NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: I Think I’m Haunted
We all know that one person who claims they’re not scared of scary movies but ends up peeing their pants after watching one. You could say I’m the opposite. I love the paranormal, but everyone thinks I don’t.
The reason my friends and family think this is that I dislike certain aspects of most horror movies, which are often tied to the paranormal. Emphasis on “tied.”
Family movie nights at our local theater, the Copley Square Theater, were a tradition. But when the films involved gore, I’d back out. I’d stay home, read a book or two, play with our dog Lila, and generally have a blast away from all the disgusting scenes. Somehow, this evolved over the years into the belief that “Elise is scared of ghosts and horror movies.”
Even if you don’t make it past this chapter, please understand: I am neither scared of ghosts nor horror.
In fact, one could argue I’m no longer as disgusted by gore as I once was. I might even be on the weirder side of paranormal enthusiasts.
While most of these so-called ghost lovers, trackers, and hunters often see spirits as creepy, I really don’t—cross my heart, hope to die, and so on.
I’m fascinated by supernatural beings (not just ghosts), like yokai, mythological creatures, gods, and goddesses. They’re all just so interesting! However, I don’t let that bleed into my life like many other nerdy ghost hunters do.
At 20, living in this dingy apartment and scraping by on my meager part-time office job, always sleepy and starting to see things that aren’t really there, I don’t have much time to indulge in my fantasies. Bills are much more important to me than any supernatural creatures... at least, I thought so...
But now, I’m starting to have doubts since I began seeing an eerily translucent girl floating around my apartment a few weeks ago.
Let’s catch you up, shall we?
---
It all started on Monday.
I was coming back from work late at night—my morning shift had been rescheduled to the evening at the very last moment—and I was feeling horrible and drowsy. If I’d been informed just an hour earlier, I wouldn’t have been robbed of my sleep and energy.
The morning had been hectic. I woke up late, rushed to make breakfast, burned it, gave up, ate a piece of toast, and dashed out the door. Only when I was outside did I realize I’d forgotten to wear socks. How does one forget to wear socks? I still don’t know, but somehow, I managed.
It was around 8 AM.
Getting to work on my bicycle takes an hour.
My morning shift usually starts at 9:00 AM.
I think you can understand why I was so pissed about a last-minute reschedule.
After getting the call, I had to go back home instead of sweating it out until my rescheduled 5:00 PM shift.
So, that’s how two hours of my life were stolen from me (and then once again at 4 and 10 PM).
As you can imagine, I was mentally and physically exhausted when I came home. That’s why I didn’t question why the microwave was beeping, why there was the smell of popcorn in the apartment, or why my blinds were drawn. Honestly, I was really tired, alright?!
I came home, took off my clothes, fell into bed, and noticed a faint flicker as my eyes were closing.
At least tomorrow is a day off.
The next morning came in like a lion, out like a lion.
I woke up to see a female ghost straddling and kissing me.
Tongue and all.
Of course, I didn’t realize she was a ghost right away. It was only when I reflexively swatted at her to get off me, as one would do when finding a stranger kissing them upon waking, that I started understanding the situation.
My hand passed right through her body. That made me stop and do a double take.
I think I wore the most confused expression as I slowly retraced my swats, realizing for sure that they were going through this girl, who now had a bit of seductive ghostly saliva on the corner of her lips from our kiss and a curious look in her eyes.
Now, I'm not sure what you'd have done in that situation, but I doubt it would've been what I did.
Damn, I guess it's been a while since I let my horniness loose... Starting to dream of ghost girls. Need more sleep.
With that thought, I buried my head under the covers and drifted back to sleep.
It was the afternoon by the time I woke up again. This time, the supernatural entity wasn't straddling me; she was sleeping, her head laid next to mine, and the rest of her body floating beside my bed. Just to clarify: her head was still attached to her body.
This time, I came to a quick understanding (sort of):
I have either started overworking myself or my dreams are coming true.
On that Tuesday, I decided to believe in the former and eventually work my way up to the latter as the days went by.
Currently, it's been 1 week since the initial Monday. I have gone and come back from work multiple times now, and this girl is still here.
Well, now that I've taken a closer look at her, I think she's more of a woman than a "girl." She looks to be around my age, if not slightly older. She's got wide, luscious, translucent hair and big, beautiful, translucent eyes, and a shapely translucent figure, and— you get the idea.
The only thing she doesn't seem to have is a voice. I've tried communicating with her multiple times, but she often just vanishes from my view after giving me a glance. Sometimes, she grants me the honor of continuing to look at her as she ignores me fully, doing her own thing.
Hey, listen here you spirit! I pay the rent here, you better treat me like it!
Of course, I don't dare utter those words in fear of what retaliation she might do... hear me out. I said I'm not scared of horror nor do I find ghosts creepy— and I stand by those words. However, being scared of dangers to your life is completely natural!
This girl's a ghost! A being science declared as nonexistent, an ethereal creature. I really don't know what she could or would do to me if I anger her.
I would like to highlight that this ghost isn't scary (looking) at all!
"This spirit is the epitome of cuteness and beauty!"
I exclaimed those words out loud. As usual, she ignores me... but was that a faint flicker, I saw?
I really can't tell what she is, why she is, and how she is just yet. Nonetheless, I think I've acquired a roommate.
At the very least, I think I'm haunted.