Horror Short Showcase: 'Speechless'

Written by Scott Edwards

There is something frightening about the dark and that fear can stay with people for a lifetime. Not knowing what is moving in the shadows may be the scariest thing of all and that’s why many people like to have a night light on during these hours. There is nothing wrong with wanting to know what is hidden in the shadows, especially if there is someone or something looking to scare you. If you want to see the thing that is lurking in the shadows, prepare yourself, because what the light exposes could be the stuff of nightmares.
​
Waking up and hearing someone meandering outside of his door, the kid gets up and tries to find out who it is. Seeing the shadows coming in from under his door, he asks if there is anyone out there, but gets no response. Thinking to himself if whomever is out there will not talk, maybe they will be able to write a response, the kid grabs some paper and pencils and passes a note under the door. Finding out that there is indeed someone outside of his door, the kid wants to know who it is.

Getting a response that he did not expect, the kid wants the creepy fingered thing to leave, but this is something that will not happen. Yelling out for his mother and telling her that there is someone in the hallway, she comes right back at him, scolding the kid for still believing in the boogeyman. Telling her son to go back to sleep, the kid tries to, but opening the door has allowed something straight out of his nightmares to come into his room and he will never be the same again.

I mean come on now, this is a thing of nightmares coming true and I may never open my door in the middle of the night again. I liked how the shadows coming from under the door were so haunting and showing some sort of figure in the hall that does not look human. The kid’s reaction is priceless, especially when he reads the final note that the boogeyman passes under the door. The mom was great, she really gives you the feel of a real mother who is sick and tired of hearing the screams at night while she is trying to sleep as well. It is always fun to wonder what could be hiding in the shadows during the dead of night, but finding out that there could be evil waiting to take advantage of you, well, that is something that we all have to cope with in our own ways. Stay Scared.

---