The Basement

Thunder crashed and rain poured outside

Thunder crashed and rain poured outside as Hazel tossed and turned trying to fall asleep. This house always gave her the creeps, especially during storms.

It was old, worn down and built before her grandma was even born. Echoes reverberated through the halls, drafts chilled each room and shadows darkened almost every corner.

Lights flickered in the hallway of her grandmother's home before finally going dark. Just perfect, she thought, a power outage during a storm in this house.

Being scared of a storm at 25 felt silly, but this house put her on edge. Maybe it was the cold floor, or it's old creaks, or the dark corners that lights wouldn't hit.

Hazel got out of bed to turn on the battery powered lamp on the dresser. At least some light would help illuminate the room. She thought.

Finally she fell asleep and when she woke up, the power was back on and the smell of bacon and pancakes filled the room.

Hazel's grandma loved making breakfast, especially when anyone visited but since her grandpa died a few months ago from cancer she hardly cooked anymore. She'd even stored away her cookbooks in the basement.

After breakfast Hazel ventured into the basement to fetch some of her grandma's cookbooks. They always made cookies together when Hazel visited and this time wouldn't be any different.

The stairs creaked as she crept down them and each step felt rickety and unstable. A panel peeling from the wall caught her eye across the cold underinsulated basement, still damp from last night’s storm. The house’s age was the most likely culprit but she decided to check things out anyway.

Behind the panel she noticed something tucked into the wall wrapped in a blanket. Before investigating further she thought her grandma may have some answers.

“Grandma,” Hazel shouted, “Has this panel always been loose in the basement?”

Walking towards the basement door her grandma shouted back, “It must be loose with age honey, come back up here with those cookbooks and we can start on the cookies.”

“I think there's something behind the paneling Grandma,” Hazel shouted back.

“I’m sure it's nothing to worry about, just bring those cookbooks back up here,” She assured.

Discomfort filled Hazel, her grandma’s strange respone confirmed she was hiding something. As she pulled the blanket back her body froze, she was horrified.

Wrapped up in the deteriorating blanket was a decayed body that had clearly been there for many years. Hazel covered her mouth to avoid screaming.

Bringing the cookbooks to her grandma, Hazel politely excused herself upstairs for a moment. She knew if anyone had any idea of what to do, her mother would.

“Mom,” she whispered in a panic, “We need to talk NOW!”

“What sweetie, why do you sound so panicked, is Grandma okay?” Her mom questioned.

“Mom, there's a body in the basement.”

“That's impossible. I lived there for 18 years. What's really going on.”

“No Mom, seriously. I went down to get the cookbooks for Grandma and there was a loose panel on the wall. When I asked Grandma about it she got really weird so I checked it out. I saw a blanket back there and when I pulled it back there was a body,” Hazel explained horrified by what she'd seen.

“What do you mean a body? Like an animal?” Her mom questioned.

“No Mom, like a really old dead body, it’s been there for at least 30 years.”

“I'll be there in a few hours, keep baking with Grandma until I can come over.” Her mom explained.

As Hazel went back downstairs she noticed her grandma had already prepared the ingredients on the counter. Hazel began to help roll out the cookie dough with trembling hands and place each cookie onto the prepared cookie sheet.

She was having a hard time acting normal after what she'd just seen but she couldn't risk upsetting her grandma, she was 62 but her husband's death caused severe catatonic episodes and she was frequently incoherent. Hazel tried her best to stay calm for the next few hours.

As her mother walked into the house she noticed the smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air. She lovingly greeted Hazel and her own mother, before making her way to the basement.

Shocked as she pulled back the blanket, she viewed her daughter’s discovery in horror. All these years there had been a body in her mother's basement. The house she grew up in.

She took a moment to grasp reality before calling the police. As they arrived she greeted them at the door explaining her mother's situation. Hazel attempted to keep her distracted with her favorite card games.

After several minutes this became impossible and Hazel played to her grandma’s forgetfulness by reminding her of a planned visit to her sister’s house across town. On the drive to her sister’s, Hazel thought about how she'd explain everything.

When they arrived, Hazel managed to pull her sister aside alone.

“Sis listen, you're not going to believe me but you have to keep grandma here for a while, maybe even a few days…,” Hazel explained as the horror crept on her face.

“Hazel what's going on?” She questioned, knowing something was terribly wrong.

“I found a body in the basement, Mom is there now with police, something horrible has happened and our family has some terrible secret.” Hazel explained.

Her sister took a moment to take everything in. “I'll keep her here but please keep me updated on everything. Did you bring a bag for her?”

Hazel nodded her head and handed her sister a small backpack filled with their grandma's overnight items.

As police searched the basement they found 6 more bodies and were able to determine they had been there at least 30 years. Once the house had been cleared Hazel's grandma was able to return since investigators concluded she posed no danger to the public.

After months of investigation it was determined that Hazel's grandpa had killed these victims over 40 years prior before his daughter, Hazel's mom, was even born. Her grandma became too incoherent to explain why or what had happened but it was determined she had not been involved.

Since her grandpa had already passed away the case was closed but Hazel's family was forever changed and she finally understood why that house gave her the creeps.

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