Gracie

By J.D. Russell

After a home renovation, a man discovers he is not alone. Can he and his dog survive the malevolent evil within? Fans of horror will love this terrifying story. Get your copy of Gracie now!

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.D. Russell
• Release date: Jul 3, 2022

J.D. Russell

I am a horror and thriller author. Some of my influences are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allen Poe, Clive Barker, and Steig Larsson.You can reach me at [e-mail] website: https://jdrussell.netFor a free book, visit https:://jdrussell.net/free

Book preview

GRACIE

J.D. Russell

Gracie is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2022 J.D. Russell

All rights reserved.

Cover image: Pixabay/Dean Lewis

Cover font: Werewolf Moon Font by Chad Savage

Cover design: J.D. Russell

CONTENTS

Title

Beginning

Note From J.D. Russell

Other Books By J.D. Russell

GRACIE

After the housing crisis in 2008 began to recover, many of the abandoned houses were being purchased and renovated. In Sanford, Florida, it was a lot of historic homes. One attractable offer caught my eye on the Realtor’s website, and I flew down from my home state of Michigan to check it out.

When I pulled up to the property in the rental car, my heart sank. I double checked the address given by the real estate agent as the property didn’t resemble anything close to the online photos, which displayed a two story bungalow on a manicured lawn, not this overgrown property with waist high grass and weeds. I could barely see the house, but the numbers on the mailbox matched, and the navigation app confirmed my location was at the house for sale.

Sighing, I walked the cracked and uneven sidewalk where weeds grew up through the cracks, the only clear path to the house covered in vines. They were so thick, I could barely make out the front door flanked by two windows. The property should have been advertised as land for clearing rather than a home for sale.

I ascended the steps to the wraparound porch. Using the lock box code provided by the Realtor, I gained entry to the home. The hinges squeaked when I pushed open the door. The house sighed a stale breath mixed with wood and earth. My footsteps echoed in the empty space, at times creaking on the wood floor, marred by an energetic history, probably by children’s toys, a dog’s claws, or dragging furniture.

A wide hallway split the rectangular home in half. Two rooms on either side of the hallway, the one on the left would become my office, the other a formal living room with a fireplace on the far wall. Past this was a dining room on the right, a half bath, and the laundry room on the left. Before the hall ended at the spacious kitchen and family room, stairs ascended to the second floor where the three bedrooms were located.

The house was empty save for a few large roaches belly up, a thick layer of dust, and spider webs in the corners. One of the bathrooms lacked a sink, toilet, and tub, the copper pipes sticking out of the walls, brown water stains dripped on the tiled walls. No worries. Later I would find the missing fixtures in the back yard, along with a treasure trove of half buried fixtures, appliances, and furniture. This house was one that you would find in a horror movie, but I was about to eliminate everything macabre in it.

One of the bedroom doors upstairs opened only an inch, blocked by something too heavy for me to push through. I backed up a step and hit the door with