Halloween Writing Contest Winner: Guest Post # 2

My good friend Rob was the tied winner to Jessica, who wrote the previous ghoulish post.  Rob won me over with his tale of horror and ghouls from beyond the grave that he had the terror of experiencing as a small child living in an old building.  Here is Rob the zombie's tale of creepiness.  Enjoy at your own risk.

-->Now at 6, my knowledge of the paranormal was neither vast nor feared. I knew of the Bermuda triangle, Bigfoot, ghosts, things more entertaining than frightening. But what I saw that night was not in any movie or book I’d seen. If it was a hallucination of my mind I fear what evil a 6 year- old's mind can conjure.   What I have found in my studies years later is an experience shared by many called, “The Shadow People.”

 I would like to state that I was neither tired nor on the influence of drugs on this night. Those are two explanations “experts” feel could be the reason for a manifestation. Some people believe that the energy of emotions and events can cause physical manifestations; voices, moving objects, phantoms and other things unexplained. Traumatic events such as deaths, broken hearts, murder and abuse can leave their mark on the fabric of our dimension. All things that are possible to pass, in a building built decades ago.

A high-rise can become a chilling place at night. Muffled voices and creaking doors led me to sleep with a light on. A house can see the history of a few dozen families, maybe more, but high-rise walls hold the secret history of thousands of people who have come and gone in more ways than one.

The shadow figure I saw that night wasn’t cast on the wall behind it but had 3 dimensions. Other than the outline of a giant man it was featureless. Its darkness seemed to be moving with energy. Walking on the floor much like a human it quickly caught my attention as it walked out of a spare room. After that the similarities to humans disappeared.  This is why I don’t consider it an apparition of the deceased. This held the sinister air of never being from the natural world.  It was passing through my home as an invader.

It made no sound and showed no emotion. I also became absent of emotion in its presence. I just stared and waited as it left.  As it turned away and walked down the hall to leave I wonder now if I should have followed. Why would something like this thing allow itself to be seen? The lack of answers is what later gave me fear.

Our minds sometimes listen to the calling of outsiders whose essence is up to individual interpretation. We instinctively search for rational ground so we don’t fall into the darkness of knowing them. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown.” (H.P. Lovecraft)

I was content not knowing the answers, only that this creature’s presence, or simply my own fear, was no longer felt.

Have a great Halloween night my dear ghosts and goblins!  Until next year!