A Spooky Story (Reprint from 2015)
When I got up this morning, there was a pot of hot coffee ready. That’s all. End of story.
Oh, except for the part about how I live alone. And I did not make that coffee.
Oh, and guess what: It’s Halloween! O-o-o-o-o-h! And I just happen to live in The Last House on the Left. O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-h! Coincidence? I think not.
I looked around nervously. Could there be someone hiding in the garage who had prepared the elixir? And if so, did he make it for me, or for himself? (Of course it would be a he.) Was he just about to pour a steaming cup when he heard me stumbling down the hall? Was he out there now, fists clenched in frustration, whispering, “Rats” – or worse? (After all, that’s where I keep the chainsaw.)
And if he made it for me, what was his motivation? To scare the living bejesus out of me? Or get me fully awake for the horror to come?
But no, the door to the garage was locked with a deadbolt on the kitchen side. He couldn’t have slipped through that door and then locked it, too.
I poured my coffee, added cream and sugar, humming softly like everything was normal. I started meandering about the house, cup in hand, acting casual. I caressed the leather sofa in the living room and then peered over; was he behind it? No… I set my cup on the bar in the party room; was he crouched underneath it? No… I glanced toward the fireplace; was he standing erect inside, with just his jeans and jackboots showing? No…
I continued wandering. Down the hall, into the guest room to gaze out at the sunny day; was he pressed up against the wall behind the curtains? No… I stepped into the office, turned the computer on while looking back over my shoulder into the closet; was he lurking there? No… In the guest bath, I put the toilet lid down while I peeked behind the dreaded Psycho shower curtain; but was there a figure with a raised arm holding a big knife? No.
At that point I breathed a sigh of relief. I had exhausted the possibilities. Because he couldn’t be in the same master suite from which I had just emerged minutes before.
Could he?
Well, clearly I spend too much time with Investigation Discovery TV. Yes, I watch serial murderers while grading student papers. It tempers my desire to kill. (No, not my students; the grade school/middle school/high school teachers who somehow managed NOT to teach them how to write using proper English grammar, punctuation and spelling. Now that’s a horror. But I digress.)
Secure in the knowledge that there was no hatchet-wielding psychopath in my immediate vicinity, my mind turned to other possibilities. Could I have made the coffee myself? That was impossible. I had gotten up around 4:00 to pee, but I went straight back to sleep.
I do sometimes set the coffee pot up before I go to bed, meaning that I put in the filter, the French Market New Orleans coffee, the water, and a dash of cinnamon (mmm). But I don’t set the timer because I’m too lazy to get out the instruction booklet that came with it and figure out how. Especially when it’s 10:30 and I’ve already been dozing on the couch, or I can’t wait to get back to that great novel that’s open on my Kindle.
Could I have accidentally set the timer while fumbling with the pot? Perhaps it had been previously set for 7:00 a.m. and had just dripped its last drop when I came into the kitchen. Frankly, that’s the only explanation that makes any sense to me.
I never considered the possibility that it might have been a ghost or a goblin or a zombie or some other kind of non-human perpetrator. Even the shows I watch are all about true crime and forensics. I’m the I Fucking Love Science type, not the metaphysics type.
But I do know this: It was almost an other-worldly experience to get up to the smell of that coffee, already made.
So I think I’ll just go and dig out that instruction manual now, while I’m wide awake.
Care to share a spooky story of your own?
I’ve played Elvira for many a Halloween.
This year I decided to kick it up a notch with
Aging Elvira.
Funny enough a coworker of mine has now been entertaining the thought of ghost , spirit or some supernatural entity running amok in his apartment. It knocks over pots and pans , shuffles through the cabinets and he swears he see’s an orb float around his house with movement patterns resembling something with intelligence . He honestly can’t sleep and I’ve tried to calm his nerves by saying there has to be a more logical explanation to it all. However every one I seem to meet has some sort of story whether personal or passed down through family involving a paranormal event. Maybe we aren’t as alone as we think!
Maybe we aren’t! We don’t know what we don’t know.
I really like the journey you took me on in this post. Are used to go to the Queen Mary with my husband, and one time we did a tour that shared peoples hunted encounters. The guides mentioned that there are certain paranormal hotspots, and how there’s a woman who circulates the ship. Although I never felt or seen anything, it was definitely an airy feeling when we were there.
I think humans are drawn to those feelings and experiences!
I found your story to be so interesting. I can’t imagine how scared you were for your life in that moment haha. I’m thankful that you didn’t see a random stranger in your home and most importantly that you’re safe. It honestly could have been a ghost or something paranormal walking around, grabbing your belongings. You don’t have to do this but if you believe in the paranormal, I recommend you buy some white sage and cleanse every room in your home. Stay safe!
I never really thought anyone was there – and I’m glad I was right! As far as a spirit, who knows? I don’t live in that house anymore.
Wow!
This was such an engaging story and fit the spooky spirit of halloween that has just passed. From the wording used to the mentioning your chainsaw, It felt like it was October 31st all over again while I was reading this. We still may never know how the pot of coffee appeard that morning.
I’m glad you got a thrill out of this story!
The fact that I will never know how my coffee was made for me when living alone would drive me crazy! I give you props for accepting what happened and moving on. There have been many times where I walk into my backyard towards my garage in the middle of the dark night and stopping in my tracks when hearing a rustle in the bushes. I stare in the direction of the noise, forcing myself to look fearless when in reality, I’m scared of the possibility of there being a person hiding in the darkness. Then I remind myself that it could possibly be a raccoon or some other type of animal living their life in the shadows. For all I know, my house is haunted and the ghost of whoever is building up the nerve to haunt me on my way back inside the house. I guess I will never know until I know for sure.
I hope you’re not being haunted! I bet you’re hearing animal noises, yet do you really have to walk back there at night, just in case? We women have to make smart choices to keep ourselves safe, and sometimes not to do something just because it’s convenient. Because I did search the house, and because I don’t believe in ghosts, I really do think that coffee maker was pre-set with a start time.
Loved the way this story was told, I was hooked from the start to the end! I kinda dig the fact that the answer was never revealed, but my nosy part will always wonder! I loved the small funny snippets, especially the men part! I know I’d be just as paranoid looking around trying to find an answer, but in the end, I’d probably comfort myself by telling me I simply forgot I had put it myself!
I had fun writing it, too! Thanks for reading.
This was a fun story to read. There have been a few times when noises from a timed coffee machine startled me in the early morning, but my parents reassured me it was them. As for believing in ghosts, I wouldn’t rule it out if I lived alone!
A lot of readers have agreed with you!
I enjoyed the thrill of this blog post, leaving me in suspense as I too find myself questioning my safety when I am home alone. When it is extremely quiet and everything seems calm, it is easy for the mind to become paranoid, (especially since I too watch murder documentaries whenever I have free time). Whenever I find myself in these situations I try to ease my mind by shutting it out and it usually does the trick!
Interesting! I handle it a little differently. I just have to go and do a sweep of the house, or I cannot rest. So far I’ve been lucky and not come upon an intruder!
OMG! As I was reading, my imagination was so vivid, it felt like a scene from a scary movie where a thief had broken into your house.
That was the fun part of writing that story – the chance to be creative!
This story had me on the edge of my seat. I would be terrified if I woke up and saw the cup of coffee. You gave good explanation of other possibilities that could have happen which I would have done the same. I would try to find other alternative possibilities that did not involve someone breaking into my place.
And at the same time, I still had to look around just to be sure.
What a spine-tingling morning! The mystery of the freshly brewed coffee combined with the eerie setting of Halloween in “The Last House on the Left” is pure gold. The combination of humor and suspense kept me hooked until the very end. The search for the phantom coffee maker had me on edge, yet smiling at the same time. This story is a perfect blend of spooky and amusing.
Thank you for these great comments!