I’m not really too sure on how to start this but.. I just know I need help.
My name’s Jack, and my family recently moved into a new house in Ohio, for my dads new job. He got a promotion or whatever, and it was supposedly a really high raise, so he took the job, which also meant we had to move.
At first everything was fine. The house seems a little old, a bit of a fixer upper, but it has working electricity and water so.. I don’t really mind. It’s a sturdy house too, mostly made out of brick, which is a nice plus compared to the usual cardboard and insulation American houses I’m used to.
When we were moving our belongings inside, I realized the attic door was locked. I asked my mom if she had heard anything about it, and she was just as confused as I was. She said the realtor hadn’t even mentioned anything about an attic, let alone a key to unlock it. I’ll be honest, I was dying of curiosity to know what was inside that attic, but that’s changed. I wish that whatever was in there stayed in there, that i never found out what was kept hiding behind that heavy metal door.
I remember the first time it happened. It was a Friday night, and I had decided to stay up a little late to watch a movie marathon. I was eating a tub of ice cream while watching some old horror movies, when I heard it. It sounded like scratching above me. I paused the movie, listening closely to the sound. It seemed to pause in sync with my movie, so I waited a minute or so before unpausing the movie. About 10 minutes later, the scratching started up again, so I decided to keep the movie playing while I stood up on my bed and pressed my ear up against the ceiling to listen to it.
I could faintly hear heavy breathing, and what sounded like digging. Immediately I pulled away, distancing myself from the ceiling in shock. After I calmed down for a bit, I tried to come up with a logical solution. Maybe there was a squirrel in our attic or a raccoon. That would make the most sense, right? Since it was starting to get colder, maybe they were searching for a warm place to rest. I decided that was the most logical reasoning, and that it was probably time for me to go to bed, as these horror movies seem to have put me on edge.
The next morning, I went up the thin staircase to the attic door. The staircase was dimly lit, and covered in dust, like it hadn’t been touched in a decade or so. I got up to the door and rattled the knob, trying to see if I could break it loose, but it didn’t budge.
Despite the dust covering the entire stairwell, the door didn’t seem to have a spec of dirt on it. I found this odd but decided to leave it be, brushing it off as paranoia from last night.
I asked my parents to put some mouse poison by the door, sliding it underneath since we couldn’t open the door. I thought that would be the last of it.
A few nights later, I woke up at around 1am to hear that same scratching noise coming from above my bed. I sighed, and covered my ears to try and get back to sleep. I was honestly tired of these stupid rodents and just wanted to get some rest at this point.
The next morning, I went up the stairs to the attic door again, this time with a crowbar and a hammer. The higher I got on the stairs though, the warmer the air got, until I was sweating. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead as I reached my hand out to the door handle, before yelping in pain and jumping back. I looked at my now burnt palm, then back at the door. I could barely make out the shape of flames from behind the door.
I bolted down the stairs, yelling at my mom to get out of the house, and grabbing my dog.
We called 911, and waited outside the house for them to arrive. As soon as they arrived, a few of them went inside to put out the fire while another got out their first aid kit, wrapping my palm in gauze and bandages.
After a few moments, the firefighters walked out of our house, seemingly confused.
‘Sir, where did you say the fire was again?’
‘It was in the attic, the door is what burned my hand. As soon as I realized there was a fire I got my mom and dog outside and waited.’
‘Well son, there is no attic’
I looked at my mom in confusion, and we both stared at each other in utter disbelief
‘Ex…cuse me? What do you mean there’s no attic?’ she asked, looking up at them with an expression that said “what kind of sick prank is this?”
“What I mean, ma’am, is that there’s no attic in this house. There never has been, not since it was first built.”
‘But the stairs are right next to the kitchen- “I protested before they cut me off.
‘Son, there was nothing next to the kitchen but an empty wall. I’ll have you know that false reports are a serious felony’ the firefighter said, looking down at me sternly.
‘But it wasn’t a false report! There really was a fire, I saw it with my own eyes! I even have the burn to prove it!’ I said, looking at my mom to back me up.
The firefighter sighed, and handed my mom a small piece of paper. ‘I would suggest you get your son checked, ma’am. I’ll let you off this time with a warning, but next time we will have to fine you.’
I watched her in disbelief as she nodded slowly, and we watched them drive away.
‘You.. Do believe me, right mom?”
She sighed softly ‘I don’t know why they insist there isn’t an attic, so of course I believe you. Lets just.. Stay away from the attic from now on, okay?’
I nodded slowly, and we went back inside, where she cooked us some warm dinner to settle our nerves.
When she was finished cooking, she brought over two plates of soup before sitting down next to me on our couch, which was still surrounded by unopened moving boxes.
After a few minutes of silence, I finally spoke up.
‘Mom i..i have to tell you something’
She looked up at me, her expression concerned but caring.
‘I keep hearing scratching above my room, and I think it’s coming from the attic. I don’t know what to do i-’
She sighed, before looking at me again. ‘Jack, you’ve been watching too many horror movies. I’m sure it’s just your imagination, let’s just.. Pretend the attic doesn’t exist, okay?’
I looked at her, searching her eyes for some sort of validation, but I got none. I nodded solemnly, and went back up to my room, Closing my door.
We should’ve just moved out then, packed our bags and found a new house, but we didn’t, and that was our mistake.
It’s not just the scratching anymore. It’s so much more. It’s been a few months since we moved in and.. I don’t even know if we will make it through the year in this house. It’s getting harder and harder to sleep every night. Whatever is up there, it’s trying to get out, and it’s trying to get to me.
Every Night it’s something. Whether it’s growling, tapping on the windows, screeching, or even something inside my room, I never get a goddamn break. My grades have plummeted, bags forming beneath my eyes. It began haunting my dreams too, which you wouldn’t think is that bad. I didn’t think it was too bad either. I could deal with a few nightmares, right?
No.
Whatever happens to me in those dreams.. I don’t know how it does it but it happens to me in real life. I’ll wake up with the same wounds from my dreams, scratches along my legs and chest.
The odd thing is, it always brings me back to the same place. The same old building, out in a field. I always try to find a way out but I can never find an exit. It’s the same story every time, it chases me through the dusty, broken down hallways until daybreak. The building itself looks almost like an old school, with a few desks left behind. The halls and rooms are littered with cobwebs, and the wood is rotting and splintering apart, with dust and mold floating through the air each time you disturb the area it was resting.
The dreams keep getting more and more vivid, and it’s starting to catch up to me more and more often. and I’ve started to stop sleeping to avoid them. I don’t know what to do, my parents refuse to move, and I don’t know why. When I try to press for answers they just change the subject uncomfortably, and won’t respond.
I’m sorry, I need to lock my door now, I’m starting to hear it outside again. I’ll update you as soon as I can, but for now, if anyone has any suggestions on what to do, please, I’ll take anything.
Until then.
part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1806qf7/my_family_recently_moved_into_a_new_house/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3