Noah’s eyes rose above the covers, scanning his room – stuffed animals lined the far wall, taking on sinister shapes that the night light could not dissolve. Blank eyes stared back, but so long as they remained still he was not worried. He surveyed the far wall then traced a line of sight past his hulking dresser, to the closed closet, and then to the rocking chair in the corner.
Except, at second glance the closet was not closed – in fact, the shadow along the door’s right side grew a little. A darkness spread from the door, snaking towards him with only his blanket for protection.
“Mom!”
The shadowed tentacle paused as footsteps echoed down the hallway, growing louder then ceasing as the bedroom door swung open, bathing the floor with light from the hallway.
“Noah? What’s wrong?”
“Closet monster.”
A smile played on her lips as she turned from him. The hall light danced over her, casting a shadow from the window to the base of the closet. Her shadow swelled; its hair a mass of writhing snakes while the silhouette’s hands stretched into jagged claws as a faint red glow chased the darkness away.
She turned back, grin still intact. “No monsters will scare you if they know what’s good for them. I’ll leave your door open, okay?” Taking one last glance around, she retreated to the hallway.
Noah watched her leave and smiled as the closet door clicked shut.
S. C. Morgan lives outside of Toronto, Ontario with his wife, three kids and a dog, and spends the daylight working for a big bank’s Marketing Dept and the night time putting pen to paper. His short story Watch Your Step appeared in the Unleashed: Monsters Vs Zombies Anthology and The Old Thomson House was featured in Writing.com’s horror newsletter. For more information about S. C. Morgan’s stories and reviews, you can follow him on Twitter at @SCMorganAuthor and #SCMorganReviews.