Source unknown
“At the foot of the bed, sitting and facing away from us, there was what appeared to be a naked man, or a large hairless dog of some sort…
In a flurry of motion, the creature scrambled around the side of the bed, and then crawled quickly in a flailing sort of motion right along the bed until it was less than a foot from my husband’s face. The creature was completely silent for about 30 seconds….just looking at my husband. The creature then placed its hand on his knee and ran into the hallway, leading to the kids’ rooms. I screamed and ran for the light switch, planning to stop him before he hurt my children. When I got to the hallway, the light from the bedroom was enough to see it crouching and hunched over about 20 feet away. He turned around and looked directly at me, covered in blood. I flipped the switch on the wall and saw my daughter Clara.
The creature ran down the stairs while my husband and I rushed to help our daughter. She was very badly injured and spoke only once more in her short life. She said ‘he is the Rake’” – Eyewitness testimony, 2006
It is every childhood terror. It is every night time fear adults refuse to admit. It is the monster under the bed, in the closet, the bogeyman, why shadows in the darkened bedrooms breath and menace.
It slithers in bedrooms at night, no seeming reason for choosing any particular victim. Sitting on the edge of the bed or peeking over the foot, it stares at the sleeper with saucer eyes and a dagger-filled grin. If the victim continues to sleep, the Rake grows bored and will move on to a different home the next night. But if the sleeper wakes, it makes eye-contact, breathing heavy, its chest making the noise of a rattlesnake. The victim will be safe if they remain still, quiet. But any shout of fright or movement provokes the Rake. The monstrosity pounces on its prey’s chest, dagger-mouth distending, sucking away the victim’s life-force. Drained, the corpse will appear to have died of natural causes. And the Rake will melt back into the night, in search of another bedroom to stalk.
The Rake, Night-Terror
STR 12
CON 12
SIZ 9
INT 10
POW 15
DEX 18
Move 8
HP 10
Damage Bonus: None
Weapons: Pin 80%, Grapple
Life force Drain 50% (auto if grappled), 1d6 POW per turn; reduced to 0 POW, victim dies.
Claws 40%, damage 1d10. If interrupted draining a victim or otherwise attacked, the Rake will defend itself while attempting to flee.
Armor: None, but half composed of shadow, any damage the Rake takes is reduced by half. At 0 HP, the Rake collapses into nearby shadows, soon to reform and seek its revenge.
Spell: None
Sanity Loss: 1/1d10 to see the Rake.
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast
