“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day”
You’ve probably heard children sing this “cute’’ rhyme whenever it rains. But the reason for its creation is far from cute.
When the rain comes, so does “Fear (pronounciation - “Far”) Báisteach” And if you’re unlucky enough to be chosen as his next victim, all I have to say is God help you.
How do you know if you’ve been chosen? When it’s raining and you’re all snuggled up indoors where it’s nice and dry, if you feel a raindrop hit you and there doesn’t look to be any leaks present, then that means you have been chosen as Fear Báisteach’s next victim.
How do I know this? 2 years ago, on a cold rainy night, my best friend and I were chilling on his couch playing video games. Then he felt a drop of rain hit his head. We examined the room for leaks but there weren’t any. Now, if I didn’t actually see the drop run down his face I’d think he was imagining things, but the drop was there. I saw it with my own eyes. We were confused for a little while but got over it and just went back to playing our game. Then the TV and all the lights went out. We thought there was a blackout, but when we looked out of the window, all the other houses in the area looked to have power. We checked to see if the power switch was flipped off but it wasn’t. We checked to see if any wires were cut but they weren’t. Everything looked okay. We lit up some candles and decided to just sit and chat in the living room until the power came back, but we weren’t chatting long when a figure appeared in the living room doorway.
“Get the fuck out of my house” said my friend “Did you shut off the power”
There was no response
I took out my phone to call 911 but my phone was off as well, and it wouldn’t turn back on. My friend and I were pretty cowardly so instead of trying to fight the intruder we tried to run away, but all of the doors and windows were locked and the keys wouldn’t turn. Obviously we were confused but we knew our only choice was to fight the intruder.
The two of us ran at him together but he raised his arm and I was pushed back against the wall unable to move. He raised his other arm and my friend, now floating off the ground, was slowly moving towards him. I’ll never forget the look of fear on his face.
When my friend was finally face to face with the intruder, Fear Báisteach, he grabbed my friend’s throat, whispered something I didn’t understand in his hear and then proceeded to skin my friend alive with his sharp claws. My friend’s screams filled the room. I was unable to do anything just watch. Even after all his skin was removed, my friend was still alive. I never wish death upon anyone but at that moment I was just hoping he’d kill him to take him out of his misery he left him there. He then walked over to me, wrapping my friend’s skin around his neck like a scarf.. When I got a better look at him, I noticed he was wearing a self made raincoat made of human skin, likely the skin of his previous victims. His face was thin but he had a smile that reached from one ear to another. I thought he was going to skin me alive too but he raised his arm once again and I dropped to the floor and passed out. When I woke up, the power was back and the rain man was gone.
My friend lived for 2 weeks after, but he was in agony. He was unable to speak or eat. All he could do was moan. His parents didn’t want to see him in that condition. I was the only one brave enough to visit him. That night, and how my friend looked still gives me nightmares. Any time I see a picture of him now, all I can see is how he looked after what Fear Báisteach did to him.
I spent months researching to see if I could find anything about Fear Báisteach (his name unknown to me at the time). I read books and looked online. It was only when I found a book in a small library titled “Forgotten Myths of Ancient Times” when I came across a chapter titled “Fear Báisteach”. The spirit of a madman named Edward Magpie who lived about 1700 years ago.. Edward would skin his victims alive for entertainment and then wear their skin as trophies. In 304AD when Edward was 32 years old, he was hanged for his crimes. Apparently the day he was hanged was a very rainy day and that’s why he chooses rainy days to find victims. The Celts gave him the name “Fear Báisteach” and in the 17th Century, “Witches” created a spell to keep him away. When the spell was more widely known, his attacks happened less frequently and stopped altogether. All written stories about Fear Báisteach were burned in fear that if more people learned of Fear Baisteach, he’d return. Fear Báisteach was forgotten and the spell turned into the rhyme we know today.
What caused his return is still unknown to me. I haven’t heard of any similar attacks since but when it rains, I can’t sleep. I fear I’ll feel that raindrop indicating I’m his next victim so I repeat that rhyme over and over and over all day and all night until the rain stops.
This is the first time I’ve ever told the whole truth about that night, but it’s after 1 in the morning, I’m not going to sleep and I thought it’d be best if I warned everyone.