Chad had lived in Las Vegas all of his life. He had grown up believing that there were no such things as ghosts or monsters. Chad grew up like any other normal kid in the big city, he attended a high school which sat off a street just two blocks from where Chad lived.

One day in early 1989, Chad was walking home, he had heard stories of a house that had been abandoned a few years before and the landlord was having great trouble re-selling the house. Chad wanted to take a look, he would be graduating soon and was thinking of maybe trying to rent his own place.

If the landlord would be willing to rent the house, Chad could start big and have parties and girls over, and not have to hear the lectures of his parents. Chad turned down the street where the empty house sat. It was quite nice, white trim with red brick inlay and a huge garage. It appeared to be two story with a balcony off the side.

Chad took a step towards the front gate and suddenly felt something cold, icy cold. He turned to see who was there but he was alone on the sidewalk. Oddly, the skies seemed to turn very dark very fast, a rare occasion in sunny Las Vegas. Chad thought no more of it, he pushed open the gate and stepped onto the lawn.

His heart began to pound wildly and he felt himself break out in a cold sweat. "What is wrong with me?" he found himself asking aloud. As he aproached the front door, he felt very warm, his finger tips felt as though they were on fire as he tried the doorknob.

To his surprise, the knob turned and the door slowly creaked open. A bird flew past casting a shadow which Chad also found odd. There had been no sign of any birds since he first came onto this street.

"Anyone here?" Chad called out. Silence was his reply.

He stepped all the way inside, the smell of dust and mildew hit him quickly. It only took a minute to realize that there was another odor in the house.....a fouler odor...like death, but not as strong.

The icy chill washed over Chad once again as he carefully made his way into the living room. Out of the corner of his eye, Chad saw something....or someone leaning over another person, just off to his left.

"Hello?" Chad said, his voice cracking.

The figure rose slowly and instant horror washed over Chad. He dropped his backpack as he turned and ran for the door. He had seen the face of death, a man with blood seeping down his face and chin, his victim lying dead at his feet.

Chad ran so fast that he thought his heart would explode from his chest. He ran home and told his father what had happened. His father walked back to the house with Chad, not wanting to call the police if his son had just been seeing things.

When they arrived back at the house, Chad realized he could hear birds chirping all around the block. The sun was bright and warm. His father was at the front door, as he turned the knob, Chad screamed out for him to be careful. His father turned and gave Chad a strange look. "The door is locked son."

Chad ran up and shook the doorknob, "I didn't lock it." he exclaimed. "Maybe that guy did." Chad ran around to the side of the house and glanced into the window, his father behind him.

To Chad's horror again, he saw no backpack, no man standing over a body, and no blood anywhere on the floor. The area he had seen the man leaning over the body was thick with dust, the house had had no visitors except for Chad in years!