[ WP ] A man turns the inside of his home into a terrifying haunted house , then waits . Soon enough , someone breaks in .

“ I ’ m telling you, the house has been empty for the past several years. The last home owner did some construction and left, ” Tim explained, “ No one has seen anyone go in and outside of the house since. We need the money and this house should have some things we can take. Without this money, how else are we going to help with your sister ’ s surgery? ” 
 
 John started, “ There ’ s a variety of ways. We do not have to turn to burglary. ” 
 
 “ That ’ s the fallacy, ” Tim sighed, “ No one is going to help us. Not the government and not our neighbors. Your parents are doing everything they can. I ’ m telling you, we can help out and gut the place. We have a guy we can sell to. We just need the inventory. ” 
 
 John didn ’ t want to, but he felt he was limited in options. His family needed the money quickly and Tim was the only one with a suggestion, regardless of how crazy it was. “ Where do we start? ” asked John. 
 
 Tim nodded, “ We start in the backyard. There ’ s a cellar door that leads into the house. I heard rumors there ’ s a safe in the master bedroom. ” 
 
 The two started their way to the house. It was a Victorian house built in the early 20th century. The style belies its actual condition. The house has been well maintained considering its last remodel was years ago. 
 
 The two approached the cellar door. The door appeared aged and broken. It was an odd sight considering the condition of the house. The lock was easily snapped off. Both used their cell phone flashlight as they descended down the stairs into the cellar. 
 
 While hard to see, the cellar appeared to be a garage with a large table in the middle. The tools were set neatly against the walls. A strong scent of bleach wafted in the air. Along the ceiling were ropes dangling like worms on a fishhook. It took a minute until they found the stairs into the house. Tim motioned that he would head up the stairs first and check to see if it was safe. 
 
 Tim, hesitating at first, flashed John a smile, and headed up the stairs. The creek of the basement door into the house echoed slightly to John ’ s location. John waited. 
 
 After several minutes, John ascended the stairs. He could no longer wait for Tim. He reached the basement door and quietly pushed. He could see the kitchen. It was empty except for the island, stove and an abnormally large refrigerator. 
 
 John snuck past the kitchen and into the dining room. It appeared to be arranged with an ornate dining table with only one chair at the end. John could barely visualize due to the fireplace behind the chair allowing for the tinted dark light to ignite the room in dark red. A plastic bouquet adorned the top of the table along with a silver charger and dinner plates. Heavy drapes hung on the walls, ruffled but straight. 
 
 John darted quickly to the living room before he heard the unfamiliar zap of electricity. 
 
 When John came to, he had a ball gag in his mouth with his extremities tied up. An elderly man sat across from him in a silk robe drinking from a wine glass. John looked around in panick and found they were in the faintly lit living room. 
 
 The elderly gentlemen had a large set of glasses hanging slightly from his hooked nose. He was reading a book before he noticed John was awake. 
 
 “ Please relax, ” the man smiled. 
 
 John could not relax. His eyes were wildly scanning the room and his rapid breathing resorted to snorting as his naval cavity moved the air too quickly. He slightly choked on the ball gag. 
 
 “ I said relax, ” the old man sternly said, “ If you do not, then I will have to resort to other measures. ” 
 
 John attempted to run, but his tied up body only allowed him to fall onto the living room floor, wiggling like a worm. He heard the electricity again and the world immediately faded to black. 
 
 John, now awake, was tied to a wheelchair. The ball gag stayed in his mouth, but his head was now stuck to the back of the wheelchair. He sat next to the elderly gentlemen at the dining room table. The man had a piece of meat on his plate along with some roasted fingerling potatoes. 
 
 “ Ah, ” the man calmly exclaimed, “ you ’ re finally awake. ” 
 
 The man tenderly cut into the piece of meat. He pierced it with his fork and gently sniffed it before putting into his mouth. He slowly chewed with meat with a smile. He waited to finish chewing before he turned to John, “ So my young friend, you find yourself fortuitously sitting at my table with me. I hope you are having fun. ” 
 
 The old man, noticing John was drooling, took his table cloth with the steak knife in hand and gently dabbed away John ’ s saliva. 
 
 “ You know, it ’ s hard to find companions to dine with. I ’ ve always believed that to have a superb meal, you need to have a riveting conversation, ” the man cut another piece, piercing it with his fork along with a potato. 
 
 “ I love the flavors of veal, ” the man amused himself, “ not just the flavors, but the young marbleized meat of muscle and fat that can melt in your mouth. Do you know how veal is made? ” 
 
 The old man, paused. He took a sip of his dark red wine. The legs of the wine were dark red and slowly dripped back into the puddle. 
 
 “ A young piece of calf is born into this world. They aren ’ t immediately taken away, but rather, left with their mother for a short period of time to suck on her teat. It is afterwards the veal is spent confined to a small crate where it is forced to stay put. Any muscle growth would disrupt the marbelization. Because the calf is left in a box, it may have unhealthy living conditions, so antibiotics and pain relievers are used to avoid the meat to spoil, ” the man started laughing from recalling his memories, “ and when the meat spoils, that would ruin your evening. ” 
 
 “ After 12 to 24 weeks, the young animal is ready for slaughtering. They can barely walk due to muscle atrophy. I know 12 to 24 weeks is a long range of time, but you can really tell when you look into its eyes, ” the man smiles as he reminisces, ” when it ’ s blank, you know it ’ s time. ” 
 
 John, with tears streaming down his face, attempted to beg. The man, took his dinner napkin and wiped the tears away. 
 
 He shushed John, “ Please don ’ t cry. We have a long range of time between us. ” 

