Dunraven Drive 2

I have always felt as though I was different from my friends and classmates in some way. I never really realized why until I began high school. I met someone that made me feel as though I could talk about my personal experiences with, and she shared hers with me as well. It was a very freeing experience. But this is a story for a different website, and a different time.

There were a couple things that happened to me in this house that were my experiences and mine alone. Pictures would turn upside down on walls and stay that way until I called for someone to come and see. Not only pictures, but crosses, which I feel now were a very evil thing for the spirits or entities to do.

Two experiences in particular are very vivid in my memory.

The first was on a night after my baby sister was moved out of my room and into her own. At this point, I was used to being alone in my room at night, and I loved the fact that I finally had my own room! I would sit up all night with a flashlight and read books under my blankets, careful not to disturb anyone, and making sure to silently click off my flashlight and roll over if I should hear any footsteps outside my door. I had a giant net across one corner of my ceiling filled with stuffed animals that I had collected over the years. I would pick one, usually a bright green triceratops that "roared" when you squeezed it around the abdomen, and sit with it under one arm while I read.

This particular night, I was reading "Night of the Living Dummy," an old Goosebumps book, like the original series written by R. L. Stein. I have never had much fear for anything in my life, save the ocean and dolls. Goosebumps books were never really realistic enough to frighten me, though. So, I was under my covers reading this book, and I remember hearing footsteps, so I immediately clicked my flashlight off and rolled over. My door opened, stayed open for a brief moment, and then closed again. I snickered, having obviously outsmarted my parents again. I tossed the covers around a bit, and then clicked my flashlight back on, excited to finish the chapter I was on before I went to sleep for the night. As I was finishing up a sentence, my flashlight went out. I sat there thinking, "Oh, no... I can't get up and get batteries..." so I tapped the end of it, quietly as I could, on the palm of my hand. I was looking down into the flashlight as I tapped it, hoping that it would come back on. When it did not, I let out a frustrated grunt and tossed it to the floor. To my surprise, the light came back on! I leaned over and scooped it up off the ground, careful not to tumble out of bed, for fear of alerting my parents. If I had known what was about to happen, I would have happily plopped my bottom right on to the ground as hard as I could.

From this point, I remember hearing someone whispering near the wall off the foot of my bed. Thinking to myself, "It's just your imagination," I peaked my head from under the covers to reassure myself that I was just imagining things. I was shocked and terrified to find two men, very solid looking standing at the foot of my bed. I dropped my flashlight on the ground, and my jaw nearly fell as far. I thought to myself, "Someone has broken into our house, and they're going to take me!" I tried to yell for my parents, but all I could manage were some dumb sounding, weak squeaking noises, which didn't alert my parents, but it sure alerted these "men" that were in my room. Their whispering stopped, and it was like they look towards me, but through me. I tried so hard to see what they looked like... I can remember clear as day. Both were very tall, with no faces, no eyes, and they were completely silhouetted. (I suppose looking back; the best explanation I can come up with for them would be "shadow people").

One of them stretched his hand towards me, reaching all the way over my bed, and towards my face. As he leaned across, I think that he bumped into my stuffed animal net, because one of the corners fell free, and over half of the toys fell onto my bed. The "man" touched my face, and he whispered to me, "It's alright, child." At this point, I'm sweating bullets, and crying silently. I was totally petrified, and I could not make a sound. It was like something had hold of my vocal cords, but wasn't choking me. I did the only thing I could think to do... I threw my book in their general direction, and began squeezing the living hell out of that triceratops stuffed animal that made noise. My door flew open, and my mother ran in, just as the "men" disappeared. She saw them, too, but only for a brief second.

My mother was a wreck. Asking me why I didn't yell for her, and how long were they here and this and that, making the situation much worse for me. I know now that she was so afraid that they were going to hurt me that she snapped at me. This was a little insane. We still, to this day, have no idea who they were or why they wanted to visit me, but they were there, and solid enough to send my stuffed animals from the ceiling to my bed below.

The second experience was much like the first, with several key differences. I was sleeping in this same room, alone, and was abruptly awoken by a crashing sound. Being terrified that it was something else come to visit me in the night, I pulled my blankets up over my head. I heard a rumbling or growling sound, again, near the foot of my bed. I didn't dare look. The growling grew louder. Again, I could not bring myself to pull the covers low enough to even peek at whatever it was down there. I figured, if I ignored it, it would go away on its own. This was, until I began to feel like someone, or something was stepping on my bed. I could hear the growling and the bed creaking downwards as this thing made its way, very slowly towards me. By the point that this thing was completely over top of me, I was crying. I moved my blanket down very slowly to glimpse what was keeping me from getting away. I opened my eyes. What I saw standing over me was like nothing I had ever seen in real life or on television, and I was an avid animal planet and discovery channel fan.

The best way I know to describe this creature is like a huge dog, possibly a wolf, with the head of a lion, mane and all. It was nearly the size of my bed. I only looked at it for a second before I let go the loudest, most blood-curdling scream that I have ever in my life, even to this day. This creature then put one paw on my right shoulder, and one on my forehead, forcing my eyes to remain open. I screamed again. I felt a sharp pain over one eyebrow, and felt something very warm and wet falling down my face. I screamed again. This time I screamed my mother's name. About 15 seconds later, again, as to door opened, this thing disappeared. My mother did not see it this time, but what she did see startled her greatly. I had a cut above my eye, right over my eyebrow.

To those of you that know anything about facial injuries, you know that they bleed a ridiculous amount in comparison to the size and deepness of the cut. There was blood on about 65% of my pillowcase. There is no noticeable scar today, as I grew quite a bit, and it disappeared with time, but it was definitely there, and there was definitely a weird wolf-lion standing over me on my bed, staring me down like it wanted me for dinner. I have never seen this creature again, in life or in stories. (And just for closure's sakes, my mum didn't yell at me this time, I had blood all over me. She was madder that she didn't come the first time I screamed.)

Thanks for reading.