Hallow

     I pulled up in the driveway when my watch told me it was noon on the dot. I parked in front of the porch and got out of my car with my briefcase. I looked around the property. The house dated back to around the 1800’s and was awfully big and old. The shutters were about to fall off, the porch squeaked with every step, the windows were dusted, and the paint was almost nonexistence on the house. The house was on a hill that overlooked the small village.
     It was a chilly day in October and the trees and bushes around the house had no leaves. The grass was brown and there were no flowers. On one side of the house was a pumpkin field filled with different sizes and shapes of pumpkins along with one scarecrow that had a crow on the top of its head. The crow stared at me, watching me. As if it was guarding the house. The scarecrow that it sat upon almost seemed real, like it was made from a human. However, you could easily see the hay sticking out from the hands, feet, and head.
     On the other side of the house was a cemetery filled with over one hundred tombstones and one large mausoleum. I looked at the records before arriving at the house and realized that the house had been in the family for many years. Relatives were buried in the cemetery, including the original owners.
The original owners were a rich couple from Europe. They owned a couple of factories and industries. They moved to America for a better life and needed a big house for their thirteen children. The house was passed down to the oldest child and that child passed it down to his oldest child and so on. Also in the record it showed that extended family members such as aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. lived in the house as well when they had nowhere else to go. This house was a safe heaven for any family member in this family.
     I knocked on the door, which like everything on the outside of the house, seemed like it was falling apart. I waited patiently for about a minute and knocked on the door again. This time the door opened and I could see that it was very dark inside but I did not see anyone at the door.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Hello,” said a small voice. I looked down and realized that one of the children of the family opened the door. The child was female, with pale skin, long black hair, dark eyes, and wore a black dress with a red ribbon in her hair.
“My name is Mr. Black. I am here to meet with Mr. Hallow,” I told the child.
“Which one?” she asked innocently. This child could not be more than seven or eight but something seemed to be very sinister about her.
“I am here to see a Mr. Earl Hallow,” and when I said the name, the child became paler and for a second seemed frighten.
“Mary, who is at the door? Do not open the door for strangers,” said a male voice. A man in a black suit appeared at the door and took little Mary by the hand. The man had black hair that was pushed back and just like the child was pale, had dark eyes, and had something that seemed sinister about him.
“Mr. Black is here to see Earl,” the child told the man. Just like the child, the man turned paler and for a split second seemed frighten.
“I suppose you are not Earl Hallow,” I said to the man.
“No, I am Gabriel Hallow. I am Earl’s third cousin. Please excuse me, but why are you here?” he asked politely.
“I have a meeting with Mr. Earl Hallow about his mortgage. Are appointment was at noon. It is already twelve o five,”
“Mortgage? We own this house,” Gabriel said with a confusing look on his face.
“I can only talk about the details to Mr. Earl Hallow,” Gabriel looked down, nodded, and allowed me to enter.
     The inside of the house was dark, as I was expecting from when the door opened. The hallway led to the living room. I was surprised that there was no television, only a radio. The carpet was red with a very nice design that seemed to be from somewhere in Asia. The walls were covered with family members who passed on along with very old family photos that were taken generation after generation. Over the fireplace was a portrait of a man who had curly hair, a mustache, and dark eyes.
“Lou Hallow. He was the one who bought the house many years ago. The first head of the family,” said Gabriel.
“Lou?” I asked since that was not a common name during the 1800’s.
“It was his nickname. We do not know his full name. Please sit down. I’m sure Earl will be asking for you soon. Mary, we need to go upstairs for your lessons. The other children are already there,” Gabriel and Mary headed up the stairs and then went out of site.
I sat down in a chair that I could tell was very old. Although old, it was very comfortable. On the table were cups filled with tea along with a teapot. I picked up the cup to take a sip, but then something told me not to drink it so I put it down.
     The room had an eerie feeling, with all these pictures staring at me. A young man, a young women, two children (a brother and a sister), an infant, an old couple, three men, a group of women, a family photo that was dated 1895, a group of children with the youngest about five and the oldest in her teens, a young boy in a nursery, a girl with flowers, and the pictures kept going and going and going.
“Mr. Black. Earl will see you now,” said a voice at the top of the stairs. I turned around to see a young woman. She looked just like Gabriel and Mary with her long black hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and had that sinister look. She was very thin and wearing a black lady’s suit.
“Who are you?” I asked shaking her hand.
“Ruth Hallow,” she answered, “please, follow me,”
     We walked down a long hallway and on the left side of the hallway there were portraits of famous people that I recognized: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawtorne, Herman Melville, Abigail Williams, H.P. Lovecraft and more.
“These people are our famous ancestors. A few of them remained in Europe; others arrived to America before Lou. Although some did not live in this house, we still consider them our family,” said Ruth.
We stopped at the end of the hall were a heart was carved on the door. Ruth knocked on the door and a voice said, “enter” and we both went inside.
     The room had no decorations. The only thing in the room was a long table and there were people sitting around it. I recognized Gabriel and I watched as Ruth took her seat. There also was a big man sitting next to Gabriel and a man who looked as if his eyes were on fire sitting next to Ruth. I took noticed that five seats were empty and at the very end of the table was a man, in a dark suit, with a black cane, and wearing a top hat.
“Mr. Earl Hallow I presume,” I said.
“Yes and I presume you are Mr. Black. I hear there is some confusion over the mortgage of this house,” he said, putting both his hands on his cane. He was much older then the other members at the table and I could see fear and respect on their faces for him.
“I have papers here that say you owe the bank a great amount of money,” I said taking out the folder, I was about to walk over and give it to him when he put up his hand to stop me.
“I paid,” he said.
“No, you did not. I have the documents right here,” I said holding up the folder. Earl shook his head and from the bottom of his seat, took out a folder and gave it to Ruth, who passed it to the man next to her, who passed it to me. I opened the folder and realized that there was indeed a mistake. My own mistake! Earl paid his mortgage a few days ago and was now the owner of the building. I stared at the document to see who signed it.
“It was signed by Peter Hallow, a member of our family who works with the bank,” said Earl. I stared at the document and realized that it was a valid document. That was when I realized how much power this family had and something did not seem right.
“I do not know a Peter Hallow,” I told Earl who gave me an angry look. His family members looked angry and frighten at the same time.
“He does not work in the village. He works a couple towns over,” Earl replied with a tone of anger in his voice. There was nothing I could do.
“Please excuse me for my mistake. I will return to the bank and undo this misunderstanding. Do you have a copy of this document?” I asked.
“Keep it,” Earl replied. I put the documents in my briefcase and walked towards the door but when I turned the knob, the hairs on the back of my neck went up. I opened the door and saw two teenagers standing there, blocking my way.
“Excuse me,” I said, but they did not move. That was when I blacked out.

     I woke up feeling dizzy and nauseous. My head was spinning and I opened my eyes and everything was fuzzy. Slowly, my sight came back. I looked up to see the family members who were at the meeting, three children, and Earl staring at me. The Earl was reading from a black book and I could not understand what language he was speaking in. No, he was not speaking, he was chanting! That was when I felt the pain in my hands and feet.
“Am I tied to something?” I thought but the pain started to get worse. I stared at each family member and I could see every sinister look on their faces. Then I realized that my hands and feet were not tied, but nailed. I realized what was happening and I started to scream! I started going crazy and trying to tell myself that this was not happening, but it was happening! Their faces only gave me grins and their eyes looked evil!
     I realized that I was nailed to an upside down cross and I knew who Lou was. Lucifer. Satan!