Everything seemed fine as we settled into our new home on First Street. It was hard moving from the house I lived in for 25 years. I had to laugh that most of the homes in my price range still had dirt floors in the basement. It was just me and my dog Alice. I never wanted to be in a relationship with someone, cause then I would have had to share my stuff with them. 

I cooked dinner at around 7:30 and I was done by 8:00, so I still had time left to unpack some more.  I went down to the basement for the first time and unlocked the door. Alice stood at the top of the stairs and barked in that yappy way that went right through me. The single white bulb over the stairwell swayed as I carried boxes down to the basement. Because of the relocation from New Jersey, I was a little on edge, but I had such a bad feeling out of nowhere. I tried looking down the stairs and then I dropped the boxes when I saw the sparkle of two red eyes looking at me from a corner. 

As my own eyes adapted to the low light, I recognized it was some neglected doll that a past owner must have left behind. I was more terrified of running into a brown venomous spider than I was of damaging the doll, so I carefully took it off the floor while cleaning it off. The sad doll was completely covered with dirt. Alice 's high-pitched yelping changed to a deep snarl as I carried it up the squeaky wooden steps. "Oh, quiet down, miss!" I yelled coldly. "You should understand how dirty it is.” The poor doll appeared to have been buried! I could make out that the doll used to be rather attractive through the glare of the fluorescent kitchen light hanging above me. Beautiful blue gingham frock with a once-white apron and pants, curly brown hair, white porcelain face with flushed pink cheeks and a friendly grin. She most likely wore a bonnet at one point. 

I made an effort to disregard the fact that the doll's former owner had played rough with it. Her eyes were jerky in all directions, her nose was chipped, and she only had one hand with stuff sticking out of the hole. I said, "Let's see how we can get you cleaned up a tiny bit." Alice snuggled up in a corner and kept her gaze fixed on us.  I poured warm, soapy water into the sink before taking off the ruffled dress and lace pants. Despite being yellowed, the filth wiped off the doll's clothes with ease when I scrubbed at them. I put the silverware and cups on the counter and threw the wet clothing over the dish rack. I flipped the doll over and noticed lettering that said, "ABSOLUTELY DO NOT UNBURY." I ignored it, as I thought it probably was just a child playing a game with it.

"You're next!" I said as I took up the doll. After the darkness of the damp basement, I wanted her to have a name that was uplifting and supportive. So I named her Rosemary after an old nun from my church.  As I dipped Rosemary into the water, she stared at me with unsteady eyes. To be sure no insects had moved into her cotton-stuffed body, I planned to soak her. However, I was unable to submerge her porcelain head, so it must have been packed with Styrofoam or another material. Similar to trying to combine two strongly opposed objects, every time I attempted to concentrate, her unsteady eyes would drift straight up and lock on mine. I gave up and covered her face with a washcloth. 

Despite having a chipped nose, she now had a pleasant-looking appearance. I placed her on the dish rack after I did my best to dry her fabric body. Alice always jumped onto any counter when she smelled something fascinating, so there was no use in pushing the rack toward the rear of the counter. She did not climb into bed with me as usual when I went to bed after cleaning the kitchen; instead, she lingered at the kitchen doorway and never took her eyes from Rosemary. 

I was thrown from my bed and drawn instinctively toward the sound of a blood curdling, screaming howl. I had forgotten that I had moved to a different location, so I turned on the lights as I ran and barely avoided breaking my toes.  I saw blood on Alice’s paws and I noticed the floor had blood on it, too.

As I picked up Alice to inspect her wounds, she trembled and whined. Lying in the corner was Rosemary. She was filthy and dry, but I also saw a large knife next to her.  Rosemary must have been dragged by Alice through the basement. I grabbed Rosemary and tucked her into a cabinet and placed the knife in the sink to wash the next morning. I cuddled with Alice in my bed until she fell into a fitful sleep. 

The next morning, I got up and checked up on Alice to see how she was doing. I decided to find a vet nearby to make sure she wouldn't get an infection. I got her leash and put it on her and went outside to the car. I then picked her up and put her in the car. A neighbor came by to introduce himself. He looked to be at least in his late 80s. He was talking to me about the family who used to live there. He told me that a murder had happened a few years ago and that the guy who did it said he was possessed by the devil.  

“A little girl named Clarice was the first to die. Oh, I remember seeing her play with this little doll every Sunday. It's a true shame what happened.” As he stopped talking, a car pulled up on the side of the road and an older lady came out. The old man said, “That's Miss Bennet, Clarice's mother.” She came up and introduces herself.  I was still scared that a murder had occurred in the house I just moved into. As I was talking to Miss Bennet, I noticed she kept looking at the house, so I invited her in, along with the old man.  

As she came in, she looked around and started shaking as if she had trauma. We all then sat on my couch and the idea came to mind to ask her about the doll. I then got up and got the doll and showed Miss Bennet. Immediately Miss Bennet got up and started yelling, “GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!” I looked at Rosemary, confused, and looked back at Miss.Bennet as she yelled “THAT DOLL IS EVIL!''

I ran back to put the doll inside the cupboard. I asked Miss Bennet, "Why would you say that?'' 

“You should not have dug it up, how did you even find it, where did you find it, who told you about it,” she kept yelling.

I said, "It was just on the ground in the basement."

Miss Bennet started crying and said, “That was Clarice’s favorite doll,  she was buried with it.” 

My eyes opened wide, my stomach dropped, and my heart started to pound out of my chest. I asked, "What do you mean?" 

Miss Bennet said, “When Clarice died, I put that doll in her grave, but one night I went to the basement to get more water bottles and I saw the doll’s blue eyes and I heard something whispering my name.  I saw a black shadow from the corner of my eyes. I tried responding, but then a loud scream came from behind me. I immediately turned around and attempted to  run up the stairs, but the basement door slammed and I got pushed down -"

I stopped Miss Bennet there because I heard a loud noise coming from upstairs. I went upstairs and I saw a door I had never seen before. I peered through the keyhole and saw eyes looking back at me. I jumped back and just stared at the door, slowly backing away. I then told the old man and Miss Bennet that my mom was coming over, so they would have to leave. I wanted them out of the house. I just couldn’t believe this was even happening!   

After they left, I started looking around the house, but while I was looking I noticed Rosemary was no longer in the cupboard.  I heard a little girl laughing and started hearing whispers. I thought to myself, I'm going crazy and paranoid. I found a hammer in one of my boxes, so I grabbed it and went back upstairs. I started to break down the door. When I broke down the door, I saw a tall girl with a hole in her head with Rosemary in her hands. 

The girl looked me in the eyes and said, “You should not have undug her, she doesn't like to be woken up from her sleep.” My mouth opened but no words came out.  I was frozen in place - I couldn’t move or speak.   

The little girl started walking towards me and I noticed she was deformed. Her eyes were red like blood and she had big hole in her head. I used all my strength to start running down my hallway, but it seemed like the hallway never ended. Eventually I was out of my house, and I didn't realize how much time had passed.  It was 11:57 p.m. I  decided to call my friend and spend the night at his place. I felt some relief, but I knew I still had a serious problem in my new home.  

Once I got there,, I went straight to sleep and it was the type of  sleep where you toss and turn and you feel as if you are in and out of consciousness. The room was hot, so I opened the window and went back to bed. I started to nod off and I noticed that there was a creaking in the room. I opened my eyes and looked around, but then the creaking stopped. I started to sweat, but I pulled the blanket over my head and closed my eyes. I finally started to sleep and then the creaking started again, and this time when I opened my eyes I saw the red eyes in front of me. 

But I could not move. I tried screaming, but I just could not. I just felt words in my throat. I started to feel everything around me start to get hot. I started to see the same girl just randomly spawn in front of me, but this time when she talked, it wasn't how I expected it to be; it was a low, deep, man's demonic voice. Even when she stopped talking, I still heard whispers. The girl then took my hand and placed it on her arm, which felt crusty, rough, and covered in numerous scabs. 

I briefly believed that I was feeling her raw, icy bones since there was so little skin on her. Then I heard someone yell. It turned out that my friend was yelling my name after hearing me scream in the middle of the night. As soon as I stood up, I dashed to my car and began driving back to my house. I started driving fast and turned on the radio when I realized it was two in the morning. However, static soon began to appear and grew louder. My ears felt like they were bleeding profusely. I turned the radio off since I prefer to drive in silence. 

I eventually made it home, and when I got out of the car, I yelled Miss Bennet's name since she was just standing there on my porch. I raced up to her and exclaimed, "WHY IS THIS DOLL AFTER ME?" but she didn't turn around. 

Miss Bennet's laughter sent goosebumps down the back of my neck as they descended."When my daughter was shot to death, I tried everything to bring her back, so I prayed constantly, but nothing occurred, so I resorted to another force," Miss Bennett continued. After then, Miss Bennet abruptly stopped talking and added, "I made a bargain with the devil. He promised to bring my daughter back and handed me that doll.

I asked, "Is that why it's evil?" 

Once more chuckling, Miss Bennet exclaimed, "The doll is more diabolical than you believe." When Miss Bennet lifted up her top, I could see a scar that was at least 12 inches long on her belly. "The doll did it," she said. I felt the surprised expression on my face. "That doll killed my husband in his sleep," said Miss Bennet. “I woke up next to a man with no eyes or tongue. The doll was taken, and I buried it in the basement where it belonged," she said. 

 I yelled, "HOW DOES IT ALWAYS KNOW WHERE I AM THEN?" at Miss Bennett.

Miss Bennet exclaimed, "Because.... It's Rosemary, the doll who is always watching."