The 28th House
Episode 1 - The Move

“Wow!” exclaimed Mr George Adewale while he read the letter in his hands. Mr George Adewale, a regional accountant for an audit firm, just received a promotion to the position of a zonal accountant. With this promotion, he had to move with his family to the city where the zonal head office was located. His wife, Mrs Sade Adewale, was a housewife. She, however, sometimes did render services such as baking, beadworks and small event planning like birthdays for friends and neighbors. Sarah, their first child and daughter, is 16 years old. Sarah is followed by Iyanu, 12 years of age, then, Ronke, 10 years old, and then, the only baby boy in the house, John, who will be 8 years in a few months’ time.
About 10 months before the promotion, George received a call from an estate agent who informed him about a house for sale available in a quiet street in his hometown. George’s plan has always been to build a house from the foundations to the rooftop, but, the offer was quite tempting because of the cheap price and it is a recently built house, fully furnished and well-equipped. “The offer sounds too good to be true”, George said to himself. George discussed with his wife about purchasing the house with the $5.2 million they had saved over the past 8 years. Sade was a bit hesitant concerning the offer and she made a strange suggestion to her husband, “Let’s pray about it”. George was not the church-attending type. Of course, he believed in God and he became born-again in his final year in university. But, as time went on, praying and worship became a ceremonious rite in his eyes which he only did on Easters, Christmases and New Years. His common response to friends who invited him to church or fellowship was “I am a very busy man.” George never gave a response to Sade’s suggestion on prayer. A week later, they purchased the property together with a piece of land behind the house with over 80 percent of their savings. They extended the fence of the house to enclose the whole place they had bought. George was convinced that he would rent out the huge bungalow, thereby, making returns from the rent paid by the tenant. The agent gave them all information about the house but left out a few important details. Months blew by and not a single tenant came around. Prospective tenants avoided the house for a good reason.
The zonal headquarters was located in his hometown. George and Sade considered it good luck that they would soon be moving to their hometown to live in the house they had bought 10 months ago. Sarah was not so happy about the move. “I will miss my school friends”, she said to her mum. Sarah had a thin voice which became very sonorous after taking voice training classes in the music club of her school. Most of her friends were members of the music club. She promised to keep in touch with her friends through calls and instant messaging apps on her mobile phone. Prior to their arrival, George made plans to convert the bushy extra plot of land into a beautiful garden with fragrant flowers. The idea of having a personal play-garden within the house made Iyanu and Ronke excited.
They decided to make the move on a weekend. They drove for hours before arriving at the city. In about half an hour, they were in the street of the house. It was so quiet. All they heard was the sound of their car and the hired truck behind them that carried their furniture, electronics and other loads. This street was quite different from what they were used to. No hawkers, no kiosks and no kids playing and dancing on the parched sandy roads. Everyone was confined to the fences of their houses. The road was very straight in line such that one could see the end of the street from the other end. The street was lined with 30 houses, 15 on each side. George would live with his family on the 28th house, which is the 14th house on the left. As they approached the red gate of the house, George’s heart pounded within his ribs afraid of what was behind the fence because all he had seen were pictures and documents of the house. “Nothing could be grander“, Sade thought to herself as she saw the house for the first time as the gates gave way automatically with a remote control in hand. The house was more beautiful than the pictures they had seen. Engulfed with so much blissful ignorance, they were all pleased to be in such a perfect haven; little did they know of what they were in for. Sarah was busy taking pictures of the new house and sharing it on social media with their friends as the men in the truck starting off-loading.
Sooner than they knew, they finished off-loading the truck which left immediately after receiving the remaining payment. The family went around the house, inspecting each room and assigning functions to them. Iyanu and Ronke were to stay together in the same room while Sarah and John had their individual rooms. John was more excited than everyone about his new room because it was bigger. He jumped for joy towards his mum, hugging her tightly. As they moved about, John remained in his room pacing from one end to the other, flaunting his legs and head with each step he took. They completed the tour within the house and they decided to go out and check the garden. Sade asked, “Where is John?” Iyanu replied, “Mum, I saw him sleeping in his room.” Just around the corner of the back of the house, before the low garden’s wall, they could see the balcony of the one-storied house next to theirs - the 30th house which is the 15th and the last house on the left. An old woman with gray hair was sighted around the shaded area of the balcony where she was seated. She stared at them like she was seeing an amusement park on a plasma TV screen. George waved at her but she did not respond. So he said “Good afternoon” at the top of his voice but the old woman kept watching them like she was deaf and dumb. They were all startled at their neighbor and wondered why she stared at them that way. Iyanu whispered to Ronke, “I guess she is blind so she cannot see us even with her eyes wide opened.”
The family walked in the midst of the garden and enjoyed the colorful sight and sweet fragrance of the flowers. It was almost evening, so the sun was not too hot. They sat down on the grass as they took cold beverage drinks under the shade of a tree. Ronke turned around and saw a figure like a shadow running quickly towards the corner. In a split second, it disappeared before her eyes. She shouted, “Daddy! Daddy!! I saw something.” They all turned around to see as they saw her pointing to an empty space. Wondering what she meant, George asked “What did you see?” By this time, the old woman on the balcony was no longer there. Ronke replied, “I saw something.” She had barely completed the statement when they heard John screaming out loud from his room. They rushed to meet him inside. John was still screaming in bouts of about 5 seconds’ interval as they struggled with the door to his room. The door knob was stubborn as it refused to turn. George was ready to break through the door, then, the knob turn down by itself and the door flanked open. Sade rushed in to grab John with a tight hug. George was busy checking the room for the cause of John’s fright. After John was calm, George asked him what happened and John explained that he saw a grizzled figure coming out of the cupboard.
George checked the cupboard but found nothing there, let alone anybody. John was terrified to his bones as his body shook in his mother’s tight embrace. Sade and George came to the conclusion that John must have had a really terrifying dream. Sade comforted John until he became calm. She sang to him one of his favorite songs till he was fully calm and asleep again. They ate dinner a few hours later and went to bed. Ronke said to Iyanu as they lay on the same bed, “Do you really think John was dreaming in the afternoon?” Iyanu said, “Of course, he was.” “Or, what else could it have been?” Iyanu added. Ronke just shrugged as she turned around and tucked herself under the blanket to sleep.

(To be continued ... stay tuned)
http://www.teachingoftheword.com/show_story.php?story_id=15

interesting

Good story lines, but don't know if you will welcome criticism.

Though I'm not a good writer but I enjoy reading a lot.

First you need to improve on the suspense aspect of the writeup it will make your reader want to know more.

Also try making use of literature lines so as to help reduce some long story explanation because long story line is for movie.
But don't get detard keep the update I'm one of your fans now

drtwist:
Good story lines, but don't know if you will welcome criticism.

Though I'm not a good writer but I enjoy reading a lot.

First you need to improve on the suspense aspect of the writeup it will make your reader want to know more.

Also try making use of literature lines so as to help reduce some long story explanation because long story line is for movie.
But don't get detard keep the update I'm one of your fans now

Thanks for the constructive criticism. I'm relatively new at this, so, I hope to improve. I kind of wrote it in a movie format, that's why it is in episodes and not chapters. All your points are duly noted. Thanks drtwist.

Episode 2 - Making Friends

The following week, George was prepared for his first day of work at the zonal office. He was excited that he would own a bigger office this time with a name tag on the door and a higher salary. The most intriguing part of the promotion to him was that he felt satisfied and fulfilled because he could see himself climbing up the ladder in the company. George was arrayed in the new suit Sade bought for him as a promotion gift. Sade had given him some other things too like a new box of perfume and a screen-shield for his laptop due to his intense auditing work.
George arrived at the office early. Punctuality had always been his strong suit. Even George never could say how he developed the good habit of being punctual. All he knows is that it had always been a priority for him to be on time and to keep to time. The regional manager in the previous branch where he had worked always commended him on that. On arriving at the zonal branch, he met the zonal manager, Mr James Uche, on his way into the firm’s building. They exchanged greetings. George introduced himself as the new zonal accountant. Mr James already knew because he had been earlier notified of George’s posting and debriefed on his identity. They were alone in the whole building, apart from the guard who was also early. It is however difficult to tell whether the guard was early because punctuality was his habit or because it was his job description. Mr James showed George to his office and George was quite grateful. The first thing to get his attention was the absence of his name on the office door. Only the office position was on the door. After Mr James left, George started arranging things in his new office the way he had thought he would. Joy filled his heart as he took out of his bag item by item and placed them on his desk.
Mr James came by George’s office to invite George to the conference room for a general meeting. James noticed George’s family pictures of his wife and children, and another picture of George making a basketball shot, on the table. James smiled as he said to George, “Beautiful family, you’ve got there.” George replied, “They mean more than the world to me.” As those words reached James’ eardrums, he thought to himself, “First, he is punctual. He is also a family man and a basketball aficionado. I like him already.” That morning, James introduced George and the two other new members of the zonal branch to the rest of the workers in the conference room. And he presented them their name tags to be attached on their office doors. To George, getting the office-door name tags was like the final drop that makes the cup overflow; he couldn’t be happier. At closing, George headed for his car while he turned around as he heard his name. It was James calling him. They stood and talked about today’s work for a while, after which, James invited George for a family dinner at his home. James felt George would feel awkward about it since they had only known each other today. The two seconds it took for George to reply felt like hours to James as he felt embarrassed within. George smiled and said, “We would love to meet your family.” James felt a huge relief like taking ice water on a sweaty sunny day. They fixed a weekend for the family dinner. George drove home as he whistled a song and moved his head to the rhythm; glamorously reminiscing to himself about how his day was fine.
Earlier that same day, Sade went into town to get some house supplies at the supermarket. On her way back, she was lost. She stopped to ask for directions. She was glad to be directed aright. And just as she was almost in her district, she got the road numbers mixed up. She had to ask for directions again. This time, she was lucky to meet a woman who was heading to the street next to hers. Her name was Julie. They spoke all the way till she alighted at her junction. Julie had earlier suggested some good schools in the neighborhood that her children could attend. They exchanged phone numbers before she left. It was only after some minutes that it occurred to Julie that Sade had introduced herself as a new member of the 8th street. “It cannot be that same house! It definitely must be a different house”, Julie said to herself.
George told Sade of the family dinner and she was glad about it. They were both happy that they were making friends. They took Julie’s suggestions in making the decision on the school their children would attend. After days of deliberations and paying visits to the schools, they finally decided that Sarah was to attend a high school a little further away than her siblings. Iyanu, Ronke and John were to attend the school nearby.
Sarah spent the whole week talking about her new school to her friends on mobile chat applications. Although, she had not made any friend in her new school, she was contented because she was a very reserved person. One afternoon, during the break period, she was quietly taking a stroll to the buttery to get some snacks where she was greeted by a boy named Matthew. Matthew said, “Hello, you have a lovely voice.” Matthew had heard her singing quietly as she walked by. She was surprised and a little offended at the intrusive greeting. She managed to murmur out, “Thank you” as she walked on. Matthew followed her and this time her face was squeezed in anger. Matthew continued listing out songs sand by the same musician who composed the song she sang. Gradually, Sarah was getting amused as she lightened up her face. Matthew then asked, “What other songs do you like?” This time she felt a little free to reply him and they both did not know how time flew by as they chatted over snacks till the break was over. Matthew ended their conversation with a striking remark, “With your nice voice, your church choir must be very lucky to have you in their midst.” Sarah did not reply as they departed to their different classes because she considered it shameful to have such a Christian name but not belong to any church, let alone a choir. Nonetheless, she was happy she met someone that day.
That evening before she went to bed, she informed her friends on mobile chat apps about her new acquaintance. The following day was a Saturday. Sarah stood up from her bed at midnight to urinate. As she returned and passed by the mirror in her room, she thought she had seen a reflection other than herself. So, she took a few steps backwards to look into the mirror again. She saw the reflection of a child at about age 5, at some distance behind her. She had never seen the child before. She quickly turned around but did not see any child in her room. Thinking she was imagining things, she took another look at the mirror. This time, she saw the child again with blood all over his face and clothes, raising his hands and moving towards her. She was too scared to scream as she turned around to see no one in her room. She was so terrified to take another look at the mirror. She used her fingers to rub her sleepy eyes and took one more look at the mirror. This time, she only saw her reflection in the room. Her pacing heart settled as she made way to her bed to continue her sleep.

(To be continued ... stay tuned)
http://www.teachingoftheword.com/show_story.php?story_id=16

Good write-up but u can do better!

Episode 3 - What a Weird Night

It was the scheduled weekend for the dinner between the Adewale family and the Uche family. George drove about 45 minutes to get to James’ house. On arrival, James and his wife were already at the door to welcome George and his family. They smiled at one another as they alighted from the car and walked inside the house exchanging pleasantries. Mr James, his wife and his two sons were standing in the living room as they introduced each other. Sarah lifted up her eyes as she saw Matthew, her friend from school, beside Mr James. They both chuckled at each other as their eyes met. Both families were surprised at the chuckle so George asked, “Sarah, what is it?” Sarah replied, “I know Matthew. He is my new friend in school.” Both families were surprised at the coincidence and were happy that their kids had met in school. Mr James laughed as he said, “What a small world.” They completed introducing themselves after which Mrs Uche led them to the dining table. The food served was a simple dish of fried rice, salad and turkey. Mr James said the grace and they started eating. George commended Mrs Uche for a lovely meal. Mr James had quite a set of jokes which he shared and they all laughed. They enjoyed one another’s company.
After a while, the children were seeing a program on television as George, Sade, Mr James and his wife discussed. They spoke over a wide range of issues until they got to the discussion about what church George and his family attended. Mr James assumed that it had been quite a number of weeks since he arrived, hence, he would have found a branch of his former church to attend in this city. George replied by saying, “We do not attend a church yet.” “We hope to get a suitable one soon”, he added after a few seconds. Mrs Uche quickly said, “Then, we invite you to the church we attend. It is just a few minutes away from our house. I am sure you will love the place.” Sade replied, “We will love to check it out.” Mr James saw the expression on George’s face and he suspected George would not attempt to come at all. To confirm his doubts, he asked, “So, what church did you attend in the city where you were?” George never wanted the invitation to his church; neither did he want the conversation about churches to continue; at the same time, he did not want to lie. So he gave this answer with a straight face, “We did not attend any church at all. We did not even plan to attend any church consistently here too”. George was ready to be confronted by Mr James as people usually did, but, Mr James just kept mute. George was surprised because no one had ever been quiet about his attitude to church especially the “fanatic Christians” as George called them. They always tried to pester him to come with persuading words. This left George dumbfounded and Sade a little embarrassed. Mr James immediately slotted in another conversation on basketball. Mrs Uche stated, “Men and sports” as she took Sade by the hand so they could talk about something women had interest in elsewhere.
Sarah enjoyed the company of Matthew while their siblings were engrossed with the television program. They discussed about their favorite television shows, movies and music bands. Around 7:30pm, George decided to leave. George thanked Mr Uche’s family for their hospitality and for hosting such a nice dinner. They bid one another farewell as George and his family drove off. As they drove home, all Sarah could think of was not the delicious meals they had eaten, but, her conversations with Matthew. “I think I like him a lot”, she thought to herself. Likewise, Matthew was thinking about their conversations as he lay on his bed in his room. “I like her a lot. I think she has to come to our church and join the choir”, he said to himself. Immediately, he took out his phone and texted her on a mobile instant messenger typing, “What do you think about coming to worship at the same church, possibly joining the choir too?” Sarah replied, “I would love to. But that depends on my parents.” As they drove, Sade said, “That was a lovely visit and a good dinner.” George replied saying, “It was good. The Uches are a lovely family, I must say.” “Except for the church-issue, we all had a nice time together”, George added. Sade then said, “Concerning the church-issue, don’t you think we should attend a church?” George replied her by saying, “Well, let us think about it for some time. You know I do not like all these Christian frivolities and trivialities like paying tithes as if God owns your money or dancing and clapping like pagan worshippers. All those things just don’t suit me.” Sade countered him, “But, they are done to please the Lord and worship Him.” George did not reply but just shook his head. As they drove in that night, in their neighbor’s house, they noticed that a local lamp was left in the old woman’s balcony. George said, “Who still uses a local lamp these days with all the soot?”
John went to bed early because he was tired and sleepy. After a few minutes of sleep, he felt a touch on his right leg. John woke up only to see a grizzly figure with no particular face standing by the foot of his bed. He screamed and before his mum ran into the room, the grizzly figure went back into the cupboard. She embraced him tightly as she gently asked what was wrong. John replied, “There is a man in the cupboard.” As he spoke, George walked in. Sade explained what John said to George. George put on the room lights and opened the cupboard so they could all see as he said, “Can you see John? There is no one in the cupboard. It was just a bad dream. Go back to bed.” But John insisted there was someone there and he would not sleep in his room tonight. So, George decided to allow John sleep in the same bedroom with him and Sade.
Just few minutes after bed time, Ronke and Iyanu were still talking about the soap opera they had seen when the room suddenly felt strange. Then just beside the room’s window, they say a little girl of about age 5 standing with blood all over her face, hands and clothes. They were too shocked at first to scream. Later, as the girl started walking towards their bed with her bloody hands stretching towards them, they both screamed at the top of their voice, holding each other tightly in fear. George and Sade wondered what had happened again as they ran into the room. They struggled with the door trying to open it but it would not open. After several struggles, the door knob eventually broke. George gave the door a muscular kick and it eventually flanked open. They rushed in to see their daughters in absolute fear, too afraid to speak. Eventually, Iyanu managed to explain what they saw before the child vanished into thin air. Sade turned to George as she said, “This is getting serious o. I don’t think this is normal.” George replied, “They are just kids and they are having nightmares.” They also insisted to sleep in the same room with their parents because they were too afraid. As they walked to the bedroom, Sade made a remark, “Why is it that they are all having nightmares the same night. This is really strange.”
While all these were happening, Sarah was busy in the dream world. She saw herself walking in the woods and suddenly a headless monster started chasing her. She ran in between the woods as fast as her legs could take her, breathing heavily with each step in the race, moving left and right between the trees, hoping not to be caught. Then, she mistakenly struck her foot against the big root of a tree and down she feel. Hurting her left leg and straining her left ankle, she could not run again. She crawled ahead with fear as the grizzly monster approached her. She screamed for fear as she woke up from her dream. Just after Sade completed her remark, they heard Sarah scream.
They all rushed into the Sarah’s room together as they saw her shaking for fear. She could barely explain the nightmare in her stuttering voice as she held her left leg as though she was hurting truly like in the dream. Sade just kept saying, “What a weird night!” The lights in the house started going on and off rhythmically. The children were all very scared. George wondered why the lights were malfunctioning. Even the light switch could not put off the lights. They all slept in the same room that night. Sade managed to muster out a word of prayer as they all slept in the same big bed, “God help us.” As she concluded the statement, the lights came back to normal. George then said, “I will get in touch with the electrician next week to look into this strange light problem. Also, the carpenters must come and check on this doors that refuse to open easily sometimes.” “This is not an issue to be fixed by an electrician or a carpenter”, Sade said. Sade implied that these occurrences had an origin or cause that is somewhat supernatural. George already knew what Sade meant and replied, “They all just had nightmares and illusions; nothing more.” As they slept, Sade told George that they had to talk about these strange occurrences. She did not want to continue the conversation so as not to scare the kids.

(To be continued ... stay tuned)
http://www.teachingoftheword.com/show_story.php?story_id=17

Episode 4 - Now, I believe

The following day, George called some electricians and carpenters to check on the lights and doors respectively. After hours of futile checking, they came back with the same response, “Boss, there is nothing wrong sir.” However, they demanded they receive payments for their time. Moreover, it was a Sunday so they requested for a higher pay than normal. George refuted at first but later obliged.
Sade was making lunch when George decided to enjoy his wife’s company in the kitchen. George had just finished some work on his laptop, so, he decided to relax with conversation with his wife. George came close as he gave his wife a peck on her cheek. Sade thought it was a good time to discuss the strange occurrences because the kids were busy with television. Sade said, “I think we should take these nightmares and things the children see seriously. I feel uneasy about them. I suggest we invite a pastor to pray for us or we attend church at least.” George was infuriated because that was not the type of conversation he had hoped to relax with. George replied, “Why are you reasoning this way? Do you also believe in things like that? There is nothing strange about nightmares. These nightmares are all figments of their imagination probably from the movies and television shows they had seen.” Then, Sade replied, “What about when they were not asleep and they saw these terrifying things?” George turned his head down as he said, “What do you expect? They are children who possibly cannot differentiate between dreams and real life.” Sarah was eavesdropping on their conversation from behind the kitchen door. Sade was tired of George’s adamant attitude and she made this remark, “Why exactly can’t you admit that these occurrences are not normal? Or, is it just self-denial just so you would not have to attend a church?” George was really annoyed at that statement as he left the kitchen saying, “I have important work to do.” As George walked out of the kitchen, he saw Sarah at the door. He chose to ignore Sarah despite the fact that he knew that she must have been hearing them all along. Sade suspected Sarah had been eavesdropping. So, as Sarah walked in to meet her mum in the kitchen, Sade quickly brought up another conversation so as not to scare Sarah.
A few days later, Sade saw the church pamphlet that Mrs Uche gave to her the other weekend during the dinner. Her eyes went straight to the church’s address on the leaflet and she thought to herself, “I have to attend their Bible study meeting this week.” She decided not to let her husband know about it because she knew he would be very displeased. On Tuesday that week, before her husband returned from work, she drove off to the church. She came late so she had to sit at the second to the last row. Midway into the service, Sade had an inward rest. It was a kind of feeling she had not felt in a long time. All of her mind was at peace. It was as if all her cares and worries had disappeared. She could not explain it but she knew the feeling was real beyond her doubts and emotions. The teacher taught on Matthew 11:28 saying “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” She could not wait till the end of the service because she had to be home early before George arrived. Mrs Uche, as an usher, had seen Sade enter the church late. She was surprised to see Sade leave early. Mrs Uche thought to herself, “I will give her a call after service.”
As Sade drove home, she met Julie, the lady that helped her home when she could not find her way. It had been long they had last spoken. Sade gave Julie a lift home since Julie lived in the next street. Immediately Julie came onboard, she remembered she had something in mind to discuss with Sade so she quickly talked about it before she forgot again. Julie started by confirming if Sade and her family lived in the 28th house by asking, “I hope you do not live in the 14th house on the left in the 8th street, do you?” Sade replied, “Yes, we do. What is wrong with it?” Julie was shocked as she spoke in a shaking voice, “Everything is wrong with the house.” Sade tried to be calm as she asked Julie in a stuttering voice, “Would you please explain what you know to me?”
Julie explained by telling a summarized story of the history of the house, its first owner and those that lived there. She said, “In that street, there was once a rich man who built a house. Nobody knew where he came from; he sneaked in and out like a mouse. Some weeks later, the neighbors noticed that they were no longer hearing the sound of his car passing through the street. A few days after, three white vehicles parked beside his house, men dressed in occult clothes colored white and red alighted and entered his house. As fate would have it, all the neighbors saw when the men carried the dead rich man and two other dead children out of the house into the one of the white vehicles they had brought. As days went by, rumor has it that the rich man had done blood money rituals with those children. But rumors will always rumors until they are confirmed true. We heard the house was for sale and a young family came to buy it. They did not spend more than a month before they left. Rumor has it that the house is haunted by a monster and two ghosts. Another family bought the house and they spent three months before they left, probably due to the same reasons. Now, it is your family’s turn and neighbors are wondering how long you will stay before you leave too.”
Sade was so shocked at the story that she could not drive again. She parked beside the road as her mouth was wide open in astonishment. She tried to calm herself from within before she drove again. Julie knew Sade was not the same again. She felt sorry for Sade at her reaction to the story and at the same time, she felt relieved for telling the story as a warning for the family.
That evening, Sade could not tell George about the story she heard from Julie because she knew George would not believe her. All she wished for was that these strange occurrences stopped at once. After dinner and some television time, the children went to their rooms. George was still busy with some auditing while Sade was knitting a stylish cardigan for Ronke. And suddenly, John screamed again. As usual, he had seen a grizzly figure come out of the cupboard walking towards him. But this time, Ronke, Iyanu and Sarah were also in John’s room. Sarah was helping them with their assignments. By the time George and Sade got to John’s room, they met their kids shaking for fear as they gathered in one corner of the room. Sarah was the only one bold enough to point to the cupboard. And as usual, George attempted to open the cupboard to show his children that it was empty, the same grizzly figure appeared from the cupboard and George fell to the ground. Sade ran towards the kids to protect them as she opened wide her arms and stood in front of them. George crawled backwards as the grizzly headless figure approached him. Everyone was terrified to their bones. Fear filled the whole room and they shook. In a situation that seemed as if there was no glimpse of hope, Sade remembered the Bible study for that day. She managed to say a few words, “God, please help us in Jesus Name.” Suddenly, the grizzly figure ran back into the cupboard. George managed to catch his breath as he said “Now, I believe.”
That night, they all slept together in the same room because they were afraid. Sade called George into the kitchen as she told him the history of the house Julie told her. George could no longer deny the fact anymore that the occurrences were somewhat supernatural because he had seen it himself.

(To be continued ... stay tuned)
http://www.teachingoftheword.com/show_story.php?story_id=18

Episode 5 (Finale) - Righteousness by Faith

They were still trying to recover from the shock of last night’s incident as they woke up the next day with strange looks on their faces. George dressed in his blue suit for work. Just as he drove out of the automatic gates, he suddenly saw an old woman in front of his car. George slammed the brake as his head jerked forward and his heart skipped for fear. He almost screamed but he calmed down when he realize that it was not a monster. It was their silent neighbor in front on his car. George did not really know what to say to her as he was still glued to his car seat. He wondered why she had appeared in front of his car this morning. “What on earth should I do?” George thought to himself. “I think respect demands that I to get down to meet her,” George thought further. He was even more scared as she started walking towards him with her bent back, staggering with each step towards the driver’s door. When she got close to his car window, she gave the glass a knock. He couldn’t alight anymore, so he gently rolled down the side window. Her first words were “I know what happened last night.” George heart skipped. “It was caused by the spirits of the children sacrificed for money by the rich man,” she added. At this time, Sade was already walking towards them because she noticed the gates had not closed in a long time. The woman said, “I have a few things that I can give you to chase the spirits off.” Sade arrived and all she heard was “...chase the spirits”. So Sade exclaimed, “Spirits!” Since everyone around knew the history of the house, Sade knew instinctively that the old woman must be talking about helping them with the situation of the house. She did not even greet the old woman before she asked, “What do you want to give us?” She said she had some candles and fuming agents known to ward off evil spirits. “No wonder she had them lit on her balcony the other night,” Sade and George thought to themselves. George said “Thank you” to her as he waved goodbye to drive off to work. Sade was skeptical about using such things, so, she told the old woman that she would come over to get it later when she needs it. She said this so as just to be tactful.
Sarah went late to school that day. She was reproved for coming late, but, that did not bother her at all. Her state of mind was definitely far from being ready for class, let alone, bothered about being reprimanded for late-coming. All through class, she gazed at the white board without seeing any letters or numbers on the board. At a time, the white board turned black and she saw images of the blood-stained children. But, she quickly snapped out of it. Teachers taught and all she could hear were the sounds of the monster that appeared in her sleep. She was definitely not concentrating in class. The fright from last night and other similar nights left her in absolute dismay. During the break period, she had an idea amidst her hazy thoughts. She quickly located Matthew, dragging him into a corner and said, “Teach me how to pray.” Puzzled by her request, Matthew replied, “Just say what you wish for and end it with ‘In Jesus Name’.” Sarah was surprised that it was that simple because she had never made any conscious prayer before, so she asked him just to be sure, “That simple?” Matthew felt he needed to explain better despite the strangeness of the question, so he said “Yes, that simple. Just know that God is your heavenly Father and He is always beside you. Then, ask for what you want in the name of Jesus and it shall be done for you because God loves you so much to deny a good request.” Sarah’s next question was, “Can you pray for me now so I can know how it is done?” Matthew took Sarah by both hands and she looked straight into his eyes. Matthew felt a bit awkward and then he said, “This is the time when we close our eyes before we say our desires.” They closed their eyes and Matthew led a simple prayer that afternoon.
Sade spent all afternoon thinking about what to do next. She paced from one corner of the living room to the other. There are times when she literarily paused and stood for minutes on a spot, lost deeply in thoughts. And when she got herself back, she paced again. She thought to herself, “Probably, our neighbor is the witch disturbing us.” She had forgotten to make lunch till it was time to pick Iyanu, Ronke and John from school. She rushed down to their school to get them. Sade was cooking when she heard voices in the living room - her husband and a man were discussing. She stepped outside the kitchen, walked down to the living room. George introduced the man to her as Mr Uche’s pastor and he introduced Sade, his wife to him. Sade was surprised that George had come in with a pastor. She asked, “How did you meet each other?” The pastor replied, “Last night, I was praying when the Holy Spirit instructed me to see Mr Uche at his office today. While I paid Mr Uche a visit during closing hour, George was passing by and Mr Uche decided to introduce him. We spoke together until he explained the incidents of this house to me. Immediately, I knew coming here was the reason the Holy Spirit told me to see Mr Uche.”
After a while of talking, dining and sharing the Word of God, they decided to pray. The pastor had barely spoken in tongues for few minutes when Word of knowledge started flowing in. The pastor starting revealing the exact secrets of the house and the money rituals that conspired between the rich man, his cult and the children he used. Sade and George were surprised and stared at each other, thinking that the pastor had heard the story of the house elsewhere. Then George quickly cut in the pastor’s speech, “This house is haunted by the ghosts of those people he had used.” The pastor replied, “No. The ghosts of the children had departed from the land of the living long ago. However, there are two demons disguising in the form of the children and disturbing anyone who attempts to live in the house.” George was stunned at the pastor’s words and wondered why the pastor could be so sure of what he said. As those thoughts ran through his head, the pastor added, “There is also another demon. It is a fierce one living in the cupboard. It was in charge of the ritual rites whenever the rich man performed the money rites weekly.” Everyone was astonished at the confidence with which he spoke as if he had witnessed the events firsthand.
As he led the family in some songs and some words to stir up faith in them, there appeared across the living room a set of twins, one male and the other female, at about the same height, walking towards them and raising their bloody hands. Everyone ran behind the pastor using him as a shield. The pastor stretched his hands towards them and commanded them, “Leave this house right now and be ye returned to hell, your home, in Jesus Name. Amen.” Immediately, the twins stopped and just before they disappeared, screamed out so loud that everyone had to cover their ears except for the pastor. They could not see any of the children again; they stood up from behind the pastor. Immediately, George noticed that John was no longer with them. As he turned around, he saw John being dragged by his legs into his room by the grizzly figure. George did not think twice before running to get John. As he entered the room with John, the door closed tight that no one could open it from the outside. George was stuck with John inside the room with the grizzly monster. John managed to break loose and ran close to his father. George held him so tight to his chest with his arms. The monster stood at the other end of the room by the window. George was paralyzed with fear as he stood watching the monster with partially close eyes, trembling lips and legs. They were struggling with the door from the outside and he knew it would be counterproductive if he attempted opening the door from the inside at the same time. “There is nothing else to do than to pray,” George thought to himself. He managed to muster out a few words, “Get away from this house in Jesus Name. Amen.” Nothing happened. George just kept shouting, “Get away... get away... in Jesus Name.” The monster just got closer. “Who am I kidding? How will God answer me when all my sins are so innumerable? When was the last time I prayed? When was the last time I even gave God the slightest respect or regard. I cannot deceive myself anymore,” George thought to himself. From the other end of the door, the pastor could barely hear George shouting “Get away”. Deep in his heart, he knew George must have been praying but nothing was happening. The pastor had an insight from 2Corinthians 5:21 in his spirit. The pastor wondered the correlation, nonetheless, he decided to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading as he shouted to George at the other side of the door, “George, you have become the righteousness of God through the redemption provided by Jesus Christ regardless of the things you have done. So, just keep saying it.” George, who was ridden with condemnation, was amazed at what the pastor had said. This time, the monster was just a few steps away from them, George’s futile “Get away...” shouts was not helping, so, he started talking to himself, “I am the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus” over and over again. Though he never understood what he said at first and the fear of the approaching monster was not helping either, but, he just continued repeating the statement. Then, he remembered when he gave his life to Christ on one sunny Sunday afternoon. The brother who entered his room to evangelize told him that his sins had been forgiven him after they took the salvation prayer. Gradually, he understood a bit of what he was saying. Bit by bit, he realized that his sins had been forgiven him when Jesus Christ died. His salvation was never about his deeds in the first place; how then can his forgiveness be based on his deeds anymore. Though he had a bare understanding of the words he was saying, but, it formed faith in his heart. This time the monster was already close and was about touching him when he said, “Get away from us in Jesus Name.” Immediately, a loud scratching voice was heard. In a flash thought, George remembered that the pastor had cast the other demons to hell, so he commanded, “Go to hell in Jesus Name. Amen.” Immediately, the scratching sound stopped and the door opened. The pastor rushed in speaking in tongues.
In a few minutes, every racing heart was settled and everybody’s fear had subsided. They finally had peace in the house since they moved in. The pastor said a few words to encourage them and keep them at rest in the firm promises and finished works of Christ Jesus. He said a few prayers committing them to Christ and he prepared to leave. He told them to be rest assured that the demons were gone for good, never to return again. Sade and George saw him off to his car, then, George said this just before he drove off, “We shall meet in church on Sunday.” They expressed their gratitude to the pastor and bid him goodbye. That night, never had they done so as a family, they had Bible study before they slept and Sarah offered to say the prayers. George really had nothing to say to his family since he had not read his Bible in years, so he taught on “The Righteousness of God by Faith” taking a cue from the Bible verse and the statement the pastor had told him earlier.
The next day, the old woman in the next house was waiting at the gate for him just like the other day. This time, George was more welcoming to her as the gates opened. She said she heard the loud scratching noise and she felt a sudden peace that filled her heart that night. George said it was God who delivered them in the name of Jesus and they never had to use any demon-repellant candles and fumes. She was surprised. George said he would talk to her later after returning from work. That day, neighbors from the street came visiting for the first time saying they heard the loud scratching noise and the sudden unexplainable peace last night. Sade replied that the demons in the house were cast out in the name of Jesus. George and Sade became members of Mr Uche’s church. In a few weeks and without realizing it, the street neighbors started having Bible study sessions at George’s house. They used the garden behind his house as the gathering venue every weekend. It was never intended to become a Bible study meeting but as each neighbor came around to hear the testimony for themselves, George explain the event and unintentionally, it turned to a message.
They lived in a haunted house as the result of a supposed mistake of not being led by the Spirit. But now, God had changed the course of events completely. A family who never had regard for God had become a family that held Bible study sessions for the street. Just because of them, a whole neighborhood was saved for Christ. What a testimony in the 28th house!

(The End)
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Thanks!

Nice one,I must commend.....Thumbs up!

antifat:
Nice one,I must commend.....Thumbs up!

Thanks for the review @antifat

TRalph:
Copyright
Do not alter or reproduce the content of this story "The 28th House" without my approved consent. Thank you for being reasonable.
(cc) Olaniyi T-Ralph www.teachingoftheword.com/get_search.php?profile=T-Ralph

I welcome comments and suggestions.
Also, if you don't mind, you may drop a comment on this link as well – www.teachingoftheword.com/show_story.php?story_id=19
Thanks!

Nice work bro. I love the message, please can I share it on my fb page

povicky1:


Nice work bro. I love the message, please can I share it on my fb page

Yes, you can share as long as you quote the source.
:-) cheers