BLACK FRIDAY (an anthology of horror tales)

THE DRAIN

The Drain is a short scary real ghost

story about a young boy who

encounters something hideous

lurking in a little room off his

bedroom. It is believed to be a true

story.

When I was about 10 or 11, my family

lived in a three-story house. My

bedroom was on the top floor. It was

small, square and simple. There was

a glass door in my bedroom that led

into a small brick room. There was no

ceiling on this room and there was

an opening in the roof above that

extended to the open air.

There was nothing in this little room,

just a drain in the middle of the floor.

It was probably put there to allow

the rainwater to drain away. There

was something about the drain

bothered me. Whenever I saw it, I

felt sick to my stomach. Once, I even

thought I saw the drain cover jiggle

slightly when I opened the door.

There always seemed to be a chill in

the air whenever I opened the door

to that little brick room. I oinly ever

had the nerve to open the door in

broad daylight and then only to take

a quick peek inside. Even though the

sun was blazing outside, it was

always deathly cold in the brick

room.

The memory of what happened in

that room still haunts me and

plagues my dreams from time to

time.

Shortly after I moved into that

bedroom, I started having very bad

dreams. One night, I had a

particularly horrifying nightmare and

I awoke with the feeling that

something was terribly, terribly

wrong.

Immediately, my eyes darted to the

door. I lay there in bed, afraid to

move, but unable to look away from

the door in case there might be

something there when I looked

back.

That was when I first heard the

whispering noise. It sounded a wire

brush softly rubbing against

something. It wasn't coming from