WORLD OF HORROR STORIES

SOMETHING IN THE DARK PART I

It all started when I was 12 years old. I wasn't aware of the strange happenings right away but I remember when my parents moved my sister, brother and I into my grandparents old house, the hauntings began. Due to hardship and a series of unfortunate events at the time, we suddenly found ourselves homeless. Thankfully, my grandparents took us in. At first, the sudden move seemed like an adventure. The house sat on a sprawling 5 acres of land. But deep inside myself, I knew there was something not right about my grandparents house. It wasn't anything you could put your finger on. The best way to describe It is "a feeling of dread." I tried to dismiss it to the strangeness and uneasiness of my new surroundings. After all, this was an old house. But eventually the feeling of dread and the thickness in the air became abundant.

As time went by, our mother started to act strange. She had always been a loving mother to us and had a wonderful sense of humor and would often joke with us. In the months since our move, she began to change. She would unexpectedly fly off the handle over nothing. It was like she was so angry all the time. Instead of her usual loving self, she was always drained, sick or angry. One time she went to visit my older sister in South Carolina. She stayed with her for a few months. As soon as she was away from the old house, she was back to normal. She was herself again. It was as if something in the house would influence her personality or possess her.

One night my sister and I were laying on our bed in the dark. It was very late and everyone in the house was asleep. My mom had gone to stay with my older sister for a few weeks. We whispered and confided our worries, our dreams, and our fears to one another. "Mom is so different in this house." I told her. "I know!" she murmmured. "She has changed......it's like she's another person." We snuggled in bed and found refuge and comfort in each other's arms.

Across the room a creak interrupted our conversation. The bedroom door gradually opened. A dark figure was standing in the doorway. "Who is it?" I stammered. There was no answer. I couldn't make out any distinct features except for one, a set of menacing red eyes.

They pierced through the darkness. My sister and I stared in disbelief at the entrance. Then, we heard it........ a very low creepy laugh. My heart started to pound. Then without warning, the dark figure disappeared. My sister and I stared for what seemed several seconds. Finally, I got up. We assumed it was our brother trying to mess with us. We rushed to the doorway. There was nothing there. Our brother slept at the far end of the house. I knew he couldn't have gone down the hallway without us hearing him. I tiptoed to my brother's room as quickly as I could. He was sound asleep. Later in our room we tried to convince ourselves our eyes were playing tricks on us. Secretly we knew that we both had seen something we couldn't explain. Eventually we fell sleep. After several minutes, I felt something sitting on my feet. The pressure woke me up. When I tried to move my feet, I couldn't. I cried out and startled my sister awake. She screamed and the sensation stopped. "There was something dark sitting on your bed watching you!"

I do not know what was sitting on my bed that night. I never did find out. I do know it was evil. There were many paranormal events over the years in that house. I am now grown with children of my own. My parents later moved into a house they built on my grandparents land. The hauntings continued.