The Curse of the Berinstein Manor by Forest Ostrander (scary books to read .TXT) 📕

to make friendly chatter. What? Are you too good to talk to me?" I asked holding up my hands as if surrendering hoping it would be enough to make her laugh or at least drop her guard again, I wasn't trying to be a creepy person.

"More like your too good looking to be talking to me," she said and I could tell she didn't mean to blurt it out but the thought that she thought I was possibly good looking really sent my heart fluttering in my chest, the kind of feeling you would get when jumping out of an air plane. Instantly she threw her hair around her face and lowered her head going back to her sketches; awe, she's embarrassed, how cute! I thought with a hint of a smile coming to my lips. Reaching over I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and felt her muscles tense at my touch which really upset me a bit but I could understand the reasoning behind it.

"Hey now, you don't need to hide yourself all because of that," I said trying to make her feel a bit better.

"I'm not hiding, you're just distracting me from my sketching that's all," she said and I knew that was a bunch of bull shit; she found herself attracted to me and she just didn't want to admit it.

 "Now you and I both know that's not true. What? Are you embarrassed about what you said? You don't need to be, no one is around to hear you and I sure as hell won't tell a soul," I said trying to reassure her and it was true, the kids never arrived at the school until about a few minutes from now so we were totally alone and who would listen to me anyways? All the kids here thought me a player, someone who gets the girls and ditches them after about a week or less but that was not true about me at all! I knew my comment must have had some effect on her because she looked right at me with a serious face and took me totally off guard with her next question.

"What can you tell me about that old house on the hill?" I sat there shocked that she would ask about the manor, no one here liked talking about it let alone even going near it and to think that this girl of all the people in this entire town wants to know about it is kind of a scary matter.

"What house?" I asked trying to play dumb and hoping it was enough to get her to drop the subject and go on to a different topic, I really did not want to talk about the house.

"The old house on Hemmington Street. The one on that hill," she said and I knew my attempts at getting her to change the subject failed and I was not going to be able to dodge the question, I sighed and decided that it might be best to tell her after all.

"You mean the Berinstein Manor?" I asked knowing full well what house she was talking about.

"Yes. My grandma says I should never go near it but oddly enough I don't find it scary at all, I find it interesting. Is it really that bad?" Ah, so she did hear some part about it then? Hmmm, maybe I can use this to my advantage to get her to leave the house and the subject alone I thought thinking up the most scariest story that I have been told almost my entire life.

"Come on, if it’s that bad then shouldn't I learn more about it to see why I should stay away? What? Is it haunted or something?" She asked mistaking my silence for that of hesitation which to be honest I was also feeling at the time.

 "Well, yes it is haunted. And yes, it is indeed a bad place to go to but everyone in this school has been dared to spend at least one night in the house. It's like a coming of age ceremony you can say, and the only way to not be bullied through the rest of you school year they require you to sleep in that house. I for one would not be caught dead in there, I don't care if I'm bullied or picked on for the rest of the school year, it’s better than disappearing without a trace." I decided that was the best thing to throw at her and I hoped that my plan worked but the look on her face told me I just spiked her curiosity even more.

"Disappearing? What do you mean?" She asked pushing the matter even further and really taking me out of my comfort level, I knew the kids would be arriving any time soon so I figured it was best to get it done and over with so no one heard us talking about the manor.

"There is a rumor about the house that it's cursed. Anyone who goes near it gets drawn to the house and those who enter never come out. Some say they are trapped somewhere deep in that house, others say they burned a horrible death while others say their spirits are trapped in a cats body never to be let free unless their true love expresses their feelings to them." I said telling her the complete truth about what was being said around town, everyone shunned the house as if it were the plague which it just might as well be, the construction workers won't even tear it down.

"What happens if they do?" She asked and I had a feeling she was asking about the curse breaker.

"The soul is set free and leaves the earth behind." I said reciting the very line my mother told me over and over to ease my own fears about the people trapped within that house unable to truly feel freedom again until their true love came to set them free which never happened, everyone was too afraid to even approach the house and when there is a cat sitting outside meowing at them they high tail it away.

"That sounds romantic in a creepy kind of way," she said once more taking me by surprise. Doesn't she find this even a tad bit scary? We're talking about a freaking cursed house! I thought totally being taken by surprise every time this girl spoke.

"Romantic? You have a weird mind on what is romantic," I said. I had hoped I didn't offend her but it was the truth, no normal person would ever find that romantic.

"Oh? How so?" She asked and I could pick up the hint of venom in her voice, oh shit, I fucking offended her! Fuck my life! I thought trying to come up with a save my ass line.

"Well, most girls think a candlelight dinner is romantic or a stroll under the moon on the beach. Some like the cuddling in front of a fire on a cold night or watching a movie on the couch holding each other close." I said coming up with the first thing that popped in my head from some sappy love movie my mother forced me to watch with her.

"You're right; I don't find those things romantic. I do like the thought of spending a night in a haunted house to see if it's really haunted or strolling through the cemetery under the moon. I love how the light glints off some tomb stones making them look alive." I looked at her as if she was crazy, no girl that I knew thought of a haunted house or a walk through a cemetery as romantic.

"What? Too dark? I've been told I can be dark at times but I like what I like and no one can change that about me," she said as if she were baiting me to say something bad and get my ass kicked, I was not going to fall for it though.

"Whatever you say, I guess some people do have different tastes in what they like but I would never suspect someone like you would be into such dark thoughts. You seem..." I was cut off by her before I could even finish what I was going to say.

"Seem what? Light? Girly? Believe me buddy I'm far from those. Under all this frilly crap I'm nothing more than a simple outcast who finds shelter in the shadows and relishes the night. I find spooky stories entertaining and the thrill of walking through the cemetery or exploring old abandoned houses stimulating." I couldn’t believe this girl, was she really serious about this? How could anyone even want to go near those things? This girl definitely was someone who I needed to get to know better.

"That's...interesting. I never met a girl like you before, what's your name?" I asked.

"Forest Ostrander, yours?" She asked holding out her hand and smiling, I took it smiling back.

"James Hamington, nice to meet you Forest."

"The same goes for you James." She said and we broke our hands apart as she went back to sketching with me watching her. I was so immersed in her work that I didn’t even notice Alexander coming up to us until I felt an unnerving presence, looking up I saw the boy who I hated the most of all approaching us without so much as a single smile. Oh great, not him again. Why does he always pop up when I find a pretty girl to talk to? I thought, this boy was the reason behind my shitty life, he was the one who would send innocent people into the house as a dare and they were never seen or heard from again then he would pin it on me so I was the blunt of the police hatred for the missing kids. I could tell Forest noticed him as well and was also very on guard which made me feel a bit better; maybe she could pick up on his bad aura as I can?

"Hello," Alexander said in a monotone voice.

"Hello Alexander," I said not too happy to see him let alone have him talking to Forest.

"Who is she?" He asked in my direction and I glared.

"Why not ask her yourself?" I asked challenging him; he usually never took any challenge given to him unless it would benefit him in some way so it shocked me when he did.

"I will. What's your name?" Alexander asked Forest and I hoped she wouldn’t answer him; he was not someone who she needed to be hanging out with, especially with her interest in the manor.

"Forest Ostrander," she said batting her eye lashes at him which shocked me, I thought she wasn’t someone who openly flirted with guys? When a loud ring interrupted us, I realized that school was starting, Forest however did not miss a beat and was up and heading to the building after shouting a goodbye to us over her shoulder.

“Listen Alexander, stay away from her you got that? I don’t want you tainting her mind like you did the others,” I threatened; I knew he was probably not going to take it seriously, he never took me seriously.

“Awe, isn’t that sweet? You don’t want any competition do you,” he said giving me an evil grin and I knew he was mocking me. Just you wait; you cruel ways will be out in the open eventually than we’ll see who will be laughing next I thought.

“I mean it Alexander, leave her alone. You don’t need to pester her like you do the others,” I said walking away from him.

“We’ll see James, I can’t make no promises though,” I heard him say then utter a demonic laughter which sent chills up my spine, I knew I needed to protect Forest from that bastard even if it was the last thing I did.