Riley Ames wasnât looking for a horror storyâjust a cheap place to start over. When she found an abandoned Victorian house in Flint, Michigan selling for one dollar, she thought it was the deal of a lifetime. What she didnât know was why no one else had taken it.
The first few nights were cold, creaky, and quiet⌠until she noticed a draft coming from the old fireplace. While dusting behind it, she discovered a panel that didn’t match the rest of the wall. Curiosity took over.
Behind the panel was a narrow, hidden hallwayâdark, cobwebbed, and cold as a freezer. At the end of it was a door chained shut, marked with a piece of faded masking tape that read: âDO NOT OPEN â July 4, 1983.â
With her heart pounding, Riley cut the chain.
Inside was a perfectly preserved bedroom: floral wallpaper, a childâs bed, a dusty teddy bear. A cassette player sat on the desk. Strangely, it was still plugged inâeven though the house had no power.
She pressed âplay.â
What came next wasnât static. It was a childâs voice, whispering her name. âRiley… you came back.â
Terrified, she yanked the cord. But the tape kept playing.
Since that night, Riley has documented every strange eventâfrom moving shadows, to missing time, to dreams that predict the weather. Paranormal investigators have flocked to her doorstep, but no one can explain it.
Some say the house is a dimensional echo. Others believe Riley was somehow meant to find it.
But Rileyâs not leaving. âItâs the only place thatâs ever felt like home,â she says.
And the room? Itâs still there. Still untouched.
Waiting.