16 October 2025
The House That Follows
There’s a route I walk on some mornings that leads past an old, abandoned house tucked into the woods. The forest is slowly reclaiming it—vines creeping over the roofline, branches brushing the siding like forgotten memories. I’ve passed it many times, and noticed something peculiar: the door is sometimes open, sometimes closed. That detail unsettles me. Mischievous kids, perhaps—or are other forces at play?
The road itself is narrow, flanked by dense forest on both sides. The house sits to my left as I walk. I often glance into the trees, scanning for birds or signs of wildlife. But on the left, deeper in the woods, I keep seeing another house—or the same one—lurking beyond the tree line. It feels as if the abandoned house is following me, shifting just out of reach. Yet when I stop to look directly, there’s nothing there. Only trees.
I wonder: is my mind playing tricks on me? That would be the sensible explanation. Or is something more supernatural unfolding here? Does the house beckon, inviting me to step off the road and into the forest? If I did, would it lure me deeper still, until the path behind me vanished?
Thankfully, my dog Charlie is always with me. He knows when it’s time to turn around and go home.
“One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing material place.” — Emily Dickinson
“A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently; there is a whispering in distant chambers, an unearthly hand presses the snib of the window, the latch rises.” — James M. Barrie
“Houses are not haunted. We are haunted, and regardless of the architecture with which we surround ourselves, our ghosts stay with us until we ourselves are ghosts.” — Dean Koontz
#morning #chair #house #haunt #photo #photography #selectivecolor #forest
