Welcome to Scary Story Podcast. Our stories today are about places those with unexpected
visitors. My name is Edwin, and here's a scary story. By far,
the scariest experience I've ever had in my life happened after I moved out
of my parents' house. This was after I graduated from high school. I
was eighteen years old and was truly confused about what I wanted to do with
my life. My dad was a salesman. My mom used to stay at
home, so it was more or less conventional and what you would consider to
be normal. I remember thinking that things were just never enough. Many of
my friends had continued on to college, they were sure of what they wanted
to do, but for me, I just wanted to sing time. Of
course, we think that just because we're inquire and get a few solos every
now and then, that will be set to make a career out of it.
But I didn't know what I was in for. I got a job
at a fast food restaurant and ended up renting out an apartment, though it
was more of a half apartment, I guess you could say. Back then,
rent was a lot cheaper. I think I used to pay around three
hundred and fifty dollars, so I managed to make ends meet. The landlord
had converted the back part, which at one point included the garage of a
large building, and it was all put into an apartment on its own.
It was weird, but it was cheap and it worked out for a while.
While I was working, I was also taking lessons from a person in
the singing business, you know, getting gigs and stuff. I was mostly
doing events at parties and at a church with her. Alicia Gomez was her
name, and she had more than enough awards behind her that I didn't quite
understand why nobody had ever heard of her. Her voice was raspy now from
all those years behind microphones and on stages in the region. But the best
part about her was the way she taught. I could go on and on
about everything that she helped me with, But when I really sat down and
think about Alicia, everything had been tainted by one thing, and it wasn't
even about her. It all started when the landlord told me that they were
going to be selling the building and that I just had a couple of months
to find another place. I remember I asked to borrow the phone at the
church where we had settled in for our lessons. For several weeks, we
were in the meeting area slash classrooms where the kids would take lessons of Christianity
or something. I wasn't very religious back then, and I didn't know how
anything worked honestly, anyway, I think Alicia could tell that I was worried,
because she asked me what was wrong. It didn't seem like such a
hard thing to do at first, but after calling all of those places,
I realized I might not have a place to stay and I would be forced
to move back in with my parents or ask a friend to take me in
for a while. The problem itself seems like such an insignificant one now,
but back then I really wanted to prove to everyone that I could make it
on my own, and so I explained everything to Alicia, and she said
she was going to be visiting her sons in Texas for a few weeks and
would love it if I stayed at her house to take care of it.
Since I could move out as soon as I wanted to as part of the
agreement with my landlord, I agreed, and so about a week and a
half after that, I had four boxes and a suitcase ready, and it
was then picked up with the help of one of my friends, and we
drove up to the house. I had been there a couple of times,
and it was a beautiful home. It was made of gray stones. It
had an enormous garden and a large chocolate colored pit bull, Emmy that liked
to chase flies and insects around the yard. The house itself was on its
own lot, so like without any neighbors sharing walls or anything. That side
of town had the nicer houses, so most of the other ones were like
that too. This one had a wall around the property, a long driveway
up to the garage area, and then a walkway through the garden and then
to the house. The last time I had been there was for a reunion
of her and some of her friends from the industry, and though most were
retired, they knew a ton about every aspect of making it. It had
been a nighttime event, so we had all been in the yard. I
had been only in that living room area when we moved in for late night
coffee that same night. But that was that. Thinking that I would have
that place to myself for a little under a month made me feel a huge
relief, but also there was something odd about the place that I couldn't put
my finger on. In the garden, some of the larger decorations looked like
tombstones, and even though the area was well kept, it had a lot
of plants, like an exaggerated amount of them, and it made the areas
around the house feel so dark. There was no way to see through the
garden because of all the thickness of it. Inside the house, it was
more of the same thing. Alicia liked portraits, and she had many of
herself along the walls, and also had painted versions of her artists, friends,
and even older imagery. At one point I asked her about the black
and white photographs, and she said that they had been there when she had
gotten the house, and in such an Elicia way of saying things, she
claimed that an artist's work should be respected, and so she came everything.
Plus she said she didn't want to upset them them. I thought back then
was referring to the artists, but them turned out to be something else.
Alicia was there for two more nights, coming and going while I sayed in
the guest bedroom. I didn't know how busy she used to be, which
made me appreciate her making the time to work with me even more. But
finally, one night she said that she was going to be catching her flight
early in the morning, and we set our goodbyes, and she gave me
the list of task that she had scribbled on the backside of a flyer one
that came in the mail. It was said mainly things about watering her plants,
what Emmy needed to eat and how often, and some cash to buy
food and whatnot. My time there was to be one hundred percent dedicated to
finding a place to stay. I didn't want to reach the end of November
without knowing where I was going to be staying next. But I also couldn't
cross out the idea that I would have to live with roommates, that I
needed to be more open with things. I just couldn't be picky. The
first thing I noticed was that silence that next morning. Alicia, despite her
being an older woman with a serious expression all the time, she loved putting
on music every morning when she cooked breakfast. She liked to spend time outside
in the seating area of her garden. But now there was nothing, and
I had that whole house to myself. For the first few days or so,
everything went great, but around day ten I started feeling a weird sense
of uneasiness, especially at night. It might have been all in my head,
but I would hear footsteps around the house. Emmy used to sleep out
side in her doghouse, and no matter how I tried to explain it to
myself, made no sense. One night, it was around eleven and I
had just gotten home from work with a burger and fries I had been given,
and I was in the guest room. I had the television on and
I was just doing my own thing when I clearly heard someone was walking around
the living room area. The floors were made of creaky wood, so it
was pretty clear. I turned down the volume all the way and try to
stay completely still on the bed, hoping that I wouldn't make the springs make
noise. When I heard the footsteps, someone was coming up the stairs.
In my head, I was imagining where the steps were, and maybe five
or so steps later, when they should have been in the middle of the
staircase, the sound stopped. I stood up and locked the door to the
room. I stepped back from it as silently as I could staring at the
doorknob, just in case I saw any movement, But after a few moments
I realized no, I was safe. I kept the television on the whole
night until I fell asleep. That next morning, as I was walking down
the stairs, I try to look for clues. I don't know if I
was looking for footprints or any signs of anyone being in the house, but
the front door and the side doors were locked, the windows were shut,
and nothing seemed out of place, well except for one thing. You see.
When I was walking up the stairs a little while later, I noticed
that along the hallway, on the side where Alicia's room was, one of
her portraits was leaning against the wall on the floor. I just left it
like that, assuming that maybe I hadn't noticed it had already been that way
the next several nights. Although I was creeped out, I didn't hear much
the occasional knock or steps around the house, but that was it. He
creeped me out, but I tried not to make a big deal out of
it. But it was on that third week, just a couple of days
before Alicia was going to return, when I found out what it was.
Now I don't know what time it was, but Emmy started barking uncontrollably from
out in the yard. I looked outside and found her growling at one of
the windows of the house, and I was just about to open mind to
get Emmy's attention, but then I heard noises from inside of the house.
Emmy then yellped and whined and backed away toward the garden. She laid down
on the grass, and she kept still, now completely quiet. Do you
know how when a trained dog gets called or told to lay down, That's
what she did. I wanted to find out what the noises were, and
realizing that I would probably never get the chance to stay there again and figure
it out, I made up my mind to walk out of the room and
peek out from the railings of the upstairs hallway. It sounded like someone was
walking around or arranging objects in the living room area of the house, and
so I opened up my door and stepped out quietly. I leaned toward the
handrails. There was something there. I could clearly see a woman floating from
the living room area toward the bottom of the stairs. She wore a long
black skirt and a white blouse. Her hair up in a style I had
only seen in old movies. I was frozen, but not in fear,
though I definitely felt it, but it was as if my body just wouldn't
react, and yet I still wanted to find out who she was. I
didn't put two and two together, and I just watched as she moved up
the stairs toward the hallway, toward me. When people tell you about a
ghost that they saw, they usually say that they couldn't see its face,
but I could. I remember it still, and she looked right at me
before she disappeared. The house was completely still after that, and I remember
that walk back to my room, maybe just nine or ten steps, but
still those chills, and how my conception of reality was shifting at that very
moment, with every step etching itself even more into my brain. I don't
know how I slept that night. With the footsteps, the movement, it
was as if the house itself was alive, and I kept imagining that woman
in her face looking right at me. When Alicia got back and asked me
how everything was, I told her in that tone that showed that I wasn't
exactly afraid, but that I noticed something was off. She knew what I
was talking about, and stood in silence for a while, lost in thought.
Eventually, through a sigh and a half smile, she looked the way
and said to herself that maybe it was time to put her portrait back.
The second story is called You Need to Leave, and it's coming off right
after this stay with Me. It was at one of those old motels that
you find along the road. You know, Me and two other people I
had met at school had the idea to go to the Grand Canyon. I
mean, even though we hadn't known each other for long, we became friends
and we thought it would be cool and adventurous something to do right before the
spring semester started. From the north part of California, you have to go
either through the mountains or around them, either through the north or the desert
in the south, and we decided to go through the desert. I'm not
sure of the name of the place, but it was one of those generic
ones, like Mountain Inn or like Canyon Motel. It was right before going
through one of the passes where there's nothing around for miles. The place had
two large bends, so two of us, me and the other guy,
took one bed and the girl got her own, And seriously, I don't
know how anyone stays at motel's. I refused to do so ever since.
And even though not every one of them is bad or you know, has
a weird thing going on, I'm telling you this one had the strangest vibe
to it. It was hard not to notice it. There were no other
places or businesses around it for miles except for an old gas station that wasn't
even open twenty four hours like we're used to. The attendant at the front
was this old guy, not trained well in customer service at all, and
the room wreaked of smoke, and even though there was a huge no smoking
sign on the back side of the door. We were all tired, so
we didn't speak very much. Plus I was the one that had chosen the
place we were going to stay at through an app and I didn't want to
be the one to say, hey, guys, do you notice how creepy
this place is. I stepped out of the room for a bit just to
get some air outside. I hadn't really seen snow in my life, except
for one time when we drove by a snowy road when I was a kid.
So I wanted to check out the area. When I stepped out into
the hallway, I happened to see what seemed like a very tall person walking
around the corner in the direction that I would be walking to. I normally
avoid people, so I don't have to say high or anything, but there
was no other way for me to go, and so I kept walking.
I passed by the area where the other person should have been, but instead
of finding a hallway or some other room, I just found a tiny nook,
not even large enough to be a waiting room. It only had a
snack machine, a drink machine, and something I'm assuming was the eyes machine,
though it said that it was out of order. There was no one
else and there was nowhere to hide. I figured it must have been all
in my head, so I went out toward the entrance and stood around the
benches. I was out by the parking lot looking around. Two other cars
were there that night, and they were on the other side of where ours.
Was that stillness in the night. It was incredible. Growing up in
southern California, you'd never get that type of quiet anywhere. But it was
too cold for me, so after a few minutes, I turned around and
walked back inside, and that's when I saw the silhouette again. It was
turning toward the same area I had seen it the first time. The vending
machines were this time. I was sure that I had seen somebody. That's
all figure, a man wearing a long coat, all in black and turning
the corner. But once again, after I passed by there there was nothing.
I went back to the room where my two friends were and they were
getting ready to sleep. My spot was over by the window where the heater
was, so I just got ready for bed. Well. All three of
us talked for a bit about what we would be doing the next day.
The conversation died on its own, and soon everyone was fast asleep. Not
much time had passed before I was woken up by a light tapping on the
window, a persistent one, like they were trying to get my attention.
I late perfectly still to see if maybe it would stop on its own,
and after a couple more taps, everything was silent again. I thought it
must have been someone from outside, a homeless person or some other guest.
I was confusing the room's window with someone else. Maybe they had forgotten their
key or something. All I could hear was that soft humming of the heater
next to me, and for a brief moment, I thought that maybe that
was the cause of the tapping. With that relief in mind, I was
able to relax a bit, and then, just when I was about to
go to sleep, I heard it again. This time, it wasn't just
a tap. I could hear a faint whisper saying clearly, you need to
leave. The thing was that the voice wasn't coming from outside of the room,
but right in there, right in front of me, by the foot
of the bed. I remember smiling to myself nervously wondering what was happening,
but I was also trying to talk myself out of thinking that it was anything
other than my own imagination. Then I heard the tapping again. This time
I turned my head toward the window, only to see the tall figure of
a man standing right against it, looking angrily toward me, whispered, you
need to leave. I sat up, leaning toward the headdress, trying to
scream, but with nothing coming out. I tried to shake teaches my friend
awake, but he wouldn't budge. I don't know how long I spent trying
to avoid looking at this thing's eyes. But before I knew it, I
was awake. I just opened my eyes, looking straight up at the ceiling.
The whole thing had been a nightmare and it was gone. That was
safe. Through the glow coming from the outside, I could tell that my
friends were sleeping. I could feel my shoulders relaxing even against that stiff mattress.
But still I wasn't able to fall back asleep, so I reached for
my phone that had been charging on the floor when I once again saw that
dark figure standing right next to me. You need to leave. But then
from behind me, I heard Anna gasp, and suddenly the lamp in between
the beds flooded the room with its orange glow. She asked loudly who the
hell that was, and TJS woke up unaware of what we had both seen.
I asked Anna if she had seen it, and she said that yes,
it was a man standing by the window. He had vanished as soon
as she turned on the lamp. We stayed up for most of the night
and Leanna and I were talking about what we had seen and telling other stories,
and then I told her about the figure I had seen earlier. That
same night. I don't know what it was, and despite all my research
about that place, I haven't found anything. Anna and I remained good friends
ever since, and whenever we meet up with techs and the story comes up,
he still thinks were pranking him. And that's all right. At least
I know and Janna knows that there's more out there. Scary Story podcast is
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true accounts from people who lived through them. You can get in touch with
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