I had entered the abandoned manor on a whim. It had been a visible part of my kitchen window view ever since I moved into this flat, curiosity was bound to get a hold on me eventually. Having tricked myself that I was just going to do a small spot of Pokemon Go, I wound up at the gate of the manor.

As I stared up the garden path and at the porch of the long abandoned residence, my mind couldn't help but wander to hundreds of different horror films. I pictured the camera shot with me in the foreground and the house looming over me in the background.

“Oh go on then.” I mumbled to myself, egging myself on to check it out. The gate was loose on it's hinges and squeaked when I pushed it open but didn't resist my palm. I took careful steps up the path, making sure I hadn't accidentally ignored any 'No Trespassing' signs, as I made my way to the door.

The door swung open just as easily as the gate as I swivelled the knob. I jumped back slightly, I was expecting it to have been locked. “Alright, this has gone further than I anticipated.” I mumbled to myself and took a step into the house. Why stop now?



I was clearly the first person to have set foot in here for at least sixty years. The furniture and designs looked like they were fresh out of the sixties. Everything was caked in a layer of of dust and everything I picked up had me sneezing from the dust that haphazardly flew off of it.

“Hello?” I called out, realising it might be a good idea to make sure this hadn't become a homeless shack and I was going to be robbed of my kidneys. My voice echoed through the house but no others joined it. I still didn't fancy my chances, so I put my phone away and picked up a dusty pipe which would hopefully keep someone away.

As I progressed through the rooms, I found the house to be bigger on the inside. There was no way all these rooms could have fit into a house that looked so ordinary. There were rooms for every function too, from listening to the wireless, cooking and serving dinner, various games rooms to entertain almost anyone and a wide range of bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs.

“I really should have made a breadcrumb trail.” I said as I entered the room of what would have been a small boy. “I was not expecting a Tardis.” I kept peeking into every room, a voice in the back of my mind kept reminding me that that one horror movie moment was just around the corner, but I didn't believe it.



Eventually I came to the end of a long corridor with a large, more ornate door. It was heavier under my push but what it revealed was astounding. A huge library stuffed to bursting with old books. I let out an audible gasp as I stepped into the room proper. I didn't seem to register that the room was fully lit, much unlike the rest of the house.

SLAM!

The sudden shutting of the door broke me out of my awe. “Shit!” I shouted into the room. I turned around and, yep, the door was firmly closed. “Come on! I was almost done!” I pleaded to a spirit I assumed was about. The paranoid part of my mind took hold quickly.

In an armchair in the corner of the room, a female shape began to materialise. She was dressed for the period, in a rather dainty sundress, but she had a blue glow around her. In her hands was a book, not ghostly at all.

“Who dares enter my home?” She asked, sounding very ghostly.

“The... door was unlocked?” I stammered. I felt stupid letting the words escape my mouth but I wasn't exactly thinking straight. The ghost woman wasn't speaking. “I would like to leave?” I stammered again, both breaking the silence and trying my luck.

“Anyone who dares enter the home of Felicity will be transformed to my will.” She said, rising out of her chair and coming closer. “You will make a fine grandfather clock.” She said, not changing her tone.

“I...uhh... you should really put that on a sign.” I said quickly, backing away from her as she advanced. Then something clicked in my brain. “Wait! You said transformed? I have a proposal! Just don't change me!” I blurted it all out almost in one go, hoping it would grant me time at least.

Felicity stopped in her tracks and cocked her head to one side. “I will entertain you before you change.” She said coldly. I wasn't fancying my chances but went for it anyway.

“I do a lot of transforming people too.” I began. “Not real people but in stories. We could work together to transform loads of people.” She still looked at me questioningly. “Have you heard of Halloween?” I asked her. Felicity shook her head, so I began to explain my plan in full. I might be able to make it out of here not turned into a clock.

“So at Halloween, a lot of people go out in costume looking for a good scare. We have this house, a perfect host for such scares. How about I lure people in on Halloween, and then we transform them in any way we like? And after that, if you haven't had enough, you can turn me into a clock.” I smiled and outstretched a hand in hope.

Felicity paused for a moment and I clenched all over in the hopes that I might have saved my bacon, if only for a month. She then broke into a girly smile. “That sounds fun.” He voice had gained some emotion, completely losing it's ghostly tones. “We need to fix up the house then.” She said, opening the door and getting to work.



Over the next few weeks, Felicity and I worked together short-listing all the transformations we wanted to see and cleaning the house, rearranging the rooms to make it a horror maze. I wasn't allowed to leave the house except for my university lectures, but Felicity warned me that if I didn't return, she would hunt me down and turn me into a clock. I didn't want to take my chances.

I had, however, been able to distribute some flyers around the university and heard on the grapevine that there was some interest to see what was happening with the old manor. October 31st couldn't come around soon enough, and both Felicity and I held our breath for it, for different reasons.