By: Jilian Vidmosko   March 3, 2026

The Legend of the Dark Man

The doors of the blue rusted mini van shut harshly and Samantha hops out of the car. She had long and wavy autumn-colored hair, which was swaying in the wind. Her skin was kissed with freckles and her smile was lined with braces. Sam was giggly and always ready for an adventure. This is how she ended up on a weekend trip with her supposed friends: as they followed her out of the car, she noticed each of their appearances. Josh, the meanest of the group, his hair laid perfectly due to him always tweaking it; Cristina, the prettiest of the gossip trio; with clear skin and curly blonde hair; her friends Chloe and Charlie, twins, always following her; and lastly was Matthew. He was tall and sweet, his laugh always made Samantha smile. He had golden locks of straight brown hair and a single slit in his eyebrow. As Samantha stared at him, she was slapped back to reality when Josh hit her with the football that he was told not to bring,

“Ouch Josh! Watch what you’re doing, dude.” Samantha yelled out.

“Stop being such a sissy.” Josh exclaimed, sucking his teeth.

Chloe scoffed and smacked him, “Why are you such a jerk?”

He laughed, then his eyebrows furrowed with anger when he realized she was serious. “She shouldn’t have come anyway, bro.”

They all got quiet as they turned towards the house. It sat alone with trees on either side, the vines grew up the siding like it was part of the forest behind it. It was huge and white with a bedroom for each person and a brand new kitchen with glass doors and windows all around. Samantha led with the keys in her hand to the front door where they pushed past her to look at everything.  She was excited but something felt off. It was getting late, so she unpacked her stuff in her self-assigned room. It was clean and brightly lit with black features and a beautiful gray and white bedspread, and a bathroom was also connected to her room. As the night went on, everyone settled in their places and returned to the living room where they were setting up the Halloween decorations for the party. They danced, laughed, blasted music, and ate tons of food. After a few hours, Chloe and Charlie were sleeping on the couch, Josh was throwing up in the bathroom. Cristina was watching TV in her room and Matthew was on the balcony that she didn’t even know existed. She wanted to confess her feelings to him but walked back to her room instead. She felt so bored because it was a Friday night and she barely did anything memorable during that time, she didn’t even take pictures. Samantha sat on her bed with her phone, the light from her screen the only thing dimly lighting the room. It was quiet, dark, and peaceful. The best way for it to be. Sam sat for at least an hour until she heard footsteps. She thought it was Matthew and shouted, “Goodnight Matt!”. He usually responds but he didn’t that time. Maybe he was mad? Either way, something wasn’t right. Samantha pulled her body up out of the bed and put her feet to the fluffy white rug on the ground, however, the moment she moved, a figure appeared in her door frame. Its body was illuminated by the TV in the living room that was running strictly for the background noise. The entity’s eyes glowed like yellow saucers and Sam assumed it was a wet creature from how it was dripping some kind of liquid on the ground. She rolled back into her bed and covered herself with the blanket hoping it was just a figment of her imagination due to her insomnia. Eventually, she fell asleep.

The next morning she woke up still frightened. She had to tell someone. She got the group together in the living room and explained to them what she  saw last night. Not a single one believed her or so she thought. Cristina understood because she had seen something too but didn’t want anyone to think she was crazy. After everyone left for the store, Cristina and Samantha researched on her computer. The Dark Man. He only exists in Suburbia forest and lurks in the shadows to hunt teens in vengeance for his mother who was killed by a drunk teen after a party. 

Cristina broke the silence, “That doesn’t make sense.” Her face was confused. “Is he dead or alive?” 

Sam scrolled for a few minutes, “It says here that he was dropped in the water after he was shot 6 times by one of his victim’s boyfriend. 

They looked at each other when they realized he was basically indestructible and their fate was inevitable. 

When the group arrived home, the girls showed them the evidence of its actuality. Samantha suggested they all stay up really late with the lights off to prove it so they did. The clock hit two AM. Everyone was laying on the couch or the floor with one flashlight between them except Matthew who just sat on the balcony refusing to move. Most of the group was fighting their sleep until Josh heard a deer cry outside. The window in Matthew’s room busted open and everyone got scared. Samantha sat, worried for him. The flashlight flickered and then died.

 “Turn it back on Josh, this isn’t funny.” Cristina cried out. He was at a loss for words when he turned it off and it wouldn’t go back on.

 “This stupid… thing can’t take us all at once. We have to split up.” Josh stated firmly.

 He was always giving stupid ideas but for some reason everyone always followed him. With that being said, everyone split into pieces. Josh by himself, Chloe and Charlie together, Cristina with me, and Matthew still outside. It immediately jumps from the shadows and takes each person out one by one starting with Josh. 

“Help me!” He screamed as he was dragged down the hallway, the blood pouring from his head. 

Charlie and Chloe screamed as they flew in the air and landed. Charlie smashed into the glass table and Chloe stabbed in the face with the coat hooks. In the background, Cristina cried out, “SAMANTHA!!” Sam jumped up to help her. Cristina was covered in blood and was shaking like a leaf. She instructed Cristina to hide while she started the car. She timed each of her movements until she made it under the car. The creature was behind her with each one. It walked around the car wondering where she went. He went back in to look for Cristina and Sam slid from under the car to open the door. She pulled the handle but it was locked. She panicked and hid behind the door frame as he patrolled the living room. She then ran further and quickly hid under the table until he went to the bedroom. Samantha jumped up, grabbed the keys and ran outside. She shook with fear as she unlocked the car and sat in the driver seat, trying to turn the car on. She caught her breath and Cristina came smacking the window. She quickly threw their bags in the car and sighed in relief. Matthew refused to go with them. They drove as far as possible to call the police. As they were leaving they saw the body of Matthew and the Dark Man’s mother hanging from a tree at the entrance. They both screamed in unison. Soon after, the police arrived. They never could pinpoint what the creature was or what had happened. Samantha’s bite mark was very notable and hurting very bad. 

Fast forward, everyone moved on from the situation. Cristina moved away but mysteriously went missing one day after she told the legend of the Dark Man to a bunch of kids in the neighborhood. As for Samantha, she turned to an angry dark shadow figure due to her being bitten. Samantha still looks for Matt in the dark hoping that his spirit will show up for her.

The end…