I was eleven years old when my family took a vacation to California. We stayed in my aunt's house. My memories of the visit are a little vauge, so much time has passed. The one thing I clearly remeber is the stairway. The stairs were narrow and steep, they seemed almost like a latter. Standing on them and stretching my arm, I could near- ly touch the steps in front of me. The walls on either side were close enough together to give any one clastraphobia, a single flimsy looking rail ran along one side. Standing at the top, looking down, was like standing at the edge of a cliff, you know if you fall, you will not stop short of the bottom.

I spent the nights in California sleeping on the living room floor. It was durring one of these nights that I woke to the sound of foot steps coming down the stairs. All the lights in the house were off, but the shades were open letting in some light. So it was that I could see first the legs and gradualy the entire silhouette as some one came down the stairs. I was terrified. Although I could see no features, I knew that it was a man who stood their. As he stood there, I knew he was looking straight at me. Something convinced me that this must be my father, he was the only adult male in the house. I roled over, still shaking with fear, and eventualy went back to sleep. I heard no more noises from any part of the house as I was falling asleep and nothing else woke me that night.

The following morning I asked my father why he had went upstairs the night before. The upstairs was crowded with all sorts of things in storage, old books and forgoten toys. He said he hadn't went near the stairs, he had slept the whole night through. At first I thought he was kidding, trying to scare me, but as he continued to insist he hadn't I saw that he was serious.

Thats when I became truely afraid.

If any one had came into the house that night, they took nothing when they left. The door was bolted and chained in the morning as it had been the night before. The few windows that had been built to be openned had been sealled shut with paint long ago.

I have no idea who or what I saw standing at the bottom of that steep and narrow stair. I only know that it stood there, saying nothing, as it stared right at me