The sound of my alarm jolts me from my slumber. I take a deep breath and turn to my side, grabbing my phone. The time reads 10:41 am. Today is Halloween, but something about today’s Halloween makes me feel unsettled. Maybe it’s the eerie feeling in the air, or maybe it’s the thousands and thousands of myths that I’ve heard about the holiday. I don’t know, it just makes me feel strange, like I have to be wary and conscious, or maybe I’m just paranoid and tired. I brush that feeling off and stand up to head to my bathroom.

As my feet connect with the cold tiles, it instantly removes any sense of sleep I had left. I reached my bathroom door and tugged on the handle but it didn’t budge. I tug again and again and still..the door is shut. It’s as if there was a force behind it that was stopping me from entering. Either I was extremely sleep-deprived, or somehow my thoughts were becoming real. I rubbed my eyes hard, just to make sure I was awake.

“My golly goodness what’s going on?” I thought to myself, unable to comprehend whether I was insanely weak and needed to renew my gym membership, or that paranormals were real. Definitely need to call the gym.

I pulled on the handle one last time, and it finally opened. 

I enter the bathroom and the cold air instantly hits me. I check to see if I accidentally left the window open, and nope, it’s closed. I walk to my bathtub slowly feeling the cold tiles against my feet and the cold air giving me goosebumps. I turn the knob on my bathtub to get the water warm and wait a little before I get inside. The hot water on my body replaces the cold feeling and comfort absorbs me. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. 

The hot water turns freezing cold, leaving my body shaking. My eyes instantly turn to the knob. I could’ve sworn I turned it to the hot side. I reached over to twist the knob, but again, it wouldn’t budge.

Ok, I’m fully awake now so just what exactly is going on? The light started to dim slowly until it was pure darkness. I hear the door slowly creep open, making me snap my neck towards the direction of the door. My breath hitches. I slowly open the shower curtain to see what was out there and nothing. Nothing was there. The lights slowly dim back and the water turns warm again.

I quickly leave the shower and wrap my towel around my body, not wanting to stay in the bathroom any longer. I rush out fast and shut the door behind me. 

“Where are you going?” A stern voice says behind me.

The blood draws from my face. I flip my head and try to find the figure that spoke out…nothing. “I’m clearly losing it right?” I thought to myself, not being able to comprehend what was happening.

“Why so scared?” the voice asks again, but this time, the wind blows past my ear, causing me to jolt backwards and fall down.

I scoot back until my back collides with the wall. I close my eyes, rocking back and forth, unable to tell if I was losing it or if this was real life. I hear my door creak open again and this time I see a dark figure staring right at me, with dark pupils and a bloody mouth.

“Hi,” it whispers.

I entered a state of shock, paralyzed, with not a single moveable bone in my body. The figure slowly creeps towards me revealing his slender black body. I snap back into reality. Quickly standing up and bolting to the other side of my bed. I turn around and the figure is gone.

“Look behind you.”

I turn around and see the figure standing right before me, its hand reaching towards my face.

“NO! NO! STOP!” I yell. 

I jolted up quickly, sweat dripping from my face onto my neck. It was a lucid dream. Thank God. Paranormals aren’t real. I shake my head, unable to believe I had that sort of dream. Silly me. I get up and start walking towards my bathroom door.

Halfway there it creaks open with the head of that demon popping out, “Hi, again, friend.”