Latest / True Horror Stories / 3 True Swimming Pool Horror Stories That Will Make You Avoid the Water
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- 0:02Speaker 1: Three students from Westlake High had gone missing in the
- 0:05Speaker 1: past month. The police were out on the hunt. Some
- 0:08Speaker 1: said they'd been spotted at the abandoned mall on Route sixteen.
- 0:12Speaker 1: Others whispered about a van circling the neighborhoods around school.
- 0:16Speaker 1: Our parents started driving us to class. Teachers patrolled hallways
- 0:20Speaker 1: during breaks, and the district implemented twice weekly lockdown drills
- 0:24Speaker 1: just to be safe. The first thing I noticed wasn't
- 0:27Speaker 1: his face. It was the smell copper and chemicals, like
- 0:31Speaker 1: pennies soaked in bleach. Our regular history teacher had been
- 0:35Speaker 1: out sick for three days. This substitute, mister Rowan, carried
- 0:39Speaker 1: himself differently from other teachers while he rode on the whiteboard,
- 0:43Speaker 1: his sleeve in stud revealing a dark stain his hasty
- 0:47Speaker 1: washing hadn't quite removed, and was still staring, trying to
- 0:51Speaker 1: piece it all together. When the lockdown alarm blared, the
- 0:54Speaker 1: classroom froze. This wasn't the half hearted monthly drill tone.
- 0:59Speaker 1: This was the shit shrill pulsing whale they'd only tested once,
- 1:03Speaker 1: the one that meant inescapable danger everyone under your desks.
- 1:08Speaker 1: Mister Rowan said, unnervingly calm. He didn't look one bit surprised.
- 1:12Speaker 1: As we scrambled for cover, I caught a glimpse through
- 1:15Speaker 1: the classroom window. Police cars silently pulling into the parking lot,
- 1:20Speaker 1: Officers crouching behind vehicles, weapons drawn. My heart hammered against
- 1:25Speaker 1: my ribs. My uncle's a cop. Those weren't positions for
- 1:29Speaker 1: a drill. Mister Rowan didn't follow protocol. He didn't check
- 1:33Speaker 1: the lock or turn off the lights. Instead, he pulled
- 1:35Speaker 1: down the blinds with deliberate slowness, launching the police through
- 1:39Speaker 1: the narrow gap. Something changed in his face, a tightening
- 1:43Speaker 1: around the eyes, a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
- 1:47Speaker 1: That's how I knew they were here for him. I
- 1:50Speaker 1: reached for my phone, but his hand clamped down on
- 1:53Speaker 1: my wrist. His grip was crushing, nothing like a teacher's
- 1:57Speaker 1: warning touch. No phone's Hannah whisper had raised the hair
- 2:01Speaker 1: on my neck. I know you're a good girl. We
- 2:04Speaker 1: hadn't done roll call. His other hand emerged from his pocket,
- 2:08Speaker 1: holding a hunting knife. Not a small pocket knife, but
- 2:12Speaker 1: a serrated tactical blade at least six inches long. The
- 2:15Speaker 1: kind hunters used gut deer. The fluorescent lights caught its
- 2:19Speaker 1: edge as he turned it slowly. Everybody's phones now, Tyler
- 2:24Speaker 1: caught my eye from beneath his desk. His jaw was set,
- 2:27Speaker 1: and I recognized the look, the same one he'd had
- 2:30Speaker 1: before breaking his arm jumping off Miller's cliff last summer,
- 2:34Speaker 1: reckless determination. I shook my head fractionally. You know what's funny,
- 2:40Speaker 1: mister Rowan said, collecting phones in a metal trash can.
- 2:44Speaker 1: How easy it is walking in with a briefcase and
- 2:47Speaker 1: a smile, he chuckled. No one checks, no one inquires.
- 2:52Speaker 1: You just say you're from the district office, and they
- 2:55Speaker 1: hand you a classroom full of kids. A soft whimper
- 2:59Speaker 1: came from somewhere in the room. He whirled towards the sound,
- 3:02Speaker 1: nostrils flaring. Shut up. His voice changed, dropping any pretense
- 3:08Speaker 1: of normalcy. Or I'll give them something to find besides
- 3:11Speaker 1: the janitor. Janitor, I froze. Mister Keller had been missing
- 3:16Speaker 1: since Monday. Suddenly, a knock at the door made everyone flinch.
- 3:21Speaker 1: Mister Rowan, Miss Riley's panic filled voice boomed. In one
- 3:25Speaker 1: fluid motion, he grabbed me, pressing the knife against my
- 3:29Speaker 1: throat while pointing it threateningly at the rest of the class.
- 3:32Speaker 1: His eyes swept the room with a promise that screamed,
- 3:35Speaker 1: make a sound, and I start with her. Through the door,
- 3:39Speaker 1: small window. I could see only Miss Riley's silhouette, not
- 3:42Speaker 1: her face. She couldn't see what was happening inside either.
- 3:46Speaker 1: They're evacuating the east wing. They found her voice dropped.
- 3:50Speaker 1: Just stay put until officers clear your hallway. Found what
- 3:54Speaker 1: My pulse roared in my ears, All present, he called back.
- 3:59Speaker 1: The moment she left my chair creaked. I'd shifted. His
- 4:03Speaker 1: head snapped, pupils dilated so wide, his eyes looked black.
- 4:08Speaker 1: You moved, he said, voice eerily, childlike. No one's supposed
- 4:13Speaker 1: to move during lockdown. He lunged, grabbing my hair and
- 4:17Speaker 1: yanking me up. The knife pressed under my jaw, cold
- 4:20Speaker 1: metal against my pounding pulse. All of you, he commanded
- 4:24Speaker 1: against the wall. My classmates stood up, trembling. You're coming
- 4:29Speaker 1: with me, he whispered in my ear, his breath hot
- 4:33Speaker 1: and sour. Suddenly, Tyler launched himself from behind a desk,
- 4:37Speaker 1: Swinging the metal leg he twisted off of his chair.
- 4:40Speaker 1: He connected with the substitute's knee with a sickening crunch.
- 4:44Speaker 1: The man howled, slashing wildly. The blade caught Tyler's arm,
- 4:49Speaker 1: opening a gas that immediately bloomed Crimson. But the distraction
- 4:53Speaker 1: was enough. I slammed my elbow into his ribs and
- 4:56Speaker 1: broke free. Everyone get him. He lunged for the classroom phone,
- 5:01Speaker 1: jabbing the emergency button, Room two o seven. I screamed
- 5:06Speaker 1: into the receiver. He's got a weapon, He's not a teacher.
- 5:11Speaker 1: The substitute's face contorted with rage. He limped toward me,
- 5:15Speaker 1: knife raised high. I've gotten people for left, he snarled,
- 5:19Speaker 1: plunging forward, but Tyler tackled him from behind. They crashed
- 5:24Speaker 1: into desks, a tangle of limbs and blood and fury.
- 5:27Speaker 1: Other students joined in, now desperation overcoming fear, throwing books, chairs,
- 5:33Speaker 1: anything to slow him down. The door burst open. Two
- 5:37Speaker 1: officers rushed in, weapons raised, shouting commands that blurred together
- 5:42Speaker 1: in my adrenaline soaked brain. The substitute was pinned, coughed,
- 5:47Speaker 1: dragged upright. As they pulled him past me. He turned
- 5:51Speaker 1: his face inches from mine and smiled, promising terrible, like
- 5:56Speaker 1: a death mass carved from flesh. You disappoint me, he whispered,
- 6:01Speaker 1: so softly. Only I could hear I know where you sit,
- 6:05Speaker 1: what you smell like when you're afraid. They shoved him forward,
- 6:09Speaker 1: but he looked over his shoulder, mouthing two words next time.
- 6:15Speaker 1: Later we learned the truth. Samuel Ketch was a man
- 6:18Speaker 1: wanted in three states for crimes against kids and teenagers.
- 6:21Speaker 1: He'd walked out of a maximum security psychiatric board two
- 6:25Speaker 1: days earlier, leaving three orderlies dead with their throats cut,
- 6:29Speaker 1: the same way they'd found mister Keller, our janitor, stuffed
- 6:33Speaker 1: behind the boiler in the East Wing basement. The real
- 6:36Speaker 1: substitute had been found in the trunk of his own car,
- 6:39Speaker 1: three miles from the school. Sometimes at night, I can
- 6:43Speaker 1: hear that soft click of the box cutter. I've switched schools,
- 6:47Speaker 1: but I checked the substitute's cuffs. Every time a regular
- 6:50Speaker 1: teacher is out. I keep replaying that moment in my head,
- 6:57Speaker 1: the moment when Liam let go of my hand, the
- 7:00Speaker 1: moment I should have held on tighter. It was supposed
- 7:03Speaker 1: to be a normal Friday, mister Carter droning on about
- 7:07Speaker 1: quadratic equations while I texted Liam about weekend plans. Just
- 7:11Speaker 1: two more periods until freedom. No one saw it coming.
- 7:15Speaker 1: Ryan had always been strange, quiet, lurking in corner, staring
- 7:20Speaker 1: at people for too long, But he was just another
- 7:22Speaker 1: weird student at our high school. People made fun of him,
- 7:25Speaker 1: but I tried my best to be nice to him.
- 7:28Speaker 1: We exchanged smiles a few times in the hallway until
- 7:31Speaker 1: Liam told me that he was getting creepy vibes from him,
- 7:34Speaker 1: and I stopped looking his way. Then he was lost
- 7:37Speaker 1: in shadows until that day. The school intercom came to life. Attention,
- 7:43Speaker 1: this is a lockdown, this is not a drill. Please
- 7:46Speaker 1: go to the designated safe areas immediately. At first, no
- 7:51Speaker 1: one moved. Then I saw Ryan sprinting past our door,
- 7:55Speaker 1: a huge knife in his hand. His hands were dripping red.
- 7:59Speaker 1: The hunting knife and his grip glistened under the neon lights.
- 8:03Speaker 1: But his eyes, God, his eyes, they were completely empty,
- 8:07Speaker 1: black pools that seemed to soak up the light around them.
- 8:11Speaker 1: His lips were curved into a smile that gave me goosebumps.
- 8:15Speaker 1: Someone was screaming. Mister Carter rushed to the door. It's jammed,
- 8:19Speaker 1: he shouted, panicked. Bang. Ryan slammed against the door, laughing
- 8:24Speaker 1: a high, childish giggle that didn't match the blood smeared
- 8:27Speaker 1: across his face. Let me in, he sang, voice lilting
- 8:33Speaker 1: like a twisted nursery rhyme. Let me in, or I'll
- 8:36Speaker 1: blow your pretty little heads off. Liam grabbed my arm. Noah,
- 8:41Speaker 1: help me, he yelled, dragging a heavy desk toward the door.
- 8:45Speaker 1: We slammed it against the frame justice. Ryan's knife slipped
- 8:49Speaker 1: through the gap, narrowly missing my eye. I can smell
- 8:52Speaker 1: your fear, Noah, baby, Ryan sniffed through the crack inhaling deeply.
- 8:59Speaker 1: It's delicious. His eye pressed against the small window in
- 9:03Speaker 1: the door, bloodshot and unblinking. I've been practicing for this day, Noah.
- 9:08Speaker 1: The others didn't scream enough. I know you'll shriek. A
- 9:12Speaker 1: chill ran down my spine as his tongue darted out,
- 9:16Speaker 1: licking blood from his lips. Suddenly we heard shouts in
- 9:19Speaker 1: the hallway. Teachers and security dashed in, momentarily distracting the monster.
- 9:25Speaker 1: Ryan stepped back, tilting his head like a curious animal.
- 9:29Speaker 1: Hide and seek, He whispered, Ready, you're not now. Liam hissed,
- 9:35Speaker 1: and we yanked the desk away and fled. The hallway
- 9:39Speaker 1: was a nightmare sprinklers drenched everything, making the floor slippery
- 9:43Speaker 1: with pinkish water. Bloody handprints smeared one wall where someone
- 9:48Speaker 1: had dragged themselves away. Two freshmen huddled by the lockers,
- 9:52Speaker 1: clutching bleeding wounds. He cut us in, then just watched.
- 9:57Speaker 1: One whimpered said something about pain. Halfway down the hall,
- 10:02Speaker 1: I saw Ryan standing motionless at the other end, knife raised,
- 10:07Speaker 1: head tilted at that unnatural angle. He removed his hoodie,
- 10:11Speaker 1: revealing a vest covered with wires and bulging packages. No
- 10:16Speaker 1: more running, he called, voice, echoing, then softer, almost intimate.
- 10:22Speaker 1: I need to see it, cit you, Noah. We ran,
- 10:26Speaker 1: Liam slipped, crashing into the lockers. Before I could help.
- 10:29Speaker 1: Ryan was there, moving unnaturally fast, knife slashing. I swear
- 10:35Speaker 1: his feet barely touched the ground. I ripped a fire
- 10:38Speaker 1: extinguisher from the wall and swung it, connecting with Ryan's shoulder.
- 10:42Speaker 1: He didn't even flitch, just smiled wider tickles. He giggled,
- 10:48Speaker 1: eyes dilating, want to see what real pain looks like.
- 10:52Speaker 1: He lunged did Liam, who barely dodged the blade. By
- 10:55Speaker 1: then we had reached the emergency exit. Through its window,
- 10:59Speaker 1: red and blue light flashed. Help was waiting. Liam turned
- 11:03Speaker 1: to me, face pale with terror. You go first, he said,
- 11:07Speaker 1: voice shaking. No, we're going together. I grabbed his wrist
- 11:11Speaker 1: and he shook his head. Don't waste time, hurry. I
- 11:15Speaker 1: stepped through the door, and cold night air hitting my lungs.
- 11:18Speaker 1: I turned back, reaching for Liam, her fingers connecting. That's
- 11:23Speaker 1: when I saw Ryan behind him, appearing like a shadow.
- 11:27Speaker 1: His eyes met mine as his arm plunged forward. No,
- 11:31Speaker 1: I screamed. The knife entered leam fat His eyes went wide,
- 11:36Speaker 1: mouth opening in a silent gasp. Ryan's face transformed with pleasure,
- 11:41Speaker 1: eyes rolling back slightly as he twisted the blade. His
- 11:45Speaker 1: tongue darted out again, tasting the air like a snake. Beautiful,
- 11:50Speaker 1: he sighed, as if witnessing something transcendent. The cops were
- 11:54Speaker 1: running toward us now, but Ryan wasn't done. The blade
- 11:58Speaker 1: flashed again, driving into Liam's sighed with a wet, sucking sound.
- 12:02Speaker 1: I couldn't let go of his hand. I couldn't just
- 12:05Speaker 1: hold on, don't let go, I begged. Flood bubbled from
- 12:09Speaker 1: Liam's mouth, but somehow he managed to smile. Live your life, mate,
- 12:14Speaker 1: he whispered, his fingers going flack in mine, and then
- 12:18Speaker 1: let go. I screamed as his hands slipped from mine,
- 12:22Speaker 1: as his body crumpled onto the concrete. The cops tackled Ryan,
- 12:26Speaker 1: who didn't resist. He just stared at me over their shoulders,
- 12:31Speaker 1: smiling that unnatural smile. I'll see you in your dreams. Noah,
- 12:35Speaker 1: he said, voice carrying impossibly over the chaos. Hours later,
- 12:41Speaker 1: I sat on the curb outside the school, wrapped in
- 12:43Speaker 1: a shock blanket. Someone had washed Liam's blood from my hands,
- 12:47Speaker 1: but I could still feel it sticky between my fingers.
- 12:51Speaker 1: The paramedics couldn't save Liam. He was gone before they
- 12:55Speaker 1: even closed the ambulance doors. As dawn broke, I stared
- 12:58Speaker 1: at his bloodied school life, trying to focus on a
- 13:01Speaker 1: smile rather than Ryan's words. Sometimes at night, I still
- 13:05Speaker 1: feel Liam's hands slipping from mine. I wake up grasping
- 13:09Speaker 1: at air, trying to hold on tighter this time, but
- 13:12Speaker 1: I can't. And somewhere in juvenile detention, Ryan waits the
- 13:18Speaker 1: guard's report. He doesn't sleep, just sits perfectly, still, staring
- 13:22Speaker 1: at walls, smiling. Sometimes, in the darkest hours of the night,
- 13:26Speaker 1: I swear I can feel him watching me through the
- 13:29Speaker 1: miles between us, and in my dreams. He whispers that
- 13:32Speaker 1: he's coming from me, that he wants to finish what
- 13:35Speaker 1: he started, that he needs to see inside me. I
- 13:43Speaker 1: was halfway through my second cup of coffee when the
- 13:45Speaker 1: call came. It was Missus Gallagher, my daughter's homeroom teacher.
- 13:49Speaker 1: While sobbing, she told me the school was in lockdown
- 13:52Speaker 1: as a mad high schooler got in with a gun.
- 13:55Speaker 1: The mug fell from my hand and shattered on the
- 13:58Speaker 1: kitchen tile. My keys and raised out the door, already
- 14:02Speaker 1: dialing nine to one one. I ignored the traffic laws.
- 14:05Speaker 1: The only thing in my head was Bloom, my daughter,
- 14:09Speaker 1: my only child. She was all that was left of
- 14:12Speaker 1: my wife, Claire, who died five years ago. I had
- 14:15Speaker 1: raised Bloom alone, shielding her from everything, and now she
- 14:19Speaker 1: was still in a school with a kid with a gun.
- 14:22Speaker 1: The outside of the school was in total chaos. Police cruisers,
- 14:26Speaker 1: ambulances and fire trucks blocked the road with their flashing lights,
- 14:30Speaker 1: illuminating the pavement with violent streaks of red and blue.
- 14:34Speaker 1: Officers in tactical gear yelled orders into the radio. Parents
- 14:38Speaker 1: were gathered at the barricade, yelling for their children. I
- 14:42Speaker 1: shoved through the crowd barely able to breathe. Derek step back.
- 14:47Speaker 1: It was Officer Brady from my neighborhood. I grabbed his sleeve,
- 14:51Speaker 1: my voice raw. My daughter's in there. She has asked much.
- 14:54Speaker 1: She could suffocate. Let me in. He shook his head firmly.
- 14:59Speaker 1: We have it under You need to stay back. You
- 15:02Speaker 1: don't understand, I hissed. If she panics, she could collapse.
- 15:07Speaker 1: She needs me. Brad's expression didn't soften. Well, get her out.
- 15:12Speaker 1: You just have to let us do our job. For
- 15:14Speaker 1: a moment, I stood there, fists clenched and my body
- 15:18Speaker 1: shook with helpless rage. I could hear the cries of
- 15:21Speaker 1: parents ringing in my ears, but I was not going
- 15:24Speaker 1: to be still while my daughter was in there. I
- 15:27Speaker 1: slipped back away from the crowd and gingerly walked around
- 15:30Speaker 1: to the back of the building. I discovered the loading dock,
- 15:34Speaker 1: which was completely empty. There were no officers and no barricade.
- 15:39Speaker 1: That's when I saw it. A window slightly open, big
- 15:42Speaker 1: enough for me to squeeze through. I didn't hesitate. I
- 15:46Speaker 1: pushed the window up, climbed up onto the ledge, and
- 15:49Speaker 1: fell inside. My hands stung after the fall, but I
- 15:52Speaker 1: didn't care. I was inside the building. The hallway was dark,
- 15:57Speaker 1: with flashing emergency alarms projecting dim red lights. The sounds
- 16:02Speaker 1: of faint sirens wailed in the background, but were muffled
- 16:05Speaker 1: by the heavy silence. I moved slowly, hugging the wall.
- 16:09Speaker 1: My breath came fast and shallow. Every step felt too loud. Suddenly,
- 16:15Speaker 1: a loud gunshot made my ears ring down. The corridor
- 16:19Speaker 1: windows shattered, sending glass cascading onto the tile. My legs
- 16:24Speaker 1: locked for half a second, but then I moved faster,
- 16:27Speaker 1: now toward Bloom's classroom. I knew precisely where it was.
- 16:32Speaker 1: Turned left room two fourteen. I spotted her through the window.
- 16:36Speaker 1: She was crouched under a desk with four other children.
- 16:39Speaker 1: Her little fingers held onto her inhaler, but she was
- 16:42Speaker 1: gasping too much to use it currently. Her lips were pale,
- 16:47Speaker 1: and her chest rose and fell in small, short breaths.
- 16:50Speaker 1: I didn't care if I exposed myself. I opened the
- 16:53Speaker 1: door Bloom. I hurried to her and got to my knees.
- 16:57Speaker 1: Her eyes widened in recognition, but there was no voice.
- 17:01Speaker 1: Her fingers were fumbling with the inhaler. Breathe not baby,
- 17:05Speaker 1: just like we practice. I could hear the shake in
- 17:08Speaker 1: my voice, nice and slow. Her hands were too shaky.
- 17:12Speaker 1: I took her small hands and guided the inhaler to
- 17:15Speaker 1: her lips. Take a deep breath. Hold, okay, count to three.
- 17:21Speaker 1: That's my girl behind me. A boy maybe ten years old,
- 17:25Speaker 1: pulled at my sleeve, barely supported by his voice. She's coming.
- 17:30Speaker 1: I stiffened footsteps, heavy, slow, deliberately. The shadow appeared, first,
- 17:37Speaker 1: stretching against the wall. Then he stepped into view, a
- 17:41Speaker 1: kid probably no more than seventeen or eighteen. His face
- 17:45Speaker 1: was still a mess of zits, but his eyes were empty.
- 17:49Speaker 1: He was carrying a shotgun in his hands. His eyes
- 17:52Speaker 1: were flicking to the classroom door. He couldn't see me yet.
- 17:56Speaker 1: Move Derek now. I shoved Boom into the wall, leaning
- 18:01Speaker 1: against her. He lifted the gun and fired. The tube
- 18:05Speaker 1: lights overhead shattered, exploding glass. The kids screamed, crying under
- 18:10Speaker 1: their desks. Bloom was holding onto me, squeezing my arm
- 18:14Speaker 1: with her fingernails. I didn't think. I lunged heay, I yelled,
- 18:20Speaker 1: grabbing a chair and throwing it at him. The metal
- 18:22Speaker 1: legs smashed into his ribs and he stumbled backwards. The
- 18:26Speaker 1: shotgun falling out of his hands. Run, I screamed. The
- 18:30Speaker 1: children took off, gripping one another, sobbing, and finding their
- 18:34Speaker 1: way to the hallway. Bloom's legs weren't holding her and
- 18:37Speaker 1: her air was short, but she still moved. Breath short
- 18:41Speaker 1: and quick, go baby, don't stop, I shouted. The assailant
- 18:45Speaker 1: regained his footing, charging me into the wall. I hit
- 18:48Speaker 1: my head on the plaster and my eyesight blurred. He
- 18:52Speaker 1: was on top of me, fists flying. I could taste blood.
- 18:56Speaker 1: My ribs were screaming at me. My fingers closed around
- 18:59Speaker 1: something sometime during the fight, the shotgun. I squeezed it
- 19:04Speaker 1: and swung it wholeheartedly. Bone broke, blood splattered. He sagged
- 19:09Speaker 1: onto the tile, moaning. I outstretched my arm as I
- 19:13Speaker 1: rolled off the floor. My ribs were writhing and my
- 19:16Speaker 1: knees wanted to fold in on themselves, but I forced
- 19:19Speaker 1: myself to move. As I staggered out of the building,
- 19:22Speaker 1: the first thing I saw was Bloom and Officer Brad's arms,
- 19:26Speaker 1: crying uncontrollably with her face buried in his chest. Bloom,
- 19:30Speaker 1: I yelled, my voice cracking. Her head snapped up. She
- 19:34Speaker 1: broke free from Brad's hold. And ran toward me. Arms outstretched,
- 19:39Speaker 1: I held onto her, gripping her so tightly, I worried
- 19:43Speaker 1: that I might break her. I felt her tears soaked
- 19:46Speaker 1: my shirt. I kissed her forehead again and again, swallowing
- 19:50Speaker 1: back my own tears. I'm here, baby, I have you.
- 19:53Speaker 1: You're safe. She was alive, She was safe, and so
- 19:57Speaker 1: was I as a