Goblin Bites: Scary Stories 5

Sadie was a very sweet, bubbly young woman. When she graduated high school and made it to college, all she wanted was to be a sorority girl. Her mother had gone to the same school and was a sorority girl in her day, and Sadie wanted to be just like her. Her first day on campus, Sadie pledged to become a new Sister of her mother's old sorority, Theta Nu. What Sadie hadn't realized was Theta Nu had changed significantly since her mother was a student. Several rumors had been circulating for almost a decade about the cruel and unusual initiations Theta Nu put their pledges through, however none of them could be substantiated.

The head of Theta Nu - Janet - took a special liking to Sadie. It didn't take long for her to realize that Sadie was honestly a very simple girl, and desperate to please the other members of the sorority. Sadie became one of five pledges in August of that year, all of whom were fresh-faced and eager to please... but none more than Sadie. Because of this, Janet excerised every opportunity to make this year's initiation the toughest yet.

It started out small and relatively harmless: stealing the hood ornament off the Dean's car, going for a morning run around campus in just their underwear, doing chores and homework for the other sorority sisters, etc. Gradually though, the pledge girls were told to do more things that ranged from unsettling to outright grotesque in nature. Janet had them walking around campus wearing only sandwich boards that broadcasted their greatest insecurities, breaking into several other houses on Greek Row to steal jewelry and other personal belongings, and even swimming in a kiddie pool filled with pig's blood. The pledge girls swiftly began dropping like flies after only one week due to Janet's insane demands. By September, Sadie was the only pledge left.

Theta Nu's reputation for cruel and unusual initiation practices was upheld in spades by Janet. The things she forced Sadie to do were revolting and beyond unspeakable. Still, poor Sadie did as she was told every time, without question and without complaint. The Theta Nus humiliated and tortured Sadie in every way possible, with Janet leading the charge. Around the middle of October, some of the Theta Nus began to worry that Janet was going way, way too far. They begged her to take it easy on Sadie, but Janet would hear none of it. Some Theta Nu's left the sorority altogether, and tried to convince Sadie to quit too. Sadie, however, would not be budged. "My Acceptance Ceremony is only a few days away," she said, smiling, "I can't quit now. Soon, I'll be a real Theta Nu, and it'll all be worth it!"

Sadie's Acceptance Ceremony took place on Halloween Night. Janet and the remaining Theta Nus blindfolded her and drove her to a cornfield on the edge of town. They lit a bonfire and pushed a bottle of vodka into Sadie's hands. "Step number one," Janet grinned wickedly, "drink this, and don't stop until the bottle is empty." Sadie began to do as she was told, like always. The problem was she had never had anything stronger than beer before that night, and was quite a lightweight. She only made it a third of the way through the bottle before she began feeling and acting very intoxicated. The Theta Nus laughed at Sadie's behavior as she stumbled around the bonfire, and began pushing her back and forth between them. They hurled insults at her as well as mud, ruining the brand-new blue cotton dress her mother had sent her for the occasion.

It wasn't long before things quickly got out of hand. Determined to win over Janet and her new Sisters, Sadie tipped the bottle up and started chugging. Suddenly flood lights turned on all around them. The Theta Nu's laughter stopped immediately when they heard the sound of heavy boots approaching. They thought nobody would be out there that late at night, and were fearful of being caught. In their panic they fled, leaving Sadie, Janet and the bonfire behind. When they made it back to Janet's car, they all froze at a series of blood-curdling screams coming from the cornfield. They debated amongst themselves if they should go back, but before they came to a consensus Janet hurried over to them. Her face was pale and grim, and covered with ashes and soot, but she said nothing. "Wh-Where's Sadie?" One of them dared to ask.

Janet, again, refused to answer, hopping behind the wheel. "Let's go," she ordered, and none of them were brave enough to argue.

The next Monday, Sadie was not seen on campus. Her roommate called the police when she still hadn't turned up by Wednesday. Janet and the Theta Nus were heavily questioned by the authorities and the Dean of the college for over a week, but without any proof of foul play there was nothing either of them could do. Sadie was written up as a missing person, and in the following months the case was dropped entirely. None of the members of Theta Nu ever spoke about what happened in the cornfield, mostly because they honestly didn't know. Janet never said a word either, and none of the sisters had the courage to ask her about it.

Time passed, and with the end of the next summer came a new crop of fresh-faced pledges. As always, Janet started up her old tricks just like clockwork. The Theta Nus were relieved to see that the initiations were a bit more tame than usual, more akin to the standard initiation tactics used throughout campus. Eventually, though, the rites became darker and viler as time wore on. Still, the things Janet made the new pledges do was nothing compared to what they'd put Sadie through, so the sorority sisters just played along for the time being.

Exactly one year after the night of Sadie's Acceptance Ceremony, they held another in the Theta Nu house. Two of the pledges had somehow managed to put up with Janet's initiation the entire way through, which was two more than any of the Theta Nus bargained for. For fun, Janet decided the evening should begin with a seance. She dimmed all the lights in the living room and lit candles, then brought out a spirit board she'd bought online. None of the Sisters believed in ghosts or spirits, but the younger of the two pledges, Courtney, seemed very nervous. "You shouldn't play around with that stuff," she warned, "My grandmother always told me it was dangerous. It's like playing with fire."

Janet chose to ignore Courtney and began the seance anyway. She, the Theta Nus, and the other pledge all sat in a circle around the spirit board while Courtney sat by herself in the corner of the room. Janet led the seance, asking question after question to the Beyond. When the planchette started moving the girls began accusing each other of pushing it. They continued like this, giggling and whispering excitedly as they watched letters beginning to be spelled out. "S-I-S-T-E-R," Janet read aloud, "Sister... Are you a Theta Nu, long since departed?" The sorority girls giggled again at Janet's over-the-top dramatic question, but their laughter began to fade when the planchette pointed to "no". Janet frowned, puzzled and a little unsettled, "No? Well, then, who are you? What's your name?" The circle of Theta Nus grew deathly pale and quiet as the board spelled out a name: "S-A-D-I-E."

Janet leapt up angrily, "Who's doing that?! That's not funny!! Tell me who it is, now!!" The sorority sisters all looked at each other in fear, shaking their heads. They knew none of them had moved the wooden arrow; some of them were shaking, while others looked like they might start crying.

The pledge sitting with them was scared as well, but she was more confused than anything. "Who's Sadie?" She asked, "What's going on?" Every girl screamed as the planchette suddenly flew across the room, embedding itself point first into the wall. It began moving on its own, gouging deeply into the drywall as it scratched out a message.

Courtney watched, stunned, as she slowly read the message aloud: "You... will... burn... too. Janet, this is getting crazy. I thought I could take being a pledge, but this is too much! I'm out!"

Janet stood frozen in the middle of the room, her blue eyes wide with fear and her face white. "Sadie," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks, "A-Are you really here? Sadie, I'm sorry! Do you hear me? I'm sorry!! It was an accident, I swear!" Lightning flashed and all of the candles suddenly blew out. The Theta Nus screamed and started scrambling in the dark to pull out their phones, desperate for a bit of light. Courtney, who was closest to the wall, fumbled for the light switch and snapped it on. The girls sat there, blinking to adjust their eyes to the suddenly bright room, then the other pledge began screaming. Janet lay in the middle of the floor; her face was frozen in an expression of wide-eyed terror, and lodged into the side of her neck was the point of the planchette.

The police were called, but none of the girls could explain how Janet had perished. The very next day, Theta Nu was shut down entirely. Most of the senior sisters switched schools, while the younger ones gave up sorority life or just dropped out altogether. The Theta Nu house was left abandoned on campus, although several other sororities attempted to take it over at one point or another. None of them, however, stayed very long. The sororities who braved the opportunity to take over the once most desired house on Greek Row never gave a reason as to why they left, however certain rumors began to circulate as they have a habit of doing. It is said that even to this day, a young woman can be seen wandering the halls of the old Theta Nu house: wearing a tattered, dirty blue dress, with severe burns to her face and arms.