Horror House (Book 1)

Horror House is the first installment in the Horror House series. It features fifteen teenagers who find themselves at a mansion in the woods. They walk inside and are immediately trapped in the house. The only way to escape the property: compete in a series of death challenges to gain talismans, the only way to defeat the evil cursing the house and return home.

Chapter 1: The Invitation
Chapter one, entitled The Invitation, features Owen Chase and Emma Chase, siblings, whose birthdays are coming around the corner. Since their birthdays are on the same day, they are inviting their friends for a big party. We learn that Owen has secret feelings for another boy his age, Landon Baker, and only his best friend, Nicole Karveki knows. Owen decides to invite Nicole Karveki, Landon Baker, Violet Hong, Blake Phillips, Melody Quinn, Alejandro Ohebeck, and Eli Bailey, all kids his age. Upstairs, his older sister by three years, Emma Chase, is also having trouble inviting guests. She decides to invite her boyfriend, Connor Morello and his twin sister, Carolyn Morello, along with classmates Benjamin Craviss and Winona Syerbud. According to Emma, Benjamin Craviss' 'girlfriend,' Isabelle Neptune, is the meanest girl in school and Emma is one hundred percent set on not inviting Isabelle. And so it begins...

Chapter 2: Party Time!
Chapter 2 starts with Emma and Owen setting up for their party, which begins in just a few minutes. It is in the beginning of this chapter that we learn that Emma and Owen are orphaned. Their father died in the army, their mother in a plane crash, and their older brother, Bradley, committed suicide. They have a house nanny, but she is not at the house on this particular day. The doorbell rings, and Emma answers it, only to be surprised by the meanest girl in school, Isabelle Neptune, her guilt-stricken boyfriend Benjamin trailing close behind. Isabelle lets herself in, and the other guests continue to arrive. Next are Eli Bailey, Blake Phillips, Carolyn Morello, Connor Morello, Nicole Karveki, and Melody Quinn. Nicole converses with her best friend Owen as the door opens again. Landon Baker, Owen's secret crush walks in. Owen awkwardly greets him, completely overwhelmed. The next guests to arrive are Winona Syerbud, the mute goth, and Alejandro Ohebeck, the shy guy. Finally, Violet Hong walks in, talking about how she has to leave early because her parents are strict. They get think this is everyone, but the doorbell rings one more time. Owen and Emma both open the door, but are terrified to let the person in. This is Dan Baderhause, who heard about the party and decided to come anyway, even though he had not been invited. We learn of his and Isabelle's rivalry; the two meanest kids in school don't always get along. Benjamin tries to stop them from fighting, but Isabelle snaps at him to stop. The party is about to begin when they notice a white cat standing on the porch. They don't think much of it, until Violet explains that this is a white cat, and if you see it at night, it will grant you good luck. The chapter ends with Melody yelling, "Follow that cat!"

Chapter 3: So Much For Good Luck
So Much For Good Luck begins with the group following the cat out into the backyard and through the woods. Eventually, they make it to a clearing, but the cat is nowhere to be found. At the top of the hill is a giant mansion that none of the kids have ever heard about. Connor, Carolyn, Eli, Dan, Winona, Melody, and Isabelle insist on entering the house, dragging Benjamin with them. They explain that they'll just pop in and pop right back out. The other group, which consists of Violet, Blake, Owen, Emma, Landon, Nicole, and Alejandro, lets them, then soon realizes that maybe they should go in, too. The whole group enters the house together, the door slamming shut behind them. They panic, but see a glowing book on top of a table at the bottom of the stairs. Landon reads from it. The book says: 'Hello, my dear friends. I’m so glad you could make it tonight. It is quite a pleasure having you with me. I can’t wait for all the fun we’ll have tonight. You are most likely confused what is going on currently, but all will be explained if you follow my instructions closely. In the first seven rooms on the second floor, there is a piece of a talisman. You must find these pieces and bring them back here. Place them on this table and all will be explained. Now go! Go!' They follow its directions and go up to the second floor, where they find seven rooms. They split into groups, Benjamin resisting Isabelle and going with Carolyn. The groups are: Connor and Emma, Benjamin and Carolyn, Landon and Owen, Eli and Melody, Alejandro and Violet, Blake and Nicole and Dan, and Isabelle and Winona. They step into their rooms, not knowing what is in store.

Chapter 4: Challenges, Challenges
This chapter starts with Carolyn and Benjamin stepping into their room, where they see a large table filled end to end with every food imaginable. They find a note telling them to eat all of the food to find their piece of the talisman. They are nervous at first, but soon begin to eat. They eat through most of the food until they reach the end, where there is one cupcake left on each side of the table. They take a bite at the same time. Without seeing the results of Carolyn and Benjamin's escapade, we arrive in the Mechanic's Workshop with Melody and Eli. They figure out that in one of the machines, a piece of the talisman is hidden. The get to work searching for it, having to warn each other of danger as their partner sets off traps. Melody finds the cube, but turns around just in time to see Eli fall into a wall. Eli tumbles through the mysterious tunnel, eventually spit out into the room with Blake, Nicole, and Dan. He lands on a dresser and almost falls off, where he sees lava instead of the floor. He immediately recognizes this as a 'the floor is lava' situation. Eli explains to the others that he opened a drawer on a dresser, the dresser slid aside, and he fell into the wall. The group finds the piece of the talisman and tries to the find a way out. They decide that must get the clothes out from the dresser Eli is on and set them on the ground to walk to the door and escape. Eli is just about to reach the last of the clothes when he falls into the lava. We cut to another room as Violet and Alejandro walk in. The observe the area and it seems to be an office with a fishtank on the desk. The fishtank has a note. The room quickly fills with water, and the two frantically search for the talisman. Suddenly, something falls through the ceiling and into the water. The thing comes out of the water and is revealed to be a disheveled Eli. He has not died from the lava, but rather transported to another room. They search for the talisman, but cannot find it. At the last moment, Violet gets the idea that it could be in the fishtank with the blocks. She dives into the water. We jump to Connor and Emma, boyfriend and girlfriend, who enter a bedroom. The room is dim and warm, a note telling them to search for the piece of the talisman. However, the room is slowly getting darker. Just as the room gets pitch black, they realize that neither of them have checked under the bed. The feel it under, the bed, the door popping open. They enter the hallway, glad to have made it out. They wonder how their friends are doing. We arrive in a room filled with spiderwebs, Isabelle and Winona searching for the talisman. Well, really just Winona, Isabelle pretending to do work. Winona finds the talisman and the two make it out. We go back to the Mechanic's Workshop, where Melody panics about losing Eli. She goes to the door, and after a pie in the face, a large boxing glove punch, and many other things, the door opens and Melody makes it out into the hallway. The other ask her where Eli is, but she has no idea. In the freezing cold bathroom, Landon and Owen search for the talisman. Landon lends Owen his sweatshirt, but Owen soon gives it back, as Landon seems to have been frozen. Owen finds the talisman and brings Landon out into the hallway, where he defrosts almost immediately. Back in the lava room, the group panics as Eli falls into the lava. They continue their plan and make it into the hallway, where they explain to the group that Eli has fallen into the lava and is dead. The group mourns their loss, when a door suddenly bursts open, water gushing out in all directions. Violet, Alejandro, and Eli tumble out, the group rejoicing. Now, they're only waiting on Carolyn and Benjamin. The door on the end opens, and a sad Carolyn walks out with a piece of the talisman in her hand. She explains that Benjamin is dead. They both took a bite of the cupcakes, and Carolyn found the talisman. Just as they were about to leave, Benjamin started spitting up blood, then fell to the floor and died. Surprisingly, Isabelle is devastated at the loss of her boyfriend and blames it all on Carolyn, screaming at her for killing Carolyn, as she was the last one seen with him. She reverts back to her old, wicked self and marches off, beckoning for the group to follow her.

Chapter 5: Thea
The group is in the lounge (a couch and chair area in the middle of the foyer, where they found the book), where they are currently trying to arrange the pieces to form the talisman. They realize that they must place them on the table where they found the book in the correct arrangement to get the last piece of the talisman. They do as instructed, and the last piece of the talisman appears, the design resembling a demon. A bright light appears, encasing the room, when the light fades, a woman is standing in front of the group. She says, "I know you are all confused about where you are and what is going on. Listen carefully. My name is Thea. This is a safe house, free from all demons and evil. But something has broken this barrier. This evil has gotten onto the property and is currently about to start a game of chess. All of you will be pawns in this game, and you must complete each challenge and earn a talisman. At sunrise, the evil will fully awaken, and it will come at whoever is left! That is why you must get all of the talismans. Once you are done, you will put all of the talismans together, and create a way back to your world. Not only will you get back home, but you will also defeat the evil. In these challenges, people may die, and people may not. It is your job to pick who will compete in each challenge. You can vote for anyone you want by writing their name down on a piece of paper. I will put them all together in a basket, then pull out a certain amount each time." The group votes. Thea reaches her hand into the basket and pulls out the names Alejandro, Isabelle, Blake, and Owen. The two teams are Alejandro and Owen versus Isabelle and Blake. She explains that their challenge is to go outside, where they will find a witch. She will tell them the ingredients for a potion, and they must collect them in the given time. She will test the spells and whichever team made the best one wins. The winning team will then decide on who from the losing team to die. As they leave, the group comes to the realization that when they come back, one of them will be dead.

Chapter 6: Fur of Wolf
The four contestants walk outside and meet the witch. She tells them the ingredients are frog leg, pine cone, maple leaf, fur of wolf, and spider's teeth. Isabelle and Blake strategize that they will get the easy stuff first (pine cone and maple leaf) then the hard stuff. They find the pine cone immediately. They search for the leaf and Isabelle finds it easily. They find the frog and Isabelle takes a sharp rock and chops its leg off. They now have three ingredients. They find a spider, but have no way to get the teeth. They decide to use the whole thing, reasoning that a little extra flesh won't totally ruin the spell. They think they have everything, but realize they still have to get the fur of wolf. They panic, having no idea how to find a wolf's fur. With thirty seconds left, they see Alejandro and Owen taking something off of the witch's cloak. Her cloak is made of wolf fur! Just as they're about to get the fur, the witch tells them that time is up. They have failed. The witch uses their spell and casts it on a wilted flower, which comes back to life. They've done it! But when she uses the other team's spell, the flower not only comes back to life, but it turns into a living creature! Owen and Alejandro have won, and they decide to kill Isabelle. Isabelle breaks down in tears, and just as the witch is about to kill her, someone yells, "Stop!"

Chapter 7: Hello Bradley
The chapter starts with the revelation that Owen was the one who yelled stop, telling the witch to kill him instead. She shrugs, pointing her wand at him. He is incased in a purple ball of magic, saying his final words in his head. He says, '''Goodbye, Emma. Goodbye, Landon. Hello, Mom and Dad. Hello, Bradley.'' ' The light fades, but he is not dead. He celebrates his not-death, but as he stands up, A searing pain shoots through his chest. He sees flashes of a demon, just like the one on the talisman. Through the pain, the group returns back into the house, where the others celebrate that Owen is dead. The group comes to the conclusion that Owen did not die, but was actually cursed by the witch. Thea tells them that they must vote for the next challenge. The two names are drawn: Dan and Connor.

to be continued...