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.
“Not
even 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 beaten
voice of the old man.
“It wasn
’t your regular
horror house— the ivy ran all the way in from
the 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 into
this 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
