The House on Koala Hills
This story was contributed by Shirley. I've written it out on her behalf
1 - Moving In
Peter held Ling in his arms and stared at the bungalow in awe. What a beauty! They had waited 3 years before they could finally afford their dream home in Perth. Though it wasn't easy making some sacrifices, Ling felt that it was worth it. She had earlier given up her job in Singapore to be with Peter in his hometown. They watched their three-year son Joe dash around the garden and into the house excitedly.
"I think he loves it!" said Peter lovingly to his wife as he glanced at Joe. The idea of leaving Singapore and his grandparents was not taken well by him. He had been throwing tantrums for the past few days before they got here. The sight of the house seemed to change all that now.
Together they held hands and entered their new home. They were finally going to live in their dream home.
2 - A Strange Encounter
After one year of bliss, Peter had to be posted to America for three whole months leaving Ling and Joe alone in their big old house. Ling wasn't too happy about it but she had no choice and had to accept things as they were. After all, it was Peter's salary that helped them achieve their dream home.
Everyday, she would go about doing her usual chores and playing with Joe to pass the time. She couldn't wait for the three months to be over before Peter came back. Then one day, a strange thing happened. As she was mopping the floor, she found Joe hiding in her bed crouching under the covers.
"What's wrong Joe?"
Joe didn't answer but whimpered from beneath. She pulled the covers and saw that his face was as white as sheet. He was in shock and refused to speak to her. Did he have a fall? She checked but there were no bruises on him.
She went to his room and looked around. Everything seemed to be in order. She was about to head back to her bedroom when she thought she saw two bright eyes looking at her through the window. Cautiously she approached the window to look out but there was nothing there. Perhaps it had been her imagination.
3 - We are not alone
Joe recovered a few hours after that incident but little did Ling knew that this was just the beginning of a series of other strange happenings in the house.
One afternoon as Ling was doing the dishes in the kitchen, there was a strong whiff of perfume in the air. The sweet smell continued to linger in the kitchen and seemed to follow her wherever she went in the house. The source of the scent was a puzzle to her but Ling wasn't too bothered about it.
Occasionally as she was doing her housework, she would sometimes get the feeling that somebody was standing behind her. However, Ling always thought that her loneliness was getting the better of her.
One night as she was sleeping, she felt her spring mattress jerked beneath her. She woke up expecting to find Joe in her bed but he wasn't there. It felt too good to be her imagination so she decided to check on him. When she got to his room, he appeared to be sleeping soundly.
Puzzled, Ling decided to question Joe the next morning. "Where you in my room last night?" she asked him suspiciously.
"Nope," he said. "That girl didn't disturb me last night. "
"What girl?" asked Ling shocked.
"The one who sometimes bullies me." He said pointing at the window where she had seen the pair of bright eyes a few days earlier. Her son's account made her skin crawl. Joe finally revealed that her son could sometimes see this little girl around the house. The little girl was hostile towards him and seemed to resent him sometimes.
Ling couldn't do anything about the strange happenings but fortunately, Peter was coming home soon. She couldn't wait for things to be normal again.
4 - The Psychic
Peter's return however, did not stop the strange things around the house. Although she had tried to convince him about their encounters he wouldn't believe her at all. It wasn't until one evening when Peter decided to invite his associates over for a dinner party that he finally started to believe her.
Pam was one of his senior business associates. She had never mentioned to him about her abilities to connect to the other world until that evening when she stepped into the house with three other partners. As she walked towards the living room, she suddenly clutched her ears and looked around in terror. The rest stared at her horrified.
"What's wrong?" squirmed Ling.
"There is a terrible sadness in this house." Pam said slowly. Pam looked around and started feeling the walls. "Oh no!" She screamed and seemed to go into a trance. She wavered, swayed, and leaned over. The others looked at her terrified not knowing what to do.
They were about to help her up when she suddenly recovered to her usual self. Then firmly she ordered, "Let's move to your dining room and talk".
"Peter, Ling," said Pam seriously. "I think its time that you move to a new place."
Pam revealed that she was a psychic. She could hear the sad spirits who used to live in this house and they do not like the presence of Ling and Peter in their home. Many years ago another family used to live here. It was a couple and their only daughter. However one day, the wife found out that her husband was having an affair. She couldn’t not take it so she killed her daughter and herself in this very house. Shortly after that, the adulterous husband was also killed in an accident. The spirits of the wife and the daughter still haunt this house today and they still believe that this house belongs to them.
The dinner party with Pam and other associates turned somber that night. Peter and Ling quickly made plans to abandon their home the next few days and they lived a happier life in their next home.
THE END
Saturday, March 11, 2006
The Souvenir from the Morgue - A scary story
This story is another inspiration from Shirley. Here's me putting it in words and juicing it up again on her behalf. Enjoy!!
The marbles lay before them untouched. They were bored. Peter looked at his buddies as he rolled a marble with disinterest. Ah Hia had his face on his hands. He was pouting. TK had dozed off with his saliva dripping from the side of his mouth while Kin had started picking his nose. Even Samurai had started looking distractedly at his surroundings. Back in the 70's, kids in those days had to use their own creativity to make up their own games. Video games weren't invented then.
The December holidays had been a long and dragging one. They had played almost every game they could think of over and over again for the past few weeks already. Surely there was something they could do to keep their boredom at bay.
"I know!" exclaimed Samurai suddenly making everyone jump out of their skins. "Let's play hide and seek!" TK who had just woken up glared him. His shirt was now wet from his saliva.
"But where can we hide?" asked Ah Hia in a low and monotonous tone. "Singapore is so small lah."
Samurai stood up and pointed at an old hospital not far off. That was SGH - Singapore General Hospital for short. "There're plenty of buildings over there to hide in. Let's try something different today."
A few minutes later, on the grounds of SGH, they did a quick game of "Lom Chiam Pass" which is the local dialect version for "Scissors, Paper, Stone". It was decided that Peter should be the seeker while the rest should hide.
"Alright! You have up to the count of ten before I start to find you. Ready? Get set! Go!" The rest scampered off and ran as fast as they could.
"1, 2, 3 …"
Ah Hia climbed up a nearby tree. TK disappeared behind a building.
"…4, 5, 6…"
Samurai looked desperately around him and smiled. The Morgue! Peter would be too scared to find him there! He headed for the morgue and crouched at the door. The nurse who was supposed to be on duty was not at the front desk. She was busy attending to two medics who had just wheeled in a very bloody looking body. He darted towards the counter and crawled behind it. This is a great hiding place!
Ten minutes passed and nobody came to find him. There was a stale smell around him. Perhaps Peter would have given up by now. Guess he should leave now. He hesitated and glanced around. There was a shiny black phone on the table. Back in the 70s not every household could afford a telephone line. He looked at the phone with interest. There was a rotating dial with numbers in its holes. He had never touched a phone before.
Voices at the back told him that the front desk nurse would be back soon. On impulse, he unplugged the phone, cradled it and ran towards the door.
"Where have you been?" asked the others when he got back. "We have been searching for you for so long. Do you know what time it is?"
Samurai smiled and showed them his prize.
"Hey! Where did you get that from?" They asked staring with awe at the black shiny phone. He proudly pointed at the morgue and boasted. "I knew nobody would dare to go in there so that's where I hid."
With deep envy, Peter and the rest of the gang headed for Samurai's one room flat. It was now 9pm but his parents were still out working at the stall so they had the whole place to themselves. Studying the phone with excitement, the group sat around and exchanged stories of how they had witnessed people using a telephone.
"There was this Ah Pek at the coffee shop. I saw him put the phone at his backside and fang pui," lied TK. They squealed with laughter.
"Really? Sometimes when the other party is talking loudly at the other end, you can hear a croaking voice. Gua. Gua. Gua"
They giggled and rolled on the floor. The more jokes they told, the more they laughed. They had such a good time laughing with each other that they didn't notice the time. Suddenly a loud ringing noise interrupted them. It was very loud and sharp.
Brinnnnnnnggg! Brinnnnnnng! Brinnnnnnnng!
It was coming from the phone but it couldn't be. There was no line attached to the phone!
They froze in terror and stared at the ringing phone in disbelief. Just at that moment, the old grandfather clock started chiming to signal that it was midnight.
"Er…sh-should we answer it?" asked Ah Hia whose voice was now shaking.
"Maybe it’s a technical error. Just pick it up!" Reasoned Peter.
TK nudged Samurai. "You do it."
"Fine! Cowards!"
Samurai picked up the receiver slowly. The others looked on with anticipation. There was a dead silence. A strong wind passed through the flat. Ah Hia could feel goose pimples on his skin. TK gripped Ah Hia in terror. Samurai placed the receiver at his ears and listened. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the background. A good five seconds passed.
Suddenly, the pupils in Samurai's eyes dilated. He dropped the receiver and screamed like a crazy person.
"Arrrrrrrhhhhhhhh!" He became delirious and ran out of the flat screaming at the top of his voice. Confused and terrified, the rest followed him screaming at the same time.
They found him at the dark staircase panting. Ah Hia touched Samurai's shoulders. He shuddered, screamed and took off again.
"Samurai! Wait!" They yelled after him.
They soon caught up with him to calm him down.
"What happened?" asked Peter between deep breaths.
Samurai looked at his friends and didn't answer.
"Come on!! Tell us!" screamed TK.
Samurai glanced at them and nodded his head. He sat down on a stone and tried to look macho.
"Don’t tell anyone about this. Swear?"
"We swear!' The gang said in unison and did their secret handshake. "Now will you tell us?"
"Okay," Samurai said slowly. " I heard a voice at the other end."
The others leaned closer.
"What did it say?" They asked impatiently.
"The voice said…" He looked around him slowly with tears in his eyes.
"It said I know what you did last summer."
This story is another inspiration from Shirley. Here's me putting it in words and juicing it up again on her behalf. Enjoy!!
The marbles lay before them untouched. They were bored. Peter looked at his buddies as he rolled a marble with disinterest. Ah Hia had his face on his hands. He was pouting. TK had dozed off with his saliva dripping from the side of his mouth while Kin had started picking his nose. Even Samurai had started looking distractedly at his surroundings. Back in the 70's, kids in those days had to use their own creativity to make up their own games. Video games weren't invented then.
The December holidays had been a long and dragging one. They had played almost every game they could think of over and over again for the past few weeks already. Surely there was something they could do to keep their boredom at bay.
"I know!" exclaimed Samurai suddenly making everyone jump out of their skins. "Let's play hide and seek!" TK who had just woken up glared him. His shirt was now wet from his saliva.
"But where can we hide?" asked Ah Hia in a low and monotonous tone. "Singapore is so small lah."
Samurai stood up and pointed at an old hospital not far off. That was SGH - Singapore General Hospital for short. "There're plenty of buildings over there to hide in. Let's try something different today."
A few minutes later, on the grounds of SGH, they did a quick game of "Lom Chiam Pass" which is the local dialect version for "Scissors, Paper, Stone". It was decided that Peter should be the seeker while the rest should hide.
"Alright! You have up to the count of ten before I start to find you. Ready? Get set! Go!" The rest scampered off and ran as fast as they could.
"1, 2, 3 …"
Ah Hia climbed up a nearby tree. TK disappeared behind a building.
"…4, 5, 6…"
Samurai looked desperately around him and smiled. The Morgue! Peter would be too scared to find him there! He headed for the morgue and crouched at the door. The nurse who was supposed to be on duty was not at the front desk. She was busy attending to two medics who had just wheeled in a very bloody looking body. He darted towards the counter and crawled behind it. This is a great hiding place!
Ten minutes passed and nobody came to find him. There was a stale smell around him. Perhaps Peter would have given up by now. Guess he should leave now. He hesitated and glanced around. There was a shiny black phone on the table. Back in the 70s not every household could afford a telephone line. He looked at the phone with interest. There was a rotating dial with numbers in its holes. He had never touched a phone before.
Voices at the back told him that the front desk nurse would be back soon. On impulse, he unplugged the phone, cradled it and ran towards the door.
"Where have you been?" asked the others when he got back. "We have been searching for you for so long. Do you know what time it is?"
Samurai smiled and showed them his prize.
"Hey! Where did you get that from?" They asked staring with awe at the black shiny phone. He proudly pointed at the morgue and boasted. "I knew nobody would dare to go in there so that's where I hid."
With deep envy, Peter and the rest of the gang headed for Samurai's one room flat. It was now 9pm but his parents were still out working at the stall so they had the whole place to themselves. Studying the phone with excitement, the group sat around and exchanged stories of how they had witnessed people using a telephone.
"There was this Ah Pek at the coffee shop. I saw him put the phone at his backside and fang pui," lied TK. They squealed with laughter.
"Really? Sometimes when the other party is talking loudly at the other end, you can hear a croaking voice. Gua. Gua. Gua"
They giggled and rolled on the floor. The more jokes they told, the more they laughed. They had such a good time laughing with each other that they didn't notice the time. Suddenly a loud ringing noise interrupted them. It was very loud and sharp.
Brinnnnnnnggg! Brinnnnnnng! Brinnnnnnnng!
It was coming from the phone but it couldn't be. There was no line attached to the phone!
They froze in terror and stared at the ringing phone in disbelief. Just at that moment, the old grandfather clock started chiming to signal that it was midnight.
"Er…sh-should we answer it?" asked Ah Hia whose voice was now shaking.
"Maybe it’s a technical error. Just pick it up!" Reasoned Peter.
TK nudged Samurai. "You do it."
"Fine! Cowards!"
Samurai picked up the receiver slowly. The others looked on with anticipation. There was a dead silence. A strong wind passed through the flat. Ah Hia could feel goose pimples on his skin. TK gripped Ah Hia in terror. Samurai placed the receiver at his ears and listened. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the background. A good five seconds passed.
Suddenly, the pupils in Samurai's eyes dilated. He dropped the receiver and screamed like a crazy person.
"Arrrrrrrhhhhhhhh!" He became delirious and ran out of the flat screaming at the top of his voice. Confused and terrified, the rest followed him screaming at the same time.
They found him at the dark staircase panting. Ah Hia touched Samurai's shoulders. He shuddered, screamed and took off again.
"Samurai! Wait!" They yelled after him.
They soon caught up with him to calm him down.
"What happened?" asked Peter between deep breaths.
Samurai looked at his friends and didn't answer.
"Come on!! Tell us!" screamed TK.
Samurai glanced at them and nodded his head. He sat down on a stone and tried to look macho.
"Don’t tell anyone about this. Swear?"
"We swear!' The gang said in unison and did their secret handshake. "Now will you tell us?"
"Okay," Samurai said slowly. " I heard a voice at the other end."
The others leaned closer.
"What did it say?" They asked impatiently.
"The voice said…" He looked around him slowly with tears in his eyes.
"It said I know what you did last summer."
Saturday, March 04, 2006
The Midnight Shift
The following blog is an inspiration from my friend Shirley. She had wanted me to pen her story down on her behalf and post it on my blog. After adding some spice, we have the final result below:
Mr Tan glanced at his clock. It read 2:00 am in the morning. He had been cruising on the road for the past hour and there hadn't been a prospective passenger in sight.
"Ladadadooooooo….", he sang. On warm humid nights like this, he loves to sing to himself to keep awake. Driving aimlessly in the wee hours of the morning can never be easy especially when his eyelids threaten to shut and let him doze off. He blames it on the tough job market. He was forced to work the midnight shift for Comfort Taxi when his day job faced a pay cut two months ago.
He made a few turns on the road and suddenly realize that he was on a very deserted road. He passed a road sign. It read 'Chua Chu Kang Cemetery.' Oh-oh. He shouldn’t be hanging around here too long. The road sure looks eerie. He glanced sideways and saw tombstones peeking out from behind tall grass. Yikes, what a bad idea to be passing through this road.
He was about to pick up speed when he saw a lone female figure with long hair standing in the distance ahead. She was flagging him down. Should he stop? Wild thoughts started racing through his mind. He stepped on the brakes lightly and slowed down. As he approached her, he noted that she looked very shabby and tired. Perhaps she is just somebody's grieving relative who happen to stay too long at the cemetery. The taxi came to a halt in front of her and she opened the backdoor.
"Uncle," she said peering in." I only have $2.00 with me. May I have a ride home for this price?"
"Oh no. Uncle can't do that. The taxi company would find out and sack me."
"I really need to get home. It's late. And there's nobody else out here. " Her voice was shaky and she appeared to have been crying. Poor thing. She must have lost somebody close to her.
"Perhaps you could get a family member to pay your fare when we get to your home," he suggested kindly.
"Thank you, uncle. You're so kind". She stepped into the back and closed the door.
The ride to her home seemed to take forever despite the empty roads. The passenger was very quiet throughout the whole journey and it made him feel uncomfortable. He had thought of striking up a conversation with her but since she had been grieving, he thought that its best that he give her some quiet time to herself.
As he rode along, he noticed that the air conditioner appeared to be colder. He tried to turn it down but he still felt just as cold. The uncomfortable feeling continued to linger in the taxi. Silently, he prayed that he could get her home quickly.
The Bukit Timah mansion soon appeared in the distance. Ah! Home at last! But there were no lights shining through the windows.
"Mam, perhaps you should give a call to your family and __" Mr Tan stopped short as he looked into his rear view mirror. He wheeled around and stared opened mouth. There was no passenger in the backseat! She seemed to have vanished into thin air.
He stopped the taxi and got out. She couldn't have jumped out of his cab while he was driving or he would have heard the door opening. He stared at the mansion. An eerie feeling overcame him. He wanted to knock on the door but it didn't seem like a good time. He decided to drive off and come back the next day.
* * *
The scorching sun glared down at him as he knocked on the door. It has been several hours later since his mysterious passenger had disappeared from his taxi. An elderly woman opened the door.
"If you're selling anything, I'm not buying." She said rudely. The woman bore a strong resemblance to his mysterious passenger. She must be her mother.
"Oh no. I'm the taxi driver who drove your daughter home last night. I'm here to collect the cab fare because she didn't have enough money to pay me."
"What!" The old lady slammed the door in anger. A sobbing noise could be heard inside. Puzzled he stood outside not knowing what to do. Should he turn to go? The door soon opened again. This time it was opened by an elderly man.
"What kind of sick joke is this?" The old man demanded angrily.
"Sir, I'm just trying to earn my bread and butter. Your daughter did not pay me my fare for taking her home last night."
"My daughter died 5 years ago! You have made my wife upset over this. Please leave!" With that, he slammed the door shut at Mr Tan's face.
The realization soon hit Mr Tan. Trembling, he staggered to his cab and drove away.
The following blog is an inspiration from my friend Shirley. She had wanted me to pen her story down on her behalf and post it on my blog. After adding some spice, we have the final result below:
Mr Tan glanced at his clock. It read 2:00 am in the morning. He had been cruising on the road for the past hour and there hadn't been a prospective passenger in sight.
"Ladadadooooooo….", he sang. On warm humid nights like this, he loves to sing to himself to keep awake. Driving aimlessly in the wee hours of the morning can never be easy especially when his eyelids threaten to shut and let him doze off. He blames it on the tough job market. He was forced to work the midnight shift for Comfort Taxi when his day job faced a pay cut two months ago.
He made a few turns on the road and suddenly realize that he was on a very deserted road. He passed a road sign. It read 'Chua Chu Kang Cemetery.' Oh-oh. He shouldn’t be hanging around here too long. The road sure looks eerie. He glanced sideways and saw tombstones peeking out from behind tall grass. Yikes, what a bad idea to be passing through this road.
He was about to pick up speed when he saw a lone female figure with long hair standing in the distance ahead. She was flagging him down. Should he stop? Wild thoughts started racing through his mind. He stepped on the brakes lightly and slowed down. As he approached her, he noted that she looked very shabby and tired. Perhaps she is just somebody's grieving relative who happen to stay too long at the cemetery. The taxi came to a halt in front of her and she opened the backdoor.
"Uncle," she said peering in." I only have $2.00 with me. May I have a ride home for this price?"
"Oh no. Uncle can't do that. The taxi company would find out and sack me."
"I really need to get home. It's late. And there's nobody else out here. " Her voice was shaky and she appeared to have been crying. Poor thing. She must have lost somebody close to her.
"Perhaps you could get a family member to pay your fare when we get to your home," he suggested kindly.
"Thank you, uncle. You're so kind". She stepped into the back and closed the door.
The ride to her home seemed to take forever despite the empty roads. The passenger was very quiet throughout the whole journey and it made him feel uncomfortable. He had thought of striking up a conversation with her but since she had been grieving, he thought that its best that he give her some quiet time to herself.
As he rode along, he noticed that the air conditioner appeared to be colder. He tried to turn it down but he still felt just as cold. The uncomfortable feeling continued to linger in the taxi. Silently, he prayed that he could get her home quickly.
The Bukit Timah mansion soon appeared in the distance. Ah! Home at last! But there were no lights shining through the windows.
"Mam, perhaps you should give a call to your family and __" Mr Tan stopped short as he looked into his rear view mirror. He wheeled around and stared opened mouth. There was no passenger in the backseat! She seemed to have vanished into thin air.
He stopped the taxi and got out. She couldn't have jumped out of his cab while he was driving or he would have heard the door opening. He stared at the mansion. An eerie feeling overcame him. He wanted to knock on the door but it didn't seem like a good time. He decided to drive off and come back the next day.
* * *
The scorching sun glared down at him as he knocked on the door. It has been several hours later since his mysterious passenger had disappeared from his taxi. An elderly woman opened the door.
"If you're selling anything, I'm not buying." She said rudely. The woman bore a strong resemblance to his mysterious passenger. She must be her mother.
"Oh no. I'm the taxi driver who drove your daughter home last night. I'm here to collect the cab fare because she didn't have enough money to pay me."
"What!" The old lady slammed the door in anger. A sobbing noise could be heard inside. Puzzled he stood outside not knowing what to do. Should he turn to go? The door soon opened again. This time it was opened by an elderly man.
"What kind of sick joke is this?" The old man demanded angrily.
"Sir, I'm just trying to earn my bread and butter. Your daughter did not pay me my fare for taking her home last night."
"My daughter died 5 years ago! You have made my wife upset over this. Please leave!" With that, he slammed the door shut at Mr Tan's face.
The realization soon hit Mr Tan. Trembling, he staggered to his cab and drove away.
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