Every scary story usually starts and ends in a very dramatic and mysterious way, typically in a generally considered frightening place such as graveyards, haunted house, or a hospital filled with faceless nurses and bloody operation room full of maggots and leeches. Most of you are bored with those kind of story, but sadly my story is as cliché as those.
Let’s start with the dark, mysterious, house.
Me and my mom moved to this neighborhood not far from the city to avoid (using her words) “capitalist devils in the making”. We were living in the city for a quite some time, but she insisted that we ‘have’ to move here. The neighborhood was located near a rather wide river, called the Holtian river. Although, the kids in the neighborhood call it the “Devil’s Dump”, relating to the legend that once every month there is found one headless body floating on the river. Pretty scary, right?
Our house was at the end of the road, furthest from the river. It was a big house, with dark wood floors and lots of bedrooms. We don’t know why it was affordable for us, so I assumed that it was because the wall of the house was covered with wilts. My mom, being a loyal hippie and spiritual enthusiast, believed in the legend like she believed money is the source of all evil. Every Friday, she would light up a candle and chant some mantras that is said to protect our house from evil spirits.
But then she got sick.
She begged me to chant some mantras in substitute of her. I told her no, because, well, I simply don’t believe in magic. She cried. She cried, and she cursed me for being oblivious, for not believing in her. According to her, I’m sure going to die today. But as usual, I ignored her weird and thoughtless comment.
I slept with a little bit of anxiety. I knew she was just imagining things, surely no “evil spirits” would attack a new family of the neighborhood. Just when I was about to doze off, a knock on my door. All the scary stuff I was told, flashed through my head. But I wasn’t scared, I told myself. So I walked, opened my door.
There was nobody there.
Dimly, I heard a cry. A scream, a pounding to the floor, I was sure I was to die that time. But then I saw something, trembling; light from my room showing its figure. To all my surprise, it was my mom. I asked her what was she doing, she should sleep. She then grumbled something, I couldn’t hear it clearly. I pulled her and walked her to my room. She was covering her face, crying non stop.
I again asked her, what’s wrong?
She shook her head furiously, stepping away from me one at a time. I was tired, it was around 3 am and I needed to sleep.
I told her to sleep there, but she said she couldn’t.
I told her to let me sleep, but she said she couldn’t.
I told her to get out, but she said she wouldn’t.
I asked her why, but she said she can’t.
I told her to be a grownup and don’t believe in scary shit, and she replied with a startling scream.
She ran. She ran right to me, still covering her face. But then she chased me. She strangled me. Blood draining from my head. Face turning blue. More screaming. My vision was getting blurry, but I told myself to look once more to my killer. Expecting that crazy b!tch’s face, what I got was bloody covered face. It wasn’t her.
I remembered one mantra she repeated everytime I got sick. I can’t tell you how it goes, but she said it could protect me against anything. Anything.
Morning came. I was still clutching my knees, neck hurting. The sunlight was the only thing that gave me any indication that I was still alive, or was it a dream or reality. I stayed in that position for quite a while, till someone knocked on the house door. I walked slowly downstairs, heard someone yelling “Hey! Kid! Where are you! There’s a terrible news!”
I wonder what that is.
I opened the door, and the neighborhood chief was right there in front of the door. He looked pale. He looked at me and gave me a sad look, and asked me to come with him.
So I came.
We went to the Devil’s dump, as you would have expected. And look who’s floating on the water?
Damn b!tch, she killed a little girl.