Hey Reddit. Thanks for listening to my story. Honestly no one seems to believe me anymore… but I think I’m haunted. It’s the only explanation for the odd shadows which jump from the corners of my eyes each time a shadow is cast across a room, and the terror I feel as the sun sets, leaving me trapped in my home, never to leave.
I remember the night it happened vividly in my mind… Sarah, Jake, and I decided to explore the abandoned asylum. It was a warm summer evening and we had been looking for a new thrill to experience. We were all adrenaline junkies and seeking the unknown was our ultimate high.
The asylum was just outside the city, a decaying building that once housed the mentally ill. Rumors swirled about the horrors that went on behind those walls. Some said that patients were experimented on, others claimed that the staff had gone mad themselves. It was the perfect setting for a ghost story.
The long drive there was uneventful - the paved path givingway to the dirt road which led to the gate, now stuck open and decayed, emblazoned with the somewhat ironic name of “Pleasantview Asylum.”
We made our way into the building, the musty smell of decay filling our nostrils. Our flashlights flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls. My friend Sarah jumped at the sound of a rat scurrying across the floor.
“Guys, I don’t know about this. This place gives me the creeps,” she said nervously.
“Come on, Sarah, don’t be such a chicken. This is what we came for,” replied my friend Jake, the ringleader of our group, complete with obnoxious clucking.
We explored the halls, peeking into rooms, and trying to piece together how the Asylum could have degraded into such a state of decay.
Suddenly, we heard a noise. It was a faint whisper, too quiet to make out what was being said. We all froze, listening intently. The whisper grew louder, and soon we could hear a distinct voice. It was coming from a room down the hall.
We cautiously made our way towards the source of the sound. The room was dark, but a faint glow emanated from a corner. As we approached, we saw a figure sitting in the corner, holding a candle and facing away from us.
“Hello?” I called out tentatively.
The figure slowly turned around. It was a woman, her hair matted and her eyes sunken in. “Get out,” she rasped.
We all jumped back in surprise. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” asked Jake.
The woman didn’t respond, instead, she started rocking back and forth, muttering to herself, causing the candle to go out.
We all felt a chill run down our spines, quickly shining out flashlight upon her. It was then that we noticed something strange. The woman’s shadow was not matching her movements. It was as if there was another person standing behind her, mirroring her every move.
“Guys, do you see that?” whispered Sarah, pointing to the shadow.
Jake shone his flashlight on the shadow, and it disappeared. The woman stopped rocking and turned to face us. Her eyes were completely black, and her mouth stretched impossibly wide. “Get out,” she repeated, this time with a guttural growl.
We didn’t need to be told twice. We ran out of the asylum as fast as we could, our hearts racing.
As we drove away, we all felt a sense of relief wash over us. We had survived the asylum, but we knew that we had encountered something beyond explanation.
That night, we made a pact to never speak of what had happened inside those walls. A pact that unfortunately I am now breaking… Sarah has fallen ill, and is now hospitalized, screaming that it lives in the shadows. Jake refuses to admit anything is wrong.
But I am determined to get to the bottom of this and solve the curse which has befallen me. Fortunately the glow of my computer screen makes me feel safe with the rest of the lights on.
I’ll post back as I know more - though the storm outside is getting pretty bad.