It's late one evening and you are busy going through some old boxes you found in the basement. As you move some old photo albums out of the way, your hands graze over a small wooden box with metal hinges that are already splintering. You get curious, wondering why the strange wooden box was inside one of the cardboard boxes. You pick the box up carefully, worried that you might break it or fearing that it would break at the touch. You inspect the box and notice an engraving on the lid, but it was covered in dust. Bringing the box to your mouth, you blew on it as dust flew all over the place, nearly triggering your asthma. You cough briefly as the dust had finally cleared.

"What is this?" You question, when you look at the lid, only to see that a skull was embedded into it. Its darkened design stared at you, wiling you to open it. You checked the cardboard box where you found it, wondering if the key had fallen out. However, as you look for it your fingers touched something metal. Flipping the box around, you saw that at the bottom was a metal key that you assumed would go to the box. Pulling it from the bottom, you glance at it until your eyes landed on the small keyhole. You stick the key into the hole and turned it one way until the metal lock snapped and fell off. Nervously, you opened the box and inside was an iron key.

You pick the key up from the box and place the empty box on the ground. You move the iron key around in your hands, wondering where it came from. As your examining it, your front door opens, and you look toward the staircase as you hear someone calling your name. It had sounded like your mother; you place the key back in the box and make your way upstairs.

"(y/n) I'm home!" your mother calls out. "Where are you?" You step out of the basement and enter the hallway that was near the front door. Your mother turns and sees you with a smile on her face. "There you are," she says.

"Hey mom," you respond. "How was work?"

"You know how it is," your mother says. Leaving your mother to it, you go back down into the basement and pick up the key you found. You planned to take it with you everywhere you go, wondering if it could unlock any door. However, when you enter the hallway, you notice a strange door with a skull. Seeing as how you had seen nothing like it before, you walk over to it and knock on the door, thinking someone or something was on the other side.

"Use the key..." said a strange voice on the other side. You gulp nervously, as you looked down at the lock, only to see that it was the same size as the skeleton key you had found. Maybe there's something on the other side you don't expect. Without hesitation, you insert the key into the lock and turn it. The door creaks open as they presented you with darkness. Looking at your hand, you notice the key was glowing bright red in the darkened corridors. Instinct tells you not to enter, though you can't contain your curiosity. Gathering all of your strength and bravery, you step into the hallway as the key glowed brighter the further you walk in.

After a while of walking, you are about to give up and turn around, but just as you are about to turn around; you noticed a new door which creaks open slightly. The key in your hand vibrates as you make your way toward the door. You put the key in your pocket and push the door open. The minute you step through, you find yourself in a strange place that looks exactly like your house, but the difference is the amount of cobwebs that are in every corner of the house.

"Hello?" you call out but when no one answers, you decide to walk further inside, keeping an extra close eye on the door you came through. Your stomach is in knots and you aren't sure what you're about to endure. "Is someone here?" you hear a creak coming from somewhere upstairs and decide to investigate. As you walk upstairs, the creaks get louder with each passing minute until eventually you get to the second floor, only to find that no one was there.

"Maybe I'm hearing things," you say, but when you turn to leave, you hear another creak and spin around. Inside one room, you notice a shadow passing by the door. Your entire body had been screaming, yelling at you to turn around and go back the way you came. However, you don't let it go that easily and race to the door, ready to pounce if someone tried to attack you. You push the door open and step through, though when you enter all that was there had been an empty room. Turning around, you get ready to leave the room when you hear someone crying. Your hand is just about to touch the handle when the crying grew louder. You turn around and notice a woman facing the corner of the room.

"Miss?" you say as you made your way over to the woman. "Are you okay?" the woman stopped crying as she lifted her head up. You are about to touch the woman when she laughed, and you nearly jump out of your skin when the woman turns around and looks at you with her cold, dead eyes.

"You found my key!" she says. "You are mine now!" You scream and nearly jump out of your skin. You did not want to stay in the house any longer. Suddenly you back away from the woman as she approaches you, nearly grabbing you with her icy hands. You turn and run for the door. Pulling the door open, you race back down the stairs and make a run for the door you came from. Behind you, the woman chases you. She had no intention of stopping all you could do is hope that you can get to the door in time. The minute you get downstairs, you see the door you had come through and race for it. Your heart races as you struggle to put the key into the lock while the woman continued to approach you.

"Please! Open!" you exclaim as you stumble over yourself until you finally got the key into the lock. With a twist of your wrist, you turn the key in the lock and push the door open. You look behind you and see that the woman was getting closer. You run through the door and slam it shut, locking it behind you, so the woman cannot enter. Turning on your heels, you run for the opposite end of the dark hallway until you find yourself back in your basement. You slam the door shut, lock it, and put the key back where you got it from. No way were you going through that door again, nor would you even touch an unfamiliar object again.