The Babysitter! - A Short Horror Story

“Darling, I am off to the party. The babysitter will be here any minute now. I have made chocolate chip cookies. They’re here on the counter. And don’t let Andrew eat too many cookies. Take care. Love you,” my mom shouted at the top of her voice. Both my parents were off to my dad’s office for a party. I was in my room, playing games on my computer. My younger brother was downstairs watching his favorite cartoon. 

My parents would always leave us both with our babysitter, Jane. Jane was a college student who used to babysit to earn a little extra cash for her expenses. My brother (Andrew) and I loved her. She was an amazing person. She would read stories to us, sing for us, play with us, and cook for us, in the absence of my parents. Knowing that we are in the care of good hands, my parents left for the party. I was really excited as Jane had promised to get a new movie for us.

Photo by Pedro Figueras from Pexels

It was around 8 pm. It had been five minutes since my parents left. I was still very engrossed in my game. My younger brother came up to me and said, “I’m bored. Play with me please.” Since it was distracting me, I shooed him away.

“Why don’t you go downstairs and wait for Jane! She will play with you. I have an important level to cross!” Suddenly the doorbell rang.

“Jane’s here! Jane’s here!” my brother screamed with excitement and ran downstairs to open the door. I locked my bedroom door as he left and put on my headphones. I didn’t want to be disturbed again. I was finally able to reach the 34th level.

It had been almost 10 minutes. I remembered, there were cookies on the counter. I took off my headphones and unlocked the door. “Jane, can you get some cookies for me please?” Jane didn’t reply. The house was tranquil. This is not how it usually is when Jane comes to babysit. I couldn’t even hear Andrew talking. Maybe, they are out playing in the backyard, I thought to myself. Halfway down the stairs, I saw Jane and Andrew watching the Looney Tunes.

Source: Pixabay

Just when everything started looking fine, the phone rang. I had an extension in my room. I quickly answered it. “Hi, Lynn, it’s Jane here! I was trying to reach your phone for the past 15 minutes. I even left a voicemail to your parents. I am sorry, I won’t be able to come to babysit today as my dad is hospitalized due to a heart attack. Take c....” Before I could say anything, the phone went dead.

If Jane is not here, then who was there downstairs? My heart started pounding in my chest. I was so scared. I didn’t understand what to do. I slowly climbed down the stairs. I didn’t even have a weapon to protect myself.

Down, I saw the TV was on. The Looney Tunes show going on. Nobody was sitting on the couch. The cookies were all over the place. I slowly walked towards the living room. My heartbeats were faster than ever. My vision was blurry. I couldn’t think. I felt helpless. I didn’t own a cell phone to call 911. I didn’t have the internet on my computer. My telephone was dead. The door was locked and I was afraid to scream out for help till I found out my brother was safe.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on a bloodstain near the kitchen. I walked towards the kitchen only to find more blood there. What had happened to my brother? Is he hurt? Is he ok? I couldn’t understand what to do. My body was completely motionless. The blood made my mind rip apart. I couldn’t think clearly.

Just then, I saw a light flashing outside the kitchen window. I quickly tried opening the window but failed. I tried to break it open but I didn’t have the strength. I scream for help. But no one could hear me. The light slowly began to fade away.

Photo by Two Dreamers from Pexels

The power went off. This just made things worse. There was silence everywhere. I heard a door creak open slowly. My heart skipped a beat. My mouth felt dry. I heard someone walking towards me. Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Andrew! Is that you?” I asked. I didn’t get any reply. I heard screeching noises. There was a car passing by outside on the road and the headlights created a quick shadow of someone on the wall. The shadow that shattered me to pieces. That made me miserable. That shadow of a woman holding a boy. The woman who had long hair was standing in the living room facing towards me. As the light faded away the shadow disappeared.

Suddenly, I felt someone pull my hair and drag me. I kept screaming for help but nobody came. I was struggling to free myself. I was dragged to the living room and swung at the wall. My head hit the wall and it started bleeding. The pain was unbearable and the fear made me miserable.

Source: Pexels

The power came back. I saw my brother lying motionless and lifeless covered in blood in a corner of the living room. I looked up and saw a woman whose clothes were covered in blood smiling at me. That smile sent chills down my spine. Her eyes were wide. She was holding a butcher’s knife covered in blood. She tilted her head to the right and said, “Hello!”

“Wh..oo.. are... you...? Wha..aatt ....” I was struggling to get words out of my mouth.

She leaned towards me and hushed. “Oh, shush shush, don’t worry sweetheart. I’m here just to kill you and your brother! Because of your dad’s irresponsible driving, I lost my family. And now, it’s time your dad loses his!” She laughed cunningly and raised the butcher’s knife in her hand and struck me!

I woke up with a huge scream. My mom and Andrew came rushing into my bedroom. “What’s wrong sweetie? Is everything ok?” I looked around the room. Andrew was standing there, fit and fine. Everything was fine. Turns out, it was just a dream.

“Darling, stop playing scary games on your computer! You’ve started getting nightmares..! Don’t worry sweetheart. Wash your face and come down to the living room, I have made pastries for you!”

I washed my face, turned off my computer, and went down to the living room. My parents were dressed up and ready to go somewhere. My dad was already in the car. My mom was rushing out of the house. I stopped her and asked her where they were off!

“Darling, we are off to the office party. Jane couldn’t make it due to some family emergency, so we hired a new babysitter for the night! There she is!” my mom said pointing out the kitchen.

It was the same woman from my dreams. She looked at me, tilted her head to the right, smiled, and said, “Hello sweetheart!”

I stared at her in shock. My body felt numb and my mind went blank.

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Disclaimer: Though this is my very own short story, the outline/layout of the story is inspired by the 1960s urban legend The Babysitter and The Man Upstairs.

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