Chapter 1

I still can’t explain what happened that night.

This happened when I was around 12 years old, and it’s something I’ve never been able to explain. Even now, I can remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. Every now and then, I find myself replaying that night in my head, trying to make sense of it, but I never can. For years, I’ve been telling myself to write this down, so here it is.

My parents owned a restaurant, which meant they worked late most evenings. Because of that, my older brother and I would spend hours outside with the other kids who lived in the neighbourhood. We’d play football, hide and seek, ride our bikes, and explore the area until our parents finished work.

My brother—I’ll call him Tom—always took me everywhere with him, so although I was younger, I spent most of my time with his friends.

One thing about our neighbourhood was that you could always tell when someone was home. At night, the lights would shine through the blinds, and you’d often see the flicker of a television. It was just one of those places where everyone knew everyone.

That becomes important later.

One of Tom’s friends—I’ll call him Richard—was fascinated with spiritism. At least, that’s what he called it. He was always talking about strange games like the compass game and other rituals that kids somehow got into. He claimed that if you followed the rules correctly, you could communicate with spirits or even see deceased relatives.

I never really believed any of it. I was only 12, and most of the conversations happened between Richard and my brother while I quietly listened nearby.

Then one night, everything changed.

I remember it was dark, and we were standing near a row of parked cars where we usually hung around. Richard looked completely different from his normal self.

He was crying.

I’d never seen him cry before.

My brother walked over to him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Richard looked terrified.

“This is driving me crazy,” he said. “I’m really scared. I’ve been playing those stupid games, and strange things have started happening.”

He pointed towards the house of an elderly man who lived nearby. I’ll call him Bart.

Bart had recently passed away.

Richard explained that ever since Bart died, he’d noticed something that didn’t make sense. During the day, the house looked exactly as you’d expect—empty. But at night, the lights would come on, and you could see what looked like a television flickering through the half-closed blinds.

As he pointed, my brother and I looked over.

Sure enough…

The lights were on.

From where we were standing, we could clearly see light coming through the windows. There was also the unmistakable flickering glow that looked exactly like a television playing inside.

Then Richard quietly said something that made my stomach drop.

“Bart died last week.”

My brother and I just stood there staring at the house.

Trying to think logically, my brother finally said, “If Bart’s dead and nobody lives there anymore, someone must have broken in. We should call the police.”

Richard was shaking. I’d never seen him like that before. He’d always been the toughest kid in the neighbourhood. He’d grown up in a rough area and wasn’t the type of person who scared easily.

Around that time, another neighbour arrived in his car. He was older than us, probably somewhere in his twenties or thirties. As soon as he saw Richard, he knew something wasn’t right.

After hearing what we’d seen, he called the police.

We waited for what felt like an hour or two before a police car finally arrived.

Richard explained everything to the officers.

After listening, they decided to enter the house in case someone had broken in. They used a tool to unlock the front door and disappeared inside.

We stood there waiting.

A few minutes later, the officers came back outside.

One of them told us there was nobody inside.

No lights.

No television.

Nothing.

I remember feeling completely confused.

Then one of the officers said something I’ll never forget.

He told us they’d checked the electrical supply, and the main fuse had actually been removed by the electricity company. From what I later learned, that’s something that can happen when a property has no active electricity account.

The house shouldn’t have had any power.

It was impossible.

Then something happened that’s always stayed with me.

An elderly woman suddenly appeared.

I don’t remember seeing her walk towards us. I don’t remember where she came from.

She simply… appeared.

She looked directly at me, my brother, and Richard.

Then she calmly said each of our names before saying,

“Don’t worry. I’m taking care of this house.”

That’s the last thing I remember.

Everything after that is blank.

I don’t remember going home.

I don’t remember speaking to the police again.

I don’t remember anyone explaining what had happened.

It’s as if that part of the night was erased.

Even now, all these years later, I still think about it.

Who was that woman?

How did she know our names?

How did we all see lights and what looked like a television in a house that didn’t even have electricity?

I carried on playing in that neighbourhood for years afterwards. Eventually, another family moved into Bart’s house, and nobody ever mentioned that night again.

But I never forgot it.

Every so often, I still find myself replaying those moments in my head…

The lights.

The empty house.

And the old woman who seemed to appear from nowhere.