'House for Sale' by Lyndsey Croal

It was the furniture that stood out the most. In each room, it had been arranged against only three walls, as if part of a doll’s house display.

‘I suppose you’ll want to see the basement too?’ the owner offered.

There was a chill in the air as she led me downstairs. The house had been on the market for a year –maybe the basement had a damp problem. ‘How many viewings have you had?’

‘You’re the sixth.’ She switched the light on.

My breath caught. Beady eyes stared up at me, dolls sitting in a row. Five of them.

First published in Hundred Word Horror: Beneath from Ghost Orchid Press in April 2021.