Latest / Martin Animations / 6 CREEPY NEIGHBORHOOD HORROR STORIES ANIMATED
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: When my dad and I moved into this small apartment,
- 0:03Speaker 1: it was supposed to be a temporary solution while our
- 0:05Speaker 1: house underwent renovations. We were adjusting to our new surroundings
- 0:10Speaker 1: in the apartment complex, which for the most part was
- 0:13Speaker 1: pretty quiet. Most of our neighbors kept to themselves, and
- 0:18Speaker 1: life was uneventful, except for one family that lived a
- 0:22Speaker 1: couple of doors down from us. The family consisted of
- 0:26Speaker 1: a mother and her two adult children. a son and
- 0:29Speaker 1: a daughter, both in their 20s. From the moment we
- 0:32Speaker 1: moved in, it was clear that their household was far
- 0:35Speaker 1: from peaceful. It seemed like every other day their arguments
- 0:38Speaker 1: would spill out into the common areas of the complex.
- 0:42Speaker 1: The son, a tall, muscular guy with a constant scowl,
- 0:46Speaker 1: and his sister, a petite woman with an equally fiery temper,
- 0:50Speaker 1: were always at each other's throats. Their mother, a weary-looking
- 0:54Speaker 1: woman with dark circles under her eyes, often tried to
- 0:57Speaker 1: mediate but her efforts were usually in vain. Despite the
- 1:02Speaker 1: frequent disturbances, my dad and I tried to mind our
- 1:04Speaker 1: own business. After all, we were only going to be
- 1:08Speaker 1: there for a few months, and it didn't seem worth
- 1:10Speaker 1: getting involved in someone else's family drama. But all of
- 1:14Speaker 1: that changed on one sunny afternoon when the arguments escalated
- 1:17Speaker 1: into something far more dangerous. I remember the day vividly.
- 1:22Speaker 1: It was a lazy Saturday, and I was in my room,
- 1:25Speaker 1: trying to focus on a book I'd been meaning to finish.
- 1:29Speaker 1: My dad was in the living room tinkering with some electronics,
- 1:32Speaker 1: his favorite pastime. It was the usual sounds of the
- 1:36Speaker 1: apartment complex. Distant conversations, footsteps, the hum of the appliances
- 1:42Speaker 1: providing a comforting background noise. Suddenly, the familiar sound of
- 1:47Speaker 1: yelling pierced the tranquility. I sighed and tried to ignore it,
- 1:51Speaker 1: thinking it was just another one of their routine arguments.
- 1:54Speaker 1: By this time, the yelling was different. It was more urgent,
- 1:59Speaker 1: more desperate. I put down my book and walked over
- 2:02Speaker 1: to the window, curiosity getting the better of me. What
- 2:07Speaker 1: I saw next made my blood run cold. The mother
- 2:11Speaker 1: and daughter were outside backing away from the building with
- 2:14Speaker 1: terrified expressions on their faces. The son was following them,
- 2:18Speaker 1: his face twisted in rage, and in his hand, he
- 2:22Speaker 1: held a large kitchen knife. He was shouting something unintelligible,
- 2:27Speaker 1: but his intentions were clear. Dad! I yelled, my voice
- 2:32Speaker 1: cracking with a panic. Come here, quick! My dad rushed
- 2:37Speaker 1: to my side and looked out the window. His eyes
- 2:40Speaker 1: widened as he took in the scene. Without a moment's hesitation,
- 2:44Speaker 1: he grabbed his phone and bolted for the door. I
- 2:47Speaker 1: followed close behind, my heart pounding in my chest. By
- 2:52Speaker 1: the time we reached the footpath outside, the situation had
- 2:55Speaker 1: escalated even further. The son was now only a few
- 2:58Speaker 1: feet away from his mother and sister, who were backed
- 3:01Speaker 1: up against the wall with nowhere to go. My dad,
- 3:04Speaker 1: who had always been a man of action, didn't waste
- 3:06Speaker 1: any time. He lunged at the son, grabbing his arm
- 3:10Speaker 1: in an attempt to wrestle the knife away. Call the police!
- 3:14Speaker 1: He shouted over his shoulder at me. I fumbled my phone,
- 3:19Speaker 1: my hands shaking as I dialed 911. My dad and
- 3:23Speaker 1: the son were now locked in a struggle. the knife
- 3:25Speaker 1: glinting in the sunlight as they fought for control. The
- 3:29Speaker 1: mother and daughter watched in horror, too stunned to move. 911,
- 3:33Speaker 1: what's your emergency? The operator's voice crackled through the phone.
- 3:39Speaker 1: There's a man with a knife attacking his family. My
- 3:42Speaker 1: dad's trying to stop him. We need help now. I
- 3:46Speaker 1: blurted out, giving our address as quickly as I could.
- 3:50Speaker 1: The operator assured me that help was on the way,
- 3:53Speaker 1: but every second felt like an eternity. I watched in
- 3:57Speaker 1: terror as my dad managed to pin the son to
- 3:59Speaker 1: the ground, finally prying the knife away from his grasp.
- 4:03Speaker 1: The son, surprisingly, didn't really resist much after that. He
- 4:07Speaker 1: laid there breathing heavily as my dad yelled at him
- 4:10Speaker 1: to stay down. Moments later, the sounds of sirens filled
- 4:14Speaker 1: the air, and several police cars screeched to a halt
- 4:17Speaker 1: in front of the complex. Officers rushed out, guns drawn,
- 4:22Speaker 1: and then quickly took control of the situation. They handcuffed
- 4:26Speaker 1: the son and led him away, still seething with anger
- 4:29Speaker 1: but not putting up a fight. The mother and daughter
- 4:32Speaker 1: then collapsed to the ground, now sobbing with relief. My dad,
- 4:37Speaker 1: his face pale and his hands trembling, handed the knife
- 4:40Speaker 1: over to one of the officers. I stood there, still
- 4:43Speaker 1: clutching my phone, feeling a mixture of fear and admiration
- 4:47Speaker 1: for my father's bravery. one of the officers approached us
- 4:51Speaker 1: and took our statements. The mother, once she had composed
- 4:54Speaker 1: herself enough to speak, explained that her son had severe
- 4:57Speaker 1: anger issues. She told us that he had been struggling
- 5:01Speaker 1: for years and this wasn't the first time he had
- 5:03Speaker 1: become violent. She expressed her gratitude to my dad for
- 5:07Speaker 1: stepping in and possibly saving their lives. As the police
- 5:12Speaker 1: drove the son away, I couldn't help but feel a
- 5:14Speaker 1: sense of uneasiness. What if he came back? What if
- 5:18Speaker 1: the situation escalated even further next time? These thoughts swirled
- 5:23Speaker 1: in my mind as we returned to our apartment, the
- 5:26Speaker 1: adrenaline slowly wearing off. For the next few days, the
- 5:30Speaker 1: apartment complex was unusually quiet. The usual sounds of life
- 5:35Speaker 1: had been replaced by an eerie silence, as if everyone
- 5:38Speaker 1: was holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
- 5:43Speaker 1: The mother and daughter kept to themselves, rarely leaving their apartment.
- 5:47Speaker 1: About a month later, we noticed the son had returned.
- 5:52Speaker 1: He looked different, more subdued, almost resigned. The mother had
- 5:57Speaker 1: mentioned that he was undergoing treatment, but it was hard
- 6:00Speaker 1: to believe that a month away could make such a
- 6:02Speaker 1: drastic change. Surprisingly, there were no more arguments or yelling matches.
- 6:08Speaker 1: The family seemed to have settled into a fragile peace,
- 6:11Speaker 1: and the complex slowly returned to its normal state. But
- 6:15Speaker 1: the incident had left a lasting impression on me It
- 6:18Speaker 1: was a stark reminder of how quickly life could change
- 6:21Speaker 1: and how important it was to be prepared for the unexpected.
- 6:25Speaker 1: As for my dad and I, our bond grew stronger
- 6:28Speaker 1: after that day. I had always admired him, but seeing
- 6:33Speaker 1: him in action, risking his own safety to protect others, well,
- 6:37Speaker 1: it made me realize just how lucky I was to
- 6:40Speaker 1: have him. Our time in the apartment was temporary. but
- 6:44Speaker 1: the lessons we learned and the experiences we shared during
- 6:47Speaker 1: those months would stay with us forever. Eventually, the renovations
- 6:51Speaker 1: on our house were completed and it was time to
- 6:53Speaker 1: move back home. As we packed up our belongings and
- 6:57Speaker 1: prepared to leave the apartment, I couldn't help but reflect
- 7:00Speaker 1: on everything that had happened. The apartment complex, once just
- 7:04Speaker 1: a temporary home, had become a place of growth and
- 7:07Speaker 1: learning for me. I looked out the window one last
- 7:11Speaker 1: time taking in the familiar view of the footpath and
- 7:14Speaker 1: the rows of the connected houses. The memory of that
- 7:17Speaker 1: fateful afternoon was still fresh in my mind, but now
- 7:21Speaker 1: it was tempered with a sense of resilience and hope.
- 7:24Speaker 1: Life was unpredictable, but with my dad by my side,
- 7:28Speaker 1: I knew that we could face whatever challenges came our way.
- 7:32Speaker 1: As we drove away, I glanced back at the apartment complex,
- 7:36Speaker 1: a small smile playing on my lips. It had been
- 7:40Speaker 1: a place of turmoil and fear, but also of courage
- 7:43Speaker 1: and strength. And I know no matter where life took
- 7:46Speaker 1: us next, I would always carry those lessons with me,
- 7:50Speaker 1: ready to face the future with a newfound sense of
- 7:53Speaker 1: confidence and determination. My name is Bob, and I've been
- 8:02Speaker 1: a fan of this channel for a long time. I'm
- 8:05Speaker 1: an older viewer, probably a lot older than most. I'm
- 8:10Speaker 1: almost 70 years old now, but the story I want
- 8:14Speaker 1: to share happened when I was just 10 years old.
- 8:18Speaker 1: Back in the summer of 64, I had a job
- 8:21Speaker 1: delivering milk around my neighborhood. Yes, I'm that old. It
- 8:27Speaker 1: was a quiet suburb with neat lawns, picket fences, and
- 8:30Speaker 1: cozy homes. Every morning before dawn, I would load up
- 8:34Speaker 1: my bicycle with clinking glass bottles and pedal through the
- 8:38Speaker 1: serene streets. One thing that set our neighborhood apart, the
- 8:43Speaker 1: mysterious Mr. Franklin who lived at the end of Elderberry Lane.
- 8:48Speaker 1: His house was an old Victorian with dark curtains always drawn.
- 8:53Speaker 1: Rumors said that he rarely came out during the day,
- 8:56Speaker 1: preferring the cover of night for his activities. I noticed Mr.
- 9:01Speaker 1: Franklin during my third week on the milk route. After
- 9:04Speaker 1: leaving milk on Ms. Thompson's doorstep, another local in the
- 9:08Speaker 1: neighborhood I had felt a shiver down my spine. Turning around,
- 9:14Speaker 1: I saw them. Mr. Franklin standing in his overgrown garden,
- 9:19Speaker 1: his pale face framed by messy gray hair. His unsettling
- 9:23Speaker 1: smile made my heart race. From then on, I always
- 9:27Speaker 1: felt his eyes on me during my deliveries. Sometimes I'd
- 9:31Speaker 1: catch glimpses of him behind his curtains or see his
- 9:34Speaker 1: figure under a street lamp. It seemed that he was
- 9:37Speaker 1: always watching, but never approaching. As time passed, Mr. Franklin's
- 9:43Speaker 1: presence became more real to me. My bike would be
- 9:46Speaker 1: moved or I'd hear footsteps behind me in dark alleys.
- 9:50Speaker 1: One foggy morning, I saw him standing far away under
- 9:53Speaker 1: a streetlight. His smile directed not at me, but something
- 9:57Speaker 1: behind me. A chilling silence. that made me spin around
- 10:01Speaker 1: in fear. Fear became my constant companion. I started taking
- 10:06Speaker 1: different routes and avoiding quiet corners where Mr. Franklin might
- 10:10Speaker 1: be lurking. Despite my efforts, I couldn't shake the feeling
- 10:14Speaker 1: of being watched. Well, one really hot afternoon seeking refuge
- 10:19Speaker 1: from the heat in an abandoned warehouse, I overheard two
- 10:22Speaker 1: men talking about Mr. Franklin. They spoke in hushed tones,
- 10:27Speaker 1: warning each other about his collection of photos and letters
- 10:29Speaker 1: about people in our neighborhood, more specifically some of the
- 10:33Speaker 1: children in the neighborhood. They said he watched everyone closely
- 10:37Speaker 1: and they needed to keep an eye on me. Well,
- 10:41Speaker 1: I couldn't sleep at all later that night. The thought
- 10:44Speaker 1: of Mr. Franklin's obsession with collecting information about us gave
- 10:47Speaker 1: me the chills. Finally determined to confront him, I set
- 10:52Speaker 1: out on my milk route at dawn the next morning.
- 10:56Speaker 1: Paddling down Elderberry Lane, I gathered my courage and knocked
- 10:59Speaker 1: on his door. Come on in, boy.
- 11:03Speaker 2: Mr.
- 11:03Speaker 1: Franklin's voice called from inside in a tone of kindness
- 11:07Speaker 1: but also menacing at the same time. Mentally preparing myself,
- 11:12Speaker 1: I entered his house. The air inside smelled musty from
- 11:16Speaker 1: old books, and the walls were lined with shelves filled
- 11:20Speaker 1: with files neatly labeled with names of people that I
- 11:22Speaker 1: knew from the neighborhood. Mr. Franklin sat at a cluttered
- 11:26Speaker 1: desk beneath a dusty chandelier. His smile when he turned
- 11:30Speaker 1: to face me was eerie, yet there was a hint
- 11:33Speaker 1: of anticipation in his eyes. You've been watching me, I accused,
- 11:39Speaker 1: my voice trembling.
- 11:41Speaker 2: Mr.
- 11:41Speaker 1: Franklin's smile widened. Watching, yes. But don't worry. I'm not
- 11:48Speaker 1: just watching you, my boy. I watch them all. He said,
- 11:53Speaker 1: gesturing to the files around us. He explained that he
- 11:57Speaker 1: was an observer, a collector of stories and lives, trying
- 12:01Speaker 1: to understand and capture the essence of what it meant
- 12:04Speaker 1: to be alive. His words carried a strange longing, a
- 12:08Speaker 1: desire to connect with lives passing him by unnoticed. At
- 12:12Speaker 1: this point, I was absolutely horrified, and I wanted out
- 12:16Speaker 1: of this house immediately. But curiosity got the best of me. Why?
- 12:22Speaker 1: I managed to ask, struggling to grasp his obsession. Mr.
- 12:27Speaker 1: Franklin looked at me with a mix of disappointment and resignation.
- 12:31Speaker 1: I want to know. To understand. He said softly. To
- 12:37Speaker 1: possess something of the lives that surround me. With a
- 12:40Speaker 1: newfound resolve, I declared that I wouldn't be part of
- 12:44Speaker 1: his collection.
- 12:46Speaker 2: Mr.
- 12:46Speaker 1: Franklin nodded sadly, and with a wave of his hand,
- 12:50Speaker 1: he allowed me to leave. Walking away from Elderberry Lane
- 12:54Speaker 1: that morning, I felt relieved yet haunted by the weight
- 12:57Speaker 1: of Mr. Franklin's gaze. Over the years, the neighborhood changed,
- 13:02Speaker 1: replaced by modern streets and buildings, but the memory of Mr.
- 13:06Speaker 1: Franklin and his unsettling obsession remained etched into my mind.
- 13:11Speaker 1: a reminder of how darkness can hide beneath ordinary facades.
- 13:15Speaker 1: Though I've moved on and built a different life for myself,
- 13:19Speaker 1: there are nights when I find myself staring into the darkness,
- 13:22Speaker 1: half expecting to see Mr. Franklin's figure with that unsettling smile.
- 13:32Speaker 1: I've always been good at blending in, at becoming part
- 13:36Speaker 1: of the background. It's a skill that's served me well
- 13:40Speaker 1: over the years, especially now as I watch her, the
- 13:45Speaker 1: young woman in apartment 3B. From my vantage point across
- 13:49Speaker 1: the courtyard behind the safety of drawn curtains and a
- 13:52Speaker 1: partially open window, I observe her daily routines with a
- 13:55Speaker 1: mix of fascination and longing. And if by now you
- 13:59Speaker 1: couldn't already tell, this is a different kind of story,
- 14:04Speaker 1: the one where I'm the creeper. Anyways... She doesn't know me.
- 14:09Speaker 1: Not really. To her, I'm just another face in the building.
- 14:14Speaker 1: Perhaps a neighbor she passes in the hallway or nods
- 14:17Speaker 1: to in the elevator. But to me, she is my everything.
- 14:23Speaker 1: Her name is Sarah. I learned that from the mailbox
- 14:26Speaker 1: one afternoon when I chanced to see her retriever mail.
- 14:30Speaker 1: Sarah with the easy smile and the infectious laugh that
- 14:33Speaker 1: echoes down the corridor on occasion. I know her schedule
- 14:37Speaker 1: almost as well as my own. In the mornings, she
- 14:41Speaker 1: emerges from her apartment at precisely 7.45, dressed for work
- 14:45Speaker 1: in smart blouses and pencil skirts that accentuate her figure.
- 14:49Speaker 1: She carries a sleek black briefcase and often stops by
- 14:53Speaker 1: the coffee shop on the corner before then disappearing into
- 14:55Speaker 1: the throng of the city's morning rush. I've imagined countless
- 15:00Speaker 1: scenarios where our paths might cross naturally. perhaps at the
- 15:04Speaker 1: corner cafe where I could strike up a casual conversation
- 15:07Speaker 1: about the weather or the latest news, but I know
- 15:10Speaker 1: better than to risk the fragile fabric of my carefully
- 15:13Speaker 1: constructed reality. No, it's safer to remain in the shadows,
- 15:19Speaker 1: to watch and to wait. During the day, I occupy
- 15:22Speaker 1: myself with mundane tasks, an errand here, a trip to
- 15:26Speaker 1: the grocery store there, all the while keeping one ear
- 15:30Speaker 1: tuned to the hum of life in the apartment complex.
- 15:34Speaker 1: Occasionally I'll catch glimpses of her through the frosted glass
- 15:37Speaker 1: of her kitchen window as she prepares dinner or unwinds
- 15:39Speaker 1: after a long day. Nights are the hardest, when the
- 15:43Speaker 1: silence of the building presses in around me like a
- 15:46Speaker 1: suffocating blanket. That's when I find myself drawn to the window,
- 15:51Speaker 1: drawn to the faint glow of light from apartment 3B.
- 15:55Speaker 1: Sometimes she reads, curled up on the couch with a
- 15:58Speaker 1: book held close to her chest. Other times she watches television,
- 16:03Speaker 1: the flickering screen casting shadows across her face. I wonder
- 16:07Speaker 1: what occupies her thoughts during those quiet moments. Does she
- 16:11Speaker 1: think of me, the faceless neighbor who watches her from
- 16:15Speaker 1: across the courtyard? Or does she go about life, oblivious
- 16:19Speaker 1: to the silent presence that hovers on the periphery of
- 16:22Speaker 1: her world? I've tried to rationalize my obsession, to convince
- 16:27Speaker 1: myself that it's harmless, that it's merely a passing fascination.
- 16:31Speaker 1: But the truth is far more insidious. I can't tear
- 16:35Speaker 1: myself away from her. The need to know her. To
- 16:39Speaker 1: understand her. It consumes me in ways that I just
- 16:43Speaker 1: can't explain. Tonight is no different. As I stand at
- 16:47Speaker 1: the window, the darkness outside broken only by the soft
- 16:51Speaker 1: glow of streetlights, my gaze inevitably drifts to apartment 3B.
- 16:57Speaker 1: I see movement. a flicker of movement that draws me
- 17:00Speaker 1: closer to the glass, my breath fogging the window pane.
- 17:05Speaker 1: She's there, framed against the lamplight from the living room,
- 17:09Speaker 1: her silhouette ethereal and distant. There's a vulnerability about her
- 17:14Speaker 1: in these moments, a rawness that she only reveals when
- 17:18Speaker 1: she thinks no one's watching. And yet, I'm watching. I'm
- 17:23Speaker 1: always watching. Suddenly she turns, as if sensing my gaze
- 17:28Speaker 1: from across the courtyard. My heart lurches in my chest,
- 17:32Speaker 1: and for a fleeting instant, our eyes meave through the glass.
- 17:37Speaker 1: Panic surges through me, threatening to unravel the fragile threads
- 17:40Speaker 1: of my carefully constructed facade. But then she smiles, a
- 17:46Speaker 1: small knowing smile that sends a shiver down my spine.
- 17:50Speaker 1: Does she recognize me? Does she even understand the depths
- 17:54Speaker 1: of my obsessions? the lengths to which I've gone to
- 17:57Speaker 1: remain hidden in plain sight? Or is it merely a
- 18:00Speaker 1: trick of the light, a figment of my fevered imagination?
- 18:06Speaker 1: I drew back from the window, retreating into the darkness
- 18:09Speaker 1: of my own apartment. The weight of my guilt settles
- 18:12Speaker 1: heavily on my shoulders. I know that what I'm doing
- 18:15Speaker 1: is wrong, that my fixation on her is unhealthy and dangerous.
- 18:21Speaker 1: Yet still, I find myself drawn back to the window,
- 18:25Speaker 1: drawn back to the quiet sanctuary of apartment 3B. For
- 18:29Speaker 1: in those stolen moments of observation, I catch fleeting glimpses
- 18:33Speaker 1: of a life that I can never truly be a
- 18:35Speaker 1: part of. A life that only exists beyond the confines
- 18:39Speaker 1: of my own fractured reality. And so I continue to watch,
- 18:44Speaker 1: to wait, to yearn for a connection that may never come.
- 18:48Speaker 1: For in the end, I'm nothing more than the watcher
- 18:51Speaker 1: in the shadows, forever bound to the object of my obsessions.
- 18:55Speaker 1: by the invisible threads of desire and regret. Hey everyone,
- 19:03Speaker 1: I want to share a story that really shook up
- 19:05Speaker 1: me and my boyfriend. A couple of years ago, I
- 19:09Speaker 1: moved to the UK for university. It was a big
- 19:12Speaker 1: move for me, but I needed to get away from
- 19:15Speaker 1: my parents' toxic situation back home. My first year at
- 19:20Speaker 1: uni was spent in student accommodation where I met some
- 19:23Speaker 1: really awesome people and enjoyed my newfound independence. I didn't
- 19:27Speaker 1: meet my boyfriend until later, but life felt good. By
- 19:32Speaker 1: my second year, I decided to move into a house
- 19:34Speaker 1: with some friends that we rented through the university. It
- 19:38Speaker 1: was nice to have our own space and not worry
- 19:40Speaker 1: about noise restrictions like we did in our small shared
- 19:43Speaker 1: flat the year before. My room was on the ground
- 19:47Speaker 1: floor with a window that looked out into a small yard.
- 19:50Speaker 1: I'd often go out there to smoke. There was an
- 19:53Speaker 1: old thin wooden door that led to the street where
- 19:56Speaker 1: we kept our bins and stuff. The door could only
- 19:59Speaker 1: be locked from inside the backyard, so we'd hide it
- 20:02Speaker 1: shut with some strings to keep it closed properly. We
- 20:05Speaker 1: had neighbors on both sides. On one side were five
- 20:09Speaker 1: guys who seemed much older than university students. They were
- 20:13Speaker 1: a bit strange. One day there was a police incident
- 20:16Speaker 1: involving them. One guy had attacked his flatmates with a
- 20:20Speaker 1: kitchen knife and set their kitchen on fire. It was
- 20:24Speaker 1: really scary to see one of them covered in cuts
- 20:26Speaker 1: and blood. My flatmates and I helped clean him up
- 20:29Speaker 1: and gave him a shirt to wear. The police took
- 20:32Speaker 1: the guy away who caused all the trouble. But the
- 20:35Speaker 1: guy we helped out was odd. He talked nonsense and
- 20:39Speaker 1: made unwanted advances towards me. We noticed that he smoked
- 20:43Speaker 1: a lot of marijuana, but we tried to be helpful
- 20:46Speaker 1: and didn't think much about it at the time. After
- 20:49Speaker 1: that incident, I'd see him around sometimes whenever I was
- 20:52Speaker 1: coming home from uni or running errands. He once approached
- 20:56Speaker 1: me on the street near a corner shop and tried
- 20:58Speaker 1: to start a strange conversation. I felt really uncomfortable and
- 21:02Speaker 1: ignored him. He said something creepy like, I'll wait for
- 21:07Speaker 1: you in front of your house so we can talk.
- 21:10Speaker 1: I brushed it off as a joke, bought my drink,
- 21:12Speaker 1: and headed back home. But as I turned into my street,
- 21:17Speaker 1: there he was with his flatmate sitting on my doorstep.
- 21:21Speaker 1: I painted and called my male flatmate to ask him
- 21:23Speaker 1: to tell them to leave, but he wasn't home. I
- 21:27Speaker 1: waited nervously until they finally left an hour later. I
- 21:31Speaker 1: rushed back home, locked the door, and felt relieved. Despite this,
- 21:35Speaker 1: things got worse. One day while smoking in the backyard,
- 21:40Speaker 1: I noticed the wood door was open. The strings we
- 21:43Speaker 1: used to keep it closed were cut. I closed the
- 21:46Speaker 1: door again and put on a new string, assuming it
- 21:49Speaker 1: was just a mistake by one of the flatmates. Those
- 21:53Speaker 1: weird neighbors often fought loudly, which disturbed my flatmates and
- 21:57Speaker 1: me at night. We got used to it after a
- 22:00Speaker 1: while though. One evening, my boyfriend stayed over as usual.
- 22:05Speaker 1: He woke up suddenly in the middle of the night
- 22:07Speaker 1: because of a loud noise and whispering. He woke me
- 22:10Speaker 1: up quietly and we listened in the dark. Suddenly, the
- 22:15Speaker 1: wooden door banged open and we heard footsteps near my window.
- 22:19Speaker 1: We froze as we heard the backyard door being shaken
- 22:22Speaker 1: like someone was trying to break in. Thankfully, our curtains
- 22:26Speaker 1: were closed so they couldn't see us. We were ready
- 22:29Speaker 1: to dress quickly and escape through the window if they
- 22:31Speaker 1: came in. Then we heard my window open some more
- 22:35Speaker 1: and one of the guys spoke in a language that
- 22:37Speaker 1: we didn't understand. They were trying to get in. My
- 22:41Speaker 1: boyfriend and I jumped out of bed, grabbed my phone,
- 22:44Speaker 1: got dressed, and then ran out of the room and
- 22:46Speaker 1: out of the house. I called my flatmates and then
- 22:49Speaker 1: the police. Luckily, the police station was nearby and they
- 22:54Speaker 1: arrived in less than five minutes. I was in shock.
- 22:58Speaker 1: and I don't remember much after the police came. They
- 23:01Speaker 1: caught one of the guys, but the other escaped. Later on,
- 23:05Speaker 1: they found him a few streets away smoking weed. The
- 23:09Speaker 1: police searched their house, and they found drugs and a
- 23:11Speaker 1: huge kitchen knife. It really terrified me to think they
- 23:15Speaker 1: were trying to break in with such dangerous intentions. I
- 23:18Speaker 1: never did anything to provoke them, so I couldn't understand
- 23:22Speaker 1: why they targeted me and my boyfriend. One of them
- 23:25Speaker 1: was sentenced to two years in prison for carrying a
- 23:27Speaker 1: weapon with intent to harm. I moved back home a
- 23:31Speaker 1: few months later because I was so scared and I
- 23:33Speaker 1: couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if my
- 23:35Speaker 1: boyfriend hadn't woken up. I'm still coping with the trauma
- 23:39Speaker 1: to this day. I often wake up from the slightest
- 23:43Speaker 1: noise and have nightmares, but I'm really grateful to have
- 23:46Speaker 1: my boyfriend by my side. We talk about it often,
- 23:51Speaker 1: which helps me feel better.
- 24:02Speaker 2: I used to work the night shift at the front
- 24:04Speaker 2: desk of an apartment building. The lobby area had a desk,
- 24:08Speaker 2: and I was in charge of buzzing people in through
- 24:10Speaker 2: the door. I was essentially a layer of security. I
- 24:14Speaker 2: would ensure that whoever was coming into the building lived
- 24:16Speaker 2: there or was a friend of somebody and had received
- 24:19Speaker 2: approval to enter. My shift was from 10 p.m. to
- 24:23Speaker 2: 6 a.m., so there wasn't usually much action going on
- 24:26Speaker 2: during my shift, especially after midnight. One night, I was
- 24:31Speaker 2: in the middle of my shift, trying not to fall asleep. Suddenly,
- 24:36Speaker 2: I saw movement on one of the cameras from the garage.
- 24:39Speaker 2: The garage was attached to the building, but to get inside,
- 24:43Speaker 2: you still needed to come up to the main doors
- 24:45Speaker 2: and be buzzed in by me. Someone was walking through
- 24:48Speaker 2: the garage towards the stairs that would take them towards
- 24:50Speaker 2: the lobby area. I hadn't seen anybody drive into the
- 24:53Speaker 2: garage and park their car, but I was pretty tired
- 24:56Speaker 2: and could have missed it easily. I watched as the
- 24:59Speaker 2: person entered the stairs and made their way up towards
- 25:02Speaker 2: the door to get into the lobby. They immediately tugged
- 25:05Speaker 2: to open the door, apparently not knowing that they had
- 25:08Speaker 2: to be buzzed in by me. It was a younger man.
- 25:11Speaker 2: He was maybe right around his thirties. He looked in
- 25:14Speaker 2: at me through the glass, motioning for me to open
- 25:16Speaker 2: the door. It was clear that he did not live here,
- 25:19Speaker 2: so I walked over towards the entry doors, motioning for
- 25:22Speaker 2: him to leave. The man started explaining that he was
- 25:25Speaker 2: here to see his friend and needed to get in.
- 25:28Speaker 2: I had received no warning about this man and there
- 25:30Speaker 2: was no note that would indicate that he was supposed
- 25:32Speaker 2: to be granted access to the building. The man glared
- 25:36Speaker 2: angrily at me when I once again said that I
- 25:38Speaker 2: wasn't going to be letting him in. He began pounding
- 25:41Speaker 2: on the door and while his arms were raised, I
- 25:43Speaker 2: saw that he had a gun tucked into his waistband
- 25:46Speaker 2: as well. The man was quite strong and I was
- 25:49Speaker 2: genuinely worried that the glass might break. I scurried back
- 25:52Speaker 2: to my desk, alerting the authorities and letting them know
- 25:55Speaker 2: that a man with a gun was attempting to enter
- 25:57Speaker 2: the apartment building. After a few moments, the man stopped
- 26:01Speaker 2: pounding on the glass and once again glared at me.
- 26:04Speaker 2: He shouted that he would be back and disappeared down
- 26:07Speaker 2: the stairway back towards the garage. I watched on the
- 26:10Speaker 2: cameras as he exited the garage and disappeared outside into
- 26:13Speaker 2: the night. I ended up only working that night shift
- 26:17Speaker 2: a couple more weeks, not seeing the man again. I
- 26:20Speaker 2: have no idea if he ever showed up overnight again
- 26:23Speaker 2: since I had stopped working there, but I wish the
- 26:25Speaker 2: next night shift worker good luck if they ever did
- 26:28Speaker 2: or do see him again. I spend the nights working
- 26:41Speaker 2: as a security officer. My job is to travel around
- 26:45Speaker 2: to various buildings, mostly businesses that hire my company for securities.
- 26:50Speaker 2: I swing by each of these places multiple times at night,
- 26:53Speaker 2: ensuring that nothing funny is going on and the building
- 26:56Speaker 2: is secure. Honestly, my job is really boring. As you
- 27:00Speaker 2: can picture that on a night-to-night basis, not much is
- 27:03Speaker 2: going on around an office building. I'm required to walk
- 27:06Speaker 2: around each entry point to the building, making sure that
- 27:09Speaker 2: it's locked and secure. I have keys to all these
- 27:12Speaker 2: buildings in case I need to go inside, but in
- 27:15Speaker 2: the three months working this night shift, I never had
- 27:17Speaker 2: to go inside a building. That all changed during a
- 27:22Speaker 2: shift I had two weeks ago. I had reached my
- 27:25Speaker 2: third building of the night, which was a smaller four-story
- 27:28Speaker 2: office building. I made my rounds around the perimeter of
- 27:31Speaker 2: the building, shining my light up at windows ensuring they
- 27:35Speaker 2: were intact, and pulling on doors making sure they were locked.
- 27:39Speaker 2: I circled around to the backside of the building. When
- 27:41Speaker 2: I did, I was shocked to see that a door
- 27:44Speaker 2: was not only unlocked, but also propped open, I never
- 27:48Speaker 2: had to deal with a situation like this before, and
- 27:50Speaker 2: quite frankly, I was nervous to go inside the building.
- 27:54Speaker 2: I maneuvered my way through the building, moving very slowly
- 27:57Speaker 2: and shining my flashlight into every room and corner. It
- 28:01Speaker 2: took me a while, especially since I was nervous, but
- 28:04Speaker 2: I made my way through all four floors of the
- 28:06Speaker 2: building without seeing anything unusual. I made my way back
- 28:10Speaker 2: to the door that had been left open, removing the
- 28:12Speaker 2: prop in the door and locking it behind me. I
- 28:15Speaker 2: continued my rounds, making my way through the rest of
- 28:18Speaker 2: the buildings that needed to be checked for the night.
- 28:21Speaker 2: I decided to head back over to the office building
- 28:23Speaker 2: that I had walked through earlier to make sure that
- 28:25Speaker 2: everything was okay. I pulled my truck into the parking
- 28:29Speaker 2: lot and began walking around the building doing rounds once more.
- 28:33Speaker 2: To my surprise, the same back exit was once again
- 28:37Speaker 2: unlocked and propped open. At this point, I was very confused.
- 28:41Speaker 2: There wasn't supposed to be anyone still in the building
- 28:44Speaker 2: this late, and there were no lights inside that I
- 28:46Speaker 2: could see. I reluctantly entered the office building once again
- 28:50Speaker 2: and searched it from top to bottom, this time even
- 28:53Speaker 2: calling out multiple times to see if anyone was there.
- 28:56Speaker 2: Once again, I saw and heard nothing unusual my entire
- 29:00Speaker 2: trip throughout the building. I returned to the back exit
- 29:03Speaker 2: and saw that the door was now closed. I hadn't
- 29:06Speaker 2: unpropped the door when I first entered the building, but
- 29:08Speaker 2: now the door was closed and the brick that had
- 29:10Speaker 2: been used to prop it open was nowhere in sight. Again,
- 29:14Speaker 2: this was my first time having to enter a building
- 29:16Speaker 2: while I had this job, so I was a little
- 29:18Speaker 2: scared at this point. I quickly locked the door and
- 29:21Speaker 2: hurried back to the safety of my truck. Nobody was
- 29:24Speaker 2: supposed to be in that building, so I was relieved
- 29:27Speaker 2: that I hadn't ended up seeing anybody during my rounds
- 29:29Speaker 2: of the building. It was eerie to me, though, that
- 29:32Speaker 2: during both of my searches of the building, somebody had
- 29:34Speaker 2: been in there somewhere, evading me, and then slipped out
- 29:37Speaker 2: the back door without me seeing them. I called the
- 29:40Speaker 2: office building the next day, asking if anything important was
- 29:43Speaker 2: missing or had been stolen, but nothing they were aware
- 29:46Speaker 2: of was gone. I still currently work the security night
- 29:49Speaker 2: shift job, but haven't had any nights like that one
- 29:52Speaker 2: at the office building since then, thankfully. I'm retired now,
- 30:06Speaker 2: but for a couple of years in my 50s, I
- 30:08Speaker 2: worked a night shift in a mall. I was a
- 30:11Speaker 2: custodian and would come in and clean once the mall
- 30:14Speaker 2: had closed for the night. Most of my nights were
- 30:17Speaker 2: spent cleaning up the food court areas as well as
- 30:19Speaker 2: taking care of bathrooms. One night, I was sweeping the
- 30:23Speaker 2: floor in the food court area, and I heard a
- 30:25Speaker 2: fit of coughing coming from somewhere. I looked around the
- 30:29Speaker 2: dimly lit food court area, but didn't see anyone. A
- 30:33Speaker 2: couple of times throughout my years working there, I would
- 30:36Speaker 2: discover somebody or a group of people who had hidden
- 30:39Speaker 2: in the mall and were doing a challenge of staying
- 30:42Speaker 2: there overnight. I didn't see anyone, and I heard no
- 30:45Speaker 2: further noises, so I just continued cleaning. If someone was
- 30:50Speaker 2: trying to stay in the mall overnight, I'd see them eventually,
- 30:53Speaker 2: unless they stayed put in one spot the entire time.
- 30:57Speaker 2: About 15 minutes had passed, and I was wiping off
- 31:00Speaker 2: tables now. Suddenly, A series of loud bangs startled me.
- 31:05Speaker 2: I looked up and saw that a whole table and
- 31:07Speaker 2: all the surrounding chairs had been knocked over onto the ground.
- 31:11Speaker 2: I walked over to the items on the ground, which
- 31:13Speaker 2: had happened near the edge of the food court. There
- 31:16Speaker 2: was no one to be seen anywhere. I ventured down
- 31:19Speaker 2: away from the food court a bit to see if
- 31:21Speaker 2: I could see anyone running away or hiding. I was
- 31:25Speaker 2: about to turn around back to the food court when
- 31:27Speaker 2: I heard water running inside the women's bathrooms. All the
- 31:30Speaker 2: bathrooms at the mall had sinks that were motion sensors.
- 31:34Speaker 2: Someone had to be inside of the bathroom, and I
- 31:37Speaker 2: had a feeling that it was going to be the
- 31:38Speaker 2: culprit I was looking for from the food court. The
- 31:41Speaker 2: sink was still running as I slowly and as quietly
- 31:44Speaker 2: as I could entered the bathroom. As I turned the
- 31:47Speaker 2: corner into the bathroom, the water abruptly stopped running. There
- 31:51Speaker 2: was nobody anywhere to be seen. I checked every stall
- 31:55Speaker 2: and still nothing. I chalked it up to a faulty
- 31:58Speaker 2: sensor on the sink. and decided that I'd put in
- 32:00Speaker 2: a work order for maintenance to fix it. Oddly enough,
- 32:04Speaker 2: as I walked away from the bathroom, I heard the
- 32:06Speaker 2: sink turn on again. I walked back to the food court,
- 32:10Speaker 2: very confused, and also a little spooked. I went about
- 32:14Speaker 2: the rest of my night as usual, finishing my cleaning duties.
- 32:18Speaker 2: A couple days later, I received an email from maintenance
- 32:21Speaker 2: that there had been nothing wrong with the sink sensor
- 32:24Speaker 2: and that it was functioning normally. From then on, at
- 32:27Speaker 2: least once a week, I would hear the water running
- 32:30Speaker 2: from the sink in that bathroom. For the rest of
- 32:32Speaker 2: the time that I worked at the mall, I just
- 32:34Speaker 2: accepted that I wasn't alone in that mall, and I
- 32:37Speaker 2: stayed away from that bathroom. I never had any more incidents, though,
- 32:40Speaker 2: with the mysterious knocking over tables and chairs in the
- 32:43Speaker 2: food court. Thankfully, that spirit, or whatever it was, stayed
- 32:46Speaker 2: in the women's bathrooms.