I was walking to school with a newspaper held over my head to keep me dry, when I noticed a cottage I’d never seen before. When I thought about it, I couldn’t remember seeing the creepy old house with the scratched, black paint or hearing the rusty shutters banging in the wind.
And that smell!
It made me gasp and my eyes water - little droplets running down my nose to join the puddles at my feet.
Curious, I crept through the thorny arch that protected the entrance to the small, overgrown yard. The five wooden stairs leading to the verandah seemed to give way under my footsteps, like the sodden timbers of an ancient galleon forever lost in the depths of the ocean.
I tossed the newspaper aside and reached for the doorknob. An unusual pattern engraved in the metal made me hesitate. I stared at it, unsure about touching the spirals and what looked like two red eyes glaring from the end of the knob.
I sniffed and wiped my face, which was sticky with tears. The closer to the house I came, the greater it reeked with the scent of old fish and rotten eggs, and something else?
I took a deep breath and gulped it down. I left the door for a moment of greater courage, and stole a quick glance in through the window to my left.
Darkness.
Darkness and more darkness.
I couldn’t see a thing inside the house. I laced my fingers in front of my mouth and blew into them, comforted by the warmth of the air.
At the sound of a long creeeeak, my eyes grew as round as pumpkins. Slowly I turned my head toward the sound. The door had opened … by … itself.
I checked along the verandah, turning left and right, scanning the area beside and behind me. No one was there.
The paint crackled at my touch when I pushed the door open further. I sneaked inside, like a mouse in a pantry full of cheese. I couldn’t resist. It was as though the house pulled me in.
From the entrance I could see the kitchen at the end of a long corridor. I slinked past the living room doorway and several other rooms. The smell was really strong in the kitchen. I grabbed my shirt and pulled it up over my face.
A cauldron hung in the open fireplace and drips from the leaking chimney sent an eerie echo around the room. I saw about a dozen glass containers and cages. One bottle contained coloured liquid, layered in emerald green, indigo blue and misty grey. Another container, a vase, restrained a plant with copper petals which looked ready to pounce at any moment.
In a cage nearby, a half-bat half-frog bared its fangs as I gazed at it. What a pong! On the bottom of the cage, I saw the half digested intestines of a large animal, green and slimy. I turned away, and instead saw the head of a tiger in a rubbish pile next to the fire.
I shivered.
In a corner of the room a broomstick stood upright. Its handle of polished oak and brush were crooked and well worn. The bristles stuck out haphazardly as if it had been made in a great rush. I picked it up and turned it round in my hands.
On the other side of the handle two red eyes glowered up at me. I dropped the broom and jumped back. The hair on my neck prickled. I gawked at the broomstick writhing on the dirty floor. The handle banged against the wall where it righted itself and leaned against the wall once more.
I spun around, my heart racing. The door seemed a mile away as I stumbled toward it.
Something flashed on my right inside the living room. A beam of sunlight reached in from outside, falling on a table visible from the corridor. I noticed the tap-tap-tap of the rain on the roof had stopped.
On the low, glass-topped table was stacked a pile of grimy books. I brushed off the dust from the top one and gasped. On the front cover of a three inch thick tome, as primeval as a cemetery, shone the midnight claws of a cat. One pearly talon slashed the air, throwing ragged shadows onto the opposite wall of the room.
Strange words were imprinted around the base of the paw in a font I didn’t recognize. The large print circled the animal’s limb and by twisting my head I read the words aloud: Dr. Hellvane’s Guide to Spine-chilling Curses.
Without a thought I seized one of the mouldy leather-bound corners. I lifted the edge and leaned forward. Stopped. Leaned closer. I ducked my head and peeped at the yellow page. Words weaved across it.
‘…eye of newt, tongue of frog and ear of hog,
As well as a human toe …’
The words wiggled into view and out again. My eyes boggled and I slammed the book shut.
I dithered for a moment and thought about the name of the spell I had glimpsed. It had said something about ‘Revenge on bothersome, depraved bullies.’
A wicked grin split my face. The title had given me an idea. I knew some bothersome, depraved bullies. My snigger became a cackle, then a full bellied laugh.
