For the sake of argument we shall assume the following tale is true. And by that i mean make up your own mind. But let me warn you, this story is not for the faint of heart, because when you stare into the Abyss, the darkness there stares right back at you.

They say that man has inside of him the potential to be a force for good and for evil. The eternal struggle of a person to control his naffs is ever on going. They say that the devil is likely to tempt us at this time, during our weakest of moments. I call this tale:

Quote:

'THE SUMMER 1994'

I was the normal teenage high school student and I had the typical part time job, but what happened to me over the summer of 1994 was not normal at all. I began to delve into the macabre things in life (i.e. scary stories, scary movies, and things of the darker realm). My friend and I thought it was pretty cool at first to talk about "The Dark Things In Life".

This was where my life became an actual nightmare. I distinctly recall times where I would hear voices in my head, not speaking, but screaming things that still to this day make my skin crawl. These voices sounded like the voice of the little girl in the movie Exorcist when she is possessed. The voices would haunt me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There were times that I would turn my head to see if there was someone actually behind me.
They were mostly voices of warning, but sometimes all I heard was sinister laughing.

First came the voices, then came the shadows.

Many a night I would be walking home from a friends or wherever and I would see shadows walking behind me and alongside me. I remember thinking that as long as I got to my house I would be safe.
That is until I awoke one night to see a shadow kneeling by my bed and another standing by my bedroom door.
After spending a few paralytic minutes staring at the shadows, they left. To try and give you a picture of what these shadows looked like, if you have seen the movie Ghost, you have a taste of what I saw. These shadows slid along the ground, not making even the slightest sound. Not only was I cursed with beholding these shadows; people in my family would ask,
"Did you just see that?"
Of course I did, but I didn't want to admit it.

First the voices, then the shadows, then came the Nightmares.

I have always had my share of nightmares. You have your basic monster, scary nightmares, etc. However, the nightmares I had during this time bury any others. These nightmares were so bizarre, they are hard to retell, although I did have one nightmare that I have not forgotten and will not ever forget. It took place at an amusement park, and I went on the 'Haunted House' ride. When I came up to where you were to enter the car, the employee told me that they had been
'Expecting me'.

I climbed into the little car provided, and in a wink I was off into the spooky annexes of "Draculas Castle". The ride was routine in all its glory until the track I was on broke.
Suddenly, I was hurled through hallways filled with images of torture, sadness, sickness, pain, torment and anger. The dream was so real I remember feeling as if I were on the path to Hell itself. At the end of these God-Forbidden paths, I came to a large and spacious room where I came upon a tall man standing with his back to me.

He was very neatly groomed and large in stature. He slowly turned and asked if I enjoyed the "ride". After calming down somewhat, I almost felt at peace in his presence.

He talked to me about how he was tired and growing old and that he needed rest. I felt sorry for this man because he did not seem old. He explained that the world was full of the things I saw in those corridors and that he could not handle it anymore. I agreed and said that it is horrible what the world has come to. To this he seemed kind of agitated and I, not really caring, continued that the world was filled with darkness.

He asked,
"What do you know of darkness?"

Rudely I replied, "What do you know about darkness?"
I will never forget what happened next.

He started to lift off the ground and rings of fire encircled him; fire came from his eyes and in the most evil, deep, dark voice imaginable he screamed:

"MY SON, I AM THE DARKNESS!!!"

I realized then that this personage with whom I was with was SATAN himself.

I awoke in a frenzy. My eyes were filled with tears and I was sweating profusely. As I sat in bed reflecting upon my nightmare, in the back of my mind or room, I'm not sure which, I heard a voice whisper
"And now is the time for you to take my place..."
and the voice trailed off and slowly died.

I no longer hear voices or see shadows or associate myself with the dark things of life. But every once in awhile, I see something out of the corner of my eye or hear things go bump in the night, and the darkness still calls.