts screaming, breaking through fear and despair. Her scream echoes throughout the house, filing every corner.

“Mom!” she shouted with all her might. “Mom!”

          The light in the corridor turns on, and the black figure disappears with the darkness. The angry mother enters the room, scolding and admonishing her.

“There… there was something!” the girl blurts out.

          The woman doesn’t want to hear anything. She scolds her childish and selfish behavior. She issues a few warnings and leaves the room, once again leaving the door slightly ajar.

          The light in the corridor goes out, and in that very moment, the black figure reappears. The oppressive darkness enveloping the boundaries of the room begins to seep inside. The inhuman figure begins to move along with it. From behind the door, hand, shoulder, head and leg appear the silhouette freezes again.

          The girl dares not look away. Who knows what might happen if she does. She clenches the sheet in her first, her heart pounding furiously. What is this creature? What does it want? What should she do? Questions swirl in her head, each one trying to drown out the other.

”What do you want… go away! Please, go away.”

          In response, the shadow begins to move again. The entity slowly enters the room and stands lifelessly in place. It has no face, no color, just long limbs, a torso, and an elongated head.

          In this silent minute, the phantom moves forward once more.

“No, go away! Don’t come near me! Leave!” Evelyn restrains herself again, trying not to scream at the top of her lungs.

          However, she is not heard. The figure is very close, leaning over her so that Evelyn feels its breath on her face. It is literally watching and slowly extends its thin, rope-like limbs forward, silently sitting on the edge of the bed. Its bony hand rests on the blanket and begins to gently trace simple circles on it.

“I won’t leave you, my little Evelyn. I will always be with you,” the creature whispers and softly strokes her through the blanket.

          Evelyn cries, hugging her legs, trying to avoid the repulsive touch of the deformed hand.

“Take my hand,” it gets even closer. “If you don’t take it, I will go to your mother.”

          Evelyn’s eyes widen, imagining her mother alone with this creature, and horrifying images flood her mind. The grotesque fingers descend onto the small bed and start tapping on it slowly, waiting for a response. Under a hypnotic spell, Evelyn hesitates and trembles, but finally releases her hand from under the blanket and stares in anticipation.

          The silhouette takes her hand and very soon starts speaking again, gripping tightly:

“Now we are inseparable. Wherever you go, I will be there. You will see me in every shadow, in every corner, in every doubt, in every thought. I will never leave you. I will take away all the light. Darkness will become your dwelling, and I will be your only companion.”

“What are you?!” the girl asks with a sense of doom in her voice.

“How could you not recognize me, little Evelyn,” the creature hisses and crackles. “I am your fear…”

          Who silently follows you as you walk down a dark street? Who accompanies you in all your endeavors? Who tightly holds your hand while planning the future? Who do you imagine in your worst nightmares?

Only your fear is always with you.

Only your fear haunts you in the most difficult moments.

Are you afraid of being alone? Turn around, and you will realize that you have never been alone…

It was already quite late, almost half past one. Dad was on the night shift at the police office, mom worked as a seamstress at a factory and grandma had been asleep for a long time. The candle flame on my table was swinging due to the bone-chilling wind. It has been raining for the second day in a row and storm clouds completely obscured the sky over our inconspicuous city. The drops running down the window reminded me of the tears that my grandmother shed a week ago. At that day we commemorated my grandfather, who passed away exactly 10 years ago, in 1915. But still no one has told me the details of his death; we used to avoid this conversation. I remember his appearance and calming voice as well as his funeral. There were all his work colleagues, friends, acquaintances and even classmates. Thinking about it kept me awake that night.

The sharp creak of the parquet brought me to senses. It was Nanny, my grandma who came into the kitchen.

"Why aren't you asleep, dear? You have a class with Mrs. Jane tomorrow morning," she asked tensely. "You should have gone to bed."

"I can't get rid of premonition of a mess, but why did you wake up?" I answered with a whoop.

There was no response from her. She went to the table, took her medications and dripped exactly 13 drops into the glass. Nanny has been having a reactive schizophrenia for a long time. She spent almost half of her life in a psychiatric clinic, but nothing has helped her anyways. This disease often kept her awake at night.

"I can't sleep, honey, I can't sleep," she said hoarsely. "They won't let me sleep."

The weather was getting worse and worse, the tree branches started reaching the ground. The thunder that rang out made me shudder.

"Who are they? It's just the two of us in the apartment, and there's no one on the street. The neighbors have been sleeping for a long time," I replied to her.

"Thoughts, dear. I saw this person with my very own eyes," she said, staring out the window.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked her.

"About the one who killed my husband," Nanny said.

I was absolutely burnt out and my heart stopped beating for a second because of the words I had just heard.

"Why didn't you tell me about that?"

Grandma kept her eyes fixed on the window; a tear appeared on her cheek.

"I think it's time to tell. "

The atmosphere was like horror movie indeed:  the weather outside was a symbol of the day of grandfather's funeral. It was also raining cats and dogs that day.

"Strange things have been happening in this city at night for 10 years. The police still didn’t find any evidence of a serial killer. Your father has already found 23 dead bodies."

"Oh, that's why parents don’t let me go out at night," I whispered faintly.

"Yes, this person was noticed several times by people from their houses. It's a woman with dark hair. Her height is almost 1,8 meters and she always wears a black cloak."

"How do you know that; did you see her?".

"Unfortunately, yes," the grandmother replied and her voice was deadly quiet.

Suddenly, our doorbell rang, it was already 2 o'clock in the morning. Grandma started panicking, she detested uninvited guests. She quickly jumped up from her chair and ran to her room, locking the door. She always closed the door of her room and never let other people into it. My parents and I no longer paid attention to it, but it always seemed strange to me. There was a loud rustling behind the wall, something was falling, and then I heard the sound of a broken window... the doorbells did not subside, I had no clue what was happening.

Looking through the peephole, I saw two men in police uniforms who shouted at me, requiring to open the door for them. Without any hesitation, I did it, they broke into our apartment and began searching something, continuously asking me questions.

"Who else lives in this apartment?" - they shouted. "Why is the child alone at home at night?".

I was going to faint as my head was spinning and arms were shaking. The police officers started shooting at Grandma's door lock and that stunned me, I fell to the floor with my ears closed, everything was a complete mess. After a while, I found myself on the floor of a kitchen. Blinking my eyes, I saw her in a hallway. The same woman Nanny described, but this time I recognized that it was my sick grandmother with the same dark hair and black cloak as she described. That revived me immediately and made me yell at the top of my voice.

The police officer ran to me, went into the kitchen and she attacked him with a knife. Taking advantage of this moment, I jumped out through our kitchen window. Eventually, I was absolutely unhinged. Lying on the ground, crying hysterically and listening to men screaming in our apartment. By this time, the rain had become even heavier, it soaked me to the skin in seconds. A black car pulled up out of nowhere, and my father ran out of it and started asking me what had happened.

"She's behind you," I said, barely breathing because of stress.

He turned around and shot his mother, realizing everything in a moment.

Throughout his life, he was looking for the killer who, as it turned out, lived in the next room. In the room, which his mother would not let anyone in, 23 knives were stored there, each of which she committed a murder. There were portraits of all her 23 victims under her bed, and the very first one was a portrait of my dead grandfather.

Their company did not always have only three members. Sandra, Georgia and Rebecca had one more friend whose name was Katherine. She didn’t have children and lived with her husband in a big and posh house. One day, Katherine’s husband went on a business trip but Katherine decided to stay at home. The first week after her husband departure passed peacefully: she walked on the fresh air, played the piano, met with friends and never bored from being alone under her roof. Katherine found it enjoyable to spend her day with herself until something terrible happened. She started to hear very strange voices and sounds around her house. At the beginning, she thought that it seemed to her but after some time she made sure that it was in reality. Every night Katherine heard these scaring sounds and it terrified her. She couldn’t sleep and eat because she thought that someone kept an eye on her. One evening, the woman was taking a bath. While she was washing, she noticed a shadow in the mirror. Katherine immediately turned around but there was nothing behind her. She was extremely terrified, and it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The main problem was that Katherine stayed absolutely alone at home, and her only decision was to tell her friends about a previous incident. Their reaction was absolutely heartbreaking as they said that it all turned to be foolishness.

— “Oh, Kate, it is just a fiction of your disturbed imagination. Today is Halloween, and you have to relax with margaritas. It will help you to forget about this incident”, Georgia said.

Katherine understood that she didn’t find community support and returned home. After this conversation, nobody ever saw her.

All these ten years women blamed themselves for the indifference to Katherine’s problems. Consequently, each Halloween they felt guilty while other people were having fun.

—“We had to do something. She needed our help”, Sandra said.

—“We can’t change anything now”, Rebecca said. 

Georgia was just nervously drinking margaritas and looking at the fading candle.

After everyone went home, Sandra realized that she couldn’t longer keep this secret and decided to pour her heart into the paper. She wrote everything about the night that was ten years ago, and it relieved her soul. After that, the woman hid it in a locked box.

The next morning Sandra decided to get the mail and found a strange envelope among newspapers. She opened it and saw the photo of four friends. Sandra's heart skipped a beat as she realized that this photo was taken on the same day that Katherine disappeared. She stood motionless. The woman didn't know what to do, and a lot of thoughts were spinning in her head: who did it? how did he know about it? Eventually, she decided to tell her friends about this incident. They got together and Sandra showed the women that photo and said that someone had threatened her. They were shocked and confused, unable to understand how this photo ended up in their mailbox after all these years. The friends had been saying nothing for 20 minutes.

—“We have to act as if nothing has happened. Just go on leading a peaceful housekeeper’s lives”, Rebecca broke the silence.

After their meeting, Rebecca went home and noticed that the door was opened. She entered the building and thought that she had just forgotten about locking the door in a hurry. Nothing changed in her house except one thing. She noticed a strange book on the shelf. Rebecca approached the shelf, take the book in her hands and opened it. Then something fell out of the book. It was a small note where was written: “I know what you did. It’s your fault”. Rebecca became white as a sheet of paper and almost fainted. She grabbed the phone and called Georgia.

—“You can’t imagine what happened when I came home!”

—“Unfortunately, I can”, said Georgia.

It turned out that she had received the same letter.

The women got together again. Rebecca and Georgia told Sandra that they had received the same thrilling notes. The friends looked at each other and promised that no matter what happened, they would always be together. Unexpectedly, someone knocked on the door.

Sandra raised her head and looked around. She saw the pieces of paper in front of her and realized that she had fallen asleep on the table while writing about the ten-year-old night. She caught a glimpse of the window and understood that she was sleeping all night. Halloween passed away, and Sandra breathed a sigh of relief: their secret would not be revealed until their death.

But the story of a boy named Jimmy changed that tradition.

Normally, Jimmy would spend Halloween at home, hanging out with friends, watching films and eating candy. But this year, something was different. The boy has always been curious and brave, so he decided to find out what happens in that cemetery on Halloween night.

So, the long-awaited morning of the last day of October came. The boy waited until evening and, when everyone was busy with their chores, Jimmy cautiously left the house and headed towards the cemetery.

Upon entering the cemetery grounds, the boy felt uneasy.

The sounds of the forest at night, the distant noise of the motorway - everything was gone, as if someone had switched off the sound. The boy looked around slowly, not understanding where this silence was coming from. Immediately his eyes caught a glow of some kind out of the darkness. The bright spot on the forest edge slowly grew larger. Squinting and blinking to tears, he gazed into that glow.

"It's not getting bigger. It's getting closer, so it's getting bigger," a sudden hunch flashed through his brain.

The fact was that the spot was taking on certain features with its approach. The silhouette of a man. A few minutes more in a daze, and the boy realised that it was a girl. In something white, a hoodie down to the ground, snow-white, and the moonlight added to the glow.

The boy suddenly remembered the legend that was told every time at school before the coming Halloween. Once a girl who lived in this village - disappeared on the last night of October under mysterious circumstances. No one knew where, with whom or why she might have gone on that restless night. She was wearing a white dress. After the mysterious disappearance, residents told the story that this girl comes on Halloween night and takes people's souls with her.

The boy was terribly frightened.

The closer, the faster the girl approached, it seemed that in a few more moments she would come right up to him. And so, she did.

It was not a girl, but a grown woman, her face was angry and wild, and her eyes darker than the night around her. A coldness ran through her heart. The last metres seemed to be covered by her running, so swift was her approach.

Jimmy tried to run away, but the creature caught up with him.

Outstretched white hands with bony fingers grasped the frightened boy. He looked straight into its eyes, but they were completely black.

The touch of the fingers was like a grip, preventing him from even breathing.

"Why does it sting so much?" the thought flashed. It's a dead man, his hands should be ice cold, but here they were burning with fire, squeezing the boy with all their might.

The boy was immobilised and unconscious. This incomprehensible creature took him into the depths of the cemetery.

In the morning, the parents went to their son's room, but it was empty. They got worried and went to look for the boy, but none of the neighbours knew anything. The search went on for several months, but unfortunately it never led to any results.

The parents soon sold the house and moved to another city.

Someone's eyes were running around in search of a ray in this pitch darkness. Meanwhile, cold fear held her down, preventing from uttering a sound. Wanting to scream, call for help, cry out, run headlong were useless. Paralysis bound her whole body.

"I can't breathe!" - flashed through the head. The air was thick with tension and fear, there was a threat in it... no... THIRST was in the air. Something elusive to the eye was growling with hunger, and as the heart was pounding in ears louder, it was getting closer and closer.

"My God, what did I do wrong?" - the thought rang in her head.

And really, what went wrong?

This morning, a young student was in a hurry for the Chinese class. It was freezing. Everywhere you look, there is a thick fog. The last day of October unpleasantly surprised all residents of the city. Visibility was extremely poor. But when she was already on Rodionova street a strong wind blew, snow began to fall like a wall, covering her face. In order to quickly hide from the bad weather, the girl decided to run to the campus. After crossing the road, the university was just around the corner. The familiar white doors in front of the stairs appeared.

"Finally! I hope the girls have taken my place," she thought and went inside.

The turnstiles were turned off, so the student quickly and easy entered the lobby. After changing her clothes, she went up to the 2nd floor, where familiar faces were waiting for her in the class.

 - "Masha, hello!" - was heard from the very end of the class.

- "Come here, we've got a seat for you!".

- "Hi, girls, thank you! Today so far from the desk?"

- "Ha, yeah, here is nice. Honestly, I don't really want teacher's attention today. I didn't do my homework. I woke up too early and I just want to sleep today".  Olga said.

- "Are you kidding? Ha-ha. Today Mr. M.H.  is checking notebooks."  Masha said suspiciously.

- "Not at all. I'm already tired of studying. There will be nothing terrible from one 0."

Masha rounded her eyes and thought that she had never seen a person pass the "excellent student syndrome" so quickly in her life." Olga and 0 were incompatible things.

- "Well..." - Masha only said. "You must be really tired."

- "Nonsense! She's just lazy." Vika looked contemptuously at Olga, and then looked sharply at the table, on which a fly was crawling. With one quick movement of her palm, Vika knocked the insect down and smeared the remains on the wall.

The picture was surreal. It seemed that Vika didn't even raise an eyebrow, which made Masha feel uncomfortable. "What happened to our good hedgehog from "Kikoriki"? She got up from the wrong foot?" - it was as if the incident was not about Vika at all. But then a teacher came into the classroom, Masha had to break away from her thoughts. The lesson began. At first, everyone repeated the tones, but at some point the sounds began to turn into a mess of their words, in which only "HSE" was clearly heard, which became "HERE". SOME. EATABLE". At this point, Masha just silently looked around the class in incomprehension, which at the same moment, as if sensing excitement, turned to the girl. They stared, continuing to whisper "HSE... HSE ... HSE...". Unable to endure this horror any longer, Masha ran out of the classroom. She ran straight down the stairs but nothing changed. It was the same floor. Then she decided to take the elevator. She went inside it. Suddenly, something loudly hit the back wall, the doors opened and released the girl right in the locker room. When the girl turned around in horror she saw a dent on the metal wall. She rushed to the exit but everything went dark. No matter how much she walked, this invisible corridor did not end. There was a scratching of claws. Something was moving in her direction. Out of fear, Masha sat down on the floor, she had no choice but to try to hold her consciousness so as not to pass out. Drip-drop. Drip-drop. Several large drops fell on the top of her head. Panic gripped her, shackled her whole body. The knocking, which was somewhere far away, was now getting closer. "Knock-knock". The echoes echoed down the corridor. Something nasty rustled on the ceiling. "HSE-E" was already saying a growling whisper more insistently. "Knock – knock". Two beady eyes appeared on the floor. At that moment, the girl forced herself not to scream with an effort of will. Something small was walking slowly across the floor. And before Masha had time to understand something, a loud "CROAK!" was heard and the flapping of wings sounded loudly near the ceiling. The black bird began to distract the monster. Taking advantage of this hitch, the student rushed with all her might to the place where she heard the knocking." If this crow has flown from somewhere, there is a way out there!.." - the girl thought.

"CROAK - CROAK- CROAK" - furious crow sounds mixed with thuds from behind. The dark corridor finally ended. Out of joy, the girl did not notice that the cherished ladder appeared under her feet and tripped, fell noisily right at the foot. The crow sounds behind stopped, and instead a dozen claws were tapping on the ceiling. SOMETHING had heard her. The girl froze in horror, but then a black beak hit her on her head. The flying crow took off brought the girl to her senses. With every step on the steps, behind the ceiling seemed to collapse and this rumble was getting closer.

Already at the exit the turnstiles blocked her way. She began to cut through it, when suddenly something clung to her leg from behind. Turning around, Masha saw a tongue that, coming out of the dark haze, wrapped around her leg. She began to scream and moved as if in agony. Without noticing how, but she managed to free her own. Already losing strength, she was crawling away from this place. When she finally found herself on the threshold of the street something crashed into the door loudly, which made the girl fall into consciousness.

It is not known how much time has passed, but when Masha woke up, she found herself sitting under the roof of some old abandoned house. Shaking herself off, she tried to make sense of what had happened. But for some reason it slipped out of her mind. Finally, when she came to herself, she noticed that the fog had stopped being so thick and her university was very close. Soon she found herself in the classroom. Everything seemed to be as usual. Olga was repeating her homework - "today should be a test. Did you learned the material?" - she asked.

- "Yes, a little," said Vika, thoughtfully - "She was just about saving a tiny spider out of the window".

 The girls looked at each other and smiled. There was no trace of the events of the morning. Sitting down at her desk, Masha got ready for the lesson.

" Knock- knock-knock".

Turning to the window, the girl saw a crow pecking at something on the ledge. Then, it fluttered up there and flew away. Chinese lesson has begun.

"No life: the fish will die, the animals in the neighborhood have all scattered".

"Yes, this damn fog too! And this howl at night?"

"Sure, but it's all because of the baron and his magician!" the peasants, who were pretty drunk, were talking loudly, but when they saw a strange man in the doorway of the tavern, the voices fell silent. The traveler, without saying a word, went to the counter.

"What do you want, my lord?" - said the owner of the establishment - "I'm sorry, we have rare guests for the last six months, so everyone is looking at you, because ...".

"You have a problem with that island, don't you? A curse for as long as I know..." the man said, taking off his hood – "I could help you, but not for free of course." Laughter rang out in the tavern, because this is not the first “Savior”, but not one of the self-proclaimed heroes from the island never returned. But the laughter stopped abruptly, before them appeared, at first glance, a young man with skin as white as snow and wavy hair as black as coal to his shoulders, his face was as if exhausted by hunger but not devoid of beauty, his emerald eyes seemed to glow, but his hands were like an old man, wrinkled and they were dry, and there were rune rings on his fingers, and a book with a pentagram tied to his belt appeared from under his cape.

"The sorcerer..." one of the peasants whispered.

Ignoring the stunned audience, the man calmly continued to say: "Today is the full moon, magic is especially strong at this time, but this is what will help me remove the curse, but are you ready to pay for it?".

"Of course, my lord!" - the innkeeper cried, overcoming wonder and fear - "This curse does not allow us to live, anything to get rid of it!".

"Anything? Excellent," the magician muttered – "Now tell me in detail what happened six months ago, I heard rumors, but I need to know the whole story."

There was a deathly silence in the tavern. A long pause was interrupted by one of the peasants: "We had Baron Ralph, he lived on that island, in a tower with his daughter Iren and a magician named Baal. This year there was a drought, ordinary people were starving, and our baron lived in prosperity, and did not pay the slightest attention to the suffering of his villagers. The people raised a riot, went to him, and he locked himself in his tower, and his magician sent rats to scare us off, but it didn't work out..."- The peasant fell silent.

"What happened next?" the sorcerer asked with interest, rubbing his rings.

"From that moment on, we don't have a baron anymore, that's what happened... but there is a curse." There was silence.

"What about the magician? I suppose the curse is his handiwork?" the sorcerer broke the silence again.

"We don't know... his body was never found, and everyone who participated in the riot then became very ill, and after six months, half of them were died. Now every night there is a terrible howl from the island, like crying and this fog," said the innkeeper.

The peasants gave a fishing boat for the sorcerer, he loaded a bag into it and sat down himself, a minute later he disappeared into the fog. Having moored to the almost collapsed pier, the sorcerer carefully took the bag and went ashore, because of the fog nothing could be seen, and the smell of death was in the air. Making his way to the tower, the sorcerer lit his way with the fire that he lit in his hand. The whole island turned into a swamp, and there was nothing alive around. When he reached the tower, he heard a shrill scream, after putting out the fire, he took out a strange, bone-framed lamp from his bag and opened the door with a creak. A pungent smell of rot hit his nose, he took a step and there was a crunch under his foot — it was a rat, or rather what was left of it for six months. He waved his hand, uttering a spell, and a glowing ball flew out of his sleeve, illuminating the floor strewn with the remains of rodents, he carefully examined the room and went on. Climbing up the dilapidated stairs, he reached the third floor, where, apparently, the baron's room was located, and its owner was hanging in a noose from the ceiling. He raised the lantern, whispered a spell, his emerald eyes lit up even brighter, the lantern illuminated the room with a greenish light.

"Answer me spirit!" the sorcerer called, but no answer was received, his eyes faded, as did the light of the lantern. "Well, that leaves the magician and the baron's daughter," he muttered to himself and went upstairs. After examining each floor and Irene's room, which turned out to be empty, he reached the last floor. The door was locked, putting his hand on the lock, he cast the spell again and the door opened, moonlight filtered through huge holes in the tiled roof, the whole floor, as on the first floor, was strewn with rats, and in the middle of the room lay a body... what was left of the baron's daughter. There was a piercing shriek, the sorcerer recoiled and the spirit of Irene appeared before him, if not for the lantern in the man's hands, he would already be dead, like everyone here. He pointed the lantern at the spirit and, whispering a spell, lit it, the sorcerer's eyes lit up, the eyes of the spirit lit up with an emerald light.

"Answer me spirit!" the sorcerer called again, "What is the source of this curse? That magician?".

"No-o-o-o" - the spirit of the girl said –"I am the curse-e-e!".

"How did this happen?" the sorcerer asked, dumbfounded.

"When the peasants broke in, Baal released the rats to detain them, and took me to his place. He gave me a potion, it was supposed to paralyze me to make me look dead. When I opened my eyes, I was still paralyzed, there was a noise downstairs, I heard my father calling for help, but I couldn't do anything, and the rats left in the room with me were hungry… I felt everything, but I couldn't even scream. But now I can." The sorcerer listened to this story in horror, slowly approaching the body, but under his foot was the same bottle from under the potion. He lost his balance, the lantern fell from his hand and a scream rang out in the tower again, but this time it was not a spirit that was screaming…

So a week passed without any incident. After a week of living, we decided to start our first big wash. The washing machine was unfamiliar to us, which is why we spent a long time trying to set it up. Having finally started the wash and waited for it to finish, we began to hang our clothes as usual, suspecting nothing.

Monday, getting ready for university, my friend came into my room and asked:

- Lisa, did you accidentally take my sock?

I was stunned because I also couldn’t find my sock from the pair. We checked the socks in our hands, they turned out to be different. Then everything was in a fog: my friend searched her entire closet with the hope that she simply forgot to put one dirty sock in the wash. I searched the bed. Washing machine. Laundry basket. All the most unexpected places. My horror knew no bounds, I looked at my friend - she was going down the wall, covering her face with her hands. We, in complete bewilderment, began to think about this very strange disappearance. “Maybe the washing machine chewed on our socks?” - we checked, our socks were not there. “Maybe they weren’t there at all?” How did we go then? “Maybe the brownie was angry with us that we settled here, so he took our socks?” Exactly! Having come to such a great conclusion, we decided to appease our brownie. That same evening, my friend and I poured some almond milk into a bowl (spoiler: it was a mistake) so that the brownie would drink a little and give us our socks, but that was not the case. Instead of white socks, our brownie gave me some kind of black and white sock, which neither of us had. So, the sock was obviously not ours, perhaps the brownie simply lost it and decided to somehow make amends for his guilt. But due to the fact that we gave him not cow’s milk, but almond milk, the brownie mixed up the socks and gave us a completely different sock.

We are still waiting for our socks, and we hope that the brownie will give them to us soon, because we cannot walk without socks.

John had recently moved to the quiet town of Everwinter with his wife, Miranda, and their young daughter, Emily. They were drawn to the charm of the small community, the kind neighbours, and the promise of a peaceful life. But John's fascination with the abandoned house was undeniable. He couldn't resist the urge to explore this looming structure that had captured his imagination.

One chilly autumn evening, after Emily and Miranda had gone to bed, John approached the house, its silhouette casting long shadows across the yard. The wind whispered through the trees, creating a depressing symphony. He hesitated, but then reached for the rusty door handle. With a creak, the door swung open, luring him inside. As he stepped across the threshold, a wave of dread washed over him. The interior was a huge mess, covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. All the furniture was broken, and the air was frigid. But John was determined to uncover the secrets of the house. The further he explored the darkness of it, the more he felt watched. Whispers of voices, distant and muffled, surrounded him. He followed the sound, moving deeper into the heart of the house until he found himself in a long, narrow corridor. At the end, he saw a door standing slightly open.

With each step, John's unease grew. The door led to a room unlike any other in the house. A single, dimly lit lantern hung from the ceiling, casting shadows on the walls. In the centre of the room, an ornate mirror stood, which was framed by a web. He approached it, peering into the glass, and his reflection seemed to waver, revealing a twisted and dreadful version of himself.

"Who are you?" he stammered, his voice was trembling.

The mirror whispered, its voice echoing in his mind, "I am the keeper of secrets, the bearer of truth. But beware, for the truth is not always what you seek."

John’s heart started pounding. He tried to turn away, but the mirror held him captive. It began to show him some visions that were horrifying scenes from the past. A family, much like his own, once lived in this house, a century ago. John’s vision blurred, and he found himself standing in their well-kept living room: the family lived happily, unaware of the darkness that was about to consume them. He watched helplessly as the father, driven to madness, committed unspeakable acts against his loved ones. It turned out their tormented souls were trapped within the cursed mirror.

As the vision disappeared, John stumbled back, gasping for breath. He realised that the house's evil presence had almost ensnared his soul. The mirror's whispers became louder, promising him knowledge and power if he surrendered to its will.

"No," John exclaimed after finally finding the strength to resist. He tried to run away, but the house seemed to have different plans. Corridors shifted, doors closed behind him, and he was trapped in a labyrinth of despair.

With each step, he encountered more sinister visions - ghostly apparitions, the tormented spirits of the past, and his own family, victims of the house's malice. He saw Miranda's face full of fear as she begged for release, and Emily's tiny hand reaching out to her father.

Desperation overcame John as he came to a realisation the only way to break the curse was to destroy the mirror. He decided to retrace his steps and went back to the room. With every step he took, the whispers coming from the mirror grew stronger and stronger, but he ignored them as his heart was filled with determination. With a burst of strength, John shattered the cursed mirror, unleashing the grand flow of dark energy that threatened to consume him. As the fragments scattered, the whole house seemed to groan in agony.

Suddenly, the darkness lifted, the house collapsed, and John was standing outside as if nothing had happened. The curse was broken, and the spirits of the past were free.

John ran back to his family and hugged them tightly. He was terrified by the depths of evil that had been trapped in the house. They left the town that night, while the building was crumbling in the moonlight.

But the memory of the house at the end of Willow Street haunted John's dreams ever since as a reminder that some horrors should never be uncovered, and some secrets should remain locked away forever.

- Girls, can you tell me what time is it?

Her spooky voice gave us the creeps. We were scared to death.

- It's 8:30, madam.

-Oh, - the elderly woman sighed.

She continued to stand with us. The total silence and the suspense built up. To somehow break it, I asked.

- Who are you waiting for, madam? How can I help you?

I don't know how I could help this frightening woman, but I was just trying to be polite.

-Yes, you will definitely help me, don't worry. All in good time, - she mumbled.

I exchanged glances with my friend, letting her know that this woman is probably a lunatic and mentally ill, and it's not worth paying attention to her words. By the way, she really looked strange. It was quite warm outside, but she was wearing a long black raincoat, and there were a lot of wrinkles on her face. There was something creepy and witchy in her black eyes, her nose was long and sharp. I'll never forget her face. She was like a corpse: pale and raw-boned.

An elderly woman looked at my friend and me, and it sent shivers up and down my spine.

Finally, the doors of the university opened. We stood with the sinister witch for only a few minutes, but they seemed like an eternity.

The guard let us into the corridor of the university, and my friend and I quickly entered the building. I looked around to see if the creepy granny was coming in with us.

I was surprised when I didn't find her near the door.  It's as if she never existed at all!  I immediately felt better, even a good mood appeared again, but there was no face on my friend. She was terrified. I tried to calm her down, but nothing helped. The friend went to the water cooler. I decided to sit on a bench in the corridor. Soon the guard came up to me and told me not to talk to this woman anymore. I started asking him why, and he replied that she stuck to students near the university every year, and they were already telling scary stories about her, that she was a witch and after talking to her, people disappeared. I was scared and already wanted to run to look for a friend, as the guard said:

-    But it's all untrue, in fact she's just a crazy and frightening person.

Finally, my friend returned, and the filing of documents had already begun, so we went to the admissions office.

Everything was good with the documents, we even managed to get acquainted with some guys who also wanted to apply for our program.

We went outside with the whole group of applicants and talked for a long time about the exams and the upcoming studies. Sasha was acting a little weird, maybe she was still nervous.

Then one guy suggested going to a coffee shop, which was located near the university building, and everyone agreed.

- Guys, let's take a photo! - I said, and began to adjust my polaroid.

Everyone stood in a row in front of the doors of our uni building, a passerby took a picture of us, and we all went to the nearest coffee shop with our big cheerful company.

Suddenly it started to rain, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed,so I hid the photo in the pocket of my jeans. Everyone ran across the road, trying to hide in a cozy cafe as soon as possible. A moment and we were in the warm room again, soaked to the skin, but still happy.

I put my hand in my pocket, took out a photo that was already beginning to manifest.

- Oh, how hilarious you turned out here, take a look! - I said to my friend

I looked around and realized that she wasn't here. It's weird, like she was running next to me a few minutes ago. Good grief,what a curse!

- Guys, where is Sasha?

She wasn't with us. I looked out the window and looked towards the university. I couldn't see anything because of the dreadful weather, but I could make out that there was a man in dark clothes standing there and staring at me. It was her. That strange woman we saw this morning. Her gloomy silhouette in the dark made my blood run cold. I was scared, I felt the danger. The tension was building up. I didn't know what to do. My friend was nowhere to be found.

I looked down at the photo, the image of which finally appeared. All our new friends were there, me and Sasha... no, it's not her... it's... that sinister old lady ... I don't understand how she could be there... and where is Sasha…

Suddenly I felt heavy breathing and a hand on my shoulder.

-I'm here. Thank you for your concern, I’ve already been helped, - Sasha said with a creepy grin.

‘Mom, Brice can go to the village and keep an eye on the animals while you're away,’ told Olivia to her mother when they all were in the kitchen drinking tea after Caroline`s arrival. The young man was taken aback by that fact. He was busy at that time and going to the village right then was his worst-case scenario.

‘Mom, I have to prepare for the exams, I cannot go anywhere right now!’ he exclaimed.

‘This is not a negotiation, Brice. You have to help your grandmother,’ responded Olivia strictly.

That evening Caroline came up to her grandson and said: ‘Brice, while you`re in my house, don't open the door to anyone at night! In addition, I have a small bouquet of herbs hanging over my door, don't throw it away!’

‘Well, as you wish,’ he replied condescendingly. His grandmother`s words seemed to be a little weird and ludicrous, so the young man swept the information aside.

The next morning Brice found himself in the train heading to the village. He hated the fact that the circumstances had condemned him to this unpleasant situations but despite this, he wanted to help his grandmother.

While going though the village, Brice thought that it was an inhospitable place. The people who the young man saw on the way to his grandmother`s house were conspicuously unfriendly, which was stress-inducing. When Brice reached his destination, he put his clothes in the house and started watering the plants and feeding animals. It wasn't until he was at home resting after a hard day that he heard a knock at the front door. In the hallway the young saw the bouquet of herbs and remembered his grandmother`s words. However, it was still daytime, and he decided that nothing awful would happen if he opened the door.

‘Brice, long time no see! Have you come here to visit Caroline?’ an old woman asked him in a cheerful voice. It was Katherine, an acquaintance of his grandmother`s. The young man let her in.

‘Hello there! No, she has gone to see a doctor, and I'm here to take care of her animals,’ replied the boy.

‘So, you're alone here... Well, I hope you'll be alright. You know, Caroline has promised to give me a bottle of milk but she's not here. Could you give it to me? I suppose it`s in the fridge,’ said Katherine. Brice nodded in reply and went to the kitchen. He came back two minutes later and passed the bottle to the woman.

‘Thank you so much! See you!’ Katherine smiled again and went away.

There was something intimidating about that woman at that moment. She seemed to be warm-hearted, but her smile never reached her eyes. So, the young man decided not to let her in again. Brice spent the rest of the day at home, relaxing, and when it was late evening, he fell asleep.

In the middle of the night a loud scream woke Brice up. He came up to the window and saw a man running down the street and Katherine chasing him. The next moment her legs and arms twisted, and suddenly she turned into a fear-inducing creature. It kept up with the man and jumped on him. Then other villagers came out of the darkness, turned into the same creatures and attacked the man. Brice was as white as a sheet and couldn't believe his eyes. There was no way those monsters could roam around the village and harm people with impunity! Suddenly one of the creatures looked up at Brice, and the young man ran away from the window. He wanted to hide in one of the rooms but stopped dead in his tracks: he heard a knock at the door.

‘Brice! Open the door, my dear boy,’ asked Katherine. Brice`s heart skipped a beat.

‘I'm not going to let you in! Go away!’ he shouted.

‘You know, asking for milk was never the true purpose of my coming during the day,’ confessed the woman. ‘Haven't you noticed that the bouquet is gone?’

‘No...’ whispered Brice.

‘Now nothing will stop us!’ shouted Katherine and then the young man heard the monsters growling and roaring behind the door. The window panes broke in one of the rooms: the creatures were in the house! It was extremely hard for Brice to play it cool at that moment, but he curbed his fear. In the kitchen there was a back door, and Brice managed to get out of the house. He harnessed all his physical energy and ran as fast as he could. The young man was on a knife-edge: lots of monsters were chasing him and running was sapping his strength. Brice reached the road and made a passing car stop. It took him several hours to get home. There the young man gave his grandmother chapter and verse about what had happened in the village.

‘Brice, I'm so sorry that you had to witness it. The village is cursed and all the people there are monsters. I'm a witch and have an ability to keep them within the village. Thanks to me, they cannot go beyond it and harm other people. My long absence can get them untrammeled. That is why I'm always reluctant to leave the village,’ disclosed Caroline her secret.

Brice was proud of his grandmother because she had stamina to deal with those creatures all by herself. However, he himself never returned to the village again.

But surprisingly, While the police Toyota Crown Victoria was once again crunching smoothly on the wet asphalt, the silence in the cabin was interrupted by the hissing of the radio

-15-3 Do you copy? - asked the dispatcher's voice.

-15-3, copy that - Ethan wheezed in an exhausted voice.

-Residents heard loud noises in an abandoned building at 12 St. Philip's Ave.

-I’m on my way.

Ethan made himself comfortable in the driver's seat and, gripping the steering wheel tighter, turned the car toward his destination.

Driving up the avenue Ethan didn't notice anything strange, a residential area dotted with houses, some lights were still on, but for the most part the neighborhood was asleep, due to the nightfall. Slowly weaving through the night streets, the car came to a stop at a dead end near an unfinished building. The tough officer climbed out of the car, looked around at the soulless silhouettes of the concrete boxes and moved toward them through the bushes. As he approached the structure, Ethan didn't notice anything strange. Using the flashlight to break the darkness, he moved inside the building.

Inside, he was greeted by cold walls that were already covered in moss in some places. “Looks like this building will never be finished” – thought Ethan. But his thoughts were interrupted by a noise coming from upstairs. Despite the fact that Ethan was a brave man, he pulled his gun from its holster and headed toward the stairs. Who knows what might happen on the night of October 31-st?

After cautiously sweeping the first two floors and finding nothing, Ethan moved to the stairs leading to the attic. Here, the stairs were no longer made of cement, but were just an ordinary, flimsy ladder that, by the look of it, could break any second. The officer cautiously climbed up and was immediately surprised, from behind the wall came a bright light that seemed to roar across the floor.

-Police! Get on the floor or I will shoot! – Shouted Ethan.

However, there was no response. After a minute, the policeman decided to look behind the wall to find out what was there. At the same moment, his eyes were hit by a bright green flash that felt as if he had lost consciousness.

          When recovered, Ethan could no longer see the room, or the bright green light, only something like a murky glass through which he tried to make out the shapes of the room. After a few seconds, he could see a luxurious hall with two people in it, and he could even catch the stupefying scent of silks and furs that filled the hall. Suddenly, the voice of a small, hunchbacked man standing in the middle of the hall was heard:

-Your Highness, with all due respect, I cannot fulfill your request, it is against the rules and regulations of my craft! – the man said despairingly.

- Disobeying the orders of royalty carries lethal punishment, you remember, right? - boomed a stately person in the corner of the room.

- But, do you realize that your desire to control time will probably doom future generations to completely losing control of it and creating a time loop? - The short one sobbed.

-Future, it’s always the future… Why do you think we should care about some distant generations? Execute orders!

Ethan woke up abruptly. The good old interior of a Ford patrol car. He'd already lost the line between reality and what he'd seen in the dream, but now he was really calm.

-15-3 Do you copy?

-15-3, copy that.

-Residents heard loud noises in an abandoned building at 12 St. Philip's Ave…

In fact, there were 15 small residential houses on their street. They were all different colors (red, orange, blue, etc.). The only color in which no one house wasn`t painted was black… There was not much facilities in the village, only a river “Haco” and a dense forest. Local residents swam in the river and picked berries and mushrooms in the forest. The forest was extremely huge and weird. It was weird, because during the day it was quite ordinary: a lot of plants, berries, flowers and trees. But at night... it became the completely opposite. The forest became dark and awful, all the trees were bending, spiders were climbing out, all the branches were wrapping in cobwebs, and strange whispers was beginning. Only the elderly villagers knew about this strange feature. Beyond the forest was a huge glade. It always seemed suspicious to the residents of this village, because nothing had ever grown on this glade, it often was wet, and also there were red constantly hot drops on the surface. People often visited this place during the day, but never at night…The elderly residents guessed that something was happening in this glade at night, but nobody dared to go there. Moreover, there were many legends about this place. People said that if you go there, you won 't come back. It was terrifying.

One day, Taya and the grandmother were returning home at dusk. Passing near the forest, the girl turned her head and began to consider the trees. She noticed that they were starting to bend slowly. She asked her grandmother:

 ⁃ Granny, what is it?

Grandma tried to hide the fear in her eyes and replied:

 -The trees are getting old, nothing like that.

The Taya thought it was really weird and she went home thinking about it. She couldn't sleep at night. She remembered the forest again. It was catchy. She went to drink a glass of water and saw, that granny was fast asleep. She had a brainwave to check that place quickly. She dressed and climbed out through the window. She found that place directly. The trees bent down even more and a lot of cobwebs appeared. The weather was stormy, it was raining and the flashing was lightning. Suddenly Taya heard voices behind her, she was afraid that people would tell her grandmother about her night travelling and ran into the forest. The girl remembered about the glade behind the forest and resolutely headed for it. As she walked, she looked at the frightening forest from all sides. After going through the whole area, Taya didn`t see the usual glade. There was a rough and run-down house in the middle. It was black in color. Also, there was lava around the house. The only a narrow path leading to the house. Taya looked at it in fright and decided to run home and talked everything to her granny, but she was trapped by someone. Tall and hot baddie grabbed the girl and carried her to the house. She started to scream, but something covered her mouth. It was a creature like human, black in color, with tentacles and three red eyes. The girl realized that she had made a fatal flaw by running here. She tried to escape from the devil`s hands, but it was unsuccessfully. He brought her into the house. There was a mess around, bones, sticks, bloody objects, skeletons were everywhere. The scariest thing was that there was a huge cauldron in the middle.

The next morning, granny woke up and her granddaughter was not at home... All the residents left this village for a year. No one knew what happened that night. The glade was dug up, but nothing was found. The only thing they remembered was that Taya disappeared on Halloween night.

Tommy Kane, a promising young racing driver, disappeared without a trace during an exciting night race on this racing track. Despite a search conducted by law enforcement officials no clues were discovered. The case was closed, gradually transformed into a captivating tale passed down as legend. Whispers, among racers and enthusiasts, suggested that his disappearance might be attributed to the Silver Phantom — a spectral entity shrouded in mystery.

As the night descended upon the race track Lissie Mackintosh, a journalist, with a fascination for enigmatic tales couldn't resist the allure of this mystical legend. Legends about the Silver Phantom had reached her ears over the years. Tonight was the moment she resolved to uncover the truth.

With a camera gripped in her hand, Lissie ventured through lit passageways within the deteriorating race track. The aged wooden bleachers protested under her weight as she walked and an indescribable sensation clung to her senses. A chilly gust of wind swept through the atmosphere. At last she stepped into the garage, where Tommy Kane's car remained motionless blanketed by layers of dust and time.

The flash of Lissie's camera lit up the room, exposing the empty driver's seat of the car. She couldn't help but feel the presence of something otherworldly. While inspecting the car, she noticed an inscription engraved on the dusty windshield: "You will never escape."

This discovery startled Lissie, prompting her to continue her investigation. She came across a collection of newspaper clippings that detailed the vanishing of a racer named Tommy Kane. What caught her attention was a pattern. A specific phrase was underlined in every article: "Silver Phantom always wins." These words sent shivers down Lissie's spine, but she continued to investigate. She began to piece together the legend of the Silver Phantom. The legend spoke of a figure who had once been a racer dominating the tracks with incredible skill. But a tragic accident left him disfigured and scarred, his career was ruined. Seeking vengeance he returned to racing in a guise to ensure no one else could taste triumph.

As Lissie delved deeper into this legend she stumbled upon a diary believed to belong to Tommy Kane himself. Its pages were filled with descriptions detailing haunting encounters with Silver Phantom during the night races. Tommy wrote furiously. When he talked about his encounters with the vengeful ghost, his fear was palpable.

Lissie was about to close the diary when she got to the last page. It described the fateful night of Tommy's disappearance, but there was something different in this note. The tone changed, he was less scared and more deliberate. The final words were: "I'm challenging the Silver Phantom tonight."

At that moment Lissie was struck by a realization. The Silver Phantom wasn't some entity; he was real and had engaged in a fatal confrontation with Tommy Kane.

With a mix of anxiety and curiosity Lissie hurriedly stepped out of the garage, scanning the lit surroundings of the race track. Her heart raced frantically within her chest. Suddenly an enigmatic figure draped in a flowing cloak emerged from the shadows. It was none other than Silver Phantom himself standing with his disfigured face concealed by a mask. His eyes were burning with a passionate desire for victory. Lissie, expecting to meet a ghostly legend, instead faced a living, breathing opponent. The ghost spoke, his voice low and threatening, "You weren't invited to this race." Before Lissie could respond, the roar of the engine echoed through the night. Headlights appeared on the track, and an elegant racing car rushed towards them. It was Tommy, alive and unharmed, with a sparkle in his eyes. That night he escaped from the clutches of the Phantom and returned to take revenge.

As the two racers sped towards each other a captivating battle of wit and skill unfolded beneath the sky. In an exhilarating twist Lissie came to realize that Lando Norris himself created the legend of the Silver Phantom to protect his audacious return. The once-disappeared racer became a ghost who revealed the truth about the mysterious threat of the track.

The race ended with an exciting finish when Tommy Kane beat Silver Phantom in an exciting duel. When the mystery was solved, the ghost disappeared into the night, leaving the race track forever.

The legend of the Silver Phantom faded away. Finally truth emerged from its concealed shadows. Without Lissie Mackintosh's intervention that unforgettable night would forever remain etched in her dreams as a reminder of how reality can be more chilling than any tale.

The numbers made the student freeze. He looked at the clock on the wall:

«Oh, my God» — he thought — "I only have two hours left."

Ben sat down at the table. He opened the notebook and quickly grabbed his pen. Touching the tip to the sheet of the notebook, he suddenly realized THAT HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO WRITE!!!

The clock was ticking away, approaching the fateful hour. The wind outside the window was howling harder and harder. It seemed to Ben that this wind was in her head. He kept looking into the phone in the hope of delaying the end, but all his efforts were in vain. Gradually the thoughts faded, the eyelids grew heavy. Ben was beginning to fall asleep. Touching his head to the notebook, he shuddered. When he woke up, he looked at the notebook with horror. It was still empty. A clouded mind tried to force his wrist to take the pen. But he couldn't. Suddenly, Ben heard a strange noise outside the door of the room. He couldn't figure out what it was. A bad feeling was occurring. It seemed that the sound was getting closer and closer. Ben turned around. He saw a silhouette. A human shadow about two meters tall stood near the door. The guy got up convulsively from his chair. The silhouette began to move slowly towards Ben. Backing away, he slowly moved towards the window, but the silhouette began to move faster and faster. He caught up with him halfway, near the bed. The frightened young man stumbled and fell on the bed. It began to tighten him, like quicksand, or like the water as to the person who does not know how to swim. A gloomy silhouette had сaught up with him. He tried his best to scream, but he couldn't. Everything was mixed up in the head: the howling of the wind, the ticking of the clock, and the heavy breathing of that very shadow.

 "The deadline..." — were his last words...

Ben opened his eyes. The room was unexpectedly bright and quiet. He took a cursory look around the room. There was no trace of the mysterious guest. He quietly got out of bed and looked at the clock. 6:00... It was time to start packing up for the university. Everything was ready in about an hour. Ben looked sadly at the empty notebook lying on the table, sighed and put it in his bag. The beginning of another boring day was laid. And again the door, again the elevator. Again the bus, again wet streets, again a spacious bright class. The tutor walked into the room with quick steps. Ben looked at her sadly. Suddenly he heard her cheerful voice:

"Guys, I decided to postpone your deadline for two days. Sleep more."