Creepy abandoned house experience

Second ever post and my only other paranormal experience (posted other one already).

This goes back several decades when I was a young boy. I grew up in a small countryside town of a couple thousand people. Back in those days there were several abandoned properties scattered on the edges of town. I have not seen homes completely abandoned like that anywhere since those childhood times.

Anyway, there was a large Victorian-style abandoned home on the outskirts, a short bike ride from my home. I was about 9 years old. I figure other kids had checked the place out sometimes since it had a full-on horror movie look, but I had never been inside yet. A bunch of friends (about 6-7) decided to search it one day for something to do. Everyone was trying to scare each other in a goofy way, but nobody was really scared.

It was well secured and boarded up, but we removed the boards from a basement window. Glass was long gone but we took precautions on ledge with a blanket (entry was planned in advance). We all jumped down into the basement. It was pitch black (oddly so dark, we thought, as it was daytime). However we were prepared, each armed with a flashlight. Everyone kind of fanned out to search all the basement rooms. There were many as the home was huge.

I was alone in an empty room within earshot of the others…when my flashlight died. I had changed the batteries before we left. Even though my friends were in adjacent rooms/halls with flashlights, I saw nothing - complete, perfect darkness. I felt kind of sick. I remained still, not moving or touching anything. Then I started screaming for my friends. It seemed to take them a bit to track my voice and find me (but it likely just felt that way). We all decided to get out of the basement into the light of main level (my friends had found the stairs).

We went upstairs into the well-lit living room. The house lived up to expectations. Giant fireplace, huge regal stairs winding up to the second level, etc. People we’re about to fan out again when a couple friends insisted on going straight upstairs immediately. I felt kind of sick again. As they started to climb the stairs, I looked down as I was going to grab the handrail.

I was shocked. Both my hands were covered - COVERED - in blood! At first I wasn’t sure it was blood, just dirt or something. But I licked my knuckle - it was definitely blood.

When, how, did this happen? As I said, I had touched NOTHING! Even entering the building, I had hopped through and not used my hands. The weirder part was the blood was completely dry. It was so dry it was flakey. Even if I cut them, how could it dry so fast? As I looked over both sides of both hands for any nicks or cuts - and finding none - I called my friends back.

Everyone was pretty sceptical and assumed I picked up something sharp. However they must have been creeped out because I said I wanted to leave and they ALL left with me.

Sorry, no big scary ending. That‘s it. Never went back. Have no backstory on the house. It was demolished within a year to make way for new development. Please feel free to add a better, made-up ending.

(My Ouija board story was scarier with a better climax ending. However I have told both stories as they happened without exaggeration.)