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The House at the Edge of the Swamp
Last Updated:
2024-12-13 04:19:54
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Whispers of the Devil The House
LaylaThere isn’t much that can scare me. Maybe that’s why I became a nurse. Maybe that’s why I didn’t balk at the idea of spending a summer in an entirely creepy, and no doubt haunted, French Colonial style mansion smack dab in the center of a swamp, cypress lined property in Hahnville, Louisiana. I’ve seen scarier places. I’ve walked the haunted halls of hospitals all over the country during my four years of being a travel nurse. I’ve seen things in emergency rooms that would make someone’s nightmares look and sound like child's play. This place doesn’t scare me. Although, maybe it should. Mom’s voice rattles in my ear as she pleads, “Layla, seriously, you can turn around and come home!”“I already signed the paperwork,” I say with a sigh, narrowing my eyes at the gargantuan structure looming in the distant haze of summer. Overhead, cypress trees hang with vines that dust the top of my Toyota 4-Runner, the only major purchase I’ve ever made in my life. Before this moment, I’d b
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil Aunt Penny
LaylaAunt Penny could be mistaken for a child from a distance. The top of her silver hair barely reaches my sternum as she rests in her bed, and I’m not a tall woman, by any means. She’s definitely not the withered old crone I expected, not with her dainty, childlike features and huge, blue eyes. I’ve never even seen a picture of her before. In truth, I could count on one hand the number of times her name had been brought up in conversation. I’m not sure what I imagined her to look like. All I had to go off were stories about this place and this specific family line. But her brow isn’t perpetually pinched. Her nose isn’t long and gnarled and covered with warts. Her fingernails can’t scratch my eyes out, and I doubt she had a cauldron hidden somewhere in the house where she boiled potions. She doesn’t look like the witch my family made her out to be. It makes me sad, honestly, seeing her lying motionless in the massive four-poster bed. It swallows her tiny body whole, making her l
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil Haunted
LaylaBailey dumps an assortment of pastries on a serving platter in the humid, sun drenched kitchen. I lean on the counter and take a sip of my iced latte, praying the caffeine will hit my system and thaw the numbness still gripping my body. Whatever happened earlier this morning still has me in somewhat of a trance. I can’t shake the feeling I hadn’t been alone in that upstairs hallway, and especially that I hadn’t been alone in my room. “You’re holding that coffee like it’s a weapon.” Bailey giggles, rolling her eyes as she picks up the platter and sets it on the kitchen table. “Are you okay?”“I didn’t sleep well at all,” I admit, blinking into the unforgiving sunlight. God, it’s hot. It’s not even 8:00 in the morning. and the entire room is already suffocating with heat. I press the plastic cup to my temple and sigh with relief. Bailey watches me curiously for a moment then shrugs. “You should go get some rest, then. You’re the night nurse, remember? You should really be getti
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil A Figure
LaylaAunt Penny stares ahead, per usual, looking at everything and nothing all at once. I turn a page in the book I’ve been reading aloud to her the past four nights. She recently started a new blood pressure medication that’s supposed to make her feel drowsy, but so far, it’s having the opposite effect. The old woman has been staring into space until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning the past couple of nights, and I’m running out of ways to keep myself busy. “Don’t!” I say in an exaggerated tone, lifting my voice to imitate the dainty, elegant and high-bred young debutant, the book's heroine. “Please! You know we cannot go any further, Randall. You’ll ruin me!”I swear Aunt Penny’s mouth lifts into a ghost of a smile, her eyes softening and looking far more alive than they had only moments ago. I drop my voice as low as it can go and continue, “You called me a rake once, Juliette…. It’s high time I showed you just how rakish I can be….” I quickly scan the rest of the page and glance up
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil Bump in the Night
Layla“Have you ever lost your mind entirely before, Curtis?” Curtis, who is currently fighting to get a chainsaw back in working order, looks up at me with a pinched expression. “I don’t believe so, Miss Layla. But you look like you’re fixin’ to lose yours, I reckon.”Well, he’s not wrong. I run my hand over my face, then through my hair, peering at the old handyman from my perch on the back porch. The overcast day is a welcome relief from the heat, and the choked tree line in the distance looks remarkably innocent compared to last night during the storm. “You need sleep,” he says in a fatherly tone that forces my gaze back to his face. “You look like you’ve been dragged to hell, and even hell didn’t want ya and sent you packin’.”“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” I tease, rolling my eyes. “You’re a real southern gentleman, Curtis.”He waves me off with one of his huge, calloused hands. Curtis is average height and portly, but his strength is truly incredible. H
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil Dalton
DaltonI catch the screaming night nurse by the wrist before she can flee back into the hallway. Her deep blue eyes shine like smooth sapphires, alight with fear. “Someone’s on edge,” I say, letting go of her wrist, hoping my touch is enough to tell her I’m real and not one of the many apparitions who haunt this hellhole.I can almost taste her fear. She gapes at me, looking me up and down. “Who the hell are you?”“Who are you?” I ask, sipping from the coffee Bailey so generously made before taking her leave this evening. “Who am I?” she says, stupidly–if I might add. “Uh, yeah?” I stare down at her, drinking her in. Bouncy, thick blonde hair that would probably touch her lower back if she didn’t keep it piled on the top of her head. Slim shoulders, narrow waist. A great rack I’d like to paint if I could ever get her naked. Her nipples are peaked under her white tank-top, and she isn’t wearing a bra, of course. These night nurses get comfortable, fast, especially when they think the
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil Dream or Nightmare
LaylaI have a type, I’ll admit. Tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious. Dalton, unfortunately, checks off all of those boxes, even if our introductory conversation took an abrupt turn.He obviously picked up on my irrational fear of the house somehow and decided to spin it to his advantage. I got the sense, during our short time together in the kitchen, that he enjoyed trying to scare me.After my conversation with Curtis, I’d come to the conclusion that the house might just harbor bad memories but not ghosts and ghouls. I’d never outwardly admit that I’m more in tune with the energy of certain places, but after working in hospitals my entire career, I’ve often wondered if the things I’ve seen and heard held weight and weren’t just tricks of my mind.Still, having someone else in the house now makes me feel slightly more secure in my surroundings as I go through my nightly routine with Aunt Penny.She’s not near
Last Updated : 2024-06-21Whispers of the Devil Wanted
DaltonThe cigar room on the second floor has been untouched since the early 1930s. The moth-eaten fabric that covers the furniture smells sharply of damp and mildew, and the once lively floral wallpaper is peeling from the walls, revealing horse-hair plaster beneath.I huff a breath as I look around, the darkened corners of the wide, square room beckoning to me. I ignore it, like usual, but that creeping sensation licking up my neck continually steals my attention as I lay out sheets of plastic across the mahogany floor and prepare to repair what wallpaper I can salvage.I’m not sure how I got into this line of work. My dad had been a contractor, and since it had just been me and him growing up, I spent a great deal of time following him from job site to job site, mingling with the various tradesmen and technicians he worked with day in and day out. He got a job in the Garden District in New Orleans–fixing up an old Greek Revival mansi
Last Updated : 2024-06-22
Latest chapter
Whispers of the Devil The House at the Edge of the Swamp
JuliaIt’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since peace came to the house at the edge of the swamp.I roll over in bed, blinking lazily in the golden sunlight that filters in through the windows. Zeke, already awake beside me, smiles.“Good morning, beautiful.” He greets me in a voice that’s husky with sleep. He scoots closer to press a kiss to my lips.It’s chaste at first. But as the grogginess of slumber flows from my veins, the warmth of his body against mine starts to become awfully distracting. A stirring between Zeke’s legs shows me that he’s no more immune to our current situation than I am.The kiss deepens as Zeke rolls on top of me, caging me in against the mattress. His body is deliciously firm against mine. No matter how many times we do this, I can never seem to get enough of him.“You’re insatiable,” he murmurs against my lips.“Only for you,” I counter.Can he really blame me? After so many years trapped with Jake as my partner, I didn’t exactly get a chanc
Whispers of the Devil Yours for Eternity
JuliaThe whole house feels different now.For the first time since moving here, I’m not plagued by the sensation of being watched. No more creaks or bangs plague the endless rooms. The laughter and running footsteps of ghostly children no longer echo through the halls. All of the noises I attributed to the settling of new construction are gone.It’s quiet now.Empty.“They’ve all moved on,” Zeke explains when I ask if he notices it too. “They gave everything to help defeat Amos.”“Moved on?” I repeat, morbidly curious. “To where?”Zeke shrugs. “Heaven, I guess. Or maybe another dimension. I don’t really know for sure. I suppose if there were bad ones, they got sucked down into the portal with Amos.”It strikes me that these spirits must have become family to Zeke over the last century that he’s walked this land. Even the annoying or unpleasant ones must have grown on him.“Do you miss them?” I ask gently.The glimmer of sadness in Zeke’s honeyed eyes confirms my suspicions. “I do,”
Whispers of the Devil Through His Eyes
ZekeI’ve been given a tremendous gift.I hover for a moment next to the vacant body that floats limply in the mud and glance down at the harrowing scene below.The ghoulish red glow emanating from the gaping maw of the portal illuminates the tableau, though I see a soft white light as well. Jake’s soul, now cleaved from his flesh, is dragged ever downward into the abyss in Amos’s wake, but I’m hopeful that change in the light means his last act redeemed him enough to save his soul.As much as I despise Jake for having harmed Julia so deeply, I’m also filled with a grudging sense of respect for the dying wish he imparted onto me. I have no doubt that he understands that he wasn’t capable of coming back and living a life that would make up for all he has done. Offering me his body wasn’t for him, not one bit.This is for Julia, a final act of the love that once flared between them.I’ll do my best to honor Jake’s last request. But can it even be done?I’ve never heard of a spirit inha
Whispers of the Devil So This is Death
JakeFor once in my life, I’m absolutely sure I’ve done the right thing.I can’t believe that I fell for Amos’s empty promises. Even now, I wonder how much influence it exerted over my mind and actions.Every shout, every slap, every nasty thought about Julia swims through my brain as my soul is torn to pieces. How much of that was Amos? I shudder to think about how much was me.Because I do hold a hell of a lot of blame, don’t I?None of this would have happened if I’d been stronger.But I was weak, and now, I have a terrible feeling that Amos knew that from the start.As soon as I struck that deal in the driveway, Amos invaded my mind. The process itself was horrible. My brain and body was only big enough for one soul. The ordeal of adding another passenger wa sunbearably painful, and though my memories are hazy, I’m pretty sure that I passed out.At first, it wasn’t so bad, not after that first part. Amos promised me anything and everything, and I had stupidly believed it.It wove
Whispers of the Devil The Sacrifice
JuliaThe whole world spins.The driving rain is relentless, sloughing down my skin in cold rivulets. My hair hangs limply in a sodden curtain around my face, blocking my view of everything except the swirling muck below. There’s a rank taste in the back of my mouth, and I understand dimly that I must have bitten my tongue when Amos hit me.The place where the branch slammed into my skull throbs with every step the demon takes. Even though I can’t see it, I’m pretty sure that I’m bleeding. My vision swims as I’m drawn deeper into the swamp.“I’m going to break you on your husband’s cock,” Amos croons as it carries me over its shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I’m going to fuck you until you plead with me to release you from your sorry life.”There’s nothing I can do to block out the filthy, horrible things that spill from its twisted mouth. Instead, I fight against its hold, kicking my bare feet into the torso of Jake’s body and pounding my fists against its back.But my efforts don’
Whispers of the Devil Fight for Domination
ZekeI’m not strong enough.After Amos tossed me like a ragdoll from Jake’s body, I barely have any energy left. Still, I won’t stop until there’s nothing left of me. I have to fight for Julia. I can’t let Amos take her.As Julia runs outside into the storm, I square up to the demon. It’s wearing Jake’s body like an ill-fitting suit. While it’s clumsy and uncoordinated, its movements are still powerful.“I told you not to get in my way, Hezekiah,” Amos growls. It doesn’t seem in any rush to chase after Julia. What game is it playing? Whatever it is, I don’t want to find out.“I won’t let you hurt her.” I stand firm, unwavering beneath its midnight stare.“I will destroy you,” the demon threatens as it stalks forward. “I will devour your very soul.”I parry to the side as it attempts to dart around me, blocking it from pursuing Julia’s retreating form. “You can’t kill somebody who’s already dead,” I snarl.Amos laughs. The sound is something that a human throat shouldn’t even be able t
Whispers of the Devil Back to the Swamp
JuliaThis is a terrible idea.Every nerve ending in my body screams for me to turn around, but it’s way too late for that.I’m already here.The house on the edge of the swamp rises up before me, blotting out the overcast sky. Clouds the color of fresh bruises creep overhead, threatening rain. It’s barely evening, yet the darkness is already encroaching.There’s no sign of Jake. I’d half expected him to be waiting for me in the driveway, but the whole place seems deserted. I can only hope that Amos is lurking out in the swamp and is unaware of my arrival.I survey the building in front of me. It looks like years have passed since I was last here, though it’s only been a few hours. It looks like it could crumble into the swamp at any moment.The front door hangs open, as though it’s been waiting for me this whole time. I approach it cautiously, scanning for movement within, but everything is still.Waiting.“It’s just a house,” I whisper to myself, though I know now that it’s much mor
Whispers of the Devil Ganging Up
ZekeI’m going to kill Jake.It’s all I can think about. I didn’t have the energy to intervene as he hurt Julia and shattered their relationship beyond repair. I’d tried to manifest myself, to fight against Amos’s hold on Jake, but it was no use.I wasn’t able to protect Julia.I failed her.A powerful surge of anger flows through me as I think about how distressed she was as she snuck outside, jumped into the driver’s seat of Jake’s car when he wasn’t looking, and sped off into the rainy night. Even though I desperately wanted to go with her, I’m unable to cross the invisible line marking the boundary of the property. I can only hope that she’s taken refuge somewhere safe, some place where Jake can’t follow.It’s morning now, and there’s no sign of Julia. Jake lays in the driveway amidst a mess of mud and gravel, unconscious. I’m itching to kick him, but I’m still too weak to summon my corporeal form. Instead, I spare him a scathing glare as I bypass his prone form and head toward th
Whispers of the Devil An Open Door
JuliaIt’s over.There’s no room for doubt as I drive through the worst of the storm. I feel violated, all the way down to my soul. My face is red and streaked with tears, and my lungs constrict with every breath I take, as though my chest is trapped in an immovable vice.Jake’s actions are unforgivable.And it had been Jake, not Zeke. I’m absolutely sure of that. Aside from the fact that Zeke would never treat me so horribly, we’d simply spent so much time together during Jake’s absence that the ghost was all but drained of energy by the time my husband returned home.But there was something else wriggling through the back of my mind, insidious and full of venom.How had Jake even known about Zeke in the first place?He didn’t look at all surprised when I spoke the spirit’s name aloud. In fact, he played along with it, lulling me into a false sense of security until the point of no return.Only then did Jake reveal himself.Somebody must have told him about Zeke. Somebody must have p
