Mulberry House
An original flash fiction horror story
Nobody ever spends a night alone in the Mulberry House without losing something precious.
Stephanie laughed at everyone who shared that warning with her and cracked a joke about finding a room filled with missing wallets and jewelry. Some people took these urban legends far too seriously. The Mulberry House was no different than any old mansion in this part of San Cristobal.
She aimed to offer definitive proof of that fact.
Wood creaked under her feet as she climbed the stairs to the master bedroom. Dull light from antique candle holders lit the hall in a shadowy yellow hue. Spending the night with only a wireless power bank as her lone power source was inconvenient. Still, Stephanie was determined to tough it out for one night.
Her bet with Kayla was already as good as won. Plus, she'd knock out a cool debunking video to post to her YouTube channel along the way. Kayla would be eating crow in supersized portions by this time tomorrow.
The master bedroom was smaller than Stephanie imagined it'd be. When she turned the copper knob, the door swung open to reveal a cramped windowless room. A musty aroma greeted her nostrils. Multiple portraits adorned the walls. Shadows cloaked all the paintings. Outlines revealed people, but darkness mostly obscured details of their faces and clothing.
“I wonder who left all these paintings here.” Stephanie cast her eyes around the room. “Seems like a random thing to find in an abandoned mansion.”
Peeling wallpaper occupied the space surrounding each portrait. A random twin mattress lay directly on the floor against the wall opposite from the door. Two tattered wool blankets covered the top of the mattress. Stephanie hesitated to lift the blankets, internally cringing at what gross hidden stains her investigation might reveal.
“I'll sleep on top of the blankets, thank you very much.”
She spotted two more antique candle holders like the ones she saw in the hall and along the staircase. Stephanie drew a book of matches from her pocket and struck another match. Flames sprang to life on each wick. Both candles were tall and stout, so the flame should be fed for many hours.
A pale-yellow glow chased away shadows from nearby portraits. The light revealed people from a century before Stephanie’s time. One portrait showed a lady wearing a flapper girl dress and short bob. A neighboring portrait portrayed a man with glasses clad in a suit and vest with a visible gold chain connected to a pocket watch.
Stephanie studied the portraits with great interest. Who were these people? Perhaps these were the former owners of the Mulberry House. She read it was originally built in the 1890s by a millionaire who made their fortune in mining.
“This is kind of cool.” she said. “I need to get these paintings on video.”
Stephanie pulled out her smartphone and clicked on the flashlight app for additional lighting. When she centered the phone's camera lens on the flapper girl portrait, her heart raced faster.
The woman's face twisted from a slight smile into a grotesque toothy frown. Her eyes hardened into a wild angry stare better suited for a hungry cougar or wolf. Those eyes seemed to focus on Stephanie as though the woman followed her movements.
Stephanie shook her head and drew a deep breath to calm herself. Light and shadows were just playing tricks on her senses.
She swung the camera over to the neighboring portrait. Stephanie gasped and let out a whimper. The man in the glasses underwent dramatic changes from when she first laid eyes on him. His robust face had turned gaunt. Rotting flesh hung from his jaw and cheekbones. His eyes were partially rolled back in their sockets. Several teeth had fallen from his mouth which now hung agape.
“Are you seeing this?” Panic threaded through Stephanie’s voice as she spoke into her phone to her future audience. “These portraits are changing. What in the hell's going on in this room?”
“Mine!” a feathery voice hissed.
Stephanie screamed. A shadow swooped at her like a bird plunging to the ground. She dropped the phone and crossed her arms in front of her face. A strange dark chill passed through her entire body.
Stephanie opened her eyes again and blinked. She found herself standing inside a study, leaning against a chair. Her jeans and blouse had been replaced by a black short-sleeved knee-length dress with a white V-neck faux tie on her chest. Matching gloves adorned each hand. The outfit resembled what she saw on the flapper girl earlier.
Stephanie snapped her head to her left and her eyes fell on the flapper woman from the portrait. She stood on the other side of the chair with a blank expression. Her heart pounded.
“Thank you for bringing me such a generous gift.”
Those words sounded like they came from her even though Stephanie's lips never moved. She turned toward the direction of the voice.
The master bedroom of the Mulberry House lay before her. Daylight replaced darkness. A doppelganger of Stephanie stood inside the room staring back at her. Every detail identical down to the scar across her right thumb.
“It was my turn to leave,” the doppelganger said. “I waited far too long for this.”
They turned away and threw their hand toward the door. It flew open without fingers ever touching the knob. Stephanie stretched out her arm, but the limb quickly recoiled and bounced back. Her lips trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks.
The true meaning behind the warning about the Mulberry House proved much worse than she ever imagined.
Did you enjoy this terrifying tale? Share it with your family and friends and go check out my other short stories here at Strange New Worlds.
Don’t forget to get a copy of my horror stories Snow Dragon, Pandora Reborn, In Hell’s Shadow, and Hiding from Shadows — all are available at major booksellers worldwide.
Oh, this DID NOT go where I thought it would 😱
Your MM post just reminded me I meant to comment on this, John
Really enjoyed this creepy little story which proves, once and for all, that if you mess around with the macabre, then the joke will always, inevitably end up on you. The idea of the doppelgänger taking over the body was a really nice way to end it too 👍🏼