SNOW WHITE HORROR STORY – the rotten apple

Once upon a time, in a forest darker than memory and older than time, there stood a castle long forgotten by man. The village nearby whispered of a cursed princess who once lived there—Snow White. But this wasn’t the tale you remember.

It began when a traveling herbalist, Elric, wandered through the forest searching for rare roots. He came upon a tangle of thorns hiding a shattered gate. Curiosity pulled him through. What he found was a rotting castle choked in vines, its windows black with grime, the scent of death heavy in the air.

Inside, it was like time had died. Chandeliers hung askew. Portraits were slashed and burned. And at the center of the great hall, a mirror. Old. Cracked. It pulsed with something not quite alive. Elric stepped closer.

“Who dares disturb me?” a voice rasped from the glass. The mirror’s surface rippled, revealing a woman’s face—pale, gaunt, eyes like dry wells.

“I’m just a traveler,” Elric said. “I thought this place was abandoned.”

“Snow White is awake,” said the mirror. “And she’s hungry.”

Elric laughed nervously. “That’s just a story.”

The mirror cracked again, deeper. “She woke when the last light left the forest. The dwarfs are gone. She waits for someone to find her.”

Elric turned to leave, but behind him, the air shifted. A soft rustling, like silk dragging across stone. He ran.

That night, he returned to his village, but he was not the same. His eyes had grown dull. He muttered in his sleep. And within days, he vanished.

News of his disappearance spread. The villagers spoke of the curse of the old forest. But one girl, Mirella, didn’t believe in curses. She believed in answers. She had known Elric. She knew he wouldn’t just leave.

So she packed a lantern, a blade, and a book of folk charms, and entered the forest.

The castle stood waiting.

Inside, Mirella moved silently. Her lantern cast long shadows. The portraits seemed to follow her. And the mirror—oh, the mirror.

It called her.

“Come closer, child.”

Mirella stepped forward, resisting the pull in her chest. “What happened to Elric?”

“Snow White found him,” the mirror hissed.

A door creaked open on its own. Mirella turned, holding her blade. A dark hallway stretched endlessly, lit by flickering candlelight. At its end: a glass coffin.

She moved closer.

Inside the coffin was a girl. Beautiful beyond human. Skin like ivory. Lips like fresh blood. Hair black as obsidian. But her smile—it was wrong. Too wide. Teeth too sharp.

Her eyes opened.

“You came,” she whispered.

Mirella staggered back. The coffin lid opened by itself. Snow White sat up, bones creaking like old wood.

“You’re not like the others,” Snow White said.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“Oh, but you should be.”

Snow White stood, and with each step, the ground withered. Flowers turned black. The air grew colder.

“I was cursed,” she said. “By love. By betrayal. The dwarfs sealed me away. But time has no prison. And now I feed.”

“Feed on what?” Mirella asked, though she already knew.

“Hope. Warmth. Life.”

Snow White raised her hand. Shadows slithered from the walls. Mirella swung her blade, the silver flashing. The shadows recoiled, but Snow White only smiled wider.

“You can’t kill what’s already dead.”

The mirror appeared behind her, floating.

“Trap her,” it whispered.

Mirella reached into her bag, pulled out the folk charm, and slammed it into the ground. A flash of light burst through the hall.

Snow White screamed. Her form flickered, shifting between beauty and rot. “NO!”

The coffin cracked. The castle trembled.

Mirella held her ground.

Snow White fell backward, into the coffin. The lid slammed shut. Chains of light bound it tight.

The castle groaned. The mirror shattered.

Mirella fled as the forest screamed, the castle collapsing behind her. She made it out just before the gates caved in.

The village never spoke of Snow White again.

But on cold nights, when the wind is still, some say you can hear laughter. Sweet, girlish. Terrible.

Snow White is waiting.

And next time, she won’t sleep so easily.