scary stories to read at night

ballet shoes

"Rosie, go downstairs and grab your ballet shoes, we're going to be late!" Mrs. Davis called to her daughter.

Rosie had actually been preparing to get her ballet shoes for the last ten minutes. Her mother kept them downstairs on top of the washer, and she absolutely hated going downstairs to get them.

However, she didn't want to be late to practice so she began to edge her way down the stairs. The old wood creaked beneath her feet.

As always, Rosie got the feeling that she wasn't alone. She could never explain it, but whenever she was in the basement by herself, she just knew that she was being watched.

When she made it to the bottom step, Rosie latched one of her arms onto the railing and used the other one to stretch to the washer. She didn't want to move off of the steps, for fear of who knows what.

Her long arms and uncanny flexibility allowed her to grab her shoes and race back up the steps. Yet before she left, she noticed that the door in the basement leading to the backyard was open a crack.

•••

One week later, Rosie was going into the basement to retrieve her ballet slippers again.

The door had remained open a crack since she first saw it, and she knew that she should probably close it but she was too frightened.

Rosie advanced down the steps and retrieved her slippers despite the sense of panic in her heart.

She took notice of the door to see if her mother had shut it yet, but much to her horror, the door was open even more than it had been.

Rosie debated on shutting it, but it was all the way across the basement and her fear was eating away at her, so she raced up the stairs without a second thought.

•••

The next day, Rosie faced the same dilemma as always. As usual, she pushed herself to walk down the creaky steps.

She began to perform the same ridiculous stretching tactic as always, but this time  she was distracted by the backyard door that was now all the way open. Her body gave out and she fell onto the cement ground.

Rosie lay there for a few seconds, already feeling deep bruises begin to form. While she was sprawled out on the ground, her eyes roamed to the space under the stairs.

A dark silhouette with elongated gray eyes stared back at her.

Horror-stricken, Rosie leaped up off the floor and grabbed her slippers. She heard a crash somewhere in the basement, which only further motivated her to sprint up the stairs.

When she got to the top, she locked the basement door and ran to her mother.

Rosie explained to her everything that had happened and she realized she had never seen her mother look so frightened.

Mrs. Davis grabbed Rosie's hand and rubbed the crease lines on her forehead.

"The others, they're here."