The basement was dark and musty, the air thick with the smell of decay. As I descended the creaky stairs, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched.

I reached the bottom and flicked on my flashlight, sweeping it across the room. It was then that I saw them - rows upon rows of skulls, stacked on shelves and scattered across the floor.

I couldn't believe my eyes. What kind of twisted person would collect such macabre objects? As I walked closer, I noticed that some of the skulls had bits of flesh still clinging to them, and I could see maggots writhing in the eye sockets of others.

I turned to run, but something caught my foot and I fell to the ground. As I looked up, I saw a figure standing over me, a smile on its twisted face.

I screamed and scrambled to my feet, racing up the stairs and out of the house as fast as I could. I never looked back, and I never returned to that cursed basement full of skulls.