Scary Stories: "The Hatch"

A man inherits some money and decides to buy a small cabin in the woods by a lake—exactly the kind of place he has always daydreamed about. The price is almost too good to be true, and the real estate agent seems unusually eager to close the deal. The cabin is old, furnished with the previous owners' belongings, and has no phone or reliable cell reception. That is exactly what the buyer wants: a place to get away from everything. What he does not yet understand is that the cabin has been waiting for him.

The signs he ignores

The first hint that something is wrong comes when the agent shows the buyer a hidden hatch in the kitchen floor. Below is a dirt cellar that has been converted into an office, complete with a desk and bookshelves full of old books about spirituality, dark magic, demons, and witches. The buyer thinks it is odd but does not dwell on it. He signs the contract, and the agent practically flees into the night, saying he has a long drive home.

On the drive back to the city, a woman steps out of the woods directly in front of the buyer's car. He slams on the brakes, closes his eyes, and braces for impact—but there is no impact. When he gets out to look, there is no one there. He writes it off as stress or sleep deprivation and goes home.