The Clown At The Window
written by: Angel Daemon
@BlutengelDaemon
Seven-year-old Tommy Hollander, laid in his bed with only a single night-light and two tea light candles lighting the room. Dinosaur posters, toys and fossil-like models surround his innocent room. Even his television had dinosaur stickers around the border.
To the left of his bed is a window. It is so close that if the bed were to tip over, he would fall right through the window. This was a single story house so his room overlooked the garden his mom created in the backyard.
The curtains were opened slightly. He was awake and always had trouble sleeping. Tonight, was different. It was October 30 and he was excited for the next day. He knew in class there would be so much candy to have. Then his mother would take him Trick or Treating. All was right with the world.
At this point, his back is facing the window when he hears a “tap-tap” on the window.
He turns and sees part of the rose-bush swaying in the wind. It’s typical. He turns over again, facing away. Then “tap-tap-tap” again.
He turns and again, nothing.
Even at age seven he is smart enough to know that the tapping is suspicious. Slowly, a white-gloved hand rises and wiggles its fingers.
Tommy, wisely, gets out of bed and runs to his mother’s room.
“Mommy, Mommy! There’s somebody at my window!” Tommy screams!
His mother, Susan, leaps out of bed, reaches in her drawer for her revolver and heads to his bedroom without hesitation.
She makes it to his window. She looks around.
“I don’t see anybody.” Susan says.
“Somebody was out there!” Tommy replies confidently.
“I told you not to watch those scary movies before bed time.” Susan says.
Tommy thinks it over and if his mom, a big girl, isn’t afraid then, why should he?
He gets into bed.
Susan tucks him back in. Tommy loved to watch horror movies but always ended up scared or seeing things that weren’t there. This wasn’t out of the ordinary. Susan ended up rolling her eyes at herself for grabbing her gun. She would have a talk with him in the morning about it. He would not be allowed to watch them any more until he is older.
She goes to her room, puts the gun away, and gets back in to bed.
Tommy faces the window this time, staring outside.
Suddenly, a blue and yellow clown hat rises in front of the window. Its little poof ball on the top blows in the wind.
Tommy’s eyes widen. He closes his eyes tight and opens them. The hat remains.
“Leave me alone.” Tommy says softly.
The hat lowers out of sight.
Tommy smiles. It was his imagination after all. He shuts his eyes again and tries to sleep the silliness away.
Then an even heavier “TAP-TAP” is heard. His eyes burst open and that same gloved hand is holding a shiny ax.
Tommy leaps out of bed and rushes towards his mother’s room again!
“Mommy, mommy, I swear I saw something this time!” He shouts.
Susan, not believing him replies, “Tommy, you need to stop this. I need to sleep!”
“But, Mom, I am not lying!” He says with seriousness in his tone.
“Back to bed, Tommy!” She says firmly.
Tommy goes back to his room, frightened. He goes into his closet and grabs his trusty old little league baseball bat. He walks over to the window, very carefully. He looks outside. Nothing. He closes the curtains. He liked having it open since the porch light allowed the room to be a little brighter.
He gets back into bed, hugging his bat.
A shadow covers the porch light as Tommy now sees the LARGE silhouette of a clown with an ax. Tommy doesn’t believe it. He foolishly gets out of bed and opens the curtains to see a beastly clown, with blue and yellow face paint, pressed against the window! His disgusting yellow toothed smile is almost as large as he is. His face is blurred behind the window. But clearly it is a maniacal clown! In his hands, he grips the ax.
Tommy screams and runs back to his mother’s room!
“MOMMY!!!!” He yells in terror.
Before he could make it to her bedroom, she meets him in the hallway.
She is beyond annoyed at this point.
“What, Tommy?!?! What?!?!” She asks.
Tommy, shivering and in tears.
“A clown…mommy, a clown.” He replies.
She stops and thinks about it. She calms down a bit.
She takes him to his room and as before, the clown is gone.
She closes the curtains and puts Tommy back to bed.
“Son, do you remember around three years ago, you had that run in with that mean clown?”
Tommy nods.
“The one who took daddy away?” He asks.
Painfully holding back tears, she nods.
“See, whenever something scares you, it leaves its scary memory in your head.” She explains. “When that happens, the thoughts form into illusions.”
“What are illusions?” He innocently asks.
“Like a magician, who plays tricks and makes you see things or not see things.” She explains.
He smiles a bit.
“So, I understand you are scared and why but trust me, that mean old clown is far away and never coming back.”
“Ok, mommy.” He says, comforted.
She gives him a smile and blows him a kiss as she leaves.
Tommy grabs his bat just in case and even his IPOD. He turns it on as loud as he can and shuts his eyes tight!
Susan is in her room and lays down as painful memories flood her once peaceful mind. She shuts her eyes and tries to sleep it off.
Then the eeriest of playful voices emerges.
“Sweeeet-heeearrt.”
Her eyes open quickly to see the face of the clown in the window! He is right by her bedside.
Back in Tommy’s room, his eyes are shut tight. He has been opening and closing them for about five minutes now and no sign of the clown in the window. He believes his mother now. He takes the ear buds out and lies on his back. Footsteps approach. Tommy knows these do not belong to his mother.
He slowly turns his head to see the clown in the window standing with his mother’s severed head.
“Hellllooo there, son. Daddy’s Home!” The Clown says.
Tommy screams.
“Looks like your mother is no longer the head of this household.” He says as he laughs boisterously.
Tommy grabs his bat! The Clown smiles big.
“Nice.” He raises his ax. “But mine is bigger!”
He mercilessly drives the ax down as hard as he can on to his estranged son.
- Your Own Outside Perspective - December 2, 2018
- The Clown At The Window - October 30, 2018
- The Day The Mouse Died - October 1, 2018
