Silk Nightdress
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One cold and windy night in the middle of Winter, a policeman in Charleston found a young girl crouching in a doorway. She was wearing nothing but a flimsy silk nightdress and she was shaking and shivering with the cold. Her eyes were wide and she stared vacantly at the policeman.
He had to carry her down to the police station and put a blanket around her shoulders to warm her up. When she was able to speak, the young girl told a very strange story.
She was only 18 years old and she had grown up in a small country town. One day, when she was walking down the street, she was stopped by a man who was very handsome and well-dressed. He told her how beautiful she was and gave her compliments about her eyes, her mouth, her nose, her hands, her legs and even her feet. He told her he was a photographer and he could make her a famous model.
The man was so persuasive and persistant that she believed him. Lured by his promises and fooled by his compliments, she went with him to the city. He booked a dingy room for her in a cheap, run-down motel and helped her carry her bags upstairs. As she unpacked her things, he said goodbye and closed the door behind him.
The girl undressed and got ready for bed. Just then, the door opened and the man came back.
“You forgot to give me a goodnight kiss,” he said.
The girl was embarrassed. All she was wearing was a silk nightdress. She walked over and kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly, the man grasped her in his rough hands and began kissing her lips and slobbering all over her face. She was frightened and tried to push him off, but no matter how she struggled and squirmed she couldn’t break free of his grip. She was just a small, thin girl and he was a strong and powerful man.
“Please let me go,” she begged. “You’re hurting me.”
“Never,” growled the man with fiendish glee. “Not even the devil himself could save you now.”
In an instant, the man suddenly stopped and stared over her shoulder. He let out a hoarse, choked cry. His grip loosened and he stood shaking and looking at something behind her.
The girl heard a muffled rumble like rolling thunder and the room was filled with a cloud of smoke and soot.
The man’s face turned pale and he staggered back, frothing at the mouth. He fell to the floor and began frothing at the mouth. His body started shaking and convulsing. It was as if he was having a fit.
Speechless with terror, the girl fled from the room without looking back. She ran down the dark hallway, down the dingy staircase and out into the street. She had cowered in a doorway for almost an hour before the policeman discovered her.
After listening to the girl’s story, the police went straight to the motel. In a room on the second floor, they found the body of a man. He lay stretched out on his back, as dead as dead could be. He was a ghastly sight. His face was twisted in anguish and horror. His mouth was wide open and his eyes stared blindly at the ceiling.
The room smelled of sulphur and the furniture was caked in black soot. Scattered across the floor, there were ashes and in them, the police noticed the imprint of two huge naked feet.
The young girl was sent home to her parents, but the police were never able to figure out how the man had died.
