A dark shadow descended upon the small valley . Albert looked up , " this shouldn 't be happening " he thought to himself , there wasn 't a cloud in the sky . It was midday yet the sun seemed to be getting darker . Albert had heard stories about the days when the sun would go dark , followed by the terror . Nobody could remember the last time this had happened , only the terrifying results . Albert looked up the valley and the trees , he knew there was no chance of getting to his home quickly , it was just to far away . Every second he stood still , the sky got darker and darker . He knew he had to move quickly , but where he asked himself . Suddenly , it came to him , he remembered a small cave in the woods , he used to play there with his brother many years ago . For a split second , painful memories filled his head , the terrible sickness , refusal to eat , and watching his brother waste away to nothing . There was nothing the Elders could do for him , they had tried all the brews , the spells , the potions , and even bleeding him but nothing helped . The Elders finally said he was possessed and never came back . Albert turned and started running as fast as his legs would carry him . He knew it was a long shot but the cave was much closer than his house . He also hoped the cave would offer him more protection against , he stopped thinking at that point , he couldn 't finish that thought because he didn 't know what he was running away from . It seemed like it was no more than a minute that he noted the sky getting darker , he was running for all his might , but the darkness was encroaching ever faster . He tripped over a rock and when he got up , it was almost pitch black . He tried to orientate himself but it was hard , he got turned around and no longer knew in which direction the cave was . He looked up to the sky , hoping the stars would provide some help but all he saw was darkness . It was now so dark that Albert couldn 't even see his hand . He listened , but heard nothing , nothing but silence , no animals , no birds , no rustling of the wind thru the trees . It was like someone , or something had cut off all of his senses . Albert found himself on his feet once more , walking at a brisk place , hoping he wouldn 't trip again . He hoped he was going in the right direction . It was so dark , he didn 't know how he would find his way to the cave . He had been walking for about 5 minutes when he first heard it . It sounded like nothing he had ever Albert was suddenly and roughly awakened , something had grabbed his foot and was dragging him out of the cave . He couldn 't get up and the sharp rocks were leaving deep gashes in his back . He started screaming and trying to kick but to no avail , his captors were too strong . He could sense he was outside by the cool air on his face but the darkness was absolute . He had no idea who his captors were , of where he was being taken . The pain in his back was unbearable , the open wounds dragging across the ground was too much and he passed out . When Albert came to , he was in a small cage . It was still dark and he had no idea where he was . He reached out and touched the bars of the cage . They were warm to the touch , neither wood nor steel . He could not tell what they were made of but he knew he had to get out . He tested the bars but they didn 't move a bit , they might have felt flimsy but they were strong . He tried kicking the bars but the only thing he did was to hurt himself . He thought he heard breathing but when he called out , he was met with a sharp prod and an excruciating pain he had never experienced before in his life . Albert didn 't have any sense of time , it was dark , and time seemed to drag . The only indicator of time was his stomach , and his stomach was in a constant state of Flux . He was hungry , thirsty and afraid , afraid of what might come . Minutes later , he heard a commotion , voices , screams and the noise of cage doors opening . It was still dark so he couldn 't tell what was happening . Suddenly , he heard the door of his cage being opened . He felt a rope slip over his head and then was pulled roughly out of the cage . " This is it " he thought to himself . He was pulled this way and that way for what seemed like hours . The only thing he knew was that the hard ground had given way to a grassy field . He also heard heavy breathing coming from others nearby , but remembering the last time he called out , he felt it prudent to keep quiet . Apparently , the others thought the same way . The pushing and pulling stopped , the roRobert The large house stood proud perched atop a knoll overlooking downtown Clairville . Susan was relaxing in the den , sitting in her favorite chair with a glass of Chardonnay trying to put the days events out of her mind . Her work as public defender demanded all her time and energy . Being home before 10 at night seldom happened but when it did , Susan took advantage of those few minutes of calm before retiring for the night . There it was again , or so she thought . She held her breath , sat perfectly still and listened but there was nothing . A figment of her overactive mind she thought . The house was a large manor style built in the early 1960s for a wealthy businessman . He had wanted many children and built a house with enough rooms to accommodate them all . Tragedy fell early when his wife died in childbirth for his first child . He fell into a deep depression and reclused to the house for many years . One day , the front door left was open but he was nowhere in sight , and was never heard from again . His nearest relation , his brother shuttered the house and it sat unaccompanied until Susan traced the owner and made an offer . The house seemed in remarkable shape , considering that it sat empty for over 50 years . It stood three stories tall , an imposing structure in its day and still remarkable . The original 5 acres had since been parceled off and smaller dwellings now surrounded the majestic house . Many rumors abounded about the secret rooms and passageways but were never proven as the builder handed over the only drawings to the owner and they were never made public . Susan often thought of these rumors and noted many of the rooms seemed smaller than they should be but she never gave it more thought than that . The weather had turned and fall was in the air . Leaves were dropping and the wind was howling this night . She dreaded this time of year and vowed to get a lawn care contact to deal with all the leaves . The builder had seen the need to plant nice shade trees all around the house and they were a Godsend during the summer His hands were resting on the tasty treats , he could almost taste them now , it seemed like he could taste them thru his fingers . His mouth was watering , savoring the potential treat . His stomach could take no more , he was just about to take them when he heard the key in the door , the deadbolt unlatching , then the front door opening . Fear gripped him , but he knew he was far too weak to make it back to the den so he froze , not knowing what to do . Susan silently cursed herself as she reached the bus stop . She had left the house far too preoccupied with the day 's upcoming events that she had forgotten her brief on the desk in the den . She made a quick call to her intern explaining that she would be a few minutes late and started back for the house . In her high heels , walking anything but at a normal stride was all but impossible so she didn 't even try . She resigned herself that she would be late . Arriving at the house , she quickly unlocked the door , then the deadbolt and made her way to the den . She quickly snatched up the manila folder , dropped it in her large purse and made her way back to the front door . She had just finished locking it and was at the bottom of the steps when she remembered her intern probably hadn 't eaten and there was a croissant on the cupboard . She hesitated for a minute , calculating the extra time needed to go back in the house , plus the pain of climbing those 10 steps to the front door and then turned to go . Something was gnawing at her , she couldn 't quite place it . There was something in the house that seemed out of place . She decided to climb the steps , fumbling in her purse to find her keys seemed to take forever . She need to get a better system she thought , one of those keyless combination type entry locks . After what seemed like an eternity , she found them and opened the door . She made her way to the kitchen and saw her croissant right where she left it . She grabbed it and put it in he purse . As she was leaving , she poked her head in the den , nothing out of the ordinary she thought . A fDarkness enveloped her as she stepped thru the door . She put her hands out and walked forward about two steps when her hand brushed against a large spider web . She pulled it back quickly and backed out . The light from the den did little to penetrate the dark . Susan thought to herself that she needed a flashlight , something she didn 't have . She would have to get one tomorrow and then she could investigate . After leaving the door slightly ajar she returned to her chair , her Chardonnay and her pizza , planning her adventure on the morrow . The next morning , Susan checked on the secret door before going to work . It was still slightly ajar , just as she had left it . Susan had a hard time concentrating at work , her mind was elsewhere , elsewhere on that door , and what lay behind it . She quit a bit early and rushed to the local ACE hardware store where she bought a high intensity 11 led lantern . She also bought an extra set of batteries on the recommendation of the salesman . Susan unlocked the front door and rushed into the den . Her stomach clenched , blood rushed to her head , she felt panic and fear . The panel was closed , she looked around the room , expecting to see someone but there was nobody . Somebody had to be in the house she thought . Susan took her shoes off , her instincts on high alert , ready to sprint at any minute . She turned , trying to act normal , and made her way upstairs to the bedroom . She was trying to stay calm , easier said than done she thought . She knew exactly where her handgun was , and she had the lessons to show how to use it . She had spent many hours of practice at the local range . When she reached the relative safety of the bedroom , she felt like she could finally breathe . She opened the door to her night table and there was the glock , right where she left it . She checked the magazine , it was full , inserted it , and loaded the breach . She now felt safe . She changed into an old t - shirt and jeans and made her way back to the den . She ran her fingers along the moulding and pulled lightly . She could feel it give slightly , then it opened fully . She switched the light on and entered a small narrow hallway . Cobwebs were everywhere but the main path was clear , as if someone passed here regularly . She had gone but a short distance when she encountered stairs . The steps were narrow and steep with no handrail . Susan reached the narrow landing and followed the aisle to the left . What she saw astonished her , she came out into a small room furnished with a small bed , table and book case , filled with pictures . On every wall hung several pictures ofIt was Sunday afternoon and Susan was in the den , a fire helping to ward off the winter chill . She was curled up in her favorite chair reading the latest edition of the American Bar Association Journal . She was engrossed in the story of the former judge who had been sentenced to jail for 5 days for contempt . The initial sentence of one day had been extended to the present 5 for being defiant in front of the trial judge and despite repeated warnings , he had kept talking . For his own protection , he was being held in a single cell . Susan had heard of this judge , knew of his antagonistic attitude in the court room and had silently hoped she would never have the occasion to meet him . The doorbell rang , bringing Susan back to reality . She opened the door to find two sharply dressed men , one elderly and one middle - aged holding a large bouquet of flowers . Upon seeing them , she smiled and went out and hugged the elderly man . He was still a bit unsteady on his feet but he now had a bit more meat on his bones . Susan invited them into the den . The den had been redecorated slightly , with pictures of a young couple prominently displayed either side of the fireplace . This did not escape the elderly man 's gaze and he nodded approvingly . The middle - aged man stood up , put his hand on the man 's shoulder and said , " my brother would like to say something . " In a soft voice , barely audible , he said " I want to thank you for finding me when you did , my life was over . I now have a wonderful family to help me and I think I have also gained a new daughter " . He then pointed to the pictures , pictures of a much younger him and his new bride . " I could not bear to go on with my life after the love of my life died " he continued . " I hid in this house and wished the world would just go away and leave me in peace but people would always stop by so I figured the only way to get peace was to pretend to go away . Once everybody thought I was dead , I was finally alone , which is all I wanted . I lived by scavenging at night but when you moved in , my movemeRobert Sometimes at dusk we would see him come out from the hidden interior of his island . For years we had no idea who he was or what he did until the darkest night of the year . It was the summer solstice and there was no moon that night . A light breeze was blowing and the night air had a slight chill to it . We left our small cabin in the woods early that night , thinking that this would finally be the night when our questions might be answered . Several years ago , we bought a small cabin in the woods on Beaver Lake . It was our weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives in the big city . A small getaway with a loft bedroom looking out over the lake . We would light a fire and sit by the window enjoying the calm serenity of our & escape from the city & cabin as we affectionately called it . Only one bedroom with a primitive kitchen and outhouse , water was drawn from the nearby well and brought in by hand . A far cry from our luxurious penthouse in the city but we somehow felt more at home here than our city digs . It was a cool November evening when we first saw the stranger emerge from within the Island , or so it seemed . We had just bought the cabin and were determined to use it as much as possible . At first we thought we were both imagining things but the shape and movements confirmed a man . He seemed a small man , hunched over and he seemed to be carrying something over his shoulder in what seemed to be a bag . The bag was almost as big as him . At first , we both thought we were imagining things . He seemed to float across the water and disappeared into the far woods . We never saw him come back . The Island was fairly large with no buildings and near the far shore . It looked like the Island was connected to the mainland by a shallow causeway . We had hiked around the lake when we had first bought the cabin and noticed large no trespassing signs on the island . We didn 't dare cross with those menacing signs promising that trespassers would be shot . Some of the signs showed bullet holes in the rusty metal . This partiRobert The car was running , the driver door was open but nobody was nearby . Mike was walking down the road when he came across the car . Shivers went up his spine when he saw a dark shadow running into the bushes . Running might be the wrong word , it was more like a wounded animal limping into the bushes dragging a heavy weight . It was a moonless night and there were no street lights but Mike was still able to see it . It was large , and seemed to be covered in hair . It quickly disappeared from sight and Mike was wondering if he had really seen what he thought he saw . He walked over to the car and looked inside . The first thing he noticed was the overbearing smell of musk . It was so powerful , almost cutting off his wind . The car was empty , except for something on the floor . He bent down and felt something like a bag . He picked it up but when he got it out of the car , he immediately dropped it , turned and promptly lost his supper . He just realised that what he had picked up was a human arm , but without the rest of the body . A short time later , Mike was sitting in the back of an ambulance , repeating for what seemed like the tenth time , the events of the night . It seemed so incredulous that even he thought it was far fetched and unbelievable . He could only imagine what the police thought of his account of what had happened . Sleep did not come easy that night so the next morning , he called in sick . Sitting in front of the tv with a large cup of coffee , he tuned in the local news to see if there was anything about last night . The local news anchor glanced over the story , simply stating that there was a missing person and the police were asking the public for their help in locating her . There was nothing about the arm , nor about the strange creature , or whatever it was . He was starting to doubt what he had actually seen , it was so dark and everything seemed to be a blur . But no , he was sure of what he saw . Feeling refreshed after an invigorating shower , he left his loft apartment and made his way to the municipal library . After " Mike " , he said , " let me think on this . A sighting is one thing but after what happened last night , this changes everything . When people start getting hurt , or dying , then we have to act . " Three days later when Mike was making his way to the office after a particularly heavy lunch at the diner , a convoy of four State Trooper cars were seen slowly driving toward the police office . Mike stood there for a minute watching the eight State Troopers disappear into the office before heading to work . Mike was sure this had something to do with the creature he saw . It wasn 't long before the phone started ringing and Lacy , his secretary , was busy gleaning all the gossip she could about what four State Trooper cars would be doing in their small town . Rumors were running rampant , even UFOs were thrown in for good measure . The following morning , Martin was up before sunrise and was having a breakfast of coffee , orange juice and muffins . Although the morning paper was lying on the table beside him , his mind was elsewhere , planning the day 's activities . He made his way to the office earlier than normal , the eastern sky just beginning to lighten . Traffic was non - existant at this time of the day , most people still in their beds . There was no hubbub or rush like the big city here , things moved at a much slower pace and that 's the way most people who lived here liked it . Martin opened the door to the office and proceeded to fill the coffee pot . He had just barely turned it on when he heard the front door open . The eight troopers had arrived . Martin showed them to the small coffee room , which doubled as a conference room , interrogation room and any other function that was needed . Once the coffee was poured , Martin sat down and started to layout the day 's plan . The plan was to systematically search the wooded area to the north of the city where the car was found . It was a rugged and hilly area but Martin had a good idea of where to search . During the gold rush boom , many tunnels were dug into the hills in the quest for gold . The gold was eventually exhausted and the miners departed , leaving the neighbouring hills pockmarked with many dangerous pits and mines . All the local folk knew about this and had warned their children never to wander into the woods . Also added to this was the tale of the strange creature that would eat you up if ever you wandered into the woods at night . An hour later , Martin and the possee were making their way along the trail into the woods . Although parents warned their children never to go into the woods , there was still a well worn trail winding its way deep into the forest with plenty of broken beer bottles , cans and empty snack packages . Martin was surprised that there weren 't more missing bodies in the woods . The trail led deep into the forest and then started winding it 's way uphill into the foothills . It was still easy going . Martin recognized this part of the trail . He had been up here before , a long time ago when the hills were still safe . He also knew what was waiting for him further up . Martin hadn 't said anything about the creature earlier because he was afraid that they would catch him and put him in some sort of freak show . Martin hadn 't seen his brother for over 30 years now and he dreaded what he would find in the cave , the cave where he and his brother would play and start little campfires when they were both a lot younger and before the accident that claimed his little brother 's sanity . Martin 's mind went back over 50 years to a simpler time , a time when kids still played outside and weren 't engrossed in their XBox or video games . It was another lazy summer day and it was hot and humid . Their father gathered up the two boys along with their mother and made their way to the small cabin on the lake . It was their favorite little getaway and every weekend , they were on the lake either playing a game of badminton , fishing or just dipping their feet in the cool water . Martin 's little brother , Sam had just turned 7 and Martin was charged with keeping an eye on him . Sam was curious , as any 7 year old would be and always seemed to get into some sort of mischief . It was all Martin could do to keep his little brother out of trouble . However , this day would be different , this day would remain etched in his mind forever . It all happened so fast , Martin turned for what seemed like a second and when he turned back , his little brother was gone . It was like hThe next day , Martin was sitting on the deck of the cabin , a refreshing beer in his hand . He had been sitting there for over an hour and had yet to take a sip of his beer . His mind was still reflecting over the events of that day , blaming himself for his little brother 's accident so many years before . There wasn 't a night that didn 't go by where little Sam would drop into his mind , a curious and energetic little boy . The end . Posted by The attic was dirty , dusty and it looked like nobody had been there for decades . Mary was about to leave when something caught her eye . She glanced to the right and spotted movement behind the boxes . When she went to investigate , she noticed that it was only a mirror and then she felt foolish . Not only did she feel foolish , she also felt guilty , guilty that she was going thru her late father 's personal possessions . She knew it had to be done , she only wished that she wasn 't the one doing it . Her father , Jim , had recently passed away and Mary was the eldest child of three . Either way , this task was left to her as both of her sisters lived too far away and still had young children . Mary lived close by , was unmarried and had beeen a regular fixture at the house , looking in on him at least two or three times a week . Jim was an eccentric little man . He was well travelled and had probably seen every country there was to see , and those few countries that nobody wanted to see as well . It wasn 't uncommon for Jim to be followed by a shipment . Now that Mary thought about it , her father had always been secretive when unpacking his crate . The top part of the crate invariably contained trinkets for the girls . They were always at the top of his list . However , oncd the trinkets were unpacked , and handed out , the crate was closed up again and up into the attic it went . Mary looked around the attic but didn 't notice the mysterious crates that her father brought back . That was strange she thought , she remembered the crates coming up but had never seen them come back down . She was sure that there must have been at least 30 crates or more . Her gaze was once again drawn to the mirror . It was well hidden behind some old cardboard boxes and only the corner was showing . The frame looked gilded in gold but was covered in a thick layer of dust . Mary moved the boxes and pulled it out . It was larger than she had originally thought , maybe three feet by 5 feet long . It was partially covered with a bedsheet . Mary removed the sheet and uncovered She was totally engrossed in work and just barely heard knocking at the front door . She was just making her way to the door when she heard it open . Only her best friend Harry knocked and then came in uninvited . But then , Harry was more than a friend and had spent many a cold night warming Mary up . She heard his voice calling her name . Harry had a standing invite to come in anytime he wanted . Harry gave her a quick peck on the lips and mentioned that he had been by earlier in the day but that she wasn 't around . He knew how demanding her job was and didn 't want to disturb her if she was at work , but preferred to take his chances and just drop in . This brought Mary 's mind back to the unpleasant task at hand and went on to detail what she had found in the attic . She also mentioned that she found it strange that she didn 't see any of the crates there . Harry volunteered to help her the next time she went over to the house , as he knew how painful the memories of her father 's passing were . He had wasted away from some unknown disease , and his sickness had been very painful , both for her father and for Mary to watch . Although Jim had been small in stature , he was always in good health with a good physique . Harry knew the emotional toll this had taken on Mary and had tried to support her in every way imaginable . Mary still had some work to do so Harry took his leave and they made a date for the following morning to attack the attic . The next morning dawned bright with not a cloud in the sky . It looked like summer had finally arrived in upper New England . Mary made her way to the house and saw Harry sitting on the step , looking pensive . " Good Morning sweetheart " he chirped . She hated the way he called her sweetheart , but overlooked that as his other qualities overshadowed this minor nuisance . Mary greeted him in her all too familiar " hello jerk " . He seemed to love that and smiled . They entered the house together and made their way up to the attic . The house seemed oppressive , empty and lonely . Since the passing of her motheThey made slow progress , Jim supplying the bulk of the manual labour to bring all the boxes , furniture and whatever else there downstairs . It wasn 't long before the living room was full and overflowed into the dining room . The dining room was large and there was no fear that everything wouldn 't fit . One of the last items to leave the attic was surprisingly the large mirror that had first caught Mary 's eye . When Jim saw it , he too had commented on the beauty of the frame . Jim made his way downstairs with the mirror and Mary went to work hunting out all the small items in the far corners of the atttic . It was over 20 minutes before Jim returned . Mary was so busy that she hadn 't realized the amount of time but when she saw him again , she said " What took you so long ? " . Jim had a puzzled look on his face , " What do you mean ? " he said , adding " I just brought the mirror downstairs and came back right away " . Mary didn 't think more of it and together , they finished removing everything from the attic . " That 's strange " , said Mary , " Dad had brought back lots of crates from the far countries that he had visited and yet , I can 't seem to find them " . Jim looked around and replied " Well sweetheart , there 's nothing left up here but cobwebs and God only knows what other little creatures . " They made their way downstairs , closing up the attic behind them . Mary followed Jim into the living room , which was heaped to the ceiling with boxes and odds and ends . Mary looked depressed , she was trying to think how she would clear all of this out within the next two weeks when the house was going up for sale . Jim said , " wait for it , you haven 't seen the dining room yet ! " . When Mary saw all the boxes in the dining room , she had an oppressive feeling of doom . How was she going to clear all this out she thought within the next two weeks . Mary went on the say to Jim , " but I don 't understand , I 'm sure dad had crates upstairs . I remember him bringing them up there , and never saw them coming down . Maybe he did it after mom passed " . Jim looked at the mounds of boxes and thought that there couldn 't possibly be anything else up there . Just then , he looked at the far wall and he suddenly had a strange feeling . " Mary " , he said , " the far wall of the dining room seems much further away than what I remember up in the attic " . Mary looked up from the boxes and seemed to have suddenly come to the same conclusion , once she was aware of it . " Lets go back up to the attic " she said and together they made their way up . They stood in the attic near the stairs looking at the far wall . " It certainly looks closer than in the dining room " Mary said . Harry went over to the far wall and started exploring . " It 's took dark here to see anything . The light doesn 't seem to reach here " he said . Mary ran off mumbling something about a flashlight and returned a few moments later with a portable spotlight . " Woah " exclaimed Harry when he turned it on , " that 's some serious candle power ! " . Harry went to work examining the wall up close . After about 15 minutes , he sat down . " Sorry sweetheart , I can 't see anything here . We must have been mistaken " . Once again Mary left muttering something intelligible only to return a few minutes later with a small sledge hammer and a large crowbar . & That wall is definitely not the end of the house & she exclaimed . Harry took the sledge hammer and crowbar and started tapping on the wall to find the weakest point . There was no use over exerting yourself he thought to himself . He brought the sledge hammer to bear on what he thought was a weak spot . The hammer sailed thru the wall to the other side with ease . Harry looked in and said to Mary & there is a small room behind this wall but everything seems to be covered up under sheets , I can 't see what is there " . He spent the next 15 minutes opening up the wall so they could pass thru easily . The moment had arrived , Harry passed her the light and said " after you my dear " . Mary entered the small room . Immediately , she was overcome by the heavy dust and overpowering smell . She noticed a light in the middle of the small room with a pull string . Turning on the light , she was amazed by all the crates , neatly stacked against the back wall . They were stacked 5 high to the ceiling and she counted 10 wide , making for at least 50 crates . Her first thought was despair , thinking of all the work she now had to do to go thru all of the crates before selling the house . She had no time for this she thought to herself . Then curiosity quickly erased that feeling of despair , wondering whatJust as she was about to leave the house , her attention was drawn to the mirror . Harry was in the other room , cleaning up a few things . She walked up to it and it seemed that her reflection shimmered . She couldn 't explain it but it appeared as if it wasn 't her looking at the mirror so much as her reflection looking at her . She reached out and touched the mirror , she felt a slight tingle in her finger , then her arm . It wasn 't an unpleasant sensation , but somehow she couldn 't describe it . She felt compelled to touch it , as if it was calling to her . This is crazy she thought and drew her finger back . She immediately felt something was wrong , the house was bright with sunlight streaming in and her stomach told her she had passed her normal mealtime . She glanced at her watch , but somehow the time didn 't register . No , that couldn 't be , she looked again , it said 2 o ' clock . She got up and looked outside , it was bright daylight . How could that be , just a minute ago , it was dark , 10 at night and they were just about to pack up for the night . Mary called out for Harry but got no answer . She reached for her phone and pressed redial . Harry answered just after the phone rang , " where were you ? " he said with desperation in his voice . " You just left last night without saying a word and you haven 't been answering your phone ! Even the office called me asking about you " . Mary tried to explain that she never left the living room but it seemed to fall on deaf ears , " I looked all over the house half a dozen times , you weren 't there , I thought you took it in your mind to go for a walk without telling me . I waited until sun up and you never came back . Where did you go ? " he asked heatedly . Mary was on the verge of tears , she was a strong woman but somehow this was almost too much for her . " I need to talk to you in person " she said , " meet me at the house after work " . It was 6 o ' clock when Mary arrived at the house . Harry was sitting on the doorstep waiting . She could tell he wasn 't in a good mood . Mary tried to explain that she too couldn 't explain her absence , that the next thing she knew , it was daylight . When she mentioned the mirror , Harry stopped her . " That 's funny " he said , " I too had a strange feeling when I touched the mirror " , " and you were gone for 20 minutes " she added excitedly . " Where is it " he asked and Mary showed him . The mirror looked anything but unassuming , it seemed to shimmer . Mary felt compelled to reach out and touch it , her fingers just inches from it . She could feel it pulling her in , feeling it 's energy in her finger tips . Suddenly , a heavy weight slammed her hand down and away from the mirror . She could hear Harry calling her name . When she looked up , Harry had a worried look on his face . " Are you alright ? " he asked . " I called you at least a half - dozen times but it was as if you were on another planet " . " Harry , that thing is evil , get rid of it now " she screamed , " and whatever you do , don 't look at it or touch it ! " Harry turned the mirror so it was facing away from him and as he was walking away , Mary could have sworn her reflection looked somehow different , almost like it was another person . A minute later , she heard a shrill scream followed immediately by the sound of broken glass , then silence . Harry came in looking ashen , " my . . my reflection " he said , " just as I was throwing the rock , my reflection put up its arms , as if to shield itself from the rock " . " What was that thing ? " . " I don 't know " Mary answered , " & but I 'm glad it 's gone " . That night , Mary refused to sleep alone and held onto poor Harry all night . Neither slept , the ramifications of what that mirror was weighing heavily on their minds . Mary tried to remember what trip her father returned from with that mirror but her father was always so secretive with his crates . With the exception of their gifts , nobody knew what he returned with . The next day , Mary called in the office to say she was taking a few days off . She was determined to clear the rest of the house , especially all those figurines . After the affair with the mirror , she was almost afraid of touching the figurines . She called Harry to grab two of them and putting them in a box in the trunk of the car , they made their way to an antique dealer in town . They had just stopped at an intersection when they heard a loud bang coming from the back . As they were both on edge , Mary screamed and Harry jumped . Just then , they saw two kids running after their soccer ball yelling sorry as they ran by . They both collectively breathed a sigh of relief . An hour later , they were in the store , explaining to the owner that they wanted to sell them . The owner carefully examined the figurine , turning it over to look for any identifying marks but there were none . Finally , he said that for him , it was probably modern with no intrinsic value . He was about to hand it back but suddenly stopped . " Wait one minute " he said . Mary could see that his demeanor suddenly changed , he seemed excited . There was someting he wasn 't telling them , she could feel it . He disappeared into the back and came out no more than a few seconds with a metal file . " Do you mind " he asked , " this is worthless as art but I think you may have something valuable here " . " Not at all " she replied . The shop keeper took the file and ran it across the bottom back corner . She could see the change in his expression . He slowly turned the figurine toward them to reveal a gold color where the file had bit into the soft metal and thru the paint . " Unless I 'm mistaken , which I seldom am " he said , " this figurine is gold ! It weighs about 10 pounds so on today 's market , it would be worth about $ 200 , 000 . " Mary looked at him in disbelief , more like dumbfounded . " Are you sure " she asked , her mouth suddenly dry . He replied " pretty sure but I 'll double check " . He disappeared into the back and returned a minute later , " I just tested it , this is pure 24k gold . Did you say you had more of these ? " . Mary looked at Harry , then started to laugh almost uncontrollably , " oh yes , " she replied , " about 400 more ! " . I don 't know where they came from but I know what I 'm doing with them thought Mary to herself .