C48 Haunted House… So Scary
For many who enjoy horror games, denying fear when a jumpscare suddenly appears is impossible, yet, many people are simply…
Scaredy-cats who can’t resist playing.
Indeed, this perfectly describes Hoshimori Shion.
Haunted houses, especially those put on by a neighboring class during a cultural festival, should, by all accounts, not be overly terrifying.
Pushing aside the curtain that served as the haunted house’s entrance, a chilling, dark aura wafted out from within.
The haunted house had been deliberately constructed from what appeared to be cardboard boxes, creating an intentionally narrow and oppressive atmosphere.
Hoshimori Shion, holding the small night light given to her by the vampire girl, advanced into the gloom.
The faint white glow, cast by the night light, illuminated the two girls’ faces, rendering them alarmingly pale.
Kujou Sakuya clung tightly to Shion’s hand, refusing to let go for even a moment.
“Um… Kujou-san, you’re gripping my hand a little too hard,” Shion remarked, feeling Sakuya’s hold so impossibly tight that she half-expected to find claw marks, like those left by a vengeful spirit in a horror film, etched onto her skin.
“Ah, I-I’m so sorry! I’m just a little scared…” Sakuya’s voice trembled, and though she apologized to Shion, her hand remained firmly clasped.
“Sakuya-san… are you perhaps afraid of ghosts?” Shion inquired.
Sakuya started to shake her head but, unable to suppress her inner terror, nodded instead.
“Y-yes… just a little.”
“Then, should we just leave now…?”
“No, we both paid already…” Despite her trembling voice, Sakuya’s words were resolute.
“I don’t want to be the one to spoil the fun.”
The two girls cautiously navigated the path laid out with cardboard boxes.
Under the dim night light, Shion could only vaguely discern the path ahead, just enough to avoid bumping into anything.
Something seemed to drift past them in mid-air, accompanied by a sound like a snake flicking its tongue.
Shion, startled, looked up to see an object resembling an ancient talisman (TL Note: A magical charm or paper amulet used in East Asian spiritual traditions, often for protection or exorcism.) hanging above her.
“You trespassers, what is your intention in invading this forbidden ground…?” A low, distorted whisper, crackling as if with static electricity, emanated from behind them.
It was deep and hoarse, carrying an eerie quality that felt as though it originated from a distant, nightmarish realm yet echoed ominously in their very ears.
“Wah!” Sakuya, who had been walking directly behind Shion, shrieked and leaped into the air.
As Shion turned, Sakuya instantly darted behind her, burrowing her head beneath Shion’s shoulder.
“I-It’s alright, really. It just sounds like a voice from a loudspeaker,” Shion reassured, though she herself felt a surge of fear.
However, when one is accompanied by someone even more terrified, a protective instinct would invariably override her own fear, compelling her to shield the one who was even more frightened.
Shion gently stroked Sakuya’s hair.
Her normally soft, long black hair now seemed to tremble uncontrollably with fright.
Only after Shion’s comforting touch did Sakuya manage to stand upright again, looking at Shion’s face and nodding.
The two girls continued onward.
Along the channel, faint green lights flickered on, one after another, as the path grew more winding.
Ahead lay a sharp turn.
The other side of the corner was devoid of any green light, plunging into an absolute, impenetrable darkness where one couldn’t see their own hand.
As they neared the corner, a monstrous, purplish-red lantern head suddenly jutted out.
Its white eyes, larger than oranges, contained pupils no bigger than peach pits, while a massive pink tongue protruded and swayed in the air.
A piercing, ear-splitting cackle suddenly erupted from within the lantern head.
Shion recoiled, startled, struggling to suppress a scream.
Her backward step caused her to bump into Sakuya, who had been frozen in place by terror.
“O-Oh…” Sakuya clamped her hands over her mouth, barely stifling a cry.
The monstrous lantern head receded as swiftly as it had appeared, vanishing after only a few heart-stopping seconds.
When Shion and Sakuya moved forward again, the lantern head was gone, as if it had disappeared into thin air.
Torch-like lights began to illuminate the path on both sides, one after another.
As the torches brightened, a figure, tightly bound in white strips of cloth, lay sprawled on the ground, blocking the girls’ way.
“Hoshimori-san, that… that won’t stand up, will it…?” Sakuya whispered, her voice barely audible.
Shion felt cold sweat prickling her forehead.
She slowly approached the mummy-like object lying on the ground and cautiously touched it.
“It seems to be a dummy,” Shion stated.
“Th-Then let’s keep going,” Sakuya nodded.
The two girls continued, supporting each other as they moved forward.
Ahead was a small, empty room, containing nothing but a painting of the Mona Lisa.
Beyond the entrance, the small room offered only a single exit.
Shion walked over, attempting to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn’t open.
An ethereal voice echoed through the room, “Unravel the secret of the painting, and the door shall open for you.”
“The secret of the painting?” Shion, pulling Sakuya along, leaned closer, yet they couldn’t discern anything unusual.
Suddenly, crimson tears began to seep from the painted girl’s eyes.
“Wow!” The two, who had been staring intently at the painting, recoiled several steps, startled.
The originally smiling girl in the painting now seemed to wear an expression of profound sorrow, and the sound of weeping suddenly resonated from all directions.
The exit door, as if struck by an unseen force, abruptly swung open, unleashing a powerful gust of cold wind that swept through the opening.
Shion swallowed hard.
“Let’s go, Kujou-san,” Shion said, tugging Sakuya’s hand, but Sakuya remained motionless.
Sakuya was clutching her skirt, a pained expression on her face.
“Um, Hoshimori-san, I-I…”
“What’s wrong?” Shion asked, concern lacing her voice.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
Sakuya bit her lip, then shook her head.
“No, I’m fine. Our classroom isn’t very large, so we must be nearing the end.”
“Then, just a little more, alright?” Shion gently ruffled Sakuya’s hair.
Together, they passed through the open doorway.
The gloomy path stretched onward.
Just then, a sharp, explosive sound erupted from behind them.
Shion looked back to see the very same corpse that had been wrapped in white bandages.
“Wasn’t that a dummy?!” Shion shrieked, her voice filled with alarm.
The white monster, claws extended and teeth bared, advanced menacingly, closing in on the two girls step by agonizing step.
“Kujou-san, run!” Shion tried to pull Sakuya along, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot.
Sakuya appeared utterly petrified, unable to move a muscle, her face stark white.
Shion patted Sakuya’s shoulder.
“Kujou-san! If we don’t go now, it’ll catch up!”
Only then did Sakuya seem to stir, as if waking from a nightmare.
Though her face still showed immense distress, she nonetheless bolted with Shion into the darkness ahead.
The white monster did not continue its pursuit, stopping instead at the room’s entrance, watching them flee into the distance.
In the darkness, a faint glimmer of light appeared, surely the exit.
“Kujou-san, I think we’ve reached the exit!” Shion exclaimed, holding Sakuya’s hand.
“Um, Hoshimori-san, wait!” Just before they reached the exit, Sakuya suddenly pulled Shion back.
By the weak white glow of the night light, Sakuya’s flushed face was visible.
“What is it?” Shion asked.
Sakuya gently tugged at her skirt, her pale legs still trembling uncontrollably.
A noticeable wet patch had appeared on her skirt, and because of it, she dared not meet Shion’s gaze.
“Eh?!!!”