The Doll House
It was a particular doll, sitting alone on a shelf at the far end of the room, that caught my eye.
In the quiet, snow-dusted town where I live, nestled at the end of a cobblestone street in Canada, there stands an old dollhouse shop. Its windows are always fogged, and the door creaks on its hinges like a whisper from the past. I'd always been drawn to it, inexplicably so. Curiosity got the better of me one frosty evening, and I pushed open the heavy wooden door, the bell above jingling a haunting welcome.
The air inside was thick with the scent of aged wood and lavender. Rows upon rows of glassy-eyed dolls stared from their perches, each one more intricate than the last. But it was a particular doll, sitting alone on a shelf at the far end of the room, that caught my eye. She was beautiful in a haunting way, with porcelain skin, jet-black hair, and eyes that seemed to flicker with life. Her dress was a vintage lace that whispered of bygone eras. Compelled by an unseen force, I bought her, ignoring the shopkeeper's knowing smile.
That night, the air in my home felt heavier, charged with an electric anticipation. I placed the doll on my mantle, where she could watch over the living room. Sleep, however, eluded me. The house creaked and groaned more than usual as if adjusting to the presence of its new occupant.
The next morning, I found her on the kitchen table, not where I had left her. I rationalized it away, blaming my forgetfulness. But as days passed, odd occurrences became impossible to ignore. Doors would slam shut, footsteps echoed in empty halls, and cold whispers filled the night air, leaving me to toss and turn, with the doll's face haunting my dreams.
Then, one night, I woke to find the doll sitting at the foot of my bed, her glassy eyes gleaming in the moonlight. A cold dread filled me, paralyzing and deep. "It's time to play," a voice whispered, not from the doll, but from the shadows themselves.
Panic took hold as I fled my room, the house alive with laughter that wasn't quite human. The once familiar halls twisted into unfamiliar mazes, leading me in circles until I collapsed, breathless and defeated.
Morning light eventually found me, huddled in a corner, the doll nowhere in sight. I scoured the house, but she was gone as if she had never been there at all. Relief washed over me in an uneasy wave. I convinced myself it had been a nightmare, a trick of the mind spurred by the doll's unsettling visage.
But news soon spread through the town of strange happenings in the homes of others who had visited the dollhouse shop. Items moved, shadows danced, and laughter filled the night, leaving a trail of fear in its wake.
The shop at the end of the street closed not long after, the sign removed, and the windows boarded up. But the doll, my doll, was never seen again. Some nights, when the wind howls just right and the moon casts long shadows through my windows, I can hear her whisper, "It's time to play," a chilling reminder of the horror that once lived within my home.
And so, the doll haunts us, not bound to one place but to the very idea of her. She's a spectre of fear, moving unseen, leaving behind a trail of sleepless nights and wary glances over shoulders. The dollhouse shop may be gone, but the curse it harboured lingers, a ghost story that breathes and walks among us, always searching for a new home, a new game to play.
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