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The Staircase



Estimated reading time — 14 minutes

July 5, 2010

I don’t really know what to say. Last week, I was in a bad car crash. The doctors said that I suffered some brain injuries in the crash and that it’s a miracle that I’m not dead. They also said that I needed to stay on top of things, especially when it came to memory. I guess I’m supposed to be writing in a “diary” for two months. Two whole months! I’m a man! Men don’t write in diaries!

But Doctor Schneider said that this would be good for me. I guess that means I’m gonna be writing for a while. It doesn’t have to be everything that I do every day; just one or two things that happen to me each day. So I guess day 1 is going to be my personal information.

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My name is James Hunter. I live in Cheboygan, Michigan. It’s not a huge house. It’s basically just the upstairs and the basement. I have an attic, but I haven’t ever been up there. I guess one of my favorite things about this house is the fact that it’s secluded. I live out in the country, so no one ever goes past here. That makes it the perfect spot for murder!

I’m not a murderer. The truth is, I got this house for a really low cost because someone was murdered in it a year before I moved in. I don’t really know much about the murder, but I know that the body was found on the old wooden staircase that leads from the basement to the garage. Anyway, a young couple moved in to the house six months later and left a month later when they found the basement steps broken. They were sure it was a ghost that broke the stairs. They found out later that the steps were old and rotten, and the husband fell through while he was sleepwalking, but they refused to move back in.

That’s why I moved here. I’m a huge fan of the paranormal. I saw my grandmother’s ghost appear at the foot of my bed once when I was 11 years old. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to get another ghost to appear to me. So far, no luck. However, I’m hopeful that this house will bring me the paranormal experience I crave so badly. In fact, when I moved in here on June 12 of this year, I spent my entire first night here examining that staircase. It’s actually very interesting…there apparently used to be access to the area under the steps for storage, but that was closed off when the staircase was remodeled. Now, it’s surrounded by walls of concrete, and I can’t even see through to the area underneath. The vertical wooden planks that connect to the horizontal ones fill up all the open space.

Sorry, diary. I know you didn’t want to hear about some dumb ghost enthusiast talk about a creaky old staircase. I just hope that there is some actual paranormal activity going on here. I’ve been living here for a month now, and so far, no luck. Anyway, I think that’s plenty for one day. I’m going to go to bed now. Talk to you tomorrow! Ugh…I’m talking to my diary like it’s a person. I really am going insane. NOTE TO SELF: If you name this diary, I’m calling the men in the white jackets.

July 16, 2010

After 12 boring entries in this journal, I finally have something worth writing about! Something happened to me last night…something extraordinary. I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep when I heard something coming from the basement beneath my room. It sounded like something heavy scraping across the cement floor. Excited, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the flashlight from my kitchen table, and rushed down the stairs to the basement. Naturally, the first thing I did was stand on the wooden staircase and scan the entire room. Nothing seemed out of place.

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“Hello?” I asked the dark room. “Is someone there?” I waited for a while, but received no response. “Can I talk to whoever is here? I don’t want to hurt you. Can you tell me your name?” Again, I was answered with silence.
Curious as to what I heard move, I grabbed the biggest thing in my basement, which was the dryer, and pulled it away from the wall. It made a loud scraping sound, but it wasn’t quite like what I heard. I then tried the same thing with the washing machine, workbench, and treadmill, but none of these sounded right. The workbench sounded most like what I thought I heard, but it still didn’t seem right.
I stayed up until 3:30 this morning searching for answers, but there was still no evidence that a ghost was involved.

July 17, 2010

Call me crazy, if you want. Maybe I am crazy. I still have no clue who these comments are directed at. I guess I’ll just assume that Dr. Schneider will end up reading these journal entries. Anyway, I called in a psychic today. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Doesn’t he know that psychics just scam your money?” Well, I’m not so sure.

The psychic’s name was Laurie Marvin. She came in early this morning to scan my house for spiritual activity. Surprise, surprise! She knew that something very dark had happened on those steps in the basement. I swear I didn’t tell her anything before she went down there! She said that she was getting a strong reading from a spirit named “Carlton” as she stood on the wooden staircase leading to the garage. That’s all that she could tell me. I asked if he meant me any harm, but she told me that she didn’t know. Still, “Carlton” is something to go on.

After Miss Marvin left, I decided that it was time for me to hit the internet and see if anyone named Carlton has died recently in Cheboygan. As it turns out, Carlton Mueller was the name of the man who was murdered by Tyler Frank, his business partner, on those wooden stairs last year. Who’s a fraud now, huh?

July 23, 2010

I know, I know…I’m sorry that I haven’t been writing in my journal recently. To tell the truth, I’ve been so busy with my new job as Cheboygan’s new newspaper editor that I haven’t had time. I figured that writing in newspapers was similar enough to writing in my journal that it would be okay. Dr. Schneider, however, told me yesterday that it was not okay, and that these journals are for my own benefit. He said that I’m supposed to be writing to help me remember my life. I guess it’s a little true… Ever since my entry on the 19th about going fishing with Jerry, my memory’s been a little foggy. I guess I’ll have to remember to write in this journal more often.
Oh well. I sincerely apologize to myself. I accept. Hooray. Cake and beer all around.

July 29, 2010

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I’m so happy I could cry. Actually, I’ll be honest: I did cry. I wrote in my diary and I cried. But I don’t even care how girly that makes me sound anymore. I have seen the most amazing thing in my entire life!

I was lying in my bed last night when I realized that I had left the bathroom light on. So I rolled over and got out of bed. I opened up my bedroom door and looked down the hallway. What I saw actually almost made me wet my pants. It was a man. A grown man. He was standing on the other end of the hallway, just staring at my bedroom door. The light from the bathroom illuminated his face beautifully. He had a tall head with short, black hair. A few whiskers were scattered across his face, giving him a rugged, tired look.

“Hello?” I asked nervously. The man didn’t answer.

“Are you Carlton?” I forced the words out of my mouth.

To my delight, the figure nodded. I was talking to a ghost! I couldn’t believe it! Just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, I pinched my arm as hard as I could. The intense pain convinced me that this was real.

“How did you die?” I inquired. Of course, I already knew the answer. I just wanted the ghost to speak to me. Sadly, he did not. He simply stared at me with steady eyes.

I don’t know how long Carlton and I looked at each other. It could have only been ten minutes, but it felt more like an hour. No matter what I asked, the ghost of Carlton Mueller would not speak to me. The only response I received from Carlton all night was when he nodded his head to confirm that he was, in fact, Carlton.

I finally returned to my bed after bidding Carlton goodnight. When I woke up this morning, he was gone.

August 3, 2010

Well, I was starting to get worried that Carlton wouldn’t show up again. Every morning that I wake up since I first saw him, I find the furniture in the dining room, living room, and basement completely rearranged. I knew that this was Carlton, and I didn’t care. Really. It’s just that…well, I wished he’d show his face again. And he did.

Last night, I was sleeping soundly when I heard something move in my room. I woke up and rolled over, expecting to see a chair on its side, courtesy of my good friend Carlton Mueller. Instead, I saw Carlton himself standing over my bed, staring down directly into my eyes. I nearly screamed, but I didn’t want to scare him away. So I quietly whispered, “Hello, Carlton.”

Carlton didn’t react. I asked him if he wanted me to wake up. Once again, he stood in place, like a statue. I tried to get him to answer me, but just like on the night of July 28th, he didn’t move a muscle. Finally, I sighed and rolled over.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I’m glad that I saw Carlton again. On the other hand, I definitely did not like the way he stood in the middle of my bedroom, staring at me while I slept. Who knows how long he was there after I fell asleep? More importantly, what if he stands there every night, and last night was just the first time I saw him? The malicious look in his dark eyes as he stared at me was…unsettling.

August 4, 2010

I couldn’t sleep last night. Yesterday, I thought that I wasn’t scared of Carlton. I thought that after a day, I’d have had enough time to get over it. Now, however, I’m positive that I am actually intimidated. In fact, “intimidated” is an understatement. I lay awake in my bed all night long, shaking like crazy. I couldn’t stand the thought of waking up and seeing Carlton watching me with such a malevolent glare again. I don’t know how Tyler Frank killed Carlton Mueller, but it must have been horrible. That is one pissed off spirit.

But I can’t let my emotions control me like this. Writing in my journal may very well be the only thing keeping me sane after that incident, which is ironic, since I feel like I’m talking to myself. Regardless of whether or not I’m actually insane, I will not let Carlton’s presence in my house affect me like this. This is my house, not his. I shouldn’t have to leave just because of a ghost. More importantly, if I let him scare me like this, he will feed on my fear and, very likely, he will do it again. I really don’t want him to scare me again.

However, know this, Carlton. If you try to scare me again, I will not be afraid! I will not leave my house because of you, Carlton Mueller!

August 5, 2010

Well, this is a good reason to celebrate. It’s been a month since I was assigned this project, and that means I only have a month left. I would crack open a bottle of champagne if I wasn’t scared to death of going into the basement.

Last night, I didn’t sleep again. All night, I heard noises coming from the basement. I kept my bedroom door closed and locked, as if ghosts needed to use doors. I don’t know what Carlton’s doing down there, but it’s really annoying. At least I can rely on the fact that as long as he’s moving stuff around downstairs, he can’t be watching me upstairs. And all night long, I kept hearing that scraping noise over and over. That same scraping noise…
That’s another thing: I wish I knew what that was! I’ve completely rearranged everything in my basement since that first night when I heard Carlton, but nothing makes that specific sound. I just can’t figure out what it is. I am absolutely, 100% positive that nothing in my basement makes that noise. So what is it?

August 6, 2010

So, I saw Dr. Schneider yesterday again. He said that my head injury may have affected me worse than he originally thought. He said that insomnia might be due to brain damage. I laughed and explained that I’ve been staying awake because a ghost watches me when I sleep. For some reason, that didn’t comfort him.

August 14, 2010

I went downstairs. I finally got up the courage to go down into my basement. Of course, I didn’t see Carlton. There were no signs that Carlton had ever been down there. In fact, everything in the basement was exactly the way I left it when I last came upstairs. I was kind of hoping that I would see something out of place, so that I knew what Carlton was moving around down there.

Actually, it’s kind of odd. Every morning, I still find things in different places than where I left them. However, these occurrences are confined only to my living room, kitchen, dining room, guest bedroom, and bathroom. The basement and my bedroom remain untouched. Weird, huh?

Anyway, I’m glad that I went down to the basement. It made me feel safer being in the place I knew to be the source of Carlton’s ghost and yet experiencing nothing paranormal. It was somewhat comforting. I mean, I haven’t seen Carlton since he woke me up on the night of the 2nd. Maybe he knows that he scared me, and maybe he didn’t mean to. I’m starting to think that Carlton might not be such a bad guy after all.

August 21, 2010

I can’t handle this anymore. Every day I sit down at my desk and write down whatever it was that I did that day like some lab rat. I feel like a child who’s been ordered to color a picture. I am not Schneider’s damn lab rat.

Last night I left my door unlocked. It’s been almost 20 days since I saw Carlton in my bedroom, so I thought I might be safe. God, why am I so unlucky?

I woke up at 3:00 AM this morning and I knew instantly that there was someone standing over me. I slowly rolled over and, of course, saw Carlton. But he wasn’t standing in the same place he was in the last time he was in my room. This time, he was standing right over my bed.

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He looked different than he had before, too. His hair was much messier than I remembered seeing it the first night. And his eyes…they made me shudder. They were surrounded by darkness, and the first thought I had when I saw them was “evil”. I had never really considered Carlton evil before last night. Maybe a troublemaker, a creeper, and a bit mischievous, but not evil.

I gasped loudly when I saw him. His reaction didn’t change, as usual.

“Carlton!” I nearly shouted. Remembering to keep my emotional distress to a minimum, I corrected my tone and continued, “Why are you here?”

As I predicted, Carlton didn’t reply.

“Please leave,” I said quietly, not breaking my eye contact with him.

Carlton’s eyes widened to a frightening size and his head tilted a little bit.

“No, no,” I said quickly, sitting up and backing up to the other side of my bed. “I didn’t mean that you should leave the house. I meant you should leave my bedroom. Please,” I added when Carlton’s eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared angrily.

“Look, I don’t want you to leave the house,” I insisted. “I want you to stay!” Very slowly and deliberately, Carlton moved around my bed to the side that I had crawled to. “But, you know, when I’m sleeping, that’s my time, Carlton!” When the ghost didn’t stop, I scooted back over to the side of the bed I woke up on.

“Carlton, please, don’t hurt me. I’ve never done anything to hurt you. Why would you go after me?”

Carlton didn’t answer. He walked quietly to the foot of my bed and stood there with his usual overseeing attitude. He didn’t leave until I fell asleep again. I woke up this morning and found my bedroom door open. I can’t live like this for much longer. If I can’t get Carlton out of this house, I’m going to have to move out and let someone else deal with him.

August 22, 2010

I locked my bedroom door again last night, and there was no sign of Carlton. I’m never unlocking that door again. I think Carlton thinks it’s my way of welcoming him into my bedroom. I just hope I didn’t hurt his feelings.
Wait, what am I saying? I hope I didn’t hurt the ghost’s feelings? That’s ridiculous! He came into my home, moved all my stuff, scared me to death, and I’m saying that I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings?

Forget that! I hope he went home to his ghost mama, cried ghost tears, ate a whole gallon of ghost ice cream, and ended up losing his ghost leg to ghost diabetes.

I don’t care what Carlton wants anymore. I want Carlton gone. It’s really too bad that he’s a ghost, because if he wasn’t, I’d wish he was dead. Then again, I think both Carlton and I would be happier if he was still alive.

August 28, 2010

The exterminator came over today to do spray his bug killing stuff like he has every month since I’ve moved in here. While he was here, he decided to make my life even more miserable by telling me that I have a termite problem. Why the hell not? I mean, everything else in my life has gone wrong. My house has termites, my life is being tormented by an evil poltergeist, I may or may not have permanent brain damage, and I’m probably going insane because of all of this crap put together.

I want to die. At least then I’d be able to make someone else’s life as horrifying as Carlton has made mine.

But wait…I need to get my house fumigated. No, I’m not an idiot. I know that fumigating my house won’t kill a ghost. However, it will give me a good reason to move out for a day or two. I’ll sleep better than I have in my entire life if I can be sure that I won’t wake up with the ghost of Carlton Mueller standing over me.

August 29, 2010

Ah, sweet relief! I decided to move into my hotel room a little prematurely, and I couldn’t be happier! The instant I stepped into my room, I thought “This feels more like home than home does.” How about that?

But I only have a few days of this. My house is getting fumigated tomorrow, and the bug man said that I should be able to move back in on Tuesday, August 31st. But you know what? I might decide to stay here a little longer. It’s nice being able to sleep.

September 1, 2010

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Today was the most disturbing day of my life. Yes, it was even more disturbing than when Carlton tried to attack me. I moved back into my house yesterday and slept in my bed. Of course, I locked my bedroom door. I thought that would keep Carlton out.

I woke up at 3:00 again this morning. I opened my eyes slowly, afraid of what I would find. However, quite predictably, Carlton was standing next to my bed. I sat up quickly. “Carlton, please, stay away from me!” I begged, but I realized quickly that Carlton wasn’t looking at me. He had been looking down at the floor with a sad expression on his face.

“What?” I asked, completely bewildered. When I said this, his head jerked up and his eyes pointed directly into mine. They seemed different, tonight, though. They were much less…hateful. After a moment, Carlton gestured for me to stand up.

“You want me to stand?” I asked. Without answering me, Carlton turned and walked straight through my locked door. I got up quickly and rushed to the door. Unlocking it, I pulled it open hastily and found Carlton standing just on the other side, staring at me as if he could see through the door. I jumped, but prevented myself from screaming.

Carlton turned around and walked down the hallway to the staircase. It was strange to watch him walk; his feet almost didn’t touch the floor, as if he was walking through a pool of neck-high water. Picking up on his urgency, I followed him through the hallway and down the stairs.

When Carlton stepped into the basement, I grew wary about following him any further. I had heard some stories that ghosts gained power when they were in the places they were killed. What if he wanted to kill me? My curiosity outweighed my caution, and I entered my basement.

With no hesitation, Carlton walked straight through the basement to the wooden staircase on which he was killed. He stopped right next to it and gestured for me to stand at the base of the first step. I did.

Carlton pointed to the third and fourth steps, and then gestured toward the ceiling.

“Am I supposed to…what, lift them up, or something?” I asked, confused. Carlton nodded.

I felt stupid doing it, but I tried anyway. To my surprise, as I pulled up on the third and fourth steps to the wooden staircase, they shifted slightly. I looked over at Carlton, who nodded stoically. I gulped, realizing that my mouth was uncomfortably dry. I fixed my grip on the steps and pulled up again. This time, they came off of the staircase in one piece with a loud scraping sound.

I knew that sound. I knew it so well. I heard it coming from my basement every night.

I looked inside of the hole made from the lack of the third and fourth steps, but I couldn’t see anything. “Hold on,” I said to Carlton. “Let me go and get my flashlight.”

I dashed up the stairs, grabbed the flashlight from the kitchen table, and ran back down. Carlton was still standing in the exact same place he had been before I left. He pointed inside the hole. I knelt down and shone my flashlight through the stairs.

Inside, I saw a body. A dead body. I gagged and dropped the flashlight. It fell to the floor where it flickered and resumed its regular glow. Forcing myself to control my reflexes, I picked up the flashlight and aimed it at the body. It was a man’s body, and I saw the face clearly. I felt like my entire body was paralyzed. I knew that face.

I called the police immediately, and they were there within fifteen minutes. They investigated my entire house from top to bottom. They even searched the attic.

The sergeant, Dale Turner, asked me to give him a statement, so I told him exactly what happened.

“I woke up at 3:00, and there was a ghost at the end of my bed,” I said. I didn’t care if I sounded crazy. “He led me down the stairs and into the basement, where he showed me how to lift up these steps. So I did, and I found his body.”

“You found whose body?” Sergeant Turner asked. “The, uh… ‘ghost’s’?”

“Yes, it was the body of Carlton Mueller,” I told him. “I think his spirit’s been trying to communicate with me for a while. I’ve been seeing his ghost around my house for the past month, now.”

“Did you say ‘month’?” the sergeant inquired.

“Yeah, I first saw him on July 29. Ever since then, he kept showing up.”

“Mr. Hunter,” Sergeant Turner said quietly, “This man that you found…we’ve been looking for him for about two months now, but…he’s only been dead for a couple of days.”

Credit To – Christopher Gideon

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76 thoughts on “The Staircase”

  1. …Carlton, the ghost borrowed the dead man’s face to haunt the author. It could be that the dead man is hiding under the staircase and was looking for something in the house when the author is asleep. Seems like the ghost is haunting the author so he will always keep his bedroom door locked. The man died due to the fumigation and Carlton showed him where the corpse is.

    I really like the concept of this story. Can be made in to a short film. Let’s see.

  2. Hopefully the author makes a part two to clear things up. I don’t agree that it was confusing. I think it’s mystery!:P

  3. It was a very good story, and I really enjoyed it, it was like a movie in my head but what I don’t understand is how he’s only been dead for a few days when the narrator found out he had been killed on the stairs a year ago? Perhaps I just didn’t understand it properly, but it didn’t make sense to me.

  4. AMAZING STORY WITH A SLIGHTLY CONFUSING ENDING THAT WAS EASILY EXPLAINED BY THE COMMENTS

    I WISH I COULD DO A 9.5/10 BUT I CANT SO I’LL JUST DO 10/10

    I love it.

  5. I think that for two months a man had been squatting in the guys house, the narrator wanted it to be carlton so he believed it was but in actual fact it was just a nprmal man who prob had mental problems. He was seeing a real man, not a ghost. The man was hiding/ living under the floor boards either for comfort or to not get caught. When the house was fumigated it killed him. So on that last night the narrator actually saw the dead mans ghost. Hence why it was the only time it could go through doors.

  6. Forget that! I hope he went home to his ghost mama, cried ghost tears, ate a whole gallon of ghost ice cream, and ended up losing his ghost leg to ghost diabetes

    Yep one of the best part. Made me want to say “We get it, you’re a ghost!” Made me remember that with my own diabetes that if I eat a whole gallon of ice cream that I will probably losemy leg. Either way wonderful story. Keep up the good work my friend.

  7. LOVE IT! The was a very slight predictability about halfway through, but the author does an impeccable job of covering his tracks. Great premise and brilliant plot twist.

  8. The perfect place for a murder…. Hmmm. Maybe the body in the staircase, was a murderer who hid in this perfect house for a murder and slept in the staircase every night and got fumed to death in his sleep?

  9. i think someone should talk to the author ans get them to explain the story. it was really good, but the ending was confusing and deserves an explanation.

    9/10, though. it was a really good pasta and was a good read.

    keep it up >w<

  10. i think, “carlton” wasnt really a ghost but a faded memory of the narrators. & because of his brain damage he didnt know that he had him as a prisoner. so when he could see carlton as a ghost it was just his memory trying to jog itself to lead him to the actual person. so in the end when his house gets fumagated when carlton dies he can actually interact & show him where to go instead of just standing there & watching him. but this pasta really freaked me out, im sitting with my granny right now because i dont wanna be alone in my room, lol.

  11. Love it! I think the ending makes sense, the protagonist suffers from head trauma for 2 months now and cant remember much from his past unless he sees or meets someone that he might recognize (hint fishing with Jerry), so I think the protagonist might have been obsessed with the supernatural before, and probably knew about the murder before the car crash, sooo he probably trapped a guy under the stairs and after the crash forgot about it, Carlton saw what was going on and tried to help the trapped man, which is why he hated the protagonist at first, but as time passed Carlton realizes the protagonist doesn’t even remember what he has done so he goes ahead and shows him, this time just feeling sad and less hateful. Also trapped guy must have died from the fumes. ))

    1. I agree. Took me a bit. In the beginning the protagonist takes a lot of interest in the staircase and looks over it carefully. ” I spent my entire first night here examining that staircase. It’s actually very interesting…”.”
      And the only reason for including the brain damage would be to hint at the possibility of memory loss making his “version” of the truth questionable.

  12. Only one problem, if it was Tyler, Carlton was killed a year previously, and another couple lived in the house after, and the stairs were rotten and he fell through while sleepwalking. Tyler would not of been able to hide, and it does not make much sense to return to the seen of a murder you committed a year previously, after being on the run for ten months, and officers only say for 2.

    Anyway, apart from this, I enjoyed it.

  13. This story is definitely a 9.5/10! I think I literally fell in love with the protagonist, but the ending was a bit confusing. Carlton was haunting the house before he even died?

  14. i guess that the ghost is not a ghost. he is alive and just faked his death. but unfortunately, that fumigation turn him to be real ghost. (it killed him)

  15. Great read! The narrative technique worked really well in my opinion. From my point of view I thought of Carlton as being someone else who inhabited the basement and hid in the stairs, not the man who died previously. Also I take it the fumigation was what killed the man acting as the spirit of Carlton. Anyway great pasta, and I like how it gives readers a chance to perceive different endings, 9+

  16. I think I know what happened, it’s similar to a story that cry read (holes just in case any one was wondering) where someone was living in this guys house, he assumed it was Carlton, who I’m assuming was just someone who died in the house and the “psychic” researched the house before arriving. The man was probably some sicko who liked watching this guy sleep, he could only get in when the door was unlocked. The noises he heard was the guy exiting and entering his “home” under the stairs. When the house was fumigated he didn’t know to leave and was poisoned, his ghost finally gave away his position. Or I could be completely wrong, feel free to quote and change my theory.

  17. so like what? maybe carlton wasn’t killed or maybe there was a good reason that he was killed. maybe carlton was a killer in life and he had taken another victim? 9/10 stars

  18. From what I can tell the man under the stairs was not Carlton at all but someone hiding out from the police and only thought to be Carlton by the narrator.

  19. OKAY EVERYONE MAY I EXPLAIN WHAT MAKES A LOT MORE SENSE FOR THE ENDING? So basically the “ghost” in the beginning could only go through unlocked doors, right? And this guy was missing for months but only dead for a few days and what was the sound the narrator heard throughout? The boards moving. So this guy Carlton was hiding under the guys stairs and came out at night and messed with the place so he’d think it was a ghost. Then the exterminator fumigates the house and Carlton dies. As it’s only afterwards that his ghost can go through doors. Does that make sense?

  20. Hahah~ I get it, Carlton was the guy who murdered the guy in the house before, so when the police were looking for him he hid in the staircase. Ever since then the narrator moved in Carlton would go and move stuff around in the narrators house and try to scare him out, Carlton though was later on killed by the fumigation.
    SMART MODERN-CHAN STRIKES AGAIN XD

  21. Basically a scoobydoo story. Guy pretends he’s a ghost so he can search around the house for something, maybe money, and to scare anybody else who comes into the house away. Then he dies because he’s an idiot and was in there when the house was fumigated, and then he was a real ghost.

  22. My thoughts are that the noises he heard, that we learn was the staircase moving, was the sounds of Carlton Mueller leaving the staircase and showing himself to the narrator. I think he was alive and was simply stalking the narrator but then the narrator fumed the house and it killed the stalker.
    But maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know.

  23. I loved it!! But if the guy in the house was that Tyler Frank guy and not Carlton, the only thing the story lacked was just one small sentence to indicate the killer was never found. That would’ve tied everything loose, unless it was the writer’s intention to keep that a mystery. Still, really good.

  24. Loved this story. It was a little confusing and I’m conflicted between two theories. What I initially thought was that Carlton never died (which if that’s the case the author should add in the beginning that Carlton was suspected of being murdered but the body was never found or something along those lines) and it was he who sneaked out every night, and playing along with the rumor he was dead, pretended to be a ghost to try and scare the narrator out of the house. After he died for real from the fumigation, the cops mentioned they’d been looking for him, maybe looking for his corpse.

    After reading the comments however, I like the theory that this is Tyler Frank (Carlton’s killer) and that he’s been hiding under the stairs, pretending to be Carlton’s ghost, and scaring people out of the house so he can stay hidden there. That would also explain why the police were looking for him. Either way, great story. 10/10, was very creepy.

  25. Anon54:
    This left me very confused… Can someone please explain?

    I think “the ghost ” was actually alive until the end were maybe the stairs fell on his head when he tried to get out

  26. Utopianonawa: I was totally thinking the same thing.. But then why would the ghost look exactly like the dead guy? The ghost is the dead guy, but the guy wasn’t dead until a couple of days ago.. Very confusing. I even thought maybe the guy was trapped the whole time and by will power astral projecting to try to get help from the main character. But he wouldn’t have survived 2 months without water. Lol I really loved the story. I gave it a 10/10. But you have to admit the twist makes it not really make any sense

    Probably because the main character was obessessed with Carton that he projected the image of Carton on his victim’s ghost, since he had a brain injury 0_0 that’s what I think it went. Or another theory, Carton knew that the main character hid someone under the same area where Carton died and tried to make the main character remember so there would be a slight chance where the main character would flip not and try to save the victim, even tho he was the one who put him in there O_O.

  27. Heh. 4/10. Not very good. I have no idea what happened at the end. The pasta ended with a major dud. Just nothing there to be shocked or care about. Not scary at all. Not very interesting. Journal entries are awful long for someone who whines ceaselessly about doing them. Not a lot in this story makes sense. Just…not well done. I am perplexed by the amount of praise its receiving. This hot mess of a story could be so much better. Keep reading and writing.

  28. So it says he died a year ago, but then at the ending it makes a theory that he was never dead. He could have possibly been stuck down there. But on another not how was there a ghost before his death. So the guy died twice but already had one death. I now think he did get murdered but had a twin brother who had been stuck in the basement. So his ghost brother was trying to save him. Explaining why he was so sad because of his death.

  29. If Carlton only died a few days before 1 Sep 2010, then who was the mentioned man who was murdered 1 year ago in that house before James Hunter moved in?

    My guess: Before the car crash, James was the guy who supposedly killed Carlton (but he didn’t die & hid in the house for a year)?

  30. Guy who does not enjoy poems

    This pasta is confusing but I think I figured it out:

    The psychic was a fake. She did a hot reading on the house (i.e. she did research on it before doing the reading). That’s how she found out about Carlton. The (not)ghost wasn’t Carlton, it was just some creepy guy who was living under the stairs. When the narrator first saw him, he’d been walking around the house, maybe en route to the bathroom, thinking that the narrator was asleep. Narrator sees him, he thinks Oh shit, I’ve been caught. But instead of reacting like someone with a strange intruder in their home, narrator asks, “Are you Carlton?” Well what a golden opportunity. What’s he going to say? “No, I’m not Carlton, I’m just the man who lives under your stairs.”? Not likely. Then he figures, since narrator thinks he’s a ghost, he might as well watch narrator sleep and move all the furniture around just for fun or whatever. Then of course he died during the fumigation. The real Carlton never actually made an appearance in the story.

    I tend to see the moral of the story as being cautionary against supernatural thinking, even though in the end ghosts turned out to be real after all. I give it a 9, partly for making me think.

  31. I’m pretty sure the guy wasn’t dead at all, just some dude living in his house. He would sneak out of the space under the stairs every night to eat and whatever and the narrator wasn’t actually seeing a ghost, he was seeing this living dude. But then he died during the fumigation and his ghost visited the narrator (Which is why he suddenly could get past the locked door and he looked different) to help the cops find his body before it started to smell. Carlton actually doesn’t play a part in the story he’s just someone that died.

  32. I actually expected early on that what the narrator believed to be the ghost of Carlton was really Tyler, and that he would eventually try to murder him as well. From my interpretation of the story the narrator thought he saw Carlton’s ghost when actually he was seeing the man who murdered him (who was not a ghost and was living under the stairs) but when the house was fumigated the man died, meaning that he was actually a ghost the final time he visited. The reason the police were looking for him was because he murdered Carlton. I could be wrong but that’s how I understand it. 9/10

  33. Scrotie McDickenass

    Extremely well done thumbs up. I think its funny all the people on here are talking about Carlton and how awesome he was even though he was a red herring pretty much. At least that’s what I gathered. What I don’t understand is why the guy in the stairs didn’t kill the protagonist sooner maybe he got some sick pleasure out of fucking with the guy.

  34. It sounds like a real live person not a ghost was standing in his bedroom with hate full eyes and when he came back he was dead and it was the ghost beside his bed

  35. This is a good story, but the ending? Im thinking that the ghost of Carlton killed the guy in the stairs. But that makes no sense. Anyway. It was good but very confusing.

  36. Ok…I’m confused. At one point I was thinking he put the guy there or something and then didn’t remember because of the brain damage. Cause the guy had been missing for two months..which was the same time he lost his memory. But…then the whole thing about fishing with Jerry on the 19th? I dunno…a good read though. I liked it.

  37. Tariq R.:
    The narrative voice was so entertaining. Instant 8/8 based on writing style alone.

    If I’m correct, then the guy was there all along, for the past two months, trying to get out by squeaking the floor, and Carlton (the ghost of the guy who was murdered here) tried to get the narrator to do something, but because of the fumigation that guy died. Genius. 2/2 on creepy factor.

    10/10 overall.

    I was totally thinking the same thing.. But then why would the ghost look exactly like the dead guy? The ghost is the dead guy, but the guy wasn’t dead until a couple of days ago.. Very confusing. I even thought maybe the guy was trapped the whole time and by will power astral projecting to try to get help from the main character. But he wouldn’t have survived 2 months without water. Lol I really loved the story. I gave it a 10/10. But you have to admit the twist makes it not really make any sense

  38. Alright, so I believe the narrator was holding this guy prisoner for a month before his brain injury- he was obsessed with this Carlton Mueller guy who died there a year before, or something, and was maybe trying to get in touch with the paranormal in his own perverted way? That would explain why the first thing he writes about after this car accident is this supposed ghost in his house. And I think the ghost of the actual Carlton Mueller was enraged at first, but then just seemed sad because he realised the narrator genuinely didn’t know what he was doing.

    Excellent story, as others have said.

  39. Favorite part of the entire story

    “Forget that! I hope he went home to his ghost mama, cried ghost tears, ate a whole gallon of ghost ice cream, and ended up losing his ghost leg to ghost diabetes.”

    Fantastic pasta!

  40. So…. Right after I finished reading this story my i hear my furniture moving around and I’m the only one home…

  41. I liked this, if it was a bit predictable. The fact that “Carlton” only entered the room when it was unlocked was a good hint. I did really like the narration style, though I feel the narrator’s antagonism for the diary fluctuated quite a bit. They were long entries with lots of detail for someone so offended by diary entries. That’s a minor quibble, though. I like the story, and think it’s a classic plot, but given a new perspective here. The fumigation was a nice twist. I think I would like it more if I hadn’t figured it out so soon, but at the same time I really enjoyed the hints and progression. I would be interested to learn who the person living in the house was. Just a random guy who took up residence? Why are the police looking for him? And why wouldn’t he speak? A few more final details would really give a bit more impact to the ending scene. Thanks for an engaging and entertaining pasta! I really enjoyed reading this, and happy writing!

  42. The ending just doesn’t make sense, at the beginning it says carlton was killed a year before he moved in. So the man under the stairs who police were looking for and had been dead for only a few days must be someone else. But who? It just doesn’t make sense if it is just a random person.

    1. It also does not make sense why a guy suspected of brain damage and whose sanity is questionable could not figure to set a camera somewhere in the house to record how furniture moves itself or gets moved by the ghost or maybe an uninvited visitor.

      1. Why would he set up camera? How come thats logical for you to think that just because he possibly has brain damage that he would even think to set up a camera? That doesn’t make sense. He was into the paranormal and enjoyed these things so maybe that would drive him to set up a camera if anything. Maybe he couldn’t afford one. But we wouldn’t know.

  43. The narrative voice was so entertaining. Instant 8/8 based on writing style alone.

    If I’m correct, then the guy was there all along, for the past two months, trying to get out by squeaking the floor, and Carlton (the ghost of the guy who was murdered here) tried to get the narrator to do something, but because of the fumigation that guy died. Genius. 2/2 on creepy factor.

    10/10 overall.

    1. So that means that the guy whose body the narrator found must have looked a bit like Carlton.

      “You found whose body?” Sergeant Turner asked. “The, uh… ‘ghost’s’?”
      “Yes, it was the body of Carlton Mueller,” I told him.

      It would be amazing if the body could have belonged to Carlton’s brother … but that would complicate the story a bit :/
      Confusing ending … but otherwise an amazing story … 9/10

      1. I don’t free with the brother part that would’ve been a bit ridiculous and expected… but it makes sense when you pointed that out about what the Sargent said! Thanks. Carlton probably killed him and that’s why he was all angry and is then the final sad ghost was the guy? Hopefully the author will make a part two exposing the mystery. They didn’t give a name so who knows…

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