If there are mistakes in this, it’s because I am only 14. Hope you enjoy!
I must admit: I do like to browse on r/nosleep from time to time. Most of the posts on here are just shitty rules like ‘Rules for staying at Stacey’s house’ where the protagonist makes some minor mistake and then some mysterious shadows engulf them or something. Very few are actually good, and even fewer are worth upvoting. However, It’s not like i have much to do with my life besides reddit. I am a 27-year-old man who has never had a job in his entire life; and probably never will. My severe lack of qualifications has not helped me at all when applying to even the most basic of careers. Not even my single Burberry suit could fool McDonalds into hiring me. I am a failure, so I really shouldn’t be slandering peoples stories on here. I mean, they are only stories. Right?
Wrong.
It was a Tuesday night. I live in a small area of London called Whetstone so the crime is relatively low. It was absolutely pissing down with rain when it happened. I was doing my daily scroll of r/nosleep to try and get some form of scare into my system before I went to sleep. Story after story, I failed to find one with some originality in it. All of the plots are the same. Some painfully obvious plot twist with a misleading title. I reminisced of the old days when I went to school. When I had friends. When my life wasn’t full of smoking weed and downing vodka. When I had some sort of social life and family. You see; I was a bit of a troubled kid when growing up. My mother died whilst giving birth to me and my father was into the happy dust. He constantly beat me - likely because I was the reason his wife kicked the bucket. I don’t blame him for it. I would probably do the same. He eventually died of OD - so I had to resort to dealing to survive. That got me to where I am now. No grades ( I failed all my GCSE’s), no family and no reason to live.
My apartment is nice. The interior is clean and modern. The facilities are tolerable and the neighbours are always kind and friendly. Can’t say the same for my landlord. He is a dickhead. All of them are ; I’m sure you can relate.
Oh well, I should stop rambling. I don’t have much time. I failed to find any half-decent story on this sub. “r/nosleep has really gone down hill recently,” I thought to myself. I pushed my joint into the ashtray beside me and stumbled towards my bathroom, the walls swaying as I did. Looking back now, I really needed to stop getting high. It seriously messed me up. Anyway, I did my usual bedtime routine - teeth, face cream, shower ect. After that, I went to bed. I thought more of my past, how I could have been a better person. How if I had tried in school, I wouldn’t need to spend nights in filthy trap houses and residences, just so I could survive. I also thought about how bad reddit had gotten since the pandemic - especially r/nosleep. How there was no more originality and everything followed the same shitty model. It sounds weird I know, but dodgy thoughts enter your mind when high. I pretty much fell asleep instantly, despite doing nothing all day.
And that’s when I met him.
He had a silky, matte robe that stretched across his figure. His limbs were awfully contorted in ways I can’t physically describe, and a hood that covered his head was barely high enough to reveal his glowing, crimson eyes. He was at least 9ft tall in height, if not larger. He towered over me like a skyscraper next to a bungalow. For some reason, even though I had never been told it, his name had been seared into my head like an engraving on a trophy. The Sleepmaster. What? How did he get me here? All around me was a black void of emptiness. I couldn’t see anything apart from him. He seemed to be illuminated from a spotlight above, but when I looked up it wasn’t there. He turned to face me, slowly cranking his neck until we made eye contact. I practically shit myself when he did. A feeling of dread swarmed into my soul. I tried to run, but my legs were not my own anymore.
“Did you slander my precious subreddit?” His voice seemed to penetrate my soul. I didn’t even slander it. Sure, I may had mentioned it to a few of my “clients”, but nothing more. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. It was like I was paralyzed. No - I was paralyzed. He let out a sadistic smirk; a wave of rotten flesh entered my nose as he did forcing me to gag. “You think it’s fiction?” he asked. I just about managed to nod my head. What kind of dream was this? Nothing I had ever experienced for sure. “Well then…” he muttered. The dread in me grew more. “I’ll just have to show you what they experienced.” Oh no.
In an instant, I was teleported to a massive hall. It looked like a museum, but more. I was dressed in a smart outfit; a polo shirt, tie, vest, blazer and pants. Next to me, a small group of people, who I seemed to be touring, marvelled at the skeleton of a dinosaur. “Hey, excuse me.” said a man. He wasn’t dressed like the others were. Instead of an elaborate suit or dress, he was wearing jeans and a green jumper. “We’re gonna go there” he gestured toward a dark hall way, a pretty woman locked arms with him. Wait. I remembered reading a reddit story on here just like this. It was a tour guide who had to tour a group of rich people in a museum, and attempted to sway them away from the paranormal exhibit. However, he had to let them do whatever they wanted, per his contract. “Sure, be careful!” I stumbled nervously. I know how this ends. They touch the dolls glass case and she breaks free. I can only wait.
Attempting to ignore that inevitable disaster, I show the rest of the guests some insects. I show them whatever they ask for, even the most ridiculous demands I still have to meet, like riding the dinosaur skeleton. Suddenly, I hear it. The unmistakable sound of smashed glass. They were not careful. “Excuse me, I have to go for a few minutes. I will be right back with you.” I showed them a half-assed smile before darting down the hall to the paranormal exhibit. Panicking heavily, I eventually reached the glass cabinet where she was kept. Of course, it was smashed. The doll was nowhere to be found. In the corner, the woman he walked off with was huddled in the corner, unintentionally flashing her underwear up her dress. I desperately tried to hide my libido as I approached her. “She…..escaped.” That’s all I managed to get out of her. I needed a way to get out of this. Hurriedly, I picked up one of the shards of glass that were scattered on the floor. Without thinking, I impaled myself with the blade. It only hurt for a moment, before I was gone.
-–
Somehow, I found myself somewhere new. Next to me, a sealed envelope was neatly placed on the bedside table. I took a moment to examine my surrounds, still shitting myself from my prior situation. The room was decorated with a floral wallpaper. The vintage china and oil-diffusery smell made me sure I was at someone’s grandmas house. Carefully, I grabbed and opened the envelope. It read:
These rules are essential if you want to survive the night here, so please read them carefully.
-Keep your lights on at all times
-NEVER leave your room after 1.00AM
-If you need to go to the bathroom, refer to rule 2a
2a. Look for something to urinate in. If you can’t, pray for 3 minutes. After that, you have exactly 5mins and 36secs to go to the bathroom. If you do not make it back in time. Refer to 2b
2b. Kill yourself
- Grandma will check your room as 2.23AM and 3.45AM. You should be in bed by these times. If not, refer to xa & xb
xa. Tell her you are sorry 5 times. If she says “It’s okay” you are safe.
xb. If she just stares at you, Kill either you or your grandma. No exceptions.
y. Don’t talk to your Grandma at breakfast. Just ignore her.
What the fuck. What is this shit. I’m in one of those shitty rules stories. I check the time on my phone - 0.56AM. Coincidentally, I needed a massive piss, so I looked around the room. Nothing - not even a water bottle of some sort. Well, I guess it’s time to pray. I set a timer on my phone and began. I ended up praying to the Sleepmaster, begging him to get me out of this BS - but alas, it was to no avail. After a few minutes, the timer on my phone rang and I bolted to the bathroom without hesitation. I wasn’t sure how I knew where the bathroom was, but I just did. I practically ejected the piss inside of me into the toilet bowl, and didn’t bother to wash my hands. I checked the time, “0.58AM”. Then, I remembered Rule 1. “NEVER leave your room after 1.00AM”. Holy shit. These rule games are harder than I thought. I darted back to my room, pretty sure I smelled dead corpses along the way but didn’t think anything of it. Once back in my room, I slammed the door. The time - 0.59AM. I had made it.
Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. There was no rule about not opening the door, so I did. There, a small, frail woman stood, her back hunched like a goblin. Her eyes looked like voids of black, peering into my conscience. I checked the time again. 2.23AM. How. A few minutes ago it was 0.59AM. Whatever. What’s the point of questioning it anymore. Like the rules insisted, I said sorry five times; eyes glued shut whilst I did. When my eyelids opened, she just stared at me. I remembered rule xb - I had to kill myself. Sure, there was an option to kill her but the pressure was too much. I couldn’t think. I mean, do you blame me? I saw a vase on the shelf next to me. That was good enough. Quickly, I clenched the vase in my hand and smashed it onto my head. The last thing I saw was that Grandma, staring through me, like a tiger watching it’s prey. What had I got myself into?
“You see the mistake you made?” that deep, burning voice said. All I could see was black, and then a demonic laughter surrounded me. It was him. The Sleepmaster. I had insulted his subreddit, and I was going to pay the price.
I am currently writing to you on my iPhone 3G. In the next room, my supposed dog Rufus stares at the wall blankly. I have tried everything to escape, but every attempt leads to the next story. I hear Rufus walking up to my door now. I hope the Sleepmaster sees this and forgives me. And, for the love of God, don’t insult r/nosleep ever. Give every story you see an upvote, leave nice comments and whenever you can, post on here. If any of you have any idea how to get me out of this mess, please tell me. I want to return to my Whetstone house and see my neighbours. I will update whenever I can.
Please, help me.