I was in my early teens at the time, but I recall it like it was yesterday. It all started in the early 2000’s when my family and I moved into a new house. My parents bought the house, but it needed a complete renovation. What happened in that house will give me nightmares for years to come.
When I laid eyes on the house for the first time, I didn’t know what to think of it. It was an unfriendly and breezy autumn day. My parents finished work just before we came to see the house, and the twilight was just starting to settle in. There wasn’t a spec of cloud, and the sun was setting, casting its amber light upon the sky making this a sublime sight. A biting wind was breezing steadily, making the trees move ever so slightly and leaves to fall, creating their amber blanket at the trees’ feet.
The house was a dark little bungalow surrounded by a garden with a tall concrete fence establishing the perimeter. Thick, overgrown weeds and bushes were obscuring the view of the front garden. A footpath made of worn and hardened soil was leading the way from the gate to the entrance of the house. Walking towards the back of the house, I was greeted by more overgrown weeds and bushes. Through these I could distinguish the shed at the far-right side of the rear garden. As I laid eyes upon it, a knot formed in my throat, and an empty feeling formed in my stomach. This was not hunger, it was different. It is hard to describe this feeling, especially through the eyes of a little boy. I could not explain it though, and I could not understand why I felt that way.
As I was gazing upon the rear garden, my attention got drawn towards an acquainted voice calling my name from behind me, acknowledging her as my mother. She did not know where I wondered off to and wanted me to go inside the house with her. Hearing her voice made me forget about the sinking feeling I had just a few moments before. She was standing just in front of the entrance door and was leaning over what looked like an unfinished brick handrail. I turned around and walked towards my mom. As I got in front of the house, 3 footsteps greeted me. At the top of them, my mother was just entering the house and was calling me to follow her. I followed and ascended the steps. I slowly crept into the dark dingy abode and the front door gave a screech as it closed behind us, eerie enough to give me momentarily goosebumps. Looking around me and inside the rooms, everything seemed dreary and timeworn. Small windows provided enough light to illuminate the darkness and nothing more. The paint was shedding off the walls and the doors were misshapen and did not shut suitably, allowing rays of light to escape through. The air was damp and thick, giving an uneasy feeling.
I continued to look around until I got to the room which I would later find out that it was about to be mine. This room was no different than the rest when it comes to overall condition, however its window was facing the rear garden. The overgrown bushes and weeds were tall enough to reach the window, and as wind blew, they would leave a moving shadow inside the room. Furthermore, the old window would allow a small breeze of wind to seep through, creating a faint howling noise. Gazing through the window, the shed at the back of the garden caught my attention again. The sun was almost finished setting, and the light was drastically diminished, so I could not distinguish its features, but the uneasiness returned. I could not understand what it was that would make me feel that way, however the knot in my throat and the emptiness in my stomach started forming again.
A shadowy figure appeared before my eyes, looking like a slender cat jumping on top of the shed and looking towards the sky. The figure didn’t seem ordinary, having atypical long legs and a hunched back. The unnerving feeling, coupled with the faint howling noise latched on, rendering me unable to look away. As hairs were beginning to stand up on my forearms, the figure turned its head towards me with a fast and jerky movement. I stared at its face and those beady lifeless eyes gleamed as they reflected the light and fright overwhelmed me. I mustered all the strength I could, and I turned around and got out in the lobby. I followed my parents which were just getting ready to exit the house. Upon seeing my rattled and staggered figure, they smiled and asked if I’ve seen a ghost. I did not reply, although I wanted to, but I could not risk being seen like a scared little boy.
My parents and I soon left the house. I would forget about this encounter, and I would never see that cat again, however more eerily encounters were due to take place in that house. I was just unaware of this at that time. Encounters which would change the way I see things forever.
It took my parents around 7-8 months to renovate the house. Once it was ready, we started the moving process packing everything up and before we knew it, we were all ready. I was also rather cheerful and enthusiastic to finally have my own room. I was marvelled when I saw the house again, as it was now completely changed. The footpath leading to the house was now paved with concrete. To the left of it, the weeds and bushes were now gone, replaced with lovely flowers and grass. To the right of it, a driveway for the car with a small summer gazebo with a table and 2 benches appeared before me. The space was big enough to store and mend several cars. It was all serene. It was our place.
The back garden was also transformed. We had a suitable garden with a few tomato and cucumber plants, herbs, and a few fruit-bearing trees too. Albeit these were small trees, but it was still amazing how the place was changed. The shed at the back garden was still there, however it was now made of brick, and it was now all tidy and nice. Seeing all of this, I now fancied to check the inside of the house. So, I spun round, got in front of the 3 steps leading to the front door and joyfully ascended them. I happily went forward and opened the front door. I could not believe my eyes. The once peeling walls were now covered in fresh white paint, the floors were all changed to brick-looking tiles, the doors were all new and the eerily sentiment was now completely gone. The place smelled fresh, and it was all clean and welcoming. It was now a home.
After seeing how excited I was, my parents showed me to my room. At last, I had a room of my own. The room boasted the same brilliant white paint throughout, but with gorgeous hardwood floor. The window was new, and it closed well. Beautiful white see-through curtain complimented the whole atmosphere. No more howling noise when the breeze of the wind was hitting the window. No more eerily feelings about the house. I was in heaven.
I enjoyed having my own room and my own bed. I enjoyed the privacy and the fact that my parents wouldn’t know exactly when I went to sleep. All was marvellous. Inevitably though, autumn came. It was now a year since I first laid eyes on the house, and I didn’t ponder of my first encounter. Bizarre things started occurring, however I did not dwell on them. On occasions, I would wake up in the middle of the night, all sweaty but cold at the same. Other times, peculiar noises would make disturb my slumber, but I would just brush these off and go back to sleep. These would occur every so often, increasing in regularity as we were advancing towards winter.
Something different happened one night. A similar feeling to the one I felt when I first laid eyes upon the shed awakened me in the middle of the night. A knot formed in my throat and a sinking feeling in my stomach developed. I decided to have a sip of water from the bottle placed on my nightstand, in the hopes that it’ll go away. I leaned to my left, reaching the bottle with my right hand. Doing so, my attention got drawn towards the wall opposite the window. Shadows which looked like slowly moving trees were cast onto my wall. I recognised these as being the small trees in our back garden, however my curiosity had the better of me. I had a generous gulp of water from the bottle, and I sat up the bed. I looked to my right, towards the window and what I saw astonished me.
The moon was shining stunningly, lighting the garden in a beautiful faint white light. The wind was breezing slightly, just enough to move the trees slowly and faintly from side to side. I needed to get a better view, and as I stood up, I sighted a thick white fog covering the soil through which I could not see. It was a few centimetres thick, and it was motionless against the wind. As I was looking outside, I heard distant dogs barking. It was as if the animals have noticed a presence and they were barking and growling as a warning. Describing this is difficult, although is comparable to when they bark and howl towards the moon, seemingly purposeless, as if to keep strangers at bay. My feeling of uneasiness did not falter, however I decided to go back to sleep to brush the feeling away. And so, I got back in bed, rolled myself away from the window and fell asleep.
Nothing further took place for a few days, then something alike ensued again. A sunken feeling awoke me. Dogs were barking again, but the noise grew in volume and proximity. Moonlight was illuminating the darkness, casting the usual shadows on my wall. This time I could see the shadow of a crow as well. Perplexed by this, against my uneasiness, I cautiously stood up to look outside, inching myself towards the window and peeking through a corner. The sight before me did not reveal a single crow, but a dozen ravens. The birds were standing motionless and completely silent on the trees and shed, seemingly captured in a trance of some sort. A similar but heavier fog covered most of the plants, still standing motionless, and blocking from view whatever was happening underneath it.
As I visually surveyed the area, I spotted a distant glimpse of something peculiar which shook me to my core. There was a huge bonfire towards the horizon and several people were standing in a circle around it, potentially carrying out some sort of an unholy ritual. They were dressed in black robes and were holding each other’s hands towards the sky, and encircling the fire. I curled my fingers into fists and rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Was I dreaming? What was going on? I turned around and checked the clock on my nightstand. It was 3 o’clock. Turning to gaze again at the peculiar gathering which made my uneasiness reach its peak, I used my right thumb and index finger to gently grab hold of my forearm’s skin, squeezing in the process. I felt it! I was awake! I squinted my eyes as I inched towards the window to get a better view at the sinister imagery unfolding before my eyes.
Nothing in my life could have prepared me to what followed. I misjudged the distance to the window, as I bumped into it ever so slightly, causing a minute amount of noise. In the blink of an eye, the ravens which were standing as still as statues all turned their heads facing me. I could feel their beady eyes staring right through me and into my soul as I felt the pit in my stomach overwhelm me. In the following second I heard a high-pitched screech, which silenced all and every single sound in a blink of an eye. The sound was loud, reverberating and echoing all around me. The hairs on my forearms stood up and I felt overwhelmed by a sense of true terror. I covered my ears, moved away from the window, and hunched over towards the ground, but I couldn’t stop the ghastly screech flowing through my brain. It felt like an eternity of agony but as the screech ended, everything was gone. The ravens disappeared. The bonfire and the people were nowhere to be seen. Even the fog covering the soil was not there anymore! In the blink of an eye everything was normal again. The ringing I could still hear in my ears was a painful reminder that what had just unfolded was real.
I could not sleep again that night. That memory kept me awake and bestowed me with nightmares in the nights to come. My rational mind was trying to make sense of it all but couldn’t. I started arguing with myself, in an attempt to convince myself that I had a nightmare, a hallucination or a creation of my sickened mind. Imagination and nothing else I thought, but the memory was so wholly visceral and vivid. Furthermore, there was one painful reminder which I could not brush off though. When I pinched my forearm, I’ve done so with enough vigour to cause a mark. That was my single true confirmation that what has happened that night had been real. I have lived the events that night! I was awake! But I wasn’t supposed to see what I saw! That’s right, I saw something which I was not supposed to see. I dwelled on these thoughts days on end, but I was fighting my sanity and I was losing. I had yearned that nothing like that would ever ensue again. Regrettably that could not have been farther from certainty.
After many sleepless nights and even more nightmares which have woken me in agonising terror, the unspeakable materialised. The autumn was coming to a cold, wet and windy end and the leafless trees looked like shadows of their former beauty, echoing the moonlight and resembling skeletons. A rare natural occurrence took place, one which is usually called a blood moon. The moon was shining strong and amber, bathing the earth into a ghostly warm light. There was not a spec of cloud in the sky, and the stars were shining beautifully. Various night birds would cross the sky every now and then, singing their song and completing what seem like a beautiful yet condemning sight.
It was exactly 3 o’clock when my scarce sleep was disturbed yet again by a sinking feeling of dread. As my eyes opened, I found myself covered in darkness, the only glimmer being the moonlight seeping through my window. Shadows of the ghastly crooked trees were cast onto my wall, along with ravens taking rest on the leafless branches. The unfolding sight strengthened my feelings and making my skin form goosebumps. I soon realised that I was a prisoner in a void of silence. I listened but I could not hear anything but my heartbeat. It felt like the world around me has fallen into a deep trance, through which not even sound could pass. I sat up in my bed, knocking my sheets over to one side in the process, and I turned towards the window. Anxiety coursing through me reached a fever pitch.
I stood up and slowly walked towards the window, spellbound by the unfolding sight. The ghastly mist was covering the soil like a blanket yet again undoubtedly indicating that something unfathomable was about to take place. Just as I recognised from the shadows, ravens were resting in the crooked trees, all looking towards the window. Towards me. Oh, the moon was vast and crimson that night. It was shining its light on the ground turning the eery fog into crimson, and the ravens’ eyes into red beads. Those red beady eyes were staring through me, into my very existence, sinking me into a dreadful terror.
As I stood there, mesmerised and terrified, a dreadful smell of decaying flesh invaded my nostrils. The stench of death encircled me whole, not permitting me to understand where it was emanating from. A pit formed into my stomach as I stopped myself retching from the disgusting odour. Just as I brought my hand up to cover my mouth and nose, a hand dragging on the side of the shed stopped me. Before the hand had disappeared into the darkness, a female figure appeared, emerging from behind the shed. As I was questioning the sight unfolding in front of me, the figure was looking and heading straight towards me. She was walking slowly and spasmodic, dragging her feet through the crimson fog.
As she got closer and closer, I could start distinguishing her features. A sense of true terror froze me into place, unable to move or look away. She wore a long and filthy black dress, so long that I could not see the end of it as she emerged from the darkness. A long black and knotty hair was waving to one side as if it was struck by gusts of wind, even though the air was completely still. Her bony fingers with long rotting nails were moving unnaturally before her as he walked towards me. One hand was holding what looked like a coin necklace, rubbing her filthy thumb against the face of it, whilst the other was moving inexplicably, as if casting a spell, fingers and joints snapping in the process.
She then stood right in front of my window. The putrid smell of decaying flesh was unbearable, but I could not move. As much as I struggled, I was completely powerless. Her hair continued to move as I stared at her, uncovering her face as if a gust of wind has blown from the front. What uncovered made me fall to my knees. Her white putrefying face was covered in dark, deep scars, looking completely drained of blood. Black sunken eyes were staring through me, and in them I could see the fires of hell, pulling me towards. She then opened her mouth, revealing dark pointy teeth as she started calling my name and grotesquely smiling. I screamed! Oh, I screamed and continued screaming from the top of my lungs, using every single fibre of my being, but to no avail. No sound broke through, as the silence around me remained unharmed. All hope was gone as nothing in the world could protect me now, and the witch knew it. She smirked at me in confirmation of my impending doom, as pure, unadulterated terror overwhelmingly washed over me.
The whole sight was unholy. I was utterly and truly powerless. I was caught in the necromancers’ spell and I felt completely drained. The rotten stench of death was suffocating me, the silence around me was deafening me and the darkness was blinding me. All I could see was the witch. All I could hear was her fiendish laugh. “What is about to happen to me?” I thought as I came to the bitter conclusion of lost hope. “I just hope it will be quick” I thought as I was losing my will to live. The cold and wet touch of a tear rolled down my cheek as my life started flashing before my eyes. The visions showed me my mother and my father. It revealed to me our happy memories together and all the happy time we spent together. When I felt that it was all coming to a lethal conclusion, I saw my father again. He took my teary face into his large palms, looked into my eyes and with his deep and robust but at the same time heartfelt and loving voice he demanded me to scream. “Scream!” - that was all he commanded me. Using the very last strength I could muster from my dying being, I clenched my fists and arched forward. I closed my eyes, filled my lungs with the pungent stench and I screamed. I heard my voice slowly breaking through the deafening silence. I could not see nor feel anything, and I knew that if I stopped, I would be gone from amongst the living. This was all or nothing. My very last stance. I screamed until my very last breath left my body, and I fell to the floor.
I woke up to the sight of my father. He was next to me, on his knees, trying to wake me up. For a second I thought I was gone, but alas this was not the case. I shot up from the floor and wrapped my arms tight around him. “Thank you”, I said, and I started crying in relief. It was all back to normal, and I was alive. Somehow, I defeated the witch. Later that day, once I calmed down, I explained everything to my father. I was afraid he wouldn’t believe me, but to my relief, that was not the case. He told me a story about a witch, story which was passed onto him from generations. He never saw the witch himself, nor did he know anyone who has managed to defeat her, but he knew what I was talking about.
After that night, my parents brought a priest to christen the house. The witch did not leave me alone for years to follow, however she was now powerless against me. Some eerie noises would still wake me up occasionally, and I would still have nightmares about that night, but these were just that. Nightmares and nothing else. I am now glad I am alive, and I never want to feel that powerless again.