Horror Dream Diary: The Cabin

I had this nightmare about 3 weeks after our cat, Arny, vanished in winter 2004. I dreamt that I was walking on a bleak, desolate wasteland where I happened upon a deserted wooden cabin.

Approaching the cabin, I could see that it was quite dilapidated, however it was clearly inhabited but the owner wasn’t around. The wind picked up slightly as I got closer, and the decaying building groaned in response.

I pressed my face against a window to try to see inside. It was dark, but I could make out some shabby furniture and a stone fireplace. The room was unkempt, and the atmosphere seemed stale - a film of dust covering everything, including the windows. Looking down, I saw that the back of a chair rested against the wall just below the window I was looking through, and a tartan blanket was neatly folded and draped over it.

My eyes gradually adjusted to the gloom and I noticed a pair of gleaming eyes staring up at me. It was Arny. He sprang onto the back of the chair and pressed a paw up against the window. His mouth opened as he cried in distress, but through the glass I heard nothing.

An inner voice begged me to get away from the cabin. There was an overwhelming negativity about the place and I knew I should not attempt to rescue him. Most importantly, I needed to get away before whoever lived there returned.

So I turned and walked away from Arny in the dream, and when I woke up the next morning I knew he was gone forever.