Everyone who goes to Florida either visits Disney World or SeaWorld. Everyone except Casey. He was stuck in the boring old bayou! This was due to the fact that his father had to go to a business trip down there. Since no one could babysit him, he had to go with him. Luckily, Uncle Moe lived down there; so he let them stay at his place.

Casey dragged his feet against the dirt road. It was his third day on the bayou, but it felt like his thirtieth! He was currently returning from the grocery store. Uncle Moe made him run a bunch of errands. Mostly to keep him off his phone all day.

The grocery store was all the way in the town, which was a mile from Uncle Moe's house. In fact, his house was in the middle of the swamp! No neighbors, just trees and swamp water. Casey didn't like going through the swamp by himself, it was creepy. The only thing he could hear were strange animal noises. What made it worse was the fact that gators lived in the swamp. Casey really didn't want to be snapped up by one!

When he was almost to Uncle Moe's house, he noticed something he never saw before. It was a path! A narrow, overgrown path. It split from the one he was on. "Hopefully it leads Disney World." Casey said, wishfully. He skipped down the path, wanting to add some excitement to his visit.

The path eventually led to a pair of wrought iron gates. They were both covered in Spanish moss and rust. Casey peered through them to see an old antebellum-styled house. Ivy and moss completely took over the building. It was obviously abandoned.

"This definitely isn't Disney, but it sure as heck looks like The Haunted Mansion!" Casey joked. He thought this place might be interesting to explore. So he pushed the gates opened. The rusty hinges sounded like a bloodcurdling screech as they moved for the first time in years. Casey took a step forward when something grabbed him and yanked him backwards!

"Casey! What are you doing here?". It was just Uncle Moe. "You're not supposed to go near this house! It's evil!". Casey was confused. "Evil? How could a house be evil?". The color disappeared from Uncle Moe's face. "Snake Man."

Casey was even more confused. "Snake Man? Isn't that guy from Animal Planet?". Uncle Moe grabbed his nephew. "Not that guy! Snake Man is an abomination. He's neither snake, nor man. He's both!". "Okay Uncle Moe, you've been living out here for years. You're just going a little crazy.".

Uncle Moe pulled Casey closer and stared him in the eyes with a stern look. "This is no joke. Snake Man is real and very dangerous. He lives inside that house. No one to set foot in there has ever returned! It'd be best if we get outta here. He knows we're here. He's probably watching us through one of those dusty old windows.". Uncle Moe took the groceries from Casey and the two of them walked away from the house. Casey knew Uncle Moe was saying that to scare him away from it, but that only made him even more interested.

That night, Casey snuck out of Uncle Moe's house. He had to know what was really in that house. He went down that overgrown path and went through those rusted gates. He approached the house and froze. Casey began to get skeptical. He began thinking his Uncle may have been right. It really did look like a house a human-snake mutant would live in. However, he had to know what was inside. So, he continued forward and went inside.

     The house was dark and creepy. Cobwebs brushed against Casey's face. He couldn't see anything. Luckily, he brought his flashlight. He clicked it on. The whole room flooded with light. The whole house appeared to be vacant, aside from a few pieces of furniture covered in sheets and dust.

     "This isn't scary!" Casey said aloud, trying to reassure himself. "I'm not scared! There's no such thing as a Snake Man!". Suddenly, he heard a hissing sound. It came from another room. Casey carefully walked in the direction it came from. Out of nowhere; something jumped out, causing him to scream!

     It was a creature that looked human, but also looked like a reptile. It had a cobra-like hood that flared up. It's eyes were fiery red. A thin dark-brown tongue flickered in between it's long, narrow fangs. It was Snake Man! Worse, it was only a few inches away!

     Casey ran away as fast as he could. He bolted past the dusty furniture, out the front door, and through the rusty gate. Casey escaped from Snake Man! In fact, he was the only person to do so!

     Ever since that day, Casey swore to never go into a stranger's house again. He also swore to obey any adult he knew, even Uncle Moe.