Le Portail Vers Le Diable

by Sahana Bar

I

They say that something lives in that house, but no one knows what. They say it is cursed like hell. They say that anyone who looks into the house either disappears or dies. No one knows how or why. 

I, Evanora, recently shifted to Goldfield, a town in Mistmoor near this oh so haunted house. I live alone here working at the local supermarket to scrape out a living and it was not long after my arrival that I was told about “the house.” The house that my otherwise seemingly ordinary neighbours wouldn’t dare talk about in anything but hushed tones and furtive glances. 

“The House” was situated on the outskirts of Goldfield, standing creepily sentinel over the highway running into the next valley over. Though not too large, it was high for a perfectly cuboid building consisting of only two floors. There was only one room on each floor and its outside walls were crumbled and gnashed; a picture of decrepitude.. There were graffiti marks and handprints on the walls and the main door was strongly shut with an iron gate. There was nothing catchy about the house except for the fact that it had a large hole on the top floor wall; it was situated on the side which faced the town directly. No one knew how it broke but when people tried to rebuild and fill the hole they all vanished, one by one. The outline of the hole was filled with half-broken bricks and weather-beaten paints, which were visible to the eyes. My neighbours said that it was okay to look around the hole, but no one ever dared to look inside it.

Several paranormal investigators and priests were called to unearth the mystery but nothing fruitful ever came of their investigations, not helped by the fact that they’d always be found dead, if they could be found at all, a few days later. 

“I mean, what is haunting that house? Ghosts, vampires?”

“No one knows, my child.” said the old man in answer to my half-mumbled rhetorical question. 

“Then how do you guys know that something is living in that house? It's empty I believe and there has been no evidence to prove that something or someone lives there.”

“Wasn’t the death of the priest and the disappearance of the paranormal expert enough for you to take as conclusive evidence…”

“ Yeah, I mean, couldn’t it just have been a coincidence?”

“Then what about the builder who tried to rebuild the house, what about the baker who looked inside the hole, what about the child who went inside to get her ball, and what about those people who mistakenly landed their eyes on that cursed hole?” said the old man, frustrated.

“But… but, what exactly is the matter?”

“My child, you’re new to Goldfield and you’re yet to explore what lies beneath the Golden town. There is a filthy history behind that house. It all started back when I was a teenager. The house was built by a young couple who wanted to live away from human contact; I used to go to that place previously, to play. After the construction began, we stayed clear, found other places to play. Then, one day, when the man was away on business, the woman fell sick and died in the house. A few days later, several passersby complained of the smell of rotten flesh and the police were called. They all blamed the man for the death of his wife and he was kept under house arrest for the rest of his life. The guards who guarded the house said that soon after being imprisoned in his own house, he got involved in witchcraft; the guard also said that the man was sometimes heard talking to someone; he was often heard saying “My Dona, I want justice, I didn’t kill you, it was your illness, not me! Why me, Dona? Why me?”

“This is so absurd!’’

“Yes indeed, but the priest, before he died, told us that the man tried to contact the spirit of his wife but he failed to do so. Eventually, he became mad and started searching for his wife inside the house.  He was often seen searching for something inside the cupboard, on top of the ceiling fans, inside the shower drain and whatnot!”

“Stop it Jem, this is becoming funny now, I mean, how could you believe a story like that? I mean witchcraft? Really?”

“I believe it, because I saw them”

“But what happened after that?”

“I think the man died after a few years and the house was left completely abandoned, until the mysterious hole was discovered. The hole is in such a place that anyone could have seen someone making it, but not a single bang was heard nor potential demolisher identified. The first person was a man from our town, Mr. Smith, his eyes were the first to notice that strange hole on the side of the house. Later on, after he saw it, he came and told us and took his wife to show it to her. Sadly, a few days later the man was mysteriously found dead and the woman disappeared; she has not yet been found. Since then, several disappearances and deaths have occurred, so, our people decided never to look inside that hole anymore. Today it is called Le portail vers le diable.”

“The portal to the devil?”

“Yes, my child. Ever since the portal was discovered, hundreds of people have disappeared after looking at what exists inside the hole.”

After hearing the story, I was speechless; I was left in a dilemma on whether to believe it or not. Although I trusted my neighbours, I could not trust the story. We both sat in silence for a long time and then Jem spoke “Now I must leave, it’s getting dark, my wife would be angry if I don’t return home on time. Goodbye, Eva!” I smiled and said goodbye but suddenly a question came to my mind and I hurried to ask him “Wait Jem, I want to ask you something”

“What?”

“What is there inside the house?”

The old man smiled and said, “Eva it’s like death, you’ll not know it, until you see or experience it yourself… Just remember; never look inside that hole.”

The sun was setting and twilight was approaching, I went back home and could not get over what the man had said. Is it for real? I thought. I decided to gather more information about the history of that house. I went to sleep with a heavy mind; I could not shake the feeling that I needed to discover what was inside it. 

II

The following morning, I went to the town library and enquired about the history of the house.

“Good Morning, Miss Sofie, by any chance, do you have a book related to the history of the house, which is… haunted?”

“You mean Le Portail Vers Le Diable?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

She gave out a deep sigh and said, “We… We had a record, but somehow, we lost it. If you want I can share some facts I have in mind.”

“Sure, I’d love to hear that!”

“As far as I remember, the house was built roughly around the 80s…”

“Ma’am, do you have any information about what lies inside the house?”

“Well honey, no one really knows what is there inside that hole, but people, who reported to the police about the disappearance of their family members, said that they had seen a deep black shadow, through the hole. Apparently, the shadow is roughly in the form of a man and those who saw him closely, said that he was translucent and the black figure was seen discharging black flames from his entire body; the flames stretched all around the room, like slim tentacles. He was always seen in a standing position with his head facing the highway.” 

“Is it the man who built the house? The couple who came to stay there?”

“Yes, you know about it?”

“Yes, Jem told me about them, but I never knew about the man who was seen in the house”

“Yes, it is believed that his occult practices paved the way for the Devil. It was said that the man’s soul was devoured by the Devil even. It’s been years since the man lived in that house and no normal death has been reported yet. In fact, the man was last seen five years back and after that the house was presumably empty, until the hole was discovered and the strange occurrences started happening, since then”

“So, this explains why the house is called The Portal to the Devil”

“Yes, and if you observe properly, the men who saw the man in the house were found dead and the women who saw him disappeared after that. It is said that the man envied any other man and if a woman looked at him, he believed that it was his dead wife.”

“Do you mean to say that he is the one who killed the Priest and abducted the women who saw him, just because he thought they were his wife?”

“Yes, many other priests and paranormal experts said that he is still searching for his wife today and whenever he sees a man, he feels that men are careless creatures, they don’t look after their wives properly.”

“But that is so wrong”

“Nothing is wrong for the Devil, my dear”

“Do you know anything else about that house?”

“Yes… I have also heard people say that the man, sorry, the Devil, tempts people to look towards him using different methods. He is aware of the weaknesses of each person who lives. It is absolutely impossible to defeat him.”

 “Does that mean that he knows about my weaknesses too?” I asked Miss Sofie.

“Yes”

Her answer left a shiver down my spine and I immediately got the feeling that someone was watching me, from somewhere. ‘He is aware of the weaknesses of each person…’ it kept ringing in my ears. I felt my lips getting dry and my heart becoming heavy; my heart started beating faster and I felt that the bookshelves around me were trying to swallow me down their throats. I felt cold sweat forming on my forehead and decided that I had to leave.

“Thank…Thank you Miss Sofie, I got what I wanted, I must take my leave; thank you for your time”, saying this, I left. I rushed towards the open field as I needed some fresh air to make my body feel lighter. No sooner I went out, I felt lightness within myself; the sun rays flooded my face and the fresh air with the smell of freshly cut hay, expanded my lungs, I felt better. Looking out in the golden fields, I felt myself surrounded by angels and hope.

III

It was now spring in Goldfield and the town looked heavenly. Everyone had almost forgotten about the creepy house, and was enjoying the beauty of spring to the fullest. The field was covered with the hues of carnations, daisies, jasmines, roses and tulips; the field was flooded with the gentle light of the sun. Children were frolicking through the fields with big smiles on their faces. The sky was blue and white clouds made their way to heaven. I sat under the shade of a tree, in my cowboy attire, watching the kids play and the animals grazing peacefully. Lazily scanning my eyes across the scene my vision eventually alighted upon  a woman who sat quietly at the threshold of a little hamlet. She was watching the kids play and I saw a little teardrop made its way from her left eye to her chin; I decided to go and talk to her. 

As I made my way to her, she quickly rubbed her tears and greeted me with a large smile, “Hey, good to see you!”

“Hi, I am Evanora, I’m new in this town.”

“Oh, I am Mary, Mary Liz, enchanté!”

“Enchanté Mary! Do you live here? I asked her.

“Yes, please come in.”

“Oh no, Thank you! I just thought of coming over and meeting you. How long are you staying here?”

“It’s been years since I've lived here; in fact my parents lived here as well, it is a beautiful place… Full of memories.” As she said the last words, she gave out a sigh.

“What memories Ma’am? Would you mind if I ask…”

“Memories of my beautiful daughter.” She said looking towards the colourful field.

“Why, what happened to her?”

She gave me a smile and asked me “Would you like to have some coffee?”

“Oh no, Thank you! But I wish to know what happened to your daughter.”

“We lost her; she went out to play one day, and was never found again.”

“What do you mean, never found again!?”

“Yes. She went to play with her friends, then she probably misplaced her ball and when she went to find it, her friends said that she saw a horrifying creature. Her friends fled, leaving her behind. She was never found again.”

Her testimony reminded me of that nasty house. The more I came to know about it, I started feeling more disgusted. I conversed with Mary for a while and then left her, again, with a heavy mind. Later, I went to work and the storekeeper said that I had to make some deliveries, to the next town. So, I loaded my truck and started my journey towards the highway. As I drove along I knew I had to avoid looking in that hole, in that house; therefore, I glued my eyes to the road and the greenery out there. While I was driving past the house, I saw a young girl standing in the middle of the road, facing me. I pressed the horn but she did not move, so I had to stop my truck, put my head out of the window and shout at her “Hey girl, clear the road or you might be hurt!” She did not say a thing. I was confused. I dismounted from the car and went to her, she gave me a soft smile and said “Can you please play with me?”

“Play?  Right now? Honey I have work to do. What are you doing just standing here alone in the middle of the highway?”

“I came to play here but none of my friends came, can you please play with a for a while; I won’t ask you to stay for long”

After thinking for a while, I said, “Alright, but only for a while.”

We started playing with small stones and grasses; it was fun though. I did not know what exactly we were playing, and I just kept following her actions. The girl was sweet with  curly blond hair and a soft countenance. She seemed to be around ten or eleven years old. Her body looked way too skinny, for her age, there was a sign of malnutrition and her skin was pale. She was wearing a yellow frock with red stains on it; I could not help but ask her, “Hey, what’s that on your dress?”

“That is blood.”

“What!? Are you hurt?”

“Oh no, not now. I was hurt before, when I went inside that house to get my ball.”

I was terrified to hear that. I asked her, “Wait, what? You went in the house?”

I knew at that moment what I was dealing with; I knew I had to escape somehow. I bolted for my truck and unlocked the door, hurried inside and locked it. I was unable to breath, my throat was blocked, I could not scream. My feet and hands felt numb and my dress was moist with sweat. I felt myself trembling from within. I was desperate to start the engine and was confusingly grasping from one thing to another. At that point, someone tapped on the truck window. As I turned my head, in utter confusion, I saw the girl standing close to the window; she was still giving me that soft innocent smile and then… my eyes landed in that house, on a man, who stood disseminating black flames from his body; he stood right behind the girl, in that big hole, his eyes piercing into mine, slowly enlarging his tentacles. Now, I realized my mistake, I knew my weaknesses, I knew who he was.