A Sinister Smile: Childhood Encounters with an Unseen Presence in Arizona
Although I was only around two years old at the time, the memory of a sinister encounter during our stay at a motel near Fort Huachuca, Arizona, remains vivid even after four decades.
While my mother and I were preparing for a swim at the motel's pool, she heard me exclaiming loudly, "Stop smiling at me!" I was standing in her bedroom, fixated on the open closet. On a shelf within, I saw the face of a black man, his eyes and teeth gleaming an unnatural white, his smile radiating a sense of malice. Too young to fully grasp fear, I felt an instinctive aversion to his presence.
Assuming there was someone in the room, my mother ushered me to the pool and alerted the motel manager, who, upon investigating, found the room empty. Later that day, upon our return, I once again demanded the man stop smiling at me. This time, my mother, knowing the room was empty, came to investigate. I pointed towards the closet, but she saw nothing. My father, upon his return, also failed to see anything, despite my insistence. They moved items around, suspecting a trick of light or reflection, but the sinister smile remained visible only to me. Even my visiting grandparents could not perceive the figure that haunted my vision.
Thankfully, upon moving into our new on-base housing, the unsettling presence vanished. However, according to my parents, there were subsequent encounters.
One evening, as we waited in the car to pick up my father from his office, I pointed out a black man standing nearby. My mother, unable to see anyone, became concerned and hurried my father's departure.
The final sighting, as recounted to me, occurred at a cemetery. While exploring the grounds with my mother, I exclaimed, "Look, that black man just fell down!" Despite searching, my mother found no one else present.
These incidents occurred when I was between the ages of three and six. My mother found it peculiar that I consistently described the figure as a black man, as, to her knowledge, I had not encountered any black individuals at that point in my life. It's also worth noting that my father's base was formerly a barracks for Buffalo Soldiers during the Civil War.
While I haven't experienced anything similar since those early years, the memory of the sinister smiling face in the closet continues to haunt me. I'm curious if anyone else has encountered a similar entity in that area of Arizona. Although I doubt I would see anything, the thought of revisiting the location fills me with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.
