staring out of the dark, submitted by Lee.

When I was 11, my family and I went on a trip to the Philippines. I was born there but came to Colorado when I was three.

So being in the country felt like my first time. We stayed at different relatives houses and all my cousins were so excited to tell me about the Philippines,

including all the paranormal things that they have there. My cousins told me about

creepy creatures, ghosts,

Dwindes, witches, and many more.

I figured they were just trying to mess with me because of how Americanized I was.

Many of the nights, the kids, my siblings, and cousins would all be sardined into the living

room for the night, while my parents and the other adults would get separate rooms.

One night I got to share a room with my only with my cousin Mary Ann since we were the only girls.

The moon illuminated her room.

Her headboard was against her wall next to her door entrance.

At the foot of the bed, she has a vanity set,

where there are three mirrors with the ends that can fold inward.

I'm not sure if I got woken up or if I woke up on my own, but when I did, the first thing I looked at was the mirror.

Standing in front of the closed bedroom door was a woman with long hair down to her waist.

She looked like a silhouette of Marianne,

her height, body shape, and length of hair.

And that's who I thought it was until I noticed Marianne was sleeping next to me. You would think that I would have started

screaming but I didn't. I stared at this thing holding my breath. I felt like if I

moved it would know that I was staring at it.

Then the reality clicked in even more.

...