The town of Black Hollow had its fair share of ghost stories, but none were as infamous as the legend of the Candlelight Pact. It was an old tradition, whispered among the reckless and the curious—light a candle at midnight, keep it burning until dawn, and your deepest wish would come true.
But there was a catch. If the candle went out before sunrise… something would come for you.
Most dismissed it as nonsense, a way to scare off thrill-seekers. But for five childhood friends—Ethan, Mark, Sophie, Rachel, and Daniel—the legend was more than just a story. It was a challenge.
It started as a drunken idea on a cold autumn night. With graduation looming and their lives about to take separate paths, the group wanted one last adventure before the real world pulled them apart. The old, abandoned cabin deep in the woods seemed like the perfect place.
“We do this, and we stay friends forever,” Mark had grinned. “No matter where we go or what happens, we’ll always be connected.”
Sophie hesitated. “But what if it’s real?”
Ethan laughed. “Then we’ll get our wishes granted. What’s the worst that could happen?”
They all had something they desperately wanted—love, success, redemption, a second chance. If a simple candle could make it come true, why not try?
So, on the night of the ritual, they gathered in the cabin, a single candle placed at the center of the table. Midnight struck, and the flame flickered to life.
The first hour passed in laughter and nostalgia. They shared drinks, told old stories, and teased each other about childhood crushes. The candle’s soft glow cast warm, flickering shadows against the wooden walls.
But then, the mood shifted.
The first sign was subtle—a gust of wind rattling the windows, though none were open. Rachel shivered. “Did you feel that?” she murmured.
“No big deal,” Ethan shrugged. “It’s an old cabin. It creaks.”
Then came the whispering.
At first, they thought it was just their imagination, the wind playing tricks on their ears. But as the hours passed, the whispers became clearer—soft, unintelligible voices weaving through the silence.
Daniel set his beer down. “Okay, someone’s messing with us.”
“It’s just the woods,” Mark said, though his voice lacked its usual confidence. “Sound carries out here.”
But Sophie wasn’t convinced. She stared at the candle, watching the flame waver. “Something’s wrong,” she whispered.
And then it happened.
A breath of cold air snuffed out the candle.
The room plunged into darkness.
Rachel gasped, fumbling for her phone’s flashlight. A collective dread settled over them as they stared at the extinguished wick.
No one spoke. No one moved.
Then, from the far corner of the cabin, something moved.
A slow, deliberate scrape against the wooden floor.
Something was in there with them.
The Terror Begins
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Scrape.
A slow, deliberate sound, like nails dragging against wood. It came from the farthest corner of the room, where the candlelight had barely reached before being snuffed out.
Rachel’s breathing hitched. Daniel reached for his phone, his fingers trembling, but the screen refused to turn on.
Tap… tap… tap.
Like fingertips drumming against the floor.
Ethan swallowed hard. “Who’s there?” His voice barely carried beyond the darkness.
No answer.
Then—a whisper.
Low. Garbled. Right behind them.
Rachel spun around, her flashlight beam cutting through the blackness. But there was nothing. Just the empty cabin, the chairs, the dusty shelves.
But something felt wrong.
The shadows didn’t move quite right. The angles weren’t natural. And then Sophie whispered, her voice trembling—
“Guys… we’re not alone.”
The whispering returned, surrounding them. The candle, untouched, lit itself.
A figure stood just at the edge of the flickering glow. Tall. Hollow-eyed. Grinning too wide.
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