The Door

John Finlay needed somewhere to hole up for the night. Anywhere would do. He was tired, hungry and looking for a place to find a bed. He scanned the roadside for vacancy signs in the hope that his journey would end for the night. The roads were dark and swept with mist, there were no road-lights in the highlands and in the gloom of the evening it was hard to pick out properties in the rugged landscape.
The eerie mist danced across the road giving John a feeling of uneasiness and fear. Where am I? he thought, am I in the right place? Is this road taking me anywhere? He shuddered as he felt a growing sense of unease and feared that he would have to drive through the night.
The vacancy sign seemed to loom at him out of the creeping obscuration. Slamming on his brakes he slid into the wide driveway bounded by large Iron gates. Ahead of him he could make out the outline of a large country house, almost a castle. It seemed to peer at him through the mist and the one lighted window gave it the appearance of a Cyclops waiting to engorge on him. Dismissing his uneasiness as the result of tiredness he made his way up the drive and parked his car in the unlit yard. The cold mist settled around him…he trembled and felt that the mantle of death had touched him.
It was a long time until someone answered the ringing doorbell.
“What can I do for you?” asked the gaunt figure of a man who answered to door; his voice thin and exuding a sense of threat.
“I…I wondered if you could give me a bed for the night?” John asked exhibiting and obvious sense of trepidation.
“I can, you pay in advance and breakfast is extra, if you make it.” No explanation was offered for the statement.
The man’s hollow eyes cut into John in a way that made his flesh creep. Stepping inside, he found a hallway bordered by dark foreboding oak panels and lit by a single dim light bulb hanging naked from the high ceiling. John’s uneasiness was all the keener now. The house reeked of the dank smell of unuse and lack of care. This was the kind of place he had seen in films and it made him want to leave, but he was too exhausted and it was too late to go any further along such deserted roads.
“I’ll show you to your room,” the man intoned, showing no sense of warmth or welcome and making John feel as though he were an intruder, not a guest. The stairway was dark and John would not have made his way except for the man leading from the front. The climb went on in silence and seemed to go on forever, one flight after another, until finally on the fifth floor another dim light bulb illuminated two doors to the only rooms on the very top of the house.
“What time is breakfast” John asked almost fearing the evil tone of the man’s reply.
“8am if you are here for it.”
John was taken aback by the reply. Why wouldn’t he be here for it? he thought.
The room was darker than the hallway and stairs and through the gloom John could make out the outline of what looked like dark, cheap Edwardian furniture…a single size wardrobe, dressing table and double bed. He didn’t like it, but he was in now and thought he had no option but to accept it.
Seeing another door on the far side of the room John enquired if it led to an En-suite.
“An En-suite man, you’ll get no such fancy here. There’s a small bathroom on the first floor and that will have to do you. John cringed at the idea of sharing a bathroom that would be used by strangers,
“And,” said the man. “You see that door on the opposite wall; on no account should you try to enter it. There are things there that will be the end of you. Mark my words.” The man’s voice was full of malice and intrigue and John’s fear and curiosity were stirred at the same time. It is almost as if he is taunting me to go through the door and see what is beyond, he thought.
“Mind you stay quiet and make no noise. There are two female guests in the other room and they’ll not be wanting to hear noise from you.”
John flopped down on the bed, relieved to be resting his muscles that were sore from leaning over the steering wheel in order to see the road through the mist. The top of the bed felt damp and after a while caused him to shiver. Thinking he would be better in the bed he threw back the covers and found the sheets and pillows covered in dark hairs. He shuddered to think he would have to spend a night in such unsavoury conditions. Brushing the sheets down he got into bed and drew the covers around him for warmth. It did not come. It didn’t take long before he realised that he was surrounded by an uneasy silence. Surely if there were other guests in the house, I would hear something? he thought. But there was nothing…no voices, no sound of movement, no footfall on the stairs. Thinking they might have some tea making equipment, he ventured out and knocked their door. There was no answer.
Feeling unsettled John returned to his cold and sinister room. Robbed of sleep by the unnerving surroundings his mind soon turned to the door at the opposite side of the room. Why did the man tell me not to enter it? he thought. Why did he seem to be goading me to try and enter beyond it? What is in there?
In the half-light of the room, he examined the door. It was locked, but a key had been left in the lock. He turned it and then tried the handle and pulled the door towards him…nothing. The door was stuck and would not yield. Then realising that the door opened outward he tried again, still the door was stuck. What secret is the man hiding that he wants no one to enter? Why did he leave the key in the lock if he wanted to maintain his secret? he asked himself.
Racked with curiosity, John decided that he would make an effort to force the door and find out what dark mystery lay beyond. Holding down the handle, he leaned back, turned his shoulder and launched forward slamming into the door. It flew full open before him revealing the dark, misty night and the nothingness beneath his feet. John felt the cold night air but did not hear the crack as his head smashed open on the stone pathway fifty feet below. The female guests had been given that room the night before. A skeletal hand closed the door and the uneasy silence echoed through the waning mist.