"Can you tell me a little bit more about the property?"

"Yeah, sure. It was built in the late 1870's, but most of the original structure and exterior has been replaced and updated throughout the years. You know how it is, the craftsmanship of old doesn't quite live up to today's styles and safety regulations".

"I know exactly what you mean, but from what you say, it is quite an old house. Surely that means there must be a bit of history within the house. A few stories surrounding it?"

"I've heard a number of local legends that involve the house. A neighbour once told me that it was used as a distillery during the prohibition era. I've heard that JFK once took a photo in front of the place, but I've never seen the photographic evidence to back that story up.

Oh, and someone once claimed that, for a whole summer, some sort of religious cult squatted inside the house while it was vacant. They claimed that the members left behind strange markings and small burn marks along the walls. What were they called again? The Acquaintance's of Fire, or the Friends of Flame. Something like that. That's what was told to me, but I don't even know if it's true.

The only history that I am certain of, is that a young couple with a small child lived here before us, and a little old lady inhabited the house before them".

*"Well, if true, that certainly is a rich history. Old houses like yours usually come with a few local legends attached. I think that is sometimes a good selling point. 

I'm just looking through your file here, and I see here that you have purchased our Golden Paranormal Insurance Policy, with protection against hauntings, poltergeists, possessions and death from supernatural occurrences?".*

"That's correct".

"I can certainly see why you have chosen our top insurance package. Due to the age and possible history of the house, you definitely want the best coverage against any sort of ghostly activity. Especially if some sort of cult has been operating within your home".

"Actually, that's something I've been meaning to ask about. I'm hesitant to hear the answer though. If the claims about the cult are true, that won't affect my claim, will it? Just cause I saw that if the ghost or entity was summoned, then I won't be covered?".

"No, no, you will still be eligible for payment. That clause only applies if you summoned the entity yourself".

"Oh good. That's a relief".

"But anyway, I really must ask you about your claim. I see that you have applied for $2780 in property damage and another $10,450 compensation for the emotional and physical distress the haunting has caused you and your family. Does that all sound familiar, Mr. Walker"?

"Yes, that's right".

"Oh good. Well, as I'm sure you understand, I must do my due diligence and ask a few questions about the haunting. This will allow your claim to progress, but you still may be subjected to an investigator to attend your property. Their job will then be to determine that your supernatural activity is genuine, and that the amount of money you are claiming is proportionate to the damage inflicted. Does this all make sense to you"?

"Yes, that makes sense. I do hope you are able to process my claim quickly though. My family and I have been through quite the ordeal and we really don't need this dragging on".

"Well Sir, if you talk me through the strange occurrences you've experienced, then we can get the insurance ball rolling. You can start by telling me how the haunting began".

"The first occurrence happened just a little over a month ago. It started small, in fact I barely noticed it. It was a cold night and so I was sitting in front of the fireplace, poking at the embers after the flames had died out.  The wife and kids were in bed and I was the last one left up, making sure the fire was well and truly extinguished before turning in for the night. This meant that I was the only one that saw it. 

In the ashes, just for a moment, I saw two eyes staring back at me. It's hard to describe exactly, but it looked as if two eyeballs appeared within the cluster of coal. They appeared as if they were still on fire. Like the eye's themselves were burning. 

They only appeared for a matter of moments before the embers glowed normally again. I shouldn't have, but I just dismissed it as my tired mind seeing things that weren't actually there".

"That sounds right. Most claims I look at all  start small or rather inconspicuous and most people write them off as nothing more than their mind playing tricks on them, but they all get drastically worse. So, let me guess, things escalated rapidly after that?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, they did. The next thing that happened involved our family photos. One thing our family prides itself on is being able to take a good picture, and so we have plenty of family portraits hung up around the house. 

That being said, I don't know how often they are actually looked at by anyone, so I don't know exactly how long they had been damaged before I saw what had happened to them.  What I do know though, is that it was about a week after the fireplace incident that I noticed the first photograph. 

Along the mantle, just above the fireplace, there has always been a row of five different family photos taken at different outings. The photo in question was  taken during a family trip to the zoo. In front of the monkey enclosure actually, but nevermind. 

The point is, every single one of our eyes had been burned out of the picture. Small  holes, the size of a cigarette burns, were present where our eyes should've been. On every single one of us. My three kids. My wife. And me. All of us had had our eyes burnt out.

I was shocked when I first saw it, and thought that that's what it was. Cigarette burns. My wife and I aren't smokers and so my immediate thought was that my eldest daughter had secretly taken up the bad habit. 

At first I was angry, but then logic took over. Even if she was smoking, that still didn't explain why she would burn out our eyes. It was  when I looked at the other photos on the mantle that I realised this definitely wasn't caused by her. 

In each of those photos. The same. In fact  I quickly discovered that our eyes had been reduced to small burn holes in every photo in the house".

"Hmm burn marks in the photos. I think I have heard that before. I have to ask though, was this the extent of the property damage or has there been more"?

"There's more. In the following days, the kids found small burn marks across the walls. They were just sporadically scattered across the house. They were always circular, and about the size of a ping pong ball. They always came in two as well. Two small holes burnt into the wall, right next to each other. I knew this definitely wasn't caused by one of the kids lighting up a cigarette.

I think in the few days between discovering the burn and when we all saw him, we must've found a dozen or so of these strange burns". 

"What do you mean, 'when we all saw him'"?

"I mean what I said. We all saw him. The man with fire in his eyes".

"Hmm, interesting. Do go on".

"We were all sitting around the kitchen table, saying grace before eating, when I felt a sharp pain in my hand. I looked down and saw that my flesh was starting to burn. I could see the skin starting to blister and the smell of cooking meat started to fill the air. 

I screamed and jumped up out of my seat, to the shock of everyone else sitting at the table. I was staring down at my searing flesh, both in pain and in terror. It was when Maggie screamed, that my mind focussed back on where I was. I looked over at my eldest, who was pale white and pointing towards something within the kitchen.

At the other end of the table, standing just behind my wife, was a man who was staring straight towards me. Well, towards my hand. We never made eye contact. His eyes were different from any I had seen before. They weren't the normal brown or blue. His were a bright orange. And they were flickering. Almost like a small flame had been lit inside his iris. When I looked at his eyes, I think I saw Hell reflected back at me."

"A man with flames in his eyes?"

"Yes. Ask my wife. Even ask my children for God's sake. They all saw the same thing. The man was burning eyes".

"Okay, Sir. This is what is going to happen now. If you wish to take this claim further, one of our investigators will be sent to your home. They will look for evidence of your claims and it will be up to their discretion whether or not the compensation will be paid out to you. Do you understand?"

"Yes".

-End of Recording-

Report for Paranormal Insurance - Case 708

I have listened to the recording of the initial phone call regarding Case 708. I have familiarised myself with what has occurred and the amount of compensation Mr. Walker has requested. 

A thorough investigation will now be undertaken and documented below. My initial thoughts, however, are that this case will be revealed to be a hoax.

I arrived at the Walker's residence at 10:34 on Saturday morning. I hopped out of my car, grabbed my suitcase off the passenger seat, and walked up to the house.

The first thing I noticed was the beauty and sheer size of the property. I had to crane my neck almost fully back just to see the tip of the house's pointed roof. 

The outside walls were comprised of timber panelling and the roof was made from light grey tiles. Four pillars acted as a support for a large verandah that stuck out the front of the house. 

I wouldn't quite describe the property as awe-inspiring, but I would say that it looked expensive. From first glance, there was no visible property damage on the outside, which was consistent with what had previously been described. All the damage was inside the house. 

A high iron gate ran around the perimeter of the house, protecting it from any outside threats. The irony that the threat they were facing was from within the house, and not out of it, was not lost on me. 

The biggest outside threat they currently faced was an Insurance Investigator about to try and pick holes in their claims and reveal it all to be fake.

The automatic gate began to slide open, as the family must have seen my arrival.

It is usually at this point that I am greeted by a disgruntled person, presumably annoyed that their claim is being thoroughly investigated before any sort of payment is given to them.

Usually, it is because they have experienced something terrifying, and the last thing they want to do is recount that experience to someone like me. 

But, occasionally they are frustrated because they know it's only a matter of time before I reveal their 'haunting' to be nothing more than an attempt at fraud. 

I anticipated a certain degree of animosity from Mr. Walker and his family, due to the fact that I believed they were in the middle of a hoax.

Once the gate had finished sliding open, I stepped forward onto the cobbled path that led up to the entrance of the house. 

Waiting for me was a middle aged man with short brown hair. He looked fairly ordinary and was dressed casually in pants and a shirt. The only thing that stood out about this man was the pair of dark sunglasses that he wore across his face. They were unusual because it was dark and gloomy outside, with no sunshine anywhere to be seen. 

He greeted me with a slight nod and a monotone "morning". I outstretched my hand to greet him in a more professional manner. He too reached his hand outwards and clasped mine. I did want to properly meet this man, but I do confess that the handshake also had an ulterior motive. 

As he clasped my hand, I quickly glanced down and took a peak at the back of his hand. Two small burn marks were present on his flesh. They were still blistering and so I decided that they were still relatively fresh.

I was almost surprised to see the charred skin. Either, this man's claims were indeed true, or he was very committed to the hoax. Some people go to desperate lengths for money. 

Now, if you have listened to the recording of the initial phone call, you may have noticed a slight change in the operator's voice as soon as the 'Flame-eyed Man' was mentioned. And, during this report, I have claimed multiple times that this will turn out to be a hoax. 

But, if you are unfamiliar with the most famous, and most lucrative of all Paranormal Insurance cases, you may be unaware as to why this case has already been written off as fraud. 

So, to the uninformed, I will quickly fill you in as to why this case reeks of lies and money grabbing.

It was an old case, maybe five years ago now, that involved similar elements to what I am now investigating. A family. Burnt photos. Small burn marks on the walls. And, of course, visions of The Flame-Eyed Man.

The man, a Mr. Cole Ames, filed the insurance claim hoping for compensation for property and personal damages. Similar to the Walker claim. Mr. Ames claimed that him and his friends did something dumb in their younger years. Something that meant he was now being haunted by this particular entity.

But, at the time, there was no concrete evidence that pointed to any of it being real, so the case was also deemed a hoax, and no money was paid out to the man who filed the claim. It was only after his death that a large sum was given to his grieving family. 

The case must have gained traction in some local press, and soon enough, a number of people were familiar with it. This meant that a number of people started faking hauntings and trying to claim that they were also victims of the Flame-Eyed Man. I thought this was such a case. 

So, now everyone is up to speed, I will finish my recount of what happened with the Walker family.

I finished shaking Mr. Walker's hand, and began to introduce myself. I explained who I was, what my job was and that I would need access to the house in order to assess his claims. He politely nodded, but I'm pretty sure he already knew exactly who I was. 

He introduced himself as Max, and then opened the door for me, granting me entry to his fabulous home.

The doorway led into a long hallway with high ceilings. Green floral wallpaper was spread across its walls, fitting in with the house's rustic aesthetic. It was so long that it almost looked more like a tunnel than a hallway. 

As I stepped through the doorway, the first thing I noticed was the distinct smell of burnt paper and wood. It was only faint, but was just enough for my nose to register it.

"You can smell it already, can't you? The burning."

"It does smell like something has been on fire in here".

"Take a look over there. There's the cause of it".

Max lifted one hand and pointed a finger towards the wall a bit further down the hallway. I stepped towards it and saw what it was that he was pointing to. 

Two small burn marks were scorched into the wallpaper on the wall. 

I studied the marks, which had clearly been the result of a small fire. Two black marks situated only an inch or two apart from each other. They looked like someone had used the wall to put out their cigar.

It was entirely possible that this is exactly what happened. That one of the family member's had burnt them into the wooden wall themselves, but I couldn't prove that this was the case. But, they couldn't prove it wasn't. 

I turned back around to look at Max again. Even though he still wore his sunglasses in the dimly lit corridor, I could somehow tell that he had a defeated look in his eyes. 

"You'll find another four further down. And three more in the kitchen. And God knows how many more in the bedrooms".

Mr. Walker's voice was quieter now. His tone matched the defeated look I thought his eyes must've been conveying. Even though he sounded upset, I still had a job to do and so continued on with my investigation.

"If possible, I would like to speak with the entire family. It helps me gain a better understanding of what exactly happened here, you know. Let's me see the whole picture", I said to him in a polite manner.

"Yeah sure. I can't imagine you will be here long though. You've already seen the burn marks. And soon you will see the true damage of this entity and then you will be on your way", he replied, now sounding frustrated. Annoyed that I was even here snooping around. 

He then called out for his kids to come downstairs to the kitchen, which echoed through the house's large front room. 

He then gestured for me to follow him, and so I tailed behind him, studying the walls as I walked along the hallway.

"There's another one."

He didn't stop walking as he spoke, instead just pointed to another pair of burn marks in the wall. 

I looked and saw they were identical to the first lot of marks I'd seen. 

As I looked past the burnt spots on the wall, I noticed a line of three photographs, hung up in row along the wall. 

One was taken at the beach. Another at a theme park, and one from a professional photoshoot.

The photos all had two things in common. Each one was of all five members of the family, smiling and enjoying each other's company. 

The other similarity was the small holes that were through each family member's eyes. The paper was charred around the circumference of the holes, indicating that they had been burnt out. The glass in each frame was still perfectly intact.

"It's the same with every photo in the house", Max said from in front of me. 

"I'm sure it is.", I responded. 

Max walked to the end of the hallway and through a large door. I followed and found myself entering the kitchen, which was renovated and modern.

At the other side of the room, a long, black table was situated. Three girls, two around the age of ten and the eldest, who looked to be in her mid-teens. There was also a woman in her forties sitting around the table. Obviously, this was the family.

I introduced myself and then placed my suitcase onto the long table. I opened it up and pulled out a small tape recorder.

"Is everyone okay if I ask a few questions and record your answers on here?"

They all nodded, almost reluctantly, and then I began to ask the questions that needed answers. 

"Is anyone here an avid user of cigarettes or cigars?"

The three young girls shook their heads, and Max shot a glare in my direction. His wife did the same.

"For the recording, that was a definite no".

I continued. 

"Has anyone performed any sort of ritual? Tried anything supernatural or strange? Ouija boards. Seances. That sort of thing?"

The two parents looked towards their children, who all shook their heads. Then, the edlest Maggie, spoke. 

 "No, of course we haven't. In a house as old as this, it would be crazy for us to get involved in anything like that".

"I'm sorry if my question offended you in any way, but these are the questions I need to ask. Now, is it okay if I proceed with the next question?

Other than what has already been described. The burn marks on the walls. The holes in the photos. And the sighting of The Flame Eyed Man, have you seen anything unusual? Any other unexplainable occurrences?"

Everyone in the family let out a murmured 'no'. Well, almost everything. The middle child didn't speak. Instead, she just kept staring forwards. 

"So, we are sure that nothing else out of the ordinary has occurred?"

As I spoke, I looked directly at the middle daughter, and tried to gauge her reaction. She continued to look straight ahead. 

"Because, if anyone knows anything more, now would be the time to share what it is they know".

She finally spoke up.

"I found… I found something. In my room."

Her voice was faint and nervous. 

"What did you find, Isabella?", Max asked her, concern definitely present in his voice.

"I saw something on the wall. Behind the wallpaper. When the first burn happened on my wall, I saw something. So, I peeled some more of the wallpaper away, and I saw more of it".

Her voice still sounded apprehensive, and it was clear that this was the first time she had told anyone this. 

"What did you see, Darling?", Max asked again.

"I'll show you".

We all stood up from the table and followed the small girl out of the room. She led the group of us along the hallway, eyeless photographs staring at us as we walked past.

We followed Isabella up the flight of wooden stairs and to, what was presumably, her bedroom. She opened her door and invited us in.

The room was a typical young girls bedroom. Pink wallpaper. Pink and white striped bed covers. Small dollhouse in the corner of the room. 

The only thing out of the ordinary for a young girl to have in her room were five pairs of circular burn marks dispersed across the wall. I also spied another set scorched into the white carpet.

Isabella didn't say a word, instead just walked over to the dollhouse in the corner and pushed it slightly to the right. This revealed another burn in the wall, but what the dollhouse was truly covering up, was wallpaper that had been peeled away. 

The wallpaper was hiding something of its own, but since Isabella had removed some of it, its secrets had been revealed.

There were more burns in the bare wooden wall behind. But, they weren't the usual round marks. Instead, charcoal black words were seared into the wood. 

THE FRIENDS OF THE FLAME CALL OUT YOUR NAME. SHOW US WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN.

Underneath the thick, burnt in letters were smaller words burnt into the wall. This time there were names.

Sarah Martin

Sonya Polski

Cole Ames

Daniel Ember

 "I have never seen this before", Max said to me as we all looked at it in horror, "But I have heard of the 'Friends of the Flame' before".

"And I've heard of Cole Ames", I replied, still shocked by what had been uncovered.

This was the first piece of evidence that I could actually use to grant this family their money. The first sign that this entire case was not a hoax. But, that was not a good thing. Not for the family. 

Only once has a claim about the Flame Eyed Man ended up with money being paid out. That claim, as I said before, was paid out to Cole Ames family and not to him directly. 

That's because that case had ended in his death. Cole was found, alone in his home with both eyes clawed out and then the sockets burnt. Meaning they had been burnt after his eyes had been removed. 

It was a grisly end, and one that I didn't wish upon this family. But, one that I thought may be inevitable. But, I now had proof that their haunting could actually be genuine. Something that could mean they would get their money, bringing them some shred of happiness before tragedy could fall upon them. 

"Do you mind if I take a photo of the wall? It will greatly increase your chances of receiving a payout ", I asked the family.

Max didn't respond, but I saw him staring at the wall with his sunglasses still firmly on his face. He was mouthing the words 'Show us what you have seen'. Instead, his wife looked over to me and nodded.

I once again reached into my briefcase and pulled out a small polaroid camera. I pointed it at the peeled away wallpaper and the words underneath and took the photo.

A quick flash of light shot out the camera, and then a whirring sound could be heard. Then, the camera started to spit out the small polaroid print. I pulled it out and shook it and colour started to appear on the blank white square of paper. 

Then, an idea struck me. I could possibly gain one more piece of undeniable evidence that would put the approved stamp onto this case. 

"Is it okay if I take a family photo of you all? It could be important".

"What for?", Max asked.

"Just trust me".

The entire family looked doubtful that a family portrait would help proceedings, but they awkwardly huddled together in the centre of the room. None of them could muster a smile, but instead could only manage a frightful look in their eyes. 

I took the photo.

The camera let out another flash. I noticed Max recoil slightly as the bright light shot out and reflected off his dark sunglasses. 

Then, a slight whirring sound could be heard as the polaroid began to print. The blank photo came out of the camera, but there was something different about this polaroid film. There were ten small holes scattered across the small print-out.

The picture of the family started to form, the colour seeping out of the blank paper. I anticipated that this could happen, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Each family member's face lined up perfectly with the holes that were already in the photograph. Right across their eyes. 

This was all the evidence that I needed to prove that this haunting was legitimate. The writing on the wall and now the burnt eyes on a photo I had only just taken.

"Well, I can verify that your haunting is legitimate and you will be receiving the money that you have asked for".

Max's weary and sullen face changed. Just for a moment, as I saw the slightest hint of a smile. 

"I just need to go over the damage in the house, just to verify that it is proportionate to the amount you claimed for, which I think it will be".

I then spent the next while evaluating the damage that the Flame-Eyed Man had caused around the house. Everything seemed to be correct, and the Walker family would be receiving the correct amount of money.

Once I was done, I thanked the kids for their time, and thanked Isabella for showing us all what she had discovered. 

Max then shook my hand, and spoke.

"Thank you for your time. Let me walk you out".

I followed him through the hallway once again, and out the front door. As we stepped out onto the verandah, Max stopped and turned around to face me. 

"I haven't quite told you everything. Like Isabella hadn't.", he said quite seriously, "That's because I haven't even told my wife and kids everything". 

I stared at him confused, waiting for him to fill me in on what he had left out before. He continued. 

"I have seen the man with flame in his eyes again. Since that time at dinner. I know I told the guy on the phone I had only seen him the once. But, I've seen him three more times in fact", he said as he unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. 

He parted his shirt and revealed more burns on his flesh. Two more pairs of circular blisters were present across his chest and on his neck. He then reached up and slid the sunglasses off his face, revealing charred flesh around his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, and quite clearly burnt. 

"I saw him early this morning. This time, we made eye contact.", he said, fear present in his voice. 

He continued, "He showed me things. As he looked into my eyes, burning me, he showed me. 

He showed me the fiery pits. The blood soaked ground. I felt the intense heat. I even heard the screams. That's all I could hear. He showed me. He showed me Hell". 

He paused for a second to suppress his emotion with a large gulp.

"I could feel the flames engulfing my entire body. I was burning. Burning but not dying. I could feel myself being scorched, but my body didn't show any sign of injury.

Strange creatures, maybe demons or possibly other damned souls, were gathered around my body, laughing and dancing as I burned. They all looked burnt and withered, like they had endured the flames for an eternity, but still hadn't perished in them.

 He wasn't giving me a glimpse into what Hell was like. No, it was different than that. He was showing me what was waiting for me. He was showing me my future.

"He made me look at it. Experience it. I couldn't bear it. I just wanted to rip my eyes out to make the visions stop. I actually wished he would burn my eyes out so that I wouldn't have to see it anymore", he said before stopping.

It was at this moment that, for the first time in my career, I felt genuine fear. The haunting was real and I now had a sense of urgency to get out of the house. My heart was racing at the mere thought that the Flame Eyed Man was lurking within the corridors of the property.

I felt the sweat build up along my brow and the hairs on my arms stand up straight. I even had the sense that someone was staring directly at me from behind. Which they could've been.

I needed to get off the premises as soon as I could.

I didn't have the heart to tell him about Cole Ames, and how he met his end. Maybe Max already knew about him, but even if he didn't, I think he had already figured out how this haunting was going to end. 

I think he just wanted some money, just something nice before the inevitable occured. So, I have also attached the polaroid photos to this report and conclude, in my professional opinion, that this is a genuine case of a family haunted by an evil entity. 

My recommendation is that the money be paid out in full to the family. And should be done hastily. Before it's too late.