Night Visions

I jolted awake to the mini grandfather clock declaring it’s midnight ruse
Was a truly haunting a dream of a dark man in his cloak.
As I try to drift back into the grasps of sleep
There is a slight shuffling noise
I hear a muffled thudding noise outside my bedroom door.
Laying here in the dark, no light peeking through window panes
not a sliver of silvery light to see
no other sounds but a far off distant train
Preparing to snuggle down all safe in my bed
when I feel an airy hand run down my head
Stroking my hair and crossing my cheek
icy shivers quivering down my spin
My skin crawls and I catch my breathe
there is no one there, it’s only air
A little a tither, surely no longer drowsy
fully awake, or so it seems. Eyes wide open, no more to dream
in heavy bed covers wrapped oh so tight.
As black as pitch on this chilly night
I hear a faint breath, was that me?
laying here still in this big old bed
thoughts of vampires and monsters running in my head
So quiet, I hear giggling here in my head.
Just as I begin to drift off into sweet slumber
I hear a creak, from the door under
I sit up and with my heightened fear
draw the covers up to my ears
It’s so cold in here.
The darkness seems even darker still
I’m sure it’s the settling of this house
But I will not be able to settle down now.
As I prepare to place my feet on the floor
Holy shit, there’s a figure in front of the door
Okay now eyes, come into focus
There is nothing there I tell myself.
I place my feet on the floor and with a onslaught there is a blast of arctic air
A breath with faint sweet cigar lingers
as I feel it’s cold ghostly fingers
first run along my cheek and down my arm
Feeling it skin on skin. Reaching my hands out in front of me
there’s nothing standing there.
I hear a sinister snicker, a quivering breath
my skin crawls, my nerves are unsettled.
I stand up straight and try to move, a terrible pain in my neck
a tremendous force pushes me to the bed
head spinning, feeling faint
I’m pinned here and can not move
I feel this icy blast as my body goes tingly
My ears ringing, almost painfully, with a raspy whisper
“I came to visit my old house, and I find you to arouse”.
I’m so scared. I can not cry, I try to scream but none is found
As if on strings I am lifted limb by limb
standing as if I’m being pulled.
One string up and yet another, one foot in front of the other,
clumsily being led on strings or so it seems
out the door
my unseen visitor playing a game
In a harsh and smokey voice, his attempts at playing nice
“Here you go my sleeping pawn, let me help you down the hall”.
Now at the top of the stairs, I falter there.
I come too unbalanced
reaching to grasp the railing there
standing here I feel free. No one’s here it was a dream
I almost fell, terrible thought
Dark as pitch and standing here, head pounding, I see something at the bottom the stairs.
Slowly in the dark I hunt the switch to turn on the light
As the first beams shine through the stairwell as I gaze transfixed
A stifled scream entangled in my throat
This can not be, terror stricken, I stand here
for at the foot of the stairs
I cry out “It’s me”.
laying there with a cold, blank stare
a thin trickle of blood ran from my nose
and from behind I hear a cackling voice
“You see poor dear, you can no longer linger here”.