It’s nearly Halloween. Here’s some healthy escapist entertainment – and a story for all you goblins out there.

I was taking a shower. I was all alone that evening and washing away the day’s worries, a relaxing way to prepare for bed. And just like that – darkness and a pounding heart. A power outage.

I stood there in that old clawfoot tub and blindly searched for the faucet handle. My arms flailed as I hit the curtain on the first attempt. It took several swipes for me to find the handle and turn it to stop the water flow. But the water kept coming. I frantically fumbled with it numerous times, but it still did not stop.

I needed to get out and search for the flashlight. The darkness enveloping me was limiting my abilities. I tore open the curtain and reached in vain for the towel on the rack. It was gone.

I stepped out and felt along the wall until I touched the door. I was cold, wet and shaking as I grappled with the doorknob. It was locked … from the outside.

When I heard it, I stopped focusing on the door handle. I spun my head in the direction of that ghastly hiss. The water was pouring out of the shower head at an alarming pace. The noise grew louder. And still yet louder.

And then like a bloodcurdling banshee, the shower head violently burst and a torrent of cold water poured forth throughout the bathroom. Like a torture chamber, it began flooding. I needed to get out of that confusion and chaos.

I screamed, hoping that the neighbors could hear me. It was useless. They would not get to me in time. I had to break out of this eeriness somehow. I hit the door with my body repeatedly until it crashed open. I fell out into the hallway with a tidal wave washing over me.

It was just as dark and sinister in this space as it was in the bathroom. The water did not relent. I could hear the deluge come from every part of the home, hitting me with a demonic rage.

I was furiously swept through the house, with cascades crashing down on me from every part of the ceiling. Struggling to breathe, I was plunged underwater as the barrage came from all corners of this place of horror.

I fought to stay above the surface, but the maelstrom was too powerful for me. I was sinking into the depths of this watery abyss. All the life was being sucked out of me.

I began to feel objects bumping me, and I thought all hope was lost. It was like the undead were swirling around me as I entered what I expected was the last portion of this vortex of death.

The sensation of being hit increased. Everything circled around me faster and faster. I gasped, gulping what I assumed would be my last breaths of air.

Then it all stopped. There was a bright light shining down on me. He was leaning over me. It was my partner. He had been shaking me to wake up. I was having a terrifying nightmare.

I got up and used the bathroom. I stood at the sink washing my hands, and that’s when I felt it. Water was leaking down on me … one drip at a time. I looked at the phantom in the mirror. Was I awake?

Happy Halloween to all of you fiendish friends!

This morbid mayhem is brought to you by that guy of poltergeists aplenty, Ron Blake, who can be found in the shadows of the mausoleum at rblake5551@hotmail.com.