SHORT HORROR STORIES

THE CARPET

A young man was walking down the streets late one night as he made his way home.
He decided to take a shortcut through a small, empty alley way to save time, and as he did he noticed somethinglying against the wall. As he inspected it closer, he realised it was a rolled up carpet propped up against the wall. He noted that it was a rather new, expensive looking carpet andit would gowell in his new flat. He picked it up and tucked it under one arm and walked therest of the way home.He left the carpet in the hallway of his flat and decided to open it up and sort it out in the morning, as he was very tired. The carpet had been surprisingly heavy to carry and it had exhausted him. He went to bed and fell asleep,happy thathe had managed to find such a finecarpet for free.
The next morning, the man decided to check out his new bargin-carpet. He picked up one end ofit and shook it out acrossthe hallway - itunrolled slowly, unraveling and revealing beautiful, exotic patterns and it spread outacross thefloor of the hall. The last fold finally unravelled,and the man, who had previously been delighted at how exquisite the carpet had been, froze in shock, staring at it. The stiff, rigid body of an old man had falled out of the carpet. Hisskin was pale and tinged withgrey, and aterrible, musty rotten scent filledthe room. Horrified, he ran over to thebody, praying it was still alive, but he knew as soon ashe set eyes on the old mans face that he had been long dead.
The man rushed over to thephone, frantically trying to push the buttons right to call the police, but his fumbling fingers kept messing up. He was trying again when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He froze, the phone falling out of his hand and falling to the floor with a crash. Slowly, very slowly he turned, hisheart thunderingin his chest. The old man was standing in front of him, grinning widely, his yellow andbrown teeth gleaming and his putrid breath waving over his face. His greasy grey hair stuck up around hishead in oily tendrils, and his skin had turned cakey and brown with dirt. The young man opened his mouth to scream, but a gritty, ice cold hand was slapped over his face to keep him quiet. The man nearly gagged at the stinking stench washing up his nostrils.
Another grimy hand came to clench over his throat an the man started yelling, he voice muffled. He scrabbled at the hand that was tightening around histhroat and gasped for air as his windpipe was cut off. The old man started cackling as his facescrewed up in pain and tears fell down his face. The man finally collapsed to the floor, still and lifeless.

When the police arrived a week later, they found the carpet rolled up neatly and propped against the wall. They were shocked and horrified to find the young mans body placed in the middle of it, his skin grey and dark bruises around his neck. They scoured the house and searched for any clues or traces from the murderer, leaving him lying on a stretcher ready for the morgue. The young mans lips twitched.
His eyes snapped open and he smiled.