Haunted House

By Fabio Paulsen Dahl

Daniel is a 10-year-old boy. Together with his parents, he is going to move from a suburban area in New Jersey to a new house not too far away. The small family is excited about moving to this new place, although they don’t know anybody there. Daniel is the first to stay in the house alone, and what he discovers while staying there starts to haunt him. He is accepted in a new school and makes new friends in his class, but what frightens him most is his new English teacher. He knows something about their new house and what happened there. Daniel is a smart, tough boy who tries to confront the thing that haunts him. But as he goes along, he is getting too close to finding the truth and facing the consequences of knowing it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528958837

Fabio Paulsen Dahl

The author grew up in Sandefjord, Norway, and moved to Bergen at the age of 21. He started studying business administration, then changed his major to mechanical engineering. However, in the second year, he discovered what he wanted to do—to write and do art. It was difficult to make a living out of this hobby, so there were some unfruitful years. He realised he had to do something with the ideas that had been in his mind for such a long time. He focused on fiction stories and that led to this book.

Book preview

valuable.

Chapter One

Have you packed your things? Laura asked her 10-year-old son, Daniel, who was watching his favourite TV program.

No, Mum, I have a few things left.

You better hurry up! she said with her stern, but loving motherly tone.

Daniel ran from the living room, upstairs to his own room where he continued gathering his things in a cardboard box while Laura headed towards the kitchen to work on her to-do list. As she passed the main entrance, her husband Richard walked in from the garage where he, like the rest of the family, had been doing his fair share of the needed preparations for their big move. The couple, both in their thirties, were happily married and excited for the change of moving to a larger house.

Honey, are there any other boxes ready to be carried out? he asked as he followed her as far as the kitchen doorway. She answered right away, pointing out a pile of boxes on the floor, but Richard barely heard her as his mind carried him back to a memory of when they first moved into this New Jersey suburb. He could still remember smelling her hair as he had held her close and danced with her in the very place she was now packing boxes. She had been seven months pregnant at the time, but it still brought him chills remembering the feeling of her lips as their dancing had turned to kissing. That had been a perfect night, from his perspective. They had also accomplished to finish their baby’s room. They had a good marriage and Richard was proud with anticipation of becoming a father. Ten years later so much seemed to have happened, yet so much stayed the same. Laura got a glimpse of him standing there.

We don’t have all day! she exclaimed, snapping him out of his thoughts

Sorry, I’m on it!

He picked up the closest box and started out to the car with it. It took him six trips in total, including the box Daniel brought down for him, then he came back looking for Laura again.

I just took Daniel’s stuff out. Can’t wait for the day when we’re settled! Was that the last one?

Yeah, I think so, she said smiling.

Finally— he started to respond, but he barely got the word out before she put on her thinking face on and cut him off.

Oh wait, I know there is one more in the living room!

There isn’t a lot of room left in the car. Maybe you can have one on your lap when we drive? he answered.

And the one in the bathroom, she interjected. No, I’ll have something else with me in the front already.

If there’s that much more we’ll have to make another trip anyways. The trunk is already pushing its capacity and we should get going, Richard replied.

Yes. Plus I think there are actually two in the living room. Agreeing with her husband’s assessment they got Daniel and started for the car. Daniel had a stuffed bear with him that didn’t fit the rest of his belongings, he placed the bear on the empty seat to the left and put the seat belt around him before securing himself. Laura carried a potted plant that she tried to balance while locking up, then she got into the car. Richard took the wheel and backed the car onto the trailer hook before he drove down 507 Allenton Road, New Jersey.

Don’t forget that you still have to drop off your keys, Laura reminded him.

Right, he replied.

I haven’t forgotten, but thanks for reminding me. He took a turn towards Sheraton Parsippany Hotel where he had an appointment with a colleague who also was his friend. It wasn’t very far, so not long after leaving their home, he pulled into a parking space outside the grand building.

I’ll just be a minute, he said, getting out of the car. Richard walked straight to the entrance. Inside, he went to the front desk and asked the smiling girl working there to talk to Jonas. Richard had been working together with him for six years now. Every employee at the hotel liked him, that and his good looks were probably a large part of the reason he had advanced so quickly to the position as manager there. Somehow, in addition to his honest and gentle nature, he was also very precise. He got things done and valued punctuality. His punctuality was one of his greatest strengths, but probably also his weakness. He never managed to hide the frustration he felt when running behind schedule, but today was no problem. Richard felt a hand touching his right shoulder.

There you are, old buddy, nice to see you again. It’s been a long time, Jonas said to the right of him. Richard turned, looked at his friend he hadn’t seen in a long time and took his hand.

It has! Almost a year if I remember correctly. I’m surprised you haven’t gone grey! he teased him as he reached into his pocket to find the keys. Here are the keys to the valve and the other rooms, he said while handling them to Jonas. Sorry we don’t have time to catch up, but I don’t want to leave Laura and Daniel waiting in the car too long. Plus we still have a lot to do before the day is done.

No worries. I don’t have much time to spare right now anyways. Good luck with the house and I’ll see you in a couple… he said and corrected himself as he rounded the desk to get back to work. He turned to look at Richard one last time. Four. It was four days right?

Right. See you on Tuesday, Richard added.

When he got back to the car, Laura sat absorbed with something on her iPhone, and Daniel entertained himself with his own portable device in the back. Richard took a look at them, both totally focused and absent. Huh, he muttered, then he started driving again, heading for the highway. About 15 minutes later while they were on Franklin Road, Daniel asked.

Are we almost there?

It’s not far from here darling, his mother responded. Not too long after, Laura started pointing out the window where they were going, so Daniel could see for himself. First towards their new street which was Richter Street, and then towards the new house.

There it is, she said to her son who had been looking forward to seeing it for days.

Yup. Here we are. Richard added as they pulled into the driveway. The whole family got out of the car and took a moment to examine the façade. The wood panelling had certainly once been a rich brown, but over the years it had faded to a sort of greyish colour. Judging by the new white front door in place, the previous owners had started fixing things up, but they didn’t get very far. It was odd that they moved so suddenly despite having begun renovations. Perhaps the previous tenants not wanting to finish the work was one of the reasons the Smiths were able to buy the place for so much less than the market value. Despite the work they would have to do on the outside, they now looked forward to setting up the already renovated and highly modern interior. They had expected a fixer upper when they had first seen the listed price, and they’d been pleasantly surprised when it looked great, and even passed inspections with flying colours.

When they first went there to look inside the house, the couple acted a bit strange. Laura had asked the couple why they wanted to move, and after an uncomfortable silence the man had said it had something to do with his new job. He didn’t tell them that they had been living there for only four months. Before that, the house had been standing empty for years.

We better get to work right away if we want to make that one last trip to the old place before it gets dark, Richard said to Laura as he started for the trunk.

You’re right, Laura responded, holding on to the potted plant. I’ll get the door. She headed for the door, moving one hand down to find the keys and fumbled with them for a moment, trying to balance the potted plant on the other. She finally fit the key in the keyhole which clicked when the door unlocked with ease. It opened and swoosh, a quick gush of air swept past her face, leaving her long blond hair waving behind her.

Oh my. Must be a window open somewhere, she commented. But it was calm outside without even a rustling of the leaves in the trees. She stepped inside and felt the wall on the right as her eyes tried to adjust from the bright light of outdoors she had just stepped away from to the darkness inside. She put the potted plant down, backed outside again and yelled: Honey, where is the switch in the hall?

It’s on the wall on the right side, he replied loudly while picking up a box from the trunk. Laura went back inside. She fumbled with her hand on the wall to the right and found the light switch. The light turned on and uncovered the wide hall she recognised from before, though it was emphasised by the light-coloured walls. To the right was an open arched doorway leading into the kitchen and the left led to a hallway where Laura and Richard had already picked their room. Laura went straight through coming to the square living room, void of any furniture or decorations, and she started opening the venetian blinds. As in the hallway, the walls were light and they changed the atmosphere immediately as the sun hit them. Laura responded briefly to the eerie feeling of being watched by looking out the window for a moment, but when she saw no one, she brushed it off and looked around the room, making mental notes of how she wanted to set things up. While doing so, she headed for the kitchen where she opened the curtains and quickly checked to see if any of the windows were open. They were not. She was quickly distracted as Richard passed in the hall. He was carrying a cardboard box and placed it on the floor to the living room. When he got back to the driveway to pick up another cardboard box, Daniel ran past him, chasing a ball he kicked around. Richard told him to stop playing and instructed him to carry his own stuff up to his room.

The sense of empty lifelessness in the house slowly faded as more things were brought in and everyone kept working. Laura examined the contents of the box her husband just brought in to the kitchen, and looked around trying to analyse the best way to set things up. On the opposite side of the open arched doorway, there were some shelves, a bench and a few cupboards, but other than that the kitchen was a clean slate. It didn’t even have a kitchen table yet, though there was plenty of space for it when it did come, as well as lots of space for main appliances such as the new fridge and the oven they had ordered. It took them about an hour to carry all the stuff inside, included the furniture for Daniels room and their beds.

Should we get going? Richard asked Laura.

Yeah, I suppose we should, it’s getting late. I’ll go get Daniel, I think he’s still in his room. Daniel was busy sorting things, when Laura interrupted him. It’s time to go. We have to take one more trip from the old house.

But I’m in the middle of unpacking my stuff. Can’t I just stay here? he pleaded with his mother. Her instinct was to tell him he had to come, but before she said anything, she paused and considered it again.

Well… she started, looking down the stairs and then back at him, will you stay here? No going outside or opening the door at all or to anyone.

I promise, he said, smiling hopefully.

Alright. We’ll be back in an hour, and then we can order a pizza for dinner. Be good! She felt nervous leaving him in this new place on his own, but at the same time he was old enough and she wanted him to start feeling at home there. Her and Richard locked up the house and headed to the car. With the sky slowly becoming overcast it seemed to get darker much earlier than expected. There wasn’t too much traffic and it only took them a bit more than fifteen minutes to get to the old place where Laura tried to put Daniel being home alone out of her mind by focusing on the work at hand. When they arrived outside the old house, they immediately started carrying out the rest.

Chapter Two

Back in their new house, Daniel was busy unpacking his own things. He worked in his own tempo and took his time to place things carefully around where he had imagined that they should be. He picked up a Lego toy, inspected it and saw that there were some pieces that had fallen off due to the rough transport. He picked up the pieces one by one and put them back on the toy. Then suddenly, he heard a door being opened out in the hall. He put the Lego toy gently down on the right side of the floor where he was sitting, almost in the middle of the room. He got up and started for the door. Out in the hall, he began inspecting the room from left to right. The hall was empty and there was no light on the right side where there was another door, one could only see the shapes of its edges. Daniel couldn’t remember to have seen this door open. While he was looking at the door, a tennis ball came flying through the dark space and bounced a few times before it rolled towards his feet. The ball stopped just an inch in front of him. Daniel looked at it with curious eyes, bent down and picked it up. He was wondering where the ball came from and started moving towards the dark space. He started thinking, is there somebody inside there? He was scared and a bit excited at the same time, so he kept on moving and stopped about six feet from the door. It was so quiet there, he could hear himself breath. While he was standing there staring at the dark space in front of him, something suddenly made a noise downstairs and Daniel turned around. He tried to locate where the sound came from, then it stopped and there was an abrupt silence. Daniel turned back around to face the dark space again. There was a girl about his age, that was standing in front of him, dressed in white. She had long, dark hair and he could barely see her face because it was partly covered by her hair and some dirt. She was wet, some water was dripping from her dress and down to the floor. Her dress was also covered by some dirt and she had some seagrass on her body. The nails on her fingers and toes were dirty