Nightmare in My Bedroom

If the title of this post sounds ominous, it's because my story is true and what happened was terrifying. 

Actually it's kind of funny now that I can look back on it.

My 9-year-old cousin Emmy and I were in my bed just about to fall asleep when we heard a little rustling sound on the floor.  Now, I should just say right now that I live in a farm house in Iowa that was built in 1917 and had a kitchen/utility room addition put on in the 1950's.  So it's quite old.  My room is in one of four upstairs rooms that each fill a corner of the house.  In my room, the head of my bed is pushed into a narrow space in a corner that has windows on two sides and the door to the attic on the third.  The only time I remember that door ever being open was when I was about 8 and one of my great-grandparents who lived there passed away and the kid cousins were exploring the upstairs.  Right behind the door are some dusty stairs covered with dead bugs and I never got further that a couple steps, so I really have no idea what all is up there.  I have a Philippine flag covering the door and can't even get it open, which is why it's so close to my bed. 

Back to last night, around midnight.  We heard a rustling next to my bed on the side with the closet door.  "What's that?" asked Emmy, "A rat?"  I wasn't sure, so I said no.  The house makes strange sounds all the time.  A couple minutes later we heard something above us, on the other side of the bed.  It sounded like it came from inside, but I thought it could have been a squirrel or snow on the roof.  But then.  I saw.  Something shadowy was darting back and forth on my ceiling.  Emmy and I put the covers over our head and screamed as loud as we could for my brothers to turn on the lights.  Yes, dear readers, there was a BAT in my room!

Ben turned on the light and didn't see it at first, but Emmy jumped out of bed and ran across the room, and the bat started flying again.  I screamed and put the covers back over my head.  Ben ran and got the video camera.  When the bat stopped above my dresser, the kids told me and I darted out of the room.  We turned off the light and closed the door, and I slept downstairs.

When my mom woke me up at about 7am, my dad and uncle had already been up there and got the bat out with tennis rackets.  That's all I want to know about what they did.  We're guessing it came under the door out of the attic, but the space is so small I can hardly believe it.

And I'm sleeping downstairs again tonight.