The Headmistress
The day Erik started at the new school, an older girl took him on a tour of the school. She happily chattered at him, though he was wide-eyed and overwhelmed, until she stopped outside an old building.
Her voice grew ominous as she whispered, "You're allowed anywhere in the school apart from here. Our old headmistress died here twenty years ago, and all the teachers have sealed it off."
Erik nodded numbly and they continued on with their tour. He kept sending glances back at the old building, but his tour guide distracted him and he finally looked ahead.
But his curiosity dragged him back after school, when no one was around. Erik shuffled across the courtyard to the building and put his eye to the key hole. Inside, he saw a woman with her back turned, just standing in the middle. Her flowing grey hair reached the waistline of her black dress.
Swallowing hard, Erik wondered if it was the headmistress, or just some painting on the wall. The chills dancing on his spine got the better of him, and he ran back home, praying no one had seen him.
The next day, the dread terror of curiosity dragged Erik back to the building again. This time, when he peeped through the key hole, all he saw was red. With a sigh, he pulled away. Someone must have blocked it off, he thought. He walked morosely to class.
After the bell rang, he approached his teacher.
"What did the old headmistress look like? Just out of curiosity," he added hurriedly.
"Ahh," his teacher said, getting a distant look in his eyes. "If I remember correctly, she always wore black, and had beautifully long grey hair. But her eyes, her eyes were red."
Erik swallowed hard. He never went back to the old building. He never wanted to look the headmistress in the eye again.