Upstairs, Alex made her way slowly down the seemingly endless passage, and there were oil paintings of people she assumed were the ancestors of the owner of the mansion lining the walls on each side. Some of the pictures looked very old with faded colours and scratches on the paintwork, while others appeared to be more recent. She shone her flashlight on each one as she walked past them, and she noticed how each figure was posed almost identically, with their eyes painted empty and their lips turned down in what she interpreted as a grimace.

When Alex reached the end of the passage, she shone her flashlight on the final portrait. It was a young woman in a white dress with her hair pulled up into a bun. As she studied the image before her, Alex gasped when it appeared that the eyes of the woman blinked. But, after taking a moment to collect herself, she took a step closer and studied the woman’s eyes intensely. There was no movement that time, and Alex chuckled a little at herself for getting caught up in things.

After studying the image, Alex turned away, and she reached for the door handle for the room directly in front of her. As she was reaching for the door, a sudden banging noise from downstairs made her snap her head around. She listened for a moment, but as quickly as the sound had started, it stopped, and she assumed it was just Jack clattering around, looking for evidence. She then turned her attention back to the task at hand, and pushed open the door.

After stepping into the room, Alex found herself in a bedroom. The main focus of the room was a magnificent four poster bed, draped in white linens that rustled as a soft wind crept in through the cracks around the window. Extravagant looking pillows and cushions in faded regal shades were spread out at the headboard, and in the centre was a china doll which had its hair covered in cobwebs and its petite white dress stained with something dark.

As Alex looked around the sparse room, she spotted a large oak wardrobe against the wall in the far corner. She made her way to it, and after taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door.

The wardrobe was empty, with the exception of a moth-eaten jacket hanging at the back. Alex then shone her flashlight around the inside of the wardrobe, then she crouched down to check the bottom for a hidden floor. As she concentrated on her task, she felt the room grow colder, and she had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. She then quickly glanced over her shoulder, and she was startled by what she saw.

When Alex looked over her shoulder, she saw what looked like the train of a white dress disappearing out the door, into the passage before she could get a good look at it. She immediately jumped to her feet and hurried out the room, but all she saw when she got there was an empty dark passage.

After putting what she had seen down to an overactive imagination, Alex prepared to head back into the bedroom, but she shuddered and felt goose bumps all over her arms. She then stood at the doorway facing the four-poster bed, and watched with growing alarm as a shadow seemed to form before her eyes.

***

Tell us: If you found yourself in Alex’s shoes, what would you do next?