The House of Haunted Mountain: Enter if you dare!!!

By Elizabeth Zelnik

While out on a hike, friends Greg and Jason become lost and stumble upon a mansion in the middle of nowhere. Hoping to find a ride into town, they knock on the door and are greeted by a familiar face, a former classmate named Jan. When a fog rolls in, they have no choice but to seek refuge from the inclement weather and are invited to join the f

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Feb 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685153786

Elizabeth Zelnik

Elizabeth Zelnik is an aspiring novelist and freshman at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. She swam and was a member of the 4H club in high school. She lives with her four cats.

Book preview

Part 1

I

t all began on a cool spring day. My best friend Jason and I were out for our usual weekly hike. This trail we were on I did not like because of all the twists and turns, but Jason wanted to take this path, so I agreed with him and followed. Both of us were avid mountain climbers; in high school we both set multiple records and won full scholarships for college. However, after four years both of us longed for the Pine Hill Mountains in Colorado, so upon graduation we both returned here. We even bought an apartment a few blocks away, so we were not too far from the rocks and hiking trails. We wanted to climb today, but cool March weather had a different plan for us, so we just decided to hike. We took our backpacks on this day in case we ran into any nasty weather while out. We were out for a couple of hours and decided to head back because it was six o’clock and would start to be getting dark before we knew it. As we were heading back, I noticed that we passed the same oddly shaped rock three times; I told Jason that we took a wrong turn somewhere. He pulled out his phone and tried using Google Maps, but there was no service, so he told me to just keep going in the direction we were heading, and we would eventually get out.

I remember a girl I went to college with, my fraternity friend—she used to live out here in the woods somewhere, but I think it was a few counties over, Jason said. She used to tell us stories of this vast and beautiful forest she lived in, how it was like being in a fairy tale.

I remember a girl I used to do mountain climbing practice with up until my senior year, I said. She used to say how her and her siblings would sit outside in the dark to tell ghost stories.

"I think I know who you’re talking about; my God, you had the biggest crush on her in high school. Let me see now, what her name was again, it started with a J."

Oh, stop it, Jason; she's not important now. I haven’t spoken to her in almost four years; concentrate on getting us out of here.

Say, did you two ever date or not?

Jason, if you don’t stop with this right now, so help me!

All right, Greg, I’ll stop. It's still fun to aggravate you sometimes.

As he and I were walking, a mysterious fog had rolled in, and it became harder for us to see. Then the trail we were on became narrower, and the woods seemed to grow thicker instead of thinner, so thick that the sunlight was completely blocked out. There was no other path to take, so we just stayed on the current one, hoping it would lead us out. We could not have been more wrong; we were getting deeper and deeper into the woods. On top of that, the fog was getting thicker and thicker to the point where all traces of the sun were gone.

Another ninety minutes went by, and darkness was starting to set in; we tried to find an open area to camp, but there was nothing, just trees and brush. I was starting to get an eerie feeling that we were going to be stuck here overnight, but then I saw something in the distance, a faint yellow object. I told Jason we should start walking toward it, hoping it was someone's car light or camp. As we got closer, it was not a car light at all—it was a house light. We came to clearing, and what we saw was utterly an amazing beauty. There in front of us was this large dark blue mansion that stood three stories tall and had trees and bushes growing all around, even on it. It had black shutters and a red door and a walkway with a water fountain next to it. There was also a giant three-car garage and a walkway that connected the garage and the house covered in vines. All the lights were shining through the windows, so we decided to knock on the door and see if we could get a ride back into town. I knocked, and Jason impatiently rang the bell; a few minutes later, the door opened. A brown-haired woman, wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, brown shoes, and a blue necklace, answered the door. I recognized her; it was the girl I knew from high school. I acted like I did not know her, and she did the same to me.

Hi there, how may I help you?

I answered and said, Sorry to bother you, Miss, but me and my friend here were out hiking, and we got lost. Any chance we can please have a ride back into town? Oh, pardon my rudeness, my name is Greg, and this is my friend Jason.

Mmmmm, let me check with my uncle to see if it's OK if I borrow one of his cars; please come in for a minute.

As we waited, we looked around; the house was slightly run-down with wallpaper peeling and some of the shelves dusty. The furniture was outdated; most of the pieces appeared to be from the 1960s. Above us was a giant diamond chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There were also two giant spiral staircases with black carpeting that stretched over the shiny marble floor. We did not look all the way around the house but saw that there were a lot of doors.

Wow, Greg, imagine living in a place like this. I mean the furniture is outdated, but the house itself is huge.

I know, Jason, with a more modern touch, this house would be a wonderful place to live. Too bad neither of us could afford to live here.

Hey, Greg, that's the girl you knew in high school; I recognized her because she's the sister of Maya, who was in my fraternity.

Yes, Jason, I know it's Jan, but don’t say anything, please. I don’t want to speak with her, and she doesn’t want to speak to me.

Just then the front door opened, and a man walked in; he was wearing a gray raincoat, black pants, and black rain boots, with his hair slicked back, and holding a flashlight. He was also tall and muscular and had a grumpy look on his face. Hi there, my name is Samuel. Who are you two gentlemen?

Hi, I’m Greg and this is my friend Jason; we were hiking out on the trail, and we got lost, so we came here hoping for a ride back into town.

Oh, well, I’m afraid you gentlemen are out of luck—the fog has become even thicker, and it's starting to rain outside. I’m afraid you might be stuck here a while; it's become impossible to see anything. He looked down and saw Jason's shirt, which said Colorado Flying Eagles. Oh, my sister when to that school; her name is Maya May.

I know her; her and I were in the same fraternity together, Jason said.

Wait right here and I’ll go get her for you. A door to our right opened, and it was Jan; she came out and told us that Uncle Pete said no because of the weather. Just then a woman with green eyes walked in, wearing a tight, all-black dress and black heel boots.

Hi, Jason, remember me? We were in the same fraternity together. What are you doing here? I never told you where I lived.

We got lost, and we were asking your uncle for a ride back into town, but the weather is too fierce.

Well, that's OK, you can just stay with us in the meantime. We were just about to have dinner—c’mon, I’ll get you something to eat. We walked into the kitchen, which was quite spacious with large windows, gray marble countertops, black cabinets, hardwood floor, and a large pantry filled with snacks and cooking ingredients. Dinner was not ready yet, so Jan showed us to the living room, and we sat down with Maya to get acquainted; made of stone, and beautiful burgundy curtain hung over the windows. There was a giant flat-screen TV in the center, along with two giant white couches with fluffy pillows. Jan went back in the kitchen to finish prepping dinner, and since Maya and Jason were chitchatting, I decided to go off and explore the rest of the house.

I opened a door, and inside was a library filled with two bookcases full of books, a giant fireplace, a study desk, and computers. There was also another giant burgundy curtain that hung over the window, and the room was painted dark blue with a black area rug that went across the floor. I went to sit in blue chair by the fire when I noticed a pillow was on the floor; I bent down to pick it up, and it growled at me. I realized that there was a head attached to the pillow and that it was not a pillow at all but a cat. The cat arched its back, yawned, and stretched. It sat next to the fireplace and looked at me; it was a large cat with thick