Horror Stories

00:05 Hello everyone and welcome back to Horror Stories. I know many of you use these episodes to fall asleep, so before you drift off, I'd love it if you could leave a comment letting me know where you're listening from around the world. 00:17 Also, don't forget to like and subscribe if you're enjoying the episodes. 00:26 Story 1 I was only 18 years old when all of this happened just before Halloween. 00:33 I had always liked my job as a pizza delivery driver. There was something exciting about speeding through the streets with hot pizzas on the passenger seat. 00:43 I loved that feeling of adrenaline. 00:45 During the time I worked at the pizzeria, I came across some pretty strange deliveries, but this one in particular was going to change everything. 00:54 It was a cold Friday afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the front of the place where I worked in a golden glow. 01:02 Tony's Pizzeria, a small shop famous for its delicious pizzas and friendly staff. 01:09 As I got ready for my night shift, which for some reason I had never really liked, my boss Jake, a man with messy hair and a somewhat sinister smile, handed me the first order of the night. 01:21 Then he gave me an extra large pizza box and told me it had to arrive in less than 10 minutes. 01:27 I nodded. 01:28 Hey Melissa, have fun. 01:31 Just try not to get lost on such a spooky night, Jake joked. 01:36 I rolled my eyes and headed to my delivery car, placing the pizza on the passenger seat. Soon I was already driving toward my destination. 01:45 I pulled the receipt out of my pocket. It was an extra-large pepperoni pizza with double cheese. 01:51 However, what unsettled me was the address. 01:54 The delivery was for a house on the outskirts of town in a neighborhood that had always given me a bad feeling. 02:01 I tried to ignore the sense of dread settling in my stomach. 02:05 I sped up with the road growing darker and darker. The trees on either side looked like living shadows. The streetlights flickered and the air felt thick, almost oppressive. 02:17 Finally, I arrived at the address, an old enormous house that had clearly seen better days. 02:23 I parked the car, picked up the box, and walked toward the front door. 02:28 All the windows were dark, except for a faint light flickering in a room on the second floor. 02:34 I knocked on the door and the sound echoed louder than I expected, making me jump a little. 02:39 After a few seconds the door slowly opened with a creak. 02:43 An older woman appeared in front of me. 02:46 She had grey hair pulled back into a tight bun and was wearing a faded nightgown. 02:51 However, what truly unsettled me were her eyes. 02:54 They had a strange liveliness to them, almost piercing. 02:59 Hello dear, do you have my pizza? She asked in a trembling voice. 03:04 Yes, ma'am. 03:06 It's $20, I replied, trying to sound polite. 03:11 She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of coins, counting them one by one very slowly. 03:18 Her clumsiness made me wonder if she was all right. 03:21 Finally, she handed me the money along with a tip that struck me as suspicious. 03:26 Thank you, I said, although a wave of uneasiness ran through my body. 03:31 It was just another delivery, but something in the atmosphere was making me nervous. 03:37 Suddenly I heard footsteps behind the woman. 03:40 A man emerged from the shadows inside the house. 03:43 He was tall, thin with tangled hair and an unkempt beard that made him look even more sinister. 03:50 The moment I saw him, my heart started pounding. 03:53 And who is this? 03:55 What does she want? The man growled in a rough voice. 03:59 Sir, I'm Melissa. I just came to deliver the pizza. 04:03 I was already leaving, I answered nervously. 04:07 But the woman interrupted him, looking at him sternly. 04:10 Harold, don't be rude. The young lady is just doing her job. 04:15 The man crossed his arms, but after a few seconds he stepped back. 04:20 I quickly turned around and headed back to the car. 04:23 Before getting in, I glanced over my shoulder. 04:26 The woman was still watching me from the doorway, while Harold stood motionless, staring at me as if he wanted to memorize my every move. 04:35 I started the engine and got out of there as fast as I could. 04:39 Nothing about that place had felt normal, but I tried to convince myself that I was exaggerating. 04:45 After all, I had made deliveries to stranger places before. 04:50 As the night went on, I kept delivering pizzas, and with each delivery the fear I had felt earlier slowly began to fade. 04:58 None of the following addresses gave me the same sense of unease. 05:02 During a break at the pizzeria, I even joked with Jake about that first delivery and about Harold, the strange man at the house. 05:11 He simply laughed and told me not to take it too seriously. That with Halloween so close everything seemed creepier than it really was. 05:19 It was almost midnight and my shift was about to end when a new order came in. 05:24 As soon as I looked at the receipt I felt a chill run down my spine. 05:28 It was the same address. 05:30 Harold and his wife's house. 05:33 I hesitated for a moment. 05:35 I didn't want to go back there. 05:37 Just thinking about that strange couple made my stomach turn. 05:41 But I had a job to do, so I took a deep breath, grabbed the pizza, and left. 05:47 This time the wind was blowing hard, making the tree branches creak. 05:52 The whole atmosphere felt darker, as if the darkness itself had thickened. 05:57 I parked the car in the driveway and got out, gripping the pizza box so tightly that I probably ended up crushing it without realizing it. 06:05 As I walked toward the door, I noticed that the same light was still flickering in the second floor window. 06:11 I knocked on the door and waited. 06:14 After a few seconds, it swung open abruptly. 06:17 Harold was standing there looking even more disheveled than before. 06:22 Back again, he said with a crooked smile. 06:25 I hope this time you brought something more than pizza. 06:29 His mocking tone made my blood run cold. 06:32 I swallowed hard, trying to stay calm. 06:36 I only brought the pizza, sir, I murmured. 06:40 Harold stepped back and told me to come in, explaining that he didn't have any money on him, but that he would pay me if I followed him inside. 06:48 My whole body was screaming at me to leave, not to go in. 06:52 But my desire to do my job and earn every dollar made me hesitate. 06:56 Against all instinct, I stepped into the house. The slam that followed echoed in my ears. 07:02 The door shut with a heavy bang trapping me inside. 07:06 A stale, almost nauseating smell filled the air. 07:10 The lighting was dim and the shadows danced across the walls, making me feel watched. 07:15 Where is your wife? I asked in a trembling voice. 07:19 She's resting, he replied without taking his eyes off me. 07:23 You can wait in the living room while I get the money. 07:27 He gave me such a cold look that a chill ran all through my body. 07:31 I sat on the edge of the couch, uneasy, listening to every sound in the house. 07:37 Then a loud groan echoed from another room. 07:41 My eyes flew open wide and I turned my head toward the sound. 07:45 Is your wife okay? I asked almost in a whisper. 07:49 Harold slowly approached, his face darkening and without answering he yanked the pizza box out of my hands. 07:56 She's fine, he said in a rough voice, but you won't be if you don't sit down and wait. 08:02 That was enough. 08:03 I felt my heart pounding against my chest and my survival instinct took over. 08:09 I lunged toward the front door. 08:11 I grabbed the doorknob and turned it desperately, but it would not move. 08:16 It was locked. 08:18 I heard his footsteps getting closer and louder, accompanied by heavy breathing. 08:24 Melissa, why the rush? He whispered behind me. 08:28 With a choked scream, I slammed my shoulder into the door. The impact was so hard that the lock gave way and the door burst open. 08:37 I ran as fast as I could toward the car, feeling fear drive me forward. 08:42 My hands were shaking as I searched for my keys in my pocket. I dropped them twice before finally getting them into the lock. 08:50 I jumped into the car, locked the doors and started the engine. 08:54 Without looking back, I hit the gas and sped away, with the streetlights turning into blurry streaks around me. 09:01 When I got back to the pizzeria, I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. 09:08 I could still feel that disturbing presence, as if part of the darkness from that house had followed me. 09:14 That night I made a decision. 09:17 I would never make a delivery on that street again. 09:20 Halloween came and went, turning into just another day. 09:24 But the memory stayed with me, like a warning, reminding me that this time my curiosity had almost cost me something far more valuable than a simple work shift. 09:39 Story 2 I live alone in a small apartment on the second floor on Southeast 28th Avenue in Portland, Oregon. 09:48 The building is an old 1920s house that was divided into four units. 09:53 It is the kind of place with thin walls, wooden floors that creak with every step, and a front porch that sinks when it rains. 10:01 Only two people have keys to my apartment, my younger sister Dani and me. 10:06 She usually crashes on my couch every few weeks, generally after a fight with her boyfriend. 10:13 Because of that, I am already used to hearing the door open in the middle of the night and finding her the next morning half asleep in front of a bowl of cereal. 10:22 It was a rainy Tuesday in March 2023. 10:25 I got home after my closing shift at Powell's on Hawthorne Street and I fell asleep before midnight. 10:32 I left the living room lamp on as I always did when there was a chance Danny might show up without warning. 10:38 Sometime after two in the morning my mind came out of sleep just enough to hear the deadbolt turn and the door slowly open. 10:46 Someone walked across the wooden floor with soft but steady steps. 10:50 Then a cabinet shut with a light thud and the refrigerator gave its familiar sigh. 10:56 It was exactly Danny's nighttime routine. 11:00 Half asleep I mumbled that there was leftover pad thai on the top shelf of the fridge and drifted right back to sleep. 11:07 At five in the morning my alarm went off. I reached for my phone on the nightstand, and when I unlocked it, I noticed something strange. 11:16 The camera app was open, pointed directly at my face. 11:20 I never opened it when I woke up. 11:23 I closed the camera and checked the gallery. 11:26 At the top was a 42-second video, recorded at 2.13am. 11:31 The clip showed my bedroom lit by the lamp, with my body asleep on its side under the comforter. 11:37 Everything stayed still except for my slow breathing. But at second 41, the camera jerked sharply, as if someone had picked up the phone at that exact moment, and the recording stopped. 11:49 A knot tightened in my throat. 11:52 I figured it had to be Danny. 11:54 maybe joking around or trying to scare me. 11:57 I got up groggily and went to the living room expecting to see her asleep on the couch, but the blanket was perfectly folded and the cushions were untouched. 12:06 There were no dishes in the sink and no sign that anyone had been there. 12:11 I texted her. 12:13 Did you leave early? Thanks for not waking me. 12:17 A minute later, she replied. 12:19 I didn't go. I'm still at Josh's. 12:22 Why? 12:24 And right after that, another message came through. 12:28 Everything okay? 12:30 The air turned ice cold. I started checking every corner of the apartment, making sure all the locks were still in place. 12:38 The front door was secured with the deadbolt and the chain. 12:42 The bathroom and kitchen windows were closed, but the back door leading to the building stairwell The one I almost never used opened with a slight push. 12:52 I remembered locking it days earlier. 12:54 Outside, on the first wooden step, there was a muddy footprint, large and facing toward my door, too big to belong to Danny's shoes. 13:03 I called Danny, trying to keep my voice steady, although fear had already completely taken over. 13:10 I asked her if she had ever loaned her copy of the key to Josh or anyone else. 13:15 She swore she had not. 13:17 She promised to bring me the key after work so I could change the locks. 13:22 I got dressed quickly, but every creak of the hallway floor made me nervous. And during my shift at the bookstore, all the customers seemed to stand too close. 13:31 I could not relax. 13:33 At the end of the day, I stopped by a hardware store. I bought a new deadbolt. a battery-powered door alarm, and a motion sensor light for the back staircase. 13:43 I wanted to finish everything before nightfall, so I installed the devices with shaking hands, the drill slipping more than once because of the tension. 13:53 Our landlady, Mrs. Fizer, kept a cheap security camera over the lobby. 13:58 I had never cared about it until that day, but I sent her an email asking for the footage from around 2 a.m. She was a retired woman, very prompt with her emails, so 15 minutes later I already had a link in my inbox. 14:14 In the video, at 2.11 in the morning, a tall man wearing a black rain jacket could be seen slipping through the front door. 14:21 He kept his hood low so only part of his face was visible, an unkempt beard and a thin scar under his left eye. 14:29 The intruder tried two mailbox locks until a silver key opened the third one. 14:35 Mine. 14:36 He went in without hesitation and quietly closed the door behind him. 14:41 Five minutes later he came back out, wiped the doorknob with his sleeve and disappeared down the stairs toward 28th Street. 14:49 The brief image of him under the streetlight was enough for me to know that I had never seen him before. 14:55 I sent the clip to the police non-emergency line. 14:59 The next day an officer called me, took my statement, and explained that since there were no signs of forced entry and nothing had been stolen, there was very little they could do. 15:10 She classified the incident as a suspicious circumstance and recommended that I install a longer deadbolt or, better yet, replace the flimsy back door with a solid core one. 15:21 I thanked her, hung up, and in that moment I felt that my apartment had grown smaller, as if the walls had closed in around me. 15:30 That weekend, Dani gave me her key. We compared them under the kitchen light. Same model, same grooves. Not a single different mark. 15:41 The landlady insisted that she had only handed out two originals in 2021. 15:46 Later, a locksmith friend told me that anyone could copy a key at a kiosk in under five minutes, as long as they had it in hand for a moment. 15:55 Then I mentally replayed the entire past year. 15:58 The repair technician who came to fix the microwave and asked for a glass of water. 16:04 The neighbor's handyman who needed to check the breaker. 16:07 The real estate agent who hosted an open house downstairs and used my bathroom. 16:12 Any one of them could have duplicated the key without me noticing. 16:16 Now every night I lock the new deadbolt, wedge a metal bar against the back door, and put my phone on airplane mode before going to sleep. 16:25 Even so, my sleep is light and restless. 16:29 One Thursday night, close to two in the morning, the motion sensor light suddenly turned on, lighting up the rain-soaked stairs. 16:37 I ran to the peephole, but I did not see anyone, only the steady drip of water from the gutter. 16:43 The landlady sent me the latest footage, but I still have not opened it. 16:47 Part of me needs to know who was there. 16:50 The other part already suspects, and would rather not see myself asleep again through someone else's eyes. 17:01 Story 3 I currently work as a janitor at a gym in San Antonio, Texas. 17:08 I have been here since 2019, usually working evening and night shifts because they pay better and the place is usually quiet. 17:17 I enjoy my job, cleaning, organizing the equipment, and having time to myself. 17:24 But there is one part of the shift that always puts me on edge. 17:28 At the back of the gym, next to the wait area, there is a concrete staircase that leads down to a door at the bottom. 17:34 That door has been locked ever since I started working here. When I asked my manager about it he told me the keys had been lost years ago. 17:43 He assumed it led to an old storage room although no one seemed to know for sure or show much interest. 17:49 I never paid much attention to that staircase except to sweep the steps every now and then. 17:55 It was just another part of the building. 17:58 Until that night in August 2022. 18:01 My shift started at 10pm. 18:04 As usual, by midnight the gym was completely empty except for me. 18:08 I was cleaning the machines when I heard a loud knocking sound coming from the back of the place. 18:13 At first I thought it might be some absent-minded customer knocking on the front entrance, forgetting that we closed at 12. 18:21 But I immediately realized that the sound was coming from inside. 18:25 I slowly walked toward the back, my heart racing. 18:29 When I reached the staircase, there was no doubt. 18:32 The noise was coming from the door at the bottom of the steps. 18:36 There were firm knocks, one per second, rhythmic and heavy. 18:40 My mind started racing. Who or what could be down there? Maybe a trapped animal? Or someone who had snuck in before closing? 18:49 I stayed at the top of the stairs, listening carefully. 18:53 After a couple of minutes, the knocking suddenly stopped. 18:57 I waited a little longer, holding my breath, but the silence became absolute. 19:02 Convincing myself that maybe it had been my imagination or the sound of old pipes, I shrugged it off and went back to my tasks. 19:11 Fifteen minutes later, while I was emptying the trash cans near the locker rooms, the noise came back, this time louder. 19:19 I felt my stomach tighten. 19:21 I had not imagined it. There was someone down there. 19:25 Gathering my courage I headed back toward the staircase with my phone in hand, ready to call the police if necessary. 19:32 But just as I reached the first step the noise stopped again. 19:36 A thick silence filled the gym, so deep that it felt as if the air itself had grown heavier and colder. 19:43 I stood still staring at the locked door at the bottom, almost daring it to move again. 19:49 Nothing happened. 19:50 In the end I decided to finish my shift and leave the matter for the next day. 19:55 The next morning as soon as my manager arrived I told him everything. His expression turned serious, thinking that maybe someone had managed to get in and become trapped inside. 20:07 He immediately called a locksmith. 20:10 An hour later the locksmith arrived and began working on the lock while we watched tensely. 20:15 Finally, the mechanism gave way with a click, and my boss slowly pushed the door open. 20:21 The beam of his flashlight lit up the inside, an empty room. 20:26 Just bare concrete walls, dust, cobwebs, and nothing else. 20:31 No shelves, no boxes, no equipment of any kind. 20:34 There was no sign that anyone had been in there for years. 20:38 I felt confused and in part embarrassed. I apologized for causing so much trouble, but my boss assured me that I had done the right thing by reporting it. 20:48 The routine went back to normal, or so I thought. For weeks, everything was calm, and I ended up convincing myself that it must have been the pipes or some strange echo. 20:59 Until late October 2022, just before Halloween when the calm was broken. 21:05 It was a quiet night sometime after midnight, and I was mopping the main floor of the gym. 21:11 Everything seemed normal until I heard it again. 21:14 The same dull knocking, but this time louder, more violent, almost desperate, as if someone were trying to break the door down from the inside. 21:24 I froze. The memory of that night in August came rushing back with full force. 21:30 I told myself it could not be possible, that we had already opened that room and confirmed it was empty. 21:36 But the pounding kept going, constant, urgent, echoing against the concrete walls. 21:43 With shaking hands, I grabbed my phone, ready to dial 911. 21:47 I slowly moved toward the back of the gym, feeling the echo of my footsteps mixed with the pounding. 21:54 However, just as I set one foot on the first step of the staircase, everything stopped. 21:59 The silence was so complete that I could hear the sound of my own breathing. 22:04 The air turned heavy, almost oppressive. 22:07 I felt that something was not right, that there was something down there, even though I could not see it. 22:14 Driven by a mix of fear and stubbornness, I had an idea. 22:18 I ran to the storage room and grabbed a metal bar that we used to keep the doors to the wait area open. 22:24 I slowly returned to the staircase, my muscles tense, going down step by step without taking my eyes off the door at the bottom. 22:33 When I reached it, I stretched out my hand and touched the handle. 22:36 It was freezing so cold that a chill ran through my body. 22:41 I slowly turned it and pushed. 22:43 The door opened with a dry creak. 22:46 The inside was exactly the same as before. Dark, covered in dust and cobwebs, completely empty. 22:53 There was nowhere to hide. No tunnels, no trapdoors. Nothing. 22:58 Only silence. 23:00 I felt a nod in my stomach, shut the door again and hurried back upstairs, sliding the bolt behind me. 23:07 I finished the shift as quickly as I could. 23:10 That night when I left the gym I swore I would never go down those stairs again. 23:14 From then on, every night shift became a silent torture. 23:18 I spent the hours glancing nervously at the back hallway, waiting and dreading to hear the sound again. 23:25 It did not take long for word to spread among the rest of the staff. 23:29 Some started saying they had also heard strange noises, although no one saw anything. 23:35 The staircase began to get a bad reputation, and most people preferred to avoid it completely. 23:42 Months later, in February 2023, a new co-worker, Carlos, was sharing the shift with me. 23:48 He was a calm, joking kind of guy. until that night. 23:53 It was close to two in the morning when I saw him running toward me, pale with wide, terrified eyes. 23:59 There's someone down there, he shouted breathless. 24:03 The door was moving. 24:05 We ran together toward the back. The pounding was echoing again, so loudly that the floor was vibrating. The door was shaking as if someone were jerking it from the other side. But just as we reached the top of the stairs, everything stopped. 24:21 Not a single sound. 24:23 We stood frozen, breathing hard, staring at the motionless door at the bottom of the dim stairwell. 24:29 Carlos looked at me and said he was never going to work nights again, and he kept his word. 24:35 Since then he only works day shifts. 24:38 I thought about doing the same more than once, but jobs are not easy to come by, and I need the money. 24:44 I learned to live with the fear, to pretend I hear nothing when the knocking comes back. 24:50 Sometimes the sounds are soft and distant. 24:53 Other times they pounce so hard that I swear the walls are shaking. 24:58 No one knows what causes that noise. Some say it could be old pipes, or the building structure shifting in the heat. 25:06 They may be right, but no matter how many logical explanations I try to repeat to myself every night, I never fully believe them. 25:14 Because deep down, I know there is something down there, waiting behind that locked door. 25:20 Something that never should have been left trapped inside. 25:28 Story 4 In 2018, my friend Mark and I left Portland headed for Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge area of Oregon. 25:38 It was early September. 25:40 Dry, cool weather, perfect for a hike. We were both 25 years old and in good shape, although neither of us could really be considered an experienced hiker. 25:51 The plan was simple. Reach Tunnel Falls before noon, have lunch there, and head back before dark. 25:58 When we arrived at the trailhead, we found the parking lot half full. We locked the car, signed the visitor log, and started hiking. 26:07 During the first two miles, we followed the creek, crossing small wooden bridges and greeting groups of families with children. 26:15 As soon as we lost cell service, I turned off my phone and put it in my backpack. 26:20 Around 10 a.m. we reached a fork in the trail. A narrow side path climbed up to a spot the locals call Punchbowl Lookout. 26:28 Mark wanted to go up and enjoy the view. 26:31 I hesitated for a moment, but in the end I followed him. 26:35 The path was steep, covered with loose gravel that slipped under our boots. 26:39 I caught a glimpse of his bright blue jacket disappearing around a bend and suddenly I could not see him anymore. 26:47 I called his name several times but he did not answer. 26:50 I kept climbing until I came to a small rocky ledge. 26:54 I tried to climb up but my footing gave out. 26:57 I slipped and felt my shoulder slam hard against the rock before everything turned white and then black. 27:04 When I regained consciousness I had a cloth covering my eyes and plastic zip ties biting into my wrists. 27:11 I was lying on my side, still wearing my boots, but the rest of my body ached. 27:17 I heard the murmur of nearby water, maybe about ten feet away. 27:22 Something was dripping from above, and the smell of diesel mixed with the scent of pine. 27:27 I shouted Mark's name, then a heavy hand pressed down on my chest. 27:32 A deep, rough voice said, Shut up or you'll end up like your friend. 27:37 The man tightened the cloth over my eyes, pulling it even tighter. 27:42 I felt the world shrink into darkness. Then a plastic bottle brushed against my lips. 27:48 I drank because my tongue was dry as paper. 27:51 The moment I did, he snatched the bottle away. 27:54 What do you want from us? I managed to say. 27:58 Peace, he replied coldly. 28:00 You hikers ruin everything. 28:03 I heard the metallic scrape of a knife. 28:06 I stayed perfectly still. 28:08 The blade slid down my laces until it cut through my boots, then my socks. 28:13 After that, it tore through my shirt. 28:16 The cold air raised goosebumps on my skin. 28:20 I did not move, afraid that even a single movement would make him react. 28:25 The man grabbed me by the elbows, pulled me to my feet and shoved me forward. 28:30 Walk, he ordered. 28:32 I stumbled ahead barefoot, with needles and stones stabbing into the soles of my feet. 28:37 We went up a slight incline, turned left then right. The air smelled of damp earth and cedar. 28:44 After about five minutes he stopped me. He pulled off the blindfold. 28:49 The evening light filtered through the tall pines. About 30 feet away, there was an old, weathered picnic table. 28:57 On top of it, naked and with his wrists and ankles bound with zip ties, lay Mark. 29:03 He had dried blood in his hair, but his chest was still moving. 29:07 The man stood in front of me. He looked to be in his late 50s with a gray beard, sun-weathered skin, and a filthy camouflage jacket. 29:17 He had a revolver at his belt and a hunting knife hanging from a cord. 29:22 In his hand he was holding a small action camera. the kind that mounts on a bicycle helmet. 29:28 You're going to pose, he muttered. 29:30 Then you'll leave and never come back. 29:34 He cut the zip ties off my wrists and tossed me the knife. 29:38 Free him, but slowly. 29:41 My hands were shaking, but I started cutting the ties around Mark's ankles. 29:45 He groaned, barely opening his eyes, and murmured my name through dry lips. 29:51 I nodded, not daring to speak. 29:54 The man circled around us filming, his raspy breathing mixing with the sounds of the trees. 30:00 When the last zip tie gave way, I took my chance. I shouted with all my strength, Run! 30:07 And we ran through the trees barefoot with mud splashing up our legs. 30:12 Branches slapped us in the face. 30:14 Behind us a gunshot rang out. The bullet hit a tree trunk inches from my ear. We did not look back. 30:22 The slope dropped sharply and suddenly the roar of the creek surrounded us. 30:27 We jumped in without thinking. The freezing water reached our chests. 30:32 We crossed as best we could, stumbling to the other side and hid beneath a fallen cedar. 30:38 Night fell. We stayed there, shivering, listening. 30:43 No footsteps. No voices. 30:46 Only the sound of rushing water. 30:49 Morning came slowly and with the daylight we finally dared to move. 30:53 We got to our feet, our souls torn up by stones and cuts. 30:58 But fear was stronger than pain. 31:01 We followed the creek downstream, walking over slippery rocks with sunlight filtering through the trees. 31:08 Every step felt like a stab, but we did not stop. 31:12 After nearly four hours of moving forward, the forest opened up and we found a dirt service road. We could hardly believe it. 31:20 We staggered along the path until in the distance we heard the roar of an engine. 31:25 A brown forest service jeep appeared around a bend. 31:28 We waved our arms desperately. The driver slammed on the brakes. 31:33 It was Ranger Luis Ortega. When he saw us covered in mud and injuries, he immediately grabbed his radio and called for assistance. 31:42 He wrapped us in blankets, helped us into the vehicle, and drove straight to the Eagle Creek Ranger Station. 31:49 There he let us use the staff locker room showers. From the lost and found boxes, he pulled out sweatshirts, sweatpants, and old sneakers big enough for our swollen feet. 32:01 Luis carefully cleaned the cuts on the bottoms of our feet and bandaged Mark's head, since he was still dazed. 32:08 Soon after, deputies from Multnomah County arrived. We told them everything. The fall, the kidnapping, the table, the armed man, the gunshots. 32:19 They took notes, recorded our statements, and by that afternoon, search teams were already in the area. 32:26 That same night they found tire tracks near an old logging road and drag marks where the picnic table had been. 32:33 But they found neither the table nor the camera nor the boat the suspect had mentioned, nor any trace of the bearded man. 32:41 The sheriff kept the case open. 32:43 Every few months a detective calls me to say that the fingerprints on the zip ties still do not match anyone in the database. 32:50 No suspects, no solid leads. 32:54 Mark and I never went back to Eagle Creek. 32:56 Sometimes we talk about it, but not for long. 33:00 We both know that the Columbia River Gorge is a beautiful place. 33:04 But for us, that forest has been stained forever. 33:08 Even so, I still go hiking, although now I never go alone. 33:12 I prefer trails where there are people, open paths, no corners where someone could hide among the trees. 33:19 And yet, every time I hear the sound of running water, my mind goes back to that moment. 33:25 The darkness beneath the cloth, the smell of diesel, the hard crack of the bullet striking the trunk. 33:33 I remember the blind run toward the creek, the absolute terror, and the echo of a man who could still be out there, waiting in silence among the pines. 33:47 Story five. 33:50 In early July, 2022, I was taking summer classes at Cal State Fullerton and looking for any excuse to relax a little. 33:58 On July 4th, a classmate from my sociology lab Brandon sent out a group message about a camping-style party in Garden Grove. The host, he said, was a friend of his cousin. 34:13 I did not know the name, but the promise of fireworks, free food, and a break from studying sounded too good to pass up, even if it meant a 20-minute drive. 34:23 I left the campus apartments around 7 p.m. with the air conditioning blasting and Highway 57 humming under the wheels. 34:31 Every parking lot I passed had folding tables loaded with sparklers and rockets. 34:36 Traffic lights flashed red and green across windshields. 34:40 The whole atmosphere felt like a movie frozen just before an important scene. 34:45 The address, 11128 West Alta Vista, was in a quiet cul-de-sac with single-story houses built in the 1970s. 34:54 Strings of lights crossed the narrow driveway, and an old American flag hung faded from the eaves. 35:01 There were about 40 people in the yard, most of them around my age, toasting with cans of cheap beer while someone grilled hot dogs on a rusted Weber grill. 35:11 Inside, the air smelled like sunscreen, lighter fluid, and the unfamiliar sweetness of spiked punch. 35:18 Music pulsed from Bluetooth speakers resting on top of milk crates. 35:23 I wandered through the house with that awkwardness typical of a newcomer trying to look busy. 35:28 I looked at the framed surf posters, pretended to check my phone so I would seem like I was there with someone. 35:35 Brandon found me in the hallway. "'Glad you made it,' he said, smiling before turning away to greet someone else. 35:43 That was almost our entire conversation that night.' Around 9pm, the first fireworks exploded over the backyard. People cheered, recorded with their phones, and little by little started leaving, saying they were heading to Newport Beach to watch the main show. By 10.30, the yard that had once been packed with people had only about a dozen left. 36:06 The host, whose name I learned was Evan, had disappeared. 36:09 A girl in a Dodgers cap offered me a freshly poured red cup. 36:14 The liquid, yellow like lemonade, tasted strange, metallic, sweet at first and then oddly flat. 36:22 A few minutes later my mind began to cloud over, like a phone camera that cannot focus. 36:28 I tried to find Brandon to say goodbye. 36:31 The living room was half in shadow. 36:34 Someone had turned off half the lights. 36:36 The couch I had sat on earlier was gone, leaving dust marks on the hardwood floor. 36:42 The TV, which had been showing a baseball highlights earlier, was unplugged. 36:47 The hallway moved as if it were breathing. 36:50 I remember leaning against the wall, feeling everything spin. 36:54 Some of the pictures had disappeared. 36:57 The nails were still stuck in the drywall. 37:00 A move, I thought. 37:01 At this hour, my knees gave out. 37:05 I fell onto a pile of crumpled plastic tablecloths, and the world closed in on me. 37:11 A single blast, maybe the midnight grand finale, shook the windows. 37:16 After that, nothing. 37:18 When I woke up, something was wrong. The feeling was like coming up for air after sinking too deep. 37:25 Pale dawn light filtered through dirty blinds. 37:28 The echo inside the house was deathly. There was no music, no voices, no furniture. 37:36 My cheeks were pressed against the bare plywood floor. 37:40 The living room carpet had been rolled up. 37:42 I was completely alone. 37:45 I checked my pockets. 37:47 No phone, no wallet. 37:49 Only my watch, which read 4.57am. 37:53 The front door was half open. 37:55 Outside, the scene was completely different. There were no hanging lights, no flags, no cars, except mine was gone too. 38:04 Where I had parked my Honda Civic there was only an oil stain at the curb. 38:08 I stumbled down the driveway trying to call for help with a voice that barely came out. 38:13 The neighborhood seemed normal, sprinklers watering the lawns, a golden retriever barking behind a fence. 38:20 But the house, the house looked abandoned. 38:25 A forend sign lay face down among the dead flowers. 38:29 I looked through the side windows and saw bare walls, wires hanging from the ceiling, as if remodeling work had stopped weeks ago. 38:37 I walked three blocks to a 7-Eleven on Chapman Avenue, asked the clerk for his phone, and dialed 911. 38:45 The operator kept asking me to repeat the details over and over. 38:50 Where exactly do you think you were drugged? In what house? Who was the host? 38:55 Each answer sounded emptier than the last. 38:59 Shortly after, two patrol cars arrived. The officers searched the house with flashlights, finding nothing but dust and silence. 39:08 They asked me a few quick questions, wrote down the address, and handed me a case number along with a victim services pamphlet. 39:16 One of them muttered as he walked away, This kind of thing happens a lot. 39:22 Empty rental houses used for pop-up parties. By the time the neighbors wake up, no one has left and the place is trashed. 39:31 I stood on the sidewalk, watching the red and blue lights disappear. 39:35 Everything felt unreal, as if I had dreamed it. 39:39 I walked back to the 7-Eleven, still barefoot, with my mind trying to make sense of what had happened. 39:46 Over the next few days, I tried to contact Brandon. I sent messages, called him, and even reached out through social media. 39:54 No response. 39:56 When I finally changed phones, I tried again. Same number, same silence. 40:02 A week later, his accounts disappeared completely. No Instagram, no Facebook, no trace on WhatsApp. 40:09 I asked my classmates from the sociology lab if they knew him, but they all said the same thing. 40:15 They had never heard of any Brandon with that last name. 40:19 Intrigued, I checked the Cal State Fullerton directory. 40:23 There was no student by that name enrolled in my department. 40:26 The fear turned into a kind of obsession. 40:30 I started checking Craigslist, looking for any sign of my missing Honda Civic. 40:35 Days and weeks went by with no results, until on July 18th an ad appeared. 40:41 2008 Honda parts. Pickup only in Garden Grove. 40:46 The photos were unmistakable. The bumper with my stickers, the old university parking decal, and a small faded u-seed bear hanging from the rear-view mirror. 40:57 Before I could reply to the listing, the post disappeared. 41:01 I thought that was the end of it. 41:03 But two months later, at 3.12am, my phone vibrated. 41:07 A message from an unknown number said, fun night, right? 41:12 There were no images, no tracking, no call, just those three words. 41:17 I looked up the area code online. It no longer existed. 41:22 Since then, every July 4th, I refuse to go to parties, and I do not even drive near Chapman Avenue. 41:30 The sound of fireworks turns my stomach. And even though I try to convince myself that it was just a bad drink, that I was lucky to get out alive, I cannot stop thinking about that house. 41:42 Was it really empty that morning? 41:44 Or was someone else there watching me silently from the shadows, making sure I got up, walked out to the street, and survived long enough to keep replaying that night over and over again in my head? 42:02 Story 6 It was the mid-1980s, maybe 1986, and I was around 12 years old. 42:12 We lived in a typical quiet suburb in New Jersey. 42:15 Houses separated by well-kept gardens, freshly cut lawns, friendly neighbors, and silent streets. 42:24 I was the youngest in the family. 42:26 So when my parents went out and my older siblings had other plans, I was the one who had to stay home alone. 42:33 I did not mind too much until that night. 42:37 My parents were going out to dinner with some friends. 42:40 Before leaving, my mom reminded me not to open the door to anyone and said they would be back before midnight. 42:47 I told her I would be fine, confident that I would spend the night watching MTV or reading comics. 42:53 What I did not know was that the night had other plans for me. 42:57 It was around 9pm when boredom got the best of me and I fell asleep on the couch. 43:03 The ringing of the telephone jolted me awake. 43:06 Everything was dark except for the blue glow of the television still on. 43:11 Half asleep I got up and answered from the kitchen, thinking it would be my parents calling to say they would be late. 43:17 But it was not them. 43:19 The voice on the other end was deep and muffled, as if someone were covering the receiver with a hand. 43:26 At first I thought it was a wrong number, until it started saying horrible things, filthy words, disgusting descriptions that no child should ever hear. 43:36 I did not recognize the voice, but I could feel the malice behind every syllable. 43:42 Fear froze me in place. 43:44 Without saying a word I slammed the phone down, my heart pounding so hard that my chest hurt. 43:50 I stood there motionless, surrounded by a silence so deep it felt like the whole house was holding its breath. 43:57 Who would call to say something like that? 44:00 And why on this night when I was alone? 44:03 Still shaking, I decided to go upstairs to my bedroom. 44:06 I made sure the front door was locked before doing so. 44:10 I tried to convince myself it was just a prank call, some bored group of teenagers. 44:16 In the 1980s, prank calls were common. No one took them too seriously. 44:22 My room faced the backyard with a line of trees at the far end. 44:26 Normally that view felt comforting to me, but that night the trees looked different, darker, more threatening. 44:34 I turned on my bedside lamp and sat on the bed, trying to distract myself with a comic book. 44:40 Barely five minutes had passed when I heard something. A soft, rhythmic tapping. 44:46 At first, I thought I was imagining it, but the sound came again, clearer this time. 44:53 It was coming from my window. 44:55 My breathing stopped. 44:57 The shadow of a figure moved behind the blinds. 45:00 A chill ran through my body. 45:03 I wanted to run but my legs would not respond. 45:06 The tapping came again, louder now, almost demanding. 45:11 I swallowed hard and with courage I did not truly feel slowly moved toward the window. 45:16 I opened the blinds just enough to look outside and then my heart stopped. 45:22 Only inches from the glass was Todd, the neighborhood boy, two years older than me, the same one who had been bothering me for weeks. 45:30 He was 14 years old, known for being obnoxious and for never understanding the word no. 45:37 He followed me around the neighborhood, shouted stupid things to embarrass me in front of my friends, and even though I had made it clear that I did not want to be his friend, he never gave up. 45:48 But that night his presence was different. 45:51 He was not the annoying kid I remembered. 45:54 There was something in his smile, a twisted dark grin that made my blood run cold. 45:59 His face, barely lit by the weak porch light, looked cold and disturbing. 46:04 He moved his lips, muttering something I could not hear, but I knew it was nothing good. 46:10 I jumped back, trembling. 46:12 Todd noticed my fear and started hitting the window harder, almost pounding his fists against the glass. 46:19 His expression twisted, full of rage. 46:22 It was no longer a game. 46:24 It was a threat. 46:26 How long had he been there? 46:28 Had he been watching me while I slept? 46:31 Seized by panic, I ran out of my room and slammed the door shut behind me. The sound of it echoed through the whole house. 46:39 I ran back to the kitchen, desperately searching for the phone. 46:43 My hands were shaking so badly that I could barely hold the receiver. 46:48 I dialed my parents' number, but no one answered. 46:51 My breathing came in gasps, my heart hammering in my ears. 46:55 Then from outside I heard hurried footsteps moving around the house, circling toward the side. 47:01 Todd was looking for another way in. 47:04 The adrenaline made me act. I went from room to room checking every lock, making sure everything was tightly secured. 47:12 Every click of a lock was a momentary relief. 47:15 I stayed in the living room, gripping the phone so hard my fingers hurt, waiting to hear my parents' car tires. 47:22 A voice, anything that would break that silence. 47:25 But the only thing that came was nothing. 47:28 The noise stopped completely. 47:30 No more footsteps. 47:32 No more knocking. 47:34 Only the electric hum of the television in the background. 47:38 The silence was so deep it seemed to have weight. 47:41 Every minute felt like an hour. 47:44 I stood there trembling with the constant feeling that Todd would appear again, that his face would show up in another window. 47:52 What felt like an eternity passed before headlights finally lit up the living room walls. 47:58 I ran to the window. It was my parents' car pulling into the driveway. 48:03 I felt such overwhelming relief that tears filled my eyes. 48:07 When they came inside, I threw myself at them, sobbing. 48:11 I told them everything all at once. The phone call, the obscene words, the shadow at the window, Todd pounding on the glass. 48:20 My father did not wait to hear anymore. 48:23 Furious, he stormed out into the yard, shouting Todd's name, determined to confront him. 48:29 But Todd was not there. He had disappeared. 48:33 My mother immediately called Todd's parents. 48:36 They sounded confused, even annoyed. 48:39 They insisted that their son had been home all night. 48:42 They said there must have been some misunderstanding, maybe confusion caused by my fear or the darkness. 48:49 But I knew the truth. 48:51 I had seen him with my own eyes. That face pressed against the glass, that distorted smile. 48:58 It was not my imagination. 49:00 Todd never admitted to being there. 49:03 After that night he avoided my house and we barely even exchanged glances. 49:08 But when we did, I could see something in his eyes. 49:12 Something cold and empty. 49:14 Since then I have never felt safe being home alone. 49:18 Even years later, as an adult, every time I stayed home by myself, I checked every door, every window, two and three times. 49:26 And sometimes when I looked out toward the yard at night, I thought I could make out a motionless shadow among the trees. 49:34 And for an instant, the same thought would hit me. 49:37 What if Todd were still there, waiting once again outside my window? 49:47 Story 7 It was a grey rainy Monday, the kind that seems to drag the exhaustion of the whole weekend before it even begins. 49:57 That was how all this horror started, but I should start from the beginning. 50:02 That morning I arrived at the office ready to face another day of work. I was just an ordinary intern at a small tech company. 50:10 The place had a mix of open areas, cubicles and a single break room equipped with a coffee maker and a few snacks. 50:17 My co-workers were in general friendly and I got along well with almost all of them. 50:23 Except Carl. 50:25 Carl was the kind of person who made you uncomfortable for no apparent reason. 50:30 He was in his early thirties, only four years older than me, with a hair that was always messy, an unkempt beard, and the same outfit day after day. 50:40 Wrinkled flannel shirts, old jeans and black boots. 50:45 He was brilliant at programming, yes, but his way of dealing with people left a lot to be desired. 50:52 He often made strange comments, almost impossible to understand that left all of us confused. 50:58 During lunch he usually took over the break room, so I tried to avoid him, but one way or another he always found a way to interrupt my conversations. 51:08 That day he sat down across from me while I was eating at my desk and leaned forward with an unsettling smile. 51:15 Jake, did you know that the human soul leaves the body seven minutes after death? He said, his eyes shining with excitement. 51:23 I did not know how to respond. 51:25 I laughed nervously. 51:28 Ah, no, I didn't know that, I answered, hoping he would change the subject or just stop talking. 51:34 but instead he began telling me his theory about how he could communicate with the dead. 51:40 He spoke with a conviction that made my skin crawl. 51:43 I finished my lunch as quickly as I could and excused myself, hoping not to run into him again. 51:50 As the days went by, Carl's behavior became stranger and stranger. Sometimes we would see him whispering to himself in front of his computer, or sitting motionless with his fingers hovering over the keyboard. 52:03 Even the boss had started avoiding him. 52:05 I felt a little sorry for him. and I was the only one who still dared to speak to him once in a while. 52:11 But on a Friday afternoon, everything changed. The office was quiet, most people had left early, and I was trying to finish some tasks. 52:21 I felt a presence behind me, and when I turned my head, I nearly had a heart attack. Carl was standing right there, so close that I could feel his breath. 52:31 Do you believe in ghosts, Jake? He asked softly. 52:35 Not really, I replied, uncomfortable. 52:38 He smiled, but it was a smile that froze my soul. 52:42 I do. They're everywhere, he said. 52:45 Sometimes they try to communicate with me. 52:49 I nodded, not knowing what to say. 52:52 At that moment, the ceiling light flickered. 52:54 I blamed it on an electrical issue. 52:57 I muttered something about getting back to work and hoped he would leave. 53:01 I heard his heavy breathing for a few more seconds, then footsteps moving away. 53:07 I did not think much more about it until the following Monday. 53:12 The next Monday I arrived at the office early, determined to get ahead on work before everyone else showed up. 53:18 Outside it was still raining and the sound of water hitting the windows made the place feel even quieter. 53:25 I thought I was alone, maybe except for the boss in his office, when I started hearing noises coming from the break room. 53:32 They sounded like voices. 53:34 A quiet conversation, one of them clearly recognizable. 53:39 Carl's deep voice. The other was different. 53:43 Soft, muffled, almost ethereal. 53:47 Curiosity got the better of me, and I slowly walked down the hallway. 53:52 With every step, the voices became clearer. 53:56 I looked through the glass door of the break room and saw Carl standing in an empty corner. His arms raised, muttering something in rapid whispers. 54:05 I carefully pushed the door open. 54:07 Carl, are you okay? I asked. 54:10 He spun around. His expression made my blood run cold. His eyes were wide, dilated, almost crazed, as if he were seeing something I could not see. 54:22 I'm trying to reach them, he babbled. 54:25 They want to communicate with me. 54:27 With who? I asked, taking a step back. 54:31 He did not answer. 54:33 He continued with a strange chant, as if he had not heard me. 54:38 The tension in the room was suffocating. 54:40 I told him to stop, to quit whatever he was doing. 54:44 But he did not react. 54:47 Then the lights began to flicker, and a blast of icy air rushed through the room. 54:52 Fear hit me all at once. Karl kept reciting faster and faster, his voice trembling between excitement and panic. 55:00 Suddenly a loud crash echoed from the hallway, a hard metallic bang that made me jump. 55:07 What was that? I asked, my voice breaking. 55:11 Carl did not seem scared. 55:13 On the contrary, his eyes darted back and forth nervously, as if he were following something invisible. 55:20 They're angry, he said in an almost reverent tone. We have to listen to them. 55:26 All I wanted was to run, but my legs would not respond. 55:31 Something in me, a mix of terror and fascination, kept me there, watching, until I finally regained control and lunged for the door. 55:41 I ran out of the room at full speed straight to my desk. I grabbed the phone and called the police with shaking hands. 55:49 When I looked through the hallway window I saw that the break room was empty. 55:53 Carl had disappeared. 55:55 I spent the rest of the day on edge jumping at every sound. When my co-workers started arriving no one had seen Carl. 56:03 Eventually I asked Sarah from the marketing team if she knew anything. 56:08 No, but I saw him on Friday, she said. 56:11 He looked sick, shaking. 56:13 He left early. 56:15 I thought he was just having one of his weird days. 56:18 But something in her voice made me think that she was scared too. 56:23 A few days passed. Carl still did not show up. 56:27 I could not stop thinking about what I had seen, about that voice that was not his. 56:32 The following Friday I decided to come back after work hours, just to clear up my doubts. 56:38 The office was empty, lit only by the flickering lights in the hallway. 56:43 Carl, I called out, my voice barely above a whisper. 56:48 The echo of my own voice was the only answer. 56:51 I walked to the break room. 56:53 The air was freezing and the buzzing of the fluorescent light sounded louder than ever. 56:59 Then I heard it. 57:00 A clear whisper so sharp that it froze me in place. 57:04 Help us. 57:06 The voice was coming from the supply closet. My heart was beating so fast I could barely breathe. 57:13 I took one step, then another, until my hand was on the doorknob. 57:18 Is someone in there? I asked. 57:21 The closet door opened with a creak. Some old boxes fell to the floor, and among them was Carl curled up in a corner, his eyes wide open. 57:31 His face was a mask of fear. 57:34 They're trapped, he whispered. 57:36 I can help them. 57:38 I knelt beside him. 57:40 Carl, we have to leave. Now. 57:43 He looked at me with confusion, with a mix of delirium and panic. 57:48 They need me, Jake, he said. 57:51 You don't understand. 57:53 Before I could respond, the lights went out completely. 57:57 The darkness was absolute. An icy gust hit my face and through it, a deep voice roared. 58:04 How dare you interrupt us? 58:07 Carl gasped. I felt the cold sink into my bones. 58:11 It's not safe here, I shouted, pulling his arm. 58:16 The lights came back with a violent flicker, and then I saw shadows moving around us, swirling like living smoke. 58:24 I pulled Carl with all my strength and we stumbled out of the closet. 58:28 The whispers turned into screams that seemed to chase us as we ran down the hallway. 58:34 I shoved open the exit door and the cool night air hit our faces. 58:38 We ran all the way to the parking lot without looking back. 58:42 When we finally stopped, gasping for breath, I looked back at the building. 58:46 The office lights flickered one last time, and then went out completely. 58:51 Carl could barely speak. 58:53 What was that? he muttered. 58:56 I don't know, I answered, but we have to tell someone. 59:00 That night as I drove him home, I could not shake the feeling that everything had only just begun. 59:06 I learned something important. Sometimes curiosity is not just dangerous. 59:11 It can open doors that should never be opened. 59:15 And even though the fear is still with me, I also know I will not leave Carl alone. 59:21 Because in the corners where secrets hide, the only thing we may have is each other.