Leanne and the creepy old home: Halloween Special

Leanne walked up to the old people's home and looked at the sign; 'Rosefield Manor'. The building was dark and grey, sending a chill down her spine just looking at it despite the relatively mild autumnal afternoon. The bare trees outside, as black as the gothic looking stone the building was made out of, did nothing to ease her worries. There was always something odd about this place, she remembered it freaking her out when she was younger and it still had a bit of a hold over her now.

Ancient burial sites, unexplained deaths, missing people; this place had it all. But that was mostly just kids’ stories, trying to scare each other and coming up with any old crap. She was old enough now to know better. Not that it made it any easier as she slowly climbed the small stone steps into the building.

"Hi!" she began with a friendly smile as she greeted the miserable looking receptionist.

There was no response. The receptionist was about 50, hunched over and staring at Leanne blankly through her thick glasses. There was a magazine open in front of her, which Leanne had apparently distracted her from. After a moment or two, the young woman decided to continue.

"I saw an advert asking for people to come and sit with the old people."

"Residents," corrected the grim faced receptionist with a look of disgust.

"Right, sorry. Residents." Leanne could see her usual charm wasn't having much luck here, but she decided to persevere. "You know, chat to them. Keep them company. That kind of thing. And, well, I guess I'm here to offer my... services."

Leanne waited patiently as the receptionist remained frozen in position before eventually, with great effort, reaching two inches to the side to grab a small book.

"You'll need to sign in." She stated impassively.

Leanne was determined not to let this grumpy old woman bring her down and smiled pleasantly as she filled in the book. "What's the date?" she asked, instantly regretting forcing more conversation out of the receptionist than was completely necessary.

"October 31st," came the brusque reply.

"Ooh, Halloween!" cooed Leanne excitedly. She started thinking about her themed party coming in a couple of days and the sexy little outfit she was planning to wear. A couple of seconds later she had finished with the form and handed it back to the receptionist. "Okay, who do I need to see about meeting the old... erm, residents?" she asked.

"They're in there." The receptionist was pointing further inside beyond the entrance. She wasn't even looking at Leanne any more and had returned her attention to the magazine she had been so rudely distracted from by the young woman's arrival.

Leanne just shrugged and turned to head where the receptionist had pointed. She spotted a little cloakroom and decided to store her jacket and handbag before continuing forwards. On her left she saw a corridor leading somewhere and in front what appeared to be a sitting area. She guessed this was where she was supposed to go and stepped inside.

There wasn't much reaction to her arrival. Most of the residents were keeping to themselves, either reading or just staring vacantly out of the window. A few old women were chatting in little groups with hushed voices. She looked around the room, trying to decide where she should start.