Tales from Under

There's Someone in my Basement

It was an early Saturday afternoon while I was in my room cleaning and listening to music. Suddenly, my mom called me and said, "Jada
I need you to go and grab the paint from the basement so that your dad can finish painting the walls?". "Of course" I said, before running out of my room towards the stairway. I opened the door and went down the steps leading me deeper into the basement. As I reached the landing, I felt around on the walls for the light switch. It was so dark I could not really see. Finally reaching the switch, I turned the light on spotting two buckets of paint across the room on the top shelf of my fathers utility rack. As I walked towards the shelf reaching for the paint, I heard someone call my name in an unfamiliar creepy-like whisper "Ja-daaa". I was so afraid but was determined to grab at least one bucket of paint since I was so close. Before I was able to place my hand on the handle, "JA-DA" the voice said again but this time in a deeper and much more aggressive tone. Chills ran up my spine, my heart began to race and the hairs on the back of my neck stood tall. I was scared! I darted away from the cans of paint running as fast as I could up stairs. "MOM!" I yelled hysterically causing a startling look to appear on her face. "What?! What happened? Are you okay?!". She responded in a panic. Out of breath, trying my best to respond in a complete sentence. "Downstairs, a voice. Someone is there!". My mom looked at me in disbelief demanding me to return and get the paint as she requested earlier as she walked back towards the kitchen. "I don't have the time to play games with you, I keep telling you to stop watching scary movies it is all a figment of your imagination!". I walked towards the basement door, realizing that I was so scared. Too afraid to even look down there. I went to yard where my father was setting up the grill for my mom to BBQ. "Daddy, I was trying to get the paint in the basement for you like mommy asked but I swear there's someone downstairs and they called my name twice" I said with a look of worry. My dad looked at me and smiled, "don't worry princess" he said as he chuckled. Heading towards the basement, I followed closely behind him until he reached to door. He opened it slowly while looking at me. Before entering he turned to look at me, mimicking the Terminator saying "I'll be back" in the same dull and deep tone. Within seconds, I was able to hear light scuffling assuming this was him sliding the paint cans off of the shelf. As he came up stairs he said, "see - there is nothing down there" still laughing. Using his elbow to hit the light switch to the basement on the first floor level of the home I found myself staring directly at a dark shadowy figure standing as tall as me in the middle of the stairway. My heart immediately dropped into the pit of my stomach leaving my body numb and frozen. Almost unaware that my father kicked the door shut with his foot. "Jada, are you okay?". He asked watching me oddly staring at the door. I shook my head to regain attention and clear my mind. Goosebumps all over my body "yes daddy, I'm fine".