The Locked Door

 
Every summer, I used to visit my aunt, Jane. She lived in a huge, old,
wooden house, which stood lonely on a high hill, and which looked uninhabitable.
Aunt Jane was an old widow, who was living there only with the servant named
Nancy. My cousin Emma and uncle Thomas died 4 years ago, when I was 11. My
mom once said to me, "The story of their death was rather terrible and creepy".
 
It was June of 1995 and I was 15 when I was visiting my aunt. As usual,
Nancy was waiting for me in the railway station. The weather was horrible, and
lightning flashes were crossing the sky which was wholly covered by dark clouds.
It was also dull and foggy. Eventually, we arrived at almost midnight. Aunt Jane
was waiting for us. I hugged her and we talked for a while. Then, I decided to hit
the sack, therefore, I said, “good night” and went upstairs.
 
When I was walking through the corridor, I heard the door shut behind
me, and at that single moment, the lights went out. Suddenly, I started hearing
footsteps, so in panic, I determined to dash to my room as quick as possible. I
opened my door and immediately closed it with latchkey just to put my mind at
ease. I struggled in the terrifying darkness to find some candles which I finally
found them, and lit one of them. When I looked around the room, everything was
just as usual and it made me feel comfortable.
 
The next day, I told my aunt about this peculiar event, and I was quite
astonished when she said, "Really? Oh, it must be just a dream! Don't keep that in
mind!". Then, I perceived that, "she must be concealing something and I will find
out what it is." One day, I was alone in the house, and it was a great opportunity
to ransack the house. I made up my mind to start with the locked room of Emma.
I attempted to make the door opened, but it didn't even budge. Therefore, I rifled
through the entire house in order to find the room key, which I eventually found
in the kitchen with a piece of paper on which written," Do not use it!". I was so
excited that I just went straight to Emma's looked door. As soon as I stashed the
key to keyhole, the door creaked open.
 
In that moment, a terrifying view unfolded itself in front my eyes. In the
middle of the room was standing a small coffin which was surrounded by the
various flowers. All the windows were curtained by a long and dark shades which
was impervious to sunlight. I took one step forward and saw that the coffin was
disclosed. I was extremely petrified and my whole body was shivering with
genuine fear. Then, I noticed a white human shape right in front of me! It began
to approach me and I couldn’t even move. Out of the blue, the phantom said,
"Don't be afraid, Mary! it's me, Emma! I couldn't believe what I had heard. "You
must help me!" she begged me. I was so shocked that I wasn't able to say
anything. After a couple of seconds, I lost my consciousness.
 
When I came to, I was lying on my bed. I looked at the clock and it was
10 a.m. the next day. Everything seemed to be normal, so I made up my mind not
to tell anyone about what had occurred yesterday. All of a sudden, I heard a
knock on my door and it opened. I was frightened, but it was just my aunt
entering the room and asked me, "Would you like to have breakfast, my
darling?". "Yes, I'll go down right away" I responded.
 
During the meal, I asked, "Where did you find me last evening? I didn't
recognize what had happened." Aunt Jane lifted my eyes up to me and said
without emotion, "In Emma's room!" Then, there was a dead silence. At last, she
said," You don't realize what you've done. You released a bad ghost! I kept the
door locked for 4 years in order to protect myself and others". I abruptly asked,
"Why?". She continued, "It is Emma or it would be better to say her ghost. It all
started when she began to behave strangely and later, she was diagnosed that
she was a mental patient. Emma was so sick and consequently went mad and
died."
 
Aunt also added that, "Before Emma passed away, she asked a promise
to not bury her body. However, we made a decision to bury her in the graveyard
and attempted it. We couldn't make it since her soul became to haunt in the
whole house." "She even made her father commit suicide, so I had to put her
corpse in her room, and had to lock the door. Then, I promised myself not to open
the door again," Aunt concluded. After the conversation, we went for a long walk.
 
A few days later, I promised my aunt to come back here next year, and
then I went back my home. After a month, I received a letter in which was written,
"Aunt Jane passed away a week ago!"

"It was my fault. I released a bad ghost,” I thought.

Reference:
 
 
 https://sciaga.pl/tekst/45916-46-the_locked_door
 

Retold by Paing Khant Kyaw

January 4, 2022.
 The Locked Door (Condensed)

Every summer, I used to visit my aunt, Jane, who lived in a huge, old
wooden house. She was an old widow, who was living there only with a servant.
My cousin Emma and uncle Thomas died 4 years ago, when I was 11. It was June
of 1995 and I was 15 when I was visiting my aunt. At one night during my visit to
her, I heard the door open behind me and footsteps following me. When I looked
back in fear, everything was just normal.
 
The next day, I told my aunt about this event, and I was astonished
when she said, "Really? Oh, it must be just a dream!". Then, I perceived that, "she
must be concealing something and I will find out what it is." One day, I was alone
in the house, and it was a great opportunity to ransack the house. I made up my
mind to start with the locked room of Emma. I attempted to make the door open,
but it didn't even budge. Therefore, I rifled through the entire house in order to
find the room key, which I eventually found in the kitchen. As soon as I stashed
the key to keyhole, the door creaked open.
 
In that moment, a terrifying view unfolded itself in front my eyes. In the
middle of the room was a small coffin, surrounded by the various flowers. I took
one step forward and saw that the coffin was disclosed. I was extremely petrified.
Then, I noticed a white human shape right in front of me! It began to approach
me and I couldn’t even move. Out of the blue, the phantom said, "Don't be afraid,
Mary! it's me, Emma! "You must help me!" she begged me. I was so shocked that
I lost my consciousness.
 
 When I came to, I was lying on my bed and it was 9 a.m. the next day.
During the meal, I asked, "Where did you find me last evening?" Aunt Jane said
without emotion, "In Emma's room!" You don't realize what you've done. You
released a bad ghost! I kept the door locked for 4 years in order to protect myself
and others". I abruptly asked, "Why?". She continued, "It is Emma or it would be
better to say her ghost. It all started when she began to behave strangely and
later, she was diagnosed that she was a mental patient. Emma was so sick and
consequently went mad and died."
 
 Aunt also added that, "Before Emma passed away, she asked a promise
not to bury her body. However, when we attempted to bury her, her soul became
to haunt in the whole house." "She even made her father commit suicide, so I
had to put her corpse in her room, and had to lock the door. Then, I promised
myself not to open the door again," Aunt concluded.
 
A few days later, I went back my home. After a month, I received a
letter in which was written, "Aunt Jane passed away a week ago!"

"It was my fault. I released a bad ghost,” I thought.