Full Investigation – What Really Happened Inside That Abandoned House
Prologue: The House on Holloway Road
On the outskirts of a sleepy Illinois town, where cornfields stretch to the horizon and gravel roads lead to nowhere, stands a house that locals have avoided for nearly a century. The Holloway place, they call it. A two-story farmhouse with a collapsed porch, broken windows, and a roof that sags like a tired spine. For decades, it has been a dare for teenagers, a subject of campfire stories, and a reminder that some mysteries never die.
In 1923, Margaret Holloway, a widow in her late thirties, lived there alone. She was known as a quiet woman who attended church every Sunday but rarely spoke to anyone. When she vanished without a trace, the police searched the house, the barn, the fields. Nothing. No body, no note, no explanation. The case was closed, but the whispers never stopped.
Fast forward to 2026. A demolition crew arrives to clear the land for a new development. They expect rubble, dust, and maybe a few rats. They don’t expect to find something that will haunt them forever.
Part 1: The Discovery
It was a grey Tuesday afternoon when Mike Reynolds, a 34-year-old construction worker, climbed down into the basement of the old Holloway house. The air was thick with the smell of decay and damp earth. His flashlight cut through the darkness, revealing old furniture, rusted tools, and a pile of newspapers yellowed by time.
Then he saw it.
Leaning against the far wall, untouched by decades of neglect, stood a mirror. It was tall, about five feet, with an ornate frame carved from dark oak. The glass was cloudy, but the frame was intricate: strange symbols—some like twisted letters, others like astrological signs—were etched into the wood. Mike had never seen anything like it.
“Hey, guys, come look at this!” he shouted.
His coworkers gathered around. “Creepy,” one said. “Probably worth something, though.”
Mike decided to take it home. “I figured I’d clean it up, maybe sell it on eBay. Antique dealers pay good money for stuff like this.”
He carefully loaded the mirror into his pickup truck and drove to his small house on the edge of town. That night, he leaned it against the bedroom wall, across from his bed. He went to sleep around 11 PM, his dog Rocky curled up at his feet.
Part 2: The Nightmare Begins
At exactly 3:17 AM, Mike woke up shivering. The room was freezing—so cold he could see his breath. He reached for the blanket, but then he noticed Rocky. The dog was standing at the foot of the bed, staring at the mirror, growling low in his throat. His hackles were raised.
Mike looked at the mirror. At first, he saw only his own reflection, pale and confused. But then he realized: the reflection wasn’t moving. It just stood there, staring back at him with empty, dark eyes. Mike blinked, rubbed his eyes, looked again. The reflection was closer now, its hand pressed against the glass from the inside.
“I tried to scream, but no sound came out,” Mike later recalled. “I grabbed my phone to take a picture, but the flash didn’t work. Then the room went completely dark. Not just dark—pitch black, like someone had turned off the world. And then I heard it: a whisper, right next to my ear. A woman’s voice, saying, ‘Let me out.'”
Mike didn’t wait. He grabbed Rocky and ran out of the house, not stopping until he was in his truck with the doors locked. He spent the rest of the night there, shivering and staring at his front door, expecting something to emerge.
Part 3: The Morning After
When dawn broke, Mike gathered the courage to go back inside. The mirror was still there, leaning against the wall. But now, on the inside of the glass, there was a small handprint. A woman’s handprint. It hadn’t been there before.
He touched the glass. It was ice cold, even though the room was warm.
Mike called his brother, a skeptic who lived in Chicago. “You’re losing it,” his brother said. “It’s just an old mirror. Sell it and forget it.”
But Mike couldn’t forget. He searched online and found the Midwest Paranormal Research Society (MPRS), a team of investigators based in Springfield. He sent them an email describing what had happened. Three days later, a white van pulled up outside his house.
Part 4: The Investigation Begins
The MPRS team consisted of four people: Dr. Elena Vasquez, a parapsychologist with a PhD in anomalous psychology; Tom Harris, a tech expert with a background in electrical engineering; Lisa Chen, a historian and researcher; and Mark Davis, a sensitive who claimed to feel energy from objects.
They set up equipment in Mike’s bedroom: cameras, EMF meters, thermal imagers, digital voice recorders. They also placed sensors around the mirror to monitor temperature and electromagnetic fluctuations.
Dr. Vasquez interviewed Mike in detail. “Tell us everything,” she said. “Even the smallest detail might be important.”
Mike repeated his story, and when he mentioned the symbols on the frame, Lisa’s eyes lit up. “I need to photograph those,” she said.
Part 5: The Symbols
Lisa spent hours photographing the carvings on the mirror’s frame. They were unlike anything she had seen before—a mix of old European runes, alchemical symbols, and something that looked like Enochian, the so-called “angelic language” used in occult practices.
“I sent photos to a colleague who specializes in esoteric symbolism,” Lisa said. “He confirmed that some of these symbols are protective, but others are invocative—they’re meant to attract or trap spirits. This mirror wasn’t just a piece of furniture. It was crafted for a purpose.”
That discovery shifted the investigation. They were no longer dealing with a simple haunting; this mirror might be a deliberate creation, a tool for something dark.
Part 6: The Second Night
The team decided to spend the night in the house, taking shifts to monitor the equipment. Nothing happened until 3:17 AM.
Suddenly, all the EMF meters spiked simultaneously. The temperature in the room plummeted by 15 degrees Fahrenheit in less than a minute. The thermal camera showed a cold spot forming in front of the mirror—a shape roughly the size of a human.
Then the whispers began.
“They were faint, like someone talking in another room,” Tom said. “But we could make out words: ‘Help me’ and ‘Trapped.’ We recorded everything.”
When they played back the audio, they heard a woman’s voice, clear as day: “My name is Margaret… I’ve been here so long… please…”
Mark, the sensitive, felt a presence. “It was desperate, not evil,” he said. “She wants out, but something else is here too. Something that doesn’t want her to leave.”
Part 7: The Diary
While the others monitored the mirror, Lisa delved into local archives. She found the old police reports from 1923, but more importantly, she discovered that Margaret Holloway’s diary had been kept by the historical society. It had never been published.
She obtained a copy and began reading. The entries started normally—descriptions of farm life, weather, church. But then, in late 1922, Margaret wrote:
“I found an old mirror in the attic today. It must have belonged to Grandmother. There’s something strange about it. When I look into it, I feel like someone is looking back. I tried covering it with a cloth, but at night I hear whispers. I pray God protects me.”
Over the following months, the entries grew darker:
“The woman in the mirror spoke to me tonight. She says her name is Elara and she is from a place beyond. She wants to come through. I am frightened, but also curious. She seems kind.”
“I have been talking to Elara every night. She tells me things—secrets about the world, about people I know. She says if I let her in, she will give me anything I desire. But the pastor says mirrors can be portals for demons. I don’t know who to believe.”
The final entry, dated March 17, 1923, was only two sentences:
“I have decided to let her in. If I don’t write again, know that I have gone to a better place.”
Margaret Holloway was never seen after that night.
Part 8: The Entity Speaks
Armed with this knowledge, the team decided to attempt direct communication. They set up a digital voice recorder and asked questions, leaving long pauses for responses.
“Margaret, are you here?” Dr. Vasquez asked.
A faint whisper came through: “Yes.”
“Who is Elara?”
A longer pause, then: “She lied. She wanted my body. I trapped her. Now both trapped.”
“What can we do to help you?”
“Break the mirror. But be careful. She will try to stop you.”
The team looked at each other. Breaking the mirror seemed like a logical step, but Mark warned against it. “If this thing is really a portal, breaking it could release whatever is inside. We need to consult someone who knows about these things.”
Part 9: Expert Opinion
Dr. Vasquez contacted Dr. Alistair Finch, a parapsychologist at the University of Edinburgh and an authority on haunted objects. She sent him the photos of the symbols, the audio recordings, and the diary excerpts.
His response was cautious: “This is one of the most compelling cases I’ve encountered. The combination of historical documentation, physical evidence, and recorded phenomena is extraordinary. The symbols on the frame are consistent with 19th-century ceremonial magic—specifically, a ritual to create a ‘spirit trap.’ It’s possible that Margaret, either intentionally or accidentally, activated this trap and became ensnared along with the entity she invited. Breaking the mirror could release both, but it could also cause whatever is inside to manifest violently. I recommend a controlled ritual to unbind the spirits, followed by proper disposal.”
Part 10: What Happened Next
The team decided not to attempt the ritual themselves. They contacted a local Catholic priest who had experience with exorcisms, as well as a practitioner of folk magic familiar with the region’s history. Together, they planned a ceremony to be held at the house.
But before they could proceed, something unexpected happened. Mike, who had been staying at a motel, received a call from his neighbor. Someone had broken into his house. Nothing was stolen, but the mirror had been moved—it was now facing the wall.
Mike rushed back and found the mirror turned around. On the back of the frame, written in dust, was a message: “She is watching.”
The team returned immediately. They set up cameras and waited. At 3:17 AM, the mirror began to vibrate. The glass fogged over, and then, slowly, words appeared, written in condensation: “Too late. She is out.”
Mark screamed. He pointed to the corner of the room, where a dark shape was forming. The team evacuated.
The next day, they arranged for the mirror to be removed and placed in a secure, consecrated location. It now sits in a vault at an undisclosed site, under 24-hour monitoring. Mike has moved to another state. He refuses to talk about the experience.
Epilogue: The Investigation Continues
The Midwest Paranormal Research Society continues to study the mirror. They have conducted several EVP sessions, and the responses are increasingly disturbing. Margaret’s voice is weaker now. Another voice, deeper and malevolent, has begun to answer.
“I am free,” it said recently. “I will find another vessel.”
The team has documented unusual phenomena in the vault: cold spots, shadow figures, and equipment malfunctions. They are working with religious and academic advisors to determine the next step.
Have You Seen Something Like This?
Do you own an antique mirror? Have you ever felt watched by your own reflection? Share your story in the comments. You never know what might be looking back.
Unexplained Realm – Your Gateway to the Unknown.