My dad had been right – the bothy made the lighthouse seem luxurious in comparison. I couldn’t imagine actually living in one of these huts for two whole weeks, with just the rough, uneven ground to sleep on. No bathroom, no lights, no nothing.

I turned to Will. “Tell me what you know about the lighthouse. What happened back there? Who was that in the room with us?”

“I don’t know. Not exactly.”

“So what do you know? Why don’t you start with the video you showed Rosie?”

Will took a deep breath. “Are you sure you haven’t already seen it? My memory of yesterday is that you came and found me on the clifftop and wanted me to look at some photos you’d taken of the Strangers’ Room. When I realized you were actually recording in there, that’s when I knew I’d have to show you the 211video, no matter how shocking and awful it might be.”

“It wasn’t me,” I said in a quiet, firm voice. “It was my sister.”

Will sighed and began to scroll through his phone. “All right. Let’s say you’re right. Last summer I was here with my sister and her friend. We were bored and playing a game of Truth or Dare. And that’s how I learned that there’s a phrase you must never say inside the lighthouse.”

I frowned. “Well, what is it?”

“I know you’re there.” Will looked sick as he spoke the words. “There’s an urban legend – I’m not sure how it started exactly – but it says that if you go into the lighthouse and say I know you’re there three times then whatever haunts the lighthouse will appear to you.”

He ran his hand through his hair, and I saw that his fingers were shaking slightly.

“I’ve only ever heard of someone managing to say the words twice. God knows what would happen if you actually did it three times. I said the words twice last summer,” he said, “and my sister died. It was … well. Why don’t you see for yourself?” 212

He passed his phone over, and I saw that it was open on a video file.

“I dared my sister to go into the lighthouse,” he went on. “She was only supposed to step inside and then come straight back out again, but Kenzie was… She always had to prove that she was the bravest, the most fearless. So she climbed the staircase to the Strangers’ Room. Emily and I saw her turn the light on from where we were standing outside. Eventually, we went in after her and … the video shows what happened next.”