Furry Collar

The Furry Collar is a scary urban legend about two girls named Julia and Geraldine who are having a sleepover. It is based on an old story called “The Phantom Footsteps” which is actually a story-within-a-story from “The Gentleman From America” by Michael Arlen.

Julia and Geraldine were best friends, but they had very different personalities. Julia was brave and fearless, while Geraldine was shy and frightened of everything.

It was Halloween night and the girls were having a sleepover at Geraldine’s house because her parents were out of town. In fact, every time Geraldine’s parents went out of town, they had a sleepover because Geraldine was nervous about sleeping alone in the house, even though she knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

It was a big, gloomy house, set way back from the road. When Julia arrived and rang the doorbell, Geraldine answered the door and ushered her inside. The girls changed into their nighties. Julia was wearing a beautiful silk nightgown. It was blood-red and had a furry collar. Geraldine thought it was gorgeous and wished she had such a beautiful nightgown.

The girls made some popcorn and settled down on the sofa to watch a scary movie. When it was over, Julia was tired and Geraldine was a bit scared, so they decided to turn off the TV and go to bed. As they walked up the stairs, they got the strangest feeling that something was following them. They ran upstairs and slammed the bedroom door. Then, they laughed at each other for being so silly.

It was shortly after midnight and the two girls were lying in bed, chatting. All of a sudden, they heard a faint noise from down below. It sounded like something was moving around down there.

Scritch… scritch… scritch…

They stopped talking and looked at each other, wide-eyed. There was an uneasy silence. Then, they heard the noise again. It sounded like fingers scraping down a chalkboard.

Scritch… scritch… scritch…

Julia sat up in bed, listening intently. Geraldine hid her head under the covers.

“It’s only a cat,” Julia whispered. “I’m going down to see.”

“Don’t!” Geraldine begged. “Please don’t leave me, Julia!”

“Don’t be so childish!” Julia snapped. “Whenever anything fun happens, you get the shivers down your spine.”

“Please,” Geraldine whined.

“If you’re so frightened, I’ll lock the door from the outside and take the key with me,” Julia assured her. “That way no one can get in. I hope it’s a burglar! I’ll give him the fright of his life.”

Julia got out of bed and felt her way to the door in the darkness. She slipped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door behind her. Geraldine listened as she turned the key in the lock. She heard Julia’s soft footsteps going down the stairs. Then, she heard the noise again. It sounded like a knife being sharpened.

Scritch… scritch… scritch…

Geraldine lay there in the darkness with the bedclothes over her head. She was sick with fear and trying to be as quiet as a mouse. All she coud hear was the very stillness of the house. She wanted to call out Julia’s name, but she didn’t dare.

Geraldine waited for what seemed like an eternity. After a long silence, she heard the noise again. It seemed to be moving now, coming up the stairs, getting louder and louder.

Scritch, scritch, scritch…

Then, it stopped. Geraldine thought she heard someone standing on the other side of the door.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch!

She heard the key turn in the lock and the door creaked open.

“Julia?” she asked. “Julia, is that you?”

She couldn’t see a thing in the darkness, so she reached out with both hands.

She reached out and felt a soft silk nightgown.

Then, Geraldine reached up higher and, to her relief, she felt the furry collar. It must be Julia, she thought.

But when she reached higher again, she felt something wet and warm.

There was nothing there… Nothing but a bloody stump where her friend’s head had once been.

Early the next morning, when Geraldine’s mother and father returned home, they were shocked by what they found. Inside the front door, there was a large pool of blood and a trail of blood drops led up the stairs. The frantic parents rushed upstairs, following the trail of blood that led to their daughter’s room. When they opened the door, the poor couple stood there appalled at the loathesome sight that met their eyes.

Julia’s headless body was stretched out on the floor. They found Geraldine hiding in the closet. Her hair had gone white and she was babbling and raving like a lunatic. She had gone completely insane.

Later that day, the police found a confused man wandering around the countryside. He was dressed in a white hospital gown and he had blood all over him. In his hand, he was cluching a bloody knife. It turned out that he was a homicidal lunatic and, just the night before, he had escaped from the local insane asylum.

Ironically, it was the very same insane asylum where Geraldine would spend the rest of her life.