MidReal Story
Whispers of the Haunted Woods
Scenario: Horror short film for 10mins
Create my version of this story
Sarah Lee
the group's peacekeeper, friends with Emily and Mark, curly blonde hair, empathetic and spiritual
Emily Carter
central character, friends with Mark and Sarah, short dark hair, brave and skeptical
Mark Jensen
Emily's best friend, friends with Emily and Sarah, tall with a rugged look, protective and logical
It was a dark and stormy night.
No, really, it was.
The wind howled through the trees, and rain pelted the ground like bullets.
I shivered in my sleeping bag, trying to ignore the sounds of the storm as I lay in the tent with my two best friends.
“Are you guys awake?”
I whispered into the darkness.
“Yeah,” Mark said from his sleeping bag on my right.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Me neither,” Sarah said from her sleeping bag on my left.
“I keep hearing things.”
“Me too,” I said.
“It sounds like someone’s out there.”
Mark unzipped his sleeping bag and sat up, running a hand through his short dark hair.
“Do you want me to go check it out?”
he asked, looking at me and Sarah.
“No way,” I said quickly.
“You’re not going out there in this storm.”
“I’m not scared of a little rain,” he said with a shrug.
“But it could be a bear or something,” Sarah said, her voice trembling.
I shot Mark a look, and he reluctantly nodded in agreement.
The last thing any of us wanted was to become bear food.
Mark lay back down in his sleeping bag, and I zipped mine up to my chin, trying to ignore the sounds of the storm as I tried to fall asleep.
It wasn’t long before I realized that I had no hope of getting any rest in this weather.
The storm grew louder, and I was pretty sure I heard something—or someone—walking around outside the tent.
“Guys,” I said, sitting up.
I was met with total silence.
I’m not sure if they were asleep or just pretending to be to avoid talking about the scary things that were happening around us.
I’m not sure how long we sat there in silence, but eventually Sarah spoke up.
“I can’t take this anymore,” she whispered.
Her long brown hair was sticking to her face, and it was clear that she was the most frightened among us.
“I need to do something to make it stop.
” My heart raced, partially from fear and partially from the closeness of Mark, who was sitting close to Sarah and had an arm around her, trying to comfort her.
“What can we do?”
I asked, looking at Sarah with concern.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, and this storm came out of nowhere.”
She didn’t answer me right away and instead looked from me to Mark.
She let out a shaky breath before finally speaking.
“I know a ritual.”
Mark and I turned to look at her, surprised by the suggestion.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice gaining confidence despite the fear that still lingered in her eyes.
“We can do it to ward off whatever is causing this storm and those creepy sounds outside.”
“I don’t think we should mess with anything like that,” Mark said with a shake of his head.
“And how would you even know a ritual?”
“It’s something my mom taught me,” Sarah explained.
“She’s really into all that spiritual stuff.”
I raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“And it works?”
Sarah shrugged and looked down at her hands before answering.
“Not really, but it can’t hurt, right?”
Mark and I shared a look, and after a moment he sighed and shrugged.
Sarah nodded and turned her attention back to the two of us, a hopeful smile on her face.
“Okay, what do we need to do?”
she asked, clapping her hands together excitedly.
Sarah sat in the middle of the tent, and Mark and I sat on either side of her, waiting for her instructions.
“I’ll need a few things,” Sarah said, looking around the tent as if she might find them there.
“Well, like I said, it won’t work without them.”
Mark and I shared a look, and he spoke up first.
“Okay, but you need to be quick about it.”
Sarah nodded and stood up, zipping open the tent so that she could go outside.
She stepped out into the storm, and both Mark and I listened closely as she moved around the tent, looking for whatever she needed for this ritual of hers.
The storm seemed to grow even more violent as Sarah rummaged around the campsite, and the sounds of the storm were so loud that it was hard to hear anything else.
Mark and I exchanged a worried glance as Sarah continued to look around outside.
I was starting to think that this was a terrible idea, but if it made Sarah feel better, then maybe it was worth trying—especially if it would get us some sleep that night.
“Should we go help her?”
Mark asked once he looked back at me.
I shook my head and shrugged in response.
“I don’t know what she needs, but if she does need help with something, she’ll ask us.”
Mark nodded in understanding, and we both listened closely for Sarah’s next move as the storm raged on around us.
Several moments passed before the tent zipper opened again and Sarah returned inside with an armful of supplies: three white candles, a small bottle of some kind of liquid, and a piece of paper with what looked like incantations on it written in red ink.
She spread everything out on the ground in the center of the tent and sat cross-legged in front of it all.
Mark and I exchanged another glance; unsure of what exactly we were supposed to do.
“We need to light the candles and sit in a triangle formation,” Sarah explained.
“And then we’ll recite the incantation three times each.”
She looked at the two of us expectantly and waited for us to get into position and light the candles.
Mark and I did as we were told, and soon the three candles were lit and the tent was filled with their soft glow.
“So now what?”
Mark asked, looking at Sarah.
He had a skeptical expression on his face that matched my own.
“And you’re sure this is going to work?”
Sarah asked nervously as she looked at the tent entrance.
“It has to,” she said as she turned back to us.
Her curly blonde hair was sticking out in all directions from the humidity in the tent, making her look even more wild and crazy than usual.
“Otherwise, we’re stuck out here all night.”
Mark’s eyes widened in alarm when he heard that.
“Is that—” he started to ask, but Sarah cut him off.
“If it is, we won’t make it through the night,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Do you really think it will work?”
I asked, my voice barely rising above the storm.
“I’ve never done it before,” Sarah admitted.
“But my grandmother taught it to me for situations like this.
” She paused for a moment and then looked at both Mark and me with pleading eyes.
“We have to try something.
This doesn’t feel right.”
I looked down at the piece of paper in front of Sarah with the incantation written on it and shook my head in disbelief.
I would’ve thought she was insane if I didn’t feel the same unease in the pit of my stomach that she did.
I didn’t know what was going on outside the tent any more than Mark or Sarah did, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep that night without knowing that whatever—or whoever—it was wasn’t out there just waiting for us to come out so it could attack us in the darkness.
I turned to Mark and saw that he was looking at me with an expression that told me he was feeling the same way I was at that moment.
We both turned our attention back to Sarah and nodded in agreement with her suggestion.
“All right,” Mark said after a moment’s hesitation.
“If this is your last resort, then let’s do it.
The storm outside our tent sounded like it was about to rip the fabric to shreds.
Mark and I exchanged a worried look as we listened to the howling wind that had only grown louder in the time since we had first heard it earlier that night.
I could feel a sense of unease starting to settle in my stomach, but I did my best to push it aside and focus on what we needed to do to complete the ritual before it was too late.
Sarah’s grandmother had taught her this ritual for situations just like this one, when it felt like we were being threatened by something we couldn’t see or understand, and she said that it would protect us from whatever evil was outside our tent that night.
I had no idea whether or not it would work, but it felt like our only hope at that point.
Mark and I turned to look at Sarah as she finished explaining what we needed to do to complete the ritual and waited for us to begin.
I could see a mixture of fear and determination in her eyes as she held our gazes, silently begging us to trust her grandmother’s wisdom in times like this when we were faced with unknown danger.
As I looked at her, I realized that there was no one else I would rather be out there with facing whatever was outside our tent than with my two best friends by my side, even if what we were about to do seemed completely insane to me at that moment.
“Let’s do this,”I said after a moment, my voice louder than I intended over the sound of the storm outside our tent.
“Yeah,” Mark agreed with a nod.
Sarah looked at us both with a grateful smile and handed each of us one of the candles from where they sat on either side of her on the floor before picking up the box of matches and handing them to Mark once we were all holding a candle in one hand and Sarah still held the box with the other.
So I finally relented for her sake, even though I still felt like it was a bad idea.
I’m not really a superstitious person by nature, and I don’t believe in ghosts or spirits or any of that other supernatural nonsense, but my friend Sarah was different.
She was a very spiritual person and was always very open-minded when it came to things like that, even though she grew up in a fairly conservative family.
After everything we had heard outside our tent that night, I couldn’t blame her for wanting to do something anything to make it stop, but doing a protection ritual in the middle of the woods seemed a little too much like something out of a bad horror movie for me.
I was worried that if we actually went through with it, whatever was out there would hear us performing the ritual and want to investigate, making it easier for them to find us inside our tent.
I didn’t want to risk making ourselves a bigger target like that, but I also didn’t want to upset Sarah anymore than she already was.
She was our group’s peacekeeper, always trying her best to keep Mark and I from fighting with one another whenever we disagreed about something.
I knew how upset she was about everything that had happened so far in those woods, so I didn’t want to do anything to make it worse if I didn’t have to.
And if doing some silly protection ritual would help calm her down enough so she could sleep, then I was willing to do it, regardless of how much it sounded like something out of a bad horror movie to me.
“Okay,” she said once we were all ready.
“We need to light our candles first and then form a circle around our lantern and hold hands so we can call upon the spirits of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire for their protection.
” She looked up at us with a nervous smile.
“I know it sounds silly, but my grandmother always said it never hurts to ask for help when you need it.
It can only help, right?”
I hesitated for a moment, feeling my stomach twist with unease as I looked at Mark, who was watching me with the same apprehension on his face as I knew was on mine.
“Right,” I finally forced out, hoping Sarah would see through my lie.
It was Mark who spoke up first, though, unable to hide his skepticism any longer.
“So, how do we do this?”
Sarah beamed at him with a grateful smile as she gave him a quick hug, causing my stomach to twist even more with apprehension as she did.
I quickly forced myself to focus back on our task at hand so I wouldn’t have to think about all the things that could go wrong while we were performing the ritual.
We have to light our candles first,” Sarah said, watching as Mark opened the box of matches before lighting his candle and offering me the box so I could light mine as well.
Then we form a circle around the lantern, hold hands, and I’ll start the chant.”
Sarah Lee hesitated for a moment, glancing out the small window of our tent nervously.
I felt myself frowning as I watched her, finding it harder and harder to keep myself from questioning the purpose of our little ritual.
Part of me wanted to tell Sarah Lee everything would be fine, but another part of me was too uncomfortable with what we were about to do to say anything at all.
“Do you really think this is going to work?”
I finally asked, letting out the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding as I did.
I’m not sure,” Sarah said, looking back at me with a worried expression on her face.
“But it can’t hurt, can it?”
“That’s why I’m asking for their protection,” Sarah continued, her voice growing more frantic with every word she spoke.
“If there’s something out there that’s causing this storm and those creepy whispers outside, then they’ll help us.
” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing on.
“And if it’s something dark and evil like I think it might be, then doing nothing is only going to make it worse for us.”
I hesitated for a moment as I watched Sarah, feeling guilty for doubting her when I could see how upset she was.
She looked so scared and alone, like she was the only one who believed in what she was saying.
And if performing this little ritual would help give her some peace of mind, then I was willing to do it, regardless of how much it sounded like something out of a bad horror movie to me.
“Okay,” I said, looking down at my candle and trying to give Sarah a reassuring smile even though I wasn’t really sure of anything myself.
“What do you need us to do?”
Sarah beamed at me with a grateful smile, giving my hand a quick squeeze as she pulled me over toward the center of our tent where Mark was already waiting with the lantern in his hands.
The first thing we need to do is call upon the spirits of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire,” she said, looking up at us nervously.
“So I need you both to close your eyes and let go of any fear or anxiety you may have so you can focus on the elements with all of your heart.
And since I was already feeling so many emotions at once, I closed my eyes without any hesitation, doing my best to focus on relaxing as Sarah squeezed my hand one last time.
The next thing I knew, she was speaking the words to the chant she had told us we needed to perform.
And as I listened, I felt my mind begin to drift.
I tried my best to listen to what Sarah was saying, but part of me couldn’t help but wonder if she was right about what was going on outside.
True, we had no idea what had caused this storm or those strange noises we kept hearing, but I didn’t think that meant there had to be an evil force at work.
If anything, I thought it was more likely that we had angered someone by camping in those woods without permission.
But that was no excuse for all the things that had happened so far.
Or for all the terrible things that could end up happening if we didn’t find some way out of there soon.
I could feel Mark’s hand squeezing mine, but I kept my eyes closed, trying not to think about how completely helpless I felt in that moment.
Sarah’s voice grew louder as she continued speaking, and I could tell that the look of fear I’d seen in her eyes when we started was gone.
She sounded almost happy as she spoke, like she believed in this chant so much that nothing could ever hurt us now that we were performing it.
I didn’t see how that made any sense, but at the same time, the way she said it made me want to believe too.
So I opened my own mouth and began repeating the words with her, glad that she couldn’t see the look of fear that must have been written all over my face.
I wasn’t sure what good it would do, but at that point, I’d take any comfort I could get.
And at the very least, it helped me keep my mind off all the things I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Mark squeezed my hand again as I spoke, and his touch gave me strength as Sarah led us through the rest of the ritual.
We didn’t open our eyes even once, but I could hear the sounds of the storm growing louder outside our tent.
Soon enough, it felt like the wind was howling so loud that it was almost drowning out the sound of our voices.
But then, just as Sarah began asking for the elements to protect us, there was a sudden flash of lightning outside, followed by a loud cracking sound.
I felt myself flinch, but I kept my eyes closed as I tried to ignore the fear that was starting to build inside me all over again.
Sarah’s voice was growing louder now, but as she asked for protection one last time, the storm seemed to pick up its pace.
And just as I felt my hand begin to slip from Mark’s grip, a loud crash of thunder filled the air, making it feel like the entire forest was shaking around us.
That was when everything went quiet.
I kept my eyes closed, trying not to think about why everything had gone silent so suddenly as I listened to the sound of my own ragged breathing.
The only other noise I could hear was the soft crackling of our fire, but even that was starting to die down now.
I don’t know how long it was before I finally opened my eyes, but the first thing I saw was the way the light from my candle was casting long shadows across the walls of our tent.
The storm outside was still raging, but it was nothing like it had been before, and the sight of it made my blood run cold.
I knew that storms didn’t just go from bad to worse like this one had, and it made me wonder for the first time if we’d made a mistake coming out here.
Because there was something about this place that didn’t feel right to me.
I looked down at my hands and saw that they were both trembling now, and when I looked up at Mark, I saw that his own face was pale with fear as he met my gaze.
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, but even he seemed unsure of what to say.
For a moment, we just sat there together in silence, neither of us wanting to say anything that might upset Sarah now that she was finally at peace again.
But then she suddenly stirred beside us, and we both turned to look at her as she opened her eyes.
Everything is going to be okay now,” she said with a faint smile.
I stared at her for a moment, unsure of why she was smiling now, but as I looked around our tent, I saw that the shadows on the walls were starting to fade.
I don’t know if it was because of the storm or because of the ritual, but it didn’t matter to me at that moment.
All that mattered was that the shadows were gone.
Mark must have noticed it too, because he let out a heavy sigh before he turned to look at Sarah again.
“How are you feeling?”
“It’s gone,” she said, and as she looked down at her hands, she smiled again.
“I can feel it.
It’s like the wind is protecting us now.”
For a moment, Mark and I just sat there staring at her, but eventually, he smiled too.
He squeezed my hand one more time before he let go of it, and as he settled back down against his sleeping bag, I did the same.
As we closed our eyes, the three of us were silent for a long time, but eventually, we all drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that the storm outside had finally ended.
I could tell that it was still dark out, but the air felt cooler now, and the only sound that remained was the soft rustling of the trees in the wind.
As I lay there alone in my sleeping bag, I closed my eyes again and tried to relax, but even with everything that had happened, it was impossible not to be on edge now.
I don’t know how long it was before Mark and Sarah finally woke up, but as they stirred beside me, we all sat up together and peered out through the mesh at the trees around us.
For a moment, everything was silent again, but eventually, Sarah let out a long sigh.
“I told you everything would be fine,” she said with a smile as she turned to look at us.
“It’s like I said before – this place is supposed to be peaceful.
And nothing is going to change that.”
I wanted to believe her so badly that it hurt, but as I thought about everything that had happened to us last night, I knew that I couldn’t.
Because no matter how hard I tried to tell myself that it was all just a series of coincidences, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong here.
And as soon as I opened my mouth to tell them this, my heart skipped a beat as I heard something else instead.
It was so soft that I almost didn’t hear it at first, but as I listened more closely, the sound quickly grew louder.
And as soon as Sarah heard it too, she turned to look at me with wide eyes.
“Do you hear that?”
I nodded, but before either of us could say anything else, Mark suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Shh,” he whispered, and as he slowly started to unzip the front of the tent, he motioned for us to be quiet.
For a moment, the three of us were silent as we listened to the sound of the whispering outside, but when it grew louder again, my heart skipped a beat as I realized that it wasn’t just one voice.
There were at least two or three different people talking now, but their voices were too soft for me to understand what they were saying.
It was almost like they were trying to speak quietly on purpose.
And as I strained my ears even more, a shiver ran down my spine as I realized that the whispers were coming from right outside our tent.
For a moment, the three of us just sat there staring at each other, unsure of what to do next.