Jingkids Creative Writing Contest Entry: No One There?

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Thank you to those who have submitted their Horror Stories for the Jingkids Creative Writing Contest! If you have a story or poem to share, you can still send it to us before Oct 28. The winners of our contest will receive a gift certificate worth RMB 998 to the fabulous afternoon tea at Beijing's 5-star hotel the Rosewood, as well as one-of-a-kind Halloween pastries worth over RMB300 from our generous sponsor Comptoirs de France.

Take a look at the amazing Chocolate Pumpkin (available in large (RMB 218) and medium (RMB 98) sizes), Halloween Chocolate Witch (RMB 118) and Clown (RMB 158), as well as their Halloween cookies (individual price RMB 16, pack of 6 for RMB 88), and more in this video!

No One There?

by Jaydon Khaira Chieng Jun (Age 12)

Someone was following him. He descended the flight of stairs into the dimly lit basement and quickened his pace. There were footsteps in the distance, gradually getting louder. He turned around, nervous. No one was there. He felt a cold wind sweep by him like someone was whispering the frosty air by his ears. A shivering chill went down his spine, and goosebumps spread over his skin. He broke into a sprint. He jumped in his car and hit the gas. He had been feeling like this ever since he moved into his new house four days ago.

When he reached home, he drove into the already open garage. It was raining heavily. He carefully stepped out of the car and looked upwards expectantly. When there was no response, he jumped around. Still no response. He sighed and headed for the light switch. The newly installed bulbs had motion sensors along with them, but it seemed they weren’t working. He flicked the light switch. On. Off. On. No response. Must be a blackout. The rain was quite heavy. He took his phone out and turned the flashlight on. A bright light lit up part of the garage, blinding him for a second before he angled it away from him. At that moment, he thought he saw a silhouette in the corner of his eyes. He turned around. No one was there.

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As he rushed into the house, the door closed with a loud SLAM! He instinctively jumped and turned around. No one was there. Must be the wind, he thought. He touched the cracked, uneven walls of his house. The house had been bought for a cheap price at an auction, and it had been abandoned for at least five years. It also had a garden and a large oak tree. But the house had a dark history. Rumor had it that the owner filed for bankruptcy after his business failed and his wife had left him, which led many to believe the house was unlucky. He was not superstitious about such things, so it didn’t bother him.

He rummaged through some of the unpacked boxes laid randomly on the floor. He pulled out a cup of instant noodles and filled it with hot water. He grabbed a spoonful of noodles and stuffed them in his mouth, famished. Chewing the noodles, he spits them out all of a sudden. Since when did noodles have the texture of hair? Is it expired? He mumbled to himself in annoyance.

He heard footsteps coming from the attic. Sneaky rats. I’m calling pest control tomorrow he thought to himself. He ignored it, until he heard a BANG! He grabbed his phone and hurriedly rushed up into the attic. The window was ajar and there lay a painting of what he believed to be the couple who previously lived in the house on the floor. He quickly closed the window, and a rat scurried out of seemingly nowhere, startling him and making him drop his phone. Regaining his composure, he picked up the phone, only to see a shadowy figure at the corner of his eye. He turned around, but there was no one there.

I really need to relax, he thought. He took a cold shower. Lying in his bed, he began scrolling on TikTok. He was unexpectedly directed to a documentary about haunted houses. He was intrigued and watched it. He laughed it off. There are no such things as ghosts. These people sure have wild imaginations. Not long into the documentary, he began to doze off.

Suddenly, a cold tingling sensation went down his spine. He felt someone grabbing his neck. He looked up and saw a ghostly figure looking down back at him. Their eyes had a pleading look as if they were asking for help. He was jolted awake, and he flung his arms around frantically. He tried to scream but no words came out of his mouth. His heart was palpitating at the speed of light, his face was as pale as a human’s could be and looking around. No one was there. Must be because of the scary documentary, he thought, wiping the sweat off his brow and going back to bed. Can’t believe I’m the one with the wild imagination now, he thought, chuckling.

The next day came. He woke up, body aching, and headed downstairs. The moment he walked to the kitchen, an unfamiliar object entered his peripheral vision. He turned his head around towards the garden, where he saw a figure sitting by the oak tree. Furiously, he stomped out of the kitchen into the garden. “THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” The person didn’t respond, as if they didn’t hear anything. As he got near the tree, the figure, which from close up he recognized to be a woman began crying, clutching her head. Goosebumps spread across his skin. Looking closer, he recognized the woman as the woman in the painting, the wife of the previous owner of the house.

He toned his voice back and asked, “Do you need help?” Still more crying ensued. Writhing in pain, she wailed, “My head! My head! Stop stepping on my head!” Looking confused, he looked around him, before setting his gaze on the ground. The dirt was uneven and moist as if something was buried there. However, the heavy rain last night caused some of the dirt to clear. He kicked the dirt around him. Below him, a brown skull with a misaligned jaw stared right back up at him. “AHHH!” he screamed, frantically jumping back. He looked back up at the woman, but she was gone.

He felt like fainting and the world around him was spinning. He rushed into the house and picked up his phone, hands jittering. He tried to call the police, but before he could, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. A menacing whisper came from behind his ears. “You were never supposed to be here.” His vision faded into darkness, and he slumped lifelessly onto the ground.

Images: Pexels

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