#STB Coffee Prompt Week 68 | The ghost mansion

I was having a quiet breakfast in the kitchen of my apartment, enjoying a delicious coffee with eggs and two slices of bread. While I was having my breakfast. I read in the newspaper a note about Sir Francis, the multimillionaire, owner of the most popular coffee company in the country.

The note said, "To anyone who reads this note and is a coffee lover, I cordially invite you to spend a night in my mansion. I must clarify that this mansion is possessed by spirits and not everyone is brave enough to do so. If you believe you have a heart full of courage. I invite you to take up the challenge. For those who make it through the night, you will be rewarded with a lifetime supply of our brand of coffee. I will be waiting for you this Saturday at 7 pm. I hope to see many brave people."

I finished my delicious coffee and felt the caffeine make me grow in excitement for the haunted mansion challenge. I wrote down the address and started to pack everything I would need to spend the night in that place. Of course, I would not be without my coffee supplies, so I packed some coffee bags and my coffee pot. In the afternoon, I left for the right place, and after a while, I was there. The mansion had very imposing and sinister baroque style.

I swallowed saliva at the sight of this dark building. Then a very kind voice greeted me at the entrance of the mansion. "Welcome. You are the first to arrive. I see you are very brave to accept the challenge, but come in don't just stand there."

"Thank you very much, Sir Francis. I hope I can rise to the challenge, haha..." A nervous chuckle hinted at the corner of my lips.

"I hope so too, and that you can take the prize I have promised to give to the winners." Sir Francis' eyes were fixed on a package of the coffee his company was selling. This made me more enthusiastic, at that moment I thought that no ghost could come between me and my beloved coffee.

After a quick guide through the mansion, Sir Francis showed me a huge painting, hanging in the reading room. "This is my grandfather, Sir Andrew. He founded the family coffee company and it is said that his spirit is the one that roams these halls. Now I take my leave, you may stay in any room. We'll come back in the morning to see how you did. By the way, if you feel too scared you can call us, there's the phone number."

I just nodded and watched as Sir Francis and his assistants left the mansion. Then an overwhelming silence filled the atmosphere. I quickly went to the room and started to organize everything. I wanted to sleep as quickly as possible and wait for dawn. I took out my coffee pot and my favorite coffee. I started to make some coffee to calm my nerves a little.

By midnight, everything seemed calm and I settled down to sleep. Tranquility came to me and I lay down, closed my eyes, and in the background I started to hear screams. I got up quickly and saw nothing. I kept repeating to myself, "There are no ghosts, there are no ghosts."

As I lay down, I felt the bed start to sway, with my heart in my mouth I ran out of the room and screamed in panic. I went to the kitchen to make myself an American coffee. I needed all the caffeine. I could get to cope with this whole situation.

My hands were shaking non-stop and coffee was splashing on the floor. I went out with my cup to the library, very slowly and looked everywhere. I sat down on the red suede furniture and thought it was all just a figment of my imagination as I continued to drink my coffee.

I looked at the painting of Sir Francis' grandfather and suddenly a specter came out of the painting, it was the grandfather, Sir Andrew. I screamed in despair. I thought it was the end of me. I stood up and threw the cup full of hot coffee at the specter with such force that it went through the painting.

A scream of pain I heard behind the painting and the specter disappeared. I approached cautiously and grabbed a poker that was next to the fireplace. I started to break the painting and saw that behind it was Sir Francis, he was rubbing his head and raising his hands asking me not to hit him.

Inside the room behind the painting, there was a holographic projector, an audio system, and a system of hydraulic jacks that made the beds move. It had all been a hoax and I angrily told him, "You are a fool, you could have scared me to death, I will sue you for this dirty trick."

"Calm down. Please, I only did it for publicity, it was never my intention to cause harm. We wanted to do marketing with this haunted mansion thing to launch our new gourmet coffee, the Mansion."

After this we had a good laugh, Sir Francis gave me what he promised, a lifetime supply of coffee and so I wouldn't reveal the secret of the mansion he gave me $5,000. Not bad for a night of scares, secrets revealed, and lots of delicious coffee.