From author Mewslee37: I wrote this at school in yr7. I am now in yr8. It isn't the best, I know, and it is very short and finishes quickly. I could not help that as there was a word limit! I hate word limits! Well, I hope you enjoy it! Please review.

The House Of Dread

Before you read this book I am warning you, it is full of magic, evil and despair. Now if you don't like devilry and evil, I advise you to put down this book and never look upon it again. I will now begin this terrible tale. Please keep in mind my warning.

One dreadful day I was told by my mother to fetch some milk and bread from the shop. As soon as I stepped out of the front gate it started to rain and it became worse and worse and with a flash of lightning that lit up the whole path ahead I saw a run down house. I didn't want to enter but I knew I had to. When I reached the door it opened on its own accord. I stepped in.

The house was very large and it was full of 1900's furniture. There were doors coming off the hall and a grand staircase leading upstairs. I started to ascend. When I was about a quarter the way up the stairs, I heard a creaking noise. Then the stair I was standing on gave way!! "Aaaargh!" I screamed then with a thud I hit my bottom on the hard wood floor of the cupboard under the stairs. I stood up and bumped my head on the stairs above. I brushed the dust and mothballs off me. That was when I heard it. It was music and talking. The music was that boring classical stuff that grandma's listen to and the talking was a kind of old style talking.

I peeked through a crack in the door and saw many people dressed in elegant clothes dancing and chatting. The house looked new and very posh. I then realised I was wearing a fancy tuxedo.

I wondered what I was going to do when a tall man opened the cupboard door. He was just about to put a coat in, when he noticed me crouched in the cupboard. "Please tell me why you are in the cupboard and not enjoying this great party I am hosting?" he asked kindly. "I'm really sorry. I'll get out now," I replied "That is no way to talk to the Governor of Melbourne!" he boomed.

I was stunned. I didn't know what to say or what to do. "I am t...t...terribly s...sorry sir" I said shakily "I...I...I didn't know!" He slowly walked away shouting in fury. He walked into the kitchen then just before the door closed he disappeared. I stood up and ran to the kitchen. I couldn't see the Governor anywhere and there was no other way out. That was when I noticed the red glow between the floorboards. The reddest glow was against a plain wall with only one shelf of pots on it. I reached for a pot. When I had clutched onto it the shelf moved and a dark stairway was revealed just beside my feet. There was a red glow from the bottom. I started to descend.

The further I went the redder it became. After a few minutes I reached the bottom. I saw a huge cavern. There was a canyon in the middle with bridges that led to a huge rock platform in the middle. There was great fire coming from inside the canyon and on the platform I saw the Governor. He was surrounded with tonnes and tonnes of equipment.

I walked slowly and cautiously over a bridge. It was made of cold hard stone and was very narrow. When I reached the platform the Governor was nowhere to be found. Then I felt hands push me to the ground. I looked up and saw the Governor. "So you have found my underground lair!" he boomed. "But you will not live to tell the tale!" "What are you doing down here?" I asked, "I am planning to take over the world!" he screamed hysterically "WHAT!" I yelled. I sat there in shock

"That is right! I am trying to take over the world," He repeated. "I am helping the devil create hell on earth and no-one is going to stop me!" He backed away from me and started to laugh a devilish laugh. He started with a chuckle then went on to a giggle until finally he threw his head back and laughed hysterically. I slowly got to my feet and kicked him off the platform. "Nooooo!" he screamed as he fell to his death. I then kicked all of his equipment down into the canyon of fire. I was happy with my achievement. Then with a scream that pierced the silence I saw the ghost of the Governor fly out of the canyon and disappear with another piercing scream. With that I collapsed and it all went black.

When I awoke I was lying in the cupboard under the stairs in my normal clothes, everything was back to normal and it was the 2003 again. I walked out of the run down house and went to get the milk and bread. When I returned home my mum was very thankful and I noticed it was only ten minutes since I left the house.

I have many more strange adventures in the old run down house but that is another story.

The End