“Sir, I will state that we were all very experienced divers. I have been on many missions with these men. Several, including Shaun Hogan and Terrell Avery, I served within the Navy Seals. What happened at the bottom of Lake Superior was no fault because of our actions. No one could’ve predicted what happened down there. What we saw… It was unlike anything I have ever seen before,” I announce.
“Go on. Tell me what happened,” he says.
“Well, we had all been contracted to test out a new type of deep-sea diving suits for a private company. It was a suit that could allow us to withstand intense pressure and temperatures for long periods of time. It also didn’t need an oxygen tank. It could convert H2O into breathable oxygen. We were first going to test it on Lake Superior before trying it in deeper waters. Our ultimate goal was to reach the bottom of the Marianas Trench. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea anymore. Anyway, we had suited up and took a ship out to the middle of Lake Superior. There were 7 of us including Shaun Hogan and Terrell Avery.”
“We launched off above the deepest part of the lake and cautiously made our way down to the bottom. We were going to stay down there for a total of 4 hours to properly test the equipment. We made it down there okay. It was completely and utterly dark, but the equipment provided us with sufficient enough lighting. We began to explore the depths of the lake. There were several tools that our contractor wanted us to test. We had a high intensity cutting laser to test along with a mini torpedo. We were clear to start our first test. We had discovered a scrap of a sunk ship, so we decided it was perfect to test the high intensity cutting laser.”
“The test was a success. The laser-cut through the metal like a knife through butter. Next, we were going to test the torpedo. This is where things got strange. We had found what we thought was some type of deep seamount. We figured it was a perfect opportunity to test out the torpedo. It was Shaun Hogan who ran the test. He was close enough to the seamount to measure the impact and safe enough away to withstand the blast. The rest of us were far enough to measure the widespread effect.”
“The mission proceeded as planned. Hogan launched the torpedo at the seamount and it exploded on impact just as we assumed. However, what happened next no one could have foreseen. The great mound of land we had assumed was a seamount was something else entirely. Tentacle-like appendages shot out from the mass of land. One of them had snagged Hogan. We took evasive action and attempted to try another torpedo at whatever the fuck that thing is. Our torpedos had no effect on it but only seemed to piss it off. Whatever it was, it was massive. It crushed Hogan. There was nothing we could do to save him. He died within its grasp. We tried to retreat to the surface and it managed to snag Avery as well. I can still hear his screams as it dragged him to the bottom of the sea. For whatever reason, it remained down there as we made our way to the surface. We were lucky to escape. Whatever that thing is, I think we’re all better off if we leave it alone. If a creature like that lives at the bottom of Lake Superior, I can’t imagine what lives at the bottom of the Marianas Trench.”
The Captain stared at me for a long moment, stroking his beard before he spoke. “This is troubling news. We’ll conduct a full investigation. From what I’ve already seen from the footage, your story seems to line up. Until we know what we’re dealing with, I want to cease activity in Lake Superior. Thank you for your report. I’ll be in touch. You are not to tell anyone of this” With that, the Captain got up and left. After I was released, I had to give the news to both Hogan and Avery’s families. I wasn’t allowed to give them the full story. I could only tell them that an accident happened that resulted in their deaths. It angered me to not be able to tell them the truth. It seems the government is determined to cover up what lies down at the bottom of Lake Superior. It’s safe to say I haven’t been diving since that day. I don’t know if I can ever go back into the water. I have seen some truly unbelievable things in the water, but nothing like that.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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What I’m about to tell you is why I will never use a dating site ever again. I was going to college at the time and was in my third year. A little about me, my name is Alexis, I’m a female and I’ve been told I’m attractive. I was 21 at the time this happened.
For whatever reason, I really had a hard time with men. I attributed this to being busy with classes, but I was getting a little lonely and a bit depressed. I decided to give online dating a try. I made a profile and uploaded some really nice photos before writing up a halfway decent bio. I had a bunch of matches, however, most of them seemed to only have 1 intention, to hook up. I wanted something more serious.
I finally matched on a really hot guy who had a great smile and dark silky black hair. We hit it off instantly. We had a series of long deep conversations about life and philosophy. We had similar views on politics and things were going really great. One thing led to another and he ended up asking me out on a date.
Of course, I accepted. We met up at a very nice restaurant. To my relief, I hadn’t been catfished. He looked exactly like his pictures and he had the most amazing smile.
We hit it off great. There never seemed to be a pause in the conversation. We just went from one topic to the other in a flow of interesting subjects. He had captured my interest. However, at one point I had to use the restroom. When I got back, he had ordered us drinks.
We continued the conversation without missing a beat as the evening led on. We had a few more drinks when I noticed something very odd. I was starting to feel very out of it. I felt like I was slowly losing control. I quickly got up and excused myself to the bathroom once more. I pulled my phone out and texted my best friend and told her I think I had been drugged. I shared with her my phone’s location. My memory got a bit hazy after this.
I remember walking out of the restroom and… I think he was waiting for me there. Next thing I knew I was in his car. When I woke up next, I was strung up by a hook. As my eyes adjusted I noticed I was in some kind of warehouse. There seemed to be dried blood everywhere. My heart began to race as I started to panic. I began to cry hysterically.
“Oh shut up, no one is going to hear you so you can scream all you like,” that familiar voice said. I looked over to see the guy I was on a date withstanding over by a table. He was wearing an apron and appeared to be sharpening a knife. My heart sank into my stomach and I felt nauseous. Tears fell from my eyes. I tried to talk, but I was gagged. “You’re probably wondering why I have you tied up in the middle of an old warehouse. Well, as it turns out I have somewhat of a gruesome fetish. I like to carve people open and watch them bleed. I’ve tortured and murdered loads of women just like you. It never gets old.”
His laugh made me want to throw up. I was helpless and now I was about to die in such a horrifying manner. I sobbed hysterically as he walked up with a really sharp long knife. I recognized it as a filet knife my dad would always use to clean fish. I felt very queasy as he brought the knife up to my skin.
Suddenly the sounds of sirens pulled his attention away. The police suddenly burst into the warehouse with their guns raised. They somehow managed to arrest him. I was freed from my bindings by a detective. She said if it wasn’t for my friend using my location tracker I sent her with my phone, they would’ve never found me.
It turns out he has tortured and murdered over 15 other women before he kidnapped me. I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if I didn’t get that text off. I haven’t been on another date to this day.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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I have just recently tried online dating and I will never try another online dating site ever again. What I’m about to share with you has left me living in fear and hopefully will warn you about the dangers of online dating. I just turned 23 not that long ago and I moved out on my own after I graduated college. And for context, I am a female. I dated a bit in college, but after I left, I focused on my work and my social life fell to the sidelines.
After a series of lonely nights on Netflix, I had made an account on one of the major online dating platforms. After uploading a few really cute photos and writing a really nice bio, I started swiping left and right on potential guys. I went through over a hundred profiles before I finally had a match with a really hot guy. He was tall, dark, and handsome with a head of wavy dark brown hair.
We hit it off instantly, messaging back and forth. It turned out we had a lot in common. We both had the same taste in music and it turned out he loved to read just as much as I did. We talked for hours about Nicholas Sparks’ books and the latest Ariana Grande track. I had never met a guy who shared my taste in music and liked to read the same books as me. It was a nice change of pace.
Our conversations lasted from dusk till dawn. However, I felt like I was doing most of the talking. He was a really good listener. I told him all about my life at work and the latest gossip about my coworkers. I shared facts about myself that I never told anyone. I felt so comfortable with this guy. I felt like I could tell him anything.
He started to ask if I wanted to meet up. At first, I was a little apprehensive. I realized I didn’t know much about him. I did most of the sharing while he listened and asked questions, but I really wanted to meet him. I really liked talking to him so I agreed to meet with him in person.
He mentioned coming to pick me up, but I didn’t feel comfortable with that. I suggested we meet at a nice coffee shop I usually went to on weekends. He said he preferred to go somewhere less crowded. He suggested we go for a hike in the woods. I wasn’t so sure about this but I reluctantly agreed. We made plans to meet at 4 o’clock on Saturday.
I got there a bit early and stayed in my car. For some reason, I just felt odd about it all, but I was hopeful with the conversations we had, but I still kept my doors locked. I turned my car off but kept the radio on. I waited until I got a text asking me where I was. I told him I was in the parking lot and asked him where he was.
He said he was on his way. He said he’d meet me by the entrance to the trails. I was very apprehensive about this and decided to wait in my car until I saw him pull up. Thank god I did. I noticed a white van parked not too far from me with a man and a girl inside. They were watching me intently. They looked very out of place.
After waiting for 10 minutes or so, I shot him a text asking him how far away he was? He said he already pulled up and was waiting at the trail entrance. I thought there was no way he could have slipped by me as the park was empty besides me and the people in the van. There was no way I was getting out of my car. I waited there a bit longer and received several messages from him. He asked if I was coming.
I asked him to come to the parking lot, he refused. That’s when I saw something strange. I clearly saw the girl in the van texting and as soon as I received a text message she’d look up over at me. I don’t know if this was a coincidence or if she was the one who was texting me after all.
The text I received said he was waiting for me and if I didn’t come soon he’d leave. At this point, there was no way I was getting out of my car. I then decided to facetime him. That way it’d prove he is who he said he was. As I started the facetime, I looked over at the van and saw the woman’s phone light up. They immediately canceled the call.
I then decided to call the police and report everything. They said they’d send someone out to where I was. I got a text saying if I didn’t come out, he was going to leave. I didn’t fall for it. Instead, I said I’d be there in a minute. Just had to fix something. I was trying to stall for the police to get here. That’s when the back door to the van opened up and two men in masks got out. By now I was truly freaked out. I tried to start my car but to my horror, the battery had died. It wouldn’t even turn over. I was not truly terrified as the men walked over to my car. My heart was racing as they told me to roll down my window. I refused. They tried to open my car door and thank god I kept it locked. One of them headed back to the van and pulled out a crowbar. I was now on the verge of tears as he walked up to the passenger side of my car and started to bash the window.
I pleaded with them to leave me alone. I was now crying hysterically as the man continued to hit the window with the crowbar, it started to crack. The other man was making threatening gestures and was telling me all the things they were going to do to me. I truly thought they were going to take me as the crowbar managed to smash my window open.
As he unlocked the door and proceeded to get in my car, to my relief a police car pulled up right then and there. Two officers got out with their weapons drawn. Another police car pulled up behind them as the men raised their hands.
They were all arrested. What was truly horrifying is what they found in that van. There was chloroform, rope, handcuffs, duct tape, and weapons. Everything you needed to kidnap someone. Apparently, the girl was the one texting me. She had our entire conversation on her phone. It turns out they were part of a huge human trafficking ring. It scares me to imagine what could’ve happened if the police didn’t arrive when they did. I haven’t been on a dating site ever since.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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Being a parent is never easy. However, in the age of the internet things have become even more frightening. I’m a mother of 3 children. My only son just turned 16, my oldest daughter is 10 and my youngest daughter is only 7. I won’t tell you their names obviously. You can never be too cautious on the internet. I learned this the hard way. What I’m about to tell you is every parent’s worst nightmare.
Ever since my son turned 16, we had gotten him a phone because we didn’t want him to get stranded with car problems out in the middle of nowhere. However, now that he has a phone, he’s created social media accounts. My biggest fear is him meeting some stranger on the internet and having it turn out to be some psycho murderer or something. Ever since then, I have created fake accounts to monitor his online activities. I know, I know, it’s such a grievous violation of his privacy, but his safety must come first.
Anyway, I was on one of my social media accounts doing my due diligence when I came across something that made me sick to my stomach. It was a picture of my youngest daughter posted by some random stranger. I immediately clicked on the profile and to my horror, there were more photos of her. They were taken while she went about her day. There were some of her at school, some while she was getting on the bus and others while she was at home. She wasn’t the only girl that was being stalked. There were hundreds of photos of other girls. What’s worse were the comments. I was expecting to see people as horrified as I was, but some were saying some pretty disgusting things. Things I will not repeat. They were sexually objectifying a 7-year-old. It made me nauseous. I ended up throwing up.
What’s worse was there was a link to a website. That’s when I found something truly horrifying. They were not only selling photos of children, but there were auctions where you could buy kids that were most likely kidnapped. Once again, I found myself puking. I went straight to the police with this.
They were able to get the website shut down and even made a few arrests. However, not even a week later I stumbled upon another website with photos of my 10-year-old. I once again reported them to the police hoping to put an end to this. I’ve never been more horrified in my entire life.
It’s safe to say after this terrifying ordeal, I kept a close watch on my kids. I drove them to school in the morning and picked them up right after. I made sure not to let them out of my sight and I kept an even closer watch on my surroundings to make sure no one was watching them.
One day after school had parked to pick up my kids and to my shock and horror, I saw a strange black car with all its windows tinted parked outside the school. I reported it immediately after I saw the camera of a phone poking out of a crack from the window. Thank god the police were not far. They pulled up behind the car. The car tried to drive away but was cut off by another patrol car.
They were able to arrest the man right then and there. However, what they found inside his car had given me nightmares to this day. They not only found his phone was full of pictures of not only my own kids but hundreds of others, they also discovered chloroform, rope, weapons, and all sorts of things that are common items used in kidnapping.
I haven’t had a good night’s sleep ever since. This just proves you can never be too careful when it comes to the safety of your kids. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my children.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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The internet is a scary place. I definitely know being an amateur hacker. Or at least I was before something happened that caused me to delete all my information and destroy my computers. A little about myself, I’m a 24-year-old with a degree in software engineer and cybersecurity.
I had always had this fascination with the dark web, not that I had any intentions of actually using the dark web. It’s the whole secrecy that really caught my obsession. I spent a lot of time learning how to hack and navigate the dark web.
Anyway, I had been surfing through the dark web using Tor (The Onion Router) browser and a premium VPN (Virtual Private Network) to keep myself anonymous by encrypting my data and routing the connection through the Onion network of volunteer-run servers. However, this browser doesn’t prevent my ISP (Internet Service Provider) from recognizing I’m using Tor itself. The VPN is perfect for browsing the Dark Web. A VPN ensures that Data is never stored, and everything resets when the servers reboot. It uses a proven no-logs policy and an automatic kill switch, it ensures my data remains secure (non-existent!) and prevents any IP address leaks. It also automatically provides a new IP address at random intervals so I can’t be tracked and people won’t be able to find where I live.
Anyway, I was searching through the dark web and discovered a black box which essentially is used to ensure the storage and preservation of such vast volumes of content. An Internet Archive that has a way to parse, index, and physically encode the data while avoiding degradation and ensuring accessibility in unknown future formats,
It’s basically a middle man. Anyway, my interest was peaked. I decided to attempt to hack into it. It was a rather tricky riddle and I was foiled several times, but I managed to break through and found myself in a chat room that was about to stream a video. Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by an unknown user.
They said they hadn’t seen me before and were curious about how I got here. I didn’t quite know what to say so I told them I got an invitation. They asked me from who? I said it was a friend and I didn’t want to give out their name. That’s when the user told me that if they find out I was lying they’d find me and I’d be the next guest to provide entertainment. That thoroughly crept me out.
After that, the user didn’t say much. Soon the stream started and it showed a middle-aged woman tied up to what looked like a surgical table. My heart started to race as I watched her struggle and cry.
I continued to look at my screen as they proceeded to torture her. They first started to cut off her fingers as she screamed out in pain. I felt sick to my stomach. I ended up throwing up in my garbage, however, my eyes were glued to the screen as they continued to cut this woman up. It got to a point where the poor woman was unrecognizable.
Then my heart sank into my stomach as I received another message from that same user. He said that no one invited me. That’s when I found that someone was trying to hack into my computer. To my horror, I found that my VPN was turned off.
I immediately tried to exit the chat room, however, it became too late, they hacked my computer. I unplugged my computer from the wall and then destroyed all of my devices. I was so scared at this point, I didn’t care about their worth. I even packed up all my stuff and left as soon as I could. I have been on the run ever since, always looking over my shoulder. I can’t even sleep at night. To this day, I live in constant fear for my life.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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The story I’m about to tell you is a perfect example of how dark this world really is. I was a 15-year-old high school girl at the time and I finally convinced my parents to give me a smartphone. I started an Instagram account not long after.
I had been posting on it for almost a year, mostly about my day to day life with loads of selfies, nothing special, when one of my best friends, Collin, messaged me a link to another profile. When I checked the profile out my stomach tightened. This profile was dedicated to me. It had reposted all of my photos. But what really gave me the creeps were the videos and photos that had been taken of me by someone else. I didn’t recognize the photos. They had been taken without my knowledge.
There were loads of them. Some of them while I was at school. Some of them while I played basketball. There were even some with me at home. A few were taken while I was changing in my room. I was horrified. I immediately reported the account. I even went as far as to reach out to my parents who reported it to the cops.
However, it didn’t end there. It wasn’t long after that the account was deleted another account popped up with even more photos and videos of me. They were new ones. Whoever had taken them was still stalking me.
Even worse, they started to DM me. The messages were really disturbing. Telling me how they loved to watch me change and they sent me a video of me sleeping. I was truly freaked out. Once again, I went to my parents who filed another police report. However, this did nothing to dissuade my stalker.
They continued to create more accounts to harass me. The DMs continued to get even more disturbing. They said how they would love to get their hands on me and what they’d do once they got me alone with them. The things they said I can’t repeat. This went on for months. Every time I’d report them, their account would be deleted and a new one would spring up with even more photos of me. Of course, I made sure to close my windows at home and make sure they were locked. I even went as far as to delete my own account and all my other social media accounts.
Somehow they got my number and continued to harass me, sending me more photos and videos of me that were taken while I was unaware. Every time I blocked their number, they’d text me with a new one. It got to the point where I became afraid to leave my house, not that I felt safe there either.
They started texting me how they were going to kidnap me and all the terrible things they were going to do to me once they’d taken me. It felt like no matter what I did, I couldn’t escape them. I just wanted it all to stop.
One day I noticed something about one of the videos they sent me. I could barely make out a reflection in the video. And who I saw truly made me sick. In that reflection was my best friend Collin’s face. I went straight to my parents and they took me to the police. They brought Collin in and searched all of his electronic devices. Sure enough, they were filled with photos and pictures of me. They even found a shrine of me in his closet. I never felt more betrayed in my entire life. It just goes to show that you really don’t know who you can trust.
I went to his hearing and he lost it, yelling at me that no one would love me as he could. Only he deserved to have me. No one else. I had a hard time trusting people after that. Collin went to juvie for a long time. However, I just recently heard he’s going to get out soon.
I’ve gone to extreme precautions to distance myself from him. I even went to the lengths to legally change my name. It’s safe to say I haven’t been on social media since.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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I’m about to tell you something that will change your beliefs forever. What happened during the weekend I went to meet my girlfriend’s parents will forever be burned into my memory and I don’t know if I can ever trust anyone ever again.
Now, I will just say this to get it out there, I’m black and yes, my girlfriend just so happens to be white. Before you make any assumptions, just hear my story. It all started with our trip from college to see her parents along with her sister and her sister’s boyfriend.
“Get ready for the shit show,” my girlfriend’s sister Stella said as she sits in the back with her boyfriend Callen while I drive and Kiara, my girlfriend, road shotgun. “Ramon, I apologize on behalf of our nutty family ahead of time.”
Kiara rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to her, our parents aren’t that bad. They’re not racist, they just sometimes don’t understand that what they say is sometimes highly offensive.”
Stella laughed. “That’s putting it lightly. I can’t wait to see dad’s face when he sees the two of you together.”
“Stop,” Kiara said. “Don’t listen to her. We’ll be fine.”
“Your parents couldn’t be any worse than mine,” Callen said. “My parents are real assholes.”
“Oh, way worse. Our mother is a neat freak. You’ll want to take off your shoes as soon as you get in or you’ll get an earful. She spends most of her time cleaning the house and if you get one speck of dirt on her carpet, she’ll let you know about it,” Stella said with that sadistic smile. “She’ll also interrogate you for your entire life. She won’t judge you for it, she’ll just pester you with questions until she knows every small detail of your existence. My dad also won’t ever stop talking. Only instead of asking questions, he’ll lecture you nonstop because he’s the expert on everything. He also loves to tell inappropriate jokes.”
“Stella! Come on. Seriously? Mom and dad aren’t that bad,” Kiara said as she rolled her eyes. She turns to me and places her hand on my forearm. “Don’t listen to her babe. She’s just trying to scare you. She loves to fuck with people’s heads.”
It’s not long before we pull into their driveway. It’s a ways out into the country. Their house is your typical style two-story farmhouse. As I park the car, we get out and grab the luggage. The house looks like no one is home, but after a second glance, I see one of the shades cracked open and nearly trip as I see someone creepily peering out. As soon as the person sees me they shut the blinds.
The door opens up and a man with white hair that’s starting to bald and a white beard steps out. His face is as serious as a 911 operator.
“Dad!” Kiara shouted with glee as she skipped up and went to hug him. He pulled back and put his hands out.
“Don’t touch me!” he shouted out and Kiara stopped in her tracks and looked off-put. He looked at her for a second before he fixed his glasses. “I’m sorry. You are my daughter. Right. I’m sick. I don’t want to get you sick.”
With that, he forced out a cough. Kiara tossed us a questioning look before turning back to her dad. He eyed the rest of us for a long minute. “Come in.”
We all trade looks before hauling the luggage inside. The place is filthy. Cobwebs have made it home. A thick layer of dust is on everything. Stella and Kiara eye each other.
“Dad, we’re going to put our things away and we’ll come back down after we freshen up,” Stella said.
“Right… Well. Don’t take too long. You should all get a good night’s sleep soon,” he said. I look at my watch and it’s only 1 in the afternoon.
“Uh… okay,” Kiara said. We quickly followed her up to her room.
As soon as the door shut, Stella spoke up. “What the fuck is going on? The place is a mess? Did you think Dad was acting funny?”
“Well, he did say he was sick,” she said.
“Where’s mom?” Stella asks.
“I don’t know, but it’s not like her to leave the place so messy,” Kiara said.
“And what the fuck was up with dad? He’s so jumpy. And he’s at a record low of long-winded lectures,” Stella said as she tucked a loose string of brown hair behind her ear while she sat down on the bed. Her eyes continued to flick over to Kiara and her boyfriend as she bit down on her lip.
“Maybe something happened. Things change people,” Kiara said.
“You think it’s that simple?” Stella asks.
“Yeah. I mean, come on, it’s mom and dad,” Kaira replied.
“I don’t know. I read this…”
“Stella, I know what you’re getting at. This is the real world, not a science fiction novel,” Kiara said.
“I know. I know. I’m just saying…”
“Babe, you gonna show me your room?” Callen asked, winking at her.
“Right. Sure,” she said. As they went over to her room, he spanked her and gave her ass a good squeeze.
We spent most of the afternoon upstairs. Eventually, we all headed downstairs for dinner. As Stella, Callen, Kiara, and I gathered around the table, we noticed their mother lingering in the hallway by the stairs. She didn’t say anything, just stared at us for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, their dad came out behind her and she followed him.
“So, what’s for dinner?” Stella asked.
“Dinner?” their dad said. He looked puzzled by the question. “Right. Dinner. I uh…”
“Should we just order pizza?” Kiara asked.
“No, I’ll get something,” he said as he entered the kitchen and started going through the cupboards.
“After dinner, Stella and I thought it’d be fun to head out to the pole barn and bring out the lawn chairs for a campfire,” Kiara said.
“No!” her mother snapped at us. “No fires!”
Stella and Kiara looked at each and their expressions said it all. There was fear mixed with confusion in their eyes.
“And don’t go into the pole barn,” her dad said. “It’s best you stay here in the house for now.”
“You don’t mind if I smoke, do you? I have a medical card,” Callen asked. Stella threw him a sharp look.
“No smoke! No fire!” their mother said. I looked over at Kiara trying to figure out what was going on. I haven’t even met them before now and I can sense their behavior isn’t normal.
“Okay, I was just asking, no need to get upset,” he said as he threw Stella a sharp glance.
My phone went off with the loud annoying sound I picked for an alarm to make sure I take my meds when both Mr. and Mrs. Bradley shrieked out with hissing and screaming sounds. “Shut it off! Shut it off!”
I quickly turned off my alarm as my heart raced ever faster. The look on their faces was horrifying.
“Just stay inside the house,” her father said. He finally pulled something out from the fridge and dished it onto separate plates before he brought them over. What was on the plates was absolutely repulsive. “We’re going have to go check something out in the pole barn. We’ll be right back. Eat up.”
The dark black blob on our plates didn’t look edible. It smelled rancid. As soon as they left, Stella went off. “What the fuck is going on? What is this shit? They’re acting so fucking weird.”
“Yeah, I’m not eating that,” Callem said. “It looks disgusting.”
“I don’t think any of us should,” Stella said.
“Babe, I need to smoke. I’m just going to sneak out and hit the vape real fast,” he said.
“Fine whatever,” she said.
He sneaked out of the house. As Stella and Kiara talk about how odd their parents are, I looked out the window to find something glowing from the pole barn. What the fuck is going on in there? Callen seemed to have seen it too because I saw him walking over towards it. He was peering in through the window on the door when the door suddenly opened and he was pulled inside. What the fuck?
I’m not sure whether I wanted to see what was inside or get in my car and drive as far away from here as possible. Something not right is going on here.
“Babe, what do you think we should do?” Kiara asked.
“I think we should leave. I just watched Callen get pulled into the pole barn after he was looking inside.”
“God, that fucking idiot. Why did he have to go poking around?” Stella said with a heavy sigh.
“Why do you think mom and dad don’t want us going in there?” Kiara asked.
“I don’t know. But what was up with them when your alarm went off?” she asked me. I only shrugged.
“We should get rid of this crap so it looks like we ate it,” Kiara said.
“Good idea,” Stella said as we all picked up the plates and scooped the blobs into the trash. A minute later Callen walked inside. I was more than a little surprised to see him. Although, something was really off about him. He just came in and sat down at the table. Didn’t say a word or even acknowledge us. “Babe? Hey. Everything okay? What did you see in the pole barn?”
“Pole barn?” He asked, looking at us. There was something different about his eyes. I can’t quite place it, but they’re not the same. “Don’t go in the pole barn!”
All three of us jumped back and traded looks. Then Stella piped up. “What the hell did you smoke?”
He turned his head in a way that gave me the chills. “No smoking! No fire!”
“We’re going upstairs for a bit,” Kiara said, tugging mine and Stella’s arm. We quickly followed her upstairs.
“What the fuck is going on!” Stella said, freaking out.
“It’s whatever is in that pole barn. It changed him,” I said.
“We need to figure out what’s in there,” Kiara said.
“We should call, like, the cops or something,” Stella said.
“And tell them what exactly? That your parents have gone mad and did something to your boyfriend?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“We need to figure something out,” Kiara said.
“I say we get in my car and get the fuck out of here,” I said.
“No! Not without figuring out what’s going on with my parents,” she said. I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I wasn’t going to leave without her and if I was in her place, I’d want to know what the fuck was going on too.
“Fine. If you two can distract them, I’ll figure out what’s in the pole barn,” I said.
“Really?” she asked.
“Babe, I’m not leaving you, that’s for sure,” I said. She buried her head into my chest.
“You shouldn’t go out there without some way to defend yourself,” Kiara said.
“Do you have a lighter and some hair spray?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?” she asked.
“Well, didn’t you hear them? They don’t like fire,” I said.
Kiara reached into her bag and pulled out a canister of hairspray and a lighter. I took them from her and hid them in my sweatshirt. That’s when we heard a creak from the stairs. Someone was coming up. Both girls dashed behind me. Another creak was heard just outside the bedroom door. Someone is standing just outside the door. I had one hand on the canister and the other on the lighter, ready for anything. The handle slowly twisted and the door slowly opened.
“Stay behind me,” I said. My skin crawled as Callen’s head crept around the door. His normally full head of brown hair seemed rather thin as his eyes, those strange pale brown eyes darted at us. I was truly creeped out.
“Callen?” Stella asked as she peered from behind me.
“What are you doing?” he asked, most of him still hidden by the door.
“Nothing,” Kiara said.
“Just talking about going to bed,” Stella said.
“You should do that. Stay in here. Don’t leave the house,” he said as his head slowly moved back behind the door. The door slowly closed, but we didn’t hear his footsteps leave.
We all traded looks with each other, but no one said a word. We’re trapped. I looked out the window and you could climb out onto the roof from it. I pointed to the window and Kiara knew exactly what I meant. She slowly crept to the window and tried to quietly open it. A loud creak came from it as Kiara slid the window open and the hand of the door turned as the door opened up. Callen peered from behind it. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Just getting some fresh air,” Kiara said. He eyed us suspiciously. Then he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He just stood there, looking at us.
I looked over at Kiara and I could see the apprehension in her eyes. I gave her a nod and then pulled out the lighter and the hair spray. Callen’s eyes widened as I lit the lighter and sprayed the hair spray. A giant flame erupted in front of Callen. A blood-curdling screech escaped his lips as both Stella and Kiara bolted out of the window.
What happened next made my stomach turn. Callen started to melt. His face became a big glob of puss as his entire body deformed into one great big blob. Like a slug, it tried to slither away. From the flame. I took that moment to climb out of the window behind Stella. We made our way down the roof and climbed down the Lattice on the side of the house. They followed me to the pole barn just as their parents walked out of the house.
“What are you doing?” their dad asked.
“Get the fuck away from us,” I said, holding out the hair spray and lighter.
“Don’t go in there,” he screeched at us.
We rushed up to the pole barn as their father rushed at us. My alarm went off again and he shrieked, stopped, and held his ears. I hit him with a hot flame of the lighter combined with the hair spray and he melted into another blob. Its eyes were on top of its heads held up by tentacles. It appeared to have a mouth. It shrieked at the flame as it tried to slide away.
We bolted to the pole barn and what we found inside made Kiara puke. I could barely hold it in myself. The entire barn seemed to be infected by the same black slime. There was some giant black round egg looking thing in the middle that had long black slime support beams reaching out to the walls of the pole barn. It had to be the size of a fishing ship. Over by the far wall, I saw them. Not only were Kiara and Stella’s parents trapped in some kind of pods made of the black slime, but so was Callen. Kiara and Stella rushed over to them. I found a canister of gasoline lying around and I started to dose everything in it as Kiara took a long filet knife and cut open her father’s pod. He fell out of it covered in slime. She did the same to her mother and Callen’s pods.
The other imposter that looked like their mother came rushing in. I had just barely enough time to hit her with a big jet of flame before the gasoline caught fire. Loud shrieks were coming from the giant egg-like thing and the imposter mother. I rushed over to help Stella and Kiara get their parents and Callen out. Kiara opened the large door to the pole barn and we dragged their bodies out from the pole barn that was now in flames. I looked to find her imposter father trying to slide away down the yard. I ran up to it and hit it with another flame. I torched it until it shrieked no more.
I then ran inside to find the other one, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I searched the entire house for it. I can’t imagine how it got away.
Kiara’s parents and Callen eventually woke up. We had to explain what all happened, but even then it was hard to believe. I still can’t imagine what would’ve happened if those things were able to take us. I also have a dread sense of paranoia from the one that managed to get away. It could look like anything. It’s safe to say I have been looking over my shoulder ever since.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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If you asked me if I believed in aliens when I first became a deputy sheriff, I would have called you crazy. However, a series of events changed my beliefs forever.
It all started when a meteor crashed down on the Wagner farm. The Wagners are good people. A family of hard workers. Naturally, they became the talk of the town. Even had a front-page story in the paper and a feature on the local news. That’s all good and well, but it was not long after when reports came in that raised questions. I was first called over to the farm to investigate a few days after the meteor crashed.
Bradley Wagner, the man of the house, walked me out to his fields of corn. The meteor crashed in the far-field of his 5 fields that were all corn. However, as soon as we reached the field, it was clear what the problem was. His entire field of corn was all rotten. The stalks had wilted and turned black. I jotted it down and even took some photos. I told him I’d report it and we’ll see what comes of it. However, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what there was to be done. It’s not like a crime was committed. Little did I know, it was the first of many occurrences on that farm.
It wasn’t long after the entire crop followed suit. The Wagner’s were devastated. Their entire livelihood was taken right from under them. However, that was not the end of it. Soon we got in reports of strange behaviors from the animals. Once again, I had to go out and investigate the land. And what I found was rather unusual. The animals all huddled in the barn and they were eating fertilizers. Their eyes were white. Their mouths had turned black. I did a full report, but again, there wasn’t much I could do.
Weeks went by without much word from the farm. I didn’t quite know what to make of it. Then one day, we had got a call from a neighbor that the Wagners had disappeared. No one had heard from them in weeks. Once again, I had to go out and investigate. What I found will haunt me for the rest of my life. I arrived on the farm and found it almost completely empty. After searching the house and finding no one, I went out to the barn and sure enough, the Wagners were in there along with all the animals. They were eating the fertilizer along with the animals. Their mouths, like the animals, were all covered in a black substance. Their eyes were pale misty white. I hesitantly went to grab Bradley by the shoulder. He hissed at me, pulled away, and continued to eat the fertilizer. That’s when I saw it. Giant long worms the size of railroad nails all inching towards me. I’ve never seen worms like those before. They were hairy and scaly. It’s safe to say I bolted out of there. I made a full report on what I found.
Not even a day later a small army of black SUVs that all apparently belonged to some government division pulled up and blocked off the farm. No one was allowed in, not even the Sheriff. I don’t know what’s going on in there or what to make of those worms, but I do know this all started with that meteor. I really believe those worms came from that meteor and they’re the reason the animals and the Wagners are acting so funny. Ever since that day, I’ve had a craving for fertilizer.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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I never believed all that extraterrestrial nonsense for most of my life. Of course, I don’t really watch much tv. I spend my days working in the garage. There’s always something that needs fixing. Anyhow, one night changed everything.
It was late and I was just wrapping up working on the truck before I cleaned up, grabbed some grub, and had a beer while I sat in my chair and listened to the game on the radio. Call me old fashion, but that’s how I like it.
Anyway, it all got strange when the power started flickering. Bright lights shined into all my windows. Then things got really weird. My beer started to float out of the bottle. All sorts of things levitated into the air. A giant white flash happened and everything went blank.
I remember laying down on a cold metal table. I could barely see anything because a blinding light was shining down on me. Figures were moving all around me. I couldn’t make out who or what they were, but I felt like I wasn’t all there. I felt aloof. Like it was all just one terrible nightmare. The next thing I remember, I woke up in my bed. I don’t know how I got there. I just chalked it up to a dream.
Now here’s where things get really strange. The next day my phone was ringing and I answered it. Apparently, I missed my doctor’s appointment. I was supposed to get one of them scans where they shove you into one of them machines with a giant magnet. But it wasn’t for another week. However, I went out to get the mail and there had to be a bucket’s worth of mail. It was starting to fall out of my box. After sorting through it all I found I had at least a week’s worth of mail. Apparently that little dream I had taken a week away from me.
That’s not all. I had to reschedule that scan and here’s where things get real weird. After I got my scan, the doctors pulled me in. They were stuttering and having a hard time trying to say what they were looking at. I told em to spit it out. Apparently, my innards had been rearranged. Can you imagine that? There’s no point in denying it now. Whatever happened to me on that cold metal table was not a dream. I was abducted by aliens. Just makes you wonder what kind of creatures are really out there…
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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I’m first going to start off by saying I never believed in the paranormal or ghosts. I’m not really atheist or whatever, but I’m not religious either. My sister on the other hand is very into the paranormal stuff. You could say she’s a big believer in ghosts. I was a total skeptic. However, what happened on the night I’m about to tell you forever changed my beliefs.
To begin, I need to tell you I was desperate for cash. Like every teenager who’s about to turn 16, I was stashing away every dollar I could to save up for a halfway decent car. My family isn’t exactly what you call wealthy. My parents worked really hard to provide for me and my sister. They both worked for our newly elected mayor Brayden Palmer who won by a landslide. However, my father isn’t too hyped on him. He says the man isn’t all that trustworthy and may have bought himself into the office. Apparently, he inherited lots of money or something.
Anyway, at that point in time, I decided to put an ad on Craigslist to babysit for a fee. That was my first mistake. I only put my email down because I hate talking on the phone to strangers and I really didn’t even feel comfortable giving my phone out to people I didn’t know. Especially on Craigslist.
Now after a few days, I just so happened to be reading through a bit of history about our town, I’m a total history nerd, same with my sister. That’s something we had in common. The article was about the disappearance of a prominent family. I ended up sending her the article. Anyway, as I read I got the notification that I received an email. It was from a couple who lived out in the fringes of town. They were offering to pay me a lot of money to watch their baby boy. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
My sister drove me out to their house and dropped me off the night they needed me. The driveway was long and wove through the woods. With the overgrowth of trees, it made it almost feel like we drove through a tunnel. As we reached the house, it was beautiful. It had one of those wrap-around front porches with white siding. It was two stories. I walked up to the front door while my sister waited in the driveway. I knocked on the door and after a few minutes, I was greeted by a beautiful middle-aged woman. She had steel blue eyes and long wavy hair. She welcomed me in with a great big smile and introduced herself along with her husband as Health and Viviana Palmer. The names sounded vaguely familiar. Her husband was a man about the same age with dark black hair and a salesmen-like perfect smile.
I heard my sister drive off as they showed me to the baby’s room. The baby was fast asleep in his bed with a teddy bear in his arms. Mrs. Palmer gave me the rundown on the baby. It was the typical stuff, to check up on him every so often but for the most part, he should sleep through the night.
Anyway, after a few last-minute notes, they got ready and took off. One thing that I found odd was I never heard them drive away. I brushed it off and went downstairs to watch a little TV. I have to admit this house is very clean and immaculate. They had a fireplace with the mantle decorated in little figurines. One, in particular, caught my eye, it was an owl. There wasn’t a speck of dust or a scratch on any surface. As I grabbed the remote and hit the power button, the tv wouldn’t turn on. After pressing it several times, I got up and tried turning it on through the button on the TV itself. It still wouldn’t turn on. Figures. I even checked to see if it was plugged in, which it was.
I resigned to sit down and listen to an audiobook. Something really bugged me. I couldn’t stop thinking about where I heard their names before. I knew they sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
As I pondered their names, I heard a loud crash in the kitchen which nearly caused me to piss myself. I quickly got up to look at what the cause was and my heart sank into my stomach. Sitting on the floor with a bunch of knives was the baby. It was holding a really sharp knife and was about to cut himself when I bolted to him with only seconds to spare. The baby threw a hissy fit when I took the knife away from him. I tried to calm it but no matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to stop crying. I took him back up to his bedroom and placed him in his bed, hoping he would cry himself to sleep. I went back downstairs and cleaned up the knives in the kitchen. Just the thought of what could’ve happened if I was a second too slow left me in chills.
The baby cried for over an hour. When it finally stopped I felt a small sense of relief. However, I decided to check up on it to make sure everything was okay. I’ll admit, the baby was kind of ugly. It was very wrinkly and looked almost sickly. As I crept into his room, I froze in my tracks. The baby was gone. All that was in his bed was a teddy bear. I felt my heartbeat quickening.
This couldn’t be happening. If something happened to that baby, I would never forgive myself. I searched everywhere for that baby. As I searched, I started to notice something very odd. The house that was very immaculate when I arrived started to seem rather dirty. What was very odd was that dents and scratches started to appear on the walls and furniture where they previously weren’t. Things became very dusty.
My phone vibrated. My sister sent me a text, asking me what the names of the people who hired me were. I sent her a text telling her their names. I didn’t really understand why she was so interested. I continued my search as I started to panic. I tore through the entire house which was starting to look even more shabby the more I searched. I heard a sudden creek downstairs. I rushed down there and found the door to the basement was open. That was the last place I wanted to go to.
I reluctantly made my way down to my own dismay. Of course, the lights wouldn’t work. I pulled out my phone and turned the flashlight on. The basement was covered in cobwebs and dust. I received another text from my sister that made my skin crawl. She said I needed to get out of that house right now and she was on her way to come to get me. I asked her why. She sent me back the article I sent her a few days ago about the prominent family that went missing. Their names were Heath and Viviana Palmer and they had a baby named Dustin. They disappeared nearly 2 years ago for no apparent reason. They just vanished. I looked at the picture of the family and immediately recognized them as the same family that hired me. This couldn’t be real.
I could hear my heart thumping wildly in my chest as I read this. I nearly tripped over something. I looked down on the floor and saw two decayed, rotting corpses. I screamed as loud as I could. I recognized them immediately Mr. and Mrs. Palmer. And that’s when I finally found the baby…
He was dead on the floor next to them, just a rotting corpse. I could feel myself getting sick as I raced back up the stairs. Before I could get there, the door slammed shut, leaving me in the dark. I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. I started crying uncontrollably.
“Don’t leave!” I heard the voice of Mr. Palmer as a light to the basement flickered on. I thought to myself, this is how I’m going to die… By ghosts, I don’t even believe in.
“Please, we need your help,” Mrs. Palmer said.
I stumbled down the stairs, my feet felt like they were moving of their own accord. Standing there in the middle of the Basement were Mr. and Mrs. Palmer. Viviana Palmer was holding her baby. I looked on the floor to see their dead bodies lying behind them.
“You’re not going to kill me are you?” I asked.
“No, we need your help,” she says.
“We were murdered,” Mr. Palmer said. I can’t believe I’m having a conversation with dead people.
“Please, just let me go, I’ll do whatever you want,” I pleaded with them.
“Help us. Please help us,” the woman said. She pleaded with me.
“I don’t know how,” I said, as tears fell from my eyes.
“You can help us. Please. Find the bear and the owl. They have the truth,” Mr. Palmer pleaded. Then the light flickered off again and the door to the basement opened. Their ghosts were gone. I ran upstairs to find the house in shambles. Everything seemed to be broken. The wood was rotting. Dust and cobwebs covered everything.
I saw headlights outside and my sister texted me she was here. I was about to run out and leave this place forever, but I couldn’t get the look of their faces out of my head. They were so sad. What did they mean by look for the bear and the owl? I looked around and nearly screamed at the sight of dried blood on the dirty carpet. That’s when it clicked. The owl. I looked over to the mantle and found the owl figurine. Surely this is what he meant. I rushed over to grab it and sure enough, it was a hidden camera. I popped out the SD card in the back. Now the bear. I knew exactly what he meant. Where else would you put a hidden camera if not for the baby’s room? I rushed upstairs to find the teddy bear and sure enough, it too was a camera. I took it with me as I ran out of the house and got into my sister’s car.
“I was so fucking worried you were dead when I pulled up to find this beaten-down house in shambles. It was in mint condition when I dropped you off. What the hell is going on?” she asked.
“Do you have something that can read an SD card at home?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Why? And what’s with the dusty teddy bear? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Just drive! I’ll explain it on the way home,” I said.
I told her all about the Palmers and every little weird thing that happened to me in that house as we drove back home. Once we arrived home, we rushed into my sister’s room and I handed her the SD card that was in the owl. She put it in her computer and it was filled with videos. We pulled up the first one and it was of Mr. Palmer.
“I’ve decided to put this hidden camera in here because I do not trust our babysitter. I think she’s stealing from us but my wife thinks she’s an angel,” he said to the camera. “This will prove everything. I also need to figure out how Dustin is getting out. No matter what we do, he manages to somehow escape his crib.”
We watched through the videos and sure enough, their babysitter was stealing from them, but I don’t think that’s what we were meant to find. We continued watching. Then we saw it. Both of our jaws dropped. I felt my stomach get tied up in knots. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer was with another man. I recognized him.
“That’s… That’s dad’s boss. The Mayor. Brayden Palmer,” my sister said as he pulled out a gun and shot them. He killed them in cold blood.
“What the hell?” I asked.
“Aren’t they brothers?” she asked. I shrugged. “I know they are. Didn’t you read that article you sent me? It said that Heath and Brayden were supposed to inherit a lot of money, but when Heath disappeared it all went to his brother Brayden. He killed them to get the entire fortune.”
“It all makes sense now,” I said. We watched Brayden drag their bodies out of the living room and most likely downstairs where I found them.
Then we plugged in the other SD card and what we saw was downright sickening. He killed their baby. He suffocated him. That’s truly terrible. I couldn’t hold it. I rushed to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet.
My sister and I showed my parents everything. I couldn’t exactly explain to them how I got the SD cards. No one would believe me if I told them I was hired by ghosts to watch their dead baby, so we told them a lie about finding the old house and exploring it. They bought it because that’s totally something my sister would do. They took the SD cards to the police the next day Mayor Palmer was arrested and it was all over the news that Brayden Palmer had been charged with the murder of Heath, Viviana, and Dustin Palmer.
I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Eliza and I drove back out to that house a few weeks later and we both saw them. They were standing on the porch. Viviana was holding baby Dustin with Heath by their side. They were smiling as they watched their baby boy. They looked up at us and waved. Then they were gone. I’d like to think they found some semblance of peace together.
I still have a hard time bringing myself to believe what had actually happened, but I will never forget it. Ghosts do exist.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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