Beneath the Floorboards

“In the middle of maths class… someone started knocking from under the floor.” The whole room went

silent. At first we thought it was a joke—until the knocking turned into scratching.

Slow… desperate… like nails dragging across wood. Our teacher tried to laugh it off,

but he was pale. He told us to ignore it and keep working. Then a voice whispered through the floorboards:

“Is anyone still up there?” Chairs screeched as everyone jumped back.

The teacher sprinted out to get help, leaving us alone. The scratching got louder… then closer.

A loose tile near the back of the room began to lift, just slightly— as if someone underneath

was pushing it. My friend leaned over and whispered, “This school used to be a boarding