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Spooky Story
It was 1974, and my family had just moved from Quantico, Virginia (my dad was a Marine Officer) to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, California, into a two story duplex. Just about the time we got settled in, my paternal grandfather was murdered. A few months later my mom's parents visited. Since we had a big family, a few of us kids were delighted to give up our beds for visiting family. Pappy got my bed, and I was relocated to my brothers' bunk bed. Mark and I didn't get along, so I slept on the bottom with Daniel, with my head at the foot of the bed. At about 4:00 a.m. the first night something awakened me. I didn't think anything about it and started to sleep again. However, it felt as if someone was watching me. Then I could hear very heavy breathing and felt a downward draft on my face. Scared out of my mind, I squinted my eyes and saw a hulking black figure, looking like the "Grim Reaper" without bones, hovering over me as if staring into my eyes. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. I even snored, but it still didn't leave! Thinking that a little movement might disrupt the "nightmare," I moved towards the center of the bed. But I didn't wake up, and the tormentor continued to breathe on my face, moving around the bed and laying down beside me! Immediately I lept from the bed and screamed at the top of my lungs "IT'S GOT ME!!!! IT'S GOT ME!!!! Everyone in the family came running to see what had happened, commenting that a dark figure had disappeared in the hallway to the bedroom. Needless to say, I didn't sleep the rest of the night. What's worse, that black fiend and his lot continued to haunt me, the family and the neighbors for years. I resorted to sleeping with an adult very close by, as often as I was allowed. Otherwise, encounters like the following were a nightly ritual. If I ever turned my head from the hallway light (which was left on for my security), the fiend's shadow would appear and he would start panting like he'd just run a 26-mile race! Sometimes he'd hide behind the door or in a closet. Sometimes the whole family would hear chains dragging across the floor or glass breaking downstairs. One night it sounded as if plungers were being walked up and down the stairs. By this time I had mustered enough courage to investigate the sounds, and saw nothing in the stairwell. Perhaps the scariest moment was the night I heard the hedious, angry laughter. As usual something had awakened me, and I sat there wondering what to expect. Suddenly I heard a commotion from downstairs, followed by laughter that could have come from the movies "Cybil" or "The Exorcist"! First it was one voice, then it was two, as if they were running around the first floor. Then they stopped. Suddenly the first one started again and I could hear it coming up the stairs. It entered the hallway, ran to the bedroom and brushed up against me, passing into the wall. Then the second voice started - but I didn't lie in bed waiting for it - I ran straight to may parent's room. Another time one of our cousins came to visit, and it was decided that he and I would share a bed. Sometime that night, I awakened to see the outline of a goat's head on my moms heirloom wardrobe (it was kept in my room), with a bright ring in its nose, and spiraling, fiery horns. As I screamed, it went away. Finally one night I'd had enough of the crap from whatever was haunting me. He had decided to inhabit the corner behind my bedroom door, just staring and breathing towards me. I sat up and said, "In the name of Jesus, leave me alone!" Guess what? It stopped! I have never seen that thing again! And everyday I thank God for the relief! However, all the haunting hadn't stopped. As recently as 1988, I have been harrassed by a 'paranormal phenomenon' - even though we moved across the country. At times, I would wake up being dragged by my feet off the bed! I also asked my parents if they had noticed my old bunk bed (the one from California) would sometimes shake and squeak as if a couple were "goin' at it." My dad confided that, when I was young, the bed would often make lots of noise, sometimes when I was asleep on it (which would explain why I was often awakened in the middle fo the night). He'd bolt out of his room swearing someone was harming one of his boys only to find us all sleeping soundly. He also said the neighbors in California (the Martins) shared similar experiences to what I'd had. The past 11 years have been pretty uneventful, paranormally, and I hope it stays that way!
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