Horror Shorts

Shadow Monsters

Addie didn't want to go to bed for the first time in a long while. She could see the shadow monsters lurking in the dark corners of the room, driven back by the dim light. She knew her mom wouldn't allow this type of behavior, after all monsters were only a thing of people's imaginations, a thing that only little girls were allowed to be scared of.

Addie knew that was a lie though, after all why else could she still see them? Why could she still feel their claws rake down her back at night, not tormented by the light that she kept near her at all times. It was at this that she had insisted on keeping the lamps on, but they were always off by midnight. She assumed it was the work of her mother. Her mother who didn't believe her when Addie ran into her parent's room, crying of the monsters. Her mother never saw the scars on Addie's back, caused by the shadow monsters.

It was these scars that only seemed to hurt at night, as if they knew what was coming. The scars always knew when the shadow monsters were close. Addie thought about this as she lay covered in a blanket of light from each of the lamps. She heard a thump come from the right corner of the room, the one farthest away from the sliver of light peeking in through the edges of the door. Something was in the room with her.

But it was too early. They didn't come until at the least 11 PM. But here one was, three hours before schedule. Addie sat up in her bed, squinting into the darkness to see a human looking silhouette. From what she remembered the shadow monsters never took this form. The silhouette stepped closer, taking the shape of a young girl. "Hello?" Addie asked quietly.

The form stepped even closer, right at the line where the light met the darkness. It didn't move any further, just standing there and swaying ever so slightly. The two stayed quiet for what seemed like a long time to Addie. She heard the silent chirping of crickets, muffled by the walls around her.

"Are you a shadow monster?" She asked this time, a bit louder than her last question.

There was no answer from the girl, just a slight ripple of darkness and she was gone. Addie sighed in relief that she was gone and lay back down on her side, closing her eyes briefly before she heard another loud thump, this time closer to her bed. She opened her eyes to be met with large purple ones, ones that were unlike the shadow monsters. "Are you a shadow monster?" Addie asked again.

That's when she noticed it- the silhouette of shadow standing in the middle of all the light. And was the moment that realized this wasn't a shadow monster- it was something worse.