Chapter 29: The House That Chases Killers
聽 聽聽May wasn't too used to talking to the camera, "It started when I bought a house. I started working at聽the age of聽16, and by the time I was 35, I had used all my savings plus my parents' money to buy a house. The house was in a great location, and I was so happy that I thought I had my own home."
聽 聽聽"I have been involved in the whole process from the beginning of the renovation. I was in control of the wallpaper in each bedroom, the color of the flooring, and the color temperature of the lighting in the house."
聽 聽聽May also consulted her聽own聽planner for the renovation: "It took six months, and I had to tear down the house twice because I wasn't happy with it. I could only afford this house with my entire fortune, and I probably won't be able to afford a second one in my life, so I wanted to make it perfect, and I didn't want to leave myself with any regrets."
聽 聽聽"After six months of renovation, I started the soft furnishings and chose all the furniture聽carefully.聽I love the sofa I chose. It's so comfortable."
聽 聽聽Janet's voice needed to sound better.聽This聽was a decorating guide video.
聽 聽聽May said, and then suddenly choked, "But I didn't realize I've only been living in the house for a month, and something strange happened."
聽 聽聽That should be the point.
聽 聽聽May said, "At first, it was just little things. My couch would switch places like when I woke up the next morning."
聽 聽聽May took out two photos and showed them to the audience, "My couch was originally facing the TV stand."
聽 聽聽In the first photo, a red fabric couch聽faced聽the TV stand.
聽 聽聽"But the next day, I woke up, and the couch was facing the wall."
聽 聽聽May pulled out the second photo, and just as she said, the red couch was facing the wall, back to the TV stand, and right next to it.
聽 聽聽"I thought at first that my house had been burglarized or that someone had played a prank on me, but there was no sign of outsiders coming into my house at all. Because I live alone, I've fitted myself with security electronic locks, and I would know if an outsider came in."
聽 聽聽"I told my friends about it, and they asked me if I was hallucinating from stress. Or was I sleepwalking on my own?"
聽 聽聽"I thought it was possible聽at the time, so I stayed at my friend's house for a few days before coming home. I saw nothing different in the house, and I slept at home again this time. The next day聽when聽I got up," May said, choking up a little, "the position of the furniture had changed again. I can show you the video."
聽 聽聽The video ended. Janet clicked on the following video.
聽 聽聽The picture was very shaky, with the sound of a woman gasping in terror.
聽 聽聽Within the video, all the furniture changed, this time not just the red couch facing the wall.
聽 聽聽The double-door armoire, the refrigerator, the television, the dining room table, and any large piece of furniture in the house all faced the wall.
聽 聽聽The furniture seemed like rows of people standing with their backs to each other.
聽This was an old post, and someone replied below.
聽 聽聽"The owner moved the furniture himself in the middle of the night and came here to blog about traffic."
聽 聽聽"This person is crazy."
聽 聽聽Below that was another video.
聽 聽聽This time, May was in worse spirits. Talk's face was waxy, her hair was even more disheveled, and two dark circles were under her eyes.
聽 聽聽She has aged a lot.
聽 聽聽"I've read everyone's replies. First, I don't have a production team, and I'm not clamoring. I'm experiencing strange things."
聽 聽聽"I've tried all the ideas everyone has come up with. I've also put up surveillance, but nothing was captured on it. I can also put a link below if you guys want proof."
聽 聽聽"Someone else suggested I tie myself up. I tried that, too; I handcuffed myself to my bed and woke up the next day with the furniture still on my back. It聽really聽wasn't my doing. I'm not sleepwalking or schizophrenic."
聽 聽聽"I can't take it anymore. There are videos below for all of you who want to see them. I'm having a tough time."
聽 聽聽"I've tried staying awake all night, and I'm fine when I don't sleep. But as soon as I close my eyes, I get up the next day, and the furniture is like this. I'm begging you to help me."
聽 聽聽Janet clicked through all the evidence she had on display.
聽 聽聽Inside the video, she installed the surveillance and went to bed. The surveillance was recorded all night with the furniture still in place.
聽 聽聽As soon as May woke up the next day, the moment the footage captured her, there was a splash screen for a second, and it showed up again as May screamed.
聽 聽聽The position of the furniture had changed again.
聽 聽聽The video wasn't faked or edited, so the question now isn't whether May had the strength to move the furniture. If she wasn't Superman, there was no way she could make her entire family's furniture change places in a second.
聽 聽聽This time, the comments section was much more severe than last time, with some people trying to give her ideas.
聽 聽聽A month later, May posted the video again.
聽 聽聽May was utterly overwhelmed this time, and she cried to the camera.
聽 聽聽"I feel like I can't take it. I spent my life savings on a house, and I've tried to grit my teeth and live in it, but I can't. I just started moving the furniture daily, but as soon as I closed my eyes, the furniture moved again."
聽 聽聽"Then I thought I'd just live there, big deal, and change my habits. But I felt like a monster on the couch facing the wall."
聽 聽聽Home design should consider ergonomics, furniture height placement, and other aspects聽should聽be in line with the homeowner's habits.
聽 聽聽But if all the furniture in your home were placed in a way that didn't conform to human habits, people would have a nervous breakdown if they lived in it.
聽 聽聽When Janet heard this, she felt that it was bizarre. Isn't this mental pollution?
聽 聽聽Making ordinary people do abnormal things or making abnormal people do everyday things.
聽 聽聽And I am then repeating it over and over again.
聽 聽聽Only this time, it's having a living person forcibly reverse the habits she's built up over a decade, thus shattering her perception of herself as a human being.
聽 聽聽The house wouldn't kill her.
聽 聽聽But people who had been in such a house for a long time would either go crazy or turn into monsters.
聽 聽聽Half a month later, May posted the video again.
聽 聽聽May had lost a lot of weight, only seventy pounds.
聽 聽聽Janet watched through the video as a healthy woman was eaten away.
聽 聽聽This time, May's video was concise: "I really can't take it, I'm moving out. Wish me luck. I'm giving up the house. Thank you all for your comfort and support."
聽 聽 聽Two weeks later, May posted a new video of herself moving.
聽 聽聽The video showed May's new tiny home, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that looks quite cozy.
聽 聽聽May said she was getting back into her routine and diet and felt like she was finally catching her breath and could return to her normal life.
聽 聽聽May could escape the shadow of her past as long as she kept going.
聽 聽聽The door to a new life was opening for her.
聽 聽聽Janet frowned.聽This聽might not be over.
聽 聽聽Scrolling down, I saw that聽only five days had passed.
聽 聽聽Five days later, May posted the video again.
聽 聽聽This time, May had a lot of bruises on her body; May had lost all her weight to a handful of bones and looked like a monster.
聽 聽聽"I thought once I moved myself, it would all be over. I don't want the house anymore. It's listed on the agent's side, and I can't even sell it at half price."
聽 聽聽"But I didn't want anything else. I just wanted normal."
聽 聽聽"But I didn't think," May's gaze had turned angry, and she was staring dead at the camera as if she could look straight into the audience behind it, "I didn't think it would catch up."
聽 聽聽"It caught up! It's chasing me!"
聽 聽聽Chasing?
聽 聽聽How the hell was the house chasing her?
聽 聽聽Janet immediately clicked on the following video.
聽 聽聽In the video, May carefully pushes open the door, and the sound-activated lights come on in the dark hallway.
聽 聽聽Only to see a house across the street from hers that said Room 101.
聽 聽聽Janet had seen the door to this room before, and May had specifically shown it when she introduced the renovation. It was a door color that many people wouldn't choose.
聽 聽聽A forest green front door with a red wooden sign said Cozy Little Home.
聽 聽聽Janet didn't react for a moment. Wasn't this May's original home?
聽 聽聽"This is my home," May's voice revealed fear, "I was right, this is my home. It caught up with me."
聽 聽聽Then May got a new house, and she moved to another neighborhood.
聽 聽聽This time, what happened was even more bizarre, and May recorded another video.
聽 聽聽The footage was so shaky that May herself wasn't in the shot.
聽 聽聽"That house, it's catching up again," May's whole body shook as she spoke, "it's always making weird noises in the middle of the night. I'll give you guys a listen."
聽 聽聽The video shot would have been in the middle of the night.
聽 聽聽May opened the door to her room and carefully poked the camera out, and it captured the green door directly across from her house.
聽 聽聽The green door was hidden deep in the corridor, the sound-activated lights were not turned on, and a green door was surprisingly conspicuous in the pitch blackness.
聽 聽聽A loud noise came from behind the green door at night.
聽 聽聽Bang
聽 聽聽Bang Bang Bang.
聽 聽聽It seemed like someone was boxing inside, and there were echoes throughout the building.
聽 聽聽The video never ended, with the image facing the green door and May's panicked voice.
聽 聽聽"It looks like someone's in there," May lowered her voice, "Who lives in my house?"
聽 聽聽May's hands were too shaky, and when she shook, the whole picture shook.
聽 聽聽Suddenly, the boxing stopped.
聽 聽聽After hearing the constant noise for so long, the entire hallway fell into an eerie silence once the boxing stopped.
聽 聽聽"Mom."
聽 聽聽Suddenly, a voice came from the darkness.
聽 聽聽Mom?
聽 聽聽May's entire body froze.
聽 聽聽"It's calling me," May asked uncertainly. "Did you hear it? It called me, Mom."
聽 聽聽Mom. Mom.
聽 聽聽Late in the night, deep in the darkened hallway, a green door called for mommy.
聽 聽聽"I don't have kids, I don't have kids, I'm going crazy." May ran home in terror, and the video ended.
聽 聽聽May had changed houses four times. Each time she was fine when she first moved in, but the next day, she woke up to a green door across the street from her house.
聽 聽聽There was a sign on its cozy tiny home.
聽 聽聽Also, in the middle of the night, the house would make very strange noises, as if someone else were living in it.
聽 聽聽Even Janet froze. It was a little too much beyond perception.
聽 聽聽The post was about to be scratched to the end, and there was still one last video to watch.
聽 聽聽Janet took a deep breath and clicked on the last video.
聽 聽聽May laughed in front of the camera, "I don't care. I'm going crazy, and I'm going to take my house with me."
聽 聽聽May was no longer speaking with much logic.
聽 聽聽The camera shook. Immediately after, May pushed open the door.
聽 聽聽This was the sixth house she had changed. A green door was at the end of the hallway, directly in front of her room door.
The door looks like an eye is staring at her.
聽 聽聽It was her house.
聽 聽聽"I'm going in. That's my house. That's all my hard-earned money in there."
聽 聽聽"I can't live there. Why should I give it to someone else?"
聽 聽聽"I'm going home, home, hahahahahahahaha."
聽 聽聽May got crazier and crazier as she talked. After that, the camera rotated and fell on the floor; only one corner was captured.
聽 聽聽May stepped across the camera in her slippers.
聽 聽聽The camera captured a sound.
聽 聽聽Eeeeee.
聽 聽聽The green door was opened, and May stepped through.
聽 聽聽Immediately after, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
聽 聽聽The door closed.
聽 聽聽The video disconnected.
聽 聽聽Grave post finished reading.
聽 聽聽Janet was slow to react; she didn't even know what had happened to May.
聽 聽聽May entered the house, so who uploaded this last video to her?
聽 聽聽Ding.
聽 聽聽[Congratulations on triggering the randomized quest: "The House of the Chase." Mission Objective: Find the missing May. You need to stay inside the house for one night until dawn and successfully escape. This mission is randomized and not mandatory. Please choose whether to accept it or not.]
聽 聽
聽Janet glanced at the time; half an hour had passed since reading this post.
聽 聽聽She would not be able to sleep tonight.
聽 聽聽Janet clicked [Yes].
聽 聽聽[Confirm acceptance of the quest; please complete it before dawn.]聽