The Hungry Creature
According to legend, in the high mountainous region of Vietnam, a hungry demon will appear every time it rains on the night when there’s a full moon (usually the 15th day of each lunar month). Although that demon does not harm the living but has a hobby of eating the organs of livestock, its shape and smell make everyone obsessed.
Thinh is a young man who has just turned 20 years old. He and his friends living in the city went to Cao Bang, a small city in the North of Vietnam. There are many beautiful scenes here, but there are also many mysteries revolving around spiritual topics. A group of 4 people decided to travel here to relax after a period of hard-working, as well as to discover the culture and beliefs of the ethnic minorities here. They rented a hotel near the top of the hill because few people lived here, only a few unspoiled houses, so the price is relatively cheap. On the other hand, this place has a fairly open view worth seeing the vast mountains and forests. It’s called a hotel, but it’s just a simple stilt house with essentials. When they first checked into the hotel, they felt a dark, suffocating atmosphere like a room that had been abandoned for a long time, neither rented nor cleaned. However, they dare not ask for more because this room is cheap. The owner of the hotel is a guy who does not believe in ghost stories, but because of culture and wants guests not to encounter bad experiences, he still advises them: “Today is the 15th day of the lunar calendar, according to tradition, everyone in the town must return home before midnight, or it will be bad luck.” Born and raised in a crowded city, all 4 people did not pay much attention to his words. That night, they were engrossed in experiencing this land’s new and fascinating pleasures, so they hung out till 11 p.m. Until everyone packed up to prepare to return, then the 4 young people slowly left. While walking, they chatted, laughed, and enjoyed the cool and quiet atmosphere at midnight but forgot that the clock had already struck 0 o’clock. They came home at 1 a.m., took a shower, and then went to bed. Nothing happened until 1:30 am and Thinh still couldn’t sleep. The house on stilts is made of wood, with some openings as big as an adult’s finger, along with a thin blanket, it is impossible to prevent the night winds from entering the house, and the temperature in the high mountains is still quite low. . Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Thinh suddenly heard a loud thud, though not too loud but enough to hear in the quiet of the night. At first, he thought it was a thief, but as soon as he heard the sound of chewing, he changed his mind right away. He slowly sat up, pulled the curtain, and silently observed outside. The horse in the barn of the house next door fell and made the noise just now, but strangely someone was sitting next to it. Curiously, he opened the small window to see if that was the horse’s owner. When the door was opened, the cold wind in the middle of the night immediately rushed in, although it was airy, it made him cringe. Gradually seeing better, he realized it was a strange creature, not human, but with limbs and very human-like. It was about 1 meter tall, had no hair on its head, and was so thin that it only boned, a slimy liquid as sewage on its body, it was gnawing the intestines of the ill-fated horse.
While he was confused with many questions: “What is that creature, is it a species that lives in this area that I do not know? Why did the horse that is being eaten not make any sound? …), he was startled because one of his friends had turned on the light, with a drowsy voice: “Why do you open the window at night, it’s so cold, how can we sleep?” The electric light of the room shining in the dark of an entire area seemed to have attracted the attention of that creature. It turned its head to look at the house on stilts. Its red eyes looked at Thinh — whose shadow was still glimmering in front of the window, eyes filled with hatred, retreating into the darkness. Thinh was panicking and quickly turned off the lights, closed the door, woke everyone up, and told them the story he had just experienced, but everyone seemed to think that Thinh was just sleepy, they didn’t believe that there were inherent ghosts in the world.
The next morning, it was discovered that the horse of the house next door had been killed and had its organs eaten. The ground where the horse had fallen gave off a fishy smell, and filthy scent and was smothered with slime stains. They said that it is done by the tigers here. But more than anyone else, only Thinh, who witnessed the whole thing, knew that the creature was not a tiger, nor was it a familiar creature here, so no one could guess it, it was another creature, mysterious but scary and haunting.
