The Click-Clack Man

The Click-Clack Man

“Okay kiddos, time for bed.”
“But Cori! We can’t go to sleep yet!” exclaimed 8-year-old Carson, as he continued to bounce on the couch cushions.
“Yeah!” agreed his little sister, Ruby, who was playing with her favorite doll. “Princess Glitter hasn’t finished her tea party!”
“Well,” Cori began. “If you both stay up, neither of you will get a story,” she shrugged. “Oh well.”
In an instant, both children ran back to their room and began to get ready for bed. Bedtime stories were their favorite thing, and they thought Cori told them best; second only to their father.
Their father was a famous horror writer, who specialized in paranormal stories, so both children had grown up loving scary stories.
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” ruby reminded her brother, “Remember what daddy tells us. The boogey man will get you if you don’t listen.”
“Whatever,” Carson said with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t believe in that baby stuff, I’m almost 9.”
Ruby simply shrugged her shoulders and the pair returned to their room. They each snuggled in under their covers, waiting patiently for Cori to come tuck them in.
Cori entered the room and smiled. “Well, that was quick.”
“We couldn’t wait for our story!” Ruby grinned.
“Oh, I suppose I did promise you a story, didn’t I?” she said, her grin staying in place as she sat on the edge of Ruby’s bed. “What kind of story should we have tonight?”
“A scary one!” both children exclaimed.
Cori laughed. “Alright, what kind of scary story should we do?”
“A monster one!” Ruby giggled. Monster stories were her favorite, due to being raised that monsters aren’t real.
“Okay, I think I can manage to tell a monster story,” she smiled as Ruby snuggled closer to her beloved babysitter. “Have you ever heard of the Click-Clack Man?”
The kids shook their heads.
Cori smiled. “Perfect.”
Carson grabbed his favorite stuffed dinosaur and climbed onto his sister’s bed.
Cori wrapped an arm around each of them and smiled. “The Click-Clack Man is not a very well-known monster, but he is one of the fiercest. He’s made up of skin that sticks tightly to his creaky bones. He has large, black, sunken eyes, and a large grin. However, it’s his teeth that get him his name.”
“His teeth?” Carson questioned, eyes going wide.
Cori nodded. “His teeth. They’re blackened with rot. His gums are blood red and his teeth themselves dangle from his gums by their roots. When he moves, he crawls around on all fours, his talon like claws clicking and his disgusting teeth clacking. That’s how he gets the name Click-Clack.Man.”
“He sounds creepy,” Ruby shuddered.
Carson nodded in agreement. “Where did he come from?”
“Legend has it that he died as a young man, who never took care of himself, especially his teeth or his nails. Now he’s cursed to be this hideous monster, his teeth and nails causing him excruciating pain. He vows if a child doesn’t take care of themselves, he will come for them and be cursed to spend eternity, just like he does.”
“W-What does he do to them?” Carson asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Cori pulled both children close, silently assuring them that it was just a story. Nothing more than a legend.
“If you don’t heed his warning, he’ll rip out all your teeth and pin you down, so the blood from your gums runs down your throat, drowning you. He’ll take the teeth he ripped from your mouth and shove them into your eyes. However, he also rips off all your fingernails and shoves them under your toenails, like spikes. He wants his victims to feel the same pain he does.”
The children’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
“H-He’s not real, right?” Ruby asked.
“Of course, not sweetie. He’s just a made-up character, like in your daddy’s books. A legend, a story. Nothing more than a fairytale.”
Ruby nodded and held fast to her doll.
Cori got up from the bed and ruffled Carson’s hair. “I think it’s time for bed now.”
Ruby looked at her brother. “Can I sleep in your bed?”
Carson nodded and helped his sister under the covers, then Cori gently tucked them in, kissing each of them on the forehead.
“Goodnight my dears. I’ll be downstairs if you need me, okay?”
Both children nodded and snuggled closer under the warm, safe covers.
Cori smiled, turned out the lights, and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
As soon as they heard their babysitter walk down the creaky stairs, the siblings rolled over and began whispering.
“You weren’t scared, right?” Ruby asked.
“N-No, were you?”
She shook her head. “No.” She paused, and her voice grew quiet. “You still have to brush your teeth. Daddy won’t be happy if he finds out you skipped.
“I know… It’s just a story, right?”
Ruby nodded. “Just a story.”
Carson took a deep breath and climbed out from under the covers. He slowly walked into the hall ad began to make his way to the bathroom. He was almost there, but he heard something that made him freeze in his tracks.
Click-clack, click-clack…
He turned and his blood ran cold, all color draining from his face.
Click-clack…