On the midnight outskirts of a small town named Cinder's Hallow, trees twisted like a skeleton's hands and thick fog clung to the ground like a shroud, three friends—Carter, Emily, and Jake—were forced into a bet to take pictures of the old Hall Manor. The mysterious mansion had been the subject of countless ghost stories and local legends, especially in the chilly October, when it was said the whole family went missing.

The thin crescent moon hung like the Cheshire Cat's grin as they approached the manor, casting eerie shadows across the worn foundation. Emily, who was opposed to this from the start, nervously double-checked her phone's battery again, if they needed to call someone in case of emergency. After putting it back into her pocket for the fifth time, she looked up at the intimidating house.

A curtain shifted on the second floor.

Huffing, Carter started to complain, "Ugg- who's stupid idea was this anyway?"

Jake gave Carter the side-eye. 

"Okkkkk... look! There's the porch! Woah! We've seen it all, let's go back now!" Jake sarcastically exclaimed.

"Yea Carter, it's two against three, so let's just go back and forget this ever hap-" Emily was cut off by a long scraping sound.

The door, ever so slightly too big for its frame, slowly creaked open as if inviting them in, and a chill settled in the trio.

"That can't be natural. Now please, let's just go back before some evil spirit decides to drag us to hell by our ankles." Jake muttered.

Jake turned away and started to march away from the crippling sight of the house, then the air pressure changed and the heavy creak of wood sank under his feet. 

Emily and Carter stood, gaping at their friend who stood on the dark wooden porch. Jake paled, glued to the floorboards. No one moved, until Carter took the tiniest step backward, only to have the same fate as Jake. Emily slapped her hand over her mouth, and even that sent her to the porch. Everything felt sharp and dangerous at the moment, none of them even daring to twitch a finger.

The door opened up to a large room, dark wooden planks covered with faded red carpet. The right side of the wall opened up to a staircase leading to an open second story.

The sound of crystals clinking against each other reverberated in the silent atmosphere. Gripping a flashlight, Carter shakily angled it upwards to a small chandelier.

"Must have just been the wind, the window next to it is broken." Emily whispered, afraid that even speaking normally might disturb, well, anything that this mansion could hold.

The air inside was thick with dust and decay. Cobwebs draped over the furniture and picture frames like ghostly curtains, and the floorboards sighed beneath their weight. A hallway, leading to further into the house, stood pitch black, and not even the flashlight could tell how far it went. Emily, bordering on sheer terror at the moment, reached into her pocket to find her phone, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

She tapped the screen. It mirrored the darkness around them. She tapped it twice, a slight panic twisting in her gut. It didn't change.

"Guys, I- my- the-," Emily took a breath, wanting to sound more calm as she finished, "My phone is dead." Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence, as well as growing pitch as it went along. 

"Ehehe- well we can't leave, can't contact anyone, it'll be find, it's fine." Carter sarcastically spoke, however, a bit of anxiety crept into his words.

Then, as they slowly crept around the entry hall, deeper into the house, the dark atmosphere grew weighted, as if the walls themselves were watching. They found a ballroom at the end of a long hallway. Like the entry hall, a chandelier, however much bigger, hung precariously, casting fractured shadows on the walls as Carter once more shone his flashlight at it. Dust motes danced in the air, and an unsettling silence enveloped them.

The linoleum floor felt too smooth and shiny to be over 100 years old.

Suddenly, Jake felt a cold breeze sweep through the room. "Did you feel that?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. Carter laughed nervously, trying to shake off the dread that was settling in. "It's just the wind. Let's just get the photos and get out of here. Especially since my phone works." Carter said with a smirk. Emily's cheeks flushed out of embarrassment as she was about to check if her phone worked again. 

As they gathered in a line for a photo, the air shifted. Emily, standing behind both the guys, felt like she was being watche. In her peripheral vision, she saw a figure dart past the doorway. Heart leaping into her throat, she turned to her friends. "Did you see that?" Her voice sounded scratchy and strained.

Carter and Jake exchanged glances, their small comedic moment slipping. "It's probably just a some fat rat or something," Jake replied, but the slight tremor betrayed his voice. Everyone knew for a fact that nothing lived in the manor, not even mice or birds got near it.

"Okay, I got the picture let's move."

They took more pictures, moving through the darkened halls, and looking at the yellowed portraits hanging on the walls. Every single one of them had the same golden frame, which was a bit off-putting. Emily stopped moving, which was quickly noticed by the two boys as they approached her.

"Cinder Hall?"

"As in Hall Manor?"

"No crap, Jake."

"But why Cinder?" Emily whispered, her voice echoing in the silence. The question hung in the air, all three of them knowing what the other meant. The town was renamed in Cinder's name after the disappearance of the family.

The portrait of Cinder was impressively realistic, from the way her brown-almost-black curls were highlighted to the shadows of the collar of her dress. Her eyes were a delicate silver, refracting the light to make them glow. Her smile was a more modern Mona Lisa.

She blinked.

Jake, Carter, and Emily all jumped slightly, exchanging glances. That couldn't have just been a trick of the light.

Just then, a loud crash erupted from the ballroom. "We have enough pictures to last, right? Right. Let's go." Jake shuddered, and all of them started making themselves down the stairs from the previous entry hall. The door wouldn't budge, even with all of them pulling. "Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok , okkkkkkkkkkk. We are trapped, my phone's about to die, Em's phone has already ascended, and we are trapped, did I already say that?" Carter quarvered.

Jake turned and started walking fast in the direction of the ballroom. "Jake? Jake. Jake. Jake! JAKE!"

Panic surged through Emily and Carter as they raced after their friend, searching for a way to stop their friend. The chandelier spun violently, casting erratic light throughout the room. Jake, now panting, was directly under it. In the corner of the room, they saw it—a silhouette cloaked in darkness, its face obscured, standing silently in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Carter called out, his voice trembling. The figure didn't respond; instead, it reached out a white bony hand, pointing at the chandelier.

Carter and Emily both paled, but the hand stopped pointing at the crystal menace hanging from the ceiling, stepping forward. "Hmmm..." A voice came from the silhouette, sounding akin to firewood popping and crackling. "Not the best I've seen, but he'll do. However, you, darling, with the nice brown curls, would make a perfect portrait for the wall. I guess the boy was great bait after all."

Emily's heart was moving so fast she couldn't tell if it had stopped altogether.

 The cloaked figure stepped forward again, every bone popping. Then another. The snapping of the movement caused both to cringe at the sound. They didn't realize how close it had gotten to Jake.

Without warning, the figure threw its cloak up, ironically creating the shape of a black butterfly. 

Jake disappeared under the cloak, along with the figure.

"JAKE!"

"JAKE!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!"

The figure only chuckled, revealing its long bony hands holding something gold. The same golden frame wrapped around a smiling picture of a boy with floppy dirty blond hair, wearing and a mischievous smirk planted on his lips.

Jake.

Emily slapped her hand over her mouth, tears prickled in her eyes. Carter stood frozen in pure, unbridled terror.

The room tinted to an orange.

"Oh dear, so soon?" The figure turned, portrait in hand still, as a haunting smile stung itself on its lips, "I do hope you come again. You'd make such lovely portraits on my wall." The figure started to cackle which filled the room. With the swipe of its cape, it disappeared, sunlight carving itself into the room's corners.

Emily fell the her knees, scared. Scared because her friend was gone. Scared because she was now a target of that thing. Scared because that thing lives here. Carter sank next to her, afraid. Afraid, to come back. Afraid that he'd never see his best friend again. Afraid, because of how many portraits they passed in the hallway.

_

A wall of portraits lies in Hall Manor, all smiling. If you were to touch them, they'd feel warm, alive. Because they are.

Because they are waiting.

Waiting for someone to come back and free them.

Waiting to stop smiling for a picture never taken.

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

____________________________________________

(MOSTLY UNEDITED)

Did you like it?

OOoOooOooOooOOOoOo~ hope I don't give you nightmares

BUT 4 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (guess who's the Wicked Witch of the West #I'maFemale hah)

bYeEeEEEeEEeEeE~ hehehehe