One freezing winter's evening, lounging on her settee in front of a cosy fire, a cup of hot chocolate on the side table next to her. Carrie stuffed another soft, lime-flavoured marshmallow into her mouth. She continued reading an article on Clark Castle, an abandoned mental home. The Castle was once owned by Lord Henry Clark, whose wife died from a broken heart. She is buried in the family cemetery. Lord Clark offered his home to a prominent psychiatrist who opened a mental wellness clinic in Lord Clark’s wife’s honour. Lord Clark lived in the old gamekeeper's cottage on the edge of the forest until his death at 96. After decades of helping those with mental problems, the clinic closed its doors because a vile and wicked event caused the female patients to suffer damaging harm.
Carrie was warmed by the heat radiating off the fire. She felt her eyes closing and her head nodding forward. Sleep gently crept over her. She found herself standing at the edge of a gloomy wood. The wind howling, trees with long arms reaching out, beckoning her to come to them. Carrie trembled, but the force was too strong. She turned her head to the left and noticed a weather-beaten sign that read “Abandon all hope.” Still, she felt the need to move forward, a force pulling her ahead, egging her toward the castle. She placed her right foot on the pathway and slowly walked forward; now, she was committed — no turning back. The mist enveloped her with misty tentacles, pulling her deeper into the woods. Several owls hooted. Bats swooped down to catch dinner, their wings brushing against her shoulders. Carrie shivered, her body shaking with fear, or was it from the cold? She couldn’t tell. Carrie passed the cemetery, which lay on her left. She stopped abruptly, for a lady dressed in formal costume rose from the grave and hovered in front of her, and the lady shook her finger. Carrie, still drawn to the castle, pushed on, stopping in front of the grand door. The chilling sound of mournful cries emanated from inside the castle. Carrie took a few steps backward and looked up at the windows. She saw shadows of past inmates floating endlessly inside the castle, pleading for help to escape.
A sharp knock on the window brought Carrie back to the present. As she peered outside, Lady Clark appeared suspended mid-air. She wagged her finger. ‘Never attempt to visit the castle.’ Surprised, Carrie jumped, knocking over her hot chocolate. Carrie managed to mouth the word ‘why?’ ‘Because your heart will be broken. Abandon all hope.’
Carrie picked up her book and read the last paragraph. It said, ‘Lady Almarie Clark died of heartache because she became barren. The castle had been built on a medieval witches' graveyard, and anyone trying to enter the great castle would suffer the wrath of the witches' evil and have their bodies ravaged with pain, leaving the woman barren.
THE END.
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