A 15-year old girl named Beth lived with her father in a small house in the suburbs. Ever since her mother died, Beth had depended on her father for everything. They had a wonderful relationship and loved each other very much.
One morning, Beth's father was leaving on a business trip. As they ate breakfast together, he told her that he would be home very late that night. With that, he kissed her on the forehead, grabbed his briefcase and walked out the front door.
Later that day, when Beth came home from school, she did some homework and watched some TV. By midnight, her father had still not returned so she decided to go to bed.
That night she had a dream. She found herself standing at the edge of a busy highway. Cars and trucks whizzed by at an alarming rate. She looked across the highway and saw a familiar figure standing on the other side. It was her father. His hands were cupped around his mouth and he seemed to be shouting something to her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.
As the traffic whizzed by, she strained to hear. Her father's eyes were sad. He seemed to be desperately trying to communicate something to her. She could barely make out the words: "Don't... Open... Door..."
Suddenly, Beth was awoken from the dream by a strange tapping noise.
Tap Tap Tap.
Then somebody began to ring the doorbell downstairs.
Ring Ring Ring.
She scrambled out of bed and put on her slippers. Then, dressed only in her nightgown, she ran downstairs and went to the front door.
Looking through the peephole, she saw her father's face outside. He was staring right at her. The doorbell kept ringing insistently.
"OK, hold on! I'm coming!", she shouted.
She pulled back the deadbolt and was about to unlatch the door when she stopped.
She looked through the peephole at her father again. Something about his expression didn't look quite right. His eyes were wide open. He looked terrified.
She slid the deadbolt back into place.
"Dad!", she yelled through the door. "Did you forget your keys?"
Ring Ring Ring.
"Dad, answer me!"
Ring Ring Ring.
"Dad, please! I need you to answer me!"
Ring Ring Ring.
"Is there someone else out there with you?"
Ring Ring Ring.
"Why won't you answer me?"
Ring Ring Ring.
"I'm not opening the door until you say something!"
The doorbell kept ringing and ringing, but for some reason, her father refused to answer her desperate cries.
For the rest of the night, the frightened girl cowered in a corner of the hallway, helplessly listening to the ceaseless ringing of the doorbell. It seemed to go on for hours. Eventually, she fell into an uneasy sleep.
At dawn, she woke up and realized that everything was quiet. She crept over to the door and looked through the peephole again. Her father was still there, staring at her.
She cautiously opened the door and was confronted with a sight that filled her with unimaginable horror.
Her father's severed head was hanging from a nail above the door.
There was a note attached to the doorbell. In crude, scrawled handwriting, it read: "Clever Girl".
