I built a fire in the fireplace then opened the microwave popcorn, sank down into my favorite recliner and turned on the TV. There was a horror movie marathon on all night and I'd already missed the first film. It was a busy Halloween evening. Most of the little kids showed up with their parents just after dark. It was a treat for me to see them in their costumes, some of them even dressed up the family dog and brought it along. The older kids showed up later and I just gave the last few pieces of candy to a tall boy with a paper bag over his head. He claimed to be "Bag Man from Bag Land." Not the most elaborate costume but certainly a fun one.
A light rain had started to fall and I figured trick or treat was over until next year. I turned off the porch light, locked the front door and headed for the den where I'd indulge myself with vintage horror films until they put me to sleep. Halloween was just another night, a night for children to have fun dressing up and eating candy until they were ready to pop. Nothing particularly scary about Halloween, except the horror movie marathon.
I watched two old Vincent Price films and was in the middle of the more recent "Interview With The Vampire." It was all I remembered until a loud banging on the front door awakened me. I looked at the clock, 2 AM, who on Earth would be trick or treating at this hour?
I hurried to the door to find out. Maybe the neighbors were having an emergency and needed my help. My little Poodle, Doodles, was barking at the top of his lungs and pacing back and forth in front of the door. I'd never seen him behave that way. Being a well trained and well behaved dog he usually sat quietly waited beside me when I answered the door. Tonight was the exception, something had Doodles really upset. As I turned the door knob Doodles growled and then ran away up the stairs.
I opened the wooden door and flipped on the porch light. There was a storm door that was still locked, between me and my visitors. Two boys were standing there. They were wearing hoodies and jeans and were dripping wet from the rain. One appeared to be a pre-teen the other maybe eight or nine years old. They looked so pitiful standing there in the rain. They held their heads down and never looked at me. The older one was the spokesman.
"Please Ma'am can we come in and use your phone. We got lost and need to call our parents."
"I'm sorry I don't let people I don't know into my house. Why don't you give me the number. I have my cell phone right here in my pocket and I'll be glad to call them for you."
"Lady, we're so cold and wet. I can see you have a fire in your living room fireplace. Could we please just sit by your fire and dry off until our parents get here?"
By this time I was feeling like the meanest woman in the world but I was also beginning to feel an unreasonable and overpowering fear. My neck hair stood on end and I felt the chill of danger up and down my spine. I would call their parents but I wouldn't let them in.
"I'm sorry, you can stand here on my porch out of the rain but I can't let you in. Give me the number and I'll call your parents for you."
"My little brother needs to use the bathroom, please let us in. We won't hurt you, Lady. We're just little kids, we don't have a gun or knife. Let us in."
The boy's voice had changed now, from polite and soft to demanding and deeper, more like a man's voice. I refused them entry once again. it was then I knew why I felt such fear. The boys lifted up their heads and looked at me. Their eyes were black, no whites, no iris, no pupil, totally, completely midnight black. I gasped at the sight, it was the creepiest thing I had ever seen and I knew they were anything but innocent children. Through the door I could hear them pounding on the storm door so hard I was afraid it would break.
"Let us in, let us in. We can't come in unless you invite us. We want to come in NOW, We won't hurt you, we're just little kids. LET US IN."
I went back into the living room, sat in the recliner and pulled a blanket over me hoping I would feel a bit safer. I didn't. Fear had consumed me until my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest and my breath came in gasps.
The loud banging and demands to come in continued. I prayed they'd go away. Finally the noise stopped and I felt relief that it was over. Then I saw their faces and their horrific black eyes staring at me through the window. I was thankful that I kept my windows locked. They were a few feet away from me with my only protection being the window glass.
"Let us in, we're cold and wet. We need to call our parents. Don't you care about little kids out in the cold rain? We won't hurt you, Lady. Just let us in."
I threw the blanket aside and hurried up the stairs where I found Doodles hiding under my bed. When I picked him up he growled at me and I could feel his tiny body shaking with fear. I crawled under the covers on the bed with Doodles in my arms.
Surely they'll go away now, they can't see me anymore so maybe they'll give up.
Immediately I heard a tap, tap, tap on the upstairs bedroom window. Doodles began to bark wildly. I dared not get out of bed so I held tight to Doodles and remained under the cover. I lifted the cover and looked out the window. Two black eyed children were staring at me from outside. Their sinister eyes menacing and horrible.
"Let us in, something bad will happen if you don't." The older one demanded.
If I had ever doubted that they were something other than children lost on a rainy night, something sinister and unnatural, I had no doubt left. They were suspended in air, staring in my upstairs window. A humanly impossible feat. These were no children, they were evil personified. I held on to Doodles and made a run for it down the hall into the bathroom that had no windows. All I could do was shiver with fright and pray that the black eyed phantasms would leave. For a while I still could hear them tapping on the window and demanding with a demonic voice that I let them in. Eventually it stopped and after what seemed like an eternity I returned to my bedroom and closed the blinds. This was a night I would never forget and one I hoped would never repeat itself. Doodles and I climbed under the covers and eventually fell asleep.
I was wakened by another knock on the front door. I hesitated to go downstairs to answer it. What if the demons had returned to try again? After a few minutes I decided I would not live my life in fear. I would answer the door.
It was still dark outside and the rain was still pouring down. I tried to tun on the porch light but it wouldn't come on. The storm must have cut off the power. I opened the wood door and had to look down to see who was standing there. She was a little blond haired girl who looked to be about six years old. Her white dress was dripping wet and her long blond hair hung in wet strings. After the experience of the night before I still felt afraid but I chalked it up to residual fear. After all the little girl didn't have her head down, she was looking right at me.
"Can you please help me, please call the police. There are two boys out here trying to catch me. Ma'am they have black eyes and they've been chasing me for a long time. I'm so scared. Please help me. Please don't let them get me."
"Oh You Poor Baby, come in out of the cold and we'll call the police. What are you doing out without your parents?"
I unlocked the storm door and she walked in. She threw her arms around my legs and hugged them tight. Doodles had run back upstairs and I could hear him barking and growling. Poor Doodles had a rough night too.
"Thank you, Lady, thank you so much," she said in her soft, little girl voice.
The power came back on and I could now see my visitor clearly. Poor little girl, what a night of horror she must have spent running from the demonic children. To my horror her voice changed to the deep, menacing voice of a man.
"I could never have come in if you hadn't invited me."
She stepped away from me and lifted her head to expose the same black eyes of the boys who visited me earlier. The front door was still opened. I ran out into the night to the nearest neighbor's house. They let me in and we called the police. When they arrived they went to my house. They returned shortly.
"Ma'am there is no one in your house, except your little dog that we found dead in your bedroom. If you have any further trouble call us again."
When I returned home at dawn. I buried my little Doodles in the back yard. I felt so guilty about his death. I miss him terribly. Since the visit of the black eyed children I have had one sickness after another. Now I have a terminal illness and the doctors say I don't have much more time. I'm writing this in hopes it will help others who may have a visitation from children with black eyes. Keep your doors and windows locked and for God's sake, DON'T LET THEM IN.
The7 first really scary story that I've read here this year. Yes, we must always beware of first impressions and trust our instincts when it comes to giving someone access to our personal space. Innocence is not always what it seems.
In the end they'll all be dancin'--all them ones that didn't die.... Dance with me in the shadows amidst the lightning and the thunder, and all that nu-cu-lar debris. See the big bang from the other side, and then open that cellar door. Go down into
