Creepypastas&Urban Legends

The Boogeyman

Everything had been going well the day that it all happened. Surprisingly well, even. It had been a crisp, fall day. As Miguel walked home from his job at the Indianapolis Child Support-Prosecuting Attorneys, he could smell the moisture in the air. It would snow soon. If not today, then sometime later on in the week.

The walk to Ransom Street wasn't very far. It also wasn't the most pleasant walk in the world. The neighborhood had been pretty run-down and was only getting worse. The houses around his had always been crumbling. The foundations were warped, siding was slowly falling to the ground, and all of the yards had turned into dirt. It never used to bother him, growing up. Of course, that had been when he dressed more like the people he saw on his walk home. Things were a little different now that he had to wear a suit to work.

It's not as though Miguel didn't make enough money to move to a better part of town. He made a fair amount of money as a legal-aide working for the city. On top of that, Miguel saved like crazy and had even invested a small sum into some high interest mutual funds. Money wasn't an issue. It was his family. When Miguel was preparing to graduate from IU School of Law, his mother died, leaving him with the responsibility of caring for his aging grandmother and a twelve year-old nephew. He had never known his father and had been used to dealing with extra responsibility, but he had never experienced anything quite as stressful as taking on the role of caretaker for his grandmother. She had come straight out of the barrios of Mexico City and couldn't speak a word of English. Come to think of it, she didn't speak much in any language since her only daughter, Miguel's mother, had died.

On that day, however, Miguel was unaffected by all of this. It was a good day. Jessica, from work, had agreed to go with him to Broad Ripple later in the evening. As far as Miguel was concerned, it was the perfect way to start his weekend. Jessica was tall, blonde, slender, and had beautiful green eyes. She was everything Miguel could ever want in a girl. He'd had a serious relationship once. It didn't work out, and he knew it was because he was too immature to make it work past the physical aspect. During his walk home, Jessica was all that Miguel could think about. Miguel loved the way Jessica wore her short, tight skirts to work almost without fail. Miguel, like most of his friends he grew up with, based dating and relationships mainly on the physical; and Jessica met those needs. He'd been out of practice in the bedroom since he'd graduated college, though he'd never admit it to the guys at work. He would probably put a condom in his wallet just in case.

As he neared the worn-down wooden steps leading to his porch, Miguel let out a loudsigh of self-appreciation. He would take a Trojan Twisted, or maybe a ribbed. There's still time to choose, he thought as he put his key into the door. Besides, I'll probably end up not using it anyways. "Hey Pelón!" Miguel called out to his younger cousin as he entered the home. His cousin had shaved his head on a dare and hated the way it looked, so Miguel had taken to calling him pelón. Miguel walked through the worn-down kitchen and listened to the wood creak beneath the decaying linoleum. The sink was still full of dishes from two nights ago when he'd made lengua tacos. Miguel clicked the switch for the lights in his living room.

"Pelón, you never did the dishes today! That's two days now since you..."

Miguel's heart stopped. What he saw couldn't be real. There's no way, he kept thinking. He dropped to his knees and crossed himself as he started to utter the Lord's Prayer. How could this have happened? How could they be dead? His grandmother was sitting in her chair, slashed opened ruthlessly all across her face and body. The walker she used had been knocked over along with her countless bottles of prescriptions that had been scattered everywhere. Her intestines were dangling out around her fat, rolled knees. It was then that Miguel saw his cousin's bloodied arm draped over the side of the couch; and the rest of him on the floor in front of the T.V.