It waits in the darkness patiently. The leprous creature has been preying on mankind since the dawn of time. In a different era, campfires held it at bay. And then candles. And then light bulbs.

Saliva drips from its rotting maw. Creeping toward a window, it suddenly shies away in revulsion. The television’s glow lulls for a moment; long enough for the creature to draw close, to scratch the flaking stucco, and fog the window with a primal growl.
As the next half hour of programming begins; the beast retreats into the shadows again… But not before the light catches a glint of feral eye shine. Huge luminous disks slitted with pupils.

Inside, the man’s eyes begin to close. His heavy eyelids drifting shut, and then briefly fluttering open.
A food dehydrator… Kitchen cutlery… Spray-on hair…
His hand loosens on the remote, which pivots, precariously balanced on index, forefinger and thumb. It finally slips away, landing with a thud. Clicking the television off.

The creature slides the window open…