House of the Damned
Figure in the Night
I woke up and knew something was wrong.
Don’t ask me how I knew. I just did. The room was still pitch black—no sunlight filtered in yet.
There was a creak of floorboards right outside my door.
It wasn’t Miss White. It wasn’t someone getting up to go to the bathroom. Something else.
My heart pounded in my throat, restricting my vocal chords. I couldn’t speak, and my breath caught in my lungs.
The door creaked open, excruciatingly slowly. Like a little kid I pulled the sheets up to my face and waited.
I felt like my heart was going to burst—
Clink.
It sounded like a…chain? But why…?
Clinkclinkclink.
A dark figure hunched into the room. It grasped both sides of the door, trembling, like it was afraid of falling away. I couldn’t see any features at all—it was just pure black. It stared down at the floor, almost panting, it seemed. I could hear its heavy breathing. It seemed like it was costing it an awful amount of energy just to stand there.
A scream caught in my throat.
“Come here,” it gasped. It sounded choked, as though it were crying.
I did not move. My eyes were unable to tear away from the shadow. I was paralyzed.
Using the wall it groaned and pushed itself forward. With a gasp, I realized the figure had a chain going right through its back.
It went taut.
The figure yelled in what seemed like pain as the metal wrenched back towards the hallway. Then it pulled backwards, dragging the figure away. Still I watched, eyes wide, mouth open in horror.
Its heels dragged back. Its hand raised up and pointed a shaking finger at me.
“Come into…the next room…tomorrow night…”
The chains forced harder, and the figure was pulled completely out of the room. It seized the doorknob, trying to stay. Horrible, agonized screams pierced the air. I shuddered.
The door slammed behind it, and all was silent again.
I sat there for an instant, and then reacted.
“MISS WHITE!”
The lightbulb had been flicked on. The caretakers crowded around my bed. Miss White stared down at me, grey eyes boring into me.
“Say what it was again?”
“It was…a figure…it said something—“
Her frown deepened.
“Hallucinations, dear? You know, sometimes people will see things after they’ve been through a trauma—“
“I was not hallucinating!” I snapped. “It was there—“
“Everyone back to bed,” she ordered. The other caretakers left, shooting sideways glances at me as if to accuse me of insanity.
“Karen Elizabeth Forrest, I don’t know what you think you saw, but no one heard anything. You awoke everybody just to say you thought you saw—“
“I did see,” I interjected.
She glared at me. “—thought you saw some figure. Whatever happened to you, Karen? Even when you were young, you never did anything like this! If you call us again, with no reason other than annoy, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?”
“…Yes, ma’am.” I grumbled. There was no use in trying to convince her.
I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. I just lay there, staring at the door, heart throbbing madly, praying it wouldn’t open.
Don’t ask me how I knew. I just did. The room was still pitch black—no sunlight filtered in yet.
There was a creak of floorboards right outside my door.
It wasn’t Miss White. It wasn’t someone getting up to go to the bathroom. Something else.
My heart pounded in my throat, restricting my vocal chords. I couldn’t speak, and my breath caught in my lungs.
The door creaked open, excruciatingly slowly. Like a little kid I pulled the sheets up to my face and waited.
I felt like my heart was going to burst—
Clink.
It sounded like a…chain? But why…?
Clinkclinkclink.
A dark figure hunched into the room. It grasped both sides of the door, trembling, like it was afraid of falling away. I couldn’t see any features at all—it was just pure black. It stared down at the floor, almost panting, it seemed. I could hear its heavy breathing. It seemed like it was costing it an awful amount of energy just to stand there.
A scream caught in my throat.
“Come here,” it gasped. It sounded choked, as though it were crying.
I did not move. My eyes were unable to tear away from the shadow. I was paralyzed.
Using the wall it groaned and pushed itself forward. With a gasp, I realized the figure had a chain going right through its back.
It went taut.
The figure yelled in what seemed like pain as the metal wrenched back towards the hallway. Then it pulled backwards, dragging the figure away. Still I watched, eyes wide, mouth open in horror.
Its heels dragged back. Its hand raised up and pointed a shaking finger at me.
“Come into…the next room…tomorrow night…”
The chains forced harder, and the figure was pulled completely out of the room. It seized the doorknob, trying to stay. Horrible, agonized screams pierced the air. I shuddered.
The door slammed behind it, and all was silent again.
I sat there for an instant, and then reacted.
“MISS WHITE!”
The lightbulb had been flicked on. The caretakers crowded around my bed. Miss White stared down at me, grey eyes boring into me.
“Say what it was again?”
“It was…a figure…it said something—“
Her frown deepened.
“Hallucinations, dear? You know, sometimes people will see things after they’ve been through a trauma—“
“I was not hallucinating!” I snapped. “It was there—“
“Everyone back to bed,” she ordered. The other caretakers left, shooting sideways glances at me as if to accuse me of insanity.
“Karen Elizabeth Forrest, I don’t know what you think you saw, but no one heard anything. You awoke everybody just to say you thought you saw—“
“I did see,” I interjected.
She glared at me. “—thought you saw some figure. Whatever happened to you, Karen? Even when you were young, you never did anything like this! If you call us again, with no reason other than annoy, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?”
“…Yes, ma’am.” I grumbled. There was no use in trying to convince her.
I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. I just lay there, staring at the door, heart throbbing madly, praying it wouldn’t open.