Opening the old basement of the house I had just purchased, I stumbled upon a strange photograph. The image was blurry, but I could make out a child standing in the light streaming from a window. Her figure was obscured by a shadow cast from the stairs.

I decided to investigate further and turned to the neighbors. They told me about the disappearance of a girl named Lily, who had lived in this house many years ago. Her disappearance remained unsolved, and her mother vanished a few months after that.

The deeper I delved into the house’s history, the more horrifying facts emerged. It turned out that the basement had been used for secret rituals conducted by Lily’s mother. She believed that sacrificing her daughter would grant her eternal life.