1 January 2012
"Mommy, there's a monster under my bed!," whined Bobby.
"Jeez," thought Carol, "he's at it again!" Wearily, she staggered to her feet and mounted the flight of stairs to her son's bedroom. With one hand the exhausted mother pushed open the door, while with the other she flipped on the room light switch.
Carol met the boy's frightened eyes with her her own. "There's nothing in the dark that's going to hurt you!," she admonished him, flipping up the edges of the bedspread to offer proof. Sure enough, only a few pairs of shoes and some dust bunnies were apparent for inspection.
Bobby refused to be comforted, however, and was not surprised when a large pair of taloned hands reached forth to grab his mother by the ankles and pull her roughly back under the bed. He knew that her blood-curdling screams would not help her, terrible cries which would blessedly be cut short.
Children knew well that not all monsters lurking in the dark would hurt them. Some would wait until the light switch was turned on...
What Lies Beneath... • Opuss № I