Florida Horror Story

It all happened on a typical day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when the sky was blue with puffy white clouds. My mom received a call on her cellphone from Marina, our live-in housekeeper who was calling her from home. Marina was complaining how she felt “very sick." My mom told Marina to take the day off and lay down. Marina continued to call my mom repeating how she, “did not feel well and something was wrong." On the fifth call she said, “Your family is going to die”.

While my mom was panicked she had to pick my sister, Megan, from pre-school before she could go home. When my mom and Megan returned home, Megan walked to her room and on the way to her room, she passed the hall bathroom where Marina was standing in the doorway looking towards the ground. Megan yelled out “Hi Marina!” But Marina ignored her and my sister kept repeating her greeting until Marina jumped at Megan with her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Megan screamed and ran straight to her room.

My mom went to see why my sister was screaming and heard strange sounds coming from the hall bathroom. When she walked in she realized that Marina was standing in front of the shower praying. My mom called out her name and Marina jumped out at my mom. She looked hideous! She had chewed off her lips and there was blood running down her chin and her eyes were all white. She was also speaking in an unfamiliar language. A language that was neither English nor Marina's native Spanish.

My mom ran upstairs where my dad was on a business call. My mom was in shock and could barely speak. When my dad ran downstairs and tried to help Marina, she continuously hit him, screamed, scratched, and tried biting him.

Finally my parents called 911. The fire department, paramedics, and police arrived shortly. Two paramedics tried to carry Marina out of the bathroom, but she was “unnaturally strong” and resisted them. Marina was a petite 5 ft. tall woman.

It took 3 firefighters, 4 policemen to get her out of our home and into an ambulance.

We never heard from Marina again. All we know is that she ended up in a mental hospital in Columbia.

Fifteen years later when my mom was renovating my bedroom she found a dried out frog with its eyes and mouth sewn shut, hidden under my drawers.

- Taylor -