Petrification.
I remember a story that I once heard about my great-grandfather.
It was long ago in 1962 when the incident occurred. It appeared to be a robbery but some things were off. For example only one thing was stolen by the perpetrator. An old journal. It's contents have been a topic of debate in our family ever since the incident occurred. Details about the burglary were vague except for one detail that struck me with fear. My great-grandfather's lower jaw had been removed and somehow his skull was still intact. Not much else is known.
I made the decision to move to his former home just seven years ago. As I drove up to the old house I began to feel unnerved. Something about it was off. It might have been the ravens making a roost on the chimney. It could have been the broken windows and shattered glass on the lawn. Or it could be the sensation that someone or something had followed me. As I drove into the garage I began to feel cold, which was odd considering it was the middle of July. As I stepped inside the cold got worse. I felt a rush of cold wind move past me as I went upstairs. The furniture looked old yet unused like the wrinkles and tears had always been there.
I tried to check my phone but it had no battery even though it was fully charged before I went into the house. It began to grow dark and as It did I began to notice something. The darker it got the more the cold and wind worsened. I got changed and prepared to try to sleep. I found myself waking up time and time again until I did not fall back to sleep. As I did I saw something slowly open the door. It was dark and I could not see it clearly.
The "thing" was about eight feet tall and very lanky. It had a lack of any visible eyes or nose and had a mouth gaping wide open. Its arms stretched down to its feet and it was hunched over. It appeared to be looking in my direction and ad I looked upon it I felt like I was freezing and burning. I saw strange symbols as it whispered incomprehensible things at me. This is what some of the symbols appeared like: 🜣🜬🜢🜃🜏🜺🝞🝝🝚🜼🜲🝠🜀. As I looked upon this creature I began to feel tired. When I awoke all I found was a single piece of paper. Only one word was written: Leave.
I heeded the warning and drove away, leaving the house and that creature behind with it. When I asked around the neighborhood everyone said that they had been in that house before and nothing unusual had occurred to them. Then I looked in a mirror and saw the creature looking back at me in the dark and cold of that dilapidated home. It tormented me for months, invading my dreams and ensnaring my senses. and then one day it stopped. The creature appeared no more to torment me and I was left only with vague memories in the back of my mind.