Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Visitor



When people think of Halloween, they think of pumpkins and costumes and candy and hay rides and monsters. Cemeteries provide the backdrop for stories of the undead. Mad slasher movies delight teens. The supernatural provides thrills and chills for many. Tales of mysterious occurrences abound as people try to scare each other and themselves. With that in mind, I share this true story with you. Creepy? Maybe. You decide.

The Visitor...

It was one of those days. I had been dragging for a week, but hated staying home from school. My life revolved around the social interactions that went on within the environs of my junior high school. Besides, at our house you didn't stay home from school unless you had a temperature and were actually puking. No slackers allowed in our family. So this was no ruse just to get to stay home and watch Dark Shadows. My mother took one look at me and declared there would be no school for me that day. I was laid low with the flu. I was officially sick. She took my temperature, dosed me with aspirin and a cup of Constant Comment tea and went off to work. Mom was not one to hang around and coddle us unnecessarily.

After a short stint worshiping at the porcelain throne, I went back to bed, delirious and shivering as the sweat poured off of me. Finally I succumbed to the fevered ministrations of Morpheus. Wild dreams made me toss and turn as I slept.

Sometime around mid-day I awoke, drowsy and confused. My eyelids fluttered open and I looked up to see someone standing over me. Concentrating as hard as I could, I made out the features of my brother. He didn't way a word, but just stared down at me. In my delirium, I opened and closed my eyes several times, asking what he was doing home in the middle of the day. He didn't move, but continued to stand there silently, simply observing me. Finally I gave up trying to make conversation, called him a jerk under my breath, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Nobody else disturbed me until dinner time, when my mother came up to see if I felt like eating anything. After putting in my order for a bowl of chicken noodle soup, I asked about my brother. He was known for skipping school occasionally and I was angry with him for trying to creep me out while I was sick. I had no qualms about squealing on him for skipping school. I knew Mom would go to any lengths to get at the bottom of this latest mystery and then he would get what was coming to him.

A few phone calls later, my mother returned with my soup to inform me that my brother had actually been at school all day long. My mind must have been playing tricks on me. Case closed.

Or so we thought... until a few days later when we made an eerie discovery. Our home had been broken into... as indicated by several missing items. The most obvious evidence left behind was the remains of a plastic bank that belonged to my little sister. It was in the shape of a rabbit and the head had been roughly sawed off with a knife to empty it of the coins inside. A steak knife lay next to slivers of pink plastic.

Was the knife-wielding burglar the same person I saw standing over me? What might have happened had I not been incoherent with fever? Who's to know? We never found out. But our view of the world changed after that. For the first time, we started locking our doors even when we were all home together during the day. The world had suddenly become a more dangerous place, full of things that go bump in the night... and day.

23 comments:

Moooooog35 said...

..and there..hanging on the dresser drawer...

WAS A HOOK!!

dun dun dunnnnnn

Actually..that was pretty creepy enough without all the added drama.

Me-Me King said...

Holy crap! I'm scared speechless! Holy crap!

Lee said...

Oh my god! You gave me chills with this story. It made me look over my shoulder!! That and that dang picture on the bottom. Now I won't sleep at night. Gotta go and check the locks on the doors...

Jayne Martin said...

Crap. I hate scary stories, and scary pictures, and scary movies. You know why? Because they freakin' scare me! Now I'm shivering. My Chihuahua is shivering. Oh wait, she always shivers. Seriously, that was a great tale and you told it beautifully.

nonamedufus said...

Sheesh, your Slide curtain opened out of the corner of my eye and there I was! Now THAT'S scary. Not as scary s your story. It's just 1 in the afternoon but I still got up to check all my door locks.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Mooooooog: Watch for my hook story tomorrow!

Me-Me: I was a tad bit disconcerted at the time, myself!

Lee: Nighty-night! (And I'm sleeping out at the farm tonight... set back from the road... with only the dogs, cats & chickens for company... Yikes!)

Jayne: Please apologize to your Chihuahua for me!
Glad I could give you the shivers.

nonamedufus: I live just to think of how many different ways I can scare the crap out of you!

rxBambi said...

very spooky! I'm glad you're not dead! Now you've got me all freaked out and it's the middle of the day! Yikes!

Gone, long gone. said...

We've traced the call ma'am, it's coming from inside your house.

Bird Shit said...

AAAAHHH! Scary! I'm boarding my windows shut now! lol!

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Bambi: At least you THINK I'm not dead... or am I?

Maelstrom: Quick! Unplug the phone... then it will go away!

Bird Shit & Baby Caca: But if you board up your windows, the killer might still be inside!

Randomization said...

Yeah, that's pretty freaky.
Good thing nothing bad happened to you.
Well, stuff got stolen but what I meant was that no physical harm was done.

Unknown said...

Oh. My. Freaking. Gosh. That was scary and creepy and lucky. Damn, you tell a story well.

ME said...

Whoa! That's scary stuff.

Hit 40 said...

Your picture at the end was perfect!! Very chilling. I also had a mother that did not want to bother with you being sick. I blame her for my MS because I got really sick with the mono virus. She did not tell/let me stay home while I was sick. There has been a link to autoimmune diseases like mono or chrons from the Epstein-Barr virus that causes mono. If your child has it, please have them stay home until they feel 100%

The Peach Tart said...

Oh that's major creepy.

ReformingGeek said...

That was great! I was right there with you and scared the whole time.

Indigo Roth said...

Fook. Why did I read this BEFORE bed?

Mike said...

Very creepy!! My type of creepy! It just sucks that it is not fiction.

Phillipia said...

I did not need to hear this story...now I will not sleep - again! Thanks CatLady. Constant Comment is my favorite tea tho, when i am not feeling well...add some honey, and a lil Captain Morgan....feeling better...maybe I will sleep after all...night...

Anonymous said...

Gah!



Gah!


Gah!

Dr Max Tunguska said...

Nailing planks over doors and windows as I type. Genuinely very scary.

KaLynn ("MiMi") said...

Shiver me Timbers! That was spooky!! Glad you are still with us!

Canadian Blend said...

That's unnerving. A buddy of mine had his house broken into while he and his wife were home -- the robber left when he realized the house was occupied.

About six years ago someone walked into my neighbors house and started picking things up off a table. The dog sensed the intruder and chased him out of the house.

I was 24 (1984) before my family started locking the doors at night. Mine are typically locked during the day, even when I'm home. I'm not worried about burglars -- but you never know.

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