User talk:Matthew Sperry

I met him one night. One cold, winter night that I will never forget, for as long as I live. Wearing an old black wool sweater and boots, I trudged through the ankle-deep snow, making my way to a friend’s house. It would be a fun night. A merry Christmas Eve. Hot chocolate and wrapped gifts under the tree, a tree filled with lights and ornaments and other little trinkets. But no. Not this night would that happen. For a dark spirit lurked among me, and I was blind to it. A blizzard had started. My eyes could barely see three feet in front of me because of the raging snow that fell from the sky and the fact that everything was already caked in snow. I looked up and could make out the house. It looked strange, almost deserted. No lights or activity could be seen from the outside. I walked ahead. I almost tripped. The snow thickened and deepened. I was a little worried; it was almost up to my knees. And then a strong gust of wind scattered leaves and threw my hat off in the process. A cold draft encircled me. It was a strange feeling. I couldn’t move well. I felt almost completely stuck in the snow. And then I looked up and saw him. On the roof of the house, far back, I could make out the shape of a lump of something, with two large spikes or horns coming out the sides of it. I pondered, and then it moved. A slight movement. It was alive. It wore some sort of giant, dark brown cloak. As far as I could tell, it’s skin all black. I got out of the deep snow and onto more stable ground. But it wasn’t really stable. It was more of an icy pavement. I greatly wondered what the thing was. It started to freak me out a little. It then proceeded to walk along the roof, towards me. It stuck out what I thought was a long, thin finger at me. I was terrified. I didn’t know who or what the hell it was, but I knew something was off about it. I started to back away from the house, taking small steps. I didn’t want to make any sudden movements. I couldn’t see any face or eyes, but I could feel it staring at me. I oddly became frozen still. Whoever, or whatever this thing was, it was after me. Butterflies flew rapidly in my stomach as I tried to think about what was happening. I cringed. Suddenly, it leaped a giant leap far onto the house left of the previous one. It was chasing me. I broke into a sprint. I had to get away from it. My breath was hard. The snow crushed beneath the running of my feet. The creature jumped from house to house, running towards me in an inhumane nature. I screamed in terror, and kept sprinting, sprinting. I feared that if I tripped and fell, I would be a dead man. I didn’t look back. Every step I took, I could almost feel his fingers slowly grip around my neck. There was nowhere to run. I whipped around, and he was nowhere to be seen. I saw a delivery truck up ahead. I ran to the door, only to see a middle-aged balding man sitting in the seat, blood drooling from his mouth, dead. I covered my mouth and screamed inside my head. I had realized that shouting probably wasn’t the smartest option. Loud noises of wind and snapping branches sounded all around from me. I flung the door open and threw the man out of the car, crying as I did so in terror and remorse. I slammed the door and then looked at the keys, still in the ignition slot, and turned them. Nothing happened. I fumbled with the stick shift, and still, nothing. I didn’t even know how to drive a car anyways. I was nearing sixteen. Suddenly, some flurry of movement came on my left. A shadow of some sort. I held my breath. All that could be heard was the blizzard outside. Nothing could be seen in the storm. Just… Snow. I didn’t know what to do. I just sat there on the blood stained seat, thinking about all that had just happened in the past 5 minutes. I sat motionless. After a minute or so, I thought maybe whatever that was was gone. But that was wishful thinking. I was wrong. Oh so very wrong. The car started shaking. Rocking sideways, back and forth, back and forth. Tears fell from my eyes as I held the car roof with my hands. Tiny glass shards started raining down on me, cutting me severely. Blood trickled down my legs. The front window was shattered in the corner. The thing had probably caused it earlier. I don’t want to know how. The car jerked all the way to the right, crashing to the ground. I screamed inside my mind as I hit the ground, hard. I slammed my head against the destroyed window. Blood started pooling behind me. I kicked at the car’s front window, until the shattered corner became big enough for me to wedge my way through. I crawled through, falling to the cold ground. I sobbed in silence. I sat up against the car. Weird animal barks and calls sounded all around me. This creature was hunting me. I was about to get up and run when I heard faint footsteps on the other side of the car. I looked through the car windows and wreckage and could make out a large foot or hoof of some sort. Like a moose or antelope. It walked along. It was him. The thing. It turned its head around the car wreck and stared at me. I hesitated, then glanced up and saw his purplish, glowing, demonic eyes. The eyes of the devil. The eyes to the underworld. It was some demented reindeer or something, with two giant, curling horns. He wore an animal skin tunic all over his body. He had a hunchback, and was covered in tar or soot. I couldn’t really make out much face. Just eyes surrounded by a furry head, with a long slit, possibly a mouth, running the length of it. He faced me, looking closer, inches away from my eyes. A black, thin arm reached out from under the tunic. The long, narrow fingers had deep red claws on the end. He slowly extended one towards me and softly scratched my face. The slit on his face slowly opened, revealing sharp, yellow teeth. The ends of the mouth reached far past the jawline, as if it had been carved that way. He was smiling a giant, evil smile. One only imagined in nightmares. He started whispering low-toned demonic chants of some sorts. I was as still as a deceased person. My face was a pale white. Time seemed to slow down, stop even. I didn’t know what to do. This was unworldly. It was surreal, mesmerizing. He took his hand back, and reaching underneath his tunic, pulled out a long, rusty, thick, metal chain with a giant hook on the end. He threw it into far the air, towards another house. The hook caught on the roof, puncturing the wood. He gazed at me once again, grunting low tones. Cold air wisped from his mouth, which was covered by a long, stringy, black beard. He resembled an irregular possessed goat man. A horrifying sight. With one last look, he pulled from a crude pocket on his tunic a small black bell. As he jumped away, holding onto the chain, he threw the bell to me. It plopped onto the ground. I was too frightening to catch it. Leaping into the distance, the creature shrieked loud gruff noises. I looked down at the bell. Sweat beading on my forehead, I picked it up, concealing it in my hands. Holding my breath, I flipped it around. It read, Krampus. To this day, I don’t know why he visited me. I still keep the bell hanged up by my fireplace as evidence of the encounter, and to remember one of the scariest and strangest experiences of my life. No one believes me. I never expected them to. But I know I saw him. The bell reminds me of that. It was not a nightmare, or a dream, even though it sure felt like one. The bell doesn’t have a clapper inside of it. It’s just a decaying piece of metal. The letters are written in cursive and are colored yellow, the paint chipping with age. I’ve done research about Krampus, and there isn’t much, but apparently he’s a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as “half-goat”, “half-demon” apart of Austro-Bavarian Alpine folklore, who punishes children who have misbehaved during the Christmas season. I couldn’t believe that there was actual information on this creature. Whether it was true or not, I tried to be extra good around the Christmas season, even though I’m not really a “child”. Sometimes throughout the year, I hear small noises coming from the bell. It must be haunted, but I keep it hanging. I can’t just throw it away. I might be rebelling against the Christmas spirit or even God by keeping this bell, seeing as though Krampus is the living form of terror and agony among those who do not cooperate, but I can’t throw it away. It’s almost as if some unknown force is binding me. My life will never be the same because of the encounter. My life will never be the same. I don’t know if I’m special to Krampus or what, I don’t know why he ran away from me and left me a bell, and I don’t know the bell’s significance. But one things for sure. Krampus has plans for me.