This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/HighestBounty on 2023-07-06 13:40:58+00:00.

I must have only been about four or five when I encountered the creatures in my room. I still had a toddler bed, not quite a single, the one that is converted from a large cot. It was low to the ground because I was prone to rolling out in my sleep. Near the foot of the bed, against the wall, there was a big red toy box made of plastic, in the shape of a treasure chest. The chest was crammed full of toys, mostly little figures of cartoons I’d watch, Street Sharks, He-Man, ThunderCats, Biker Mice from Mars, a few Pokémon figures but mostly Action Men. I had a night light, a little plug in one at the side the headboard, in the shape of a crescent moon, it glowed a faint orange that stayed on throughout the night. My Mum always left my door ajar a little, we had a street light situated right outside the hallway window. It shone a strip of white light onto my wall. The toy box was next to the door, it was a small room, but the door just missed the sides of the box when you opened it, as if it had been purposefully build for the space.

I was awakened by the sound of cracking and squeaking, the noise a dog makes when chewing a plastic ball. Small bumps and thuds came from the foot of my bed. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, mouth agape, still practically asleep. I sat and listened for a few seconds, the sound of rustling, things being clanged together, snapping and gnawing crept over my footboard. As well as the constant clatter, I could make out faint squeaking, very low and quiet but it was there, more like that of a Guinea Pig than a mouse. But something was different about it, at the end, instead of rising higher, the tone dropped into a small growl. Slowly, I raised myself onto my hands and knees and crept forward to the bottom of the bed.

This side of the room was dark, the nightlights measley orange glow didn’t reach passed the bed. I peered over the footboard at the toy box. The lid was open, which was strange, and toys littered the floor. I watched as the noises came from inside the box, something was moving, but amongst the figures, I couldn’t tell what it was. An Action Man came tumbling out onto the floor, one of the flippers it was wearing had been shredded, the other leg stopped in a mangled stump half way down. Examining the other toys on the carpet, all of them had bite marks, limbs missing or faces chewed to a into deformed plastic mush. Little hands, arms and bits of chewed up parts were scattered on the floor also. Bewildered, I raised myself up and leaned forward, trying to get a better look inside the chest.

At first, I still couldn’t distinguish what was moving. Letting my eyes focus, I made out something furry. At first, I thought it might be the Furby I had in there, but whatever it was had it’s back to me, hunched over. It’s fur looked damp and spiked up in messy clumps. A long, thin tail, covered in small hairs slithered upright, the end twitching from side to side. I noticed something else move within the chest and, scanning the whole thing, I could make out two more tails, both different sizes, one longer, one shorter, protruding from deeper inside the mound of toys. I’m not really sure why, but whatever they were, I didn’t want to be in the room with them, they scared me. Slowly, I crept from my bed and tiptoed towards the door. Reaching it, as it wasn’t far, I placed a hand on it, still looking at the box, still watching the tails flicker, I cautiously opened the door. Silently, it swung open, at first. The white stripe of light from the hallway grew as the exit out of the room grew larger. Even though I’d done it countless times, I slowed down once the door moved closer to the edge of the toy box, intently watching the distance between the two. As I slowed, the hinges of the door creaked loudly making me jump. I froze on the spot.

I listened out for the sounds of movement, but there was none. The chewing, the snapping, the gnawing, they’d all stopped. Turning my head, I peered at the toy box. I was met with two whitish yellow eyes. They reflected the light of the Cresent Moon and the hallway. They didn’t seem to look directly at me, more off to my right, at the door. A nose, wrinkled and leathery, twitched as the two long slits extended and retracted. A slow, wheezing breath escaped as a mouth began to open. It grew wider and wider, taking over most of the face. Incredibly sharp, needle like teeth dripped with saliva. Bits of plastic and fake hair had been impaled and wedged in between them. There seemed to be no pattern to them, they just protruded outwards or downwards, in all forms of thickness as size. What looked like horns, or ears, I couldn’t really tell, protruded from atop the head and around the eyes, as if the eyelids stretched into a pointed, contorted spike. The creature didn’t move, neither did I. Slowly, and with very little noise, toys were pushed out of the way and two more heads arose from the medley. All staring in the direction of the door, all white and yellow eyed, like pools of moulding milk. My heart drummed on my chest. Tears accumulated in the corner of my eyes. The creatures were different sizes, from a very small one to one the size of maybe a large rabbit, this one opened its mouth wider than the other and let out that squeak I’d heard before. It was just air at first, a whisper, which rose into a muted squeak that lasted a second or two, then dropped dramatically into a low grumble, maybe a growl. This snapped me from my frozen state and I swung the door open as quick as I could and bolted down the hall.

I could hear the patter of claws on the laminate flooring behind me. A sensation rose from within my stomach. Like a hot burst that flowed through my body. I remember wailing as I ran, feeling the tears stream down my face. My Mother’s room was at the other end of the hallway, closest to the window. I ran passed my brothers room, his door was closed, passed the open toilet door and slammed into my Mother’s. The pitter patter on the laminate changed to thuds on carpet.

My Mother’s bed was one of those Ottoman ones, so it was very high off the floor. Before I reached it I leapt, slamming into the side. Kicking my legs and grabbing handfuls of duvet, I pulled myself up. A pain shot up my left leg, from just above my anke. I cried out and my Mum spun round to face me.

“What’s up babe?” She murmured, pulling me onto the bed.

“There’s monsters in my room” I said through tears and shaky breaths.

“It’s just a bad dream little man” she pulled me close and cuddled me up under the thick feather down duvet. I cried for a while, but the lulling and stroking of the hair my Mum did sent me off the sleep.

The next morning, I’d pretty much forgot about what happened and, being influenced by my mum’s comments, put what I could remember down to a nightmare. Getting up from the bed, before my Mum had awoke, I headed back to my room. The door was open wide and from the hallway I could see the top of the toy box open. Creeping to the doorway, parts of toys still littered the floor. But there was no sounds. It was deathly quiet. I flicked the main light on and scanned the room, nothing. I knew my mum wouldn’t believe me if I told her what had happened, so instead, I picked up all the bits of toys and put them back in the chest. Once I’d tidied up I walked back into the hallway and headed for the bathroom. I climbed onto the step next to the toilet and pulled down my pajama panta and nighttime nappy and had a wee. My hand brushed passed the bottom of my leg when I pulled my pants back up and I winced. Contorting my back, I turned and looked down at my leg, there, at the bottom, was a long, bloodied, red mark. I told my Mum when she woke up and she said I must have caught it on the bed or the toy box during the night.

For a long time I’d forgotten about that memory. Until, twenty-six or so years later, whilst in bed with my wife, my three year old daughter came running into my room in the middle of the night saying there were monsters in her room with big white eyes. The memories flooded back to me. I haven’t been able to find any other story like it, so, out of desperation, I thought I’d put it on here and see what others say.

A repressed memory of a bad dream and a coincidence from a three year old? Or a childhood memory long forgotten, unlocked by a second encounter?