The Home Video from Hell

Table of Contents

Family Secrets of the Haunted Tape

Elena had always hated the long drive from Los Angeles back to her childhood town in Northern California. The road twisted through endless fields, dying trees, and silent hills that looked frozen in time. Cell service disappeared miles before the town appeared, like the world itself was warning travelers to turn back. The sky was always gray here, no matter the season, and the air carried a strange smell of wet soil and something metallic. Elena rolled down her window for a moment, hoping for fresh air, but quickly rolled it back up when the cold, lifeless wind brushed against her face.

Her family had invited her to a “special gathering.” That was the exact phrase her mother used on the phone, her voice tight and overly cheerful. Elena, a beautiful blonde college student with tired blue eyes, already knew what that meant. Another strange family event. Another night of forced smiles, awkward silence, and unsettling behavior. She had grown up with it, but distance and time had made her realize just how abnormal her family truly was.

As the town came into view, Elena felt her stomach tighten. The buildings looked older than she remembered, their paint peeling and windows dark. People stood outside their homes, watching her car pass, their expressions unreadable. None of them waved. None of them smiled. It felt like the town itself was alive and aware of her return.

She pulled her small car into the gravel driveway of the old farmhouse. The house looked the same as always. Tall, gray, and slightly leaning to the left, as if exhausted from standing for so many decades. The windows were dark, even though it was late afternoon. The front porch sagged under its own weight, and the wooden steps creaked before she even touched them.

“Home sweet hell,” Elena muttered, gripping the steering wheel for a moment longer than necessary before stepping out.

The front door creaked open before she could knock. A tall, thin figure stood in the doorway.

“Elena!” her mother cried, stretching her smile too wide. “You made it.”

Her mother, Margaret, looked thinner than usual. Her skin was pale, almost gray, and dark circles framed her eyes. Her hands trembled as she pulled Elena into a stiff hug. The embrace felt cold, unnatural, like hugging a mannequin.

“You look tired, Mom,” Elena said carefully.

Margaret laughed too loudly. “Oh, we’ve all been very busy.”

Inside, the house smelled like dust, old wood, and something sour that Elena couldn’t quite identify. The familiar hallway felt narrower, the walls closer together, as if the house itself was shrinking.

Her father, Richard, sat in his favorite chair, staring at the television even though it wasn’t turned on. His posture was stiff, his hands resting perfectly on the armrests.

“Hey, Dad,” Elena said, forcing cheer into her voice.

Richard slowly turned his head. His eyes looked dull, almost lifeless. “Elena,” he replied flatly. “You’re late.”

Her older brother, Thomas, leaned against the wall, grinning for no reason. His eyes followed Elena like a predator watching prey. His grin never faded, not even when Elena avoided eye contact.

Her sister, Lydia, stood near the staircase, whispering to herself and scratching at her arm until red marks appeared. Long strands of her dark hair covered half her face.

Elena forced a smile. “It’s… nice to see everyone.”

No one laughed. No one hugged her except her mother, and even that felt wrong.

The family dinner was worse than usual. Everyone ate in complete silence except for the sound of chewing and the occasional nervous laugh from Margaret. The food tasted bland, almost rotten, no matter how much salt Elena added.

Thomas stared at Elena the entire time, his fork frozen in midair. His eyes never blinked.

Lydia whispered under her breath, repeating the same sentence over and over.

“The door is open. The door is open. The door is open.”

Elena leaned closer to her. “Lydia, what door?”

Lydia’s head snapped toward her with unnatural speed. Her eyes were wide and empty. “The one that should never be.”

Richard slammed his fist on the table, making the plates rattle. “Enough!”

Everyone froze, including Margaret, who had been smiling seconds earlier.

After dinner, the so-called family party began. Old neighbors arrived, bringing strange gifts wrapped in black paper. Their faces looked tense, their eyes darting around the house like they were afraid of being watched.

Some guests laughed too loudly, while others whispered in corners. No one went near the basement door. Elena noticed several rooms were locked, even though no one ever locked doors when she was younger.

By midnight, the guests were gone. The house returned to its heavy, suffocating silence.

Elena couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m going to bed,” she said.

Her mother grabbed her wrist tightly. “Don’t wander.”

Elena pulled free. “I’m not a child.”

In her old bedroom, Elena stared at the ceiling, her heart pounding. Every shadow looked like it was moving. Every sound felt too close. The house seemed to breathe around her, the walls creaking like slow, painful breaths. It reminded her of a nightmare where reality felt unstable, like in the story Dreaming My Body Melts Horror Story.

Something was wrong with her family. More wrong than usual.

At three in the morning, Elena quietly slipped out of her room and headed toward the garage. She remembered her father keeping old boxes there, filled with forgotten things from the past.

The garage smelled like mold and rust. Using her phone’s flashlight, Elena searched through dusty shelves, broken furniture, and piles of old newspapers.

Then she saw it.

A small, unmarked VHS tape inside a cracked plastic case.

No label. No date. No explanation.

Her hands trembled as she picked it up. “What the hell is this?” she whispered.

The town didn’t have a video store anymore, but there was an old electronics repair shop that still had a VHS player. Elena drove there the next morning, barely sleeping the night before.

The shop owner, an elderly man with shaking hands and cloudy eyes, agreed to let her use the player.

“Some tapes should stay buried,” he warned.

Elena swallowed. “I need to see it.”

The screen flickered to life.

At first, the image showed a familiar scene: the family farmhouse, filmed from the outside at night. But the sky was red, not black. The clouds twisted like living creatures.

Then the camera moved inside.

Elena gasped.

Her family stood in the living room, but they didn’t look human. Their eyes glowed faintly, their smiles stretched too wide, and their movements were jerky and unnatural.

They were laughing.

Not normal laughter. It sounded broken, distorted, and filled with pain.

Suddenly, the walls of the house melted into fire. The floor cracked open, revealing endless darkness beneath.

Figures crawled out of the shadows. Tall, twisted shapes with burning eyes and sharp teeth.

And her family welcomed them.

“Welcome home,” Richard said on the tape, his voice deep and inhuman.

Margaret laughed as one of the creatures wrapped its arms around her. “The door is open.”

Lydia screamed with joy, not fear.

Thomas looked straight into the camera. “We belong to them now.”

The tape ended in static.

Elena collapsed into a chair, her body shaking. Her mind struggled to understand what she had just seen.

Her phone buzzed.

It was her boyfriend, Marcus, calling from the city.

“Elena? You okay?”

Her voice cracked. “You need to come here. Now.”

Marcus arrived that evening. He was tall, calm, and practical, the complete opposite of Elena’s chaotic family.

They watched the tape together.

When it ended, Marcus stared at the blank screen. “That’s not a prank,” he said quietly. “That’s something else.”

“My family is involved in something horrible,” Elena whispered.

They decided to return to the farmhouse.

As they drove closer, the air felt heavier. The sky darkened unnaturally fast.

At the house, all the lights were on. But the windows were black.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Marcus said.

The front door opened by itself.

Inside, Elena’s family stood in a perfect line.

Smiling.

“You watched it,” Thomas said.

“Now you understand,” Margaret added.

Richard stepped forward. “You were always meant to see.”

Elena backed up. “What did you do to yourselves?”

Lydia tilted her head. “We opened the door.”

The temperature dropped instantly. Shadows stretched across the walls, moving like living creatures.

Marcus grabbed Elena’s hand. “We’re leaving.”

Richard’s eyes glowed. “No.”

The door slammed shut.

The house began to shake violently. Dark figures emerged from the corners of the room, whispering Elena’s name.

They ran upstairs, locking themselves in her old bedroom. The walls began to bleed dark stains.

“We can’t stay here,” Marcus said, trying the window.

Outside, the sky was burning red.

Voices echoed through the hallway. “Open the door, Elena.” The whispers felt unnatural, like something was trying to speak from beyond, similar to the cursed voices in Speaking to the Dead, A Whispering Curse.

The VHS tape fell from Elena’s bag.

Her phone turned on by itself, showing the same hellish image.

But now, the camera was focused on her bedroom.

And she was in the frame.

“It’s recording us,” Marcus whispered.

The door cracked open slowly.

Thomas’s face appeared, stretched and distorted. “Smile.”

A shadow grabbed Marcus, pulling him into the darkness.

“Marcus!” Elena screamed.

His voice echoed from below. “Run!”

Elena climbed out the window, cutting her hands on broken glass. The ground below was soft, like flesh.

The house began to sink into the earth.

She ran toward her car, but the road twisted and changed.

The town was no longer normal. Buildings melted, people screamed, and the sky burned.

Her phone rang.

Unknown number.

She answered, shaking. “Hello?”

It was her own voice.

“The door is open.”

Elena dropped the phone.

The world collapsed into darkness.

When Elena woke up, she was sitting in the living room of the farmhouse.

The house looked normal.

Her family sat around her, smiling.

Marcus was gone.

Richard handed her a VHS tape.

“Your turn,” he said.

Elena felt her smile stretching wider.

“Welcome home.”

The story ends there.

A few days later, Elena’s lover, Marcus, awakens in a nightmarish realm.

He is stunned by the countless spirits surrounding him. Strangely, none of them can touch him. There is something different about Marcus.

In truth, Marcus is a devout Muslim, well-versed in dealing with the unseen world of jinn.

“Heh… this is my specialty,” he mutters confidently.

Even the jinn, demons, and restless ghosts tremble before this human figure.

It’s all written! Humans are the most perfect creatures in the universe. Now, get out of my way!" “Markus shouted.”

At last, Marcus escapes the cave and finds himself beneath the cursed house’s shed. Without hesitation, he rushes to search for Elena.

In the distance, his car speeds toward the city. Elena sits beside him, wearing a wide, unsettling smile.

“This isn’t over yet.”