The house had always felt off. From the first day Jennifer
moved in, I knew something wasn't quite right.
It wasn't the peeling wallpaper, or even how the floorboards
would groan under each step. It was that door in the
basement, rusty and locked, with some presents far more imposing
than any ordinary utility closet.
The landlord's vague explanations didn't help.
I had been curious about it, but not enough to explore further.
Until that night. Jennifer had to leave for a work
trip, and I was happy to stay with Emma.
Taking care of my niece was always a joy, and the house, as
unsettling as it could be, seemed harmless enough during
the day. Once Emma was tucked into bed, I
collapsed onto the couch, wrapped myself in a blanket and
let the drone of the TV take the edge off the evening.
I hadn't planned on falling asleep, but apparently had no
choice in the matter. A sudden noise pulled me from
sleep. My eyes opened.
The screen of the TV was now just a dull glow, casting long
shadows across the room. I listened, thinking this might
be part of the movie, but there it was again, a calculated
shuffle from above. It didn't fit with the normal
noises of the old house. My mind rattled off
possibilities. An open window, maybe a bird, or
even Jennifer's cat, although she hadn't brought him this
time. I sat up, straining my ears as
the sound shifted, moving from one end of the ceiling to the
other. My attention was diverted when
something metal clanged against the basement door.
I turned, squinting into the dark hallway, and could barely
see the basement door in the dim light.
There, just inches from it, was a key, grimy, rusted, and
certainly not there before. Every instinct was screaming at
me to leave it alone, but I couldn't.
I picked it up, my fingers trembling slightly.
I had to tell someone. Mark.
I grabbed my phone and messaged him, my hands feeling oddly
disconnected from the rest of me.
Before I could decide what to do, the sound whirled me again,
a long, anguished creak that I knew all too well.
The bathroom door upstairs. My heart was pounding, bringing
Emma to mind. I took the stairs 2 at a time,
my bare feet silent on the wood. Emma lay still, peacefully
sleeping. Her little chest rose and fell.
A wave of relief washed over me for an instant, but it didn't
last. The bathroom door was open a
crack, the space behind it thick with shadows.
I took a step towards it, every muscle in my body taut.
The shower curtain did move, just that minuscule swaying
motion that was enough to make my breath catch.
I had to act. I launched myself forward,
slamming the door open. The force rattled the walls.
A figure, a man, stumbled backward, his eyes wide with
shock. His clothes were tattered, his
face grimy, eyes wild. I did not think.
I slammed the door closed and threw myself against it, feeling
his weight push back. There was a muffled shout from
the other side, followed by the sound of glass shattering.
He was escaping. I rushed back to Emma's room,
picking her up. The only thing that was
grounding me was the feel of her warmth against me.
As I reached the kitchen downstairs, I noticed something.
The knife block 1 was missing. My eyes moved around the room,
searching for any sign of movement.
With Emma clutched in one arm, I grabbed another knife and backed
into the living room corner, my back against the wall.
The sound of my breathing was all I could hear.
Each gasp was like a countdown, the second stretching out
endlessly until the far off sound of sirens reached my ears.
The police came, casting eerie dancing shadows across the walls
with their flashing lights. I opened the door and with great
effort I managed to talk and explain what had happened.
Two of the officers went up, each staying with me as I
answered their questions, questions I didn't quite know
the answers to. My head was still reeling from
those wild eyes and smashed glass, holding Emma closely to
remind me of what was really important.
The officers upstairs called down, confirming the broken
window. They looked at each other,
something about checking the basement was muttered the
instant they said it. I found myself holding Emma just
that little bit tighter. The key, now resting on the
hallway table, seemed to be calling us towards something far
worse than we could imagine. I guided them to the basement
door and passed over the grimy key.
My hands were still shaking. One of them turned the key.
The lock groaned as if resenting our intrusion.
The door creaked open and very steep, dark stairs dropped down
into a void. The officer clicked on his
flashlight and I followed him down, each step feeling heavier
than the last. The air grew colder and the
smell, damp, musty with something else mixed in, became
overpowering. The beam from the flashlight cut
through the darkness, illuminating the small, cramped
room at the far end. What I saw brought me up.
Short blankets, dirty and rumpled, were piled in the
corner. Empty cans of food were
scattered over the floor while the scratched and scrawled
walls, almost looking as though it had been deliberately marked,
closed in on us. My stomach churned as the
flashlight illuminated something else.
Photographs, old Polaroid pictures were scattered all over
the floor. I dropped to my knees and
searched through them. There we were, Jennifer, Emma,
and I. The photos had been taken from
strange angles, capturing moments that I had never seen.
Me standing in the kitchen, Jennifer walking through the
front door, Emma sleeping in her crib.
The officer's voice cut through the fog, calling his partner.
The two of them exchanged a grim look, and one of them spoken to
his radio, calling for backup. I could barely make out the
words, still staring at the photos.
He had been here, under us, watching.
That realization settled heavy on my chest.
He knew our routines, our movements.
He had been so close, just beneath our feet, watching us as
we went about our lives, never suspecting.
One of the officers reached out and put a hand on my shoulder,
partially turning me back up the stairs.
He was talking, trying to reassure me, but his voice was
very distant and muffled. I carried Emma upstairs, my mind
entangles of fear and incredulity.
They promised they would search the area, that they would find
him, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it.
The house, once unsettling, now felt utterly sinister.
Every Creek, every shadow seemed to hide something malicious.
I stayed on the couch in the living room with Emma, holding
her close as the officers moved in and out of the house.
More police came, shoes heavy on the ground as they worked their
way around the property. Radios crackled.
The basement door was open, a dark maw into the nightmare that
had been lurking right under our noses.
I knew, even as they worked, that I could never stay here
again. Those images, the man's eyes,
the scratches on the walls, the photographs, those things would
never leave me. They were imprinted on my mind
as a reminder that safety was no more than an illusion, shattered
in an instant by what lay in the dark.
I stumbled back into the apartment late that night,
exhausted but still buzzing from the horror movie marathon I'd
been to with my friends. It was one of those bitterly
cold nights when the wind did seem to whisper secrets through
the gaps in the old Victorian house I lived in.
My apartment was sighted at the back, separated from the others,
and I liked that. Ordinarily it was quiet, but not
that night. I sat down at my desk, trying to
get some work done. It must have been just a little
past one in the morning when I heard it.
Someone's voice. It was muffled, like it was
coming from far away, but it didn't stop.
It was a low, even sound, like someone talking in some sort of
strange chant. I stopped and listened, trying
to tell myself it was probably just my upstairs neighbour,
maybe he was on the phone. But the sound was odd, almost as
if it were rhythmic, not like a conversation.
It gave me a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I shook it off, telling myself I was just spooked from the
movies, but the voice wouldn't stop.
It kept going, and I couldn't ignore the chill creeping up my
spine. I finally went to bed, hoping
that I would be able to drown out the noise and sleep.
But lying there, staring at the ceiling, it continued,
relentless. I tried to block it out, but
then I heard something else. The creak of the porch door.
My heart started pounding. The porch door had a very
distinct creak, one that I knew all too well.
Slowly, I got out of bed and tiptoed across my room, pressing
my ear against the bookshelf blocking the door to the porch.
The voice was louder now, definitely coming from the
porch. My pulse quickened as fear
crawled up my skin. Who was out there?
How did they get on to my porch? I knew I had to go see what was
going on, so I tiptoed as quietly as possible through the
dark house, my bare feet silent on the wooden floor.
I reached the kitchen and from there I could look out the
window, which looked into the porch.
What I saw made my blood run cold.
There, on the floor of my porch, was a man.
His hair was long and dirty, and he kept rocking back and forth
while mumbling something to himself again and again.
In the moonlight I could clearly see him, the movement of his
shoulders twitching up and down as he talked.
It was almost like he was in a trance.
The fear became something sharper.
Adrenaline. Without thinking, I flung open
the kitchen door and stormed out onto the porch.
Get out. I yelled into the night, my
voice breaking the silence. Get out of here.
The man didn't even flinch. Slowly he turned his head, but
only part way. In the dim light, I could just
barely see his face. His eyes were wide and his lips
curled into a strange twisted smile.
My name is Adam. He said, like we were meeting at
a party. His voice was calm, almost
playful, and it made my skin crawl.
I don't care who you are. I shouted, my voice trembling.
Get out. He slowly got to his feet, hands
raised like he was surrendering, but there was something mocking
about it. I know, I know.
He repeated in that queer tone. I'm hiding.
I didn't know what he meant and I didn't care.
All I wanted was for him to leave.
I kept on yelling at him until finally he shuffled off the
porch and disappeared into the darkness.
I slammed the door shut behind him and shook as I locked it.
I must have stood there for a long moment, gasping for air,
trying to understand what had just happened.
The house was silent once more, but I felt an all consuming
sense of unease, as if the very walls had been violated.
Who was Adam, How long had he been out there?
The thought made my skin prickle and I knew one thing for sure, I
wasn't going to sleep that night, and I would never forget
the way he looked at me or the chilling words he'd said.
I'm hiding. I didn't know what he was hiding
from, but whatever it was, I knew I never wanted to see him
again. The next morning I was so tired
I hadn't slept a minute since. What happened?
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Adam's twisted smile, his
vacant eyes, and I heard his voice.
I'm hiding. It played over and over in my
head, like some kind of horrible echo.
The house felt different now, like it wasn't really mine
anymore. The walls seemed to be watching
me, the shadows in the corners hiding something from me.
I had to call the police. I had to feel safe again, and
maybe they could help. When they arrived, I told them
everything. They listened to me, nodding,
however, their faces showed little emotion.
They checked the porch, the locks, and even walked around
the house, but there was nothing to find, no signs of forced
entry, no clues as to who Adam was or why he had been there.
One of the officers, a tall man with tired eyes, told me it was
probably just some homeless guy looking for a place to stay.
He did his best to reassure me, but it didn't help.
They went away, and I was none the less terrified than before.
Nervous all day long. I jumped at every little noise,
the creak of the old house as it settled, the rustle of the wind
outside. It was all like some sort of
warning. I moved the bookshelf and
checked the lock on the door to the porch over and over.
I even put a chair in front of it, just in case.
But no matter what I did, I couldn't shake the feeling that
he might come back later. My friends called.
They wanted to know how I was doing after the movie marathon.
I almost told them about Adam, told them how scared I was, but
bit my tongue. It was all too real, too
terrifying to say the words out loud.
So I lied and told them everything was fine, just that I
was tired. I tried to speak normally, but
could not help my glance from going to the darkened windows.
My ears perked up, searching for any sound that might be out of
place with the setting of the sun.
My nervousness really started taking hold.
I walked through the house once more, making sure every window
was locked, every door secure. When I got to the porch door, I
checked it three times. I inched the chair tighter
against it, testing if it would move at all.
I did know I was being paranoid, but I just couldn't help myself.
I could still see Adam sitting on my porch, lips moving as he
whispered to himself. I could still feel the chill in
the air from the night before. I turned out the light and tried
to fall asleep, but each time I closed my eyes, there it was
again, under the porch. I sat up straight in bed in the
dark, straining my ears. My heart pounded again.
Real, or was it my mind? I didn't know anything anymore
except it to mean one thing now. I couldn't allow myself to let
my guard down again like that. The fear was too real, the
memory of Adam's voice too fresh.
The house was silent, but I knew I couldn't relax.
Not yet, maybe not ever. I remember my first year at
college as if it was yesterday. That was the year I first saw
Jessica. She was a senior back then, and
she had everything I ever wanted to be.
Confident, beautiful and cool with an effortlessness that was
spooky. She would walk into a room and
it felt like people automatically turn their heads
toward her. I admired her from afar, always
too timid to say anything. I never thought that a few years
down the line I would find myself in this exact same
position. But senior year was different
than I expected. It all started with the notes.
They appeared in my locker sometime during fifth period.
The first time I found one, I thought it must be some kind of
mistake. The note read.
You have such a beautiful smile. It lights up the whole hallway.
The handwriting was neat and flowing with just a little :)
tacked on at the end. I couldn't help but smile.
It was flattering, and honestly, it made me feel visible.
I figured maybe it was from some shy underclassmen, somebody who
looked up to me just as I used to with Jessica.
And the notes kept coming once a week or so.
They were always kind, always complimentary.
Your laugh makes my day so much better.
Or I love how you wear your hair up.
It shows off your beautiful neck.
At first it was sweet, but after a while, something about the
notes began to make me uneasy. The comments were getting more
personal, more intimate. I questioned myself whether I
was blowing this out of proportion or perhaps I was just
paranoid. The feeling in my stomach,
however, was indicative that something wasn't quite right.
Second semester came around and my class schedule changed.
I swapped lockers with my friend Chloe.
It just kind of made sense. Her last class was near my old
locker, and vice versa. I didn't think much of the notes
until my birthday. That morning, Chloe handed me a
note she had found in the locker.
Happy birthday, my love, I can't wait to see you today, it said.
There was something about the way it was written, something
that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Chloe thought it was romantic, but I knew it wasn't.
It felt wrong, too intimate, too familiar.
I told Chloe everything about all the notes, how long they'd
been coming and how I hadn't told anyone because I didn't
want to make a big deal about it.
Chloe was insistent that we had to find out who was leaving
them. She pulled in our friends, and
soon it felt like everyone was playing detective.
Emma, who didn't have a fifth period class, volunteered to
watch the lockers. It was not long before she
discovered who had been writing the notes.
A week later, Emma told us what she had seen.
The notes were not written by any of the students.
They were from Mr. Harris, one of the janitors.
He was an older man, probably in his 50s, and I had hardly
noticed him before. Emma said she saw him look
around like he was making sure no one was watching before
slipping a note into my locker. I felt my stomach drop.
Mr. Harris had been watching me, watching me closely enough to
know what I wore, where I went, and even what I posted on social
media. The notes that once felt
flattering now made me feel sick.
I remembered moments when I felt like someone was watching me,
moments that I shrugged off as my imagination.
But it wasn't imagination, it was him.
He had been there all along, in the background, and I never even
noticed. Right after Emma told us about
Mr. Harris, it was like my whole world had flipped upside down.
I mean, everything that I thought I knew about my life
wasn't real anymore. I tried to act normal, but I
just couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched all the
time. Even when I was at home, I felt
like there were eyes on me. I started keeping my curtains
closed and double checking that the doors were locked, but the
fear wouldn't go away. The worst part was seeing Mr.
Harris in the school. But he was still there, mopping
the floors or emptying the trash as if nothing had happened.
Every time I saw him, my heart would be racing.
I would turn the other way and pretend I did not see him.
But whatever the case, I could feel his eyes on me.
I showed the notes to my parents and they called the school.
The principal said they'd look into it, but nothing appeared to
change. Mr. Harris still was there.
I still was scared. And then came the day of our
last field hockey game. I remember running out onto the
field, seeing the stands full of parents and friends.
And looking over to see him, Mr. Harris in the back, he was not
in his janitor uniform. He just sat there watching.
My stomach twisted into knots and I felt like I was going to
be sick. I tried to concentrate on the
game, but I kept glancing over at him.
He didn't move, didn't cheer, didn't do anything but stare at
me. I told my coach after the game.
She must have seen the fear in my eyes because she immediately
called security. They went over to where Mr.
Harris had been sitting, but by the time they got there, he was
gone. I tried to tell myself that it
was over, that he had left, but I couldn't stop shaking.
All I wanted to do was go home and forget everything, but I
knew that wasn't possible. That night I received a message
on Facebook from a person with no profile picture that said you
looked so beautiful today. I was cheering for you.
You make everything worth it. I was shaking when I read this
message. I showed it to my parents and
they called the police. The officers came over and took
a report, but they said there wasn't much they could do
without a direct threat. It felt like no one could help
me. I began to change everything in
my life. I stopped walking to school
alone. I stopped going out unless
absolutely necessary. My friends did their best to be
there for me, but I could sense that they were frightened also.
I felt like I'd been trapped inside my own life, always
waiting for something, anything to happen.
One night, I jolted awake with a start at the sound of tapping on
my window. It was gentle, almost playful,
and it made my heart leap into my throat.
I crept over to the window, trembling all over, but when I
looked out, there wasn't anything, just the wind moving
the branches. The next morning, under my
windshield wiper was a note that said I miss seeing you smile.
Please don't shut me out. My knees went weak and I had to
sit down right there in the driveway.
He wasn't going to stop. He wasn't going away.
The fear I felt wasn't in my head.
It was real, and it was there with me wherever I went.
And I realized then that I would never be able to feel truly safe
again. Not as long as Mr. Harris was
out there somewhere. It all started on a rainy
Thursday, I remember, because I was exhausted from work that
day. My boss had been on my case and
all I wanted to do was get home, eat something simple, and crawl
into bed. My little cottage at the edge of
town usually felt like a safe haven, small but cozy, with old
wooden floors and a comforting kind of charm.
But there was one part of the house that always made me feel a
bit uneasy. The crawl space. the Hatch to
the crawl space was in the pantry, tucked right there in
the kitchen. It was old, made of creaky wood,
and had a rusted latch that always looked like it could snap
at any moment. I never had a reason to open it.
Honestly, I didn't even like to think about it.
It was just one of those places that made my skin crawl, A dark,
dusty spot that I assumed was filled with cobwebs, bugs, and
all the creepy things I didn't want to know about.
That rainy evening, I got home and something was wrong.
I noticed the pantry light was on.
I stopped and stared at it for a moment, trying to remember if
I'd forgotten to turn it off. That morning, the light
flickered, casting strange shadows across the kitchen.
I shook my head, telling myself I was just tired and forgetful,
and switched it off. Later that night, I was jerked
awake by a noise. At first I thought it was just
the wind, the kind of noise that comes and goes.
But as I lay there, the sound grew clearer.
It started like a faint scratching and then turned into
a slow, steady tapping. Tap, tap, tap.
My heart started pounding as I realized it was coming from the
kitchen, from the pantry. My stomach twisted with fear.
I told myself to stay in bed, to ignore it, but my curiosity got
the better of me. I grabbed my phone for light,
slipped out of bed, and tiptoed toward the kitchen.
My bare feet felt cold against the floor, and the house was
eerily silent except for that rhythmic tapping.
I could feel my pulse in my ears.
When I reached the pantry door, I saw that it was slightly open.
I swear I had closed it earlier. I took a deep breath and pushed
it open, my phone's flashlight beam cutting through the
darkness. My eyes widened as I saw the
Hatch to the crawl space. It was open, just a crack, the
rusted latch dangling loose. A chill ran through me.
How could it be open? Panic welled up inside me, but I
tried to be rational. Maybe an animal had gotten in.
Maybe the latch had just given way.
I forced the Hatch shut, my hands shaking, and piled a heavy
stack of canned goods on top of it.
I told myself that was enough, that it would keep whatever was
in there. In the next day, I called Mr.
Thompson, my landlord. He sounded surprised when I told
him what happened. He said no one else who had
lived there ever mentioned anything strange about the crawl
space. Still, he promised to send
someone over to check it out. But even after I hung up, I
couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
That night, I made sure to lock the pantry door.
I even dragged the kitchen table in front of it for good measure.
I wedged a chair beneath my bedroom doorknob before getting
into bed. I wanted to feel safe, but my
heart wouldn't stop racing and every little noise made me jump.
As I lay there staring at the ceiling, I couldn't help but
feel like I was being watched. I knew it was just my
imagination, but it didn't make the feeling any less real.
It was the kind of unease that you can't shake, the kind that
keeps you wide awake, listening to every creak, every rustle,
hoping that whatever was out there would just leave you
alone. It was a little past 3:00 AM
when I woke up to the sound of my bedroom door creaking open.
I knew right away that something was wrong.
My bedroom door didn't just swing open on its own.
It had that old creaky hinge that made a groaning sound
whenever it moved, and I knew for a fact that I had shut it
tight before going to bed. In that moment, I felt a cold
wave of fear wash over me. I stayed completely still, my
heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest.
I kept my eyes barely open, pretending I was still asleep.
I could hear it now. Soft footsteps, the kind that
were almost hesitant, as if whoever was moving didn't want
to be heard. The footsteps shuffled slowly,
one after another, getting closer and closer.
I could feel my breath catch in my throat.
I wanted to move, to grab my phone from the night stand, but
I couldn't make myself do it. It was like my body was frozen
in fear. All I could think about was the
crawl space hatch, the way it had been open, the latch hanging
loose. I felt sick to my stomach.
Who was in my room? How did they get in?
The footsteps stopped right beside my bed.
I could feel someone standing there, their quiet breathing
just inches away from me. My skin felt cold and every
nerve in my body was screaming at me to do something, anything,
but I couldn't move. I could only hope that whoever
was there would leave, that it was all some terrible nightmare
and I'd wake up any second. Then, out of nowhere, I found
the courage I didn't think I had.
I threw my hand toward the night stand, my fingers brushing
against my phone. I grabbed it, my hand shaking as
I fumble to turn on the flashlight.
The bright beam cut through the darkness, and that's when I saw
him. There, crouched beside my bed,
was a man. His face was gaunt, his skin
pale and sickly. His eyes were wide, staring at
me like he was just as surprised as I was.
His hair was dirty, and his clothes hung off his Bony frame.
For a split second, we just stared at each other, both
frozen. Then I screamed, a raw, panicked
scream that came from deep inside.
I didn't wait to see what he would do.
I scrambled out of bed, shoving him out of the way as I ran for
the door. My bare feet hit the floor and I
sprinted through the house, not stopping to grab anything.
I flung the front door open and ran out into the cold night, the
rain soaking my pajamas almost instantly.
I didn't care. I ran straight to my neighbor's
house, banging on their door until they opened it.
I was breathless, crying and shaking as I tried to explain
what had happened. They pulled me inside, locking
the door behind me, and called the police.
When the officers arrived, I was still sitting in my neighbor's
living room, wrapped in a blanket and trying to calm down.
They went into my house, and it wasn't long before they found
him. The man had crawled back into
the crawl space. He had been living there,
beneath my house, with a filthy sleeping bag and piles of empty
food cans. They even found some of my
things down there, items I hadn't even noticed were
missing. But the worst part was the
notebook. The police showed it to me
later. It was filled with notes about
me, my schedule, when I left for work, when I came home, even
what I wore each day. There were sketches, too,
drawings of my house, my bedroom, the layout of my
things. And there were lists, plans he
had made, though the police wouldn't tell me what those
plans were. I moved out of that house as
fast as I could. I couldn't sleep there, not
another night. Even now, I still feel the fear,
the feeling of someone standing over me, watching.
I hope I never see that man again.
I hope he never finds me. I remember the first morning
they left. It was quiet, the kind of quiet
that feels full, like a heavy fog.
My parents were gone on their anniversary trip, and I'd
convince myself that a week alone would be a nice change, a
chance to clear my mind, binge on bad TV and eat microwave
dinners in my pajamas. But things went wrong almost
immediately. It was late morning when I saw
the rusty sedan pull up outside. The car looked out of place, the
kind of car that belonged in a junkyard, not on the quiet
suburban streets. Through the peephole now, I
watched the driver get out. This fellow was a stranger with
an unruly mop of wild hair and what could possibly be his
rumpled nightwear. He bore in his hands a package.
Actually, there was a tinge about him that simply shook me.
Delivery drivers don't typically appear as if they've slept in a
ditch. I stayed put, hoping he would
leave it at the door, but he didn't.
He just lingered there, shifting from foot to foot and looking
about, checking if anyone was looking I guess.
I held my breath as silence waited on the other side of the
door for me to continue. The seconds ticked on and I
counted them, each beat of the clock making my pulse louder. 5
minutes passed, maybe more, before I heard him walk away.
I peeked through the curtains just in time to see him getting
into his car. I relaxed a bit, thinking that
was the end of it, but then he stopped.
His door hung open and he looked straight at me.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
He got out again, leaving the car running in the middle of the
road. I backed up as he came up to the
door again. The gravel crunched under his
boots. My heart was pounding in my
ears. He knocked, louder this time,
and I could see the shadow of his shape passing in front of
the dimpled glass. He did not speak, did not hail
or attempt to announce himself. All he did was stand there,
package in hand, knocking in that empty, insistent way that
made my skin crawl. I don't know why I opened the
door. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe
fear. Some part of me felt that if I
just took the package, he would leave.
I cracked the door open just a little, enough to look at his
face. His eyes were empty, dark, and
there was a certain way he looked through me that twisted
my inside. He didn't smile, didn't explain
why he was there. He just shoved the package at
me, his hand lingering a little too long when I took it.
No signature. He said in a low voice, almost a
whisper. Then he turned and walked away,
leaving the door open, leaving me there with the package
clutched to my chest. I closed the door behind me,
locking it. My hands were shaking.
I watched from the window as he got into his car and drove away.
The motor was sputtering as he disappeared down the street.
I tried to tell myself it was nothing, some strange delivery
after all, but it felt off. The look of him, the way he had
lingered, how he was followed by this silent shadow.
It was only the beginning, but I didn't know that yet.
I tried to brush it off, to convince myself I was
overreacting, but the rest of the day I couldn't shake the
feeling that I wasn't alone, that something dark had slipped
into the house when I'd opened that door.
And as night fell, the silence of the empty house turned from
comforting. Too oppressive.
I double checked the locks, set up the security cameras, and
tried to disregard the gnawing sense of unease that had taken
residence in my bones. The shadows outside seemed to
shift, to creep a little closer, and the creaks and groans of the
old house sounded like whispers. I told myself I was just
imagining things, that everything was OK, but down deep
I knew something was coming. That night was different.
The air was heavy, as if something was weighing down on
the House, sealing me inside. I was in the living room, trying
to lose myself in a show, watching how its light danced
upon the walls. But my mind just wouldn't stay
put, and my eyes would wander off, searching toward the
windows to the front door. Something felt off, as if the
shadows out there were watching, waiting.
It was about 11:30 when I heard it.
Footsteps on the porch. I froze, my breath catching in
my throat. The sound was slow, deliberate,
each step heavier than the last. I turned off the TV, and the
sudden silence was deafening. As I strained to listen.
A dark shape moved behind the dimpled glass of the front door,
growing larger as it neared. My heart pounded, and my body
went cold with fear. The first knock made me jump.
It was loud and aggressive, rattling the door in its frame.
I didn't move. Then it came again, harder this
time, then again, and again, relentless, each echoing through
the empty house. I could make out the shadow of
him now, broad shoulders, how he stood with an enormous hand
raised to pound on the door. Who or what it was would not go
away. I fell onto the floor, crawling
behind the couch in an attempt to remain hidden.
My hands shook while trying to get my phone, dialing my
sister's number, my heart thumping with each ring.
The knocking didn't cease. It felt as though the walls were
being tightened, the air ever thinning with each pound on the
intruder's fist. Hello.
My sister's voice was groggy with confusion.
I whispered back into the phone, but the fear slipped through as
I told her someone was at the door.
I was scared, she said. David was coming over and would
be there quickly. I hung on, holding on to the
hope that he would arrive before anything bad might happen.
Could. The pounding stopped and the
silence that followed was somehow worse.
My dogs were yelping in the backyard, their frantic barks
cutting through the night. I thought to myself, sick to my
stomach, that the back door, mostly glass, was just as
exposed as the front. I crawled along the floor,
keeping low, moving toward the kitchen.
My legs felt weak, my entire body trembling as I made it to
the back door and pulled the blinds closed.
The minutes ticked by, each feeling like an hour.
I crouched by the kitchen counter, my eyes fixed on the
back door, waiting for a shadow to pass, for the glass to
shatter. My phone buzzed, and I nearly
screamed. It was David, he was outside.
I crept to the front window, peeking out just enough to see
the headlights of his truck cut through the darkness.
Relief flooded through me, but it was short lived.
As David's headlights swept across the yard, I saw it.
A figure slipping away into the shadows, disappearing into the
night. Whoever it was, they were gone
before David could see them. He pounded on the door, calling
my name, and I rushed to unlock it, throwing myself into his
arms the moment it opened. We checked the cameras, but
there was nothing, just darkness where there should have been
footage. The cameras had been shut off,
disabled somehow, and that knowledge settled deep in my gut
like a stone. David stayed with me that night,
but I couldn't sleep. Every creak of the house, every
whisper of the wind against the windows made my heart race.
I knew without a doubt that whoever had been at my door
wasn't done. They'd be back, and perhaps I
won't be quite so lucky next time.
I'm not the best storyteller, but I have to get this off my
chest. It's been a while since it
happened, but I just can't stop thinking about it.
It all came flooding back after a night at the movies with the
guys. We wanted to see Joker 2, but by
the time we made it to the theater, every single ticket was
sold out. Since we were already there, we
decided to pick another movie, something called Terrifier 3.
I had never heard of it before, but it looked interesting enough
so we figured why not? I wish we hadn't.
The movie started and immediately my gut sank.
On the screen was a clown. Not just any clown, it was the
very same clown I saw months ago.
That memory came racing back like a bad dream from which I
could not wake up. It was about 5 months ago.
My aunt had told me about this park, said she really liked it,
perfect for a jog, beautiful trails, nice little playground
for kids. It was a bit out of the way, but
the weather was finally warm so I decided to check it out.
When I arrived I understood why she loved it.
Then it opened up to a great open clearing with picnic
benches, gazebos and a playground full of kids playing
and laughing, all very very peaceful.
Surrounding the clearing was the forest where the trail wound its
way through the trees. I started to jog, feeling really
great. The sun was shining, birds sang
in the trees far away. After some 15 minutes, my
earphones started beeping. The battery was running low.
I stopped and took them off, stuffing them into my pouch.
And that was when I saw it. Out of the corner of my eye,
something caught my attention. I turned my head and there, just
a few feet into the woods, was a clown.
He was standing beside an old beige Toyota, holding a bunch of
colorful balloons. My heart skipped a beat.
The clown was staring right at me.
His face was painted in a way that made my skin crawl.
His smile was too big, stretched across his face as if it were
carved into his skin. And his eyes, they seemed empty,
as if there was nothing behind them.
We just stood there, looking at each other.
I couldn't move, my legs felt glued to the floor.
My mind screamed at me to do something, anything, but I was
frozen and finally something in me snapped and I wheeled around
and ran. I pumped my arms and legs as
fast as I could, my feet pounding against the trail, my
breath coming out in short, panicked gasps.
I could hear leaves crunching behind me like someone was
following, and that only made me run faster.
By the time I arrived in the clearing, my lungs were burning.
I looked around and saw the kids at the gazebo having a birthday
party. I felt a small sense of relief.
Maybe the clown was supposed to be there for them.
Maybe it was just some performer who had come to entertain the
kids. But when I looked back toward
the forest, there was no sign of the clown or the beige Toyota.
It was as if they had vanished. I let out a nervous laugh,
trying to shake the fear that clutched me.
I must have been imagining things, right?
I got into my car, shaking as I turned the key in the ignition.
Driving home, I just kept telling myself it was nothing
and that it was just some weird coincidence, but somehow it
didn't feel quite right. And now, sitting in that dark
theatre, seeing that clown on the screen, I knew it hadn't
been my imagination. I had seen him and I didn't have
a clue why he was there. I sat in the dark theatre as my
heart was hammering against my chest.
That wasn't just any clown on the screen, it was him with the
same painted smile and empty eyes, Even the tiny hat.
I couldn't believe my eyes. My friends were laughing at the
gory scenes, whispering to each other, but I could pay no heed
to any of that. All that came into my mind was
that day in the park and how I had run like my life depended on
it. Now I was staring at that very
same costume and it felt like the walls of the theatre were
closing in on me. I tried to talk myself down.
It was probably just a coincidence, maybe it was just a
trendy costume that I hadn't seen before, but deep down I
knew it wasn't that. I felt my stomach twist with
that same uneasy feeling I had felt at the park.
My breathing became shallow and I bawled my fists to try and
keep it together. The things the clown in the
movie was doing were terrible and a shiver ran down my spine.
The person I saw at the park, was he capable of something like
this? Why would he be there in that
get up if it was just some innocent prank?
I leaned over to my friend Ryan and whispered.
Hey, I think I'm going to step out for a minute.
He gave me this puzzled look, but he nodded and I popped up
quickly. My legs were shaking as I
stepped down the row of seats, trying not to bump into anyone.
I just needed some air, I needed to think.
I opened the door to the lobby and the cool air greased my
face. I took a deep breath.
My head was spinning and my heart was still racing.
I pulled out my phone and typed Terrifier Clown costume into the
search bar. My hands were shaking, I could
hardly type. Straight pictures popped up and
my stomach just dropped. It was the same.
The very same costume. The hat, the makeup, even the
weird little details on the outfit.
I kept looking at my phone, my head spinning.
That person in the park had been dressed as Art the Clown.
But why? What were they doing there,
standing in the woods, staring at me with those empty eyes?
I started pacing up and down the lobby.
My mind was running a mile a minute.
Was it some kind of twisted joke, or worse?
The more I thought about it, the less it made sense.
If it was a prank, why were they so far into the woods, away from
everybody else? And why were they staring at me
like that? The memory of those blank eyes
sent a shiver through me. I couldn't shake the feeling
that something terrible could have happened had I not run away
when I did. And then there was something
else, something that really made my blood run cold.
The kids at the gazebo. I remember one of them crying
and pointing toward the trees. Had they seen the clown too?
Were they scared just like I was?
My hands had gone clammy in this thought.
What if the clown was watching the kids, not me?
It made me sick. I knew I couldn't just let this
go. I had to find out more.
I had to understand why that clown was there and what they
wanted. The more I thought about it, the
more I came to realize that this wasn't just some random
coincidence. Something was wrong and I wasn't
about to forget about it this time.
The cab slowed in front of a brick monstrosity that was my
new apartment building. The city seemed to hum all
around, alive with energy I hadn't quite adjusted to yet.
It was my first day in Chicago. Law school would start next
week, but for now, I was settling in.
The city was huge, overwhelming, exactly the kind of place I
wanted to get lost in, to find something, someone I hadn't
realized I was missing until recently.
Dan. I'd never met him, but I knew
his name, his face, that he existed.
The details were vague. Mom and Dad had always made it
clear that talking about Dan was off limits. 1/2 brother living
somewhere in Chicago. Maybe that was part of what drew
me here. I couldn't be sure, the secrecy
surrounding him had always made me uneasy, but I couldn't let it
go now, with the city sprawling around me, there was a chance,
maybe a small one, but a chance that we could meet and I could
finally understand what had been kept from me all these years.
I was putting the last of my things unpacked when the
notification dinged in my phone. A friend request from Dan.
My heart lurched, that strange feeling of excitement and
unease. There he was, the same face I
had seen on social media, eyes dark and steady.
His profile looked real. It had photos, friends, a life I
had only seen from afar. I accepted, fingers trembling as
I typed out a message. His response was almost
instantaneous, and before I knew it, we were chatting.
Not the deep, emotional conversation I'd imagined, but
light and friendly, testing the waters.
Then came the invitation. A bonfire in Burnham Woods with
his buddies. Burnham Woods.
I didn't know it, but Dan spoke like it was a place everyone
knew. A park on the outskirts of the
city, he said. Perfect for a casual meet up.
I wanted to say yes. The thought of finally meeting
him was all I had pictured, but something didn't feel right.
The idea of meeting for the first time in the dark, in a
park surrounded by strangers was something that I couldn't shake
off. And it just seemed to feel like
that kind of scene from a movie where things just went terribly
wrong. I tried to ignore it, but the
feeling stuck to me, gnawed at the edges of my excitement,
until finally I listened. I told him I couldn't make it.
That should have been the end of it.
But in my mind, Burnham Woods remained a name which, every
time I thought of it, seemed to whisper danger.
A few days later, I found myself Googling it in hopes of soothing
my mind. What I found did the opposite.
News articles, Crime reports. Burnham Woods was a place where
people went missing, where gangs ruled, where the night swallowed
people whole. My stomach twisted as I scrolled
through the stories, each one more terrifying than the last.
I could picture myself there, alone, vulnerable, walking right
into a trap I didn't even know was set.
The fear settled into me, cold and heavy.
I had come so close to something I couldn't even name, something
dark and dangerous. I didn't know who Dan really
was, or if he was even the one who'd invited me.
The thought hit me like a blow to the stomach.
I didn't know anything about him, not really.
All that secrecy, all that distance my parents had
maintained didn't seem like avoidance to me now so much as
protection. I almost walked right into
whatever it is they were trying to keep me from.
I shut the laptop, the screen going dark, but the fear didn't.
The city outside my window felt different now, bigger, colder,
filled with shadows I hadn't noticed before.
I was here, alone, and someone out there knew it.
Someone who had wanted me in Burnham Woods that night.
I didn't know why, but I knew one thing for certain.
I had made the right choice by not going.
Whatever secrets my family was holding on to concerning Dan, I
wasn't sure I wanted to unveil them any more.
It was Laura who broke the ice. She knew that something was
wrong the very moment I told her about Dan's invitation.
Her face had darkened, the kind of expression that made one
realize that someone knew more than she was letting on.
I can help. She offered, her voice calm,
reassuring. Let me reach out to him for you.
She said, like it was no big deal.
Maybe it wasn't for her, but for me.
The possibility of reaching Dan again, this time in a way that
felt right, was more important than I could say.
Laura was a good friend, one I could trust.
She attended the same university as Dan, and if anybody could
track him down, it was her. A few days later, she called,
her voice laced with excitement. I talked to him, she said.
Dan's real Hannah. He wants to meet you.
How about my place? I had expected my heart to race,
my hands to tremble, but when I heard her words, a strange calm
settled over me. This was it.
The moment I'd been hoping for since I got to Chicago, since I
first learned I had a brother out there.
Somewhere I could finally meet Dan.
Not in some shadowy park, but in a place that felt safe.
A place where I wouldn't be alone.
The day of our meeting finally came, and I found myself
standing outside Laura's building, staring at the
doorbell, hesitating. The chill of autumn air wrapped
around me like a warning. I shook it off and pressed the
button. The door buzzed open and I
stepped inside. Laura was waiting for me at the
top of the stairs, her smile warm, but I could see the
tension in her eyes. She led me down a narrow
corridor to her apartment, her hand lightly on my shoulder.
Dan was on the couch, sitting with his back to me.
He got up as soon as he heard us to come around and face me.
The minute our eyes locked, I felt something.
It wasn't quite recognizable, connection pull like in
pictures. He seemed more subtle in real
life, gentler, though his facial structure suggested otherwise.
The corners of his mouth twitched into a sheepish half
smile. Hannah.
He said, his voice low, almost a whisper.
I smiled back, and the unease I'd carried for weeks seemed to
melt away. Laura watched us, her eyes
flicking back and forth as if she was afraid we'd shatter the
fragile moment. Dan and I talked, slowly at
first, but then the words came easier.
We laughed, we shared stories, nothing too deep, nothing that
would hurt. It felt like a beginning, and
for the first time since I'd arrived in Chicago, I felt a
sense of belonging. But the calm didn't last.
After an hour or so, Laura brought up the Facebook message.
Dan's face changed. He frowned and shook his head.
I never sent you a message, he said.
His confusion seemed genuine, but there was something else
there too, something dark, a shadow that crossed his eyes.
I don't even use Facebook anymore.
I haven't in years. My stomach dropped, the air in
the room grew thick, and it suddenly became hard to breathe.
Then who? The question hung in the air,
unfinished. But we all knew what I meant.
Who had invited me to Burnham Woods?
Who had tried to entice me into the dark.
Dan rubbed a hand over his face, a nervous gesture, and looked at
Laura, then back at me. It's not the first time, he
said. His voice was barely above a
whisper, as if saying it aloud would make it worse.
Someone's been using my name. They scammed one of my friends a
few months ago. Concert tickets.
Some kind of scam, I thought. It was over.
The room fell silent. My heart was hammering.
The weight of the thought pressed down on me that someone
must have known, must have wanted me alone in the dark, at
a great distance from help. My fear came flooding back, now
much stronger, almost overwhelming.
And whoever had done it dot they were still out there.
Dan reached out, his hand hovering near mine as if he
wasn't sure I would take his comfort.
I took it, my fingers cold against his warmth.
I'm sorry, Hannah, he said, his voice cracking.
I don't know who's doing this, but I promise you we'll figure
it out. I nodded, but the fear didn't
leave me. The shadows outside seem darker
now, the city less welcoming. I came to this city looking for
family answers. All I found was questions, the
kind that terrified me, made me wonder if the decision to come
to Chicago hadn't been a mistake.
And as I looked into Dan's eyes, I understood the danger wasn't
over. The bus groaned as it wound its
way through the narrow dirt Rd. kicking up plumes of dust that
hung in the air like spectres. I leaned forward, my eyes wide
at the tall Pines which, like giants, loomed over us on either
side. The trees were thick, so thick
it was like no light could get through, and the feeling was
that we were being swallowed whole by the wilderness.
Pine Hollow Adventure Camp, what a name.
I couldn't quite tell whether I was excited or uneasy, but
something about being so far from home sent a thrill down my
spine. The camp was revealed when the
bus rounded a final curve, just a scattering of rustic cabins in
a clearing, old wood darkened by time and weather.
Exactly as I'd imagined, the place looked like a mixture of
adventure and mystery. Missus Harper and Mr. Blake
ushered us off the bus. Their voices were
indistinguishable, but for one thing, because of my classmates
chatter, we were ready for adventure.
But I could already sense a wait in the air and almost oppressive
silence beyond the clearing. We spent the afternoon settling
into our cabins, unrolling sleeping bags and exploring the
edges of the clearing under the watchful eyes of our teachers.
There was something special about being here, with its heavy
woods that seemed to go on forever.
When the sun began to dip below the treetops, we gathered our
things for the big event of the night, camping under the stars.
Jake, a camp employee with a crooked grin and the smell of
smoke clinging to his clothes, showed us how to set up our
tents in a grassy area just beyond the cabins.
He even built a fire, his hands moving deftly as he conjured
flames from sticks and kindling like magic.
And then, just as the last sliver of sun disappeared, Jake
left us with Missus Harper and Mr. Blake.
The night began like all good camping nights, marshmallows,
ghost stories, and the snap of the fire.
As the light faded, however, so did the laughter.
The darkness crept in, swallowing the trees, and with
it a silence so complete it made my ears ring.
It was as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
The fire fluttered, its light could not push back the shadows
that gathered just beyond our circle.
I shivered, telling myself it was only the night chill.
But deep down, something else had begun to root.
A sense that we were not alone. That was when I heard it.
A crunch of leaves, A snap of a twig.
Someone was out there. I wasn't the only one who heard
it. Heads turned, eyes scanning the
darkness. I squinted, trying to see beyond
the glow of the fire. And then he stepped into the
light. He was tall, his outline almost
merging with the dark trunks of the trees.
His hair was wild, his face obscured by a tangled beard, and
he wore an old, tattered suit jacket over something stained
and torn. But it was his eyes that I
noticed first. Wide, darting, as if he was
looking for something behind him.
He took a step forward, and the fire light glinted off the
plastic bag he was holding. You shouldn't be here, he said,
his voice low but sharp, cutting through the night.
We all stared, frozen. Missus Harper stood up slowly,
her hand outstretched, her voice calm as she said, We have
permission to be here, we're from Green Valley Elementary.
The man didn't seem to hear her, his eyes shifted to the darkness
behind him, then back to us, and he took another step forward.
You shouldn't be here. He repeated, this time loud
enough that his voice carried through the room, a type of
desperation in it. Mr. Blake was up in an instant,
stepped between the stranger and us.
Sir, you need to leave. Mr. Blake said, steady.
He moved closer to the man, reached for his arm, but before
he could make contact, the stranger pulled away, his
movements jerky, almost animalistic.
He turned and disappeared back into the darkness without
another word, leaving us all staring after him, the night
swallowing him whole. A nervous laugh broke the
silence. Someone whispering.
It must be part of the camp's scare tactics, but I knew
better. The look on Missus Harper's
face, the tenseness in Mr. Blake's jaw, it wasn't just
acting. The fire was smaller now, it's
light hardly reaching us. The shadows were closer,
pressing in, and for the first time since we arrived, I wished
I was home, far away from Pine Hollow and whatever else that
might be out there in those woods.
I had no idea what time it was when I woke up.
The fire was nothing more than embers now, and it was cold
enough to make my breath cloud in front of me.
Something had stirred me, whether it was a noise or just a
feeling. I lay there for a moment, my
sleeping bag pulled up to my chin, listening.
The night was too still, quiet in that way that sometimes seems
more intentional, as if the whole world was holding its
breath. And then I heard it.
A muffled shout, far off but urgent.
My eyes flew open, my heart pounding in my ears.
I elbowed Sam, who was sleeping beside me.
He muttered something, still half asleep, but I shushed him,
my finger to my lips. I strained to hear again.
Another shout, closer this time. Get out, Get out now.
The words cut through the silence, and a shiver that had
nothing to do with the cold slid down my spine.
I unzipped the tent flap just enough to look out.
In the faint light from the dying campfire, I could see Mr.
Blake, his flashlight in hand, striding toward the edge of the
clearing. And there, just beyond the
firelight, stood the man from before.
His silhouette was defined against the darkening sky as his
arms flailed about, the words of his shout indistinguishable.
He was all but manic now, the pitch of his voice rising even
higher. Words tumbled over one another.
Still, one thing was obvious. He was frightened, Terrified
even. Missus Harper was on her feet
too, her face pale in the dim light.
She was yelling at us to get inside our tents, her voice
trembling, but none of us could look away.
Once more the voice of the stranger was lifted, a frenzied,
wailing cry. They're coming, they're coming
for you. He lunged forward, his eyes
wild, and Mr. Blake grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to push
him back, both grappled figures blurring in the darkness at the
rim of the clearing. Mr. Blake vanished into those
woods with the stranger, both of them shouting till well out of
hearing. We others sat frozen, our mouths
agape, silent, waiting for some slight thing to happen.
And silences came back, weightier than before, heavy
press all around, coming in on us on all sides.
I could hear Sam's breathing beside me, fast and panicky.
I wanted to tell him something, to say it was OK, but I
couldn't. I wasn't even sure it was.
After what felt like an eternity, Mr. Blake emerged from
the darkness alone. His face was pale, his eyes
wide, and he looked at us with an urgency that made my stomach
twist. Pack up now, he said, his voice
low but firm. We're leaving.
We're going back to the cabins. He didn't wait for questions,
didn't offer explanations. He just started moving, and
Missus Harper followed suit, her face grim.
We scrambled out of our tents, hands shaking as we grabbed our
things. No one said a word.
The only sounds were the rustling of sleeping bags, the
zipping of tents, and quickened breaths of my classmates.
We left the tents behind, their empty forms sagging in the
clearing as we followed our teachers back toward the cabins.
The flashlights flickered as we walked, the beams cutting
through the darkness, but it was like the shadows were closing
in, creeping closer with every step.
When we finally reached the cabins, Mr. Blake locked the
door behind us and peered out into the tree line, his eyes
scouring for something, someone, to come out from the darkness.
Missus Harper whispered something in his ear, her face
taut with anxiety. Then he was gone, striding
across the compound to the main lodge to find the camp staff.
We watched from the window as a police car pulled up, the red
and blue lights flashing against the trees.
The officers spoke with Mr. Blake, their faces very serious,
and a shiver ran through me. No one slept that night.
We huddled together in the cabin, whispering about the
stranger and his warnings. Who were they?
What did he mean when he said they were coming?
I didn't have any answers, but I knew one thing for certain.
Whatever was out there in those woods, it wasn't just our
imaginations. And as the first light of dawn
broke over the treetops, I found myself wishing we had never come
to Pine Hollow at all.