Sarah was a 20-year-old college student from America. She came to Scotland to study history for one year. She found a cheap room in an old big house called Blackthorn Hall near Edinburgh. The house was made of gray stone. It had tall towers and many dark rooms. Ivy grew all over the walls. The owner said it was very old, from the 1800s. Some local people said the house had ghosts, but Sarah did not believe them. She just wanted a quiet place to read and study after her bad breakup back home. Her room was on the second floor. It had a small bed, a desk, and a big fireplace. Above the fireplace hung a large old painting in a gold frame. The painting showed a handsome man from long ago. He had dark wavy hair and bright blue eyes. He looked straight at Sarah with a small smile. When she first saw the painting, she felt something strange in her heart, like she knew him. But she told herself it was nothing. The first nights were normal. Sarah unpacked her books and studied by the fire. But o...
Priya moved to Meerut from Delhi after her divorce left her feeling empty and tired of city noise. She wanted a quiet place to start again, so when a distant relative offered her a small old bungalow in the GP Block area at very low rent, she said yes without thinking twice. The block was known as a quiet, empty part of the city near the cantonment, with big old buildings that no one had lived in for many years. Locals said the place felt strange after sunset, but Priya did not believe in such stories. She was a practical woman who had already faced enough real pain in her life. The bungalow was large and old, with high ceilings, cracked walls, and wooden floors that creaked when she walked. Dust covered everything, and the air smelled of damp earth and old wood. In the main bedroom upstairs, there was a big mirror with a heavy wooden frame. When Priya first looked into it, she thought she saw something move behind her reflection, but she told herself it was only the light playing tric...