CreepsMcPasta Creepypasta Radio - "The Mumbling Game" Creepypasta

Episode Date: July 26, 2022

CHECK OUT THE AUTHOR'S BOOK► https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B...AUTHOR'S SUBREDDIT► https://www.reddit.com/r/Verastahl/CREEPYPASTA STORY►by Verastahl: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comm...Creepypastas are the campfire tales of the internet. Horror stories spread through Reddit r/nosleep, forums and blogs, rather than word of mouth. Whether you believe these scary stories to be true or not is left to your own discretion and imagination. LISTEN TO CREEPYPASTAS ON THE GO-SPOTIFY► https://open.spotify.com/show/7l0iRPd...iTUNES► https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...CREEPY THUMBNAIL ART BY►Angelo Peluso: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3o...SUGGESTED CREEPYPASTA PLAYLISTS-►"Good Places to Start"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YCb...►"Personal Favourites"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEa2R...►"Written by me"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX6RA...►"Long Stories"- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...FOLLOW ME ON-►Twitter: https://twitter.com/Creeps_McPasta►Instagram: https://instagram.com/creepsmcpasta/►Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/creepsmcpasta►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreepsMcPastaCREEPYPASTA MUSIC/ SFX- ►http://bit.ly/Audionic ♪►http://bit.ly/Myuusic ♪►http://bit.ly/incompt ♪►http://bit.ly/EpidemicM ♪-This creepypasta is for entertainment purposes only-

You don't find these places often, Roy said, probably only a handful of times in a person's life, at least that they notice. When I asked him what he was talking about, I was already dreading the answer. We'd been roommates for five years, and for the most part, we got along and were good friends. But his interests were weird and varied, and when he got on a roll, he could talk your ear off about some obscure topic that was only interesting for a friend. a minute or two. And it wasn't like Roy was afraid of shutting me up if he wasn't in the mood to talk. He called it, turning off his ears, and he meant it. He'd had cochlear implants since he was a kid, and he didn't mind unplugging if he didn't

want to listen. I'd gotten to where I tried to steer around getting into long conversations when we ate together, but this time it felt different. He was jittery. acting, almost like he was scared of something, or had gotten some bad news. We were just sitting in our living room, eating leftover pasta. But Roy kept looking out the window, like he was expecting someone to break in on us. It was weird, you know, something was wrong.

So I asked him what was going on, and he started to say nothing. But then he seemed to change his mind, told me, That you don't find these spots often. But it does happen, if only a handful of times in a person's life. I asked him what he meant, and when he kept talking, this time, I listened. It's that feeling you get. Look, have you ever been somewhere, and it felt different than it should? Like, more empty, or more creepy, or just like, you're unsettled, but you don't know why.

That's what it feels like I'm not talking about places that are obviously creepy or dangerous or whatever I'm talking about normal places maybe even places you go every day that don't feel normal this time That's when it happens

Sandra's that girl I was telling you about Sandra told me about this game she played when she was a kid She was an army brat And she picked it up when she was overseas Back then, she used to play it with a group of kids that told her about the game, which they had apparently learned from another base kid that had come through years before. But they wouldn't actually play it. They acted like they had, but she thought they were lying.

They all looked kind of excited and spooked when they brought it up to her, not as an invitation for them to all play, but as a dare to the new girl, or maybe just to impress her. They called it The mumbling game The name didn't make any sense to her at the time The game wasn't about mumbling If you could even call it a game at all

You couldn't play it all the time Or at a place of your choosing There was no score No way to compete with others It was just Well, it's easier if I just tell you what it is Instead of what it isn't The idea

was that there are certain places that, on rare occasions, will feel off. Like I said, lonely or creepy or dangerous, in a way that doesn't really make sense. Sandra told me that most people just ignore the feeling or try to leave as quick as they can. But if they stayed, some of those would find a way to play the game. So, you enter a room or a hallway, a parking lot or a building. the places can vary a lot. The only real constants are that feeling that something is wrong and that you are always alone when you find one of...

Well, Sandra called them unsettled spots. If you notice yourself alone in an unsettled spot and you decide to stay, what comes next is simple. You find an area in the centre of the space and you sit down. She said you should sit with your leg straight out and your hands palm down on the ground under your butt so like sitting on the backs of your hands But she didn't know if that was really needed or just in detail the kids had added Either way you sit there and you close your eyes and if you really are in one of those spots

After a few minutes you'll hear a loud cracking noise followed by the sound of a bell You can open your eyes then And you'll know right away if it worked Because You won't be alone anymore There will be a person Or something that looks like a person Sitting or standing nearby

Watching you And smiling They won't talk to you Or respond if you talk to them And they won't approach you at first They just stare and smile And sure, maybe by that point you're scared, or at least more than a little freaked out, but at least they aren't going to grab you or even come closer to you.

And that's when you get up and try to leave. Very quickly, you become aware of a few different things. First, no matter how far you go, you won't see another person now, and that feeling of wrongness will stay with you. Second, when you move, this smiling stranger moves with you step for step. You go 20 steps back, they follow 20 steps. But if you go towards them, they don't retreat. They just keep smiling at you, as though sharing the joke or the secret of this strange stance you're doing now.

Back and forth, left and right, you can't shake them. And depending on their gait compared to yours, and the directions you take. The gap between you is closing all the time. I'd laughed and asked Sandra, what was supposed to happen if they caught you. Her face was serious when she answered me, so the kids didn't like talking about that,

not directly. But the couple of times they had, they'd use the Tagalog word, Sampa. She said it meant something like to climb or to ride. I then asked, the obvious questions. If playing this game got you stuck in some bad version of the world,

why would anyone play? And how would anyone know about it if you can't get out to tell them? You can get out, she said, but only by going back the way you got in. If you panic and just run off, or if you get to a place that your new companion has blocked you from getting back, sure, you could be screwed. But so long as you remember and keep you, your head, you can usually just go back out the way you came. You'll walk until the bad feeling goes away and when you turn around the thing following you would be gone.

Sandra said that for days after telling her about the game, the other kids would tease her about it, but it was easy to make excuses as to why she couldn't play, as it just wasn't a very common thing for her to be alone or run across some spot that felt weird. They eventually got bored talking about it and moved on to other things, and by the next year, she'd almost completely forgotten about the game. It wasn't until her last weekend before moving back to the state that she had a reminder. She cut through the small garden centre at the on-base PX. It was like a store for military families on the base, said the store wasn't closed or anything, and it was the middle of the afternoon. But there was no one else around.

That wasn't that strange, but something still caused her to stop. She said the light looked weird, and even though she'd been there with her mom a dozen times, she had a scary feeling in a chest that she'd never felt before. He reminded her of the mumbling game. And once the thought came, it had her. Before she knew it, she was sitting down on the dirty concrete in the middle of the middle of the of the garden centre and closing her eyes. After a couple of minutes, she heard a sharp crack.

Then a bell rang nearby. She was scared by then, but she had to open her eyes and check, right? There was a man standing on the far side of the garden centre now, just standing there and staring at her. He wasn't dressed in fatigues or a uniform on one of the outfits the people in the store usually wore. Everything he wore was grey. Grey pants and shirt, even a grey fringe of hair around a pale scalp. Maybe it was her imagination, but the teeth he showed as he smiled at her, even looked grey in the light. Her reaction was immediate. She jumped to her feet and started to run

out of the garden centre, casting a glance back to see if he was following. He was. His strides long enough he could keep pace without fully having to run yet. And that's when she remembered the rest. Hard as it was, she made herself stop. And as soon as she stopped, the smiling man following her stopped too. Shaking, she made herself think of how she'd come into the garden centre. And when she'd first started feeling the strangeness that had stopped her in the first place. It had been just a few feet before she entered the chain link area

where they kept the mulching fertilizer and to get back there she was going to have to go closer to the man much closer She was just 11 But I think she was a smart and brave kid Told me she walked slowly Every step tense

As she watched for some sign of him moving towards her He didn't move a muscle at first just stared and smiled, his eyes following her as she crept nearer. It was when she was just a few feet from being past him, that the smile fell away and his lips began to move. She could hear him speaking, but the words were too low and deep for her to make out anything. Walking faster, she passed within ten feet of him, but he just watched and mumbled as she went past.

until she reached the point of moving away instead of moving closer, of course. Then he began to turn. She bolted, running back the way she had first come, knowing that at any second a cold grey hand would close on a shoulder or neck. The feeling of wrongness had been gone for a few seconds, and she could see people moving around the parking lot now. And when she finally slowed down and looked back, The man was gone.

Sandra said she never forgot about that afternoon, but she'd never seen that man again either. Said she figured she'd gotten away in time and that she'd left the game behind when she escaped. That was 15 years ago, man. Then, last week, she was working late. Her office was empty, but it didn't normally creep her out or anything. This time, it was different.

One minute everything seemed normal. The next she felt this. She said it was like a weight settling on her or the air pressure changing way faster than it should. Even after all that time, she knew what it was right away. Her first thought was, It's okay, don't panic.

I just need to not play again and leave. It'll be fine. It was then that she looked behind her and saw the man from the garden centre, staring at her and smiling just ten feet away. She ran, of course. Of course she ran. But like I said, she's smart.

She made sure she left the same way she'd come into the office, and she was bigger than when she was a kid, with a much longer stride. She managed to stay away from him until she got out to a car, and by then the feeling and the man were gone again. She said at the time she was too freaked out to think straight or make sense of it She hadn't played the game again so why had the man come back? It wasn't until she calmed down and thought about it some more that she realized the truth

She had never stopped playing Sandra said that she thought these weird places these unsettled spots were places beside or underneath our world They looked similar, but they were wrong somehow, and the things that lived there were wrong too. She said that when she left the spot in the garden centre, that bad version of the world and the thing following her hadn't just ceased to exist, and maybe it hadn't stopped following her either. It attracted her over the years, moving behind the world and getting closer when it could. And once it was close enough, it just had to wait until she had to wait until she was.

she was in a spot that wasn't right, a place where she could see it again, and it would finally reach out to take her. I didn't believe any of this, of course. I thought she was pulling my leg at first, or that she was messed up on drugs or something, though I'd never known her to even drink much, let alone anything that would make a delusional. But the more she talked, the more upset she became, and the more determined I became to try and help her. When just trying to convince her that it had just been a false memory or a bad dream didn't work, I suggested that maybe it was a real guy who was just been stalking her since she was a kid, had finally tracked her down again and snuck into a building maybe.

She started crying then, said she'd already considered that, even had security pulled the footage from the office that night. It showed her during the time she started to run away, but the camera couldn't see the man that followed. I wanted to say that was proof it was in her head, but I knew it would just make her angry and she'd pull away. Instead, I told her that I believed her, and I tried to help her figure out what we could do to fix it.

What I didn't tell her was that I was going to try and play the game myself so I could honestly tell her it was BS and maybe convince her to get whatever help she really needed. I wasn't sure if I get the chance if I was going to do it honestly. Just like everybody, I've had times where a place felt weird or creepy and I wasn't sure why.

But not like often or anything. And if I didn't run across one of those spots, I either couldn't play the game at all or I'd have to lie to her and act like I'd found an unsettled spot after. all, but that nothing had happened. Funnily enough, I walked into one on Saturday. I was down in the archives at the library, pulling stuff for that paper I'm working on.

It's always super quiet down there, and maybe some people think it's creepy, but I've always liked it. It felt very at home, you know. But as I walked back to the shelves, that changed. It was like I'd walked into a different climate or something I was confused at first And even when I thought to the game I didn't really think I'd found an unsettled spot

But I did think it was close enough That I could tell myself I wasn't lying when I told Sandra I tried the game in the right kind of place And nothing happened Roy fell silent Staring at nothing for a minute As I waited for him to go on When he hadn't, I threw a napkin at him.

Well, did you do it? Did anything happen? His face was pale when he turns a look at me. Yeah, it worked. It was just like she said. There was this girl standing there when I opened my eyes, a bit younger than us. I thought she was just a student at first, and she was actually kind of cute, smiling at me the way she was. and I was sitting in the middle of the floor like a goober after all. Licking his lips, he went on.

But she didn't say anything or move, didn't respond when I said hey to her, just stared and smiled. I started to get scared. I took a couple of steps back and she took two steps towards me. I wanted to just run, but I remembered what Sandra had said. So instead, I cut over one row and then went forward. She'd gotten closer, of course, and when I tried to cut back over to the aisle, I needed to go out of the way I'd gone in.

She was only a few feet away, not smiling anymore. Mumbling, I frowned at him. Could you hear what she was saying? He shook his head. Here? Not really, but... He sighed. pointing at his ear.

Look, I got these implants when I was 12, but my hearing had started going when I was like five or six. I learned to get by through paying close attention to what I could hear and by reading lips. Even now, I still look at people's lips a lot when they talk. I was scared witless and in a hurry. But it didn't stop me from seeing some of what she was saying. What was it? Drembling, he looked up at me.

It said It would always find me And that it was okay That I couldn't get away because I was already there That I'd always been there Sitting back I puffed out of breath

Get lost dude That's a creepy story You should write that down He stared at me for a moment in disbelief It's not a story you asshole It really happened I got away from her At least for now, but...

Damn man. Sandra's gone. Gone? What do you mean gone? Like, she's moved or something? Standing up, he started pacing the living room, hands clenching and unclinching into fists. No, like, she's disappeared.

When I left the library to find her, to tell her, I believed her. She wasn't at home. Doesn't answer her phone. That was four days ago, and she hasn't been to work or anywhere else. No one knows where she is. Damn man. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Did you call the cops?

He nodded. I talked to him. So did her parents in Iowa, who also haven't heard from her. They're actually heading out here tomorrow or Thursday, I think. Okay, well, yeah, I mean, maybe they can help you find her, and I'm glad to help too. Roy was already shaking his head. You don't get it. it, man, they're not going to find her. It's not like the cops found some sign of someone snatching her or something. She just disappeared, because something is different now.

I raised an eyebrow at him. What do you mean? He kept pacing, his eyes flicking to the windows again, and then to the far corners of the room. What are the odds of me finding a weird spot so soon after her telling me about them? It's like her telling me about it. infected me or something, or the guy afterer told one of his buddies to start trying to get to me, give me a door and see if I'm dumb enough to step through. Roy let out a bitter laugh, which I was, and now this woman is after me,

probably looking at me right now, waiting for a chance to push me back into that other version of things and run me down. He glanced at me, his face haunted. That's what struck me last night. Sandra's gone and they're after me. So, I have to stay vigilant. Stay in crowds, avoid spots that are strange. And I need to put distance between me and that girl.

Roy gave me a humorous smile. Maybe that's why it took the guy so long to find Sandra again. Maybe it has to be walking or running. You know, steps. If you ride or fly, maybe they have to just stop wherever they are. It's only when you walk away from them. that they can try to catch up to you.

He shrugged. Damn, I don't know. I know that I plan to be gone before her parents get here. They're probably going to think I did something to her if I disappear, but I have bigger problems than that right now. I just... He let out a sigh. You're my friend, and I didn't want you thinking I did something to hurt someone when I'm gone.

And... His eyes widened. Damn, now that I think about... it. Maybe I foot you in danger just telling you about it. I mean it as an explanation, a warning even. But maybe I'm just making it worse. I... I need to go. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. I hadn't realised it, but he'd already packed some bags before we sat down to eat. And within a couple of minutes, he'd grabbed them and left. That was three weeks ago. and I haven't heard from him since.

Sandra's parents did come by a few days after my last talk with Roy and the police have talked to me since then too. Like he predicted, they are suspicious that he suddenly disappeared but they don't have any evidence he did anything. Like the rest of us, they're just scared. I haven't slept much since all that. I find myself dozing off at work or taking odd. naps when I'm at home without meaning to. It was yesterday when I woke up on the sofa in the

middle of the night. I'd heard something, hadn't I? I was disoriented at first, and when I looked around, I saw someone standing near the kitchen. My first thought was a happy one. Roy, is that you, man? The figure didn't say anything, didn't move, and walked up a bit more. I realised the silhouette looked shorter than Roy's would have been. Heart pounding, I reached over and turned on a lamp. It was a teenage boy I'd never seen before, just standing there, staring, and smiling. I thought of Roy's story immediately, but I didn't understand.

The room, it felt weird, the air felt thick and electric, and even though I'd lived there for five years, everything seemed slightly off, slightly alien. No, I hadn't played the game. I was just sitting alone with my eyes closed, asleep, and what had woke me up? It might have been a bell. I stood up shakily.

Hello? I tried to make my voice stern. I was the adult after all. What are you doing here? no response. Just staring and smiling. I wanted to yell at him or run out through the sliding glass door, but I forced myself to stop and think.

How had I come into the room before I fell asleep? Had the room been weird then and I didn't notice, or had it changed while I was asleep? I didn't know if it mattered, but I knew I'd come in through the front door and sat down on the couch to watch TV for a few minutes. and I hadn't gone back up since falling asleep. That meant I needed to go past the kitchen to get to the front door and get out the way I'd gone in.

That meant I'd have to walk within a foot of the thing that was watching me. It was hard to even take a step forward. I didn't know what would happen if it touched me, and I didn't know if it could grab me while I was moving toward it so long as it didn't take a step. assuming all these rules were actually rules at all. But I had to try something, and I couldn't stay in there with that thing. So I forced myself to take a step, and then another and another, angling myself toward the wall farthest from him,

while making sure I'd travel toward him more than I went to the side. The boy seemed to tense once or twice, as though anticipating being able to step forward, but every time I'd correct enough that he had to stay still his smile seeming to widen a bit as I drew nearer I was ten feet away when he began to mutter and mumble under his breath his lips moving slow at first and then more quickly as I got closer I was pressed against the wall now sliding along it knocking off a picture and raking my back against the light switch

in my effort to stay as far away from him as possible. It was working so far, but my fear was that as soon as I was past him, he'd just turn and grab me before I could get the door open and get away. Drawing even with him, I stopped. He had to turn to face me, less than two feet between us, but he hadn't reached out of hand yet.

My next step, he'd be on me if he could reach me in time. It was hard to think. I was so scared. He looked like a normal boy, but he still seemed wrong. Much like the room looked normal, but didn't feel that way. I could hear his voice, and I thought I could make out a few words here and there, him saying I should just go with him, that it didn't matter because I was already there.

God damn it, no. I couldn't listen to that. I had to get away, but the second I... No. I was looking at it wrong. The time didn't matter. The space did. If what Roy had said was right,

I just had to take a big enough jump that he couldn't reach me in one step. A big enough step to get to the door, open it, and get out with my next one. I looked to the front door and then back at him. I could see him tensing, getting ready to pounce. His legs were a lot shorter than mine. but his arms were long,

and I had to stop overthinking it, and just go. So I did, shifting my weight to my right foot, I did a side jump as far and as fast as I could. When I landed, I would have fallen before my shoulder, slamming into the front door,

the knot digging into my hip painfully as I slid aside and started to turn it. Opening the door, I looked around. The boy's finger, were inches from my back. I could try to close the door behind me, but I had no way of knowing if it would stop him or even slow him down.

Better, I just get into the hall and run back the way I'd come. Leaping forward, I could hear him behind me, mumbling faster. One step, and he seemed to grow louder. Two, and he was more distant. There was silence by the fourth, but I kept running.

Only when I reached the end of the hallway Did I realise the oppressive feeling was gone? Opening the door to the stairwell I finally looked back for my pursuer As far as I could tell It was gone