The Ghost in the Basement(Santiago Barrrera) My name is Eugene Wolf, and it was halloween night, and of course I was grounded. I’m always grounded, it's always ‘you’re failing your class’ this, or ‘you’re misbehaving’ that. It's so unfair, I mean it’s not my fault, it's the teachers! But my parents don’t listen, and thanks to them I’m stuck home alone on a halloween night, with nothing to do, and all my friends are somewhere tp’ing someone’s house or trick or treating. Just my luck.
Right now I’m just in my parent’s room, watching TV and of course nothing good is on except those cringy halloween specials, what should I expect? Everyone is outside doing things while unlucky people like me are stuck inside, I decide to wander around the house and enter rooms I’m normally not allowed to enter, like my sister’s room, I came inside and found a bunch of posters of boy bands, gross, I hate their ugly faces with their stupid grins, I left my sister’s room because it was boring, it reminded me of a kindergarten classroom with how colorful it was.
I was walking down the hallway, looking for something to do. This house felt empty when my family wasn’t in it, my dad isn’t watching football games (Even though my dad and I are named the same we are completely different), my sister isn’t on the phone with her boyfriend, and my mom isn’t watching her cooking show or on the phone with my aunt. It was quieter than ever, just then, I looked up and saw a string poking out of my ceiling, I pulled on it and a ladder fell down from above me and almost crushed me, I quickly dodged it and realized that the ladder was leaning against a dark room above the ceiling, it looked dark inside so I was hesitant to climb up the ladder.
I looked around to see if I had anything else to do, and realized that if I didn’t explore the attic I would have nothing to do, so I went up and saw dust bunnies sprawled like peanut butter on bread all over the floor, it was dark and it felt stuffy, as if the light of day hadn’t seen this room in centuries, I walked across the room where there were several cardboard boxes, each covered in a thick layer of dust.
The attic smelled musty, and I couldn't help but sneeze a couple of times as I moved closer to examine the boxes, each covered in a thick layer of dust. I cautiously opened the nearest box, revealing a collection of old, worn-out books. Most of them were classics, and I recognized titles like "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Great Gatsby," and "Pride and Prejudice." It seemed like my family had stashed away some forgotten treasures up here. I took one of the books and dusted it off, realizing that maybe, just maybe, this Halloween night wouldn't be a total waste. As I delved further into the boxes, I discovered more interesting items.
There were vintage board games, including a dusty Monopoly set with wooden houses and hotels. Next to it was a chessboard, complete with smoothly carved pieces. It was as if I had stumbled upon a forgotten treasure trove of entertainment. Just then, a slight light flashed through the window, it caught my attention and I saw what was sitting in front of the window, it was a creepy doll, with a pristine crystal gleam to her cheeks, she had a dark blue eyeshadow over her crooked blue eyes. She had a white dress with red lining, her dark orange hair falling over her shoulders, I noticed that there were cobwebs sprawled all over the creepy doll’s body. I was extremely curious about what this doll was, so I carefully picked her up and dusted her off with my hand.
Suddenly, I heard a loud bump in the floorboards behind me, I jumped up in shock and dropped the doll, she hit the ground with a crash and I saw that her crystal face was shattered in pieces all over the floor. Just then her eyes glowed an ominous red and a shrill scream emitted from her perfectly shaped lips “GRAAAAAHHH”.
A glowing red figure emerged from the fallen marionette toy, it looked like an entire person had emerged. I had no time to react, the glowing red spirit with long shiny black hair and dark bags under her eyes looked horrifying. She was wearing a tattered dark red dress with a stab hole in the middle of her stomach, she wore black boots and her skin looked like she hadn’t showered in 30 years.
“WHO ARE YOU?!” she asked me,
“My name is Eugene.” I answered, I slowly shuffled towards the attic's exit. When she heard my name she seemed to calm down, she stopped levitating and her wild eyes calmed down, I could see her red colored pupils, I calmed down a little but I still wasn’t letting my guard down. I kept backing away and she got closer each time.
“Eugene? After all these years…” she muttered
She was now inches away from me. She ran her hand through my hair.
“Don’t you recognize me?” she asked
“Uhh. No not really” I answered uncomfortably.
The gentle look in her eyes turned into a violent glare, she threw me to one side, I toppled to the ground. She screamed
“How dare she… HOW DARE SHE TAKE MY SON AWAY FROM ME! I WILL DESTROY THIS HOUSE AND CURSE THE ONES WHO DID THIS TO ME!”
She levitated again and her glow increased. She fazed through the ground into the house. I had hit my elbow with a table so I was in great pain, she seemed pretty mad. I couldn’t let her destroy this house.
I opened the attic entrance and ran down the old stairs. I saw the spirit in the living room, the furniture was all floating around her in a quick motion. She started throwing chairs and tables towards the walls, piercing them and ruining the tapestry. I crouched and stealthily walked towards the front door, she stood in front of me looking even more enraged.
“Perhaps I haven’t introduced myself… My name is Abigail Wolf. And I was murdered by your fake mother when you were eight.”
“Fake mother?” I was curious about what the spirit meant.
“I am your REAL mother, your mother is not who you think she is…” she answered, reaching her hand out to grab mine.
I looked at her confused, I remembered having my current mom since I was a mere baby. Was she lying to me?
“That’s not true. You aren’t my mother.” I decided. I slapped her wrist away.
Her face grew more angry by the second, she threw several chairs at me. I managed to dodge most of them. I bolted across the halls and hid inside my parent’s room. I could hear her outside wrecking my house. I had to do something. In the eerie silence of his parents' darkened bedroom, Abigail’s presence sent shivers down my spine, but I held onto a glimmer of courage, determined to confront the evil entity that was destroying the house.
Without hesitation, my gaze fell upon a wooden cross hanging on the wall—a symbol of faith and protection. I climbed the bed and with trembling hands, I grasped the cross, feeling its light weight in my palm. The wind fell silent with tension as he held it, the cross emitting a soft, radiant glow that seemed to repel the darkness clinging to Abigail.
I left my parent’s bedroom ready to fight, the spirit hissed and writhed in the face of the holy symbol, its twisted form recoiling from the pure energy it emitted. Sensing an opportunity, I stepped forward, my heart pounding with a mix of fear and determination. With every ounce of strength, I thrust the cross toward Abigail, channeling the cross’s power to banish her once and for all.
Abigail let out a bloodcurdling scream, her ghostly figure trembling as the cross pierced through her hologram-like form. As if in a final act of defiance, she lunged forward, but I stood firm, fueled by a sense of pride.
In a blinding flash of light, the room was engulfed in a radiant glow, turning Abigail’s ominous red glow into a light blue. As the brilliance faded, my eyes widened in astonishment. Abigail's malevolent presence seemed to have dissipated, leaving behind only a faint whisper in the air. I turned around and saw a glowing blue essence floating over the ground. It was what remained of Abigail. I looked for something to trap her spirit in before she broke out again, and I found another doll… my sister’s teddy bear. I brought the bear close to the blue soul and it lunged inside of the bear in a quick motion.
“The bear won’t break as easily as the glass doll. This should hold her.”
I put the bear back in the basement, well hidden this time inside a box. In that very box a yellow parchment caught my eye, it was a notebook. I opened it, hoping it had answers on why Abigail said she was my mother. This is what it read:
I have just killed Eugene’s real mother. Her body is well hidden. No one will ever suspect this, now I can finally be the real mother Eugene deserves, along with the love of my life; Paul. Eugene’s father.
Signed - Ellie.
Wait a second, Ellie is not my mother’s name… it's my GRANDMOTHER’S NAME! And Paul is my Grandpa. This means that Abigail… is my DAD’S real mom? The world spun around in endless circles, but it gave me a sense of relaxation, realizing that my parents were truly mine. The clock hit 9pm, my parents weren't going to be here until midnight, and I was so tired I just went to the living room’s knocked over couch and fell asleep knowing that tomorrow was going to be a better day.

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