Original Horror Fiction: Beyond Appearance

In this Morbidly Beautiful exclusive short horror story, a family's future is threatened by echoes of their new home's painful past. A town, a family, a house with a dark past and a mystery. Virginia, her husband, and her children move to a small but picturesque country house that once belonged to a painter and his son. However, obscure events start to happen immediately after their move. Virginia is determined to find out what compromises the tranquility of her family. Is the pretty ochre sandstone cottage haunted? Is their presence unwanted? A short story in four parts. No time to read? Click the button below to listen to this post. On the top of a hill, surrounded by orchids and some orange tulips, stands an ochre-colored sandstone cottage with pinkish roofs. The house is small and modest, both on the outside and in. The rooms look poorly decorated; only the yellow walls are covered by paintings of different sizes. The paintings, often crooked and leaning on a frayed string, reveal a pale shadow that differs from the rest of the walls, which are drenched in a dark yellow hue that can only be attributed to decades of cigarette smoke. More paintings are chaotically positioned on the corridor wall up the stairs and along a narrow, wooden passage. Each painting details a vast collection of fabric and wooden horses. At the end of the corridor, there's a dark room full of more artworks, which appear to be faded landscapes of places long forgotten. Heavy curtains cover the big window. Behind the curtains, a glimmer of morning light illuminates a child's face, a painting still on the easel. The painting pictures a fragile figure of a little boy with a wooden horse in his hands in front of a fireplace. He is not smiling as a child should, but instead looking forward. He peers back, with a single tear streaming down his rose-tinted cheek. /// At daybreak, the light continues to stream in through the tattered curtains. Warm beams of every shade of yellow bounce around the otherwise dim room, filling corners and chasing shadows. A beam of light that fell on a framed picture on the wall of a flowery meadow is interrupted by a pair of glassy green-blue eyes. They belong to a young woman, Virginia, who enters the living room with two big suitcases. She has curly hair in a bun and wears a plaid shirt. "Come on, kids, hurry up; it's cold outside." 14-year-old Mary, the oldest of the three children, is about to enter the room when her mother stops her. "Mary, honey, help your father with the rest of the boxes." Mary turns back, scoffing. "Why is it always me who does the hard work?" she says, leaving the room. Victor, an 8-year-old blond boy, and little William walk in. Virginia looks at the living room. It is dusty and dark with covers on the furniture. She opens the windows. Then, she stops at the stairs as if drawn to something up the steps. As she goes up and walks slowly through the corridor, William starts crying, so she runs downstairs. Virginia finds William on the ground and Victor behind him. "You chicken!" Victor whispers to William. Virginia goes towards William and picks him up, kissing him. "What have you done this time, Victor?" "Me? Nothing!" "Victor?" "I might have scared him from behind...but...it was nothing. It was just an innocent joke!" Edward, her husband, suddenly comes in with heavy boxes, hobbling at every step because of his knee injury. Virginia turns to Victor. "We are not done, kiddo!" She then puts William down and goes to help Edward. /// Mary enters with other boxes in her hands. She stops at the entrance and throws them on the floor. "Well, I can't believe we moved from home to this eyesore!" She sits on the sofa before the fireplace, texting on her phonw. Victor sits near her, and when no one is looking, he steals it from her and starts running. "Victor, give me my phone back!" "No!" She chases him. Using a large ornate dining table as a barrier, Victor waits on the other side and maintains a safe distance from his sister. "What were you doing? Texting Jamie?!" Victor asks, staging a kiss. "You little devil!" Mary stops and looks at Virginia. "Mum?" Virginia keeps helping Edward with the boxes. "Both of you, stop!" "Me? I didn't do anything! He is the one with my phonw!" she says, answering her mother, "You little monster. I'm gonna pull your stupid blond hair out one at a time!" Mary starts chasing him again, to the amusement of little William, who starts giggling and clapping his feet. Virginia, tired of it, grabs them by their arms. "Edward, for heaven's sake, do something!" Edward goes towards the kitchen. "Guys, come on. Listen to your mother." "Oh, Edward, that's great. Really helpful!" She looks at both the children. "Both of you, pick up your boxes and choose your room without fighting… And Victor, give her her phone!" Virginia lets them go. Victor gives Mary her phone back while making a face. They both start running upstairs in a rush. "I will pick the biggest room!" Victor loudly declares, much to the dismay of his sister, who groans and picks up the pace behind him. Virginia breathes slowly and then looks at William standing there. "William, I wish you would stay my sweet little boy forever." They go towards the kitchen. /// Later that day, Virginia walks into the bedroom with a box of clothes and finds Edward lying on the bed. They look at each other, detached and cold. Virginia opens the mirrored wardrobe before the bed, kneels, and unpacks. Edward leans his head on the pillow, closing his eyes. She slightly turns around. "I can help you with job hunting after dinner." Edward heavily sighs with his closed eyes. "Not today." "We can start looking together tomorrow, then." "No, Virginia. I can do it by myself." "Let me help you. I can get up early in the morning and ask around. It should be easy to find something. It's a little town; everyone is kind and willing to help newcomers. You can stay home and bring the children to school." "I will do it." "No, you won't. You always say it but never do it. Don't worry. I've got this." Edward scoffs and opens his eyes. "That's because you never let me do things." "I can get up at six and wake up the children at 6.30, so that…" "You don't even listen to me." She keeps speaking and unpacking her clothes in the wardrobe. Edward raises his head and clenches his fists as if he is about to burst... "SHUT UP, VIRGINIA!!" Virginia immediately stops speaking. She turns towards him, eyes wide open, shocked. They both remain silent. Virginia stands up. "I will go and feed the kids. We will continue talking later." She walks out. Edward looks tired and sad. He then takes a bottle of pills out of his jacket pocket and swallows one. /// After their conversation, Virginia brings some boxes upstairs to the highest floor. She walks through the corridor and stops looking at the dusty paintings on the wall for a long time. She suddenly stops noticing a detail present in most of them. "N.B.," she whispers. She then proceeds to the room at the end of the corridor and opens the big curtains, letting the last glimmers of daylight in. Immediately drawn by the biggest of the paintings, she walks towards the image of the child on the easel, with a stool in front of it and dried paints and brushes lying on a small work table beside it. The N.B. initials were visible on that painting, too. Virginia looks drawn to it. She looks at that child's face as if something or someone is calling her. "Mom! Victor stole my room!" Mary screams from downstairs. Virginia doesn't move. "Mum.. mum!". "One second!" Virginia answers without looking away. She then leaves and closes the door behind her. In the midst of the commotion, the family remains unaware of a presence, long living in the house, intently focused on their every move. /// No time to read? Click the button below to listen to this post. It is a cold, rainy, almost stormy Saturday morning. The kids are in the living room playing, Edward is locked sleeping in his room, and Virginia is preparing eggs, bacon, and toast for the whole family. Victor and Mary sit on the sofa. "Is there anything fun to do around here?" Victor says. "Go explore upstairs in the library; maybe you can find something to keep you busy," Virginia answers. "As if old dusty books are going to entertain us," Mary scoffs. "Stop complaining, you two. Come on, get up! And don't wake your dad up!" Mary and Victor slowly get up and head to the stairs. Little William is playing with his toys on the floor. "Are we actually going to explore the library, Victor?" Mary asks. "Of course not. We just need to find something cool to see. Maybe a ghost! "Stop, Victor, you are giving me goosebumps!" "Maybe we will find a body hidden in your bedroom, a cold dead body…" "Stop, Victor, seriously. It's not funny." The children suddenly hear noise from the end of the corridor where they are arguing. Mary and Victor exchange a quite worrying look. "What is that now? Did you do it to scare me? Is it some sort of joke? I'm telling you, Victor. If it is, it's not going to work with me." "Why do you always blame me for everything? I didn't do anything!" "Probably it's just Dad waking up," Mary says. The two hear another noise. Only this time, it's stronger. They start walking slowly towards the last room of the corridor. Mary is shaking a bit, and Victor grabs her hand. Suddenly, a side door opens. "What are you two whispering about?!" Mary and Victor scream. Edward walks out of his room, staring at both. "Dad, you made us jump!" Mary says. "You two woke me up. Go and do something quietly." "Yes, Dad," they answer simultaneously. They turn around and start walking towards the stairs when they hear another even louder sudden noise. "It came from that dark room, Victor. I heard it clearly this time," Mary says without even turning back, still petrified by the noise. "Let's go check!" Victor says. "Are you crazy?" "Do you want to wait for the ghost to come into your room in the middle of the night?" Mary agrees, and they both head slowly towards the room. While the oldest are having their little adventure upstairs, little William keeps playing with his toys, throwing a ball on the other side of the living room. "At my three, we open the door." Mary nods. "One…Two…Three!" They open the door and hear a big crash on the floor. One of the paintings falls from its easel, and they see a shadow moving toward them. Downstairs, Virginia finished preparing the breakfast. Hearing the loud noise, she screamed, "Do I have to go upstairs to see what you have done?!" While placing the dishes on the table, she suddenly dropped one of them, which crashed on the floor. She witnesses William playing. He isn't playing alone; some invisible presence throws the ball back at him. "William!" screams Virginia. "Mum!" screams Mary and Victor, barely breathing, running down the stairs. /// No time to read? Click the button below to listen to this post. William laughs, pointing to his mum and the ball coming towards him. Virginia runs towards him and grabs him. As the kids rush down the stairs, they come to a creaking halt, and what they witness makes them stop, petrified like stone statues. Their hearts are beating fast, and their eyes betray them. They can't look away, as they can't believe what they see. "Mum!" Victor screams and starts crying. Mary follows him. Little William is serene and has a big smile, still amused by his mysterious companion of games. After a few seconds, the ball stopped, and the kids stopped crying. The whole room was silent. Virginia doesn't know what to do. Her eyes inspect every corner of the room like they are waiting for something unnatural to happen again. She tries to find a logical explanation for all of it. Edward approached, confused as to what was going on downstairs. "Virginia? Are you alright?" She doesn't answer. "Kids?" The children are still in shock. No one can logically explain what they saw or how they felt. Looking at Edward's extreme concern, Virginia finds the courage to answer. She tries to stay calm and strong for the children, but all she wants is to burst into tears and let her tension go away after that uncanny event. "We saw something weird, Ed, something very weird. The ball. William was playing with the ball, and I turned around, and it... it was like someone invisible was playing with him. The ball was coming back to him." "It was probably just the wind, Virginia. Ghosts don't exist." "But Ed..." "You should stop reading all those Gothic stories before bedtime." "I'm not crazy!" "Dad, it really happened. We saw something as well." Mary looks at her father with her still shiny, dark eyes. Edward goes towards the window in the kitchen. "The window was open, and the wind moved the ball in William's direction. It's very windy and bad weather." "But Dad, Victor and I saw a ghost upstairs." "Mary, you and Victor were just scared, and your mind must have thought of seeing something that wasn't real. Now, come on. Let's all calm down and go to the creperie for a sweet treat." "Dad, please! Listen to us!" Edward rushes toward Virginia and whispers in her ear, "Stop scaring the kids. You don't know what you are saying." /// The next morning, Virginia wakes up and heads to church. Edward and the kids were still asleep. The rain starts again, but this time, it is less heavy. The church is situated up on a hill. The mass has not started yet, but the people have started to arrive. She sees families dressed in nice clothing with laces and flowers. They all know each other. Some older women wore head coverings and prayed in the front seats. Virginia enters, and some of the residents turn at her, curious. After mass, everyone gathered outside. "Welcome." "So nice to meet you." "Hi, good to see you here." Virginia receives all kinds of welcome but feels like something is off. Everyone is whispering and staring at her. The priest, who was beside the main door, approached her. "Hi, Father Joseph! Welcome to St. Virgin Mary's Church." "Thank you. Virginia. Virginia Lenore. The mass was lovely!" Father Joseph smiles. "What brings you here, Virginia?" "Change. My family and I just wanted something different, quieter. We are staying at the old orchid house." After saying that, the Father frowns and starts acting nervously. "Oh, great! I hope your family has settled well, and I hope to see you all next Sunday." He then leaves and goes to greet the others. On her way home, Virginia was consumed by curiosity after the events of the previous day and the first encounter with the rest of the residents and the Father. Virginia opens the house door and heads upstairs to her room. As soon as she opens the door, she notices her husband has red marks all over his body, but he is still asleep. "Edward, Edward! Wake up! What have you done? Are you taking your pills? Why would you do that to yourself?" Edwards opens his eyes, confused at what his wife was panicking about. "Look!" She points at his legs and arms. "I don't understand. I must have fallen. I was sleeping all the time." "Are you sure? You haven't done anything to yourself?" Edward tries to get out of bed. "I'm going to have a coffee. As I said, I must have fallen," he tells her, uninterested. ‘'Um, mum!" Virginia pauses and sighs. "Coming!" she screams and leaves the room. Everyone is awake. Virginia goes into William's room. His toys and some of the wooden horses that belonged to the hallway are all out on the floor, and William is out of bed. Holding one of the horse statues, she whispers, "How did you reach…?" She then stops and looks at him, smiling. "I was sure I put all your toys in the box before bedtime, pumpkin." She heads downstairs with William and joins the rest of the family. /// It is an early cloudy afternoon; Edward is resting upstairs as always, Mary and Victor are playing in the back garden, and William is playing in front of the fireplace. Virginia reads, looking out for her little son coloring on the floor. She suddenly hears a door opening upstairs. "Edward, is that you? Do you need help coming down?" She receives no response. After a few seconds, the door shuts. She stands up and heads upstairs. She slowly opens their bedroom door and finds Edward asleep. Once she has closed the door behind her, she decides to analyze the last room of the corridor to find more information about the house. She finds herself in the pitch dark, lights a candle, and opens the windows. The room was full of dust, objects, and paintings. She could hear her kids playing from the window. She smiles, looking at them playing tag. Virginia then looks at the different paintings and thinks they must have belonged to the original owner. They all look very similar, landscapes of nearby places, until she suddenly stops, confused at one canvas depicting the fireplace downstairs and the painter's initials she saw once before, NB. However, something in the painting is very different from what she remembers. It looks so empty. She was sure she had seen a little boy in it before. She stares, confused, and then stops again at the window, watching her kids playing. Mary is chasing Victor, but she grows tired and takes a break. Victor continues running, thinking his sister is still chasing him. Suddenly, Virginia starts shaking, her face becoming paler. Behind Victor, she sees a little boy, a small pale, almost vanished figure with black hair and grey eyes, running after him. "Victor!" Virginia shouts from the window and runs downstairs. /// No time to read? Click the button below to listen to this post. "Victor, honey." Virginia rushes towards him and hugs him. "Were we being too loud?" Victor asks his mum. "No, I thought... I thought I saw something." The little boy had already vanished like a ghost. It is now the middle of the night, and the whole house is asleep. Virginia is lying on her side of the bed when she is suddenly woken up by a distant cry, a voice in pain softly crying for her. "Mum." She thinks William might be awake, so she gets up. But he and his siblings are peacefully sleeping in their beds. She looks at the door, the door of the mysterious room, and, while stepping towards it, the crying becomes stronger and stronger, louder and louder. She starts to approach it very determined to find out what it is. Opening the door, the crying stopped. However, she noticed something peculiar: wet paint was dropping from one of the many frames. Virginia realized it was coming from the fireplace painting she had examined earlier that day, but this time, something changed. The wet canvas is not so empty anymore, as the little boy she saw earlier that day in the garden is now pictured in it in front of the flames. Confused and scared by the recent events since her move into the house, Virginia wants some answers. She thought of reaching out to the nearest person she met, someone who had been living there long and knew the community and its history: Father Joseph. Virginia is about to leave the house with William. Her kids were in school already and Edward was in bed. "Let’s go, dear; let’s get you in the car." Edward slowly steps into the living room. He glances at her and goes towards the kitchen. "Honey, I’m stepping out now. Going to the church and working on my book from a cafe in..." "That sounds great," Edward says, cutting her off, almost completely ignoring her. Virginia sighs and shuts the main door behind her. /// At the church, Father Joseph is putting on the nativity scene. "Want some help?" Virginia approaches Father Joseph, smiling. "Everyone is welcome to help out!" Virginia takes on one of the little statues. "How are you and your family settling in?" Father Joseph asks. "Slowly," she laughs. "There’s a lot of work to do in that house and garden, but we will get there." "Good, good." She goes silent, and her mind is somewhere far away. Father Joseph notices her absence in mind. "Something troubling you?" "No." She pauses. "Well, yes, maybe. It’s the house, something in the house. I believe… I believe someone is… I’m sorry, you would think I am crazy, delirious even. You don't even know me." "Did you see him?" "Him? How did you know? Is there something I should know about my home? Please tell me. I'm so scared and confused." "Sit down, Virginia." Father Joseph gently grabs her hand and leads her toward the nearest seat. "Years ago, a father and his son lived in the house. The father, Nicholas Bennett, was a painter—landscapes mostly—and a wood sculpture artist. He was not well and drunk most of the day. Some said he was depressed; others just thought he was crazy and has always been. Days went by, and his drinking condition got worse. He was not happy, and even if he was talented, his paintings were not selling well. He decided to paint a portrait of his son, hoping it would sell better than his other works. His masterpiece was completed. However, the old man hated every single part of it. It was not good enough for him! In rage and desperation, he started beating his son until the poor boy took his last breath. Realizing what he had done, Nicholas took his own life. Now, legend says that the boy's ghost still lives in the house. Some weird things have happened over the years, but no one has ever actually seen him." Virginia listened to the Father’s story carefully, and in that moment, she understood. She understood everything. William playing and smiling at him; her husband, the male figure of her family, injured and beaten up; the ghost of the little child crying for her in the night. "He wants a family," Virginia whispers softly as a tear rolls down her cheek. "Now he has one." ... THE END

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Original Horror Fiction: Beyond Appearance

In this Morbidly Beautiful exclusive short horror story, a family’s future is threatened by echoes of their new home’s painful past.

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Original Horror Fiction: Beyond Appearance

In this Morbidly Beautiful exclusive short horror story, a family’s future is threatened by echoes of their new home’s painful past.

Related Posts:

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Maddalena Manno

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