Sounds

Sounds is a story about three fisherman taking shelter in a haunted house. The story appears in More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The story is based on a legend in Mobile, Alabama, toward the end of the nineteenth century. The deserted house described in the story was built by a wealthy Englishman who lived there with his daughter. No one visited them, the man abruptly returned to England without her daughter and she disappeared with no explanation.

The Story

The house was near the beach. It was a big old place where nobody had lived for years. From time to time somebody would force open a window or a door and spend the night there. But never longer. Three fishermen caught in a storm took shelter there one night. With some dry wood they found inside, they made a fire in the fireplace. They lay down on the floor and tried to get some sleep, but none of them slept that night.

First they heard footsteps upstairs. It sounded like there were several people moving back and forth, back and forth. When one of the fishermen called, "Who's up there?" the footsteps stopped. Then they heard a woman scream. The scream turned into a groan and died away. Blood began to drip from the ceiling into the room where the fishermen huddled. A small red pool formed on the floor and soaked into the wood. A door upstairs crashed shut, and again the woman screamed. "Not me!" she cried. It sounded as if she was running, her high heels tapping wildly down the hall. "I'll get you!" a man shouted, and the floor shook as he chased her.

Then silence. There wasn't a sound until the man who had shouted began to laugh. Long peals of horrible laughter filled the house. It went on and on until the fishermen thought they would go mad. When finally it stopped, the fishermen heard someone coming down the stairs dragging something heavy that bumped on each step. They heard him drag it through the front hall and out the front door. The door opened; then it slammed shut. Again, silence.

Suddenly a flash of lightning filled the house with a green blaze of light. A ghastly face stared at the fishermen from the hallway. Then came a crash of thunder. Terrified, they ran out into the storm.

Stories
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark	Strange and Scary Things • The Big Toe • The Walk • What Do You Come For? • Me Tie Dough-ty Walker! • A Man Who Lived In Leeds • Old Woman All Skin and Bone • The Thing • Cold As Clay • The White Wolf • The Haunted House • The Guests • The Hearse Song • The Girl Who Stood on a Grave • A New Horse • Alligators • Room for One More • The Wendigo • The Dead Man's Brains • May I Carry Your Basket? • The Hook • The White Gown • High Beams • The Babysitter • The Viper • The Attic • The Slithery-Dee • Aaron Kelly's Bones • Wait Till Martin Comes • The Ghost with the Bloody Fingers
More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark	Hoo-Ha's • Something Was Wrong • The Wreck • One Sunday Morning • Sounds • A Weird Blue Light • Somebody Fell From Aloft • The Little Black Dog • Clinkity-Clink • The Bride • Rings On Her Fingers • The Drum • The Window • Wonderful Sausage • The Cat's Paw • The Voice • "Oh, Susannah!" • The Man In The Middle • The Cat in a Shopping Bag • The Bed by the Window • The Dead Man's Hand • A Ghost in the Mirror • The Curse • The Church • The Bad News • Cemetery Soup • The Brown Suit • Ba-Rooom! • Thumpity-Thump
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill your Bones	Boo Men • The Appointment • The Bus Stop • Faster And Faster • Just Delicious • Hello, Kate! • The Black Dog • Footsteps • Like Cats' Eyes • Bess • Harold • The Dead Hand • Such Things Happen • The Wolf Girl • The Dream • Sam's New Pet • Maybe You Will Remember • The Red Spot • No, Thanks • The Trouble • Strangers • The Hog • Is Something Wrong? • It's Him! • T-H-U-P-P-P-P-P-P-P! • You May Be The Next...