Welcome to Creep'scast.

I keep having nightmares about some place called The Play Zone, written by Beardify.

It was waiting for me in the kitchen when I went down to make breakfast that Saturday morning,

a lumpy gray face with bloodshot eyes into comically wide mouth,

somewhere between a circus clowns and crocodiles.

It was held onto the refrigerator by two small colorful magnets.

What is that? I asked my girlfriend, Caitlin, when she came to to the refrigerator by two small, colorful magnets.

What is that?

I asked my girlfriend, Caitlin, when she came downstairs 20 minutes later.

She winced and explained that it was just another one of Max's drawings.

Max was Caitlin's seven-year-old son from her past marriage. I had been in his life consistently

since Caitlin and I began dating, and we got along great. I like to think that he saw me as the

father that he had never had, and I saw him as the son I had always wanted, rambunctious, creative,

and above all, good-hearted.

From time to time, however, there were still moments like this, moments which reminded me

that Max had lived half his life before we had met, and that some parts of his personality

in past might always be a mystery to me.

I knew that Max bit his lip when he was upset, and then he couldn't sleep if he drank milk right before bed,

but I had no idea what might have inspired him to create such a disconcerting picture.

Now that the bacon and eggs were done and I had finished my first cup of coffee,

I took a closer look at the drawing on the refrigerator. I had to admit, for a six-year-old it was

pretty good. The creature at its center was roughly child-sized, although not at all childlike,

...