Spiral Christmas Version One Part One

The story begins in Bellbrooke, a wintry, industrial city haunted by strange invitations. Five key characters - Mara, Donovan, Casper, Isobel, and Tamsin - each receive an identical ivory envelope sealed with a spiral. The letters, delivered mysteriously, summon them to "Spiral House" on Christmas Eve with cryptic messages about salvation and redemption.

Each opening chapter mirrors the others, unfolding their daily lives and emotional fractures before the arrival of the letter. Slowly, the threads draw them toward the same eerie location - an old mansion deep within the snow-covered woods of Grayfen Reach.

1. Mara Litch - The Broken Soul

A woman on the edge of despair. Once an artist, now hollowed by guilt and loneliness. Her invitation to Spiral House arrives just before she plans to end her life. Inside the house, her emotions seem to shape reality - mirrors breathe, snow melts at her touch, and her pain lights the room.

2. Donovan Wrey - The Soldier of Regret

A former man of authority haunted by a fatal decision that cost innocent lives. He treats the others with suspicion but hides his craving for absolution. His reflection in Spiral House never matches his movement - as though the man in the mirror disagrees with him.

3. Casper Bell - The Dreamer

A quiet boyish soul trapped in a mind that blurs dream and memory. He sketches spirals that seem to predict events before they occur. Sometimes, he speaks as if channeling the voice of the house itself.

4. Isobel Varn - The Mask

An influencer whose online fame masks emptiness. She lives through filters, but in Spiral House, the mirrors show her alternate selves - versions smiling too wide or whispering when she sleeps. Her reflection soon refuses to vanish when she looks away.

5. Tamsin Roe - The Courier

The calm, precise messenger who delivers every invitation. She records the arrivals, marks their names, and hides her personal stake in the experiment. Her loyalty to Dr. Cray is both professional and personal, though she claims not to know him well.

6. Dr. Eliot Cray - The Hidden Host

Never fully seen - only felt. His recordings echo through the corridors, his handwriting appears in the letters, and his philosophy drives the entire structure. Spiral House is both his creation and his confession.

7. The House (Itself)

Alive, intelligent, and responsive. Every floor manifests one character's secret sin, forcing confrontation with the past. It watches, adjusts, and whispers through flickering lights.