Horror Stories

Choke.exe

The master bedroom was normal. Everything looked clear, I took a few steps whilst scanning the area. There was a nightstand to the right side of his bed, his glasses resting atop, seemingly untouched. He never liked wearing them, said they made him look like a "sissy-boy". To the left of the room was a door. Something, I don't know what, drew me to this door. I wanted to open it. No. I needed to open it.

Making my way over to this mysterious door, I made sure to be quiet. Again, don't ask me why. I just felt like I'd be disturbing something if I made noise. I bit my lower lip, placing my hand on the knob. I was trembling in anticipation. I closed my eyes, counted down from three, and quickly opened the closet...

Coats. Lots of coats. Some pants, and shoes too, if that's what you're into. It was an ordinary walk-in closet. I took a sigh, relieved, but secretly disappointed.. until I saw it. Something shiny on the floor. Kneeling down, I moved a few shoeboxes out of the way. It was a brass handle, bolted to the ground. I had also noticed a crease in the carpeted floor. It was a small hatch, leading into the basement. My heart raced. What could be down there?

My lust for adventure had gotten the better of me. Without thinking, I grabbed the brass handle and flung the hatch open. I peered inside. It was dark. All of my instincts went against what I was about to do, but I completely ignored them.

I jumped down.

Luckily, it wasn't that high of a drop. I'd be able to pull myself out if need be. The basement was dark, and extremely dusty. Fishing into my pocket, I pulled out my Zippo lighter. It took me a few tries, but I finally managed to get a steady flame to light up small portion of the room. That's when I saw the last thing I'd ever expect to see in my father's basement. A computer. Sitting at the edge of the room was a small desk, keyboard, mouse, and monitor. One of those white plastic chairs was pushed into the desk.

Curiously, I walked over to the station. The computer looked new, as if it had never been used. This couldn't be my father's. Why would he have a nice rig like this sitting in the basement? I pulled the flimsy chair from the desk, and took a seat in front of the monitor. I crossed my fingers, leaned over, and tried booting up the computer. Eureka, it worked. The Windows 7 boot logo appeared on the screen. Again, it strikes me odd that my father owns such a nice, and expensive looking, computer. It required me to select a user. There was only one.

"DISAPPOINTMENT"

A chill went down my spine. Disappointment? Why would he name his profile that? I clicked it. It asked me for a password. I grinned, and typed "Cheyenne". My mother's name. I'll be damned, it worked. I cocked my head to the side. Something was wrong. His desktop background was solid black. There was no Start Bar, and there was only one icon. In the middle of the screen was a single executable file.

"Choke.exe"

My hands trembled. I had no idea what I was doing here, why I came here in the first place. I wanted to turn around, and get back to the comfort of my apartment. Curiosity wouldn't let me. I couldn't control myself. Almost against my will, I hovered the cursor over the icon, and double clicked.

The screen flickered. I figured there was something wrong with the cord. I reached my hand behind the machine, feeling for wires.

Impossible. Nothing was plugged in.

The computer emitted a high-pitched buzz, almost as if it were working itself too hard. Shades of blue, red, and green flashed on and off in the monitor. The computer's whining became louder and louder, sputtering with life, increasing with intensity with every second. All of a sudden, everything became quiet again. I looked at the screen. There was a red dot in the very middle, text underneath, simply stating,

"DISAPPOINTMENT."

My heart was pounding in my chest. Everything had come to a standstill. I relaxed, for what seemed like a few seconds. Until I heard it. The sound of heavy breathing, and footsteps behind me, coming closer. I didn't dare look shift my gaze from the computer monitor. The footsteps stopped. Whoever, or whatever was behind me, had leaned over. Their mouth was right next to my ear.

I heard a familiar voice whisper,

"Choke."

With great force, a rope had been wrapped around my neck. I screamed, loud as I could. The rope had tightened, I'd been yanked backwards out of my chair. I couldn't breathe. My neck was sore. My vision slowly started to fade away due to lack of oxygen. I was going to die. I gagged, and clawed at my neck.

There was nothing there.

I was on my hands and knees, gasping for air. My vision had returned, I stood up and staggered around, trying to regain my bearings. I was in the living room, right in front of the fireplace. Looking down on me was the portrait of my mother, looking down upon me with that condescending smirk.

Present Day
As I sit here writing this, in my dingy one-bedroom apartment, I can honestly say,

"There is no place like home."

I have no idea what the hell happened.

Honestly? I don't want to know.

All I'm sure of, is that I'm never setting foot in that house again.