Ghost Stories

I grew up in a city that is literally on the edge of Texas. A sister city with Juarez, Mexico, which of course is: yep, you guessed it Good 'ol El Paso Tx. This particular incident occurred when I was 16, a sophomore in high school. School was out for summer vacation and like every summer, I would partake in city league soccer until school began again in the fall. It was the end of June and by then if you live in Texas, you know Texas summers can be brutally hot, especially in the borderland and very dry. It was a Thursday evening and I arrived home from soccer practice, like every day I went about my normal routine. As the evening gave way to a hot Texas night, you either leave the AC on all night, or at least open a window in hopes of a cool breeze to pass through. In my parents’ home, I slept upstairs alone, my brother had already moved out by then. My mother, she tends to get cold very easily so often than not she'd turn off the AC and leave me to open my only window in my room.

I would open my window to ensure my comfort and a hopeful uninterrupted sleep. Well this particular night would be different. I remember waking up from a deep sleep; it had become very cold I covered myself completely only to find that sleep would not come so easily with the change in temperature. A little annoyed, I sleepily got up to close my window and I did... and proceeded to go back to sleep. The room remained cold, icy almost. And mind you it was the end of June, and with only a window open, and the AC off... seemed a little strange to me.

I slept for a short amount of time when I was awoken up by the feeling of someone in the room with me. I opened my eyes and tried to focus and realized that a figure of someone or something was standing over me, casting a darker shadow in the room when it was already dark. I was in a state of shock and curiosity when I was struck with a sudden feeling of fear. I was frozen there, lying in bed with this figure lingering over me. It did not speak nor could I see a face or and distinction of what the figure was. I had never encountered such a feeling before, it was almost sheer terror. In retrospect I find it futile that I slowly lifted the covers over my head like a frightened child would, hoping that the figure would somehow leave. I laid there for a moment... feeling the rapid beating of my heart, and trying not to make a sound. I was perfectly still, clenching teeth and holding my breath slightly until I fell asleep once more.

I'm not quite sure how long I had been asleep before my unconscious mind reminded me of the dark figure and I startled myself out of sleep. I sat completely straight up in bed just to realize that the figure had not left my room. It was now in the left corner of the room, next to my window. I stared at it in fear... watching it to see if it were to come near me and what must've only been minutes, felt like an eternity! I couldn't bear the suspense of the unmoving figure.. but I dare not look away from it. It began to sort of shift side to side in place and then began to cross the room... passing the window, without a sound or footstep. I watched in disbelief... as it moved past the window, it blocked the light of the street that was gently seeping through the blinds. This figure was of a person, with a heavy shroud and it didn’t utter a word nor made a sound. It moved in a way that I've never seen before. The top of it swayed back and forth, but it seemed to glide not walk. It stopped at the right corner of my room... There it remained, unmoving but I could feel it sort of leering at me... Tired, I laid back down and started to get angry. I thought to myself, this is ridiculous! If its going to come at me or do something... it better just do so! The anticipation of something happening or not was agony. I waited for a while, staring up at the ceiling, listening, to see if anything were to happen... I was exhausted from waiting.

I woke early the next morning, my room full of light. I quickly got up and checked my room. The closet, my bathroom, under my bed... I found no evidence of the figure what so ever. A few days later I decided to tell my parents of my encounter, and we speculated as to what the figure was, and perhaps its significance. The weeks went on and everything remained normal. Soon it was Fourth of July, my family used to get together at my uncle's house out in Clint Tx. The usual festivities went on, good food, family, fireworks, and of course I began to tell my cousins about my encounter that night. We continued to share personal experiences regarding strange occurrences when my uncle joined the conversation. He began to tell us how he awoke one night to a dark figure in his room. I listened intently as he began to tell his story and to my surprise, it sounded exactly as my encounter. He recounted the story in detail and an eerie silence fell upon us as he went on. His had happened a week after mine. When he had finished telling us his story, everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say. I looked over to my parents and the look on their faces was complete and utter shock.

Was it a warning? Coincidence? Or perhaps something more sinister... To this day I still don't know.