The first time was a decade ago this week. We had moved to Post Apocalyptic Bohemia after 20 years in Seattle. I was alone in the house with 22 years of stuff, & the 2 terriers- Sister & Butch (now both gone to heaven). The Husband had returned to Seattle for another 4 weeks of finishing projects & tying up loose ends.
I had probably been a little stoned & a little bit drunk & a whole lot of discombobulated & disconsolate. I had a dream that night about this house, nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing was heightened. I saw myself & the dogs in the bed, mattresses on the floor at that point.
Something darker than the dark of the house, in an aspect human, but with a silhouette more substantial & shadowy, was moving through our new home. In my dream, I tried to scream, but no voice would come out. I awoke with a sweat & a start. The shadow was at the end of the bed. I closed my eyes & reopened them to stillness, the dogs sleeping & my heart pounding.
I have had the dream re-played with little variation for a decade. When I awaken, I am no longer alarmed or anxious when I see the shadow move from the bedroom, through the back room & into my workspace. I still close my eyes & reopen them. The Husband will wake me, sweetly saying: “Steve, Steve… you are dreaming, wake up, you are screaming/gasping/whimpering in your sleep.”
Always the same: this house, as it is, the specter moving around the house, it moves into the bedroom, is present at the end of the bed. I am frustrated that the dogs don’t notice, don’t growl. I try to scream & nothing comes out. I wake up. I catch the shadow move away.
Early this week, The Husband woke me & claimed that I had been speaking in tongues. I explained that the shadow dream visited me & I was angrily demanding that the dark thing leave forever & that was the moment that he woke me up. I have taken to getting up after a dream visit & walk through the house ready for a confrontation.
The Husband has had no encounters of the shadowy kind. But, Lil’ Jake, the hip-hop artist & noted designer, took care of the house & canines when The Husband & I made I little road trip this spring. Returning, we asked how the experience was, knowing he would be delighted to have stayed at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia with the hot tub & the TV that receives every channel in the world including Al Jazeera's Real Burqa Clad Wives Of Khartoum.
Lil’ Jake had taken on the task of staying in our house several times before. Lil Jake: “well… OK, but… I don’t know if I should tell you. There seems to be a spirit in this house. I had a hot dude over & we had hot tubbed, & smoked a bowl. As we were drying off, my guest gasped- ‘did you see that too’? A black shape, darker than the darkness, moved through the back room & out into the garden. The spot lights on Buddha began to strobe really fast & the dogs were barking & running in circles.”
Readers might speculate that I should make a run for it. I love this home. I love it more than anyplace I have ever spent time in. I rarely want to leave it. Besides, the skeletons in my closet are more spine-chilling than the shadow, not to mention The Husband’s underwear drawer.
I had probably been a little stoned & a little bit drunk & a whole lot of discombobulated & disconsolate. I had a dream that night about this house, nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing was heightened. I saw myself & the dogs in the bed, mattresses on the floor at that point.
Something darker than the dark of the house, in an aspect human, but with a silhouette more substantial & shadowy, was moving through our new home. In my dream, I tried to scream, but no voice would come out. I awoke with a sweat & a start. The shadow was at the end of the bed. I closed my eyes & reopened them to stillness, the dogs sleeping & my heart pounding.
I have had the dream re-played with little variation for a decade. When I awaken, I am no longer alarmed or anxious when I see the shadow move from the bedroom, through the back room & into my workspace. I still close my eyes & reopen them. The Husband will wake me, sweetly saying: “Steve, Steve… you are dreaming, wake up, you are screaming/gasping/whimpering in your sleep.”
Always the same: this house, as it is, the specter moving around the house, it moves into the bedroom, is present at the end of the bed. I am frustrated that the dogs don’t notice, don’t growl. I try to scream & nothing comes out. I wake up. I catch the shadow move away.
Back Room... Why do Lulu & Junior not bark at the spirit?
Early this week, The Husband woke me & claimed that I had been speaking in tongues. I explained that the shadow dream visited me & I was angrily demanding that the dark thing leave forever & that was the moment that he woke me up. I have taken to getting up after a dream visit & walk through the house ready for a confrontation.
The Husband has had no encounters of the shadowy kind. But, Lil’ Jake, the hip-hop artist & noted designer, took care of the house & canines when The Husband & I made I little road trip this spring. Returning, we asked how the experience was, knowing he would be delighted to have stayed at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia with the hot tub & the TV that receives every channel in the world including Al Jazeera's Real Burqa Clad Wives Of Khartoum.
Lil’ Jake had taken on the task of staying in our house several times before. Lil Jake: “well… OK, but… I don’t know if I should tell you. There seems to be a spirit in this house. I had a hot dude over & we had hot tubbed, & smoked a bowl. As we were drying off, my guest gasped- ‘did you see that too’? A black shape, darker than the darkness, moved through the back room & out into the garden. The spot lights on Buddha began to strobe really fast & the dogs were barking & running in circles.”
Readers might speculate that I should make a run for it. I love this home. I love it more than anyplace I have ever spent time in. I rarely want to leave it. Besides, the skeletons in my closet are more spine-chilling than the shadow, not to mention The Husband’s underwear drawer.
The Shadow stands at the end of the bed
Front Room
Now this is scary...
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