The House That Grows

In a quiet town, where the streets were lined with old trees and the nights were darker than they should be, a family moved into a house at the end of the road. The house was big, too big for a family of three. Mark, his wife Lena, and their eight-year-old daughter, Rosie, were excited. It was their dream home.

\"This house is perfect,\" Lena said as she walked through the large hallway.

\"It’s bigger than I remember,\" Mark muttered, frowning slightly. They had visited the house twice before buying it, but now, it felt… different.

Rosie ran up the stairs, her little feet tapping against the wooden floor. \"Can I pick my room?\" she called.

\"Of course, sweetheart,\" Lena replied with a smile.

That night, they all slept well. But in the morning, something strange happened.

\"Dad,\" Rosie said, her eyes wide. \"There’s another door in my room.\"

Mark rubbed his eyes. \"What do you mean, another door?\"

Rosie pointed. There, next to her closet, was a door that hadn’t been there before. It was old, with peeling white paint and a rusty doorknob.

\"Maybe we didn’t notice it before,\" Lena said.

Mark frowned. \"I’m sure this wasn’t here.\" He hesitated, then opened the door. It led to another small room, completely empty. Dust covered the floor, as if no one had stepped inside for years.

\"Strange,\" Lena murmured.

That night, Rosie screamed.

Mark and Lena rushed to her room. Rosie was sitting up in bed, her face pale.

\"The door opened by itself,\" she whispered.

Mark turned on the light. The strange door was open, leading into darkness.

\"Maybe the wind—\"

\"There is no wind,\" Lena interrupted, her voice shaking.

Mark walked to the door and shut it firmly. \"It’s just an old house,\" he said. \"Doors creak. Things settle. It’s nothing.\"

But the next morning, another door appeared. This time, in the hallway.

Mark stared at it, his heart pounding.

\"This is not normal,\" Lena whispered.

He opened the door. It led to another hallway, longer than before, stretching into the darkness.

\"I don\'t like this,\" Lena said.

\"We should leave,\" Rosie whimpered, clutching her mother’s arm.

But they didn’t leave. Not yet.

More doors appeared. More hallways. More rooms.

One night, Mark woke up to a strange sound. A soft creaking, like footsteps moving across wood. He turned to Lena. She was fast asleep.

He got up, careful not to wake her. The house was silent. Too silent.

Then he saw it.

The hallway outside their bedroom was… longer. It stretched much farther than before.

His heart pounded.

\"This isn\'t real,\" he whispered.

Then he heard a whisper. Faint. Distant.

\"Come see.\"

Mark spun around. \"Who\'s there?\"

No answer.

He grabbed his phone and turned on the flashlight. Slowly, he stepped into the hallway. The air was cold. He shivered.

The new hallway had doors on both sides. Doors that hadn\'t been there before.

He reached for the closest one.

Then, something knocked.

Not from behind the door.

From inside the walls.

His breath caught.

The knocking moved. Slow, steady. It traveled down the hallway, from one door to another.

Mark stepped back.

Then the lights flickered.

A shadow moved at the end of the hallway.

\"Mark?\" Lena\'s voice broke the silence.

He turned. She was standing at their bedroom door, eyes wide.

\"The house is growing,\" he whispered.

Rosie screamed.

They ran to her room. The strange door was open again.

But this time, there was something inside.

A shape.

Tall. Thin. Watching.

Rosie sobbed.

\"Stay back!\" Mark shouted, grabbing a chair and throwing it toward the figure.

The lights went out.

Total darkness.

The air grew heavy. Thick. It pressed against their chests.

Then, a whisper.

\"Stay.\"

Lena grabbed Rosie. \"We have to leave!\"

They ran.

But the house was different now.

The front door was gone.

Hallways stretched in all directions. More doors. More whispers.

\"Come see. Stay.\"

Mark turned in circles. \"No, no, no!\"

The walls moved. Shifted. The house was alive.

A door creaked open behind them.

Darkness inside.

Then—

Footsteps.

Slow. Heavy.

Something was coming.

Rosie sobbed into Lena\'s shoulder.

Mark grabbed their hands. \"RUN!\"

They ran through the endless halls. Doors slammed shut behind them. The house groaned, as if breathing.

Then—

A door appeared. Different from the others.

It was red.

It pulsed, like a heartbeat.

Mark hesitated.

Then a voice whispered in his ear.

\"You don’t belong here.\"

The door swung open.

A bright light.

Mark grabbed Lena and Rosie and pulled them through.

Then—

Silence.

They were outside.

The house stood behind them. Silent. Still.

The front door was back. The windows were dark.

Lena gasped for air. Rosie clung to her.

Mark turned to the house, shaking. \"What the hell was that?\"

The house didn’t answer.

The next morning, a \"For Sale\" sign stood in the yard.

And as they drove away, Rosie looked back.

The house seemed… smaller.

And on the second-floor window, something watched.

Smiling.

Waiting.