Scotsman's blog: "The Darker Side"

Nightmares You may wonder why I have such an interest in my stories. My experiences came at a young age. Nightmares at best, but occurrences that leave a child of 7 questioning. This is my story. The summer was great for a kid at my age. Playing with my friends, planning a camping trip to the Grand Canyon. Awaiting the arrival of my Aunt and Uncle and their kids, coming up from San Diego. I knew I was destined for the couch in the living room, but I didn't mind. Its been almost a year since my Grandfather had passed, 2 days after my 6th birthday. July was fast approaching and I had mixed feelings of emotion. Sad that my Grandfather was gone, but happy because of the events soon to unfold. Or so I thought. My first night on the couch was of nothing unusual. For a house filled with people, the silence was unnerving. I settled down on the couch for the night, snuggled in under the covers and began to drift off to sleep. A few hours later I was awoken with a start. I felt an unsettling presence. I laid there in the dark, facing the dinning room, the moon from outside hung low and shown through the kitchen drapes. The eerie blue glow seemed to intensify, until a sudden shadow passed in front of the moon, mimicking the flickering of a candle. I felt my body jump, tucking myself further under the covers. I was never worried about the experience of a ghost, but more of an intruder. The miniature grandfather clock we had sitting in the living room began to chime, 2:00am. The flickering of the moon light on the dinning room floor caught my attention again. Suddenly a light tapping began emanating from the kitchen. A continuous "tap, tap, tap", slow and steady. Fearing the worst I pulled the covers over my head, hoping that whatever it was would go away. The tapping stopped and all was quiet again. I peeked out from under the covers, fixing my gaze upon the glow in the dinning room, nothing. Of course I never said anything, in my family chances of being laughed at where greatly increased with subjects of this caliber. The following night I was fast asleep, having not gotten much sleep the night before, I went to bed early. The clock chimed softly, waking me from my rest. 2:00am. The room seemed oddly cold, I pulled the covers up to my neck in hopes of keeping warm. I began to shiver and twitch as one usually does when cold, the steam from my breathe increased with thickness. A strange fog seemed to flow from the dinning room into the living room, where I laid. Suddenly the moonlight began to flicker. This time outside the living room window, only a few feet from me. The tapping began as it did the previous night, echoing throughout the room. I yanked the covers up over my head, praying. For a few minutes the tapping seemed to get louder, then suddenly, as it had begun, it stopped. Silence. I had to tell someone, but who? My brother would only joke, my sister only cared about herself, my mother never believed anything I said. Who to tell? My Uncle? My Aunt? My Grandmother. The only one I considered my mom. She would believe me. To my surprise, she knew what I was talking about. She too had heard the strange noises, felt the cold. The relief of not being alone was greatly appreciated, but she offered no comfort or understanding of what was happening. She too was at a loss. That night, I expected it. Not knowing what I would do, or what it would do, I expected it nonetheless. My eyes shot open. Glancing around, I took sight of the clock, 1:57am. 3 more minutes and IT would come. I watched intently as the hands on the clock moved. 2:00am. The room suddenly filled with chills. The moon brightened its glow. The faint chiming of the clock pierced the silence. Before I could react the sounds of tapping rang out. A shadowy image appeared in the hallway, I could feel its eyes upon me. I snatched the covers over my head, as a tear rolled down my cheek. Frightened beyond imagination and paralyzed, I laid there focusing on the sounds. The tapping ceased. In its place was the sounds of heavy breathing. I peered out from under the covers and there, only a few feet from me was the image from the hallway. Its back turned to me. I peeked out further from under the covers, trying to get a better look. The image suddenly turned, fixing its stare upon me with widened, hallow eyes. Its skin was pale and decaying in some parts. Unable to move I found the courage to scream. The image screamed back, with the sounds of a thousand souls burning in hell. The room burst into flames with anger, the image just stared. My Brother and Uncle where the first to arrive at my side, followed closely by my Grandmother. They shook me trying to wake me from my nightmare. The radio across the room, suddenly began playing a familiar tune. Hells Bells. The sounds echoed, as the room filled with a bright red glow. The heat grew, intensifying with every degree. My eyes fluttered open, giving way to the images of the deepest pits of Hell. My Uncle wrenched back in fright, nearly knocking over my brother. An evil laugh filled the house. And, as quickly as it began, silence. Nothing has come of the events. Most simply sweep it aside as a nightmare. But was it?

The sounds of the storm began to fade away as Jesse slipped further off to sleep. Suddenly her eyes shot wide open, she rolled over and stared blankly at the red, glowing face of her alarm clock. "2am, I've only been asleep for 2 hours." She thought. Jesse was excited about today. Today was her birthday. She would be 13 and couldn't wait for her party. Dwelling in her excitment, Jesse drifted off to sleep once agian. The sun slowly crept into her room, warming everything it touched. Jesse woke up, stretched out over her bed and smiled. She climbed out of bed and made her way to the window. Last nights storm still left its presence on the soft ground below. Through her window, she could see life beginning to stir in this small Colorado town. Jesse dressed for the day and headed downstairs. She strolled into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Inside was a present addressed to Jesse, from her parents. She smiled and took out the gift, carefully placing it on the counter, she peeled back the wrapping paper to expose a beautiful redwood box. Various hand carved designs bordered the old box and the clasp that locked on the lid was decorated with a single red rose. Jesse carefully lifted the lid and peeked inside. There laid the most beautiful porcelain doll she had ever seen. The doll was dressed in a black victorian lace gown, her hair was a deep red that flowed to her waist. Her face was breathtaking, but the dolls eyes were what caught Jesse, for something so beautiful, they seemed so odd. A blackened set of eyes stared back at her. "Happy birthday, Jess." said her Dad coming into the kitchen. "Thanks dad. I love the doll." Jesse turned around and gave her Dad a hug. "Good, Im glad." Her Dad replied, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Whats with the eyes, though? They dont exactly go with the doll." Jesse asked, grabbing the orange juice. "I dont know," her father stated, examining the doll. "You'll have to ask your mother, see the doll was given to your great-great grandmother on her side of the family. It was passed down from there, and well, you know, your mom's side of the family is a little weird anyway." "I heard that." Her mom said entering the kitchen. "Her name is Melissa, and she is very old, so take good care of her. I don't know about the eyes either, they have always been like that." A sudden feeling of unrest came over Jesse as she stood staring at the dolls unholy eyes. A few nights later Jesse was lying in bed, beginning to doze off, when a loud crack of thunder shattered the silence. A flash of light lit up her room, causing the shadows to jump. Jesse rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets up over her head. Her eyes gazed out from under the covers, watching the rain drops pelt her window. Slowly her eyes drifted towards her desk, fixing themselves on a dark image of Melissa. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning pierced the night sky, and in that moment she thought she had seen Melissa staring back at her. The sight terrified Jesse, she jumped out of bed and flipped on the light switch. "Sorry Melissa, but I'm putting you in the downstairs closet, for now." Jesse climbed back into her bed and pulled the covers up tight, A few moments later she heard a loud thud, that seemed to make her soul jump out of her body. Jesse strained to hear the muffled noises from outside her bedroom. A brief dragging, then a scurrying like little footsteps across the floor. Jesse moved to the foot of her bed, gently pushed open the door and intently listened to the noise. A soft voice called up to her from the downstairs darkness. "Im on the first step, Jesse." Jesse wrenched back startled, she could hear the footsteps running back to their place of hiding. Jesse did'nt sleep at all that night, but laid almost paralyzed in fear until the morning sun had risen. She tried to tell her parents what had happedned, but they passed it off as "just a dream". Jesse checked on Melissa, but she was right were she had left her. The following night Jesse fought agianst sleeping but eventually dozed off. Soon the voice gently woke her. "Jeeeesssseeee, Im on the sixth step." Jesse began crying as she heard the footsteps race back to its sanctuary. Jesse's only thought was of Melissa. She couldn't focus on her school work, only on Melissa...If Melissa was climbing the stairs 5 steps at a time, then Melissa would have one more night. That night Jesse shut her bedroom door, her mother, not noticing the door closed, shut off the stairwell light and headed off to bed. Just as Jesse began to fall asleep, she heard the noise, and then the voice. "Jeeeeessssseeeee........Im on the top step. Im coming for you. I want a hug, Jesse." Jesse felt her heart pounding, terrified she pulled the covers over her head. As she laid there in complete darkness, Jesse could hear a soft scratching at her door. She sprang from her bed, yanked open the door and headed towards the stairs. Jesse froze. In front of her parents open, bedroom door stood Melissa. Melissa slowly turned around, holding a decapitated head of her mother. Jesse shrieked. Jesse's parents awoke with a start. They raced out of the room, there they found her body at the bottom of the stairs. The police assumed she had accidentally fallen down the stairs in the dark and broke her neck. Melissa, the favorite family doll, was found beside her body................................smiling.