My Scariest Moment of Ghana Travel: It’s Not What You Think

I sat bolt upright in bed, heart thumping, breath gasping, straining to see into the darkness in the direction of the voice.

Had it just been a bad dream? It had been such a terrifying phrase! I listened again, shaking.

Silence… Heat… The whirl of the ceiling fan…

And then suddenly, there it was again: a horrid, deep, rasp right outside my window. “I AM COMING FOR YOU,” it hissed.

I would have sobbed in anguish if I hadn’t been so terrified. My mind raced through the security features of the guesthouse in Sogakope, Ghana. There were bars on the windows and my doors were locked. My friends were sleeping just a few doors away. And yet– a robber that determined might not be deterred by such things.

“I AM COMING FOR YOU,” hissed the voice again, hoarse and threatening.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Was the voice coming from INSIDE my room? Where should I run to? What would I do? I felt dizzy with nausea.

“I AM COMING FOR YOU!” the voice rasped again: phlegmy and ghoulish like a poltergeist. I began hyperventilating.

Right as I was about to faint from terror, the beast outside gave a good cough to clear its throat, then spoke again.

“Cockadoodledoooooo!” it sang.

I let out a guffaw of relief and shooed the laryngitis-inflicted rooster away from my window. Who’d have thought that a congested bird could sound just like an evil robber?? Now you know.