Boy Sneaks into Abandoned House and Finds Old Lady with Broken Leg Who Hasn’t Eaten for Seven Days — Story of the Day

A young boy is stunned to find an old lady with a broken leg alone in an apparently abandoned house and he rushed to her rescue.

Jerry was fascinated by the house on Mallory Street, with its shuttered windows and sloping roof, shaded by a huge jacaranda dripping Spanish moss. That house was the perfect haunted house!

Every kid in the neighborhood wanted to get inside, but they were all much too scared. Like everyone else, Jerry always ran past. Then one day, Tommy Gianelly dared Jerry to go inside and take a selfie in the parlor. It was a challenge Jerry couldn't refuse.

Jerry was fascinated with the ghostly old house. | Source: Shutterstock.com

Nine-year-olds don't often think things through before taking action, so we can't really blame Jerry. He just looked Tommy Gianelly in the eye and sneered. "I'm not scared," he lied. "I can do that with my eyes closed!"

But Tommy smirked. "RIGHT!" he said. "You'll be closing your eyes so you don't see the ghost!"

"Ghost?" asked Jerry nervously. "There's a ghost?"

"Yeah," Tommy said. "My brother used to sneak into the garage with his friends for a smoke, and one night they heard these dragging steps and saw a light in the upstairs window. An old reclusive lady used to live there, but they say she died. It's her ghost ..."

Jerry always ran past the haunted house. | Source: Unsplash

Jerry turned pale, but he wasn't going to back down. "I'm not scared," he said bravely.

"So when are you going to do it?" Tommy asked.

"Right now!" said Jerry, and before he lost his courage, he pushed the broken gate open and walked up the driveway to the front door. The door was closed, but not latched, as Jerry saw as soon as he twisted the doorknob.

The door swung open with an eery screech and Jerry nearly turned tail and ran -- but Tommy was standing by the gate, ready to cry 'chicken' and tell all the other kids at school that he was scared.

The big kids said they'd seen a ghost in the house. | Source: Unsplash

He had to go through with it. He took out his cell phone, turned on the flashlight, and stepped into the dim and dusty corridor. The first door led into a huge dark parlor, with dirty white lace curtains draped limply over the windows.

They sure looked like ghosts, Jerry thought, and that was when he heard the moan. It was a thin, weak sound and it made every hair in his body stand on end! "Hello?" Jerry whimpered. "I don't believe in ghosts!"

The moan was repeated, then a tremulous voice cried out: "Help me... Help..."

Jerry walked deeper into the house, and the further he walked, the darker it got. Finally, he came to a double swing door. It was from behind this door that the moans came.

Tommy Gianelly dared Jerry to go into the haunted house. | Source: Unsplash

Jerry took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. It was a big old-fashioned kitchen and inside it was very dim, but he could see a huddled shape sitting on the floor, leaning against the sink.

The figure raised its head. "Please... Help!" it said, and Jerry saw that it was a woman. It was a very old woman and her left leg was bent at a strange angle that made him feel queasy just looking at it.

Immediately he forgot about the ghosts and he ran over to the woman. "Lady," he said. "You hang in there, I'm calling 911!"

"Food..." she gasped. "Please!"

The first door led to a huge, dark parlor, with dirty white lace curtains draped limply over the windows. | Source: Unsplash

Jerry reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar. It was a bit squished but he didn't think the woman would mind. He unwrapped it and gave it to the woman, then he called 911.

Jerry sat down next to the woman. "They are on their way!" he said. "They'll take care of you. What happened?"

The woman swallowed the candy bar and asked for some water. Jerry filled a cup and brought it to her. The old lady drank the water and sighed. "I fell...I stood on a stool to change a lamp and I just fell.

"I broke my leg, and my cell phone was upstairs. That was seven days ago. I made myself fill a basin with water so I could drink, but all I had to eat were some biscuits and I ate those on the first day.

There was a huddled figure on the floor of the old kitchen. | Source: Unsplash

"I kept hoping my son would come and check up on me, but he lives in Atlanta. He's a TV producer and he's very busy..."

"You're safe now," Jerry said to the old lady, and he held her hand until the ambulance came and took her to the hospital. When Jerry walked out, Tommy Gianelly's mouth was hanging open.

He just couldn't believe it. "Weren't you scared?" he asked respectfully.

Jerry hesitated. "Yeah..." he confessed. "I was a bit, but the voice sounded so desperate. I guess I did the right thing. Imagine if I hadn't gone into the house? That old lady could have died!"

Thanks to Jerry, the old lady was rescued. | Source: Unsplash

The police contacted the old lady's son who came down right away to be with his mom. He insisted on meeting Jerry and he was so impressed that he decided to do a documentary about Jerry and his mother's rescue.

Jerry ended up on TV, and Tommy Gianelly was also interviewed. He was all puffed up and said that if he hadn't challenged Jerry the old lady would still be there -- but everyone knew that Jerry was the real hero of the hour.

What can we learn from this story?

• Courage is doing the right thing when you're scared. Jerry was afraid when he heard the moans, but he still went on to investigate.
• Sometimes unexpected good arises out of the most unlikely things. Tommy's childish dare led Jerry into the house and saved the old lady's life.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a childless lonely old lady who was shocked when a girl knocked on her door claiming she was her granddaughter.

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