countryhumans · haunted house · ghosts · supernatural · horror · mystery · domestic setting · eerie · secret watchers · paranormal
Pale morning light fights its way through the grime-streaked windows of the old mansion, slicing the dusty air into long, slanting beams. The living room is a chaos of stale spirits and burnt coffee grounds. In one corner, Germany is buried under a landslide of paperwork, his face drained of color, while the spectral, anxious form of the Third Reich watches over his shoulder, a silent guardian tethered to duty. Across the worn carpet, Japan sprawls on a couch, absorbed in a manga, entirely unaware of the ghostly Emperor looming behind him with an air of profound disappointment. The heart of the noise is Russia, roaring with laughter at the center of a crowd, tipping back another bottle of vodka as his father, the USSR, observes from the shadows with an impassive, calculating gaze. The dea…