This was a joke, right? Some kind of bad prank they did for all the new people who moved into town. Make a big deal out of the “haunted house” in the woods, get some sucker to buy it, and then pretend the haunting was real. It would make for a great reality show. One I would probably watch, laughing as the poor schmuck tried to discern fact from fiction.

Except…I knew. I knew what he was saying was the truth. I had felt it the second I stumbled into the entryway, some unassuming force taking control over my soul. Not a possession, exactly. Nothing sinister. More like a joining. Like I was part of the house, and the house was part of me.

But I couldn’t accept it. There had to be some way out of here. He just hadn’t figured it out yet. I unwrapped the tea towel from my fist, watching the man out of the corner of my eye. He sprawled out in a velvet armchair, the fabric cushioning him like he had sat there for decades. Which, if what he was saying was true, he very well might have. But he didn’t look much older than I was.

I looked at him, and he stared steadily back at me. He was no ghost, that was for sure. His hand against my mouth had been warm, solid. Flesh and bone. There was no denying he was also hot, in an old-school kind of way. His thick, dark hair was longer than the current style, and framed his olive face. Dark eyes watched me. He was handsome, but something was off, something I couldn’t put my finger on. An out-of-style suit coat caressed broad shoulders, oddly formal for the occasion. “What’s your name?” I asked. If we were going to be lifetime roommates, we might as well be on a first-name basis. At least until I figured out a way to leave.

“Felix.” His finger traced the outline of his full lips, and I found myself following the line. “What’s yours?”

“Savannah. You can call me Sav, though. Everyone does.” I pulled my eyes away from him, looking around the house for an exit Felix might have missed. Felix. What a funny name. It sounded absolutely ancient. “Why can’t you break a window?”

Felix sighed. “I told you. The house is cursed. The doors won’t open. The windows are unbreakable. I saw you trying to bust out and I had to stop you before you hurt yourself. They’ll just push you back. Once you’re in, you’re in for life.”

I nodded, but there was something he wasn’t telling me. I just had to figure out what. Could I go up through a chimney?

“Before you even offer up any solution, I've tried. All of them. Every. Last. One." He sounded bored as he spoke, as if he’d rather be doing anything else.