The House at 975 Nerkmid Way

     Stranger still, nobody has ever been seen leaving the house. Neighbours that live on Nerkmid Way who are aware of the house’s random appearances say that the first time it happened it just seemed like a quick construction build. After all, with the might of a combined Neopets workforce, getting a house built in a day is rather simple. However, everyone was very confused when less than a day later, the lot where the house stood was back to being empty.

     Rumors have spread far and wide about what could possibly be going on in the home. Its existence has been known for several years now and most residents in the area just accepted that there was no harm being done by a house just flickering into existence. Albeit, the supernatural nature of the home does keep those living in direct proximity to it wary.

     The mystery of this disappearing house has brought many from far and wide hoping to investigate the phenomenon. To nobody’s surprise the constant flow of Neopians who linger and camp out in the vicinity has upset many in the neighbourhood. So much so that nobody is allowed to investigate anymore. That is, unless they get permission from the Home Owners Association and the NCPD.

     That is exactly what needed to be done in order to bring this story to the Neopian Times on this day. Everything would be for not though if I, Baron von Murin, did not figure when I would actually be able to witness this supernatural occurrence myself. I reached out to several residents to see if I could figure out the pattern. What the residents told me was nothing short of startling.

     It seemed as though the house really did only appear randomly. It would be months between appearances, but it always seemed to occur a few times a year. In trying to recollect their experiences, everyone I spoke to could only vaguely remember it occurring maybe once or twice a year. One thing did stand out: it always happened on a Friday.

     This was an excellent starting point, but things needed to be narrowed down even further. After confirming the month and year in which each of these events occurred, I looked for patterns that could hopefully pinpoint a precise time for me to investigate the lot. After several hours of pouring over the dates I had, it finally hit me. Every month where the house appeared there was at least one Friday that fell on the thirteenth day of the month.

     This was it. This was the single thing that every event had in common, the one thing that every witness I spoke to had agreed upon. A seemingly random Friday during a random time of the year. No wonder it was so infrequent, Fridays lining up with the thirteenth day of the month only happens one to three times in any given year.

     With this knowledge I set up a small surveillance area across the street. A small tent, a folding chair and portable stove to make some delicious hot cocoa on a cool night. Thank you to the kind Gnorbu who allowed me to set up in her front yard. She wishes to remain anonymous.

     After several hours of stake out that started at 6:00 p.m. there was a shift in the environment at midnight. The scenery before me seemed to tilt, not much but just enough to make me stop and wonder if what I was seeing was actually happening. All of a sudden there was a single-story house in front of me. It was so instantaneous I thought I blinked, but I didn’t.

     This intrepid reporter would not be phased by the startling turn of events. When speaking with eyewitnesses, I asked all of them if they had attempted to make contact with whoever lived in the home, or if they had ever investigated to see if the house was owned by anyone. No one had attempted to locate the home’s owner, but several neighbours had knocked on the door to introduce themselves when the house first appeared. After that first disappearance, however, nobody has dared to try again.

     There was no unusual aura about the place as I approached the front door. It was very odd hours to have a visitor but this was as good a time as any to knock on the door and attempt to see if there was anyone living in the home. My knocks went unanswered after three tries, each progressively louder as well as an introduction from myself, announcing I was from the Neopian Times and wished to have an interview.

     No lights appeared to be on and so I began a quiet circle around the property. There was no fence, and with my exclusive access, I was able to freely move to any side of the house. It was dark, very dark. The description I can provide is that peering into the windows, I could not even see my shadow against the floor. No moonlight or streetlight seemed to make it through the window panes, as if they were painted on. The windows were real glass and a wood frame as most windows are. It was strangely devoid of any outdoor furniture, lawn and garden equipment, and I suddenly realized it had no outdoor light bulbs either as the back of the house was unlit.

     Coming back around to the front of the house I noticed several teens standing at the sidewalk looking a bit anxious. I approached them and introduced myself. After inquiring why they were here word had spread throughout the kids in the neighbourhood that on this night the house would appear and they had dared one of their friends to break in.

     Their names will be kept off the record due to them being minors, however the actions they took were severe and so I decided to enter the home in hopes of defusing a potentially dangerous altercation between the teen and startled homeowner. That did not happen though.

     I stepped through the front door and from the outside looking in, it was pitch black. After stepping through the door however I could make out faint outlines of furniture and the floor. I understood the reason why no light seemed to enter the home. Everything was painted or coloured black. To the right of the door I could make out the shapes of a single recliner and sofa and what looked to be a rug that was a shade of black darker than the floor it was laid upon. The furniture only being a shade lighter than the walls of the home. Looking back at the floor near the open front door I could see in the moonlight that there was some chipped paint, and regular wood floorboards beneath. Looking at the ceiling was like closing your eyes. The air was musty and clearly nothing had been circulating it through the house for some time.

     As I approached what I believe was a hallway to go deeper into the home, I could hear footsteps rushing towards me. Then the teenager that had entered the home rushed past me and out the front door yelling at the other to get into the light of the street lamp on the corner. Perplexed, I turned around and suddenly the air pressure changed and something felt like it was rushing towards me. This reporter trusts his instincts and I backed up into the moonlight of the front door.

     There I stood looking into the abyss of this unusual home, and then there was a breath. A long drawn out sigh. Two bright white globes appeared about a foot above my eye level. They were eyes, and they were looking right at me.

     “How lucky,” this entity stated. Suddenly I was pushed back about ten feet off the porch, onto the walkway leading up to the house. The door slammed shut and the night was still. The entire property seemed to be shrouded in more darkness, despite it being a very clear night.

     This entire turn of events had left me stunned and unsure of how to decipher what I had seen. Approaching the young Neopians who had crossed the street to safety I began to question the one who went into the home.

     The teens had heard from a rumour that spread around that every time a Friday fell on the thirteenth of a month, a cursed house would appear. Allegedly the homeowner had attempted to deep fry a turkey in their home with disastrous results. Engulfed in flames, the house charred black by the fire, the homeowner was enraged and regretful, leading to his spirit haunting the land where his house once stood.

     Fact checking this allegation shows there had been no home on this particular lot prior to the appearance of the house and that no fires had been reported at this address since the land was developed for housing. The apt description of the inside of the home, despite nobody ever reportedly entering it, does seem like an unusual coincidence.

     Is this a case of urban legends manifesting due to the collective consciousness of the nearby residents and becoming reality? Or is this particular spot of land actually cursed, and has simply found a form? Regardless of the reason, the experience was real.

     We here at the Neopian Times do not advise attempting to enter, deface, or otherwise disturb the property when it appears. NCPD has also stated it will not tolerate any trespassing on the property and anyone caught will face a heavy 100,000 NP fine for the first offence and possible jail time thereafter.

     Coming to you with more riveting stories from around Neopia, this is Baron von Murin.