My Horror Story: The Demons Below

There are not many writers that can pull off a great horror story, especially one that involves any kind of monster or zombie. This is mainly because the subject has been a bit overdone, but also it is very challenging to come up with something that will really grab a readers attention, and shock them.

Here are a few of my ideal horror writers:

John Saul

Joe R Lansdale

Clive Barker

HP Lovecraft

There are many other authors who write excellent horror books, but a lot of them are "horror" in that man himself is the horror, there are vampire (which I usually have trouble getting into), or they are just tales of some strange happenings. The writers that are not afraid to add the most totally macabre and awesome creatures gets my vote!

My fists are pounding on the hard cement door that remains solid and firmly shut. I can hear the screams coming from below; they sound like ferocious animals in pain. I know that they are people just like me, but the difference is that they have given up a long time ago. These humans that are almost not human, seem so demented that I am sick with fear. They live in their own ghostly shell. My hands start to cramp, and the screaming vibrates around me, sometimes a loud thump rattles my eardrum. I shriek louder as I continue to punch the door, and feel myself start to become like they are; losing my mind from the fear.

As my hands turn bloody, I start gasping from the shock. I somehow ended up here, but how? Where exactly am I? I turn around slowly as tears stream from my eyes. The horrible wails seem to have quieted so I creep slowly down the splintered stairs, knowing that in order to escape I must face the horrors down below.

A hand reaches out of the darkness, grasping for me. "Please....please..." the voice whispers with a deep rattle in his throat, but then it fades; there is nothing. I still hear some screeching, but as I wind through the eerie corridors I notice each one is leading to more emptiness; I realize that the screams are actually somewhere even farther down from me. I hope that I can find another way up before I have to go down.

Suddenly, a barrage of feisty lunatics jump into my path, and I scream as I turn around and run. Now where do I go? I think. Which turn will take me out? I have no idea; I can't see anything. Blindly I stumble on, and finally I find myself at some stairs that go down. I can't turn back around; the horrific humans are gaining. I have no choice, so I gulp in some stale air as I creep carefully down the cement stairs. Groaning and wailing assault my ears, drowning out what is coming for me behind. I can finally see, as I near the bottom steps, but now I wish that I couldn't. A beam of light glows dimly from somewhere above, leaving the monsters in shadows. They are crowded together in a circle, intent on something in the middle. I cringe to think of what that might be, but am glad they are too busy to notice me.

Unfortunately, I am still being followed and now the screams are heard by the others. They turn around slowly....and quickly they run towards me. Before I can believe what I am seeing, I am surrounded. There is a loud siren blaring in the air, and then I realize it’s me, screaming as loudly as my lungs will possibly allow. I am paralyzed, so much so that I can't breathe in, I feel as if I am choking.

She is right there, in my face, but she isn't hurting me; she looks almost normal. Tears are slowly dripping from my eyes as I strain to hear her whispers amidst the crying.

"You can't leave...you won't get out...."

Small simple words that tell me everything.

"Follow me, don't be afraid of me....I can help."

Is this a trap? I don't have time to decide, she has grabbed my arm and now pulls with a crushing jerk, forcing my body to move. My shock is slowly dissipating as I notice suddenly that the moaning and groaning is fading. Either that or my consciousness is fading; I hope not, I still don't know where I am going, or what will happen. I hear her ragged breathing so close to me, and feel her curling fingernails tickling my wrist as she keeps pulling me farther and farther in.

Suddenly it is completely black again, and I don't hear or feel a thing; I realize that I must have passed out. What did she do to me? I wonder in absolute horror as I recall the pock-marked skin and freaky, glowing eyes. Then I realize I am still intact, still alive, and completely okay, but also very alone. As I concentrate on stabilizing my breathing I notice that I can't hear so much as a whimper, and that I also don't hear a breeze, there is nothing to tell me I am close to the outside.

All I can do is sit here and feel the sticky moisture start to cling to my jeans, try to push it’s way to my skin, and leave me shivering. I keep turning my head all around, and listen intently, ready to jump at any moment, but I have to focus. I think back and try to remember how I got here, it seems so far away now, how long has it been since I found myself trapped? I’m sure it can’t have been that long, but now I notice my stomach growling with hunger, and my heart steps up a beat at the thought of being here too long with no food or water. I shake my head clear; I can’t worry about that now, there has to be a way out of this.

The most logical way out is obviously the way I came in, but I recall that the door had slammed shut and locked behind me. I think back again in confusion. How did it just lock like that? Was this all planned? Am I meant to be here for some strange reason? Who has trapped me here? All that I know is that I had a fight with my boyfriend, and came across this abandoned warehouse while I was walking my anger off. I thought nothing of just stepping inside to look around, my curiosity always does get the better of me. There has to be another explanation; the door could not have locked on its own.

My tummy flip flops as I pull myself to my feet. I walk slowly around the small, underground room, looking for weapons, food, water, even a light, anything really to let me know that I am really here; I am still alive. I am not in hell. I almost laugh out loud at myself as I start to think that my crazy imagination made these monsters up. I must have hit my head, and dreamed that I had these freaks running after me. With that thought, and finding absolutely nothing, I decide I should venture slowly out of this dark abyss.

I can see many twists and turns through the shadows, boxed in with heavy dirt walls. I walk as straight forward as I can, thinking that this is the most obvious way to go. Then I notice something different. As I walk steadily onward, I feel myself rising, my feet angling just enough for me to notice that I am walking on an incline. I turn around to see the doorway to the room I just left slightly lower than me, and then turn back with renewed energy. I must have the right way, and I have not heard those demons wailing yet, they probably won’t, because I must be right about that too. They were all in my delusional head, they are not here. I keep telling myself that as I keep climbing through the maze, because even though I know they don’t exist, I am still terrified of them.

After what seemed like hours of more and more of the same, something finally starts to change. I can just make out a dim slit of light shining far away; it is too far for me to know exactly where, but as soon as I spot it, I also start to hear noises. Just some scratching, so I dismiss it as mice or rats, but then they get louder, and then they are loud enough to hear. Whispering, like small children. Too quiet to know what they are saying, but all the same I know it can’t be rats. It doesn’t sound like an animal at all. My insides have suddenly leaped into my throat, as I hear an awful keening close by. No, no, no I try to shut them out. This isn’t real, it’s all in my head, this isn’t real, it’s my imagination, this isn’t working.

I remain stiff to the dank wall, suddenly unable to move another inch. The wailing is louder now, they are coming…

I came up with this story after having quite a few freaky dreams about being trapped and lost. These dreams started with me being lost and not being able to find my husband. I knew that I was having these dreams for a reason, but they were somewhat strange. One time I was in a big factory type building, and I was unable to find my way out. Then I decided that although the topic of zombies is overused, maybe I can make it interesting if I incorporate it into being lost. These monsters are not exactly zombies, but pretty close. I am still deciding on what I should call them.

Monster Dreams come from:

Repressed emotions and fears usually cause Dreams of monsters. Some ugly and scary aspect of your personality may also be reflected by this dream. 

Chasing dreams very often signify vulnerability, and the reason these dreams often recur over a lifetime is that certain situations trigger memories of childhood vulnerabilities.http://www.mysticalblaze.com/DreamsChased.htm

http://www.reasonpad.com/2009/07/10-common-dreams-and-their-interpretation/

 Top ten most common dreams and their interpretations. Being chased and trapped are both on this list.