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The Grudge : Live-Stream

"There it is!" Rick said.

Jessica wished she felt her boyfriend's sense of excitement. Instead of thrilling her, the house gave her a sense of dread. The house looked out-of-place in the Japanese suburban neighborhood, like a cavity-riddled tooth in an otherwise perfect smile. Even the color where the house sat seemed desaturated and dull, though that could have been from the layer of grime over everything.

It was Rick's idea to start the web blog, live-streaming themselves touring famous paranormal places. They started cheap and local, but when Rick's hobby started generating money, they went international, and the one place he wanted to see more than anything was this house in Japan.

Rick ran a hand through his hair, giving it that carefully constructed casual look that he thought looked so good. Jessica pulled out her phone, then got Rick and the house framed up.

"We're here at the Saeki house in Japan, home of one of the most tragic murder scenes in the country," Rick said, putting on his best tv-show host voice. "The story goes, the husband learned his wife was in love with another man. In a jealous rage, he killed his wife, his son, and even the family cat before killing himself."

From the corner of the viewfinder of the camera, Jessica saw a white shape in one of the second-floor windows. She lowered the phone and looked up at the window, but the shape was gone. Rick looked over his shoulder at the empty window, then back to Jessica.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

"Nothing," Jessica said, but she couldn't keep her voice from wavering.

"Let's go," Rick said. Before Jessica could argue, he trotted up the path to the house, ignoring the front door and going to the back. The sliding back door opened for him with no effort. Jessica followed him into the house where Rick positioned himself at the foot of the stairs.

"But the story doesn't end there," Rick said as Jessica framed him up in her phone's view screen. He beamed a smile at her. "According to legend, anyone who enters the house gets cursed and dies. A documentary crew braved entering the house, and everyone involved died or vanished. Story goes . . ."

Rick's voice trailed off as his smile sank. His eyes grew wide, but before Jessica could ask what was wrong, she felt cold, wet strands of hair drape over her shoulders. A dry, guttural groan sounded in her right ear. Before Jessica could turn to see, her head was twisted around. She heard her neck snapping as her gaze was aimed at the black eyes and white skin of a woman. Her hands went numb, and she heard the phone clatter on the ground. Jessica tried to scream, but all she could hear was that choking groan. As the life drained from Jessica, she realized was the groaning was no longer coming from the dead woman.

It was coming from her.