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Okay… I confess… this is not truly a vampire story but a vampire is involved. My memory of this incident started tripping back after I saw a couple of neatly-dressed kids doing the God’s work, knocking door after another.
And my memory raced to that day, way back in time, when I was back in college, when I had an unusual experience with the Bible-carrying evangelists. Yep, back in the good ol’ days when a crisis was defined as trying to get the term paper completed the night before D-Day.
I was living in an apartment then and I was also lucky enough to land up with an apartment mate who shared my interest of science fiction and horror movies and books. See… back then, as I am today, science fiction and horror revolved around my passion.
We had books that reflected our passion. Stephen King, Ben Bova, Isaac Asimov, Poe, Daniel Koontz, and tons of others. Being college students, with limited funds, we had fashioned our own version of a bookshelf. Planks of wood separated by cinder blocks. We had constructed our book shelf in the living room, next to the television and had even decorated it with 2 black candles which were fashioned as bookends.
One afternoon, it was the Halloween season if I remember right, my apartment mate and I were done with our college chores and were relaxing watching television. The TBS Channel was going full force with horror movies to align with the season. Both of us were thrilled and it reached a crescendo when we realized that “Salem’s Lot”, one of our all-time favorite was showing. This was the rerun of the old, classical version. With David Soul, James Mason, and other actors of the late 70s. By the way, I still love that version.
Anyway, we were deeply involved with the movie, with our eyeballs transfixed to the small screen in front of us. We had ample chocolate cookies and milk on the coffee table.
We were prepared.
No need to take any food break during the long movie.
Though we both had watched that movie several times before, we always anticipated the scene when Barlow first appears on the screen. Now, this was a vampire who scared the hell out of you. Nothing remotely good looking about him. And no romance involved, except for his only passion of self-preservation and the selfish want of turning the town of Salem’s Lot into a horde of blood-sucking freaks.
We were just minutes away from that much-awaited scene when there was a couple of knocks on the door!
No… not now.
We both set on the couch, still staring at the TV screen, hoping against all hopes that we had imagined those knocks. As if to dash our hopes, the knocks came again.
We looked at each other and since I was the closest one to the evil-looking door, I got up and walked towards the door, grumbling obscene comments under my breath. The knocks were more desperate-sounding now.
“Alright… I’m coming… I’m coming…” I yelled. I finally reached the door which had seemed like it was a mile away, even though it was only a few steps away from the couch in our crunched-up living room. I opened the door and there they were…
Two neatly-dressed teenagers holding bibles in their hands. All of a sudden, the smiles on their faces melted away as their eyes widened. Widened to the point that their eyeballs seemed to be popping out of their sockets! That sudden transition, actually startled me.
We stood there looking at one another for a few seconds and finally the boys broke the silence. “We…we… will be back… later… Sorry to have bothered you… Sorry…” said one of the,. Without missing a beat, both of them did an about-turn in unison and marched away hastily.
“What was that all about?!” my inner voice questioned me, as I closed the door. I turned around and it suddenly occurred to me. We had scared the boys away! The horror books displayed. The black candles that guarded them. The Vampire Barlow showing up with his grisly fangs on the TV Screen at the moment I opened the door, and lastly that cruel look on my face must have been too much for them.
They had high-tailed out of there, probably scared out of their wits. They had probably decided that we were lost boys – who will never have the chance of redeeming our souls. Upon realizing what had happened, my apartment mate and I started laughing until we were both holding our abdomens, rolling on the carpeted. The startled look on the boys faces flashed before us over and over again. What a precious vision!
Even, sinister-looking Barlow was forgotten for the moment.
We never did see them in our neighborhood after that incident. Hope we had not scared them away from their spiritual task forever.
I remember that unusual experience every time I see a couple of well-dressed young men with bibles in their hands. And I wonder if they will come across a house with a book shelf lined with horror books. With black candles. And a horror movie on TV…
For those not familiar with the classic version of made-for-TV movie…
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