Question
You are advised to write between 350 and 500 words on the following topic:
You are in a place which you feel may be haunted. Describe the place, and your feelings and reactions.
Model Essay
The moment I stepped through the creaking gate, a shiver ran down my spine. The old mansion stood before me, cloaked in darkness and mystery. Its decaying facade, with ivy crawling up the weathered stone walls, seemed to whisper secrets of a bygone era. The windows, many of them shattered, stared like vacant eyes, and the air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. As I approached the front door, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease, as if unseen eyes were watching my every move.
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, which groaned in protest, I stepped into a dimly lit hallway. The floorboards beneath my feet creaked ominously with each step, echoing through the silence. Dust motes danced in the thin beams of moonlight that filtered through the gaps in the curtains, creating an eerie, almost ethereal atmosphere. The air inside was cold and musty, filled with the unmistakable scent of neglect and time.
The hallway was lined with portraits of stern-faced ancestors, their eyes seeming to follow me as I moved deeper into the house. Each painting was a testament to the mansion’s once-glorious past, now faded and forgotten. The wallpaper, once vibrant, now hung in tatters, revealing patches of mold and crumbling plaster beneath. Cobwebs adorned every corner, their delicate strands glistening in the faint light.
I turned a corner and found myself in the grand parlor. The room was vast, with a high ceiling adorned with an ornate chandelier, its crystals now dull and coated in dust. A grand piano stood in one corner, its keys yellowed with age, and the furniture, covered in white sheets, looked like ghostly apparitions frozen in time. The fireplace, long cold, was filled with the remnants of charred wood, and above it hung a large mirror, its surface cracked and cloudy.
As I moved closer to the center of the room, I felt a sudden drop in temperature. My breath formed visible puffs in the air, and I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to ward off the chill. It was then that I heard it—a faint whisper, barely audible, yet unmistakable. My heart began to race, and I scanned the room, but I saw no one. The whisper grew louder, more insistent, as if calling out to me from the shadows.
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A sense of dread washed over me, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. My instincts screamed at me to leave, but curiosity and a strange compulsion kept me rooted to the spot. The whispers seemed to be coming from the staircase, a grand, sweeping structure that led to the upper floors. Gathering my courage, I ascended the steps, each one creaking under my weight.
The second floor was even darker, the shadows deeper and more oppressive. I felt an overwhelming sense of being watched, as if the very walls had eyes. As I reached the top of the stairs, a sudden gust of wind blew through the hallway, slamming a nearby door shut with a deafening crash. My heart leapt into my throat, and I nearly turned back, but something drew me forward.
I pushed open the door that had slammed shut and stepped into what appeared to be a bedroom. The bed, draped in a dusty canopy, looked as though it had not been slept in for decades. An old rocking chair sat in one corner, its gentle motion seemingly powered by an unseen force. The whispers were louder here, more distinct, and they sent chills down my spine.
As I stood there, trying to make sense of the eerie sensations, I suddenly felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I spun around, but there was no one there. Panic surged through me, and I bolted from the room, racing down the stairs and out of the house, not stopping until I was back outside the creaking gate.
Gasping for breath, I looked back at the mansion, now silent and still, and wondered what had possessed me to enter in the first place. The haunted feeling lingered, a heavy presence in the air, and I knew that the memory of that night would stay with me forever, a chilling reminder of the unseen forces that dwell in forgotten places.
Word Count: 717