The Basement Ghost
I can remember the house in San Francisco where I grew up. I can remember the way the doors opened and closed; how the windows were mysteriously opened while we were gone; and the basement. Mostly, I remember the basement.
My sister and I were down there in the darkness, scooping food for our dog, when we heard the voice.
"Go."
We stared at each other, our hands beginning to shake. We had no idea who or where this voice was coming from, so we ignored it and continued to feed the dog. She whimpered and pressed up against my legs. We were used to her acting funny about being in the basement -- huddling in the corner, terrified, when we would come down at night to get her -- but today it seemed spookier than usual.
That same night, I heard the voice again. I ran to my parents' room and cried into their pillows, telling them everything my sister and I had heard. Exchanging a look over my head, they explained that we had a ghost, then told me to go back to bed.
I just couldn't. I was petrified at that point; my mouth was dry, despite the water I kept drinking. But what could my sister and I do?
A few weeks later, my sister awoke and went to speak to our mother, who she heard speaking in the hall. When she tried to open the door, it refused to budge. It was being held from the inside! I leaped out of bed and ran to help my sister, both of us screaming and screaming until finally the door gave way.
The next night, we were too scared to feed the dog in the basement, so we decided to feed her upstairs. Our plans were quickly foiled: the food was in the basement.
We crept down the stairs, holding hands and sticking close. Halfway down, we heard the same voice:
"Go."
Our dog barked upstairs. We had to get the food! My sister led the dash to the bag and our hands clenched around it.
I slowly turned around, and my mouth fell open in a silent scream.
A very pale woman, tall and shapely but with dead black eyes, stood in the center of our basement. Her skull-like gaze bored into me. I felt my face go cold.
My sister turned, then, and began to scream. The sound broke my paralysis and we pushed past the woman, whose body vaporized at our touch.
We left the house that night.
