NYAC | 3min Read
Published on May 14, 2026
The Thing in the Reflection
The Thing in the Reflection
“You wouldn’t believe it”, grumbled the old, scarred face from behind the veiling hood.
“Noteven if I told it to you.”
The group of young listeners leaned in, with poker faces as a charade to their heightened sense of inquiry. Their exuberant visages seemed incongruous with the dark, cavernous pub in which this midnight revelation was unfolding.
“Years ago, on a similar night like this, I walked into that haunted manor”, laboured the beatenvoice of the old man.
“It wasn’t your regular horror house— the ivy ran all the way in fromthe windows and into the room. There wasn’t anything to be heard except the dreaded silence that shook me. I entered with a dimming torch, looking for the source of the nightly howls. Oh yes— there were rumors of all kinds. Werewolves, speculated some. Rotten corpses, guessed others. I continued deep into the house. Ichecked each room as I spiralled my way intothis labyrinth.”
The old man heaved as he glanced around. Yes, he thought, he had got their complete attention. A faint glow of satisfaction warmed his insides as he continued.
“The rooms were screened by dust, lit only by the dead glow of the moonlight creeping in through the cracked glass windows. I wasn’t much of a daredevil; but, well, one can’t ignore orders while working in the police. Suddenly, my ears stiffened as a cold wave passed down my spine. Some sound, yes, some noise after all. Drops of water, I fathomed by their faint trickle. I became oblivious to the disturbing itching in my back as I navigated my way towards the room that was the sound’s source. It was the master bedroom— wooden furniture with ornate designs and an exquisite chandelierthat aggrandized the relic of a room. I ushered myself into the bathroom and found the source. It was a leaking tap and by the looks of it, it must have been cleaned quite recently. I doubled down to get a better look.”
The young audience, well into their thirties, was hooked. The old man continued. “Before I could ponder over the tap, I heard another perturbation. It came from the same room. I sauntered out of the bathroom, partly to look brave and partly to get my mind off my back pain.
There wasn’t anything there. Strange, I said to myself. The weary night grew on, and as dawn approached, my nerves started to get the better of me. By dawn, I had completed a thorough search of the shaky mansion. Just before the first streaks of daylight would flood the sleepy town, I decided to take a look back into the master bedroom.As I entered the room, I saw a big polished mirror in the corner. Weird, I thought— it wasn’t there before. As I took a few steps towards it, I began to notice something strange. I picked it up and cleaned the dirt off it with a rag. Then, I looked straight into it.
My back hurt.
I didn’t see anything worth recalling. But, since you young guys want to know, instead of my sweaty figure, I saw a full grown werewolf looking straight back at m
