Toyed With

Grace should have listened.

She was an up and coming investigative journalist, and the strange sections of the internet she perused often spoke of a strange manor at the edge of a small town out in the middle of no where. The reports were beyond outlandish - that it was haunted, that people vanished near there consistently over the years, that it was home to a vampire, or a witch, or a mad scientist.

The stories of Crescentwood Manor were varied, but all intriguing. 

She had befriended someone online who used to live in that part of the country - Rebecca, a young woman. She was a great source of info for her report, however, she had urged Grace not to visit there. Rebecca claimed that one of her friends from high school had vanished after venturing into that manor on a dare. Grace didn't think her source-slash-friend was lying, but that there had to be some exaggerations at play here.

So it was that Grace got a plane ticket and made the journey to Crescentwood Manor.

The people in the nearby town were hushed, tight lipped, and their accounts of the manor were as varied as the stories online. Some believed the folk tales, others thought they were hogwash, but there was a quiet reverence for the place no matter who you spoke to.

Grace soon made the journey and found the isolated, dilapidated manor - it looked utterly abandoned. When she came to the front door, it creaked open, sounding offended by the intrusion. 

Just as Grace had suspected - there was no one here. The manor was huge, but it was empty, cobwebs blanketed abandoned furniture, wooden panels sealed the dark within. The amateur reporter photographed all she saw with her phone, sending them to Rebecca as a way of convincing her all was fine here.

Just as the redheaded reporter was about to leave, there was one door she hadn't been in - surprised she had missed it. She pushed it open and to her shock, it was utterly pristine. Not a cobweb in sight, free of dust, the wood was polished and the furniture looked well kept.

That would have been the most alarming thing about the room, save for the dolls. 

Grace's eyes traced the shelves and covering every inch of them were cute, little dolls dressed in silly little dresses. Grace stepped towards them, taking photos as she did until her eyes landed on one in particular. It wore a patterned dress of pink, reminiscent of 1940s clothing, frilled socks and black mary-janes adorned her feet. Yet it was her face that drew Grace's attention, red pigtails flopped about her hair and the visage that stared back was disturbingly familiar.

It looked very much like herself. She reached out and only grazed the doll's torso with her hand as a voice behind her caused her to scream in shock.

"Ah. Its been awhile since someone found this one..."

Grace turned, seeing a dark haired, darkly dressed woman, several inches shorter than her. She demanded to know who she was but the figure barely seemed to register she was talking.

"The Doll's Room is an exquisite choice, dearie, there are many other chambers here that would have been far more terrifying."

Grace's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? Do you own this place? Why do you have a doll that looks like me?"

The shorter woman replied, her voice lilting. "Hm? What are you talking about?"

Grace gritted her teeth and turned around to the shelf. "I'm talking about this..." Her face became a mask of confusion. The doll was gone!

The mysterious figure spoke again. "Red hair. Pink dress. Cute little socks and shoes...? Can't find her, sweetie? Thats because she's you."

Grace decided this woman was thoroughly mad but in the blink of an eye she realized something was beyond wrong. Her phone was gone from her hand. Her long hair had been snapped into a different style, her outfit had vanished and been replaced with the same attire she had seen on the doll!

Grace went to scream, but blinked again and her face went aghast as the world rose around her. The shorter woman soon became a towering giant as the redhead shrunk and shrunk... Until she was the same size as the doll she had seen.

The woman loomed over her, regarding the now dwindled reporter with a sly grin. "Did my little doll fall of the shelf?"

Her smile broadened to a grin as she cackled at the sight. Grace screamed and darted around the enormous stranger. How was this happening?! How was this real?!

The newly dollified woman sprinted out of the door and into the hall, shocked to find that the hallways now were just as pristine as the room had been. The dilapidated, abandoned manor was nowhere to be seen! She ran as fast as she could, hearing the measured steps of the insane woman saunter out into the hall. Her laughter echoing in the halls as she casually gave chase.

She had to get away. She had to get free. 

The tiny reporter wanted nothing more than to get this stiff, humiliating attire from her body but she had no time. She clambered, crawled, and snuck her way through the manor as best she could, barely evading the strange woman at several junctures. The shrunken Grace finally came upon the entrance foyer, but getting down the stairs was not a speedy thing. 

Her breath was caught in her chest as she heard a door on the upper section creak open, and footsteps descended towards where Grace hid.

"Little one..." The woman called out, her voice echoing. "Its been so long since I got to play with dolls. Especially naughty little trespasser dolls..."

The redhead's heart was racing. Beads of sweat formed on her skin. 

She should have listened.

---

The spooky season is approaching...

-Iva