The Salazar house had been empty for years, shrouded in rumors and myths that surrounded it. The townspeople whispered about a door that should never be opened, a door that led to secrets better left forgotten. But for Lucas, a curious young man with a restless mind, that warning only fueled his desire to explore.
One autumn night, when the fallen leaves covered the ground like a crunchy blanket, Lucas decided to venture onto the property. The full moon dimly lit his path as the wind blew with an ominous whisper. Despite the dark and oppressive atmosphere, he could not resist the temptation to discover what lay behind that door. He had heard stories from his mother about an old man who had disappeared in the village, an old man who had been obsessed with the occult.
Upon arriving at the house, the front door was ajar, as if inviting Lucas to enter. The interior was covered in dust and cobwebs, the air stale with the passage of time and decay. The walls were adorned with portraits of the Salazar family, their empty gazes seeming to follow him as he ventured further inside. Unease grew within him, but his determination pushed him onward.
Finally, he reached the forbidden door, located at the end of a dark hallway. It was a solid wooden door, carved with strange symbols that seemed to come alive under the moonlight. Lucas felt a chill run down his spine, but he could not turn back. With a trembling motion, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
As it creaked open, a cold air enveloped him, and a strange scent of damp earth and dried herbs flooded his senses. The room was dimly lit, but he could make out a table in the center, covered with ancient books and unfamiliar objects. However, what caught his attention the most was a mirror on the opposite wall, its surface dark, as if it absorbed the light.
As he approached the mirror, he felt an irresistible pull. In its reflection, he not only saw his own image but also a shadow that seemed to move behind him. Lucas turned abruptly, but there was nothing there. He returned his gaze to the mirror and saw the shadow drawing closer, though he could not distinguish what or who it was.
His heart raced in his ears, and a whispering voice began to fill the room. “Come closer, Lucas. Free me,” the voice said, and something in its tone enveloped him in a hypnotic trance. Unable to resist, he reached out toward the mirror, and the moment his fingers touched the surface, everything went black.
When he came to, he was back in the main hall, but something had changed. The atmosphere was charged with a disturbing energy, as if the house were breathing around him. Shadows seemed to move more freely, and the portraits on the walls appeared to have come to life, their eyes now filled with sorrow and warning.
Panic began to take hold of him. He tried to leave the house, but the doors were sealed, as if the house did not want to let him go. In his desperation, he began to hear laughter, the laughter of children who should not be there. He looked around and saw faint figures emerging from the shadows, their faces distorted and filled with terror.
“Why didn’t you come sooner?” one of the shadows asked, and Lucas felt a knot in his stomach. “What have you done?” he shouted, but his voice was lost in the echo of the wails that filled the house. It was then that he remembered his mother’s warning about the door that should never be opened. He had unleashed something that should never have been freed.
In a final attempt to escape, he ran toward the front door, but instead found the door to the forbidden room. It was now closed, and a mocking laughter echoed around him. “You cannot escape,” the voice said, now louder and clearer. “You are one of us.”
With his heart racing, Lucas felt despair enveloping him. The darkness had trapped him, and the faces of those who had once been human stared at him from the shadows. He could not distinguish reality from nightmare. The house had claimed his soul, and though he tried to fight, he realized he was destined to be another whisper in the legend of the forgotten village.
The door should never have been opened, and now it was too late to regret it. As laughter and screams blended into a chorus of despair, Lucas understood that there was no way to escape what he had unleashed. Psychological fear became his only reality, and the echo of his own scream resonated in the darkness, lost forever in the Salazar house.