The old man's friend

[Gypsy]

OK this is an old one. Not much moral in it, not much of a story with a beginning and an end, just about some fun we had

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It's summer vacations, many years ago, me and two of my friends are going to spend a week at a summer house. Me and, say Joe, are finally done with classes, and looking forward for some fun things to do around there: for girls from other summer houses, for horror stories, etc. The other guy, call him Jim, is quite the opposite. He is the kind of a calm and indifferent person, a nice guy but a typical "phlegmatic"

So. On our way to the summer house we see the ruins of some building, apparently destroyed by a recent fire. And Joe starts telling us that this was the house of his grandpa's old friend, who ownes some private school and is a very well-known and respected educator. This man, Joe tells us, is very stubborn and mean. Even having personal contact with Joe's family, he never accepted Joe's younger brother in his private school. Anyway, Joe told this and we forgot about it until much later...

Once we got to the summer house, me and Joe started thinking of evil schemes to scare the hell out of Jim Oh and by the way, scary things did start happening from the first night. Joe's grandma who was staying there mysteriously disappeared, and some other crazy stuff was going on in their summerhouse. Weird sounds, doors opening by themselves, water running and stopping by itself, you know that kind of stuff So the atmosphere was ready for tragedies, murders, and horror

Anyway, one night me and Joe prepare this huge knife to scare Jim. We put some tomato paste on it - a thin layer, leaving only the color, to make it look realistic as if someone was just butchered with that knife. And we leave it right next to Jim's bed when he sleeps...

Of course nothing happens! He doesn't notice it that morning, just wakes up and walks downstairs without looking around

But we don't give up, and keep the knife for future uses

Later me and Joe devise a secret plan of seriously scaring Jim, if he is too good to notice our knife by his bed. The plan is as follows: to build a story around that old guy, Joe's grandpa's friend, and make Jim believe in it and start participating in it. Once everything is ready and scary enough, we make Jim find out the terrible truth about a murder that happened in the house

We name that old guy Haykaz, and start making up stories and anecdotes about him, as if Haykaz was really a close family friend of Joe's, and a rather annoying and weird one. Joe tells those anecdotes to Jim once in a while, one or two stories a day, in a casual way and between other things we talk about.

Once he told us that "no one really found out who burnt that house of Haykaz", another time that "Haykaz becomes even more stubborn and irritating as he gets older, and my grandpa can't take him any more". Another time he showed both of us a metal hand-axe, that looked very violent , and told us proudly "it's an old present from Haykaz to my grandpa, from the old 'prison days' "

And I must tell you, Joe did have the ability to scare the hell out of people, especially at nights, retelling us some weird scizophrenic books he read, about cars coming alive and crushing their owners, vampire young women craving for more blood, etc...

Anyway, Jim seemed to listen and believe the "Haykaz" stories without any suspicion, so one day me and Joe finally decide that it's show time Joe tells Jim (and me, as if I don't know anything) that his grandpa and Haykaz are coming from a nearby town to stay overnight, that they might be late, but they won't bother us and will sleep in the basement. He also tells us that Haykaz and his grandpa are not in very good relations any more and have frequent fights...

Everything is ready for a cruel murder The scenario is as follows. No one comes of course, Jim goes to sleep earlier than us, and in the morning we tell Jim that Haykaz and grandpa came drunk, were having some argument, and kept yelling at each other until late at night. That we heard their drunk noises from the basement, but soon fell asleep. Jim slept upstairs, he wouldn't have heard anything.

So Jim wakes up, we live like on a regular day, have coffee and meals. Then he asks if the old guys came, and Joe tells everything, in parts, pausing and touching other topics, with great artistic talent. Jim seems to believe everything even at this point and had swallowed the bait So he asks why don't the old guys show up, and we both say that haven't heard of them since evening. But they must be in the basement still.

The idea was for Jim to go downstairs and be the first person to witness the sight of the tragedy. All the mess we made there, and that horrible huge bloody knife under one of the chairs. I think the hand-axe was there somewhere too

And of course, nothing happened again! Once we got Jim to go to the basement somehow, he returned with no emotions. I think he just said there's no one downstairs, and maybe the old guys left.

Closer to the end of the day, in full despair of having wasted so much energy, I had put the knife in a place impossible not to notice. Once Jim found it, I asked him "what the hell is that?" in a freaked out voice.

Jim touches the knife, with a perfectly calm face, and says (with no emotions whatsoever): "hmm, looks like tomato paste."

[Red Stone]

Thanks Gypsy!

So you weren't clever enough for Jim!

[Gypsy]

Well you can say so.

But he's the kind of person you never know what's on his mind. That's why we worked so hard to freak him out, it just seemed impossible

By the way, Joe and Jim are made up names, just in case you had any doubts

[Red Stone]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

By the way, Joe and Jim are made up names, just in case you had any doubts

No doubts, pal! You made it clear!

[lightontheshore]

hehe, i liked this story. thanks for sharing!