When I was 12 I slept over my friend Michael’s house. Michael’s backyard had an old greenhouse which his parents had cleared out and refurbished with some left over furniture. This made for a comfortable spot for sleepovers during the summer months.

On the night of the sleepover we passed the time running around in the backyard playing flashlight tag before moving inside. Once inside we munched on delivery pizza while playing boardgames before getting ready for bed. We each occupied one of the couches on opposite walls across from each other and drifted off to sleep.

I awoke later in the night. Forgetting where I was for a second, I stared out ahead looking out towards the starry night through the glass wall.  I turned over to my side to look at Michael when I noticed a patch of darkness shift outside.

It looked like a big dog but both its front and back legs moved in unison like an insect. Its limbs were long and elevated its body high off the ground as it towered above the couch. It remained me of the monster in the movie Pumpkinhead, which to this day still terrifies me. Particularly its large head which was slanted towards the back. The creature was all black except for the orbs of its eyes which were moonlight white. I would have thought it was blind if not for the tiniest pencil spot pupils that were focused on Michael’s sleeping form.

I closed my own eyes. Trying to will this nightmare away. When I opened them the creature’s eyes stared directly back at me. I was horrified. You know that feeling of helplessness as a child when you wake from a bad dream and your parents’ bedroom feels worlds away. The thing didn’t move or react to me. For now it was content to just watch. I would turn away or hide under my blankets. It just stayed and watched. Every time I had prayed it had left I would look over and it would just stand there and watch. No matter how long I waited I couldn’t escape this monster’s gaze. Even now when I sleep I can still feel its eyes on me.

Eventually I fell asleep under my covers from exhaustion. When I woke up the next morning I couldn’t bear to tell Michael about what had seen. Selfishly I didn’t want to relive it all over again. I stopped sleeping over Michael’s house. Then one day a few weeks later he went missing while playing outside at night. Then I knew. It doesn’t just watch.