The Cat Scratching at my Door

“I never thought a childish prank would save me and my brother’s life.”

It began in late September, my family cat had passed from old age a few weeks prior. I missed her terribly and assumed the strange things that began to happen were just echoes of my grief. When she was still alive, she used to scratch at my door until I let her into my room. And she used to use the crawl space as her own little home, sometimes hiding away for most of the day until pushing the door open in the middle of the night. I had gotten so used to it that I was no longer startled by the tapping of little paws upstairs and the sound of little doors creeping open. So used to it in fact, that when those same things happened after her death, It took me a while to notice. When I finally did notice, the sounds gave me a strange feeling of unease but familiarity. I told myself that it was just the creaking of an old house, but a part of me wanted to believe she was still here in some capacity.

One night in October, I was awoken by scratching at my door and a faint meow. It lasted only a few seconds but I heard it clearly. I thought it was a dream, it had to have been. After all, she was gone. But then, it kept happening. Every night at 1:46 a.m., I would hear scratching at my door and the cries of a cat who was long dead. I told no one of it because even though it frightened me, I didn’t want to lose what I had left of my dear cat. The scratching stayed the same until the night of October 21st, when it became harder to ignore. Everything was normal that night. My parents had gone out for the night and my brother was sleeping downstairs. I watched YouTube until I fell asleep with the glow of my laptop still on my face. When I heard the scratching, I wasn’t even scared, it felt like any other night. Until it didn’t stop. The scratching only got more frantic and the crying grew in volume with each swipe of a claw. I had never heard my cat act like this, even when she was alive. I quickly sat up on my bed and checked the time. 1:46 a.m., like always. The scratching got even worse, It sounded like she could tear through the door at any moment. I got up from my bed and slowly cracked open the door. My heart was racing, I had no idea what I would see behind that door, but I had to open it. I open the door only a crack and suddenly it pushed open. However, there was nothing behind the door. I felt a strange presence, like something came into the room. I didn’t know what else to do but to go back to bed and try to fall asleep.

The next few nights were just the same, the scratching was almost deafening until I opened my door to let no-one inside. It was creepy but comforting. Every time I opened the door, it was like my cat came to visit me from beyond the grave.

The last night I felt her presence was a night I will never forget. To this day, it was the most horrifying night of my life. It was Halloween night, I had just come home early from a party so I could stay with my brother for the night as my parents were out of town. We watched and made fun of Halloween movies from our childhood until midnight. I thought it would be funny to scare him with the scratching and meowing, so I told him to sleep in my room that night. I never thought a childish prank would save me and my brother’s life. I got in my bed and he got in a sleeping bag beside me. He fell asleep almost immediately while I could barely keep still from the anticipation. Suddenly my window flooded with light. I assumed it was my parents coming back early from their trip, but something felt off. The clock struck 1:46 a.m.. Instead of scratching or meowing, the little door to the crawl space flung open. A dark figure rushed out and jumped right at me. I let out a scream, waking my brother beside me. The dark figure went through my chest and disappeared behind me. I was left hyperventilating and holding my hand to my chest. This wasn’t a visit, it was a warning. I heard what sounded like someone trying to get inside the house and without hesitation, I grabbed my brother and told him to go into the crawl space. He was groggy and disoriented but did what I said. I followed behind him and moved a chair in front of the little door before closing it. I told him to be completely silent.

We heard a big crash and then footsteps downstairs. Someone had broken through the window. I heard the stranger open all the doors and push things over. I felt my face go white as I heard the stranger start to come up the stairs. I held my hand over my brother’s mouth and began to pray in my head. The stranger was at the door. My heart was pounding. He flung the door open and entered the room. I could hear him flip my bed over and knock over my nightstand. I thought we were going to die. My brother was silently texting the police while all I could do was stare at the door, knowing it would open at any second. The stranger pushed over the chair in front of the crawl space. The only thing left between me and the intruder was a little door. My brother and I grabbed the handle and held it shut. I then heard the hiss and growl of a cat. It felt like it was right behind us. Finally, the intruder tried to open the door. We held it shut for as long as we could until the stranger flung it open with one great pull. Before I could even get a good look at him, the dark figure leaped out from behind us and pounced on his face. It all happened so quickly, you could only see the flicks of blood flying around. He fell to the ground crying out and holding his now mangled face. The dark figure ran into the shadows and my brother and I ran out the door and down the stairs. We screamed for help out in the cold until the neighbors came outside to see what was wrong. The police arrived a short time after. It turns out the stranger was a drug-addicted ex-convict who was breaking into peoples homes around the area looking for cash.

They found him screaming in pain, covering his hollowed-out eyes. The police also found a knife beside him that he had taken from our kitchen. My brother and I were standing out in the cold when I saw the faint green glow of my cat’s eyes in my bedroom window. That was the last time I ever saw my family cat.

Credit : WeatherfordandSkye