Something In The Night
As I laid down for the night.
I heard a thump, off to the right.
I sat up and looked around.
Nothing unusual could be found
I reached up & turned out the light.
Before long, I had a fright.
I felt a presence standing there.
I could feel it in the air.
The hair on my head stood up.
I felt trapped, like I was stuck.
Quick, like a bunny, I turned on the light.
I looked left and I looked right.
I couldn’t see anyone around.
My spouse lay next to me, sleeping sound.
I left the light on for awhile.
Eventually, I turned it off, with a smile.
My imagination was working overtime.
It was that short horror stories book of mine.
I was reading it to kill some time.
Before I started it, everything was fine.
I tried to get comfortable & go to sleep.
I prayed to the Lord my soul to keep.
I was just dosing when my wife awoke.
“Someone is here”, she spoke.
This sent a shiver of fear down my back.
I turned on the lamp, expecting a trap.
Again,—- no one was there.
“They could be hiding anywhere.”
I said “I’ll check it out”
I grabbed a flashlight & moved about.
I checked the house from bottom to top.
Checked windows, doors, and every lock.
All was secure. No one was there.
Nothing out of place anywhere.
She said “Maybe it was a ghost?”
“No such thing,” I tried to boast.
Again, we tried to get to sleep.
The scraping sound made me feel weak.
I jumped up with flashlight in hand.
I was ready to clobber the ‘man.’
No one there.— Not a sound.
Nothing unusual could be found.
We agreed to sleep with the light on.
It was fine till the light was gone.
We awoke with the lights out.
“What the hell!!,” I began to shout.
Our bed started shaking for no reason.
No earthquake, out of season.
We were scared. She started to scream.
We just wanted to split the scene.
Then, everything went completely still.
Not a single sound to give us a thrill.
Nothing ever happened again.
Our explanations were looking dim.
Years later, we don’t mention it anymore.
Yet, we sleep with light on & a locked door.
————————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2015)