Judith Barsi

It all started on Facebook. Just one post, by a pretty popular page called THAT Girl. As an avid Facebooker, I loved anything that would make the experience less mundane, so I liked plenty of strange pages like hers. Gary Motherfucking Oak, Hipster Link, Vegeta's Moostache, and so on. THAT Girl (known better by her fans, as Kitty, which is what I will be calling her through the remainder of my tale) posted a very strange update, one that said no more than, "Judith Barsi, the voice of Ducky in The Land Before Time, was shot and killed by her father at the age of ten." The next post simply said this: "I'm abandoning this page for awhile. Personal issues, see you on the flip side." Very unlike Kitty, to say the least, but this piqued my curiosity. As an adventurous person, I felt the need to look into it.
I made my way to my aunt's house that weekend, hoping to ask my older cousin, Seth, if he knew about the whole ordeal with Judith. He was a fan of The Land Before Time movies, and I was told that they used to make him cry. He would never admit it, though. 
I walked into the home. The smell of cigarettes and weed assailed my nostrils, and made me slightly light-headed. Seth's friends were all there, like usual, and I knew I'd never get any answers out of him if he had company.
"Hey, Seth," I called to him, "What're you guys up to?"
"Beer pong. Wanna join?" Seth inquired. As I had more pressing issues to discuss with him, I declined, and asked him if I could speak to him alone, knowing to not embarrass him in front of his friends.
"Alone? Sure, sure. Just let me grab a smoke, and we can head outside." I grabbed one too, and stood in the bitter winter chill with him.
"So, whaddya need?"
"This may be a bit awkward, but-"
"You prego? I'll kill someone."
"No, Seth..." I sighed, "No, it's not that, still a virgin." I inhaled the cancerous smoke, and began again, "Do you know anything about that little girl that was in the Land Before Time Movies? Judith Barsi, I think."
His face grew pale. "No.", he said sternly.
"Seth, I need to know," I snapped, "It's for a school project, and-"
"Don't fucking lie, Jess."
"Seth."
"No, I don't fucking know anything about it." Seth was less pale, and more flushed, his eyes looked deranged, like he'd witnessed something horrible transpire. He calmed down for a moment, after I stared at him, unphased by his unnecessary rage. 
"I have an old copy of the movie, in my chest downstairs. Don't fucking talk about it anymore. See for yourself." He threw his smoke into the snow, "But believe me, you won't like it." I followed his lead, and threw my half-smoked cigarette into the snow. What a waste! I thought. 
I followed Seth into the dark depths of the basement, where his room was located, and shuffled into it. It was full of horror movie memorabilia, promised to be mine when he out-grows it. 
"Here, in that chest. If you think you have the guts to watch the movie, then you should dig it out just fine." He left the room, and locked the door.
Typical. Always trying to scare me, who the fuck does he think he is, Freddy Krueger? Ugh... My thoughts were racing. He was much like Jigsaw in one aspect: intelligent enough to play games with my mind and make me search for things that were in plain sight. 
I dug into the chest, coming across a Chucky doll, and froze. Seth had tied me to chairs when I was young and forced me to watch Child's Play. Remembering things that I longed to forget, I started to well up, knowing that the worst was probably over, (but man, was I wrong). Seth left plenty of other things to fuck with me, such as zombie-like faux limbs and notes that read cryptic messages.
"No, Jess, don't do this to yourself."
"Stop this now."
"Just come upstairs and drink with us. Forget about Judith. Forget."
Wait, I thought, Seth was in my sight, the whole time we were down here, and there's no way he would know I'd come around, looking for information about Judith, or even that I knew about her at all... and more importantly, why would he lock the door? 
I shuffled through the wreckage of his horror-fest-chest and finally found the tape, an authentic copy. "Seth!" I called, "Seth, I found it!" I heard him sniffle, "Seth, can I please go now?"
"Watch it."
"What?"
"Watch the fucking movie, Jess."
"Seth, let's just have another smoke, and go watch it at my house."
A few minutes passed in silence, until the door unlocked, making me jump, and opened slowly. Fuck, Seth. I thought maybe you'd have some new tricks by now. Acting unphased by the new development, I walked out of the door, expecting Seth to try and scare me, but there was no one. He's probably hiding somewhere else, I thought, trying to reason with myself. There's just no way. I walked up the stairs of the house, which had always frightened me. 
I felt a cold, small hand touch my arm.
"Watch the movie, Jess." Whispers, "You know you want to."
"Seth, you're a fucking f*****, dude," I called. "I'm going home!" I said, as I peeked my head around the stairs, to see if everyone was there, they were all there, including Seth.
"Find that movie?"
"Just fine, thanks. Don't lock the door on me anymore, it's childish."
"...Jess, I didn't lock the door." He went pale again, "I didn't even shut the door. I left you to your own devices, and went upstairs." His friends were all laughing. "You trying to pull something on me?"
"No." My face, probably equally as pale, sweat a little in fear, and distress. "Seth. Can you come sleep over at the house tonight?"
His friends, drunk, and finding this situation hilarious, were laughing hysterically. Seth did nothing but nod, "You can finish the game, and we can leave."
I clutched the VHS in my sweaty palms, "Just hurry, I want to go home." Seth nodded again.
I sat in the living room, which was simply a large patch of carpet, meant to separate the dining area, and the living room. On a couch, my Aunt Murial sat next to me, very drunk, and very high. 
"You're not going to party, Jess? What the hell? This is the party house!" 
I looked at her with pleading eyes. I just wanted to watch this tape and get it over with. I thought of an excuse, seeing as she knew that I loved drinking, getting stoned, and other things of that matter.
"Nah, not tonight, I have a project due soon, and I just want to get home."
"So, just go."
"Can't. Seth is going to help me."
"What? He don't know dot-diddily-squat."
"Company." I was getting nervous and sweaty again. Aunt Muriel backed off considerably, and went back to the party. 
Listening to the comfortable sounds of chatter and laughter was filling the voids of my mind. I was growing more and more comfortable and beginning to forget the tape, and whatever contents it held. I slipped into sleep, which I thought was odd. I am an insomniac, a chronic insomniac: I hardly ever slept. That moment was short. Seth woke me up moments later, pretty drunk, and smiley.
"Y-you ready ta go?" He reeked of beer, "C'mon, let's bounce."
"I can go by myself if you're too drunk."
"'Kay. Luff you." He hugged me, and smelled like a brewery. I was unhappy. I lived in a tiny bedroom apartment, by myself. There wasn't going to be anyone with me, and with what Seth had said to me, I was starting to feel more uneasy, like this tape had some sort of mood changing ailment to it. I lit a smoke, and was joined by my younger cousin, Christine. She was stoned.
"Hey," she breathed, "Where are you off to?" She took a hit from her joint.
"Home." I inhaled the smoke, then exhaled, "Seth's an ass, dude. He said he'd watch this movie with me, then totally got too drunk to go."
"That's just Seth, Jess." She looked serious. "Call Jonsey, or Damien."
"I don't need a man, Chris."
"Then call Vivian."
"Viv? Yeah, maybe."
"Problem solved." She crushed her joint on the coffee table, ignoring the ashtray I was using. "Seth told me about that movie when we were younger," she giggled, "He must've been fucked up, dude."
Then something struck me, I never told Chris what movie I was taking home. "Tell me how you knew what movie I had in my hand." She went pale, and laughed nervously.
"The case, Jessica."
"It's not in the case. It hasn't been in the case for years."
"The label, I mean."
I looked at the VHS, but the label was facing the ground, buried in my knees. 
I didn't want to think that Chris had something to do with the tape, so I pushed the idea to the back of my mind. I stood up and grabbed my phone out of my pocket, seeing a text from Vivian. "Hey. Coming over. Bringing pizza. See you at six." It was nearly five. I went to my car, only to see Chris and Seth standing in front of it. I blinked once, and they were gone.
Shaken up, I got in my car and started her up. My iPod was plugged in, and the abrupt sound of Skrillex made me jump. I tried to forget what was going on and called Viv.
"Hello?" she answered after two rings.
"Viv, I need you to come over now."
"Sure, whatever, hey, happy birthday, by the way."
"I'd completely forgotten," I answered honestly.
"I didn't. I can't take the car, so could you come get me?"
"Not an issue. Will you stay on the line with me? Some freaky shit is happening."
"Uhhh... sure. Freaky shit like what?" I saw Chris and Seth's faces in the window, staring, motionless.
"I'll tell you when we get home." 
I began driving, making small-talk about school, and how shitty some of our teachers are. I started talking about Damien, and gushed about his sweet sensible attitude toward me. Viv started talking about how she wished she would find a guy like Damien, and how much she missed her previous boyfriend, Eric. I finally got to her home, and said I was outside. She hung up, walked out of the beautiful five bedroom home, and got to my car.
"Finally." She breathed, "I got you a present." She handed me a small box, tied with red ribbon and white wrapping paper. I tucked in in my glove compartment and promised to open it later. I then drove off. Viv stared at me, impatiently.
"So...what kind of freaky shit?"
"Later."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure if we're in the clear." I checked my phone, but all there was was my background and a picture of Nightcrawler from X-Men: Evolution I'd drawn. "We're going to be watching a movie."
"Cool, what movie?"
"The Land Before Time."
"That seems... odd for you. Why not Hellboy, or Pan's Labyrinth? I mean, it is your birthday, so whatever, but..." I cut her off.
"The freaky shit revolves around the tape." I lit a cigarette, shaking. Viv just shook her head in disapproval, "You know THAT Girl?"
"Kitty? Yeah."
"She said on her page, that Judith Barsi, the voice of Ducky in this movie, was killed by her dad when she was ten." I inhaled, and rolled down a window, "Then she abandoned the page, I'm thinking permanently."
"Okay, that has what to do with the movie how?"
"Fucking listen!" I snapped, "Kitty abandoned the page, but that's just where I got curious. I knew my cousin liked the movie as a kid, but... he got really upset when I asked, and told me to watch it myself. Then he stared at me as I drove to come get you. He looked just like Jeff the Killer. From that creepypasta."
"So, he didn't have a nose?" she joked, "I get that this is freaking you out, but don't you think maybe you're reading too many of those stupid stories? I mean, none of them are even real."
"That's not entirely true. Smiledog.jpg is real."
"How would you know?"
"Let's not argue about this one." At this point, we'd pulled into my parking lot. "Let's just see what made Seth cry all of that time ago." I got out of the car, and swore I could see Seth's face in the window again. Smiling. I pushed it aside, "I'm calling Damien. I need a man that can kick Seth's stupid ass for trying to scare me."
"What do you mean?" Vivian inquired.
"Seth was just in the window again. He must've left after I did," I said, reasoning with myself. I pulled out my cellphone, but I didn't have a signal. "Fuck, no signal." I looked up at the window. He wasn't there anymore. "Let's just go inside." I unlocked the main door, then made my way up to my apartment. I was nervous, but unlocked the door, closed my eyes, and turned the lights on.
"SURPRISE!!" A chorus of people chanted: Seth, Christine, Damien, Jonsey, and countless others. Viv had even joined in the chorus. The initial shock made me jump, laughter ensued, and I felt safe again.
However... I blinked and they were gone. The room was simply black, and all I heard were whispers, "Watch... Watch... Watch..." I shook and turned around. The only thing that was even visible in the black abyss was the TV and VCR. The black tape was still being clutched by my terrified hands, sweat gathering on my forehead from the utter terror. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to have to watch it. I was being pushed somehow by something, closer and closer to the VCR, until I was right in front of it. The same whispers invading my mind as I put the tape in. It all started there.
Everything was normal for the first half hour from what I can assume, but after that, whenever Ducky talked, the screen flashed between her face and Judith's. That continued for a while. There was no static, just Judith's face, with a scarlet background that was murder to the eyes. When the movie ended, there were no credits. Instead, it was a graphic video of Judith and her mother's murder. It was crudely video-taped, and shaky. I watched it all unravel, I watched her be dragged by her luscious golden locks to the kitchen, where her father beat her and spewed venomous words at her.
"Bitch, you don't know what it's like to work for all you've got!" He slammed her into walls, and she cried softly, trying to keep composure. "Scream, goddammit!" She shook her head. He carried Judith to her room, while still spewing venom. He pulled out a gun from his waistband and shot her, right in the head. I tried to look away as I heard the shot, but a voice, sounding like Judith's father, screamed in my ear.
"WATCH. WATCH. FUCKING C-NT. WATCH!" I couldn't tell what was more horrifying, the screaming in my ear or the sight of Judith's limp body being covered with gasoline and blankets. I was in total shock. I didn't know what to do. I wanted it to end, but it wouldn't, it just wouldn't. As shock wore off, I began to cry, screaming, anything to drown out what I was seeing. Nothing worked.
Next was Judith's mother. She heard the gunshot, and walked to the bedroom. "Josef, what are you doing?" She asked him, "I heard a noise, what's going on?"
"Nothing," he said, hiding the gun. "Come here." He led her out into the hall, her eyes filled with worry. He headlocked her, and put the gun to her temple, "I'm sorry," he said, emotionless. The shot rung in my ears. I saw her head explode on impact. 
I threw up at this point. The pure carnage was enough to make any human being sick, let alone a seventeen year-old girl. I was simply sitting there, in front of the television. The end was growing closer, as he covered their bodies in gasoline and set them on fire. The camera now followed him to his garage, where he sighed, and shot himself. The camera now showed a picture of Judith and her mother burning. The flesh was melting from their faces. 
I closed my eyes and awoke in a chair, my friends and family surrounding me. Everyone was asking me if I was OK.
"You've been comatose for an hour and a half now." My mother was the one to speak. "I was about to take you to the hospital, but..."
Seth cut her off, "You're awake now, that's all that matters." This was not the same Seth that I had spoken with earlier today. Everyone had faces, painted with worry. Christine was not the same, either. I spoke with her - she claimed to have not been high for weeks, and Seth had claimed that I hadn't showed up that day. Vivian says that I hadn't picked her up, and that her car was in the parking lot, with everyone else's. Suddenly, something struck me. That package that I'd thought Viv had given me, what was inside of it?
From lack of better judgement, I went and checked for the package that was in my glove box. It was beautifully wrapped. I felt bad for opening it. 
Inside was a picture of sweet Judith, melting with her mother... 
I now know why Kitty abandoned the page, that is... if she had experienced the same things I did. I don't know what happened, and I don't want to know. I want to forget, but those goddamn whispers come back sometimes.
"How do you feel now, knowing the truth?"
Category:Historical Archive
Category:Television
Category:Computers and Internet
Category:Memes
Category:Mental Illness
Category:Reality
Category:Weird