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The Coffee Psychic [a true story]

A couple years ago when I first got into radio I was producing a drive-time radio show. This meant bringing in interesting guests in-person or via phone calls. Every Wednesday we would have 'Wacky Wednesdays' where we would do things with supernatal, mediums, kooks and the like. Everyone from authors to business professionals, scientists, CIA, etc came on our show. It was something to break up the rest of the week's hard news and politics. One guest in particular will always stick out in my mind and is someone people still bring up to this day...

Upon doing research I found a coffee psychic. I thought it was something unique, different and corny. Although I am open minded, I believed that pouring a cup of coffee and seeing things into ones life and ones future was a crock. The first time we had her on-air my boss, the host, thought to use me as bait to lure in the callers. We never gave the woman ANY of my info and thought we would play it out to the best of our ability. The first words out of her mouth were 'There is a chair in your apartment that you believe has an evil spirit attached to it.' Seriously, those were the first words. 'You just moved into a third floor apartment and there is a blue recliner that you get bad vibes from. You see shadows and feel a vibrating evil emitting from it.' I had really just moved. None of my paperwork had been changed at the time. And there was a big blue chair that I didnt like. Something about it felt evil and I wanted it nowhere in my apartment. It gave me a sense of panic and dread. My eyes must have been bugging out at this point because my boss is lost and lets me and her lead the conversation. 'You had your landlord move it but he didnt take it out of the building. He brought it into the apartment next to yours which is also empty.' I didnt know what to say at this point. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. How did this woman know all of this by pouring a cup of coffee?! I told noone about the chair except my landlord. This was too weird. She proceeded to tell me I needed to smudge my apartment to cleanse it of the evil spirits, yadda yadda. Okay, still really weirded out I chalked it up to one of those flukes of nature occurances. She got lucky?

My best friend was also in studio that day. She was next in line. 'I have a message coming through from an elderly gentleman introducing himself as your grandfather.' She began. 'He says that he knows today is a very important day. He also wants your grandmother to know that he has all his limbs now that he is in heaven. He is not in pain anymore. He wants her to know that he loves her very very much' My friend busts out crying and I have no idea what is going on. She runs from the studio and I chase her down to keep the noise to a minimum as my boss is forced to take an unexpected promo break. After calming her down she explains to me that today is her grandfather's birthday. He grandmother had just been saying that morning how she wished he knew how important today always was to her. She continued to tell me that her grandfather had died in WW2 by a bomb that had no exploded correctly from an airstrike and was run over by his military car. He had lost all his limbs in the explosion and died a long horrible, painful death. The military had told her family that he had gone MIA and it wasnt until years later that the truth had emerged.

Still to this day, account after account of similar scenarios of her going on-air with callers haunt my mind. Ill never know how this woman could ever have known any of these things. It wasnt a matter of guessing, leading on callers or statistics. There was no details shared before she went on air. There was no way for her to research things first. Baffling and eerie all the same. Some people really have abilities that are unexplainable. I am now a believer in HER.

We have a lot of people in my family who are sensitive to the supernatural. The story I'm about to tell is one that's only ever really been told within our family and to a few family friends. I had to talk to my mom about it to get the details since it's been a long time since we spoke about it, but what I'm about to tell you is completely true.

So when my grandmother and her two cousins were younger they were all very sick with rheumatic fever. The two cousins were sisters, their names were Carmella and Lucille.

Well Carmella, who was around 17 at the time, had a boyfriend--who I think she was engaged to--and while she was ill her boyfriend gave her a doll as a sort of get well present. She ended up passing away from the illness and all her things were packed up and put away.

Six weeks or so after Carmella's passing her sister, Lucille, started to have dreams of Carmella face down in her coffin, banging and hollering to get out, saying that she was trapped. My grandmother's family, being very, very Italian had mass said and tried various things to put Carmella's soul to rest, but Lucille kept having the dreams of her sister banging on her coffin.

Finally someone had suggested that maybe there was something of hers that had been misplaced or lost. They searched around and discovered under her bed a box face down with the doll given to her by her boyfriend in it. It's hands raised and pressing against the plastic viewing screen. So the doll was taken out of the box, cleaned up, dressed and set out in a high chair in the dining room. After that, Lucille's dreams about her sister in the coffin stopped.

Some time later though, Lucille had another dream about her sister. Carmella expressing that she was unhappy, though Lucille couldn't figure out why. The dreams continued for a while until they discovered that Carmella's doll had some how been shoved behind some things that had collected in the same corner where the doll's high chair sat. Once the doll was placed back where it was in full view of the room, the dreams once again stopped.

And so.. my grandmother's cousin's doll has been passed down through the generations. It's dressed every day and placed in a spot where the doll can be seen and see everything that's going on around it.


I don't know if they do it still, but last we had heard they were. x3;; I guess Carmella really liked that doll.

"Lilith The Succubus"

Thousands of years ago in the garden of Eden Adam lived peacefully with his lover Lilith until one day when she was unsatisfied by Adam and wanted more in the relationship. She was cast out of the garden of Eden to walk the earth alone. Being so frustrated with the actions placed on her she began to go to the homes of villagers at night, and kidnap their children. She would bring the children into an cave where she had lived, then one day the villagers had revoked forming a mob, and marching into the cave. Lilith unaware of the villagers actions had been sucking the blood from one of the villagers babies when the villagers charged in bombarding her with rocks and beating her with sticks. she shortly died from the massive beating. The villagers felt it was best to bury her deep underneath the earth inside a wooden box to contain her. After she was buried the villagers began hanging amulets on the door with the phrase Lilibe meaning Lilith be gone. The amulets were made to protect their children in case she ever returned from the dead.

Over the many people have claimed to have seen Lilith walking along the streets of Manhattan. People say that she was broke back from the dead by an architect who had gone mad after finding her bones. Rumor has it that she lives atop a hill in a huge castle, but no one has ever dared step foot into that house to find out. Well until now of course which is where our adventure begins.

A group of friends decided to have a little party inside the castle atop the hill on Halloween. The kids decorated each room with black, and white trim, and bats dangling from the ceiling. a boy walks in with long black hair, and he turns to his left looking up a huge stairway "You guys think we should be having this part here?" he asks. "Relax Dan will ya?" a blond haired boy named rick replied. "I would relax but you know what they say about this place!" Dan exclaims. "What? that Lilith lives here, C'mon man get real" rick replies. A girl walks in with long red hair and bright green eyes "Relax boy's we'll all be perfectly fine" she stated. "Wait a minute I've never seen you at school who are you?" Dan asks. She looks at him then says "My friends call me Lil."

The party begins and the music starts people start pouring through the doors with tons of beer. The party rages on and it starts to get closer and closer to midnight. A faint doors locking is heard everyone stops and looks around. the lights go out and people begin to panic.

"whats going on?" Dan asks. "i don't know" a girl replies. "Dan...." a faint voice says. "Who's there?" Dan Asks. "its me Lil i turned off the lights so we could have some privacy.." Lil replied. "oh yea" Dan replies as a hand grabs his and leads him upstairs into the main bedroom. the bedroom lights come on and Lil is dancing in furry pink underwear. "Now this wont hurt a bit" Lil tells Dan as she straps him the bed. "Yea I'm liking this" Dan says. Lil crawls up the bed and gets closer and closer to Dan. "You know what?" she asks "What?" dan asks "Your not my type" Lil says as she sinks her teeth into his neck sucking blood from him. "mmm tasty" Lilith says.

The lights come back on in the whole house and everyone's crowding the door trying to get it open. "its locked tight" Lilith says. "How do you know that?" rick asks. "well if you've heard the rumors about this place then you would know it locks itself at midnight every Halloween to keep Lilith from getting out" Lilith says. "so what were just stuck here till midnight?" a brown haired girl asks. "Yes, we are and who are you?" Lilith says "Oh I'm Wendy" windy says. "Good to know" Lilith replies.

Lilith ask rick to come with her downstairs to find a fuse box that might open the doors. The two head downstairs into the basement and then Lilith turns to rick and says "you know, were down here all alone, what do you wanna do?" "Find that fuse box so i can get out of this place" rick replies. "well i was thinking of something a little different" Lilith replies as she unbuttons her shirt. "This isn't the time for this, i really don't want to stay here longer than i have to" rick replies. "What are you gay or something?"Lilith asks "Say whatever you want but I'm finding that fuse box" Rick says as he turns and searches the basement for the fuse box. Lilith walks up behind him and begins to sink her teeth into his neck, but is stopped by some kind of force that weakens her. "whats wrong with you?'" rick asks "Oh nothing I'm fine" she replies "Wait your Lilith, you feel weak because of the garlic on the shelf" rick says as he runs upstairs to warn everyone.

"Everyone Lilith is here she tried to bite me!" Rick screams as he bursts through the door into the main room. Everyone panics and begins to run around the house "Come now darlings its not so bad being a vampire" Lilith says as she flies around the house ripping people with her razor sharp finger nails "Hahahahahaha" Lilith laughs "you will all die eventually, there is no escaping it" Lilith says.

Rick finds a wooden stake that must have been left over from when she was first brought there. he puts in his pocket and screams "Lilith, come bite me!" Lilith soars over to him and begins to bit him right as the stake enters her chest and through her heart. She begins to weaken and age rapidly until she is nothing but bones.

It stood at the top of the hill watching the city below relentlessly. It's constant gaze burning a hole into the center of the bustling city completely forgotten yet still leaving it's unforgiving mark. It was a large black Victorian mansion, it's paint peeling from the weathering of time. A cemetery lay to the right where a large dead tree stood and beside this dead and rotting tree was a large stone angel. The Death Angel.

Suddenly a jolt of voices cut across the dead silence of the hilltop. Stumbling over the edge was a group of boys. The smell of alcohol distinctly on their breath as they laughed and guffawed.

"Hey guys look at the stupid house. It's so stupid." Breaking out into a new burst of laughter one of the guys went over and knocked a loose gravestone over falling to the ground in laughter as the empty thud of the stone hit the ground.

"Hey dudes look at the ugly angel! Lets go pee on it!" Going over to the black stone angel the laughter turned to pained screams and soon it was deathly quiet once again.

Later that night voices filled the still air once again as three girls called out. "Ted! Luke, Kyle, David! Vince! Where are you?!" A red headed girl cried out as a freezing wind rolled right through her down to her bones. "Lets just give up. They aren't here Dana. I get the creeps from this place." Diane shivered and rubbed her hands together as the wind whipped around and shook the branches on the dead tree. "I don't want to be here! I'm scared!" Moving closer to Dana Shila cowered as she gazed at the dark mansion looming in front of her.

"We have to find the guys. Maybe they went inside the house!" Walking up the stairs and onto the porch the boards squeaked with every step. Seeing no doorbell she racked her knuckles against the wooden door hearing the hollow echo of the empty inside as the door opened on its own. Hesitantly walking in the three girls decided to search the house.

Accidentally splitting up Dana walked into the living room when suddenly she heard a blood curdling scream coming from the kitchen. Running into the kitchen she stared in horror at the sight.

There lay Diane her throat ripped out and spilling massive amounts of blood onto the floor causing the wood to become stained a deep crimson. Walking slowly toward her friend Dana's eyes widened at the large dull knife lodged in her friends throat. Backing up slowly she increased her pace as the sticky blood clung to her shoes as if trying to glue her feet to the floor.

Hearing another scream from behind her she turned around to see a dark figure stabbing Shila and her body dropping with a thump to the floor. Shaking in fear Dana ran to the cemetery trying to escape the killer behind her. Hearing his evil laughter close she picked up her pace and ran for the first thing to catch her eye. The Black Angel.

Running to him she clung to his down stretched hands "Please! Any god out there! Help me!" Screaming she realized that the footsteps had stopped and that no one was behind her. Sighing happily she smiled at the angel. "Thank you." Turning her head she was about to leave when the hands she had been gripping gripped back. "Oh no thank you." Whipping her head to look at the angel she saw that he had turned into the killer. The full moon shone on him lighting his 'black' body reveling that it was a very dark red. The dried blood of the people he had killed. "No oh dear god no!" Screaming he descended upon her.

The night was cold and chilly. Silence reigned as the angel moved back into place, a murderous look on his face and red staining his hands. The silence was lifted when another voice rang out........

"Happy Halloween! Muahahahahaha!"

The stallion, Jaqen, looked at his grandfoals. They stood in a circle around him with the light of the dwindling sun reflecting in their large eyes. “You want to hear a scary story, do you?” One of his back hooves scratched away at the opposite leg. A bare patch of skin there was already reddened from many such attentions.

“Yes, grandfather,” said the youngest eagerly. “You promised you would tonight. Please...” The last word was added with just a hint of a whine which Jaqen chose to ignore for the time being.

“I suppose I did promise.” He made a show of thinking upon it, chewing one end of his graying mane thoughtfully. “Well, I’ll tell you one that my father told me. It’s about something called a voice stealer. What’s a voice stealer, you ask?” The sun had crept below the horizon now and the sky behind him darkened. “You’re about to find out.”

“Now it happened that there was once a stallion. He was the finest looking stallion any mare had set eyes upon. One look from him was enough to set them swooning... but the one that he cared for would have none of him. He talked too much, she said, and it was true. He would talk and talk about everything and anything, a bad habit that he tried his hardest to stop. It was then that he remembered his brother. His brother had been growing more and more quiet lately. Maybe he could help this handsome young stallion learn the secret to holding his tongue!

So the handsome stallion went to his brother and asked ‘Brother, how is it that you are able to stay so still and quiet?’ His brother only smiled to that, replying that it was a magical cure he’d found... a witch doctor deep in the forest who had given him a cure. He wouldn’t say just what this cure was but led his brother into that spot deep in the forest. He assured his handsome brother that he had received this marvelous cure and the mares loved him for his strong and silent personality.

So the handsome brother met the witch doctor. What the witch doctor looked like or said wasn’t important. What was is that the witch offered the handsome stallion something that she promised would ‘steal his voice away’... a cure that he only needed to ask for.

You can imagine that the handsome brother snapped this up right away. He wanted to win the love of that mare and thought this could be the key. He was so convinced and determined that he didn’t flinch when the witch wrapped something long and cold around his neck, something that seemed to tighten into his very flesh. It got so tight that he couldn’t even breathe and he fainted right there before the laughing witch doctor.

When he woke up it was like a bad dream. He couldn’t feel anything on his neck and he wasn’t even in the witch doctor’s glade anymore. He even saw his love and gave her a friendly greeting to start the day.

Or tried to, anyways.

As soon as he opened his mouth it was like his very breath was being sucked away. It left him gasping and though he managed to talk a little it was only enough to excuse himself away. On his own he did his own experiments, chattering to the forest and the creatures around him... or so he attempted. Every time he tried to talk his breath was stolen and soon his mouth was dry from panting. He walked wearily to the side of a placid lake and when he leaned down to take a sip... he saw it.

It’s tail was coiled around his neck and it’s legs gripped into his mane. The snout on the creature was long and toothless, the eyes empty and staring. Not a strand of hair was upon it to shield it’s wrinkled flesh from the light of day. He opened his mouth to scream and because he was by the lake looking at his reflection he could see the creature... watch it as it fixed it’s toothless mouth over his own and drew his breath and cry out of him. It expanded from the air that it took... and he did not stay to keep looking at it. He ran in a terror to find his brother and demand of him how he had found that witch doctor... and what it might mean that they were both under the curse.

He ran to the meadow that he often found his brother in. He saw his brother there, turned away from him. His head was lowered to graze and as he raised it... the handsome stallion saw that there was no hair upon his brother’s face and the grass hung limply from a toothless mouth.

Beneath the creature was his brother’s body... as shriveled as the creature upon his own neck was, as if the life had been sucked out of it.... or maybe as if the air had been. When the handsome stallion screamed he found he could not which only added to the horror... for a horrible doppelganger had taken the place of his beloved brother and now he had such a doppelganger growing on his own self.

He ran again and this time had no destination. He ran and ran and ran until he once more came to the side of that lake and once more looked down into it’s glassy waters.

Already his doppelganger was taking form. He looked closer and could see his own patterns appearing faintly on it’s already bloating skin. When he turned his head and looked with his own eyes he could see nothing. It was only the reflection that showed the truth. He thought he might be going mad. He hoped he was too, but the water revealed the truth of it to him.

It was going to kill him and take his place if it could. The handsome stallion knew that and in that moment made a very brave choice. He decided to die and kill it with him so that it could not hurt the mare and the family he had loved so much. He ran to the highest cliff he could find and flung himself off it... not daring to scream as he fell for fear the creature might steal even that.

He awoke to the mare he loved, watching over him with tears in her big beautiful eyes. ‘You’re hurt,’ she cried. ‘You almost died. Why?’

The handsome stallion had no answer to that... or perhaps he dared not speak for fear of having his words stolen from him again. It was then that the mare continued, tears dripping fat and wet onto the ground beside him. ‘A foal fell with you. It... it died.’

He turned his head then and saw it there beside him.

It looked enough like a foal to be mistaken for one. It still didn’t have much in the way of hair but had enough to be convincing. If the mare noticed that the open mouth had no teeth she said nothing and the empty eyes were probably empty through death. The fur that it did have was patterned after his own so to the handsome stallion it was almost as if he was looking upon his own child, a poor dead creature that would never know life.

And for that it would never know life, he rejoiced. For you see....” Jaqen looked at all of his children in turn, lingering at all yet stopping at none. “He had lost his brother but gained the mare that he loved. Maybe it was worth it to him... maybe not.” His back hoof was at his leg again, scratching... scratching...

“Grandfather...” The eldest looked at him, eyes widening at what he saw there. “When did you loose all the fur on your back legs?”

The rising moon lit up their grandfather’s eyes and for a moment they were as empty as dark, still pools. “That, my dear, is a story for another night...”

Story is so not true same with that kind of event, but the creature might be. ;p



The hunter quietly clung on to the cliffs wall as another strong gust brushed against him seeming to want to drag him down into the dark depths that loomed around. He glanced back at his faithful companion to make sure she was still safe the gray colored mare stopped and looked at him with a puzzled expression and a quite huff as if wondering why he had to go now. “Why did she make me go hunting now…” he huffed out as he began to climb the rocky path heading up. He then started to think about how his mother had sent him to go get some deer for a ceremony that was going to begin in a few days.

Shaking his head he continued around a bend to realize the familiar area, the sun may have sank quicker then he expected but at least the light of the full moon would help. “Not much further” he spoke to the mare ‘At least I have some company…’ He saw a strange shaped tree and realized where he was not he looked back to see the faint glow of teepees in the distance. He looked back to partner and happily explained “I know where we are, there’s a hermit that lives near here” he then started to walk past the tree, listening to the sound of the mare following closely “He raises deer, maybe I can get one or two from him” he then began humming softly as he walked deeper into the woods.

The mare however couldn’t shake the strange feeling of fear she glanced around nervously. ‘Something is out there’ she shook her hear as thoughts of Skinwalkers and Kalona’s ran through her head. The thoughts soon parted as the two leggers called out to her “We’re here” her ears perked up and sped up to him.

He could she the dark teepee now black as ever amongst the shrubs, but something seemed off… It was a little chilly not enough to freeze anyone but not the kind of weather to leave your entrance open. He approached the doorway slowly calling out to anyone inside after no response he went to his mare’s side and pulled out some tinder and a few rocks he brought along. After a few attempts and branches he managed to make himself a torch, with the strong glow from the light he felt a little safer. The sense of dread still clung to the back of his mind. He called out once more he gathered as much courage as he could muster and barged in.

He looked around, and was startled that nothing seemed out of place except for the bed. He kneeled down beside it, “Very odd” was the only thing he could think of, he looked back up to the mare “Wonder what caused the old man to leave his bed so quickly.” He then examined the area once more “Maybe, we can take some deer and I’ll pay him back next time I see him” he then paused and looked at the mare as if she would help ease his conscience. He then got up from beside the bed and went to the corral where the deer were kept.

She sniffed at the ground, searching for a scent of anything. Her nerves were on the edge, something felt wrong, there had to be… She watched him walk around the teepee and slowly followed him. The sound of a gasp from him sent her flying up to his side, uneasy about being there but more so for his safety. She quickly found the source of shock and froze beside him. In the corral laid the deer, not a single one moving the weirdest part was that none seemed to be injured. The strangest part though for her was an odd smell… a smell she couldn’t recognize.

His stomach felt like it was turning into knots as he clung to the fence and moved towards the gate, he felt a cold chill at the sound of the gate door collapsing to the ground. He then held on the mare for support as he made his way through the gate and into the corral. He then released her and approached the nearest deer. He gently reached out and felt the cold body wondering what had happened. He slowly examined the body only to come across some strange markings on the neck… three deep holes… He raised his head and looked across at the nearest ones. Each of them had the same pattern on them and near the exact same spot “This is too weird” he told the mare “We’re out of here” as he stood he realized the strangest thing all the animals and their wounds… yet there was no smell or trace of blood.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, he looked around quickly as he realized the silence that had taken over the night. No nocturnal birds, not even an insect ‘What is going on?’ he was going think about it some more but the strange sound of clicking made him change his mind. He moved to the side of the mare and made a grab for his knife and dragging off the bow with some arrows. He looked to where he though he heard the sound come from.

The bushes rustled as the bizarre creature ambled out. Him and his trusty mare quickly backed up from the strange creature as it pulled the rest of itself from the bushes and into the corral with a hiss. It then looked towards them as it examining them; it then started to walk around the deer heading directly at them. It had a spiteful look in it’s glowing red eyes, and as it entered the glow of the light it seemed to give a sinister smile about it’s demented shaped face, the sharp teeth glistened in the light. The creature paused to examine them, which the man did the same. “A coyote?!” he looked back at the gate then at it again. A strange canine with no hair… He thought back to what he had been taught but couldn’t recall hearing about this creature. It’s jerky movement brought his attention back to the current situation.

All the courage drained from the man he threw the torch towards the creature, then clambered on to the mare knocking things off in the process, but he couldn’t have cared less about them now. He encouraged Soquili horse off, as a high pitch wail grew from the corral. He didn’t want to look back, he couldn’t look back, all he could do now was cheer the mare on and hope she would lead them back into the village.

Luckily for him she knew where to go, she kept her ears focused on behind her and continued foreword. He back was beginning to ache but the fear kept her moving. She recognized the path they were climbing earlier. She ran fast and hoped the creature had no tricks, as soon as she touched the soil on the bottom she charged foreword towards the light coming from the village the only safe place at this time. She whinnied a cry and flew into the village heading towards the center.

The hunter fell off unconscious from all of the events he had faced. The mare was now beginning to calm down at the other two leggers came into view and a single man that she heard was called a medicine man took him to his teepee. The sight of other Soquili filled her spirits and darted towards not wanting to be alone. She slowly made her way around the village with them feeling uneasy about the darkness that surrounded the landscape.

The hunter woke up to a strange sound, almost like claws scraping the ground. He opened his eyes and shifted himself up. He froze… there at the foot of his blanket the creature sat, the grin still on its face and malice still in its eyes. He could only scream in terror as it shifted into standing and pray that someone would come quickly…

Babysitter for Hire
Kenni Doan, 19
-Two years of experience
-Able to handle sticky situations
-Great with kids

Call the number below.

“Is this Miss Kenni Doan?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“I’m calling about the babysitter ad? I was wondering if you would be able to babysit Howie? It’s tomorrow night, my husband and I need to go out for a dinner.”

“Uh, sure, ma’am. How old is he?”

“Oh, he’s just a toddler.”

“That’ll be fine. So, what time do you need me to be there?”

“8pm. Sharp.” The woman on the other line gave her address and hung up.

-------------------

“You’re early.” The mother smiled at her.

“I always make it a point to be.” Kenni grinned, stepping into the house as the woman held open the door for her.

“Very good. Punctuality is important. Isn’t it dear?” The woman gave her another smile before looking up at her husband. In the bright light of the apartment, they both seemed to have rather pale skin, but Kenni dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.

“We should go.” Her husband said stiffly, and both turned towards the door.

“Oh, and dear?” The woman called out, her head swivelling around to stare at Kenni. “Howie’s sleeping. He needs to be sung a lullaby though. It’s very important. He’s very particular about that.”

With that, the woman smiled again before disappearing through the doorway with her husband. Kenni could only smile awkwardly in response and wave to them.

Her voice was strange. She mused, flopping onto the couch. She couldn’t hear it very clearly over the phone, but when they talked, she noticed an eerie lilting tone to it. And her smile. Kenni frowned. Her smile didn’t seem genuine at all, the light did not reach her eyes, and they were cold and unnerving.

Or maybe it was because they didn’t trust her yet. It was always like that on the first day of the job.

Grabbing the remote control, she switched on the television. I don’t really see why it’s so important that he needs to be sung a lullaby when he’s already asleep.

Ring.

“Yes?” Kenni answered the phone.

“You must sing him a lullaby.” A soft voice spoke on the other end. “If...not...”

“If not?” Kenni asked, confused. “Is that Howie’s...?” She was greeted with a dial tone as the other hung up without another word.

Strange. She mused. It must be the kid’s parents. Picky, weren’t they?

“I’ll do it then.” She mumbled to herself, getting up. “Before I get into trouble.” What if this was some sort of test, and they had put a listening device in the kid’s room? Some parents were strange, really.

Her hand on the doorknob, she froze as something chilly crept up her spine. The lights were beginning to flicker, on off, on off, on...off... They just need to get an electrician to fix it. She told herself, turning the doorknob and entering the room.

The room was dark, and she fumbled for the light switch, her hands touching the walls to search. Ah! There! She pushed the switch down, waiting for the light to flood the room.

Nothing.

It still remained as dark as ever.

There had to be a window in the room, at least. She frowned, groping her way about in the room as she stepped forward carefully. Her hands ran against the walls and then, stopped at some fabric. Heaving a sigh of relief, she wrenched open the curtains, letting the moonlight flood the room. The moon was beautiful tonight, she thought, so round and bright.

Kenni turned back to look at the baby in the cot, and smiled. The little boy looked peaceful in his sleep, and adorable. Just like a little angel. “But when they awake, ohhh booy.” She muttered to herself. Her experience with babysitting had taught her that kids could be complete horrors, no matter how cute they were.

“Well, here goes.” She took in a deep breath. “Rock a bye baby, on the treetop, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock...” Her voice was slightly shaky but she continued. “When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall... AHH!”

There was a sudden bang outside, causing her to scream. She began to breathe heavily, eyes darting from one dark corner to another worriedly. Nothing, it’s nothing., She assured herself. Someone just dropped something, probably.

She continued.“..And down come my baby, cradle and all...” Her voice cracked at the last note and Kenni winced, holding her throat. Oh well, that’s done... She turned back to look at the sleeping baby.

The toddler suddenly sat up, so abruptly that she jumped. She must have woke him up. “Sorry sweetie, I...” Her voice died away as the toddler looked up at her, his eye sockets empty, dark holes. A creepy smile was tugging on the corners of his mouth, and Kenni’s knees went weak with fright. The smile was growing, growing, and he opened his mouth, letting loose a loud shriek. Kenni clapped her hands over her ears, screaming as she headed for the doorway. This was no longer a figment of her imagination.

It was a real live nightmare.

The girl stumbled out and shut the door to the room behind her, panting heavily. Another shriek ensued and Kenni made for the doorway. The lights were still flickering as she jiggled the door; it had been locked shut. Hearing footsteps coming closer, she shook the doorknob frantically.

Black.

Everything was dark.

The lights had gone out, and the door gave way, she staggered out and headed towards the lift. Kenni’s eyes darted from the lift button which she was pressing and the apartment door. ‘Come on, come on!’ She screamed silently. The lights in the hallway were now beginning to flicker, echoing those in the apartment.

The door of the lift opened, and she rushed in, hitting the button to close the door, slumping against the wall with a sigh of relief.

Then she noticed the lift buttons.

The rest had all disappeared, only one was left.

One that said “13.”

Kenni screamed.

----------------------

“So, dear, we need to find another babysitter.” A pause.

“One that sings well, preferably.” The woman laughed.