I woke with a start

A sound from above

I lay in the dark

Wrapped round me like a glove.

That was it, and there,

again and again

A sort of tapping and rustling

My first thought was rain

Falling on the window

But I listened, straining to hear

The noise wasn’t coming from that direction.

I heard it again, loud and clear.

I could see the mirror from where I lay

My eyes wide, black holes in my face

Pale and scared and not very brave.

If only I wasn’t alone in that place.

I was pretty sure that the noise

Was coming from above my head.

I breathed deeply and then

Slowly, carefully, I slid out of bed

I crept to the loft hatch

And eased it ajar

And peered through the gap

Feeling well below par.

My hands were all clammy

My breathing too fast

I could no longer hear the noise

It was quiet at last.

I knew the light switch was just inside

As I pushed on the hatch it let out a creak

I reached for the light switch

My legs feeling weak

I pressed the switch but the light didn’t work

Hadn’t I changed the bulb only a month ago?

I could see something moving up in the rafters.

It tensed as I opened the loft hatch real slow.

The thing was very still

Then moved really fast

Directly towards me

Then veered and went passed.

I couldn’t speak, I was frozen

As it scuttled to the darkest part of the loft

Its body was vaguely human

But the abdomen looked swollen and soft

It was the stuff of nightmares.

Its arms and legs were spindly and thin

All angles and thick black hair.

A shape dangled behind it and started to spin.

Something was wrapped up and suspended

The thing was moving and I realised

That it was human being

Trapped and struggling inside.

I was distracted and I paid the price

One moment I was thinking what to do now

Then I sensed movement

I’m not sure how

But the creature had crept forward

And suddenly lunged

I fell backwards out of the loft

Down into the landing I plunged

I was knocked unconscious by the fall

When I awoke everything was black

I was upside down

Hands squashed behind my back

And gradually I understood

The creature had caught me like a fly

And I was trapped and hanging

Waiting to die

And as I spun upside down

I could hear the nightmarish beast

As it moved towards me and began it’s feast