something in the night

I think extra-terrestrials have better things to do than visit Earth and probably better judgment: part of this planet elected George W. Bush four years after he was selected by judges. And I don't have whatever it takes to believe in horoscopes. I'll let Shelton from the TV show The Big Bang Theory speak my opinion: "... the mass cultural delusion that the sun’s apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality."

Mediums and psychics? Please. Further, I don't think ghosts are wandering around in the night, looking for something to do. Dead is done.

Something happened 10 years ago that I can't explain. Just because I can't explain it doesn't mean it was an unnatural phenomenon. But it came as close as anything in my life to being a candidate for the truly uncanny and down-right spooky.


In the middle of the night I woke up, needing to pee. No bad dreams, no bumps in the night. As I got up and walked around the end of the bed, my brain was merely idling, in neutral gear. A couple of steps took me near the wall on my right side. Something zapped me right then and there, causing me to stop for about a second and a half. A huge chill ran up my spine, and goosebumps spread over my arms. It was a horrifying sense of dread, of an invisible presence just over my head and up to the right, where wall meets ceiling. And this presence was focusing some intention straight at me. The feeling was that it was aware of me. Like I say, this all happened in less than two seconds, so I advanced a few more steps, nearing the bathroom door.

At the end of those next few seconds, my daughter, sleeping in the adjoining bedroom, let out a blood-curdling shriek. I was instantly paralyzed for at least three seconds. On any other occasion, such a scream would have gotten an instantaneous reaction from me. But I had just been zapped, see? My brain was still numb, and I couldn't instantly process her scream and translate the signal into physical action. But only for three seconds was I so unmanned.

I dashed into her room not knowing what the living or dead hell I was about to tangle with. She sat up in bed and switched on her lamp, looking up at me with sleepy, though startled eyes.

“What is it?” I asked loudly and a mite quivery.

“I don't know...I was sleeping and then I had a dream, I guess. There was something on the ceiling above me. A presence pushing at me from the ceiling. Like a weight. I woke myself up screaming.”