Scary Stories, Rituals, and Urban Legends

My sister wont let me go in her room

My sister Melissa had always been a strange individual, even as a six year-old. That was the age in which she started dressing entirely in black and rarely showed any emotion beyond her default stoic expression. She didn't often speak in more than three sentences at a time, and when she did, she would sometimes use very big words that I never expected someone her age, or hell, even my age, to understand. It sort of reminded me of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. My parents theorized she had some form of autism, though she was never officially diagnosed.

Probably the weirdest thing about her was that her room became completely off-limits. She would allow neither me, nor my parents, to enter. Even when my mom or dad wanted to vacuum in there, she would tell them, "No one is allowed in here but me."

This went on for a few years. By the time she was nine and I was thirteen, I was past the point where I was desperately curious to see what was in there. The only times the door ever opened was when she was entering or exiting, and from the few brief glances I had seen, it looked like your typical little girls' room, with pink walls, a fancy bed, and a bunch of stuffed animals.

But whenever she was home, she would do everything in her power to prevent anyone from so much as making a peek. She seemed to have some sort of sixth sense that alerted her whenever someone touched her door, as no matter which part of the house she was currently in, she would always sprint downstairs and shout at me to step away if I tried turning the knob. Even if she was taking a bath, she would leave the bathroom and come down wearing nothing but a towel.

I asked my mom about it, and she told me it was normal for kids to want privacy and to not want their stuff touched, and that I should respect her personal boundaries. I asked Dad, and he said the same thing. I still couldn't help but be curious.

At one point, I did something I didn't expect to do: I tried asking Melissa myself why no one was allowed in there. She stared at me with that cold expression of hers, before saying "Clara won't allow it. The last thing you want is for Clara to be angry."

Okay...

I didn't bother asking who Clara was. I just assumed she was some sort of imaginary friend.

Shortly before Melissa's tenth birthday, my mom took her to the store to pick out a cake she liked. While they were gone, I decided to take this chance to peek into Melissa's room to see what was in there that she didn't want any of us to see.

I tiptoed over to her door and stared at the "do not enter" sign taped onto it that was written in crude childish lettering in crayon. I slowly and cautiously reached toward the knob and turned it. I flinched, expecting Melissa to pop up any minute now, before reminding myself that she wasn't here. I carefully opened the door, tiptoed into the room, and closed it as gently as I could.

The room was exactly how it looked from what I had seen. The walls were painted pink, the large bed had poofy pink blankets and pillows, and the shelf was filled with stuffed animals like teddy bears, unicorns, and bunnies.

After looking around, I realized that there was nothing special about this room. I decided that my parents were right. She was just going through a protective privacy phase, and it was best to respect that until she grew out of it. Disappointed and underwhelmed, I turned and walked toward the door. All of a sudden, I heard a voice come from my right.

"Didn't Melissa tell you not to snoop around in here?"

The voice was high-pitched, and sounded very similar, though not identical, to Melissa. I turned to see where it was coming from. All I saw was that shelf of stuffed animals. I initially assumed the voice was just my paranoia getting the best of me before I noticed some movement. I looked closer.

To my surprise, a teddy bear had lifted its head and was speaking to me, its threaded mouth crudely moving up and down.

"Why didn't you listen to Melissa?" the teddy bear continued in that high-pitched voice. "She will not be happy about this at all, no she won't."

I cried out in shock as the teddy bear leapt off the shelf, flew across the room like a flying squirrel, and latched its arms around my neck. I tried to pull the thing off, but its arms felt like they were locked in place, and seemed to only get tighter the harder I tugged. I felt my airways constrict, and I began to choke and gasp for air as I weakly stumbled towards the door. Before I could grab the knob, I lost my balance and fell to the carpet. While laying on the floor, I continued to gasp as I saw the door open. The last thing I remember seeing before passing out was Melissa staring down at me.

I woke up in my room, laying in my bed and gasping. I touched my throat with one hand, and relief swept over me as I found that the stupid teddy bear had been removed, though I could still feel the bruises where its arms had tightened around my neck. I looked up to see Melissa was in my room with me glaring.

"Melissa," I said nervously. "I'm...I'm really sorry. I was curious and..."

"I warned you that Clara would be angry to see you in here," she told me in that cold tone she always used. "But you didn't listen, and look what happened."

I sighed. "Yeah. I won't be going in there again. Once again, I'm really sorry. And tell Clara I'm sorry too."

Melissa turned and stepped through my doorway. Before she made it all the way, she turned back to me.

"Just be thankful it was only Clara who caught you and not Rebecca," she said. "Rebecca never allows anyone to leave my room alive."

Considering what Clara the teddy bear was capable of, I was not eager to find out who Rebecca was. I stuck to my promise, and never entered Melissa's room again. Take my advice: if your sibling tells you to stay out of their room, you'd better listen to them.

Xoxo Jade