Creatures Caves

That story about the speakers IS creepy. Reminds me of something that happened to me once.

I don't make a habit of watching scary movies, because I've always been a pretty jumpy person. But every once in a while I get a craving for some creepy stories. Preferably during the day (since it's less creepy than night time), when someone else is home (so I'm not home alone), but not in the same room (so I don't have to explain what the heck it is I'm doing). On the day the craving struck, my mom was taking a nap, so it was the perfect opportunity.

The list of what actually scares me is pretty selective. I'm not afraid of vampires, bats, spiders, etc., but ghosts, evil clowns and objects that move on their own are pretty high up there.

So I'm on my computer, reading some supposedly "true" story about a possessed clown doll that walks and moves on its own, when I start to hear this weird, soft, broken chiming sound, like little bells or some kind of music box. You know, a really high pitched tinkling. The sort that's supposed to sound cheerful and innocent, but that horror movies like to use because it sounds so out of place in a scary movie it just makes it even creepier. That kind.
At first I think it's coming from this web site, so I turn my speakers off. Like I expect, the sound stops immediately. For about two minutes, and then it starts again. But it's intermittent and stops after three or four notes.
Now that I know it's not coming from my computer, it occurrs to me that it's coming from somewhere close by and above my head. My desk was right next to this open closet, so I look up and spot this snow globe on the top shelf.
It's the kind with a little key in the bottom that plays music when you turn it, and the inside (which has cute kittens and mice wearing blue bows on it) spins when it plays.
While I'm standing there looking right at it, it makes the same noises, and turns until the kitten seems to be staring at me.
Needless to say I woke my mother from her nap and dragged her in to deal with it, because I wasn't about to touch it. While I was standing there explaining myself, it burst into 2-3 seconds of uninterrupted song, apparently just to spite me.

Mom stuck it in the hall closet, where it continued to play itself even more enthusiastically for the rest of the day, and the next day we packed it up and sent it off to some Goodwill-type store.

I understand that this happened in the middle of one of the hottest summers Washington had experienced in years, so there's a 99% chance that it was just the heat causing the inner workings to expand that made the snow globe spontaneously play itself. And I did feel bad about getting rid of it. It had originally been a gift from a friend, I'd had it for years and really loved the thing, but there was just no way I could stand having it around if it was going to keep playing itself like that. $:\$

Maybe in a few years I'll look online and see if I can't find another one like it. But not just yet. The mental image of that kitten in the blue bow slowly revolving to stare at me still gives me the creeps.