In a tranquil neighborhood far from the bustling streets of Dubai, my cousin, Lisa, and her husband embarked on a new chapter of their lives as they moved into their very first home. Eager to lend a helping hand, I joined them to unpack and clean up. Yet, from the moment I set foot inside the house, an eerie unease crept over me, as if unseen eyes watched my every move.
I confided in Lisa about this unsettling feeling, and she brushed it off, assuring me that once the boxes were unpacked and the house felt cozier, my discomfort would fade away. She attributed it to the emptiness of the new space. Striving to put my unease aside, I focused on the task at hand, hoping that time would dispel this uncanny sensation.
Weeks passed, and one fateful day, the phone rang. It was Norma, calling in search of my mother. The conversation that followed sent a shiver down my spine. There had been an accident at Norma’s, and we needed to rush to her side. As we arrived at Norma’s house, darkness shrouded the interior. A sense of foreboding loomed as we found no sign of her or her husband, their car absent from the driveway.
We knocked frantically, yet no one responded. Our homes were only a short 10-minute drive apart, making this absence all the more bewildering. With heavy hearts, my mother and I retreated to our own home for the night.
The following morning, my mother tried to call Norma once more. A woman’s voice answered, insisting she had lived in the house for 15 years and that there was no one named Norma residing there. Puzzled, my mother double-checked the phone number, confirming it was indeed Norma’s. My attempts to call the same number yielded the same result – an unknown woman who denied any knowledge of Norma or her residence.
A week later, a chance encounter at the local supermarket unveiled the unsettling truth. I crossed paths with Norma and inquired about the mysterious woman who had taken up residence in her home. Her face drained of color as she recounted her spine-chilling experiences. Norma had fled her own house, now claiming it was haunted.
She described seeing an elderly woman wandering through their home, whispering to herself before vanishing into thin air at the sound of Norma’s screams. Strange noises plagued her nights, as though someone washed dishes or took a shower when only she and her husband occupied the house.
Unable to bear the sinister presence any longer, Norma enlisted the help of movers to swiftly relocate her belongings. They found a new place to live, leaving their eerie house behind. Yet, the unsettling story didn’t end there. Subsequent occupants came and went, unwilling to stay for long, and the house stood vacant.
Driving past it still sent shivers down my spine, especially when I spotted a flickering light in the attic, an eerie reminder of the unwelcome tenant that lurked within its walls.