I have never encountered such a scary moment before. My life was pretty peaceful, not to mention normal. I was your average student, a few A pluses here and there. But then my stupid curiosity just had to go upstairs into the attic. I then said some really darned stupid words. Maybe I just wanted some thrill in my life, or I was just not expecting this to turn my life into a horror story.

It all started on a Saturday evening when my dad and mom left for a business trip. I had the house all to myself for another week. They always said these words before they left “Remember not to go up into the attic, Emily! Behave yourself while we’re away.” I never really knew why they kept telling me that, but I didn’t think twice about it until now. As soon as I heard their car leave the driveway, I grabbed a ladder and placed it under the attic entrance. I carefully climbed the ladder, cringing as the ladder made squeaking noises. I was a bit concerned for my safety then, but my curiosity was much stronger than my concern.

I excitedly climbed into the attic entrance, my heart pounding loudly inside my chest. A thrill washed over me as I took in my surroundings. There was a clothing rack with 80s-style clothing. I walked over to it, the floorboards groaning under my feet. They seemed to be in good condition, even after all these years. I found a framed painting of someone that looked like my mom. I brushed the dust off of the picture. It was a girl with eyes just like my mom, a bright smile, and a fancy pink laced dress. I then glanced over to the clothing rack. The dress in the painting looked identical to one of the many dresses on the clothing rack. 

My eyes settled on some calligraphy on the bottom right of the picture.Caroline Marie Monet, 1985. Woah. Was this my grandmother? She had the same last name as me. My mom never told me I had a grandmother. Whenever I asked about it, my mom just said that she had died a tragic death, and when I asked for the full story of her death, my mom just told me that she wasn’t in the mood to talk about it right now. As I looked around the attic, I found family heirlooms, more paintings, pictures, and many other interesting items.

 I came up with many questions to ask my mom, but I knew she would be suspicious as to why I was asking her those questions.Then, I saw a fancy pale pink crib in a dark, far corner of the attic. I walked over to the corner cautiously. For some reason, this corner just gave me a sense of caution, a sense of. . . danger, for some reason. And I found my instincts scaring me a bit. There were a lot of spiderwebs covering it, but I could barely make out a doll lying on its back. It had long, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. It wore a lace dress with. . . red stains on it. The stains looked a bit like. . . blood. It seemed to be holding a slip of paper in its hands. 

Of course, I was creeped out by the paper. But my curiosity remained, and I seemed to be. . . reading it out. . .? "Alaina. . ." I started. "Awaken and rise!" I hesitated before saying the other words. I can't believe I was doing this. "Please don't fall asleep again in the dead of night!" I paused, waiting for something to happen. Nope, the doll stayed still. I found myself being a bit disappointed for some reason. Well, what a bummer. There wasn't anything interesting left in the attic, so I slowly climbed downstairs. I headed to the kitchen because I felt hungry after all that searching. 

As I was eating a cookie, I heard something from upstairs. Footsteps, maybe?I decided not to think so much of it and continued eating my snack. But then. . . the lights flickered. My nervous system got alert. I decided to check the attic. I started to tiptoe, but then the lights went out completely. Was it the doll's doing? Probably not. I tried to convince myself. But then I heard a sound come from the kitchen. A sound I couldn't mistake for anything else. The blade of a knife. It gleamed in the moonlight through the window. I froze. The lights turned back on. I looked around. The doll stood on the countertop, holding the knife. 

I screamed. It seemed to be heading towards me. The lights turned back off. I tried to find the nearest exit, but footsteps were getting closer. And closer. I realized that I was pinned to the ground. The cool blade of a knife pressed against my neck. The lights flickered. "Hi." The doll said with a wide,crooked smile. I gasped as sweat trickled down my forehead. "Please don't." I stammered. I felt my whole body shaking. "Don't what?" the doll stared at me with evil in her eyes. "Don't. . ." I yelped as she slowly pushed the knife in. "Don't do that." "What?" the doll asked, pushing the knife further in. "Don't kill me." I finally managed to say. "