The Anhui Schoolhouse: Little Red Riding Hood's Sinister Secret

In the remote mountains of Anhui, there stood an ancient schoolhouse, its walls thick with the echoes of forgotten lessons. The villagers whispered of it in hushed tones, for it was said to be haunted by the ghost of Little Red Riding Hood. The tale went that she had been lured into the woods by a sly wolf, and her cries for help had been met only by the eerie silence of the night.

The schoolhouse had been abandoned for decades, its windows shattered, and its floorboards creaking with the weight of untold stories. Yet, on certain nights, when the moon was full, the windows would glow faintly, as if the light of a thousand eyes were watching.

One crisp autumn morning, a young woman named Mei arrived at the schoolhouse. She was a teacher, sent by the local government to reopen the school and bring education back to the remote village. Mei had heard the tales of the haunting, but she was determined to overcome her fears for the sake of the children.

As Mei began her work, she noticed strange occurrences. Pencils would move on their own, and the pages of books would turn to the same passage, the words “Be careful, Little Red” written in an eerie script. Mei dismissed these as mere superstitions, but the villagers' warnings grew louder, urging her to leave before it was too late.

One evening, as Mei sat by the fireplace, a sudden chill ran down her spine. She saw a shadowy figure standing in the corner, a hood pulled low over its face. It was Little Red Riding Hood, her eyes wide with fear. Mei gasped, but the figure vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

The next day, Mei discovered an old, leather-bound journal hidden in a dusty corner of the schoolhouse. The journal belonged to a teacher from the early 1900s, and it revealed a chilling secret. The schoolhouse had once been a place of dark rituals, where children were sacrificed to an ancient spirit in exchange for prosperity and protection. Little Red Riding Hood had been the last victim, her blood still staining the floorboards.

As Mei pieced together the journal’s cryptic entries, she realized that the spirit of Little Red Riding Hood had not been laid to rest. Instead, it had become trapped in the schoolhouse, seeking revenge on anyone who dared to enter its haunted halls.

That night, as Mei lay in bed, she was awakened by a sound like rustling leaves. She got up to investigate and found the door to the old classroom ajar. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of decay, and the walls were covered in strange symbols and the names of children who had died there.

Mei’s heart raced as she approached the center of the room, where a pedestal stood. On it, a life-sized figure of Little Red Riding Hood was draped in a crimson cloak. The spirit of Little Red Riding Hood materialized before her, her eyes filled with anger and sorrow.

“I have been waiting for you,” she said, her voice echoing through the room. “You have disturbed my peace, and now you will pay the price.”

Mei, understanding the gravity of the situation, knew she had to make a choice. She had to break the cycle of sacrifice and set Little Red Riding Hood’s spirit free. With a trembling hand, she took a piece of chalk and began to write a spell on the wall, a spell of protection and release.

As the words left her lips, the spirit of Little Red Riding Hood seemed to shrink, her form becoming less solid. Finally, she was gone, leaving behind a room filled with the silence of the past.

Mei returned to her room, exhausted but relieved. She knew that the schoolhouse would never be the same, but she also knew that the children of the village would be safe from the haunting.

In the days that followed, Mei worked tirelessly to restore the schoolhouse, transforming it into a place of learning and hope. The villagers, who had once feared the schoolhouse, now saw it as a beacon of light in the darkness.

The legend of the haunted schoolhouse faded away, replaced by the stories of the brave teacher who had vanquished the spirit of Little Red Riding Hood. And so, the Anhui Schoolhouse became a place of learning and peace, a testament to the power of love and determination.