Ryan Cooper had always been the fearless one. Captain of the soccer team, class favorite, the kind of guy who laughed at ghost stories and swore nothing scared him. So when his friends dared him to spend an hour inside the abandoned Harroway House, he took it as a personal challenge.

“Watch and learn, boys,” he’d said, grinning as he stepped past the iron gate, flashlight in hand. “I’ll get a selfie with your ghosts.”

The others stayed behind, their laughter fading into the night as Ryan entered the house alone.

Inside, the air was heavy — thick with dust and something else… something unseen. His footsteps echoed softly down the narrow hallway. Torn wallpaper hung like peeling skin, and every few feet, the floorboards moaned beneath him.

What a dump, he thought, kicking aside a broken frame. People actually think this place is haunted?

Then he said it aloud — a little louder than necessary. “Hey, ghosts! You hear that? You’re fake! All of you!”

A sharp gust of cold air rushed through the corridor, snuffing out his flashlight for an instant. Ryan froze. When it flickered back on, the reflection in a cracked mirror at the end of the hall showed something standing behind him — pale outlines, shifting and hazy, like mist with eyes.

He spun around. Nothing.

His laugh came out shakier than he meant. “Cute trick. Real original.”

But then the cold deepened, wrapping around him like invisible hands. He felt a tug — sharp and deliberate — at the hem of his hoodie. His hand shot down, grabbing the fabric, but it was yanked upward, slipping past his grip.

“Hey! Cut it out!”

The air shimmered. Faint whispers echoed in the walls. Mock us, do you?

Ryan stumbled backward, trying to swat at the unseen force. His hoodie lifted higher, bunching above his chest. Then his jeans started to slide down, as though someone were pulling them with cold, unseen fingers.

“Stop—stop it!” His voice cracked. He could feel them — hands that weren’t there, icy and unyielding.

He looked in the mirror again. The reflection showed it clearly this time: spectral figures surrounding him, hollow eyes glowing blue, translucent arms tugging at his clothes with silent purpose.

We were mocked once, the whispers coiled around him, when the living thought themselves untouchable.

Ryan tried to run, but the air felt thick, like wading through water. His jeans pooled at his ankles. His breath came in panicked bursts.

“I’m sorry! Okay? I’m sorry!” he shouted, but his words were swallowed by the house. The spirits didn’t answer. They simply hovered behind him, watching — ancient, patient, and cold.

When the house finally released him, the door creaked open by itself. Ryan stumbled outside, pale and trembling, his flashlight shattered somewhere inside.

His friends’ laughter died the moment they saw him — the proud, fearless Ryan Cooper — shivering in the moonlight, hoodie half-torn, jeans hanging loose.

He didn’t speak on the way home.

And though no one ever mentioned it again, those who passed Harroway House swore they could hear a faint voice echoing through the halls at night — a broken whisper repeating the same two words, over and over.