Secrets

A small house in Ironton, at the southern tip of the state of Ohio, stands as a keeper of secrets to the town's tragic past. Jim got a little look into these secrets when he moved in in 1992. After getting used to the fact that old houses made strange noises on their own, even if they were not inhabited, he had gotten used to the creaks and moans that the house emitted. It was late October and it was getting cold. So about two weeks after he had settled in, he had been watching night television and had gone to close the windows. He walked into the kitchen to switch off the lights he had accidentally left on when he heard the distinctive sound of footsteps coming up from the basement and walking into the kitchen.

He stood frozen, looking at the heavy wooden door, unable to do anything. His hand reached for the utensils drawer, probing for a knife, or at least something he could use in self defense. The footsteps stopped at what sounded like the top of the stairs, and silence fell all around him. He saw the large wooden door open all by itself, and saw what was behind it. There was nothing. The door opened fully and touched the wall behind it. It stayed like that for a while and then in one quick sharp movement, slammed back shut again with a loud and hollow bang that ruined the floorboards but Jim's affected most of all. Finally, finding his feet, Jim left the house taking nothing but his keys, and went to stay at a relative's house. Two weeks later, when two friends named Joe and Sheila came to visit, they chatted and drank coffee till about one in the morning after which they all went to sleep. Around half past three, he was awakened by a piercing scream, and Joe and Jim found Sheila in the hallway shivering uncontrollably. When Joe and Jim asked her what was wrong, she replied between chattering teeth that she had been walking to the bathroom when she saw a woman all in white with her throat torn out.

Two weeks later, after taking a shower, Jim, wrapped in a towel around himself and got ready to shave. He got out his razor and wiped off the condensation off the mirror. It was when he did this that he saw the man standing behind him, looking t him blankly. Dropping the razor, he spun around in a flash. There was no one there. Jim moved out of the house after the incident and never looked back. It was only after he did that that he could bring himself to look up the house's history. He found out by word of mouth that the man who lived here before him had come home to find his wife in bed with another man. In a fit of rage, he killed her. It was a crime of passion that he regretted immediately and he in turn, killed himself. He had slit her throat.