60 Second Stories - 5 - Dark Shadows

When I was a kid, the summers were a time to visit the family farm that was half way in between the two smallest towns in the world - Sundown and Vita, Manitoba.

At least once a day we would drive to the small stores in one or the other town and I would stock up on bubble gum cards. It didn't matter which type - sports, movies, monsters, TV shows - I loved the pictures on the cards and of course that awesome stale gum.

There was just something about carrying around a stack of them around with me. I kept mine in an old purple CROWN ROYAL bag. I would love taking them out of the bag and removing the elastic around them just so I could look at the pictures. I also loved how they were all the same size and thus looked good all stacked up. I liked them all mixed up so it was a surprise each time I took one off the top of the stack.

On day I bought a package of DARK SHADOWS cards from the TV soap opera of the same name. However this pack only had two cards in it. To replace the other cards they had added a poster that when unfolded was 8x10 inches in size and depicted BARNABAS COLLINS, the lead vampire character on the show.

When I went home I taped this poster to my bedroom wall. It was only after turning out my bedroom light at bedtime did I realize that the poster could be seen in the dark and was talking to me in a low muffled tone.

I was terrified.

For about a week I dreaded going into my room and insisted in sleeping with my light on. But even with that, the voices persisted. Eventually the lack of sleep and debilitating fear made me tear the poster off the wall and rip it into a hundred pieces.

But still there were the voices.

It was only after telling my Dad about my fears did he explain to me that I had hung the poster over the room vent and when the basement light was on it projected a ray upon the poster making it appear to glow. The voices had come from the TV and my parents talking in the living room and was audible when the vent was open.

I didn't believe him until he closed the vent and the voices and light went away. It was at that point that I believed that my Father could fix any problem and I slept soundly after that.