A Spoopy Halloween Nightmare

[ashenyx 9]

     The man woke with a start.

     Glancing wide-eyed at the corners of his bedroom, he found nothing remarkable. The nightstand was sitting to his left as it always did, a heavy oak thing with a single unlit candle on top. In front of him was the bedroom window, which at this time showed nothing but blackness; and to his left was the bedroom door, slightly ajar. Just as he had left it.

     The man softly exhaled, relieved. A strange terror had gripped him just after he woke, and it was reassuring to know that nothing lurked by the nightstand, or crouched on the windowsill, or stood behind the door. Whatever nightmare he just suffered was over. Everything would be fine.

     He rolled over to his right side and slowly let his eyelids close, contented. 

     And then the door moved. It was only by a hair, barely visible, and if it hadn’t creaked, it certainly would not have been noticed- but it did, and the man’s eyes flew open. Startled and rather annoyed, he glared at the door for a solid five seconds. When it did absolutely nothing, he rolled over, attributing it to a stray breeze, though he had felt none.

     As he closed them for the second time, a painful orange glow cast itself on the back of his eyes. Blinking fast, he saw through slits that the candle on the nightstand was burning merrily away. The man immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes. When the flame refused to disappear, he turned over again to his left side and squeezed his eyelids shut. Maybe he was just hallucinating, the man thought. Maybe it would go away if he just went to sleep. Maybe all of this was a dream.

     The door began to creak again. The man reached up to cover his ears, but it the sound only grew louder. He gritted his teeth and pressed his hands down harder. Nothing. The creaking became progressively sharper, as if the door was moving faster. A breeze from his left caressed his face with icy fingers, which became a freezing wind, rattling the shutters and the nightstand but somehow leaving the candle burning. Shivering, the man pulled the covers over his head and begged someone, anyone, to stop the horrible noise.

     And just as he had thought that, it ceased. The wind stilled. The candle blew out. The man lay there in silence for a few moments, eyes open, then slowly peeled the covers from over his head. 

     The door was completely agape, he noticed. Beyond it lay nothing but blackness. Confused and somewhat relieved, the man rolled over to see his nightstand, the candle still smoking, and a cloaked figure staring down at him with voids for eyes. A chill ran through his body. He pinched the skin of his left hand, but the figure didn’t vanish. With a pit of dread in his stomach, the man stared at it- but not for long, as the figure reached out with two icy fingers and slowly lowered his eyelids. 

 

 

...And that’s why you don’t eat spooky bread, folks.

[LeoRabbit99 360]

Spoopy