Hey, r/nosleep, I’ve always enjoyed scrolling through this sub, often brushing off most posts. But after what I experienced recently, I’ve realized that some stories are more than just a story.
I’m in my late teens, and I always get stuck babysitting my nine-year-old brother and seven-year-old half-sister whenever our parents go out for their date nights. Typically, they play while I’m distracted, either on my phone or lost in a binge-watch session.
That evening, they decided to play hide and seek. My sister, the youngest, started counting while my brother hid. Distracted as usual, I soon noticed something odd—her counting began to stretch out eerily.
“One… two… three…” Her voice was innocent, but then it started to shift. “Fouuuuur… Fiiiiiiive… Sixxxxxx…” It became drawn out, deeper, echoing, as if the walls themselves were joining in. I figured I had been mistaken, and my brother was trying to freak us out with some app he found.
It got even stranger the more the count went on, “Ssssseven… Eighttttttt… Nineeeee…” Then, lights flickered, and a chill swept through the room. I felt uneasy, disgusted, you know that feeling? It was like that prickling sensation at the back of your neck after you squish a cockroach.
Hoping my brother was just playing a prank, I moved towards the kitchen, where I thought he’d be messing with the lights. “You better not be fooling around,” I began, but my words were cut off. A deep and chilling voice, certainly not my brother’s, boomed, “Ten…” Darkness engulfed the room.
I was frozen in place, as I can only describe the air becoming heavy, and I realized I was holding my breath, trying to listen. But there was simply nothing. Silence. There was no background noise, no air being pushed out of the vents, no creaking of the old house, and no sounds from outside. Just the beating of my heart echoed from the blood pumping through me.
I fumbled for my phone, but the flashlight would not turn on. I was down to three percent, and the damn battery saver would not let me use it. I’d accidentally blinded myself in bed last night when I went to Google something. I launched Chrome with its bright default screen. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for a light source.
The meager light from my phone revealed glimpses of our familiar home, but it looked alien in the dim light. The silhouettes of the living room furniture loomed like strange creatures. Our cozy family pictures on the wall appeared distorted and ghastly. The soft, plush carpet felt cold underfoot, and the smell wasn’t the familiar scent of our home but something stale and ancient.
I turned to walk toward the bedrooms, and it almost looked like shadows ran across the walls and away from the light as soon as I held up my phone. But as I glanced around, I did not see them again. It could have just been my imagination, but I could not help but feel like something sinister was hunting, and we were the prey.
Navigating the hall, I peeked into each room, my voice a tense whisper as I called for my siblings. I realized how stupid I was being when I reached my sister’s room. I looked down at my phone to call my little brother’s cell and noticed I had several texts from him. I had not heard it. There had been no sound apart from me calling out for them.
“Was that you?”
“Lucy is crying…”
“Are you okay?”
“This isn’t a joke…”
“Don’t respond. Just get out!”
“Outside, now!” the last one read.
As a scent of mildew or mold filled the air, I looked up and heard the bathroom door open behind me. It was a few feet from where I was, but I knew the creak of its hinges. I slowly turned as my phone died.
I glanced down to see it powering off and looked up as the silence was shattered. The hush gave way to whispers, a thousand overlapping voices yelling at me from far away. Then they all snapped into sync, and two words were clear and meant for only me, “Found you…” The sheer clarity of the whispered words sent chills through me.
Hopeless, I ran. My hand was against the wall, looking for a turn leading me back to the living room.
I should have only had to walk a dozen steps, but the hall did not seem to end. Whatever had been behind me blocked out any light shining in through the windows, and it was pitch black. I ran and ran, but the hall seemed to have no end. I was crying, yelling my brother and sister’s names, calling out for them, praying they’d answer. All I could hear in response was a rustling moving closer like something was being dragged toward me.
After what felt like an eternity, I stumbled out the front door. There had been no turn, no living room. One moment, I was running down an endless dark hall, and the next, I was outside, just as my brother’s message had instructed.
I looked up to see my sister and brother standing just off the porch, looking back at me. Their eyes were wide with terror, faces pale as if drained of all blood. Their hands were clutching each other, knuckles white from the pressure. My sister had tear tracks on her face, and my brother, usually so brave, was trembling.
I ran to them, jumping off the porch stairs, practically landing on them as I pulled them into my arms.
“What did you guys see? When did you get outside?” I asked them.
My little sister was still sobbing into my shoulder as my brother answered, “Lucy ran after me when the counting started. We heard it and ran to the back door.”
“Did you see it?” My voice trembled as I asked.
His eyes darted back to the house, lingering, then back to me. “At first, we thought it was you. But… there was this shadow, like a hand but not really, moving in the hall.” His voice cracked, and he collapsed into me, “Sorry!” he cried out before his sobs surpassed our sister’s cries.
“It’s okay, we are okay,” I told him. I did not turn back, but I felt like something was watching us.
“It was on the ceiling,” he said between sobs, still trying to explain.
“Shhh, it’s over now,” I said.
Just then, I noticed the headlights of our parent’s SUV pulling into the driveway and turned back to look at the silent house again before the three of us ran to meet them.
We told them what happened, and they even called the cops, but there was no sign of any intruder. They brushed off our terror as an overactive imagination. The three of us knew something unnatural had joined that evening.
It has been two months, and I still don’t know who or what it was. Our parents did not believe us, but I could not let it go. The three of us have agreed to tell our parents that we just scared ourselves playing in the dark when they began to mention seeing a therapist.
We’ve been coming up excuses, from family game nights to spontaneous movie marathons, to prevent them from leaving us alone again.
But the reality is they’re planning another date night tomorrow.
Despite their disbelief, I’ve been scouring every corner of the internet, every ancient legend, every whispered town tale, seeking any hint of what invaded our home.
We’re out of time, and I’m out of ideas. I am scared it will come back to “play” again tomorrow, and this time, I’m not sure if we’ll be as lucky.
I can’t be the only one who has experienced this. If anyone out there knows anything, please let me know. Please help us.