The Horror of Horror

"There is a house across the way, on that street I used to live on in Belfast, Ireland. It stood on a hill with its large rooms and eerie silences. It belonged to me granddad and was built near the old forest.

The year was 1949 and my parents and granddad had gone into the town that was one hour from the house. I was sixteen years old and me brothers and I decided to stay outside that dreadful house, on that terrifying night.

Suddenly a horrifying scream issued from the dark forest behind us. A chill ran down me spine, Banshees lived in that forest, everyone said so, everyone had heard them scream before. The sun had set long ago and the moon was hidden behind all the clouds. I decided to go indoors with ALL the lights on and wait for me parents and granddad to come home.

As I was waiting in the living room not daring to fall asleep; there was footsteps outside the door. I immediately thought that me brothers were returning, and to tell the truth; I was grateful. But they didn't come in.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Four there was, four knocks, loud, clear and slow on the door. I frowned confused and got up to let the stranger in.

But there was no one there, the wind howled in my face and made me uneasy. I assumed that me brothers were playing tricks on me.

I sat down frustrated and someone knocked slowly once again.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I got up quickly and opened the door to find that me brothers were faster than I. I closed he door with a plan; I stood with me hand on the handle and waited for the little buggers to knock again. I waited tense and just as the clock struck ten and the knocks came the last time.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I wrenched the door opened just as the last knock ended, expecting to see me little brothers standing with their hands out.

Nothing but me granddad's old boots stood in the door way and voice whispered through the dim.

"I'm here for Cianan O'Neal and I'm not leaving without him."

I was scared out of me wits. I slammed the door and ran as fast as I could up the stairs; down the hallway and straight into me brothers who were in the upstairs' bedrooms.

The next morning I was told that me granddad had suffered a heart attack and passed away at exactly ten o’clock the night before; the same moment the last knocks came at me door.

The banshee had known; Death was knocking at his door, three separate times, four knocks each, not leaving without its victim."

Caer looked up from the story she was writing to her window of her bedroom. The rain lashed against it as though it had a grudge against her. She loved writing horror and reading it too. Sometimes her imagination ran away with her and she couldn't sleep at nights. Like tonight; tonight her parents had gone out and left her alone in that same dreadful house she was writing about. The tale that she was writing for class was one of the many her grandfather had told her, a true story from when he was sixteen. Caer looked through the rain-splattered window, the lightning flashed and she could see the forest that held the Banshees.

Just thinking about Banshees made her skin crawl with excitement. She would have been scared out of her mind had she been in her grandfather's place. The thunder boomed loudly and Caer thought she imagined a scream came with it.

Suddenly with the next lightning bolt, the lights in that old house plunged out leaving Caer in darkness. Caer swallowed and grabbed the flashlight that always stayed beside her bed, she whispered quietly to herself saying that there was nothing there. She turned on the light and walked to her bedroom door.

The stairs were pitch black and she almost fell down the flight as something tripped her, she grabbed the railing and flew down the rest. There were creaks coming from the stairs and shining the flashlight up and down the stair, Caer could see that there was nothing there to trip her.

The living room was dark and the answering machine was beeping insistently. Caer walked slowly to it and pressed the 'cancel' button and the noise ceased. She turned, the kitchen was dark and the trees beyond the window were making strange patterns on the floor, leaving an eerie feeling in the whole house. Caer was almost positive that this house was haunted; she tried not to see that face looking in the window at her.

The generator was outside in the barn just down the hill. She threw open the door and the storm roared in her face. Caer ran down the hill not looking towards the creepy forest. The trees seemed to wave at her, tempt her to come into that impassable tangle of branches. She ran to the barn and heaved opened the door. The horses were restless and stamped their hooves as she passed. The generator was in a small corner tucked out of the way. She ran to the machine and pulled the cord. It roared to life and she could see the power come back on in the house through a small window that was shaking from the force of the wind.

She carefully tucked her long red hair behind her ears, whispered a good bye to the horses and ran the length of the room. She turned and jumped at the door as a shadow shot past her. She looked carefully only to see the barn cat slinking around in seek of shelter. She shook herself mentally; she was being silly. She left closing the heavy barn door behind her. Caer tried to run up the muddy hill with her flashlight.

A sudden bolt of lightning struck a place beyond the forest and a terrifying scream came from within. Caer froze; it was nothing, just the people on the opposite side surprised from the lightning, she told herself. Caer bolted to the house slipping in the wet grass and almost losing her flashlight.

She slammed the door and closed her eyes as the lights flickered in the unreliable power source. Caer heard them just before they reached the house. The footsteps were headed to the front door, the one she leaned against. She hadn't see anyone outside, and who would go outside to visit in this storm? Then they came, the door shook, and she jumped away from it. Total fear engulfed her, as all four came.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!