Scary Stories to Chill Your Bones

Mirrors Never Lie

I was six years old before I first understood mirrors. Before then, as I stared into what I later discovered was my reflection, I thought I was looking at someone who looked just like I did, and did exactly what I did. Then, my mother explained the whole concept of polished glass, and how it reflects an image of you. I was confused at first. "Is that really what I look like?" I asked my mother, staring into the image of my mouse brown hair and hazel eyes. It all seemed unreal. My mother smiled at me in the mirror and said, "yes. Because mirrors never lie."

One dark and stormy night, my parents went out on a date, and left me with the babysitter of my worst nightmares. He was as pale as a sheet of paper, with jet black hair, all slicked back. I think I was hallucinating, but every time he smiled that sinister smile of his, his teeth looked like fangs. But that wasn't even the scariest part about him. He wore sunglasses, so I couldn't see his eyes. I think he was wearing sunglasses because he didn't want me to see his eyes, because our house was dimly lit that night. Before, I didn't believe in vampires, but after seeing this babysitter, I started to second-guess the rationality of that belief.

The second my parents left the house, the babysitter sent me to my room without one word. Like it would trouble him to talk. You would think that one sharp, "go to your room" would do the trick, but no, he just pointed at my bedroom door. If I could have seen beneath the sunglasses at that moment, I'm sure he would have been glaring at me wickedly.

When I got into my room, I sat down at my desk with my back to the door. I could always tell if someone was trying to come into my room, though, because I was facing a mirror. I stared at my reflection for a few seconds. I was twelve then, and my eyes had became brighter, somehow since my last birthday. I stared at them for a moment, trying to decide if they were brown or green, before getting out my computer and absorbing my soul in Minecraft.

About an hour later, a knock at my door startled me. I looked up at my mirror, and saw my own frightened eyes staring back at me. I didn't so anything for what seemed like an eternity, but the knocking got faster, louder, and more urgent. I eventually shouted, "come in," even though I knew it would be the babysitter coming in, and not anyone I like or care about. I knew he would break down the door if I didn't.

When the door opened with a sickening creak and my babysitter stepped in, my mouth dropped open. I saw in my mirror that he had taken off his sunglasses, revealing eyes that were blood red. I stifled a scream as he pulled out a knife. The image in the mirror of him holding a knife was too much for me. I screamed as loud as I could. I watched in horror as he held the knife up over my head, a sinister smile plastered across his face. I wanted to scream, but my mouth seemed glued open, unable to make a sound. I wanted to raise my hands up and protect my head, but my hands seemed frozen, unable to move. I wanted to convince myself that this was all a nightmare, that I was not about to die. But I couldn't, because I heard my mother's words echoing in my head, clear and crisp. I couldn't because mirrors never lie.