The Rules Horror Story I Wrote Came True

{Rule-based horror + mysterious suspense + horror + writer protagonist + wild imagination} I was a failed horror novelist, until the stories I wrote began coming true. In the early hours one morning, I finished the final chapter of The Rules of Happiness Gardens: · The security guard patrols at 3 a.m. and knocks on your door three times. · Never look outside through the peephole. · If your neighbor knocks a rhythm of three long beats and two short ones on the wall, pretend you didn't hear it. When I posted it, it had only 38 bookmarks. The next day, the number shot up to 30,000. The comments section exploded: “Author, our compound really started night patrols last night!” “The guard knocked exactly three times, just like you wrote!” “My neighbor is knocking on the wall. What should I do?!” I thought readers were just playing along. Until I heard those three knocks myself. Knock. Knock. Knock. The rhythm was so even, it might as well have been measured with a ruler. Then, trembling, I opened my inbox and found an email from tomorrow. Attached was the next story I hadn't even started writing: The Thirteen Taboos of the Campus. The last line of the email read: “Every rule you write will come true within 48 hours.” “Now the whole world is waiting for your next update.” “Remember: stop updating, and you die.” And worse, I discovered that in the comments section... The IP addresses of the most fanatical readers were getting closer and closer to my home.