The old house creaked and groaned around Michael and Olivia, a symphony of settling wood and ancient memories. As teenage twins, they knew every secret shortcut through its rambling hallways, every loose floorboard, and every dust bunny that resembled a forgotten pet. Their younger sister, Emma, although she wasn’t much younger, was usually right behind them, a whirlwind of boundless energy and curious questions. Five-year-old Aiden, the youngest, preferred to meticulously arrange his toy cars on the Persian rug in the living room, completely oblivious to the ghostly whispers of the old house.

It was a sweltering Saturday afternoon, the kind where the air hung heavy and still, promising a summer storm. “There’s nothing to do!” Emma groaned, flopping onto the worn armchair in the sunroom, her usually bright eyes glazed with boredom.

Michael, ever the logical one, was trying to fix a broken drone. “We could explore the woods,” he suggested, without looking up from the tangled wires. “Papa said he heard something weird back there last night.”

Olivia, always up for an adventure, perked up immediately. “Weird? Like what?”

“He just said… an odd humming sound, coming from deep in the trees,” Michael replied, finally setting the drone down in defeat. “Too high-pitched for an animal, too low for a car.”

Emma was on her feet in an instant. “A humming mystery! Let’s go!”

Even Aiden, hearing the word “woods,” looked up, his eyes wide. “Can I find sticks?”

“Yes, buddy, you can find all the sticks you want,” Olivia promised, scooping him up. “But stick close to us.”

The woods behind their house were ancient and sprawling, a tangle of oaks, maples, and towering pines that seemed to whisper secrets in the breeze. Sun dappled through the leaves, creating shifting patterns on the mossy ground. It was their own private wilderness, a place for fort-building, nature walks, and endless games of hide-and-seek.

They followed the familiar winding path until it branched into a less-used trail, overgrown with ferns and wild brambles. “Grandpa said the sound came from near the old stone wall,” Michael recalled, pushing aside a low-hanging branch.

They trekked deeper, the air growing cooler and thicker. Aiden, holding Olivia’s hand, pointed to a particularly gnarled tree. “Look! A monster tree!”

Suddenly, Emma, who had darted ahead, let out a gasp. “Michael! Olivia! Look!”

They rushed to her side. Emma was pointing to a patch of disturbed earth near the base of a massive, ancient oak. The ground here was bare, the undergrowth trampled, and in the center, something glinted in the dim light.

It was a small, intricately carved wooden box, half-buried in the soil. Its surface was adorned with strange symbols that none of them recognized, and a faint, almost imperceptible humming seemed to emanate from within it. As Olivia reached out to touch it, the air around the box shimmered for a split second, and then, from the depths of the woods, a guttural, unfamiliar growl echoed, sending shivers down their spines.

What was in the mysterious box, and what creature lurked in the whispering woods?

Read more at Hartman Mysteries