March 15, 1978.
It was a warm Sunday evening, around 5pm. It had been a part of my routine where I sip a cup of tea, watch the neighborhood kids play and watch the sunset. It was a normal day in Salem, our small city in Massachusetts. People taking their dogs for walk, children playing,
teenage lovers holding hands, immersed in their own fantasy world,
spellbound by whatever they said between each other; all the usual.
This had been one such day.
As you all might know, Salem is known for the witch trials that happened in
1692. Around 200 people had been accused of practicing witchcraft - The Devil's Magic and 20 were executed. These stories have been a part of
this city for a very long time. Every kids, teenagers, old and young knew these stories.
Many have said to have encountered one of them.
There was a soft knock on my door. I kept my cup of tea that I had been sipping over an hour down and walked over to the door to check on who it might be. It was my aunt. She often comes over on a Sunday to spend some time with me.
"Hey! Happy Sunday", I said to her, cheerfully as I opened the door.
"What took you so long? Don't you know I have arthritis in my knees and can't keep standing?", she replied grumpily. My aunt was the only family I had. She looked after me after my parent's divorced. I never knew my mother or father. They left me when I was an infant.
"Have you read the newspaper yet?", asked my aunt, as she hung her coat
on the stand.
"No, not yet", I replied, "Why. What happened?" I added.
"Two were found dead under the alley today. Sad really", said my aunt,
making herself a cup of coffee.
"They were found dead naked with their throats slit open", she said added.
"Oh what has the world come to" she said grimly.
I froze. These kind of events had a backstory. And in Salem, It was always connected to human sacrifices - Witchcraft.
"Have they found who did it yet?", I asked, with a break in my voice.
"No. Not yet. Everyone will be vigilant from now on", she replied.
We went on by with our typical Sunday conversations, baked some cookies and chilled. By 9 pm, she was on her way back home.
I was getting ready for bed when I heard some muffled sounds come from the basement. I lived alone, but I was always brave; until now.
The news that I heard about the murder had really gotten to me.
Reluctantly I went downstairs to check on the voices. The lights in the basement were off so I had to switch it on since it was pitch black. I
switched on the light and couldn't find anything.
I went back to bed to sleep, this time with lights on.
Around 2am midnight, I was awakened by a loud thud and the same
muffled voices. I went down to look again and I could smell something
rotten. I switched the lights on and what I saw, the horrifying scene will
always be etched on to my memory.
In the corner, was an old lady dressed in black, hair like silver thread, the
look in her eyes that showed no remorse; one look from her would make
anyone freeze in their steps. I realized she was eating something. Her mouth was red with blood trickling over from the corner of her mouth. She was feasting on human meat. She looked at me and smiled. I could feel my
body getting weak and then and there I fainted. After a while, I woke up with no one around me. I rushed back upstairs and locked the basement door. I went back to bed again with little to no sleep. I woke up the next day to get ready for work. As I got up from bed and walked towards the bathroom, I could smell that same rotten stench but this time, off of me. I quickly got to my bathroom and looked in the mirror.
There she was in the mirror, smiling.
