Gloom House

Think back, and see if this image matches up with any of your memories: a big, old fashioned living room, lots of antique chairs, candle holders, expensive china, things like that. The objects in the room have a bluish tint, and there’s a big staircase across from the door. There are large windows, but the blinds are closed. The only light source is a faint amount of daylight shining through the curtains, but it’s a grey, rainy day. Does that seem familiar? If not, you’re one of the lucky ones.

For those of you who do share that memory with me, you may not remember exactly where that house is from. That’s because it’s a dream, a shared dream many people have had. How many? There’s no way to say for sure, but of the people I’ve asked, about 75% had some memories of the house. For most, that was all it was, a faint memory, usually with negative connotations for no remembered reason. The truly unlucky ones, however, can remember more about the house.

A typical dream about the house will begin with you alone in the room I described. There will be no other people in it, and the only sound will be the tapping noise of raindrops falling outside. Your vision will start to get blurry, going in and out of focus as everything seems to move very slightly. A music box will start playing; the sound will be coming from every direction. You’ll hear the sound of footsteps from the above floor, it will get louder and louder. Just as you make out the faint silhouette of a person at the top of the staircase, you will most likely wake up. You’ll be nervous and depressed for a few days, but after that the dream will became a faint memory.

If the dream continues, the figure at the top of the stairs will start walking down them, while the music box grows louder. With each step the figure takes, a body hanging from a noose will appear, seemingly dropping from the ceiling. When the figure reaches the floor you’re on, you’ll barely be able to see any parts of the room due to the hanging bodies. The person coming down the stairs will be covered in shadow, you won’t be able to make out any details about them beyond a humanoid shape. They will offer you a rope, and in your own voice ask “Do you wish to join them?” I’m guessing that saying yes will result in you immediately dying, not a single person I’ve talked to said yes. If you say no, the figure will disappear, and a table holding the music box you’ve been hearing will rise from the floor. The music box will open, and lyrics will be added to the music, in an enchanting female voice.

“Seven is good, two is bad, nine is evil.”

This will be repeated over and over, and three cards will fly out of the box, number two, seven, and nine. If you pick seven, the dream will end, and you will feel normal when you wake up. If you pick two, you will wake and every second of your life will be filled with crushing depression, most people who pick two will kill themselves within a day. If you pick nine, a list of previous people who picked nine will appear on the table, along with the year it happened. Most of the years correspond with historical disasters, such as the black plague, the great depression, and Hitler’s rise to power. I’m not sure what the effects of the most recent choice will be, but I did, after all, only make it a few days ago.

(This story is credited to a person called KI Simpson.)