 The idea of a sleepover, as it appears in movies and television, connotes a lot of things beyond a mere hangout session that happens to last through the night. Most of us have seen in movies and TV shows, or experienced in real life all sorts of debauchery on those occasions. Middle schoolers sharing their first illicitly obtained alcohol, or watching movies their parents would never let them see, or high schoolers gossiping about crushes, engaging in raunchy party games, or doing much more. But it's also easily forgotten how much pure and innocent fun such occasions can be for kids at a younger age. At that age, kids, usually still segregated by gender, often see a sleepover as nothing more than an endless play session with their buddies. The weekend of my friend Brian's 11th birthday began as one such occasion. Fourth grade was a week behind us, and a summer of freedom, or at least what our obedient well-behaved selves thought of as freedom, was ahead. Brian's dad loaded us into his SUV and drove us an hour away to his family's lake house for an overnight trip, where we spent the early afternoon swimming and diving into the water by Brian's family's private pier. After that, we played football in the front yard, three on three, with me, Brian and Brian's little brother Jake, facing off against Matthew and the twins Mark and Taylor. Brian's parents made us dinner, complete with a cake for their son. Afterwards, we sat around and watched the new DVD release of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. As the credits rolled, Brian's dad told us he was going to bed. He's an early riser, and requested we retreat upstairs. The upstairs of the lake house consisted of a hallway with a large bedroom on one side, and a bathroom and locked room marked under construction on the other. The large bedroom had been set up with two small beds and four sleeping bags, as well as an old television linked to a VCR. It was only 9pm, admittedly not too far off from when many of us typically went to sleep. But this was no typical occasion. We chatted through pillows at each other, passed around to bop it, and battled each other, using a link cable on the two Game Boy colors Mark and Taylor brought. We decided to see what we could watch on television. It received basic cable. We were mostly intrigued, though, by the stack of VHS tapes next to the VCR. The first was a plain black tape with the matrix written in marker on it. Someone must have recorded a copy from TV. We all wanted to watch it, so I inserted it into the VCR and hit play. Everyone turned off the lights as the movie started. We sat on the floor around the television. Unfortunately, the film had a grainy quality, and the images repeatedly faded away into what looked like footage from a different movie. The combination of the lack of light, our physically active day, and the poor quality of the tape had a predictable effort. I started yawning. About 20 minutes in, Brian giggled that Jake was asleep. I turned a look, and indeed, Jake had descended into slumber in a sleeping bag, understandably so since he was three years younger than the rest of us, and accustomed to an even earlier bedtime. I paid little attention. I hadn't seen the movie before and was absorbed by it, even if it was captured in poor quality. Unfortunately, for me, though, the image problems worsened as the movie progressed. About 45 minutes in, both the visuals and the audio were entirely overtaken by what looked like the other movie over which it had been recorded. Boo, said Brian. Jake probably did this. He messes up everything. Don't blame Jake, I said. Having been subjected to more than my share of petty bullying by my own other brother, I never liked the way Brian picked on Jake. What is it that we're watching? Asked Taylor. Looks like some kind of horror movie, said Mark. I'll turn it off, I said, hopping to my feet. No, said Matthew. Let's keep it on, at least for a few minutes. I sighed. I didn't like scary movies, but I watched anyway. The movie showed teenagers of around high school age sitting around a campfire on a beach. One was telling a ghost story to the others. He described to them a demon with the name Endormy that had long fingers and the body of a heavily decomposed corpse. According to legend, it was the spirit of a condemned man thrown into the sea who never found a proper resting place. The loneliness drove the spirit mad and it craves for others to take into the depths with it to join it in its restless perpetual sleep. A sudden shriek from within the room startled me. Brian had poured a cup of cold water on his little brother, waking him. Stop that. Jake said, red in the face, Mark and Taylor laughed. Cut it out, Brian. I said, what are you going to do about it? Brian asked. It's my birthday. I can do what I want. I just don't like it when you treat Jake like that. I said, Brian lunged at me. He was much bigger and a much more athletic kid than my scrawny self, not to mention ten months older, and he quickly had me subdued on the ground. Stop that, said Matthew. I'm trying to watch the movie. Matt and Taylor pried Brian off of me, who went back to his previous position. I decided not to escalate. Brian would just humiliate me again if I kept arguing with him. So I quieted down and returned to the movie. The teenager in the movie was still discussing the endormy demon. It would be awakened when someone near a body of water spoke its name. It lurked in the water and generally took its victims by reaching out and grabbing them. However, sometimes it would emerge and take its victims from the land. When it did this, it crept up to those who had blasphemed against it by using its name the next time they were asleep, lifted them and carried them back into the water to join him. Oh, scary, said another of the teens in the movie as he laughed in response to the story. The endormy demon is going to come get me. I'm so scared. He said mockingly. There's no such thing as a monster like that. Said a girl holding his hand. Did you hear that? She said into the sea, Mr. Endormy, you're not real via the endormy demon's gonna get you Jake, taunted Brian back in the real world who noticed his little brother growing pale. I know that the endormy demon's not a real thing, Jake whimpered. I wanted to turn the movie off for my sake and for Jake's. The characters in the movie retreated to their tents to go to sleep. And finally, the scary part of the movie began. The camera took on a POV shot of something emerging from the water and approaching the campsite. It walked into the tent with a now sleeping couple and then reached out with two brown arms of bone covered by murky algae and decomposed flesh. Next, it picked them up and carried them back into the water. The camera work carefully kept most of the assailants image concealed, presumably saving the makeup work done on the monster for a visual reveal later in the movie. Upon making contact with the water, the teens both awoke and started to scream, but they only had a brief moment to make a gargling sound before they disappeared. That's enough, I said. I turned the movie off, causing the television to revert to its basic cable mode. I'm not a spoil sport normally, but I knew we'd provided too much nightmare fuel for Jake already. But I also didn't want to single him out as the reason I was unilaterally cutting the movie short. What? Why? asked Brian. I think it's boring. I said, Expectedly, Matthew, Brian, Taylor, and Mark didn't buy it and inundated me with jeers. Looks like Tom's terrified of endormy, said Mark. Tom thinks the endormy demon is coming to get us, said Taylor. There's no such thing as the endormy demon, said Matthew, trying to be a little more empathetic. I sighed. Let's just do something else, okay? Thankfully, my friends didn't pout much more. We played video games for a bit, followed by a few rounds of mafia, with the room illuminated only by the glow of the muted television. Jake fell asleep again pretty quickly, followed by Matthew. There was no variation of mafia that worked with only four people, so Brian, Mark, Taylor, and I decided to call it a night. I closed my eyes. My heart raced, however, as clips from the movie haunted me. I wasn't used to seeing movies like that. I thought about those two arms reaching out at that unsuspecting couple. Mostly, what horrified me the most was their obliviousness to their own death until the moment their bodies hit the water, they only learned of their fate when it was too late for them to do anything about it. I kept seeing that image replay in my head again and again of the couple's eyes shooting open upon contact with the water, and then them both disappearing for good. At least we didn't keep the movie on long enough to see what the creature looked like. That probably would have scarred me even worse. I tossed and turned, but couldn't go to sleep. I became endlessly absorbed by the sounds of the room, each one getting in my way when I tried to clear my mind. There was the regular hum of the overhead fan, the insects from outside, and the regular breathing of my friends who stayed of sleep by envied. In every corner, I pictured a skeleton with patches of mucky brown decomposed skin waiting to strike. I turned my attention to the faded television, which still ran on mute. It was stuck on the TV guide channel. Two hosts were speaking in the top portion of the screen as the channel selection rotated underneath. A blonde woman chatted with a man with a beard she was interviewing. It had the intended effect of making me drowsy. Then the man gave a concerned look and pointed behind the woman. Before she could react, a murky bony hand emerged from off camera and dragged her away. The man stood up in shock and said something to the camera, presumably to the crew there filming him. The image started to jostle and then cut to static, leaving on screen only the perpetual channel guide. Then the static faded away, revealing for a moment the image of a skull covered in various states of decomposed flesh. Tom. I heard a high pitched voice whimper as I felt a force against my shoulder. I had, in fact, fallen asleep and now Jake was shaking me awake. Yeah? The demon. It came. He got. Hey, hey, I said, trying to be reassuring. You're okay. Nothing's coming for you. It was just a nightmare. I just had one myself. But Matthew, I saw the demon carry him away. Jake was sobbing. I realized that he was more than superficially scared. But when I scan the room, the sleeping bag where Matthew had fallen asleep was empty. He probably just went to the bathroom, I said. That makes sense, doesn't it? Don't worry. It's going to be okay. Jake looked only a little reassured. I'll tell you what, I said, I'll go knock on the bathroom door now and I'll see if he's here. I'll be right back. Try to go to sleep, okay? Jake nodded and curled up by my sleeping bag. I got up and walked over to the hallway. The door to the bathroom was shut. I knocked on it softly, then more loudly. Hearing no response, I opened the door and peered in. The light was off. So I flipped it on. After so much time in the dark, I had to cover my eyes for a moment from the resulting brightness. Inside, I could see that the bathroom was empty. Where had Matthew gone? Maybe he'd gotten something to eat or drink from the refrigerator downstairs. I crept to the main floor, reaching my hand out in front of me so I could feel my way around in the darkness. Matthew. I whispered as I searched. He was nowhere to be seen. Then I noticed that the back door that led to the lake was open. Had Matthew gone outside? Why would he do that? Or had something else gone inside? I headed back upstairs, tiptoed into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. To my shock, not only was Matthew still gone, but now Jake was gone too. Only Brian, Mark, and Taylor remained, sound asleep and unaware of anything unusual happening around them. I heard a sound of movement outside the door, like someone or something was shuffling down the hallway. I crawled into my sleeping bag, unsure of what to make of things. I peered under the doorframe and vaguely discerned in the shadows, two approaching legs. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a dark, tall silhouette. I gulped and hoped to myself that it was merely Brian's father checking in on us. Maybe he'd know what happened to Jake and Matthew. I shut my eyes tightly, buried my head underneath my sleeping bag, and lay as still as I could. I could hear the shape step over me and walk to the bed where Taylor lay. A few moments later, I heard the shape step over me again and then shuffle out the door. When I crawled out of the sleeping bag and looked around, Taylor's bed was empty. I felt like I'd never been so close to death. If this really was the endormy demon, was it going to come for me next? And had so many of my friends now met the same fate as that couple from the movie. The movie said that when the demon goes to shore, it only takes those who are sleeping. So all I needed to do was wake up Brian and Mark, then they'd be safe, at least as long as they stayed away from the water. The shuffling sound started up again, a sense of incredible fear ran through me and froze me in place. This time, though, I kept my eyes open as the figure approached. It sure wasn't Brian's dad. Before me stood something even worse than I'd imagined. What looked like dirt, gunk, and faded algae covered its body. Patches of flesh lined its ribcage and left side of its face. One of its sockets had a bloody red eye that made contact with me. But the demon paid me no heed as it walked to the other side of the room. I knew I had to scream as in doing so I'd spare my friends by awaking them. But the horrific sight before me rendered me immobile. I reached in the back of my throat and found nothing. All I could get out were vague grunt sounds as the demon reached out with its bony arms and threw Mark over its shoulders. The creature, despite its nightmarish appearance, handled him gently. And Mark continued sleeping peacefully in its arms. The creature gave me another look, one that sent shame all over me. It realized I was a coward. As the creature left the room, I finally mustered the courage to get up. I followed it from the distance and watched as it descended the stairs. I peered out the back window as it submerged into the lake water. For a moment, I saw Mark struggle as the water awoke him. But within moments, both he and the demon disappeared from my vision. For a few seconds, the water, now slightly illuminated by the early morning light, looked tranquil, even as I now understood an extraordinary horror to exist in its depths. Then a decrepit head emerged as the demon began its return to the lake house. I rushed upstairs, grabbed Brian, and called out his name. What? He asked in a daze. What are you doing? Where is everybody? What time is it? I ran out of the room and looked out a window at the shoreline. Sure enough, now that its last potential victim was awake, the demon was gone. I knew we needed to tell Brian's father, but there was no way he'd believe me. Brian didn't even believe me. He laughed in my face when I told him that the monster from the movie was real and had taken our friends away to the water. So you last saw everyone else heading out to the pier? Said Brian. Well, that's probably where they are then. I mean, where else can they be? Keep your stupid demon stories to yourself. Even Jake didn't believe them as strongly as you. And he believes anything. I'm gonna go find him. He shoved me aside and walked out the back. I ran after him and tried to stop him. I met Taylor, Mark, he called as he jogged to the edge of the water. Stop. I screamed, trying to catch up. But before I could do anything, a bony arm reached upwards from the water and grabbed Brian by the ankle. He screamed and tried in vain to hold onto a wooden plank as he was tugged out of view. I collapsed where Brian had just met his demise. Tears welled up in my eyes. If the rules from the movie were true, then at least I still wasn't in any danger. But I'd failed all my friends so miserably. All I needed to do was keep them awake and away from the water's edge. And I'd fumbled every opportunity I'd had to protect them. I yelled into the water, please, please give them back. Take me if you have to, please endure me. There, I said it, now please take me for them. I had no reason to expect any bargain of this kind to work. I just wanted this nightmare to end and a chance to make up for my failure. The water before me bubbled. The demon shot up and somehow balanced on the water's surface. He still looked terrifying, but less so in the morning light. He lifted his long index finger. One, I said. The demon nodded slowly, only one. A few minutes later, as I would later learn, Brian's father awoke to find his house abandoned. He heard noise outside and found in the grass his youngest son unconscious and barely breathing in soaked night clothes. At the end of the pier, he saw something pulling me into the water. After allowing the demon to take me, I remember suddenly feeling like the object of a tug of war game, one that Brian's father somehow won. He pulled me back and dragged me away from the shore. The police asked me and Jake endlessly about our four missing friends and what had happened that night, but we both knew better than to share the name of the entity who took them away. I'll never know what movie we were watching or why a copy of it existed at the lake house. If you find a copy, destroy it, and whatever you do, never speak out loud the name of the demon within it. Jake is off the hook, but it is still coming for me. I did make a deal after all. I've been in psychiatric care at a location further inland for several years now. I set an alarm to make sure I never sleep for more than two hours at a time. I slept through it once, and when I opened my eyes, I caught a quick glimpse of a decrepit pair of bony arms reaching out to me before they faded away. I followed the progress of a new pond that has been built near the entrance of my facility. It's been filled with water for five days, and I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake.