NIGHT FRIGHT

A story about things that go bump in the night.

The hallway was long, dark and narrow. At one end was Kathy’s bathroom, with the customary mirror over the sink. On the other end of the hall was a window. There lay the problem. When Kathy was at her sink brushing her teeth, combing her hair, or just admiring herself, she could see the window at the far end of the hall over her shoulder. During the day, being able to see the window was not a problem. It was at night when the window took on a more sinister and threatening aspect.

 

Kathy’s bedroom was isolated from her parent’s bedroom. At one time her room was a servants quarters during the era when people had servants. It was adjacent to the kitchen. The house was a U-shaped structure, with her room at the end of one side of the U, and her parent’s bedroom on the other end. Usually, she liked being out-of-the-way. She could play her music as loud as she wanted, and she could stay up late and no one would know the difference.

 

The dilemma was the long dark hallway and the window, along with Kathy’s over active imagination. Night was when ghastly things could happen, and frightful creatures of the dark could be about. Seeing the shadowy window over her shoulder while in front of the mirror was giving Kathy the creeps, and becoming increasingly  unsettling. She could close the bathroom door, but then she feared that a killer ghost or some other unimaginable beast could sneak up and attack her when she opened the door.

 

Her parents thought the whole thing was ridiculous. After all, Kathy was seventeen, and no longer a child. The boogieman was supposed to be a child’s fear, not something tangible that actually lived under the bed. Despite this, Kathy was terrified that some hideous face would suddenly appear in the window and scare her literally to death. When she was in the bathroom at night Kathy would talk out loud to herself trying to calm her nerves.

 

         “I’m being silly. I know there isn’t going to be some monster face in the window, and if there were a face it would just be a friend. Why can’t I outgrow this stupid fear?”

 

The next morning Kathy’s mother came to wake her up because she had overslept. The only evidence that showed she was ever there was her toothbrush on the floor by the bathroom sink next to a pool of blood.

Reviews

[Rayzor]

Loved it!! But I wish it could be a bit longer. It ended so sudden. She should have investigated some noise or something. Roaming around the house in search for where the sound came from. Nice build up, but like I said, it ends so sudden.

[emmajoy]

Oh my, this built up from a fairly straightforward story; good description of house, a hint of something re. the window, her parents' presence and care, etc. The darkness tho began to creep in slowly, mention of her over-imaginative character was a warning sign. Then, word by word it leads to that finish .. that inexplicable finsh! Spooky but plausible under the previous circumstance. Very nicely done, Zeek, and, it has dialogue!

[roarke]

you forgot the bump.
The common Tudor suburb.... lol.
Interesting set up between windows and mirrors.
There is lots not said here, which adds to the mystery of Kathy, her parents, the house, the unknown thing in the night, leaves the reader's imagination to run wild.
Yep, scary bathroom indeed.