Illustrative image of a child sitting in a dark attic, facing a glowing, grinning ghost in a doorway.

When I was a kid, I loved playing hide-and-seek in my grandmother’s house. It was old, filled with tiny rooms and creaky doors. One night, while my cousins counted, I crawled into the crawlspace behind the attic. It was dark, dusty, and just big enough for me to squeeze inside. As I sat there holding my breath, I heard someone crawl in behind me. Slow, deliberate movements. I whispered, ‘Shh, they’ll find us.’ But there was no reply. I turned my head in the darkness… and saw another face staring back at me. Pale, wide-eyed, and grinning. I screamed and scrambled out, but when my cousins rushed over, the space was empty. Years later, the crawlspace is still locked shut. My grandmother says no one is allowed in there anymore. She won’t say why. See more