Night Visitor

This unforgettable experience happened to me several years ago. One night, as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, my black cat Sabrina scratched at my bedroom door, wanting to go outside.

Though tired, I was still mostly awake. I slipped out of bed, shuffled to the door, and let her out. Strangely, she looked at me and led me to the side door instead, clearly wanting me to follow her outside. I opened the door and pushed the screen door aside so she could leave.

After closing the screen behind her, I happened to glance across the way at my neighbor's house. There, peeking out from behind my dad's 1995 Chevy truck parked in their driveway, was a bizarre figure.

I could only see its shoulders and head, which seemed too large for its thin, bony neck. Where its eyes should have been were two black, empty sockets in its pale skin. But the face is what I'll never forget.

The upper half seemed covered in wrinkled skin, while the lower half looked shredded, revealing bare bone around its wide, toothy grin. I squinted, thinking it might be a blurry bush or something. But the details became even clearer - the leathery skin, torn flesh, grotesque grin. There was no mistaking this horrifying creature.

Terrified, I quickly closed and locked the door. My heart raced as I tried to convince myself it wasn't real. Still shaken, I ran to my room and hid under the covers like a frightened child, feeling suddenly vulnerable.

Then I heard long scratches on my wall near where I'd seen the creature, as if it was now in my room dragging its nails along the bumpy surface. I started to cry, wondering if it was feeding on my fear. Finally the scratching stopped and everything went silent.

The next night I reluctantly looked again, but saw no sign of the creature. That's when I knew this thing was real, and the realization filled me with dread.

I never want to see that horrifying vision again, and hope it never returns.