#Paranormal Wednesday - Nightmare in the Closet

Photo courtesy of lunamom58 via Flickr

I woke in the middle of the night last week. Not an uncommon occurrence as I’m a light sleeper. (My husband jokes I can hear butterfly wings from five miles away) What was weird was that I woke with the intention of closing my closet door. I lay, fully awake, and tried to figure out why I felt the need to get up. The closet door was open but I always leave it open.

Do you ever get images slammed into your head “out of the blue?” They make no sense and aren’t related to what you’re thinking—but they show up with a clarity as if someone showed you a photograph. Usually, the image is of a person’s face or something mundane. This time, the image kind of freaked me out. In my mind’s eye, I saw a white-washed and hunched figure creeping up to the side of my bed. It had no hair or eyes, nor was it entirely human. Its hands were elongated and its fingertips were blood red. Not like they had blood on them, but an ombre skin coloration from white to deep red.

I have to say, the image rattled me. And I don’t rattle easily. Normally, I would have dismissed it as my overactive brain and gone back to sleep. But this time, I had a terrible feeling that this thing was actually sneaking up on me. I found myself checking over my shoulder like a little kid. I never do that. As an author of the paranormal, I know fear gives things power. But I couldn’t help myself. There was nothing there, of course. After several minutes, I closed my eyes and firmly told myself to grow up and get a life. 

The feeling continued until, in my mind’s eye, I saw the thing skulk into my closet. And here’s where it gets weird—I heard my clothes falling from the hangers. Yep, you read that right. My clothes...were falling...from the hangers. My eyes flew open. I sat straight up in bed. Split second decision: 

1) I could wake my husband like the femme fatale I wasn't (or) 

2) I could go see what the heck was going on. 

I chose to go see what the heck was going on. 

The closet was dark and I switched on the light. Three of my dresses had fallen to the floor. Three. It was as if someone...or something, had plucked them from their hangers and tossed them on the floor.

Don’t know. Don’t want to know. Making myself a mental note to shut the closet door at night…