Shadows in the Dark [Part 1]

Visiting family brings out the worst in my dad's house

For as long as I could remember, I’ve always experienced odd occurrences that I could never explain, some simple, some… well, were just horrifying.

Most of my family lives in California, so whenever I visit, I always end up staying with my dad.  After my mom passed and my brother and I moved out, my dad decided to pick up and move into an old empty house in Southern California. Something about wanting more scenery. I had been there plenty of times before so I knew the layout pretty well.

I never really liked his new house, I always felt a heavy depression when I was there, even when the entire family would get together, it just never felt right. I always stayed in the room directly across the hall from my dad, the bathroom was the door to my right, a few steps further to the right was the staircase heading to the living room. That’s all I really needed to know when I stayed there since most of the family congregated in the living room when they came by.

One winter's night a few years back, after the family had all left, I woke up and had to pee, just like the hundreds of times before. I made my way through the dark and into the restroom and relieved myself. Before I could make it back to my room, I was startled by the tall, large outline of my dad standing in the dark.

"Jesus, Dad. You scared the s**t out of me." I said trying to calm myself.

He didn't respond.

I stared at his silhouette, and I could feel the presence of him standing there. He stood absolutely still.  The hallway was pretty narrow, so I would have to stand aside if he wanted to get by and vice versa.

"Dad?" I said, reaching out with my hand, wondering if the old man was sleep walking.

It wasn’t a solid warm frame that my fingers touched in the darkness, it was a cold void that seemed to engulf my entire hand. In a panic I reached for the light switch to my right, flipping it on, never taking my eyes away from the shadow in the dark.

As the light illuminated the hall, the silhouette vanished with the darkness. There was no one there.

"What the fu..." before I could finish the sentence, the sound of the stairs creaking ripped through the silence of the night.

As if someone was running down them.

I don't know what came over me, but I bolted toward the staircase trying to catch whoever it was that was trying to get away. As I turned the corner and stared down the stairwell, it wasn't a would-be robber waiting for me at the bottom of the steps; I stared again at a dark silhouette.

Hidden by the darkness in the living room, a pale white arm reached from the shadows and flipped the light switch at the bottom of the stairs, plunging me into darkness.

Terrified, I ran back into the hall and flipped the light back on, as I raced by. As I tore into my room, I flipped on the lights and shut the door. Locking it behind me. I stepped away and waited. I could feel my heart pounding from the faint sound of the stairs creaking as whatever it was came up.

I ran to my window, planning to make a quick escape as I heard the door knob attempting turn.  But before I could flip the lock I heard the familiar voice of my dad in the hallway.

"Hey did you leave the hallway light on??" I heard him call through the door.

Feeling an instant relief, I ran to the door and swung it open to try and save my dad from whatever was out there. To my surprise when I opened the door, there was no one to be found.

Then the lights went out.

Author's Note

I've always felt that writing in the first person has been one of my biggest weaknesses and would appreciate any constructive input!

Reviews

[Alexander Courtney]

I personally can't write in anything, but first person. You did really good for being so worried about it. The best way to write in first person is to envision yourself in your main characters perspective because that's exactly what the reader does when they read it.

[PWyates]

Fantastic!! I feel you on the difficulty of writing in the first person, I didn't notice anything major at all. The only advice I can give from my own experience is to read it to yourself each week, and see how it feels.