🐈 Chapter One – The Cat That Came Every Night
Everybody in Ashwood Street knew the old white house.
Nobody wanted to go near it.
Not in the day.
And never at night.
People said the house had been empty for almost forty years.
The old owner died there.
After that...
No family stayed there for more than one week.
Some ran away.
Some disappeared.
Others refused to talk about what they saw inside.
The only thing everyone agreed on...
Was the black cat.
Every single night...
The same black cat walked out of the house.
It never ran.
It never meowed.
It only walked slowly down the road.
Looking straight ahead.
Like it knew exactly where it was going.
Nobody dared to stop it.
Nobody dared to follow it.
One cold evening...
A young writer named Daniel moved into the small house opposite the old building.
He did not believe ghost stories.
He laughed whenever people talked about haunted houses.
"Old stories are just stories," he always said.
The neighbours only smiled.
One old woman looked at him and quietly said,
"Just don't follow the black cat."
Daniel laughed.
"A cat?"
"You're all scared of a cat?"
The old woman walked away.
She did not answer.
That night...
Daniel sat by his window writing his next mystery book.
Rain gently hit the roof.
The street was quiet.
Then...
He heard footsteps.
Very soft.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
He looked outside.
There it was.
A black cat.
Its fur looked darker than the night.
Its eyes shined like small white lights.
But something else caught Daniel's attention.
The cat was carrying something in its mouth.
A white piece of lace.
It looked like part of a woman's dress.
The cat stopped in the middle of the road.
Slowly...
It turned its head.
It looked straight at Daniel.
Neither of them moved.
After a few seconds...
The cat slowly walked toward the old white house.
Daniel smiled.
"So that's the famous ghost cat."
He grabbed his flashlight.
He put on his jacket.
He quietly opened his front door.
Across the street...
The black cat was waiting.
It looked at him once.
Then it walked through the broken gate of the old house.
Daniel followed.
The gate closed behind him by itself.
BANG!
Daniel quickly turned around.
Nobody was there.
The street outside was empty.
The rain had suddenly stopped.
The whole place became strangely quiet.
Then...
From somewhere inside the house...
A woman's voice softly whispered,
"You finally came..."
🌙 End of Chapter One
🏚 Chapter Two – The Locked Upstairs Room
Daniel froze where he stood.
His heart started beating fast.
He quickly turned his flashlight toward the dark hallway.
Nothing.
Nobody was there.
Only dust floating in the air.
The old floor made small cracking sounds under his feet.
The smell inside the house was strange.
It smelled old.
Like nobody had opened the windows for many years.
The black cat was gone.
Daniel looked around.
The living room was covered with white cloth.
Old chairs.
Broken tables.
A fireplace full of black ashes.
Spider webs everywhere.
Yet...
Something did not feel right.
The place looked abandoned.
But it did not feel empty.
It felt like someone was standing behind him.
Watching him.
Daniel slowly looked over his shoulder.
Nothing.
He laughed nervously.
"I'm just scaring myself."
Then...
Meow.
A soft sound came from upstairs.
Daniel pointed the flashlight toward the staircase.
The black cat was sitting at the top.
Still holding the white lace.
It stared at him without blinking.
Then it turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Daniel had two choices.
Leave.
Or follow it.
Curiosity won.
He slowly climbed the stairs.
Each step made a loud cracking sound.
The air became colder.
Very cold.
Daniel rubbed his arms.
His breath started showing.
Like he was standing inside a freezer.
He reached the top.
There were four doors.
Three were open.
One was locked.
The black cat sat in front of the locked door.
It looked at Daniel.
Then it gently dropped the white lace on the floor.
Daniel picked it up.
It was soft.
Clean.
Not dusty.
Like someone had worn it that same day.
Daniel frowned.
"How is that possible?"
Suddenly...
He heard footsteps.
Inside the locked room.
Slow...
Heavy...
One step.
Another.
Daniel held his breath.
The footsteps stopped.
Then...
Three loud knocks came from the other side.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Daniel almost dropped the flashlight.
His hands started shaking.
He slowly placed his ear against the door.
At first...
Silence.
Then...
A little girl's voice whispered,
"Please..."
"Don't leave me..."
Daniel stepped back in fear.
The black cat suddenly hissed.
Not at the door.
At the hallway behind Daniel.
Daniel slowly turned around.
The hallway was empty.
But...
At the far end...
He saw someone standing there.
A tall woman.
Dressed completely in white.
Her face could not be seen.
Her long hair covered everything.
She did not move.
She simply stood there.
Looking at him.
Daniel blinked.
She was gone.
The hallway was empty again.
Daniel quickly looked back at the locked door.
The black cat had disappeared.
Only the white lace remained on the floor.
Then...
The locked door slowly started opening by itself.
Very...
Very...
Slowly.
Daniel raised his flashlight.
The room inside was completely dark.
But two glowing eyes suddenly opened in the darkness.
🌙 End of Chapter Two
🌑 Chapter Three – The Girl Behind the Door
Daniel could not move.
The two glowing eyes stayed inside the dark room.
They did not blink.
They only watched him.
His hands were shaking so badly that the flashlight almost slipped away.
He wanted to run.
But his feet refused.
Slowly...
The eyes moved closer.
One step.
Another.
The darkness inside the room slowly pulled back.
Daniel finally saw who it was.
It was not a monster.
It was a little girl.
She looked about ten years old.
She wore an old white dress.
The same white lace the cat had been carrying was missing from one side of her dress.
Her face looked pale.
Very pale.
But her eyes...
They glowed like little lamps.
She smiled.
Not a scary smile.
A sad one.
"You came."
Daniel swallowed.
"Who... who are you?"
The little girl looked down.
She softly held her dress.
"My name is Emily."
Daniel looked around the room.
It was strange.
Everything inside looked clean.
There was no dust.
No spider webs.
A small bed stood near the window.
Old dolls sat neatly on a wooden chair.
A music box rested on a table.
Everything looked like someone had just left.
Emily looked at Daniel again.
"Please help me."
Daniel slowly stepped inside.
The moment he crossed the doorway...
The door slammed shut.
BANG!
Daniel jumped.
He rushed to the handle.
It would not open.
He pulled harder.
Nothing.
Emily did not move.
She simply watched him.
"It always locks."
Daniel looked back.
"What do you mean always?"
Emily walked to the window.
She looked outside.
"I've been here for a very long time."
Daniel frowned.
"Where are your parents?"
Emily stayed quiet.
Then she whispered,
"They left."
"They never came back."
Daniel felt sorry for her.
He walked closer.
Then he noticed something strange.
Emily had no shadow.
The flashlight lit the whole room.
Every chair had a shadow.
Every toy had one.
But Emily...
Had none.
Daniel slowly stepped back.
Emily looked at him.
Her smile disappeared.
"You noticed."
Before Daniel could answer...
The music box suddenly started playing.
Nobody touched it.
Its old tune filled the room.
Emily slowly turned toward it.
Her face changed.
The sad little girl was gone.
Her eyes became completely black.
Her smile grew wider.
Much wider than any human smile.
Then she pointed behind Daniel.
"He's here."
Daniel slowly turned around.
Standing in the corner of the room...
Was the black cat.
But it was no longer the size of a normal cat.
It was as big as a tiger.
And its glowing eyes never left Daniel.
🌙 End of Chapter Three
👁 Chapter Four – The Cat That Wasn't a Cat
Daniel could not believe his eyes.
The black cat stood in the corner.
It was huge.
Almost as tall as him.
Its long tail slowly moved from side to side.
Its glowing eyes never blinked.
The room became colder.
Very cold.
Daniel slowly stepped backward.
The giant cat took one step forward.
Its claws scratched the wooden floor.
Scratch...
Scratch...
Scratch...
Emily stood beside it.
She was smiling again.
But this time...
Her smile looked wrong.
Very wrong.
"You should have stayed outside."
Daniel looked around.
The door was still locked.
The window would not open.
There was nowhere to run.
The giant cat slowly walked toward him.
Its eyes shined brighter.
Daniel picked up an old wooden chair.
He held it in front of him.
"Stay back!"
The cat stopped.
Then...
It laughed.
Not like a cat.
Like a man.
A deep, slow laugh.
Daniel felt his whole body freeze.
The chair slipped from his hands.
CRASH!
The sound echoed through the room.
Suddenly...
The music box stopped.
Everything became silent.
The giant cat lifted its head.
Like it had heard something.
Then...
Another voice came from downstairs.
A man's voice.
"Emily..."
"It's time."
Emily quickly looked toward the door.
The smile disappeared from her face.
She looked scared.
Very scared.
"You must hide."
Daniel frowned.
"Hide from who?"
Emily pointed toward the bed.
"Quick!"
Without thinking...
Daniel crawled under the old bed.
Dust covered his clothes.
He held his breath.
The bedroom door slowly opened.
Creeeeak...
Heavy footsteps entered the room.
Step...
Step...
Step...
Daniel could only see the stranger's shoes.
Old black boots.
Covered in mud.
The man stopped in front of Emily.
For a long moment...
Nobody spoke.
Then the stranger said,
"You spoke to him again."
Emily lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
The man sighed.
"You know the rule."
"No living person leaves this house."
Daniel's heart almost stopped.
He slowly looked toward the giant cat.
It was gone.
Only two glowing eyes remained...
Watching him from under the bed.
🌙 End of Chapter Four
⚰ Chapter Five – The Truth Behind the Strange House
Daniel stayed under the bed.
He did not breathe.
He did not move.
The glowing eyes were still there.
Watching him.
Waiting.
The old man's boots slowly walked across the room.
Step...
Step...
Step...
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.
He prayed the man would leave.
Instead...
The boots stopped right beside the bed.
Silence.
A long...
Heavy silence.
Then the old man spoke.
"You don't have to hide anymore."
Daniel did not answer.
His heart was beating so loudly he thought they could hear it.
The old man sighed.
"I know you're there."
Slowly...
Daniel crawled out.
He stood up carefully.
For the first time...
He saw the old man's face.
His hair was white.
His beard was long.
His eyes looked tired.
Very tired.
He did not look evil.
He looked...
Sad.
Emily quietly walked to his side.
She held his hand.
Daniel looked from one to the other.
"Who are you people?"
The old man looked around the room.
Then he spoke slowly.
"This house was once full of laughter."
He pointed to an old picture hanging on the wall.
Daniel walked closer.
The picture showed a happy family.
The old man.
Emily.
A smiling woman.
And...
A small black kitten.
Daniel frowned.
"The cat..."
The old man nodded.
"His name was Shadow."
Emily smiled softly.
"He followed me everywhere."
The old man's smile quickly disappeared.
His eyes filled with tears.
"One stormy night..."
"...our house caught fire."
Daniel stayed quiet.
The old man continued.
"I tried to save everyone."
"But I couldn't."
Emily looked down.
The room became quiet again.
Daniel slowly understood.
"You..."
"You're all dead."
The old man nodded.
Emily nodded too.
Daniel stepped back.
He could not believe it.
Then...
A loud growl echoed through the house.
Not from upstairs.
Not outside.
From below the floor.
The whole room shook.
Emily's face turned pale.
The old man quickly looked toward the fireplace.
"No..."
"It has woken up."
Daniel frowned.
"What has?"
The old man slowly turned toward him.
Fear covered his face.
"Shadow..."
"...was never the real monster."
Suddenly...
The wooden floor cracked open.
A giant black claw pushed through the broken floorboards.
Then another.
And a pair of burning red eyes slowly opened beneath the house.
🌿 Moral of the Story
Never judge by what people say. Sometimes the thing that looks scary is trying to protect you from something far worse.
📖 The End
🌙 End of Chapter 5