Saturday, October 31, 2015

Tales of the Supernatural #5: Halloween Special

Today is Halloween, when people celebrate all that is scary and ghostly, and children (and some adults who never grew up) get to stuff themselves with free candy. I don't celebrate Halloween, I have no carved pumpkins nor am I dressing up in spooky costumes. However, in the spirit on this supernatural festival, I shall share my scariest personal story...

Blackouts occur a bit too frequently for my taste in my house back in Malaysia. Aside from losing the fan and air-conditioning and ending up feeling like we're in a sauna, blackouts also mean we lose all the lights if it happened at night. They can last from 30 minutes to a few hours, so we always have some spare candles in a drawer ready to be used in an emergency. One night when another blackout happened just before my family were going off to bed, we decided not to use the candles since we were all going to be asleep soon. My sister, being a scaredy cat, begged me to sleep with her in her room. A storm was raging outside, lashing at the windows and occasionally blasts of lightning would turn the room white with sudden brilliance, making her even more terrified. Feeling bad for her,  I conceded to her request.

Now I never have been fond of my sister's room. She had one mirror facing the bed, and another mirror on the closet, which faced the windows. I hated having so many mirrors (I was very superstitious about mirrors) and I didn't like looking at the window's reflection in the mirror. She also did not have any heavy curtains on, just a see-through white lace curtain which basically meant you can see everything outside even with it drawn. I slept on the side nearest to the closet, while she slept on the side closer to the window. We both slowly nodded off, and were fast asleep.

I don't know how much time passed, but something woke me in the middle of the night. At first, I couldn't figure what woke me. Then I heard it again. Someone was knocking. Someone was knocking on the window. We lived on the 4th floor of our apartment block. As this slowly dawned on my sleep-addled brain, my eyes opened wider. I could see the windows in the mirror opposite me, but everything was so dark, and the rain was still pouring heavily from the skies. Suddenly, lightning bloomed in the sky, illuminating the window. Then I saw it. A hand, just a hand, knocking on the window. It looked really thin, just skin and bones, and all I could see of it was its outline, from a fist to an elbow. Heart pounding, cold sweat on my brow, chills down my spine. I closed my eyes again, refusing to look at the mirror. I pretended to be asleep, prayers repeated again and again on my lips. The knocking eventually stopped. Heaving a sigh of relief, I relaxed and snuggled into the covers.

It was not over yet though.

Nails scraped on glass. A horrible screeching sound that grated on my nerves and turned them raw with fear. I couldn't help it, I had to see. I opened my eyes, and there in the mirror I could see two hands now, both scratching on the glass, making that ghastly sound. Then, to my horror, I could see a head slowly coming up from underneath the windows. Before I could see more, I squeezed my eyes shut again. I don't think I could handle looking at a face of...whatever that is outside the window. The scratching grew more frenzied, but I kept my eyes closed, my body completely still. I never ceased muttering prayers under my breath. I don't know how long it lasted, all sense of time was numbed by the fear. Somehow I must have fell asleep, because the next thing I realized was waking up to sunshine streaming in. I checked the windows for nail marks, considering how loud it sounded I thought the glass must be scored with lines. But there was nothing. My annoying sister slept through the whole thing, lucky girl.

I told someone about it, and they half-jokingly said that perhaps "it" was looking for some shelter from the storm and wanted to come in. I told them that wasn't funny at all.

So if someone knocks on your window tonight, be careful. It might not be a trick-or-treat...

Happy Halloween!

No comments:

Post a Comment