In the small village of Elderwood, nestled between thick woods and an ancient moor, there was a disused cottage that stirred the curiosity of every child. Known as the Glitch Cottage, it was said to shimmer out of sight on a starless night, leaving behind an unsettling stillness in the air. The village elders warned against lingering near it, sharing tales of strange happenings that made one question their own senses. However, such warnings only fed the intrigue of a group of teenagers who saw it as the ultimate thrill.
A daring bunch, they often met on the old stone bridge that spanned the river, planning their pranks and exploits. Among them was Sam, the group’s de facto leader, who had a penchant for pushing boundaries. He suggested an adventure that stirred more than just excitement. “Let’s spend a night in Glitch Cottage,” he boasted, clenching his fists in determination. The others, Emma, Jace, and Tilly, hesitated but ultimately gave in, eager to prove their mettle.
Equipped with flashlights and snacks, they arrived at the cottage just as dusk began to settle in. The structure loomed before them, a shadow against the twilight sky, its windows like hollow eyes watching them approach. The door creaked ominously as Sam pushed it open, the musty air spilling out like a warning. With their hearts racing, they stepped inside.
The interior was as expected—dusty and decayed. Old furniture lay askew, and broken bits of glass sparkled ominously on the floor. A thick layer of grime coated everything, but the teenagers paid little attention. As they set up their supplies in what was once the living room, Jace aimed his flashlight towards the walls, revealing faded portraits of stern faces that seemed to mock them. “This place is just old and creepy; nothing more,” he scoffed, though a shiver ran down his spine.
As the night deepened, they lit a couple of candles, their flickering flames casting eerie shadows that danced around the room. The atmosphere turned thick with an unnameable tension. They exchanged ghost stories, trying to scare one another, but it was only when Tilly found a dusty old radio that a tangible chill filled the air.
“Let’s see if it still works,” she said, dusting off the ancient device. After fiddling with the knobs, a crackle erupted, sending a ripple of surprise through the group. Suddenly, a haunting melody filled the room, an unsettling tune that seemed to echo from outside time itself.
Sam stood up, laughing nervously, “Come on! This is just an old radio. Probably just some forgotten station.” But the laughter faded as the radio’s frequency began to warp. A voice, slurred and muffled, broke through the melody, whispering something terrifyingly unintelligible. The teens shared worried glances; even the bravest among them felt a shivering dread.
“Let’s explore the upstairs; we can’t let a little static scare us,” he declared, clenching his jaw, unwilling to let fear take hold. Armed with their flashlights, they ascended the creaking staircase, each step echoing like a heartbeat in the stillness.
The hallway was narrow and shadowy, with doors lining both sides—each one closed tightly. They tried each knob, one after another, only to find them locked. That is, until they reached the last door on the right. It gave way with a surprising ease, swinging open to reveal a dim room littered with discarded furniture and cobwebs that hung like curtains.
Inside was a large, dust-covered mirror. Its surface, once pristine, was almost indiscernible beneath a thick layer of grime. Emma stepped closer, wiping it gently with her sleeve. At first, all she could see was her reflection, but as the candlelight flickered, she felt something shift within the glass—something that wasn’t merely an optical illusion.
“Guys, come look at this!” she exclaimed, her voice strained with both fear and curiosity. The others crowded around her, peering into the mirror, yet the deeper they looked, the more unsettling it became. The reflections of their faces twisted, morphing into grotesque versions of themselves, eyes bulging and mouths stretched in silent screams. Emma stumbled back, scrambling away from the mirror, panic rising in her throat.
“Stop it!” Tilly cried out, trying to laugh it off, but her voice trembled.
“Let’s just leave. This isn’t funny anymore,” Jace urged, the bravado he held earlier now shattered. As they turned to exit, the air thickened, making every movement feel sluggish, each dreadful second stretching into an eternity.
But just as they reached the door, a glitch rippled through the room, warping the light around them. The very walls seemed to pulse, shifting back and forth, as if reality itself was trembling in fear. It was as if the room was decaying in hyper-speed, furniture crumbling into dust with each blink.
“I can’t see anything!” Sam shouted, panic seeping into his voice. The others looked at him in horror, but as they turned back to the door, it slammed shut, trapping them inside.
They began to pound against the door, fearing the surreal changes around them, but the walls absorbed their cries, swallowing their desperation without a trace. A low hum started to vibrate through the air, resonating with an unearthly intensity that seemed to drown out their voices.
“Do you hear that?” Tilly whispered, eyes wide with terror. Just then, the mirror shimmered again, its surface rippling like water disturbed by a stone. Within it appeared a shadowy figure, its features indistinct yet disturbingly familiar. Each time a flicker of light danced across the surface, the figure shifted, taking on the forms of the teens, their faces twisted in agony.
Emma screamed, stumbling backward, her flashlights flickering wildly. “It’s showing us! It knows us!” she cried, realising with growing horror what they were witnessing.
In a panic, they turned to find an escape, but a haunting melody reverberated through the air, its melancholic tune drowning out their cries. One by one, they felt themselves growing weaker, as if some unseen force was feeding on their panic, on their very essence. The world around them started to fade into a blur, creating a vast expanse of oppressive darkness that swallowed every shred of light.
“Stay together!” Sam yelled, grasping for their hands in the void, but it felt like a futile effort. They stumbled, their voices fading, lost in an eternal loop of screams. The darkness thickened, a heavy fog wrapping around their bodies, suffocating any lingering hope.
Suddenly, the hum reached a deafening crescendo, and the figure in the mirror expanded, its shadowy form growing, swallowing their reflections as it tightened its grip. With each passing second, they felt themselves unravel, as if pulled in different directions, their essence threatened to be torn apart.
“Find the light!” Jace shouted, trying to anchor them to something tangible, but the darkness pressed in like a vice, suffocating their resolve. Desperation clawed at them, every heartbeat echoing in their ears as the shadows engulfed them wholly.
In a final act of defiance, Emma turned back towards the mirror. “We’re not afraid! We won’t let you take us!” she yelled, though inside her a flicker of doubt lingered. A flash of determination surged through her, and she ripped the mirror’s veil, revealing the light that shimmered just beyond.
But the darkness retaliated, stretching long fingers towards her, grasping at her limbs. In that moment, the air crackled with energy, and a wave of light burst forth from the depths of the mirror, hitting them like a tidal wave. The darkness screamed as the light shattered its grip.
With a blinding flash, they were thrown backwards, tumbling into the crumbling cottage. They landed in a heap, gasping for breath, the oppressive weight of the darkness lifting. The cottage around them seemed to pulsate, its walls quaking before finally collapsing in on themselves, sending clouds of dust and debris swirling everywhere.
“Get out!” Sam shouted, scrambling to his feet, urging the others to follow. They stumbled out of the flailing remnants of the cottage just in time, collapsing onto the damp grass of the moor. Behind them, the echoes of the haunting melody faded, replaced by the rhythmic whispers of the wind through the tall grass.
They looked back, hearts racing. Where Glitch Cottage had stood now lay nothing but a gnarled mass of twisting roots and obscured shadows. The chill in the air began to dissipate as dawn approached, painting the horizon with hues of soft pink and gold.
But there was no relief in their hearts. They knew something had been awoken within them, something that could no longer be satisfied with the ordinary. And though Elderwood continued on in its unchanging rhythm, the quiet echoes of the night would forever haunt the edges of their minds, a reminder that in the realm of the unknown, darkness always lingers just a glitch away.
