The sun beamed down as I crept closer to the old house. It looked like it was a million years old to me, but then again I was nine years old at the time so I tended to exaggerate a little. Almost all of the windows were broken out from neighborhood kids and their obsession for throwing rocks at anything breakable. The wooden walls were wasting away from all the years of bad weather that had plagued the town. It looked like it could fall over at anytime, and probably would have had it not been for the building style that gave it good structure. No one knows why it wasn't torn down years ago, or why they won't tear it down now. Maybe it serves as a reminder to some family about their previous generations, but no one knows who used to live in the house so that can't be it. As I came closer, my nose cringed at the smell of rotting wood. It had kind of a damp, musty odor that made me gag uncontrollably. I had to pull my shirt over my nose to keep from throwing up at the foul stench.

When I reached the creaky old stairs at the front of the house, I suddenly felt a chill run up my body. I thought it was quite odd, since it was 90 degrees outside with no wind and not a cloud in sight. I began to climb the three stairs that led to the sunken porch, when out of the comer of my eye I thought I saw a little girl run past the window. "Hello," I called out, but received no answer. I guess it was just my imagination. How so very wrong I was! I extended my hand to turn the bronze doorknob that seemed like it was the only part of the house that had survived the weather of the years. Suddenly, I heard a sound that resembled footsteps walking past the door. I hesitated to open the door, for fear of what lay beyond the musty old wood. I waited for another minute or two until I convinced myself that what I had heard was just my imagination playing games with me. The doorknob squeaked as I slowly turned it. I cautiously swung the door open and stepped into the house. Immediately, my face was covered in spider webs. I flung my arms up to brush them off my face and ripped my shirt on a protruding nail. My parents are going to kill me, I thought. I bent down and picked up a stick to brush spider webs out of my path as I walked.

The first room I came to had nothing but a fireplace on the back wall and a rocking chair in the comer. I turned out of the room and went to the next one that was across the hall from it. This place looked like it had been an office at one time. There was a desk in the center of the space with several old pens and inkwells. On a sheet of paper sitting next to these items was written:
December 23, 1867. Today, Elizabeth and Istumbled upon a stray dog walking on our property. Having no identification marks on it, we decided to keep it and give it to Susan. After all, it is almost Christmas and every little girl deserves a dog to call her own. Susan has been running around with it all day. She seems to be in better spirits now, after recovering from her...

Here the writing stops and has a straight line across the paper for about an inch. My guess is the writer was interrupted by something that startled him. I continued looking around this room, and noticed that along the walls were what seemed to be shelves. There were several books still on them and some scattered about the floor, but not many remained. After exploring this room for a few minutes longer, I began to make my way to the upper level of the house. As I climbed the stairs, I heard what sounded like the laughter of a small girl coming from above me. Suddenly, I experienced what felt like the wind of someone running down the stairs, causing my shirt to flutter a little bit. I hurried up the stairs, having no desire to stay where I was. When I reached the top I heard a small thump not far from where I was standing. I looked to my left from where the noise had come and a small squirrel scurried across my path. It startled me so much that I almost fell back down the stairs that I had just come up. I sat down on the top step to give myself time to cease shaking and laughed at myself for being so nervous. It's just an old house, I told myself. The only thing in here I have to worry about is the walls collapsing on me.

I stood up and continued my exploration of the upstairs level. There was a long hall with at least three rooms on either side of it. The first room I went into was the first door on the left. It looked like it was an old bedroom, possibly belonging to a married couple judging from the size of the bed. The covers were draped over the side of the mattress. They looked like they had been thrown off in a hurry. I walked to the window that rested in the back wall. The plates of glass in this window weren't broken, but so dirty I couldn't see out of them. I took the bottom of my shirt and wiped the dirt from the window so I could see out. I peered through the glass at the ground below. It was covered with layers of leaves from over the years that were really dark brown and appeared damp. All of the trees around the back of the house looked dead, just like everything else I'd seen around here. I turned away from the window right then, why I did I don't know. As I did, I saw a brilliant flash of light dart across the room and out into the hall. What I did next was completely unexpected. I ran as fast as I could after the light that I had just seen. When I got to the hall I just barely caught a glimpse of the light heading into the room at the far-left side. I ran down there and turned the comer into the room. I stopped abruptly, realizing the floor did as well. I looked down into the hole that I had almost fallen into.

The outside of the hole as well as the walls in the room were badly charred, as if a fire had occurred there. I looked at one of the walls that contained a built in shelf that rested nicely in the wall. On it were several stuffed animals, some burned as well, but mostly all there. A horrible thought crossed my mind. This room had once belonged to a child, and it had been the site of what looked to be a bad fire. I wondered what had caused it. I wondered when it had happened. I wondered whether the family had gotten out alive.

"Help!", the voice startled me. I didn't know there was anyone else in the house, and I didn't know where they were. I looked into the hole where the voice had come from, but didn't see anyone. I began to sweat nervously. Without turning around, I began to back out of the room. When I got to the hall, I picked up my pace. I didn't want to be in that house for another minute. As I walked, my body suddenly felt very weak. I dropped to my knees in the middle of the hallway, and what felt like ice-cold hands gripped my arm. I looked, but saw no one. Frantically, I flailed my arms in the air, hoping the tightening grip would cease. It showed no signs of letting up, so I tried to climb to my feet. When I did, it felt like there was another pair of hands pinning me to the floor by my shoulders. I was panicking now, almost on the verge of tears. A loud crash behind me startled me, and I tried to look over my shoulder. I wasn't ready for what I saw.

When I turned around, I saw what looked like a little girl, probably about my age. She was standing there, watching me, and holding a stuffed animal rabbit. On closer inspection, I realized both she and the rabbit were very badly burned. The white dress she was wearing was almost black from being charred so badly by a fire. She began to walk towards me now, extending her burned hand while still clutching the rabbit to her chest. It looked as though she wanted me to take her hand. When she was about five feet away from me, I heard the soft whimpering of a dog in pain. The little girl turned her head to gaze in the direction of where the sounds had come. When she did, the icy, invisible hands holding me down loosened their grip. I saw my chance and bolted down the hall. I practically jumped down the stairs to avoid whatever remained behind me in the hallway. As I ran, I could hear heavy footsteps behind me. I turned my head, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was in pursuit of me. When I looked I saw nothing except the stairs bending under the weight of whatever was following me. Terrified, I almost ripped the door off its hinges trying to get it open. I darted out of the house and onto the lawn. I listened for any signs of movement behind me. Hearing none, I turned around and stopped in my tracks.

As I gazed at the house and its open door, I saw the figure of a man appear in the opening. He was tall, probably around six feet. The man had long blond hair and a somewhat well kept beard. He was clad in a black suit, and as he held the door, I could see that he was kind of strong. He must have been the one holding my shoulders down so I couldn't stand up, I thought. The man and I stared at each other for a minute longer before he turned and closed the door behind him. I stood there looking at the house, not knowing what to hypothesize about what had just happened. It just didn't make any sense to me. As I gazed at the house, I saw that it was growing larger. I realized that it wasn't growing, but I was walking towards it. It seemed as if I was being drawn towards the structure by an unseen force. Rather than fight it, I quickened my pace.

Before I knew it, I was standing on the porch where moments earlier I had fled for fear of my life. I reached out my hand and instead of opening the door, I knocked on it. I didn't know what to expect, but then I heard movement coming from the other side of the door. The doorknob turned slowly, and I feared that it might be the man again. Instead, it was a woman. She was a tall, elegant woman, in her thirties. She had long blond hair, like the man and the little girl, but hers seemed so much livelier. With a wave of her hand, she beckoned me into the house. I slipped past her, never taking my eyes off hers. She shut the door behind me, and without a word, motioned me upstairs. Reluctantly, I did what she told me. I was now regretting ever coming back here and wondered why I had. I began climbing the stairs and I could hear her footsteps following me all the way up. When I had reached the top, I turned around to face the woman standing behind me. She nodded her head, and I continued forward.

When I reached the end of the hallway, she ushered me into the room that was missing the floor. I stood on the edge of the hole, wondering what to do next. I turned my head to gaze at her as if to inquire what next, and she pointed down into the hole.

"You don't expect me to go down there, do you?" I said with a shocked voice.

She nodded her head once again. I turned to run out of the room as I had done before, but my path was blocked by the hulking figure of the man who had chased me out earlier. He too, pointed down in the hole. I turned once again to face the hole, and inched my way slowly to the edge. There was no way I was going to jump down there. As I stared into the open floor, the little girl came into my view at the bottom of the hole. She looked up at me with sad, scared eyes. Why is all of this happening to me, I thought. She motioned with her hands for me to jump into the opening with her. As she did, the other two people began pushing me closer. My toes now hung over the edge. I was panicking now. I tried to turn around and run out of the room as I had done before, but once again, the man and woman blocked my path. My eyes went back towards the little girl standing in the middle of the hole. Her arms were now extended as if to embrace me. Suddenly, the floor below me started to fall apart.

The charred pieces of wood dropped into the emptiness of the hole and landed with a thud two stories below me. They landed at the little girl's feet, and as they did a smile appeared on her face. She knew that it wouldn't be long before the rest of the floor gave away and I joined her in the hole. I looked behind me and the older people were smiling as well. When I looked at them, I noticed something I hadn't seen before. Their arms were covered in cuts and bruises. Their heads were slightly dented and caved in. My guess is that they were crushed by something very heavy and that's what killed them. I still could not figure out why they were doing this, though. When I woke up this morning, all I wanted to do was explore the weird house that was in the woods. It never occurred to me that I would be chased by ghosts!

I realized the floor below me wouldn't hold forever, and that I needed to find someway to get out of there. I tried fighting the people holding me by the shoulders by reaching my arms around and hitting with my fists. As I swung, I realized they were stronger than I had originally thought. All of my hits landed right where I wanted them to, but they had no effect. It only succeeded in angering them even more than they had been. They were now lifting me in the air and carrying me over to the hole. Tears began streaming down my face. I was terrified. These ghosts were trying to kill me, and I had never done anything to them. My feet were now over the opening, and I could feel myself slipping out of their grasp. I was about to attempt kicking at them, hoping they would fall, but instead I felt their hands release me and I fell into the black hole.

My stomach turned in my body and I braced myself for the sudden drop into the pile of wood and metal two stories below me. I had my eyes closed so tightly they felt like they would bleed. I wondered why it was taking so long for me to hit the ground. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was still standing on the floor. The people had put me back down, not dropped me. I turned around to face them, but they were looking out towards the hallway. I could hear the sounds of a dog whimpering. I looked down into the hole and saw that the little girl was looking up towards the direction of the door. Suddenly I felt the cold grip of the man's hands on my shoulder. He started pulling me out of the room and into the hallway. When we reached the door next to this room, he threw me to the ground. He turned and walked out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

I slowly rose to my feet, and walked over to the door. I tried to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. I tried to search for another way out of the room, but the only other option was the window. I walked to the other wall where the window was, and tried to open it. To my surprise, it was quite easy. I stuck my head outside of the window and looked to see if there was something I could use to climb down to the ground. I saw nothing but a broken drainage pipe that did not travel anywhere close to the ground. Looking up, I saw that the roof was within grabbing distance. I reached my hands upward and took hold of the edge. I slowly pulled myself up and sat on top of the roof.

The wind had started to blow while I was inside of the house, and the sky was suddenly quite cloudy. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the distance. A chill ran up and down my spine. I was stranded on top of a house with ghosts inside of it while a storm was approaching. I sat on the roof for a little while longer rocking back and forth, clutching my knees to my chest. Was I ever going to get out of this situation? I realized that if I wanted to get back to my house I was going to have to find a way off this roof.

I stood up and cautiously walked across the roof, trying not to anger the inhabitants. I was wondering what they were doing while I was up there. As I walked, the wind started to pick up. It blew my clothes outward so that it seemed like I was a bird trying to fly against the wind. The combination of the strong gusts and walking on the edge was terrifying. When I got above the room where the people were, I could hear them moving about under me. I could sense an atmosphere of panic by the frantic way they were moving about. A familiar scent rose up to meet my nose. It was the smell of smoke.

I looked over the edge of the edifice and saw smoke pouring out of an open window. Flames were beginning to come through the roof. The house was on fire, and I was trapped on top! I searched about looking for a way down. Panicking, I ran from one side of the house to the other looking for anything to climb down on. There was nothing that led to the ground. I was stuck up here. My life would end trapped on top of a house after running from ghosts. What a way to die.

As I sat feeling sorry for myself, I heard the screams of a little girl coming from inside the house. At first I ignored them. After all, what could I do to help? The cries were becoming more desperate, so I got up and walked towards the area where they were coming from. I peered over the edge and through the window. I saw a little girl huddled in the comer, the same girl who was in the hole and who had come for me in the hallway. In the opposite comer of the room, her parents lay dead, crushed by a fallen beam from the roof. The sounds of a dog whimpering now rang in my ears. I realized the scene of this family's death was being replayed right here before my very eyes. It was up to me to make sure they rested peacefully.

I reached over the edge as far as I could and opened the window. When I did, the searing heat of the fire hit me like a bus. I lowered myself into the house and walked over to the little girl in the comer. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and pointed at her parents. I hung my head and shook it, and her body quivered with sadness. The cries of the dog became audible again, and at the sound of them the girl's head shot up. I realized that the only way this family could rest peacefully was if I saved the dog. Immediately, I want in search of the animal that was either scared or hurt somewhere in the house.

When I walked into the hallway, the whimpering became louder. I stepped into the room next to the one I was just in and saw the dog lying in the middle of the room. A heavy piece of wood lay on one of his legs, preventing him from getting up. I walked over to it and lifted the structure as high as I could. He crawled out from under it, but he could not stand up. I picked him up in my arms and started to carry him out of the room. Suddenly, I heard a thunderous crash from the next room. I looked into the doorway and saw that the floor had given out. The little girl lay in the middle of the burnt pieces of wood. I back out of the room, still holding the dog, and walked as fast as I could out of the house.

I got about twenty feet from the house before I set the dog down. I turned around and started to walk back towards the house, when the whole thing started swaying back and forth. Backing away, I could not take my eyes off the swaying structure. It was hypnotic. The foundation creaked under the weight of it and the wood started to fracture. It happened slowly at first, but then the whole house came down with a mighty sound like none that I had ever heard before. The sound was like lying under fifteen passing trains. The smoke from the ruins rose into the air, only to be blown away by the wind. The once sturdy building now lay in a twisted heap on the ground with no signs of movement at all. When I turned around, the dog was gone.

They say everything happens for a reason. I have pondered every night about what the reason for this might be, but I always come up empty handed. Maybe it was to teach me a lesson. Whatever it is, four people can finally rest in peace, no longer doomed to walk this miserable earth.