Tuesday, October 14, 2008

In the Still of the Night

As a mother of four, and now a writer, I have spent many late nights awake while the rest of the house lay sleeping.  I will never forget one of those very nights when I was awake, rocking a little one.

 

Shadows darkened the corners and crept outward in an attempt to overtake the entire room.  The only sound to be heard was an occasional creaking as the walls settled in for the night.  The gentle back and forth motion of the gliding rocker was not only putting the baby back to sleep, but forcing my eyes to close as well. 


A single noise brought me back to my senses instantly.  A low moaning broke through the silence.  My heart raced and I looked around cautiously.  The baby became restless, perhaps responding to my sudden tension.  The moan continued, low and raspy, and I concluded the noise was coming from behind the couch in front of me.  This deduction did nothing to calm me.  Gripping my baby closer to my chest, I prepared to make a run for my husband who lay asleep in the back room unaware of my imminent death.


Just as I shifted my weight to the front of the chair, a robotic voice, sounding a lot like Winnie the Pooh, said, “Change my batteries.”  Resisting the urge to scream, I relaxed back into the chair and began a fit of hysterical laughter instead.  Not because I thought it was funny, but because that voice and command creeped me out even further.  I did not like toys in my house that demanded things of me.  It was too reminiscent of murderous dolls that I had seen in movies when I was a teenager. 


The next day the batteries in Winnie the Pooh came out for good.  I couldn’t risk him turning against me at a future date. 


Some of you may think I made this story up.  After all, I am a writer and I do love to make up stories.  But, this story is one hundred percent true.  Perhaps, when this doll was being designed, the makers didn’t take into account the possibility that a late night demand might nearly cause a poor woman a heart attack.


Have any of my fellow night owls had any nighttime scares?   

10 comments:

  1. This was so funny! I didn't know the toys did that today!! I personally try not to be up at night but with a baby I can see why you are:))

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  2. Do you really think that simply removing the batteries from the toy is sufficient protection from a demonically possessed doll? I'm not sure you saw the same killer-doll movies I did. You might want to consider a wood chipper followed by a gasoline fueled bonfire. Just a suggestion...

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  3. Terri, I have four kids and I didn't know toys did that. I do now. I won't soon forget.

    Kevin, you're right, Chuckie didn't need any batteries to become a psychopathic killer, did he? I might need to rent a wood chipper (I now have two victims for it). :)

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  4. No nightmare stories, but your post brought back fond memories of that solitary time rocking a baby in the late hours.

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  5. hilarious story!

    I noticed a great comment you made on Terri's blog and I thought I'd pop over to say Hello, from a fellow wannabe published writer/mamma of little ones/night owl. :)

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  6. Hahahah! Great story! And I know about those murderous dolls all too well...

    I have heard the moaning in the night that almost caused me to wet the bed....in my teens. When my dad has nightmares he wails out loud like a zombie. It is the scariest thing EVER! Lucky for me it only woke me up a couple times growing up and lucky for him that my mother hasn't killed him yet. =)

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  7. Great story, just visiting from Renee's blog.

    I've not had anything that entirely creepy, but I have stepped on a noise-making toy in the middle of the night, causing it to break out in song and ruin all my work in getting baby fed and sleeping. Not fun.

    And good luck in your agents search, I'm in the same boat as well:)

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  8. Joanne, yes, late nights with little ones are one of those things that are always appreciated more as memories. Distant memories, like dreams...ah dreams...sleep....finally able to sleep again....oh wait, now my muses keep me up. Sigh. One day I'll sleep again like a normal person....maybe.

    Renee, Thanks for dropping by. It's always fun to meet a fellow sufferer...I mean writer. I love your blog by the way. I love the moon, so when I clicked on your blog it took my breath away.

    Britten, I can think of a few late night horror stories that we've had together. I believe they involved creepy dolls that moved by themselves.

    Natalie, thanks for dropping by. I hate noise making toys for that very reason. Has it stopped Santa Clause from bringing them, no. By the way, I read the first chapter to your newest project on your blog...loved it. Good luck in your agent search as well.

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  9. Thanks Kasie! And yes, Santa doesn't bring noisy toys here either. But grandparents...that's another story. I think they have a revenge mind set.

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  10. I can totally relate. Hunter has this freaky dog that talks and sings and out of the blue (when Hunter is in bed) that thing starts singing in the toybox. It's possessed and really quite freaky. Perhaps I'll have to borrow the wood chipper.

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