"Like everyone in the village, I'd long heard wild-eyed tales of terror about the spectral mansion at the edge of the wilderness but being a skeptic by nature, I scoffed at the unauthenticated fairy tale as any logical minded person would. About the only real danger explorative souls would be in from such a remote location is from the indigenous bear and other carnivorous wildlife population. At least those were the 'words of wisdom' I comforted myself with, deep in the Conasaga woods that fateful night so many years ago!
I, Samuel Archabald Hain have this cautionary tale to impart onto you, my attentive reader. Many, if not all of you; will scoff at what I am about to reveal but I implore that you consider my story with an open mind. It may just save your eternal soul! It is too late for mine.
I was on a hunting trip in the forest when I ventured into Conasaga river valley in search of my intended prey. Nightfall slipped up on me sooner than I expected so I set up camp for the night in a clearing at the edge of the creek. It was my hope that the hypnotic sounds of the swiftly flowing water would lull me into instant slumber but the gleaming moonlight was so bright that it shown even through my closed eyelids! I should have suspected the sinister glowing orb was luring me to my eternal demise but I was ignorant to its malignant nature. I fell prey to its evil mission, as my vision was drawn magnetically to the rays of illumination it cast on the opposite side of the riverbank.
To my utter disbelief; a majestic mansion stood perched on the bank of the stream taunting me; where there had been nothing but an unforested clearing a few moments earlier! I rubbed my eyes but the ghastly supernatural vision remained to tempt me. Immediately I remembered the childhood tales of the spectral house in the woods and considered that I must be dreaming about the long forgotten legend. Of my state of mental consciousness I was unsure at the time but I had to know what was beyond its threshold. The price for my curiosity was eternal damnation and in this nightmarish limbo of lost souls I have cursed myself a thousand times for falling prey to it. About the only consolation I can have for my fatal error is that I may be able to help others avoid this fate. If you are reading this warning tome, then it is you whom I wish to save.
I staggered across the cool stream with hopes it would shock me awake from the adventure I was about to embark on but I had no such good fortune. Once I stood on the other bank I was within a rocks throw of the front door. The ominous structure had the illusion of solidity but an occasional glimmer of moonlight shining through the walls betrayed its spectral status. I could feel the hairs standing upright on my neck as I awaited the courage to march further toward it. A chilling wind at my back seemed to drive me toward my dark destiny. After an eternity of indecision I stepped to the doorway and turned the knob. It offered no resistance to my entry and I didn't recognize the accommodating mechanism of the trap. Although I didn't know it at the time, my fate was sealed forever when the massive oak doors closed behind me.
Once inside, I had a surreal feeling that the world outside held no meaning anymore. The only thing that separated me from it was 3 inches of heavy wood but the phantom barrier was both impenetrable and eternal. I marveled at how solid the banister felt as I walked up the spiral staircase to explore the unknown mysteries of the upper floor. Each step creaked unreassuringly of aged timber but the expected echo of my footfalls was curiously absent. In retrospect I now realize that the walls were not solid enough to produce an audible sound reflection. Ghost houses have ghost walls.
In a large room upstairs I found the glorious riches of ten kingdoms merely awaiting for a fool to stake claim in them; and I was that greed intoxicated fool. The treasure trove sparkled in the moonlight with a supernatural glint. Golden goblets and priceless jewelry littered the floor in piles that were waist high; along with precious gems as large as a man's fist. I stuffed my pockets until they were all spilling over and hung a dozen golden chains around my neck in attempt to flee the phantom house with as much booty as I could possibly escape with. I was aghast to witness that the stairway was nothing more than a faint reflection of its former self and I could pass my hands through it! I frantically sought another avenue to make it down to the first floor but there was none. The painful lesson that 'all the material riches in the world mean nothing to a man trapped in the realm of spirits'; quickly set in. As if to put salt in my fresh wounds, my bulging pockets which had once been stuffed full of bounty; were now full of worthless river sand. I could almost hear the houses evil spirits laughing at my permanent entrapment.
I hadn't yet accepted my fate in 'Phoenix House' and I sought an alternative means of scaling my way to the ground floor by jumping down. What first appeared to be a survivable leap in my mind changed when I recognized that the hallway floor was nothing more than a hazy mist. I could see the houses foundation two dozen feet below. A fall from that height would mean almost certain death and at the time I still had a futile hope of surviving. That fleeting desperation was about to fade, along with all physical evidence of the house! Panic set in and made my heart beat as if it was about to leave my heaving chest. I watched in unfathomable horror as the house burst into phantom flames and began fading away until I was the only physical entity left. Fear of the unknown brought a level of terror to my being that I wouldn't wish upon my greatest enemy; although they and everyone I have ever known must be long dead by now.
I'm part of the house now and am subject to the same supernatural laws as it and everything which it possesses. I cease to exist for all but one brief hour per year when it rises from the ashes to entrap more victims. Upon that anniversary I spring into action and attempt to document my woeful tale in this journal for your benefit before the cycle ends again. Time has no meaning within these walls and so I am uncertain of how many years has passed since I fell prey to it. If you've found my testimony and are reading it then I must have found a portal to toss it from a window as a wayward warning to the world. You are very close to unimaginable danger and I can't implore you enough to avoid the accursed place and to flee immediately! Save yourself before it is too late!
Signed,
The entity who was once Samuel Archabald Hain"
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