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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/TheBatBelfry on 2024-09-29 10:53:20+00:00.

My name is Allison Marshall. Alice for short. And i’m NOT afraid of the dark.

I was around 11-12 when I found the old teddy bear under my bed. I was drawing and dropped my crayon between the gap.

I got out of bed and grabbed my flashlight. Bringing myself down to the ground, I shun the light underneath to find a teddy bear lying next to my crayon.

As soon as the light hit it, the bear sat up and looked at me. I gasped and turned the flashlight off while quickly getting back up on my feet.

Doubting what I seen, I crouch and point the light back to the bear who once again sat up and stared at me.

Being a curious child, I experimented with the bear who would only move in the light. Didn’t move at all when in the dark.

I remember having little playdates with the teddy bear after my mother would go to sleep. Bonding over the following days. Eventually I adopted my newfound friend as Barry the Bear.

There was a particular game Barry liked to play. Hide and Seek.

But instead of hiding to have me find him, Barry would collect certain objects like a doll, a jack in the box, and a cymbal monkey.

This game of hide and seek followed different rules. I turn the light off to let Barry wander in the dark. I count to ten and turn the light on. I then make my guess to which toy Barry is currently behind.

I pointed at the cymbal monkey to which the jack in the box popped out on its own. Light off then on, I pointed at the doll to which the monkey started jumping. Light off and on, I pointed at the jack in the box. It popped out and I cheered victoriously.

One night, I was too tired to play so I went straight to sleep. The light in my mother’s room came on and the sound of glass breaking woke me up.

I got up and went to go check on her. She stood there lifeless. I poked her arm to see if she was okay. She turned her head revealing a wide uncanny smile on her face. Her eyes completely black.

I stepped away and asked if she was alright. She pushed me into the hall and walked over to the drawers. I ran to my room and locked the door. I then sat in the darkest corner of my room and waited.

Some time passed and the house was completely silent. I quietly walked towards the door and peeked under it. A kitchen knife came swinging through the gap, sinking directly into my right eye.

I screamed in horror and pulled away. My hand on my injured eye as blood rushed out, I used my free hand to open the window then slid under my bed. I covered my mouth as my mother used the knife to slide past the lock and burst the door wide open.

A burning candle was shoved into her mouth as a light source. The wax melted away at her cheeks and chin.

She headed to the window and just as she peeked her head over, I came out from under the bed and pushed her. Her body fell down 4 stories and landed on the trash can below.

I looked out the window once then went to the living room to call 911. They showed up a few minutes later and took me to the hospital.

Over the years, I went home to home and eventually grew out of foster care. I now work as a tattoo artist in the downtown area and live in a simple studio apartment.

Several doctors offered me glass eyes but I stuck with an eye patch as a reminder of that night.

It took a while to get over my fear of light. I was paranoid for a long time and only stayed in dark areas, taking only the night shifts.

But as I grew older, and the more time I had to process. It finally came to me. How Barry switched from toy to toy. Possessing my mother.

It was never the toys or my mother. It was their shadow.