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As I hung on to the rotting piece of wood, fearing for my life, I wondered what had caused me to take that stupid dare? Perhaps it was my ego, and being a teenager as well. I knew my friends had a tendency to overdramatize things but I was a bit gullible and easily swayed by others opinion of me. Yet that should not have made me listen to the dare. Luckily, I was not alone in this endeavor. Will, my good friend, decided to relieve me of my sudden boldness and announced that he would come with me. I looked askance at him but he gave a half-smile and a shrug. It seemed as if I would not be getting any answers from him as to why he wanted to come along, but I could not complain. As he walked me home that evening, I had to look away as an unwelcome blush came crawling onto my cheeks.

In our little town there is an old, abandoned house on the top of the hill. There were many stories about that house, and most of them said that it was haunted. I was not sure if what I heard was true, but what I did know was that the house looked eerie even during the day. Of course, everyone knew that I was afraid of almost everything, and hated to be alone. So the dare was to spend a full night in that house.

The night that this challenge was to take place was chosen by my so-called “friends” was Halloween. It was a creepy day to begin with, and a haunting fog greeted us that chilly night, enfolding us like the arms of ghouls. The moon was full, and there was an eerie wind blowing, calling out almost mournfully. I knew that it was not going to be a pleasant night, but at least I had company. To ease my fears, I looked upon tonight's dare as a mission: I was determined to find out what was going on at the house. However, my fears persisted and as Will arrived at my house, I nearly jumped as he leaped up onto my front porch.

“Are you okay?” He asked with an encouraging smile. I nodded weakly, as if I was still convincing myself. The hour had come, and as I rose I felt a chill creep up my spine, and my fears attempted to talk me down, to relinquish my mission and the dare. We walked together the couple of blocks, passing many houses that had their decorations out and at least one jack-o’-lantern.

We approached the bottom of the hill and saw that a group of teens waiting for us to go in. Apparently, they would keep watch to make sure we, or at least I, stayed in the house until morning. We opened the gates that surrounded the property and descended up the barren hill. We approached the door and heard what sounded like moaning. I shivered violently and took a step back, thinking it was a bandersnatch or ghost or else something even worse. Will grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I was thankful for his company, but could tell that he was just as tense about going in. Taking a deep breath, I went to turn the loose knob, expecting it to be locked, but the door budged and slowly creaked open.

A film of dust covered us as Will and I stepped through, and we found that the interior was dim. As the wind howled again, it seemed to force the door behind us, slamming shut. We jumped at the noise, and an eerie feeling billowed over us. A child-like giggle came from nowhere, and yet it echoed off of the rotting walls, and I gasped.

Will looked scared but I could tell that he was keeping calm for my sake. “How about we explore?” he suggested. I nodded and let him lead me from the entryway into the living room. The room had peeling, flaxen wallpaper, coated with dust and littered with cobwebs at every corner but we decided to keep moving. As we explored, things would seem to rise up as I walked and trip me. There would then not be anything there. Will asked what was wrong but I just muttered that I was being a lummox. He laughed and said that I was far from being stupid or clumsy and I blushed at his compliments. The rest first floor was much like the last room, dusty and full of cobwebs. I asked Will if he knew the history of this place, attempting to get my mind off of my nerves, and he nodded grimly. To my surprise, his family was one of the few founding families.

“Back before the town was actually founded, this area was an Indian village. Apparently, this hill was built on top of a graveyard. And, due to a terrible curse, this house could never be truly inhabitable.” I interrupted him and asked him about the curse. “This curse was brought down on this house by an Indian shaman,” he explained. “Until this place can find true love and contentment, none shall live here. So many people have come here trying to break this curse and make this place a home, but no one has been successful.” As he spoke of the history, I felt a force enter me and I was suddenly in the early 1700s.

‘In the distance there was the sound of drums, beating a haunting song that I instinctively knew to be the sound of war and danger. There were children huddling next to their mothers and elders. The men were preparing to defend the village. There was a faint smoke from the fires that had recently been put out. Then there was the sound of horses and a flash of fire. A boom sounded out and a woman screamed as her child was killed. A man turned toward me with a gun pointed at me and it was Will, yet not. He fired and then everything went black.’

I woke up to find Will kneeling over me, looking concerned. I was disoriented for a moment but when he asked what had happened I just shook my head. He didn’t look convinced but let it drop. He looked around as we were back in the entryway. “This place wouldn't be too bad with a little bit of remodeling.” I agreed with a weak smile and suggested that we look upstairs.

Will readily agreed and we headed upstairs. As we headed up there, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye move but when I looked fully; there was nothing there. The upstairs was in better condition than the downstairs was. In fact, it looked almost cared for, which seemed queer for a house that was supposedly abandoned. I could smell leather and some sort of flower. Will didn't seem to notice, as I looked up at him for a response, but his eyes were blank and his face unmoving, making it hard to tell what he was thinking. There was a light behind a closed door, and we approached it with trepidation. I raised my hand to knock when the door opened on its own, and within the darkness a voice called out to us.

“Come in, children,” the voice said, distant and strangely calm. We looked at one other and shrugged, entering the dimly lit room. Old books shadowed the walls, their pages yellowing but their message timeless. Before us was a little old Indian woman, yet she wasn't quite normal. I stared at her until I realized that she was transparent, the light of the candles beaming through her translucent form. She seemed nonplussed by my staring, and gestured for us to sit down.

“Tell me, what do you know of this place?” She asked, turning in our direction, with eyes that seemed to look right through us. Will told her what he had told me earlier, and she shook her head sadly when he finished. “That is only part of the story. What the boy says is true but he is missing many essential parts of the tale. This was an Indian grave site, but one that was created when the white man killed many of our people. Men, women, young, old. I was the shaman's wife, and one of those who died by your ancestors' hand.” Will looked upset at this bit of information, but I was intrigued. I believed that I had seen the battle and the old woman gave me a knowing look. I had to wonder if she had sent me that vision.

“Yet there is hope,” the old woman continued. “Now, to undo my love’s curse, you must figure this out: ’where there was hate, there must love. And where there were two, there must be one.’” I turned to Will and he seemed just as confused. We turned to the old woman but she was gone. There was blast of cold and debris, making us close our eyes, and when we opened them, everything was cold and dark. The room was just like the one's downstairs.

“Well, you know my story. What do you know about your family history?” Will asked me as we exited the room, exchanging puzzled looks. I was adopted, but my adoptive parents told me that I was part Native American and that my tribe was from the area that we now lived in. When I finished, he looked thoughtfully out into the distance, and turned his head away from my questioning glance. We found a room on the bottom floor that was relatively clean, and decided to settle in it for the night. We talked about anything and everything, sharing lighter stories and laughs despite the gloomy environment. We were already really good friends, but this dare seemed to bring us closer. I fell asleep with my head on Will's shoulder.

It was a few hours later when a cracking noise woke us up and we saw the ceiling start to crack. We started to run out of the room when the wooded floor gave way underneath me. I managed to grab a piece of wood that was hanging out but my grip was loosening. I gave a shriek and a hand reached down and I grabbed it, holding on to it for dear life. It was Will and he pulled me up and held me steady while I let my heart rate slowdown. I stepped back to thank him when a sudden force gently pushed me back against him and I heard the child-like giggle. My heartbeat sped back up, but in a rather pleasant way. I tried to think of where I heard that giggle before, as it seemed familiar, but Will's lips were on mine, causing my mind to go pleasantly blank, and suddenly the darkness seemed to vanish around me. I realized what the ghostly woman spoke about earlier, and suddenly I giggled back at the once haunting laugh that echoed in the halls. I pulled away to tell Will and he seemed to come to the same conclusion since he gave me a grin and a nod. So that was what he was thinking about! In that moment, the air shifted and became less creepy and almost welcoming, like the shaman was inviting us to live there. Yet I never wanted to do something so harrowing again in my life.