Horror Stories - 3 Scary TRUE Halloween Horror Stories That’ll Keep You Up All Night

Starting point is 00:00:00 Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th.

Starting point is 00:00:19 Don't pass go and own it all. Only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Details at yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Wireless can feel like a world of traps, but not with Visible.

Starting point is 00:00:35 It's one-line wireless with unlimited data and hotspot. Powered by Verizon for $25 a month, taxes and fees included. Plus, for a limited time, new members pay just $20 a month for one year on the Visible plan. Using the code Fresh Start. Refresh your wireless with Visible. Tap the banner to switch today. Terms apply, limited time offer subject to change. See Visible.com for plan features and network management details.

Starting point is 00:01:00 Hello everyone and welcome back to horror stories. I know many of you use these episodes to fall asleep so before you drift off, I'd love it if you could leave a comment letting me know where you're listening from around the world. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe if you're enjoying the episodes. Story 1, I've always loved Halloween. When I was 10 years old, it was the most important day of the year for me. The weeks leading up to it were spent planning my costume and most importantly decorating the house. My dad loved it too. He would buy everything.

Starting point is 00:01:42 Fake cobwebs, giant spiders, skeletons to hang from trees and even a fog machine. That year, my two best friends, James and Curles, we sometimes called him Curls or Curles, were helping us out. James was 14, so he was the cool older kid who could reach the high branches, and Curls was 12, a bit older than me.

Starting point is 00:02:03 We were having a great time in the front, yard, trying to make our house the scariest one on the block. My dad was setting up a creepy scarecrow by the porch while I spread cobwebs over the bushes with curls. James was on a small ladder hanging a plastic ghost from a big oak tree near the sidewalk when I first saw him. A man I had never seen before walking down the street. He stopped right in front of our house. He wasn't walking a dog or jogging. He just stood there watching us. He looked average in every way. Maybe in his 30s, wearing a simple jacket and jeans. The only strange thing about him was his smile, wide but not friendly.

Starting point is 00:02:44 He looked straight at me and said, Wow, you guys are doing great. Getting ready for the big night, huh? I was friendly, so I smiled back. Yeah, we want to be the scariest house. I bet you'll get a lot of candy, he added, glancing around at our decorations. Are you going trick-or-treating around here? What's your route?

Starting point is 00:03:05 The question struck me as a bit odd, but I didn't think much of it. Before I could answer, my dad came down from the porch. He placed a hand on my shoulder and stood between the man and me. I could feel his grip tightened slightly. Can I help you? he asked, calm but firm. The man's smile faltered for a second. Just admiring the decorations. Your boy's a hard worker.

Starting point is 00:03:31 He looked at me again. Make sure you get lots of full-sized chocolate bars, kid. It's time to go inside, son, my dad said, not taking his eyes off him. I obeyed and walked toward the door. When I looked back, I saw the man's face change. That fake smile vanished completely, and his eyes turned cold, almost angry. He stared at my dad for a second, then turned and walked away down the street without saying another word. A couple of nights later, I woke up to a loud thud in the front yard, like something heavy had fallen. My room was on the second floor facing the street and our lawn. I was scared, but curiosity got the better of me. I tiptoed to the window and peeked through

Starting point is 00:04:16 the blinds. The streetlights cast long, eerie shadows. And there he was, the same man standing in the middle of our yard, partially hidden by the big oak tree. The noise must have been him knocking over the scarecrow my dad had set up, which was now lying sideways on the grass. He wasn't moving. He was just standing there, staring at the house. I could swear he was looking straight at my window. I jumped back, heart racing, and ran downstairs to the living room, where my dad was watching TV.

Starting point is 00:04:47 Dad, that man's in the yard. He got up immediately, went to the front door, opened it, and stepped outside. I watched from the doorway as he looked around the yard. After about a minute, he came back in and locked the door. There's no one out there, he said, though he looked worried. The scarecrow fell. Maybe it was the wind, but I knew it wasn't the wind. The next day was October 31st, Halloween.

Starting point is 00:05:16 I was still nervous, but the excitement of trick-or-treating took over. After school, James and Curls came over. We put on our costumes. I was a ninja. James was a werewolf, and Curleys was a vampire. As soon as it got dark, we grabbed our bag. and headed out. At first we stayed in our neighborhood, but we had this idea that the farther houses gave out better candy. We kept walking block after block until I barely recognized where we were.

Starting point is 00:05:43 Our bags were getting heavy, and we felt proud. We were approaching a dark house with just one pumpkin on the porch, and we heard a voice from across the street, from the shadows. Hey kids, over here, I've got the good stuff. We turned. At the entrance of a house with no lights, was the man. He was holding a big bowl and took a step toward us, wearing that same wide fake smile. Come on, don't be shy, he said, trying to sound friendly. Curlis and I took a step forward. After all, who turns down more candy? But James grabbed our arms. No, he said, his voice trembling a little. No, we have to go. Being older, James sensed something was very wrong. The man noticed our hesitation and his smile faded again.

Starting point is 00:06:33 He dropped the bowl. It was empty and started walking toward us much faster. Run, James shouted. He didn't have to say it twice. We took off as fast as we could. I could hear his footsteps pounding behind me, getting closer.

Starting point is 00:06:50 We were all screaming. Curls, always the fastest, darted between two houses and vanished into a dark backyard. James faster than me was ahead. I dared to look back. The man was focused only on me, not even looking for the others. His face was pure rage. My ninja costume was slowing me down and I was exhausted. He was right behind me now. I could hear his breathing. He reached out and grabbed the back of my costume. I thought it was over. Get away from my son. It was my dad's voice. He came running from a side street pale with fear and fury. The man let go of me so suddenly that I fell to the ground. He looked at my dad, then at me, and without saying a word, turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Starting point is 00:07:41 My dad rushed to me and hugged me tightly. Moments later, James returned and Carlos peeked out from behind a fence. We were all crying. On the way home, my dad held my hand so tightly at hurt. He explained that he'd gotten worried when we didn't return at the time we'd agreed. He called James's house, and he wasn't there either. Panicking, he got in the car and went looking for us. He stopped to ask a neighbor if they'd seen us, and luckily they had.

Starting point is 00:08:10 Three kids wearing our costumes heading in that direction. If not for that, I don't know what would have happened. We never saw that man again, but I never forgot his face. Story 2. Last Halloween was supposed to be fun, but it turned into something I'll never forget. My name is Mark. I'm 17, and I live in a quiet suburb outside of Chicago. One of those neighborhoods where everyone knows each other. That night, our neighbor, Mr. Taylor, was hosting a small gathering.

Starting point is 00:08:47 He's an older guy, retired, and had invited a few people over to hand out candy and play some games. I went because my parents approved, and I didn't have any major plans. That's where I met Jake. He said he was 19 and a guest to Mr. Taylor. some kind of distant relative or something like that. I liked him right away. He was tall, had short brown hair, a hoodie in jeans. We started talking about video games.

Starting point is 00:09:15 He liked Call of Duty same as me, and played a quick round on Mr. Taylor's old console, laughing at bad shots and buggy moments. He told me he lived a few towns over but visited Mr. Taylor sometimes. We exchanged numbers. He seemed like someone who could turn into a good friend. friend. My mom had been insisting for days that I buy a pumpkin for the porch. My dad was stuck at the office with a deadline. He works in accounting, always buried in spreadsheets. So he told me to handle it.

Starting point is 00:09:46 I mentioned it to Jake and he smiled. I know a great place. A farm on country road 47, about 20 minutes from here. They've got huge pumpkins for cheap. Want to go? I thought, why not? It was still early around 6 p.m. and Halloween night wasn't over. I had my mom's old pickup truck so we got in and drove off. The road grew darker as we left the suburb. There were no streetlights, just fields and trees. A thick fog started to roll in, like in old horror movies, so heavy I could barely see three feet ahead. The headlights barely cut through it. We chattered about school, me still in high school, him saying he was taking a gap year before college, until we finally reached the same. the farm. It was a run-down place, with a wooden sign that read Miller's Pumpkin Patch.

Starting point is 00:10:38 But there were no lights, no cars, no people, just rows of pumpkins scattered across the field, half hidden by fog. Where is everyone? I asked uneasy. Jake shrugged, probably closing up. Stay here, I'll check around back. He got out and disappeared into the mist. I stayed in the truck scrolling through my phone, but the signal was awful. Minutes passed. Five, then ten. I started to worry. What if something happened to him? Then he came back, but he wasn't alone. With him was a man in his forties wearing overalls in a flannel shirt, the typical farmer look. His face looked normal, clean-shaven brown eyes, but something felt off. His smile was too wide, too forced. Hey there, son, he said. Jake tells me you're looking for a pumpkin. Come into the barn. I've got the best ones in there.

Starting point is 00:11:38 The barn was behind the field, an old wooden structure with the doors creaking in the wind. Jake nodded. Come on, Mark. He says the big ones are stored inside, but right away, the farmer started asking weird questions. Do you live around here? What's your family's name? Do you have any brothers? What does your dad do for a living? It didn't sound like small talk. It felt like he was probing. And why inside the barn, when all the pumpkins were right there in the field? I looked at Jake, but he just stood there with his hands in his pockets watching me.

Starting point is 00:12:14 Through the fog, I swore I heard a door slam shut in the house next to the barn. Were there more people there? My stomach tightened. They were both staring at me waiting. Come on, it's inside. The farmer repeated. His tone sharper now. No.

Starting point is 00:12:30 I stayed by the truck. Uh, actually, my mom's texting me. She's waiting, and I've got to get back soon. Can we just grab one from out here? I pulled out my phone, pretending to read a message, even though I had no signal. Jake glanced at the farmer, and for a split second, their eyes met in a way that made my blood run cold, like they shared a secret. The farmer shrugged. Sure, kid.

Starting point is 00:12:57 Take your pick. We grabbed a large pumpkin from the edge. of the field. I paid him cash and we left. On the drive back, Jake was quiet, nothing like before. I dropped him off at Mr. Taylor's and went home to carve the pumpkin with my mom. I tried to shake off the weird feeling from the farm, but it stuck with me. Later that night we had a small get-together at my house, me and some friends from school, about eight of us total, pizza, soda, and horror movies on Netflix. I even invited Jake since he'd seem nice earlier. He showed up around 8 p.m. and blended right in.

Starting point is 00:13:33 We played board games, told silly ghost stories, and laughed a lot. Then Jake's phone rang. He checked it and quietly slipped outside without saying much. Be right back, he muttered. Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. I opened it, thinking it was a late trick-or-treater. But someone pushed their way in, tall wearing a black jacket and a mask with an eerily realistic human face. one of those silicone ones you see online. It was terrifying.

Starting point is 00:14:03 Blank eyes, a frozen grimace. This was a private party. No costumes allowed. Maybe a hat at most. Who are you? I asked blocking his way. He didn't respond. Just stood there.

Starting point is 00:14:17 My friends Ben and Leah came over. Dude, this is invite only. Do you know anyone here? Nothing. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. A real one, black, heavy like a glonk. He pointed it straight at us. Everybody, wallet's phone's jewelry in the bag.

Starting point is 00:14:37 Now he tossed a duffel bag on the floor. Panic hit me like a punch. My heart was pounding in my chest. We froze for a moment, then started handing things over. My iPhone, Leah's necklace, Ben's watch. The guy moved fast, waving the gun around. I looked over at Jake. He was in the corner tossing his arm.

Starting point is 00:14:57 wallet into the bag like everyone else, but his face wasn't scared. No wide eyes, no trembling hands. He looked calm, too calm, like he'd seen this before. The robber even took Jake's stuff, but it all felt staged. The man grabbed the bag and backed out the door, disappearing into the night. We locked up and called 911. The police arrived quickly. Two officers with flashing lights that woke the neighborhood. We told them everything. My dad had installed an outdoor security camera last year, so they checked the footage. Clear as day. When Jake went outside to take the call, he met with the same man, without the mask. They talked for about a minute, heads close together. Then the man waited while Jake went back inside. It was all planned. The police arrested Jake

Starting point is 00:15:50 on the spot. He barely resisted. At the station, they questioned. him and eventually he confessed. The farmer from the pumpkin patch was his uncle, a man named Carl with a record for theft. They'd been running scams for a while, targeting kids like me and spying on families through friends like Jake. The pumpkin trip was a setup. They wanted to gather info about my family, see if we had valuables. The weird questions were part of the script. They wanted me to go inside the farmhouse, maybe to steal my keys or phone. Luckily, I didn't fall for it. The robbery at the party was their main plan. Jake had given them all the details. When police raided the farm, it turned out it wasn't even a real pumpkin patch anymore,

Starting point is 00:16:35 just a front. They found our stuff hidden in the barn, along with stolen items from other robberies. Carl had the gun, unregistered and loaded. He was arrested too. We got everything back, but the fear didn't go away. Now I double-checked the locks and don't trust new friends so easily. Mr. Taylor had no idea Jake was involved in anything shady. He felt terrible. That Halloween taught me that sometimes the scariest things aren't ghosts or monsters. They're the people you think you can trust. If I had gone into that farmhouse, who knows what would have happened.

Starting point is 00:17:12 I still get chills just thinking about it. Story 3. When I was a kid, around 11 years old, my family used to drive out every holiday season to visit my grandparents. They lived in a quiet little town in rural Ohio, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone's business, but no one talks about the strange stuff. We didn't live there. We were two hours away in the city, but Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter meant packing the car and hitting the road. My grandparents' house sat at the end of a dead-end street. Nothing fancy, just a row of old wooden houses with big yards. My aunt and uncle lived two doors down. They had my baby cousin back then, just a few months old.

Starting point is 00:18:00 To get from one house to the other, we'd walk along a cracked sidewalk, passing the house in the middle. That's where she lived, the unsettling woman. I don't even know her real name. We just called her the lady, or sometimes the woman with the chains. She was huge, over six feet tall, built like a linebacker. She always had heavy dragging chains hanging around her neck, the kind loggers used to haul timber. Clank, clank. That's how you knew she was around. She wore filthy old-fashioned dresses like something from the 1950s and muddy work boots. Her hair was wild, gray, and tangled, like she'd never brushed it in her life.

Starting point is 00:18:44 The only times we saw her outside were when she was in her backyard garden or scrubbing the outside of her house. Yes, scrubbing the walls. She'd bring out a bucket of soapy water and a stiff brush and start scrubbing the wooden boards like they were covered in invisible dirt. She did it often, even in the rain. It was bizarre. And if she saw us playing nearby, she'd yell things like, brats. The devil's coming for you.

Starting point is 00:19:11 He's going to drag you away. Her voice was deep and raspy like she'd smoked for 40 years. My cousins and I would freeze in fear. The adults always told us to leave her alone. She's old and lonely. Don't bother her, and she won't bother you, my mom would say. But we knew it wasn't that simple. Every time we had to walk from my grandparents' house to my aunt and uncles,

Starting point is 00:19:35 to borrow sugar or play with the baby, we'd run the whole way. The woman's house had big street-facing windows, and you could always see her silhouette behind them, watching her face pressed up to the glass between half-closed curtains. We never went alone, always in pairs or groups. Once my older cousin swore he heard her muttering something about burying sinners. We laughed it off later, but the thought stuck with me. That Halloween I was 11.

Starting point is 00:20:04 We were all at my grandparents' place for a family gathering. Me, my cousins Jake, 13, and Sarah, nine, plus a couple of the neighborhood kids. We dressed up. I was a ghost under a holy bed sheet, nothing fancy. After dinner we went out trick-or-treating. The street was dark, no street lights, just a few porch lights here and there. As we walked, Jake grinned with that mischievous look. Bet you won't go up to the chain lady's house.

Starting point is 00:20:34 We froze. Nobody ever went there. She didn't even have her porch light on, but Jake pushed. Come on, don't be chickens. We'll all go together. What's she going to do? I didn't want to look scared. especially not in front of Jake.

Starting point is 00:20:50 So I nodded, heart pounding. We walked up her path, the leaves crunching under our shoes. The house smelled like damp earth and rot. In the backyard, the garden beds were freshly dug. Mounds have turned soil like someone had been working hard there recently. One of us, I think Sarah, reached out and rang the doorbell. Nothing at first. Then bam.

Starting point is 00:21:14 Loud thuds inside like doors slamming. Heavy footsteps. We almost bolted. The door creaked open slowly. And there she was, towering with chains hanging from her neck. Her dress stained with what looked like mud. In her hand, when she held a severed head, it was dripping something dark. The eyes were glassy, the mouth gaping.

Starting point is 00:21:37 The skin looked real, pale, vainy. We all screamed and ran like hell back to my grandparents' house. I tripped on the sidewalk and scraped my knee but didn't stop. We burst inside, crying and shaking. The adults laughed. It's just a Halloween prop, my dad said. Serves you right for bothering her. They calmed us down with candy, but I couldn't shake it. That head didn't look fake. A month later, just after Thanksgiving, we were back in the city when the phone rang late at night. I was already in bed, but I heard my parents whispering. My mom was crying. The next morning they sat me down. Something happened at your aunt's house, my dad said.

Starting point is 00:22:22 The woman next door attacked her. My aunt had been carrying groceries inside, holding my baby cousin in one arm. It was getting dark. She didn't hear anything until it was too late. The woman lunged at her from behind with a wire saw, one of those with handles on both ends for cutting branches. She looped it over my aunt's head, pulled it tight around her neck, and started sawing back and forth.

Starting point is 00:22:46 My aunt panicked, dropped the bags, and kicked at the front door screaming. The wire tore into her skin, blood everywhere. My uncle heard the commotion, grabbed the fireplace poker, and ran outside. He swung it hard, hitting the woman's arms and head until she let go and collapsed. The police arrived quickly along with an ambulance. They rushed my aunt to the hospital. She had a deep cut across her neck and needed stitches and reconstructive surgery. She survived, thank God, but now she has a long jagged scar, a pink line from year to ear.

Starting point is 00:23:21 She sometimes hides it with scarves, but that wasn't the end. When the police searched the woman's house, what they found was beyond disturbing. She had been digging tunnels under her property, not shallow ones, but deep tunnels supported by wooden beams like mine shafts. They stretched from her basement beneath my aunt and uncle's house, my grandparents' house, and even the neighbors on the other side. That's why she was always outside. At night she'd bring up dirt in buckets and dump it into her raised garden beds,

Starting point is 00:23:53 hiding it in plain sight. The beds were overflowing, but no one thought twice. Inside the tunnels they found her sanctuary, an underground chamber with melted candles stuck to the walls, strange religious carvings, inverted crosses, demonic symbols, and chains, and around them severed heads. Real ones. Three of them somehow preserved, either in jars or wrapped in plastic.

Starting point is 00:24:20 Police said they belonged to missing people, drifters or hitchhikers she had picked up over the years. She'd been losing her mind quietly for decades. No family, no friends, just her chains and her secrets. It turned out that the head we saw that Halloween wasn't a decoration, it was one of the real ones freshly acquired, maybe. They later matched it to a man who'd gone missing just a week before. We could have been next if we'd stayed any longer. They demolished the house and filled in the tunnels afterward. My aunt and uncle moved away. They couldn't bear to stay.

Starting point is 00:24:53 My grandparents stayed, but they built fences. I don't visit much anymore, but sometimes at night I imagine her standing at that window watching. And I wonder how many other creepy neighbors are out there. Hiding tunnels? Or worse, it really makes you think twice about who's living next door.

Horror Stories - 3 Scary TRUE Halloween Horror Stories That’ll Keep You Up All Night

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.