In the Shadows

In The Shadows is a short creepy story. It is based on an old horror comic called “In the Shadows of the City” which appeared in Haunt of Horror #1.

In the shadows, there lurks someone who wants to kill you. I am warning you because I want you to know. That someone is me. I want to kill you. More than anything in this world, I want to see you die.

Why do I want to kill you? That’s a fair question, but I don’t want to answer that. It’s enough that you know I want to kill you. You don’t need to know why.

When do I want to kill you? That’s easy… All the time.

When am I going to kill you? That’s another matter entirely… I haven’t decided yet. I may not know until I do it. That way, I can claim temporary insanity.

You don’t know who I am. You don’t know where I come from. You don’t know anything about me. But now you know who I really am… I am a murderer and a fiend. I am your worst nightmare. I am the fear that lurks in the shadows.

How do I plan to kill you? Now, that would be telling. Just think of the most horrible death you can imagine. I promise I will go you one better. You have my word.

Do you think being burned alive is an awful way to die? For me, that’s nothing. Do you cringe at the thought of being eaten alive? To me, that’s child’s play. What I have in mind for you is so unthinkable, so grotesque, so chilling that I dare not even whisper it aloud.

It scares even me and sometimes I wonder if I am depraved enough to carry it out. But… of course… I am.

My childhood was lonely. My parents abandoned me. I never had any friends. Nobody cared about me. I grew to hate the world and everybody in it. I used to lock myself in my room and dream of ways to kill every person I met. Then, I got older and realized I could make my dreams come true.

Doctors and psychiatrists examined me. They told me I was insane. They told me I was hopelessly mad and maybe they were right. But in this world, you have to be mad just to go on living sanely.

They tried to lock me up in an asylum. I fooled them all. As soon as their backs were turned, I escaped and I have been on the run ever since. I changed my name. I changed my face. I blended in with all the other poor slobs who stumble through this life.

What will become of your body when I kill you? I don’t know and I don’t care. When I strike, the unspeakable atrocities I will perpetrate on your helpless body will be enough to make a corpse turn red with shame. But don’t worry, you won’t see any of that because when I finally kill you, you won’t have any eyes.

And now, I am waiting for you, just as you are waiting for me. I live for your death and you must live forever in fear or me. It could happen in one second, one minute or one hour. I may wait a week, a month or a year. At any moment, I could come for you.

There is nowhere you can feel safe. Not in the comfort of your own bed, not in the privacy of your own shower, not at school or at your job, not at work or at play, not where you eat or where you shop. Not even where you pray.

No matter where you are, I am always chasing you. I am always on your trail, always over your shoulder, always at your heels. Now you know what true fear really is.

So look for me whenever you walk down a deserted alley and furtively glance behind you. I am the fear that lurks in the shadows and you cannot hide from me because sooner or later, I am going to kill you. It’s just a matter of time…