Haunted House
“When I was about 11, this house down the street from my grandparents’ had a reputation for being haunted. One day I was walking to the shop to get supplies for my grandparents, and I saw the owner of the house outside. He was about my dad’s age and started talking to me. I really wanted to be the first of my friends to go in the haunted house, and I was asking a million questions about ghosts and stuff, and he told me I could come in and see if I wanted. I said I had to go do my errands, but he was pretty convincing and promised he wouldn’t tell anyone…
… So up his driveway and into the haunted house we went, but I heard him lock the door when we got in and for some reason, I was hyper-aware of it. I said I changed my mind, and he kind of blocked me from the door, trying to change my mind and calling me a scaredy cat and stuff. I don’t remember exactly what happened for him to let me out, but he did, and I ran for my life. I Sat at the shop for ages, just shaking and wanting to puke without even knowing what I was scared of. Anyway, turned out later it wasn’t a haunted house. The guy was a pedophile. His house burned down while he was in prison.”