A long time ago, there was a house that stood on the bay near Mobile, Alabama. It had been vacant and boarded-up for years.
Most people in the area kept well away from it, frightened by its uncanny reputation. Anyone who passed by couldn’t help wondering what evil had transpired in the old place. Trespassers who dared to enter the old house usually fled during the night, telling tales so grisly that they were almost beyond belief.
One night, three fishermen were caught in a quick-moving storm and managed to make their way back to shore.
Drenched by the rain, they spotted the mansion and decided to take shelter in the rickety old place. Once inside, they made a fire in the fireplace to keep themselves warm and ate a cold supper. Then, the three men pulled their oilskin coats tightly around them and lay down on the floor to try and get some sleep.
However, as soon as the dozed off, they were plagued by terrible nightmares of treachery and murder.
The men heard the unmistakeable sound of footsteps upstairs. It sounded like more than one person, marching back and forth.
“Who’s there?” called one of the fishermen. The footsteps suddenly stopped.
They heard a woman scream. The scream turned into a groan and died away. Just then, the man who had called out felt something splash against his forehead... It was blood.
All of a sudden, a door upstairs crashed open and the floor shook with the sound of heavy footsteps. The frightened fishermen heard disembodied voices in the darkness. A man shouted in anger. A woman cried out in pain. Long howls of horrible laughter rose and filled the house. After a few minutes, they heard something coming down the stairs. It sounded like someone dragging something heavy that bumped on each rotten step then front door opened. It sounded like something was flung outside, landing with a thump among the weeds.
Rain was pounding against the sagging walls. The terrified fishermen couldn’t bear to stay in the place a moment longer and decided to flee. Just as they reached the door, a flash of lightning filled every room in the house with a green blaze and one of the men saw a ghastly face staring at them from the stairs. It was so horrible that it looked as if it came from hell itself. A crash of thunder deafened the terrified men and they ran out into the storm, never to return.
