England: Jack the Ripper
While Ripper is not a 'monster' of folklore, he is a true terror that haunted London and easily is described as a beast or monster.
I cannot stress enough the level or brutality and gore in these tales- you have been warned.
The blond man walked through the dark London streets. His green eyes flashed about the dark, searching for crime as he was a cop. He was also in the slums, he was in Ripper town. It would be plain foolish to not be alert.
The cobblestones were wet from the rain that had fallen earlier, and his feet smacked the stones with a small splash.
His breath was light as he walked his beat, his ears straining to hear any small sound. It wasn't uncommon for cops to be jumped in the slums after all.
He turned onto a dark street, narrowing his eyes to see better. By instinct he tensed, walking quicker. This part of his patrol always gave him the creeps. No street should get that dark.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
He froze, thinking maybe he heard his own footsteps echo…
Step. Step. Step. Step.
He tensed. Who was out in the streets at this time?
"W-who's there!" he yelled out
Silence answered him, as if the footsteps merely came from his head. Maybe he was just tired…paranoid.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
He staring shaking. Whatever that was…it was real.
No breathing was heard. No movement was seen. Just the steady sound of footsteps on the cobblestones.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
They were getting louder, closer. Yet he still saw nothing. He was frozen in place, limbs locked. His mind screamed run yet his legs didn't move. He didn't even reach for his gun.
A cold chilling laughter echoed in the silence. Arthur's eyes darted around the dark trying to see something, yet he only found shadows.
"Go away!" he yelled, though it was drowned by the laughter
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
The steps got closer and faster, he was shaking terribly now.
Step. Step. Step.
He felt like fainting. Three steps? The rest had come in fours!
That's when he felt a panting in his ear and hot breath on his neck.
With a strangled scream he spun about ready to fight.
But, nothing was there. Could this truly just be his imagination?
His brain finally worked enough to make his legs move and he turned to run yet he collided with something.
A man.
Arthur gulped, trembling. The man laughed coldly, chillingly.
In a flash of movement Arthur saw a silver blur then a searing pain that made him scream. A knife had dug into his upper leg.
Another flash and the pain repeated on the other side.
He could still not see his attacker, his cries seemed to be heard by no one as if he and this man where the only two beings in existence.
Arthur screamed again as steel was driven into his stomach.
His blood was spurting everywhere, coating both him and the man.
"R-Ripper!" he screamed as yet again the blade torn his flesh.
The man laughed in response, stabbing faster and harder, driving the blade in fully and tearing it out. Hot blood soaked Arthur's stomach and legs, running down him to form a rapidly growing puddle on the ground.
Arthur had no chance to breath, no relief. The pain was rolling in like waves at high tide. The blade flashed, darting in and out of his body rapidly.
Wailing in pain and going hoarse he slumped over, his head hitting Ripper's shoulder and resting on it. He couldn't move, he was too weak.
Ripper laughed, his bloody hand ruffled Arthur blond hair, his over giving him a gentle hug
"There, there." He softly spoke
Arthur cringed at the sound. He whimpered in pain but Ripper just rubbed the dying man's back, hand on the back of his head, holding him almost protectively.
Arthur's eyes grew heavy; he felt warmth spreading through him.
At that moment hand against his head moved and a second later the worst pain he ever felt flooded through him.
He screamed so loudly he went mute, a vessel in his eye popped, tears of agony streamed down his face.
Ripper grinned, wiggling the blade which rested in Arthur's kidneys.
The man wailed silently, his face fixed in a grimace of true agony.
The man was seconds from death and Ripper knew it. Slowly and painfully he dragged the blade out and shoved the man to the ground.
By the time Arthur landed in the pool of his own blood, he was dead.
Ripper grinned sadistically and licked the blood off his blade, only to disappear into the shadows of the night where he would lurk and wait for his next victim.
Jack the Ripper was never found. Some say he is a timeless beast, a monster in a man's body, sent from Hell that never dies.
The next time you hear a bump or step in the night
Please, feel free, to be overcome with fright
For every night, is Jack the Ripper's night
Thoughts?