The Naked Kitty

9-year-old me woke to the sound of my 5-year-old sister rolling out of bed. Bleary eyed, I watched as she began her nightly trek to my parents' room to get a drink of water. She got to the doorway and stopped. 

Her face lifted, as though looking up at someone, and she screamed.

My heart seized as I immediately imagined the heinous monster that lurked in the hall just outside our door, my sister's eyes locked on him, screaming. I sat up, gripped my blankets, and began screaming as well. At what, I didn't know, but I was not about to go quietly. 

 That's when it happened. The hall lights began to flicker, on and off and on and off. What kind of sick monster was this, to not only lurk but to also torment. Our screams intensified.

My mom ran down the hall, closely followed by my dad. 

There was no one there. No one at all. No monster lurking, no murderer, or kidnapper. Nothing. 

Still panicked to tears, my sister tried to choke out what she had seen between gulping sobs. What we got out of her were the words: Naked kitty. 

We weren't sure if she meant a literal hairless cat or if she was mispronouncing the word "neighbor" and meant neighbor kitty. Either way, it was a cat of some sort that drove her to madness that night. Once everyone had calmed down, we were able to piece together all the events into a semi coherent account. 

My sister got up to get a drink of water from my parents' room. Our room was positioned at the top of the two landing staircase, so when she got to the door, she was able to look down the first flight of steps. On these steps, she firmly and still attests to the fact, she saw a set of glowing eyes. In a panic, she looked away from the eyes, staring upwards as she screamed. Hence what I saw. 

Obviously, the screaming of two children instantly woke my parents. My mom jumped out of bed and ran to the hall, reaching out to flip the light switch as she sprinted by. Unfortunately, in her panicked rush, her hands were trembling, and as soon as she flipped the switch on, she flipped it off again. On and off, on and off, inadvertently adding to the terror ensuing just a few feet away. 

To this day, we still don't know for sure what my sister saw on the stairs, or if she did see anything. Maybe it was unfortunate lighting or her imagination. We had no cats in our house that night, and neighbor and/or naked kitties can't just let themselves into a locked house willynilly...

So this mystery remains unsolved to this day, the terrible case of the Naked Kitty.