PHOTO CREDITS TO @charlesdeluvio FROM UNSPLASH

Imagine your entire body suddenly stops obeying your conscious mind. The only things left for you to move are your eyes. And when you see the figure in the hallway across from your room and the bed you’re trying to sleep in, you’re sure you’ve also stopped breathing.

That’s what happened to me the first time I was visited by the Rake.

Stories of the Rake date back to the twelfth century, though many of those documents were lost. The Rake is a territorial urban legend and creepypasta— a horror story shared around the internet— that lives primarily in the northeastern United States.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t pay you a visit too.

His depleted humanoid body, like a twisted hairless and overgrown dog, came closer. But if I thought he’d come right for me, I was wrong.

He stayed behind my door at first, watching with eyes like a cat’s that glinted in the night, glossy and curious.

I wondered if his look had any hunger to it or if he was simply watching.

The Rake is said to stalk his victims, sometimes for years. He’s known as a non-violent creature unless provoked, but sometimes acts out of malice.

That subtle threat of unpredictability is enough to keep me looking over my shoulder.

I knew I couldn’t look at him directly. I knew if I did, that’s the only thing he’d need to tear me apart. But part of me wondered if part of him was innocent.

Did he just want company and didn’t know how to ask for it? Would he be friendly so long as I didn’t look at him? Did any of that even matter if he could and he would kill me should I do something as simple as use my eyes?

I didn’t want to find out.

The Rake was first captured on camera in 2003 and, although a story came with it at the time, all documentation was destroyed, forgotten or lost. This launched investigations into the ancient creature. And one recorded incident came later in 2006.

A woman was woken by her husband in the middle of the night. He seemed confused and terrified as he pointed towards something curled at the foot of their bed. At first they thought it was a wild animal, and then they saw its humanoid shape.

During some accounts of this story, the Rake runs away to injure their daughter.

In others, the husband looks at the Rake directly and gets torn to shreds as a result.

PHOTO CREDITS @MARKUSSPISKE FROM PIXABAY

Eventually the Rake left the space behind my door and approached until he was directly beside me. I could hear his breathing. I could feel it on my face as he slowly moved closer and closer.

I closed my eyes against him, a tear or two leaking out.

“Don’t look.” I told myself inside, “Don’t you dare look.”

The Rake is known as a creature of mixed intellect and feral behaviour. Some people think he’s a Skinwalker with multiple forms. Perhaps that’s how he keeps himself from the limelight.

Maybe he’s watching you right now.

PHOTO CREDITS TO @NerdWithAKeyboard FROM THE COLLECTION: THE RAKE - CREEPYPASTA VILLAINS ON WIKI (see link at the bottom of the page for more)

That’s how he stayed. Hovering, curved over my body like a guardian of unsound-mind. And when I wouldn't acknowledge him, he extended one awful, bony hand to poke my gut for what felt like hours upon hours.

When I finally opened my eyes and he was gone, I hoped to never see him again.

But once he paid that first visit, he never left.

Overall, whether you believe in this paranormal creature or not is entirely up to you. My experiences with him in earlier years suggest I had some pretty bad cases of sleep paralysis. Coincidence? Who knows.

He’s thought to be inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and if you’d like to read more about this disturbing fellow, click here.

Have you seen him yet?

Korpse

“Where does time go?” is a question we often ask ourselves, and though Korpse might be an unfamiliar name, he’s no stranger to asking himself the very same question. In fact, he asks that question when he can’t find time to research mythology in its many forms. But fear no more, for Korpse has found a balance in the making, and will share his findings with you about paranormal myths, legends, stories and more.

Ghost Writers

Keep the Doors Locked