When I was young, I used to live in a large century house with my newly remarried father. The house was built in the late 1800 but was fully renovated by my father’s in 2001 to fit his wife likings.
They added an extension to be able to accommodate 2 more bedrooms, an other bathroom and a double garage. When finished, the house looked absolutely gorgeous, but something felt…off, to me at least.
I started having trouble sleeping at night. Often waking up screaming and in cold sweats. Being as young as I was and still struggling with my parents divorce, my father judged that it was the results of all the emotional adjustment I was going thru. But the truth is…it was a lot worst than that.
One night, I woke up straddle. I was out of breath and shaking as my heart was pounding in my chest. I got out of bed to go use the facilities and as I was standing on the edge of the door I felt an ice-cold draft against the back of my neck, as if someone was breathing on me. I froze with fear and was unable to move. After a few minutes I regained my mobility but my need to use to bathroom was long gone. I jump back into my bed and buried myself into my comforter.
The light on my bedside table started flickering. I always left it on since I couldn’t stand to be in the dark anymore. And as it was flickering I started seeing a shadow figure going from a wall to an other, surrounding me. I tried to call for my dad but no words were coming out of my mouth, I was terrified. Than the light shut on its own leaving me into the darkness.
I was laying in bed on the edge of tears when all the sudden, the bed starting dipping right beside me, as if someone was getting into it with me. Than I felt myself being pressed into the bed. It was strong, pinning me down. The same cold breath and an odeur of rotten meat invaded me. I wasnt able to move or to breathe, than it all stopped.
The light went back on, the pressure holding me down released me as I was gasping for air. I started crying uncontrollably and ran out of my room to go find my dad. When I open the door of my room the shadow figure was standing on the other side of the threshold. This time it was more definite, full, solid. I could see a smile lining up on its face. It made a hush sign with a finger to his smile and it vanished.
I tried to tell my father about this but of course, he dismissed it. Telling me it was just a bad dream. But ever since that night, life never been the same.
As an adult, I see things differently, things that others can’t see. Things that others don’t want to see or even believe in. I’ve learned to live with this “gift” now.
But the shadow man still hunts me every time the lights are down.
