Laura

I was in the bathtub the first time I saw Laura. I was playing with my Barbies, and the water was getting cold. I turned on the faucet to warm it up and there she was, sitting across from me. I was startled at first, but she seemed nice. We played dolls. When Mom came to check on me, she was gone.

I didn't know where she'd come from or if I'd see her again, and Mom and my sisters said it was my imagination. Eventually, she showed up again. Every bath, there she was. We had so much fun in the beginning, but soon she started feeling cold.

She'd tell me about how she missed her own mom. She got upset that I wasn't allowed to play in the tub for long enough. She was lonely and upset that my time was limited. She seemed to be getting angry at my mom, who was spoiling our fun. I didn't like her making Mom out to bad. So, I told Laura I didn't want to play anymore.

She got mad.

The bathroom became a place I was scared of. Flushing the toilet would make her show up. I abandoned baths and left the bathroom door open for quick showers. If I had to use the toilet, I'd flush and run out as fast as I could. When I refused to bathe, the dreams started. She was angry I was ignoring her.

One day, Mom tried to get me in a bath, bribing me with a bottle of Mr. Bubble. I refused, crying until she drained it and said I could shower instead. When we came back with my pajamas, the toilet, sink, and tub were backing up with sewage.

The last dream I remember, I was maybe 4. My sisters and I were sharing a bed. Our house was packed up, ready for the move. Laura showed up that night in the dream. She wanted to know why I wouldn't play anymore. When I told her she was scaring me, she gave me a dirty look.

"If you won't play with me, I'll hurt your mom." she said.

In the dream, she picked up a white candle and put it up to my mom's back. Mom screamed and I woke up so scared I had to vomit, but there was no way I was going to the toilet. I threw up right there in the bed, which got me in trouble.

We moved. Laura never came back. But even now, as a grown woman, certain habits remain. I always leave the bathroom door cracked, and I never, ever flush with the door shut.

I used to think they were nightmares. But, when I told a friend, she said she thinks I was talking to a ghost and we searched up her name.

Before I was born, a girl named Laura Bradbury vanished in my area. She was last seen going to the bathroom. Coincidence? Maybe. You decide.