It was somewhere around a decade ago, though I can't recall the exact year anymore. If I had to guess, I'd say somewhere between 2004-2006, but I couldn't say for certain anymore. It was cold, I remember, though whether it was fall or winter escapes me.
I was home alone, in the basement of my parents' house, laying on the couch, and talking with my girlfriend over the phone one afternoon. It couldn't have been especially late, since the sun was still up, but setting, and at that time of year, it's dark by six o'clock so it couldn't have been any later than five at the most.
We'd been talking a while, maybe ten minutes or so, when I heard what I could only describe as claws clacking against the concrete floor of the basement, coming from the next room. We didn't have any pets at the time, so I was confused as to what the sound might be. It didn't take long for me to find out.
Walking through the doorway came a smallish dog, perhaps a foot and a half or two feet off the ground, with scraggly black and tan fur. It walked a few feet into the downstairs living room, sat down and stared at me. And that is what made it so terrifying. Its eyes were entirely red, no white, no pupils, just large, red orbs. With the lights on, I can't say whether they were glowing, or not, but they were a vibrant, cherry red, at the very least.
Immediately, I began to cry, overcome with fear. It didn't growl or give any outward signs of aggression but, all the same, I could feel a malice in it. It felt as if I were not only prey, but a thing to be hated. I've never been so scared in all my life.
And then, even more quickly than it had come, it was gone. I don't remember if it faded, or if I blinked and it was gone, I just remember it was suddenly gone. And just then my mother had come home, and I bolted from the couch, the phone still in my hand, as I told her everything that had happened.
I went over to my girlfriend's house that night, not about to stay in that house, especially since my bedroom had only been one room over from where I'd seen that dog. I stayed for several days, before finally coming home.
I spent a long time, fearing it would come back and perhaps, this time, do me harm. I would lay in the dark, listening, dreading. Each time I would think about it, I would quickly try to push it from my mind, afraid that by thinking about it, I might call it to me. But it hasn't returned yet.
While some would be grateful for that - and I am - it only further confounds me. Why would something like that appear in my basement in the first place, let alone only once? What was it? I've looked around the internet, read several books on the paranormal, and nothing ever comes quite close enough to what I experienced to give me an answer.
If anyone has had a similar experience, or perhaps some insight you could share, please, feel free to send me an email. I've spent the last ten or so years looking for answers, but the search goes on. In its own way, this single event, no longer than a minute or so, haunts me, even after all this time.
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