They keep telling me it was a dream, but I know what I experienced was real. I’ve decided to write it down so I don’t forget. I won’t let them make me forget.
I remember the excitement my sister and I felt counting down the days until we got to spend the weekend at grandma and grandpa’s. Every morning we would religiously mark a large black x on the calendar in the kitchen and today was the last one. Two weeks of waiting and anticipation finally over. Little did I know this would be one weekend that would scar me for the rest of my life.
“Alright kids, go get your stuff,” our mom said, walking over to the coffee pot in her silk bath robe.
We both ran up the stairs as fast as we could and into our bedrooms. I triple checked my duffle bag the night before to be absolutely sure I had everything I needed for the weekend, the usual things a twelve year old boy felt like he needed. Gameboy, cards, tackle box, action figures, stuff like that.
“Julie! Are you ready?” I yelled into my sisters room.
“I can’t find my barbie’s favorite dress!” she yelled back, almost in tears.
A honk came from outside. I ran to my window to see grandpa in his station wagon pulling up to the driveway. Mom always goes outside and asks him to come in, so I knew we had a little more time.
“Julie, grandpa is here,” I walked into her room to see her frantically searching.
“Is this it?” I asked, holding up a pink ballgown that was on her bookshelf next to the door.
“Yes!” She shouted.
She jumped up and snatched the dress out of my hand and tossed it in her bag.
“Now I’m ready”
We stumbled back down the stairs and into the living room.
“Ah, there they are,” Grandpa said smiling, “Are you both ready to go?”
“Grandpa!” We both exclaimed, “We’re ready”
“Then let’s get on the road” he said, opening the door and we both got in the car.
It was about an hour drive because they lived out of the city. I would look out the window and watch the buildings get fewer and far between and slowly turn into empty fields and finally tall pine trees. That’s how I remembered we were getting close.
“How come grandma didn’t come with you?” Julie asked.
Grandpa was silent for a moment and then said, “She was just tired so she’s resting until we get back.”
We finally got off the highway to switch onto the backroads. And a few minutes later, we turned into the long twisting driveway.
I could hardly contain my excitement as we approached to large two story white house. Their two wooden rocking chairs still sat on the wrap around porch. Grandma stood in the doorway waving as the car came to a stop.
“Grandma!” We both yelled, running out of the car and up the steps to give her a big hug.
“You two must be starving, come inside and I will fix you something to eat,” she said.
We ate lunch and spent the afternoon playing card and board games. As we finished our game of go-fish, grandma turned to me.
“Sam, the weatherman said we should be expecting some rain tonight, what you say you and I go and make sure everything is latched up and secure outside, while these two ladies set the table for dinner?” Grandpa had always been old fashioned like that.
“Okay, grandpa” I said as I got up and walked over to where my coat was laying.
We ventured outside and made our way around the house. Making sure the shudders were secure and that nothing in the yard would fly away.
“Our last stop is the shed, I can’t remember if I latched the door.”
The wind started to pick up, howling through the trees. It sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t want to hint to grandpa that I was scared.
“Sam, I’m gonna need your help with something while you are here,” he said as he locked up the tool shed.
“What do you need help with grandpa?” I asked eagerly.
“Well, see, your grandmother, she’s been having some trouble sleeping lately, and I just need you to help me keep an eye on her. Sometimes she sleep walks and if she does, you need to remember not to wake her up, but to come get me right away.”
“Of course, grandpa. I will do that”
“Thank you Sam, you’re such a good grandson,” with that, he gave me a hug and we went back inside and sat down for dinner.
After dinner, my sister and I got ready for bed. Grandma and grandpa came into each of our rooms to tuck us in.
“All right, get some sleep Sam,” grandma said, “We got lots of fun stuff to do tomorrow and we don’t need you sleeping through it.”
I laughed, “I could never sleep through a weekend at your house.”
They took turns kissing my forehead and turned out the lights, and I laid there, still excited, until I eventually fell asleep.
The sound of footsteps creaking in the hallway woke me up in the middle of the night. As I peered out from the covers, I could see the faint glow of candle light and a shadow slowly move from the crack underneath my door.
Is that grandma sleepwalking? I thought to myself. I could hear the footsteps moving down the stairs. I knew I should’ve gone to wake up grandpa like he had asked me too, but my curiosity got the best of me. Since he told me, I wondered what sleepwalkers did while they were sleepwalking. I had to see for myself and if I got my grandpa, then I would never know.
I got out of bed, tip-toed to the door, and slowly turned the knob to open it. It was quiet in the hallway, and the rest of the house as far as I could hear. Did I dream the sounds and candle light? I jumped as the wind picked up and made that eerie howling sound again. I slowly made my way down the stairs and as I turned the corner to go into the kitchen, I could see the flickering glow of fire coming from the back yard. I ran over to look and what I will never forget what I saw.
My grandma was kneeling before a fire pit stacked with logs that made a table. She was completely naked, with her arms outstretched before her. I watched through the window for a little while, in complete disbelief in what I was seeing. I heard a floorboard creak from behind me and I spun around. My sister had followed me down the stairs.
“What are you doing?” She asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Julie, you have to see this, I think grandma has finally lost her marbles.”
“Let me get some water first.” She replied
As I turned back to the window, I saw my grandma still kneeling at the fire, but now, there were three very tall figures in long black robes standing on the other side. She walked away into the shadows for a moment and came back, she was leading a naked man by a rope that was tied around his neck. As they returned to her position in front of the fire, she blew some kind of powder into his face and pushed him into the fire.
Julie screamed at the top of her lungs and instantly the three figured snapped their heads up look at us through the window with piercing red eyes. I pulled her away from the window and we both ran upstairs to wake grandpa up. We burst into his room, calling and yelling at him, but he wasn’t waking up. I shook him and shook him, but he still wouldn’t wake up. Then I thought of the powder that grandma blew into the man’s face, could she have done the same thing to grandpa? I turned around to see that Julie wasn’t in the room with me anymore.
“Julie! Julie!” I screamed.
I ran back downstairs and saw the back door open. I stepped outside and was nearly knocked over by the wind, the gusts were getting stronger. I could also hear my grandma yelling and chanting in some other strange language and the muffled screams of the man in the fire. I have to find Julie, I thought to myself. I moved down the steps of the porch to try to get a better look. Then, I saw Julie. She was standing on the other side of grandma, who was finger painting on her face with some kind of crimson colored substance. I kept gently walking forward so I could hear.
“Witness Great Old Ones! Harbingers of Destruction, Chaos, and Darkness. The is the chosen child, the one who shall take my place! Witness her marking and bestow upon her the seal!” Grandma invoked as Julie stood there, completely entranced.
“No!” I yelled.
Grandma spun around and lifted her finger to point at me. Her eyes were completely black.
“He comes to stop us, don’t let him. Don’t let him” She shrieked in the most unholy mixture of growling and screeching voices.
The figures levitated above the fire and started moving towards me and I heard deafening sounds of blood curdling screams, demonic chanting, and churning droning sounds.
I ran back into the house and upstairs. I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. The noises were getting louder and louder, and seemed to be inside my head as well as physically audible. I crouched in the tub and covered my ears as best as I could. They began pounding on the door violently.
“Go away, go away, go away!” Screamed and sobbed, still holding my hands up to my ears. After that, everything went black. No thoughts, no dreams, just black.
When I woke up, I was back in my bedroom at home. I got out of bed and stepped into the hallway.
“Oh! Look whose up!” My mom said cheerfully, “Are you feeling better? Grandma said you had quite the nightmare and didn’t get much rest.”
“Um, y-yeah, I think…yeah I’m feeling better” I stammered.
“Good sweetie, I’m going to go start dinner now,” she said as she went downstairs.
What happened? Could it really all have been just a bad dream? It felt so real. I turned around and looked into Julie’s bedroom doorway. She was sitting on the floor playing with her dolls. I started walking towards her when I noticed something disturbing. The dolls were in the same configuration of the ritual that her and grandma were doing. I audibly gasped. She turned her head to look at me, still sitting on the floor, and lifted her index finger to her lips. Then her bedroom door slowly closed.
Everyone tells me it was just a dream, but I know two things. I know what I saw, I was wide awake and I know I never want to go back to grandma and grandpa’s house.