Warning: It’s not a good idea to respond to calls for help coming from behind doors that were made specially for the Halloween season.

Why? Well, when you read what happened to me recently upon responding to calls for help coming from behind the rather scruffy door in the image below, you’ll believe me.

Photo of a scruffy door in need of a lot of repairs.
The October Door

“HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE. HELP!”

Those were the words I could hear coming from the other side of the October door.

With its light blue paint having almost peeled away and signs of having been kicked from the scuff marks along its bottom, the door looked unloved and old. People passed me and the door by without taking any notice. Was I the only one who could hear the calls for help?

I watched as the flap of the letterbox lifted and two eyes appeared. They looked shocked when they saw me.

“I’m trapped. Please, you need to get me out. Just turn the knob to the left, then to the right, and once more to the left, and the door will open. I’ll be truly grateful for your help. It’s jammed. I’ve been stuck in here for over forty years.”

As the flap closed, I questioned what I had just heard. Forty years? That should have told me not to open the door, but the writer inside me said this would make a great story.

“Hold on. I’m coming in. Step away from the door,” I announced, as I approached it.

“Left, right, and left again,” I muttered under my breath, as I tried the door knob. The door opened without any problems, but I hesitated before stepping into the black void that now faced me.

“Hello,” I called out, as I took my first step inside.

Nothing but silence met my ears. Even the world behind me seemed to go to sleep. I hesitated and wondered if I should take a step back; to maybe get some help?

“In here,” came a voice, “please help me.”

On my fifth step in, the door slammed behind me.

Turning, I ran towards it, but it wouldn’t open. I told myself not to panic and to feel for the door knob, but there wasn’t one. Then, I heard a terrifying sound from something behind me. I banged on the door hard with both hands, hoping that somebody on the other side would hear me.

“HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE. HELP!”

As the sound behind me got nearer, I had a strange feeling that somebody on the other side of the door had heard me. Then I remembered that the door had a letterbox. I bent down and pulled open the flap. My eyes opened wide with shock.

I hadn’t expected to see myself staring back.

***

This week’s door is located in Llandeilo, South Wales, in the United Kingdom.

Have you ever come across a door that isn’t all it seems?

Linking to the weekly photography challenge ‘Thursday Doors,’ hosted by Dan Antion who blogs at No Facilities. Click here to join hundreds of other participants with your Thursday Doors.

If you’re enjoying the pieces of flash fiction I’m including with my Thursday Doors posts then you may like Glimpses, my first book of flash fiction and short stories.

The above piece of flash fiction features in Glimpses.

Glimpses

28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.

Available on Amazon

Paperback – £4.99

Kindle – £0.99

Join Hugh on social media. Click on the links below.

Check out some of other Thursday Doors Posts

Copyright © 2021 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.


Discover more from Hugh’s Views & News  

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

55 responses to “Thursday Doors – The October Door”

  1. Manja Maksimovič avatar

    Oh! :o Slickly done!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar
  2. janiejunebug avatar
    janiejunebug

    Scary and very good!

    Love,
    Janie

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you, Janie. Glad you enjoyed it.

  3. sustainabilitea avatar

    Can you actually go back to somewhere you’ve never been, considering that “going back” means you’ve already been? :-) Sorry. Just the English/grammar person in my pushing to the front. Enjoyed the story either way.

    janet

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      When you’ve entered the Twilight Zone, anything is possible, Janet.

  4. Jean Reinhardt avatar

    Nicely told. I suppose you must have let yourself out, Hugh. Otherwise we would never have heard the whole story.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Unless, of course, it’s not Hugh who wrote this story and responding to comments, Jean. 🎃

  5. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

    Great to read the twisty tale you are known for, Hugh. From Glimpses, right? More October doors in the making, I hope!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Yes, that piece of flash fiction is taken from Glimpses, Terri. It seemed to perfect time to share it again, especially with the image of the door.

      1. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

        I hope you feel free to share a couple of your stories in a 3 weeks for my “eerie” theme on 10/31, Hugh!

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          I’ll certainly dig into both my books and see what I can find, Terri. ‘Lipstick’ is one I’d like to republish on my blog.

  6. JT Twissel avatar

    Haha! That’s quite a door.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I fell in love with it, even though it tricked me into going through it.

  7. Webb Blogs avatar

    Oh my! Definitely creepy but I loved it!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

  8. Aimer Boyz avatar
    Aimer Boyz

    Terrifying! Nice job :)

  9. Darlene avatar
  10. dennyho avatar

    Spooky Halloween story…you had me going!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      That’s good to hear. Glad you enjoyed my spooky tale about this door.

  11. Nadine Gordon avatar

    I have to admit that it did startle me a little…
    Then I felt haunted as if your character was me! Lol

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Just don’t answer any calls for help when they’re coming from behind strange doors this Halloween. 🎃

      1. Nadine Gordon avatar

        🤣😂🤣 thanks for your advice! I’ll be sure not too!

  12. Nadine Gordon avatar

    Excellent! The ending was amazing!
    Great piece of writing Hugh!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you, Nadine.
      Hope it didn’t scare you too much.

  13. tidalscribe.com avatar

    Creepy, clever ending

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you. I’m glad you saw the creepiness in it.

  14. Dan Antion avatar

    This is wonderful, Hugh – I love it!

    What a great story. I love the twist at the end. It’s a great door for the plt, too.

    Thanks so much for sharing this with Thursday Doors.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Glad you enjoyed it, Dan. I figured with it being Halloween month, creepy looking doors should appear on my blog. I loved this particular door, even though it was in such a poor state of repairs. It must have been at least 50 years old and never seen a fresh lick of paint or clean water. I felt sorry for it but glad I captured it like that.

Feel free to leave a comment. Engagement helps keep blogs alive and forms community.

I’m Hugh

Welcome to my blog. I’m delighted to have you here. This is the place to discover tips on blogging and WordPress, flash fiction, photography, and more. I enjoy engaging with my readers, so please feel free to explore, join discussions, and contact me. I’m happy to assist! Find out more about me and my blog by clicking the ‘Meet Hugh’ button.

Let’s connect

Subscribe to Hugh’s Views And News

Latest Posts

Looking for your next quick read? Try my books

An image of book covers, book, tablet and mobile phone, for the book Glimpses.
An image for the book More Glimpses - showing a book cover, tablet and mobile phone.

Follow Hugh in the Fediverse

Hugh's Views & News  
Hugh's Views & News  
@hughsviewsandnews.com@hughsviewsandnews.com

WordPress & Blogging tips, flash fiction, photography and lots more!

303 posts
7 followers
A widget with the words 'Team Effort - Story Chat Digest - Where Authors Meet - Author'

Recommend Blogs To Follow


Boomer Eco Crusader
Boomer Eco Crusader
Live Green | Declutter | Simplify Life

Jacqueline Lambert
Jacqueline Lambert
Award-Winning Travel Humour Writer

Spo-Reflections
Spo-Reflections
To live is to battle with trolls in the vaults of heart and brain. To write; this is to sit in judgment over one's Self. Henrik Ibsen

Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.

Fancying France
The musings of a ‘femme d’un certain âge’ who divides her time between SW France and SE England

SONGS AND SCRIPTS AND DUNKING BISCUITS
Every day tales of a winging-it creative

Marsha Ingrao         Always Write
Marsha Ingrao Always Write
Having fun blogging with friends

Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops
Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops
The musings of a curious mind

WrookieSchU
WrookieSchU
Live life 🙌🏼

WPcomMaven
WPcomMaven
Helping you make the most of your free WordPress.com website since 2011

Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
Fun, Photography & Friends

Share Your Light
Share Your Light
You are a miracle – Let it happen

No Facilities
No Facilities
Random thoughts, life lessons, hopes and dreams

Esther Chilton
Writer, Tutor and Editor

Roaming About
A Life Less Ordinary

Saying nothing in particular
Saying nothing in particular
Jan … JT Twissel

The Chicago Files
The Chicago Files
A Canadian Perspective on Living in the Windy City!

Thank you to all my visitors

474,687 hits

256,985 visitors

Most Viewed Posts & Pages Over The Last 24 Hours

Copyright Protected Blog

COPYRIGHT ©2011-2031 Hugh’s Views And News BLOG – All Rights Reserved.

This work by Hugh W. Roberts, and/or Hugh’s Views And News blog, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material (text and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. If you want to use posts, excerpts, photos and links, you may contact me first. You must give full and clear credit to Hugh W. Roberts and Hugh’s Views And News dot com with links to the original content.