The screech came first, a loud scratching sound devoid of soul. Second, came the wailing, a symphony of loud sobbing cries. The dripping came last, a string of horror that echoed in my waking and resting hours.

I told Mama our house was haunted but she believed me not.

"It's just the house expelling air" she said in response to my whimpers

Her words did nothing to soothe me and my torment continued. Each day, as the whispers of the wailing walls got louder, my mind became a hollow prism of detriment. I became a shadow of death yet my mama paid me no mind.

The Screech, Wail, and Drip merged over time and became an echoing chant.

"Blood! Death! Pain!"

Papa was rarely home. He was a hard man, one who never spared the rod, on his wife and kid. I hated him and despised his presence. My only wish was that he never came home, but that didn't happen as his shadow still lords over our house.

Then one night, I spilled his blood and quenched the thirst of the house. His scream was a melodic string of chords to my ears as I watched him squirm in pain.

"Wait!" Exclaimed the listener

"You've gone farther down the line. Find your grip and continue your tale from the hold"

The listener was right, I had gone farther down the line. So I retracted and continued

Before that fateful night, I had already lost my soul to the chirping Devil. He visited every night to offer me a solution to my predicament.

"You need to let go," he said

"The voices would only stop when you let go"

I should have known better than to listen to a red-eyed eagle that nested itself by my window, but all I wanted was for the chant to stop.

I did what he asked and let go, but as I did, I felt a change happen. My light was snuffed out by a protruding darkness, it engulfed my heart until there was no spark left in my circuit.

The red-eyed eagle was right, the whispers stopped nor could I hear the voices any longer for I became the Screech, Wail, and Drip.

My eyes opened and I could see clearer, the walls were built with blood, the floors with skulls, and the roof with the echoes of the pain of those who had occupied the house before.

I felt the thirst of the house, it hungered for blood, for death and pain. As the day went by, the thirst of the house became mine and my throat grew patched.

On that fateful night, we sat at the dining table as one big happy family. Mama had a spark in her eyes as she laughed at a joke made by Papa. He was also smiling down at her until the whisper came and his countenance changed.

He dragged Mama to the room and locked the door. The silence that followed was deafening before a strike interrupted it. Then came another and another.

"Blood! Death! Pain!"

Mama came out of the room all bruised and battered with a smile on her face

"It's ok my love, Papa is only angry," she said softly

I watched her walk into the kitchen and began to hum her favorite song. The house was silent and only Mama's voice could be heard. The strides to the room were long and heavy. I knew what needed to be done and I was ready.

The first strike drew blood, I relished in his screams and inhaled his pain. The second, the third, and so I continued. His blood seeped into the ground and the walls absorbed his screams.

"More!" It screamed

"I want more"

I looked in satisfaction at the scene in front of me before matching down to the kitchen with the wench in my hands.

"Wait!" Interrupted the listener

"You killed Mama too?"

She was weak! A creature who couldn't protect her son from a monster. If she had listened to me, I wouldn't have sold you away. I looked at the listener in the mirror, there he was dejected and alone. Betrayed by the people who were supposed to care for him.

"Nothing remains?" He asked

Nothing remains I responded

The smile that was etched on his face was one I never expected. It soon turned into a burst of full-blown laughter and I was puzzled at his reaction. Before I could say, Jack, he pulled me into the mirror and slit my throat.

I stared in horrific disbelief at the glint in his eyes. He chuckled at me and whispered

"You silly fool, I am the Screech, Wail, and Drip"