Lighthouse Horror Podcast - EMERGENCY ALERT: Stay Inside and Lock Your Doors | Scary Stories

Episode Date: January 8, 2024

Don't let them in.        Story from DustyBronco  Make sure to check out more of their work at u/DustyBronco                            Original Post: The Smile of Your Shadow : r/nosleep  Original YouTube link: EMERGENCY ALERT: Stay Inside and Lock Your Doors           For more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel: Lighthouse Horror | YouTube  Patreon: Lighthouse Horror | Patreon Merch: lighthousehorror.com  Music: Lucas King - YouTube Myuu - YouTube  Incompetech Darren Curtis Music - YouTube  Thank you for listening to this scary story! If you enjoyed this new creepypasta story, please check out some of my other horror stories. We'll be uploading new episodes every week, featuring ghost stories, haunted encounters, mysteries, true stories, creepypasta, and anything supernatural and paranormal. Don't miss out on the thrill and suspense that await you in each episode!

You get an emergency alert on your phone that says to stay inside, lock your doors, and don't let anyone in. Do you A, immediately open your front door and go outside. B, let your friends in. Or C, lock your doors and don't let anyone in, no matter what happens. Here's what Alex did. It was a long week at work. I left late again and couldn't even catch the sunlight on the way home. But at least it was over.

Monday was a whole new problem for future me, I thought, as I shut my apartment's door behind me. I flipped on the noose, threw my bag and jacket on the couch, and started to see what I could make myself for dinner, preferably in the microwave. Reports of break-ins and assault. So far, victims all claim it was someone they know. What? I closed the freezer door and moved back into the living room and turned the TV up a little more. No suspects have been positively identified thus far, but all reported attackers claimed they were at home or at work when the alleged break-ins occurred.

Police Chief Adams is here with advice. My phone let out a loud, harsh alarm noise and vibrated hard in my pocket. I read, alert, shelter in place, do not attempt to leave updates to follow. I return my focus to the TV, just in time to see the police. police chief at the podium. Lock your doors and windows, close your curtains, and don't answer the door for anyone, even if you know them. Trust no one.

If you see someone outside, don't interact with them in any way. And most importantly, if you see... The police chief trailed off, looking across the stage. A wave of panic spread through the audience. A woman in a suit, holding a lead pipe, had gotten up on the stage and was briskly walking towards the police chief. An officer dover to the ground, and the shaky camera feed was cut. The news returned to a stunned anchor.

Uh, thank you, police chief Adams. Now for the traffic and weather report, Justine. The screen changed to the local highway. Traffic was at an absolute standstill. Some people were standing on cars waving at the camera, clearly trying to get someone's attention. Other people had apparently abandoned their cars and were running through them or along the divider. A few ran off the highway altogether and into the narrow stretch of woods, separating it from the

nearby suburb. Justine, Justine, are you there? My phone buzzed again. It read, alert, do not attempt. to leave. Violators will be shot on site. Updates to follow. Just then, I heard a knock at my door. I barely had a chance to stand up before they tried opening my door. I checked the peephole and saw it was my friend Pat. I went to reach for the doorknob, but stopped myself. Hey, it's me. Could you let me in, please? I just saw Pat at work an hour ago. He left early so he could get to the pub before

traffic got too bad. He was making direct eye contact with me through the peephole and grinning. Both hands were behind his back. A baseball bat poked out from behind him. Were those razor blades attached to it? Just then, I got a text from Pat. Having a hell of a time at the pub the night. I wish you were here. Stop by if you feel better, all right? He sent a picture of him and some folks from the office, toasting me with glasses raised. The pat that was at my door pulled at the door knob again violently. My legs hurt from running all the way here. Let me in, okay? He sounded angry. I slid the dead bolt shut on the door. I studied him a little closer. I would have believed, Pat, if he told me he had a twin. Everything about it was the same. Right.

down to the scar on its cheek. I called Pat. Voicemail. I called again. Voice mail. I yelled at my door. What's my name? All went silent for a few seconds. Then the imposter said, Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. It was crashing against the door with its full body weight. The door shuddered each time, but didn't give. I paced back and forth. I tried calling the police, but waited on hold for five minutes before the system abruptly disconnected me. I went back to the door and looked out the peephole. Pat's imposter was gone. I returned to the couch and stared at the TV. The news had remained on a shot of the empty newscaster's desk. Suddenly it shifted to a connection lost screen and played a loud, harsh tone

that hurt my ears. I quickly grabbed the remote and shut it off. Just then, my phone rang in my pocket and startled me so badly I nearly jumped. It was my friend Beth. I answered immediately. Beth, are you okay? Holy shit. I'm so glad you answered. I came home and all my roommates are gone. There's blood all over the walls. Everything's trashed. I think something happened while I was out. I tried calling the police, but I can't get through. Beth and I have known each other for years. When I was new to the school district, a group of kids decided to pick on me. She stood up to them, fiercely, and nobody ever bothered me again. I'd hung out with her for my own protection, but it didn't take long for us to find out we had a lot in common. Beth continued to see.

speak, but a little quieter now. I keep hearing noises all around the apartment complex, people shouting and fighting. I saw the news and I don't know what's going on, but I know I don't feel safe. I need somewhere to go. Well, my apartment seems safe right now. But how do I know you're the real you? I asked. I'm sorry. What? Beth. I'll explain more when you get here. Just humor me, please. Well, I'm the real me because I knew my phone's unlock pin, and because you're the first person I called.

I realized how silly I sounded. I don't even know why I asked. You're right, Beth. I'm sorry. Look, why don't you come over right away? We'll hang out and play some board games until this is all back to normal. All right, that sounds like a plan. Remind me, where do you live again?

You've been here a hundred times, Beth. I'm pretty sure you could sleepwalk here if you wanted to. You're not serious, right? No, you're not serious. Beth replied, with an animosity that I've never heard from her before. How about you come home to blood on the walls and an empty apartment? Then we'll see how much you can remember on the spot. I felt a wave of uncertainty and hesitated.

Hey, hello? You're right, I'm sorry. I'm in the Shady Grove Apartments, Unit 232. Beth was silent. I waited before continuing. It's on Brooklyn Avenue. Still, she remained silent. Next to the dilapidated theater.

You remember, right? Uh-huh, absolutely. I'm walking over now. See you soon. I've never heard her act like this, but stress can have funny effects on people. I guess. I'd have a little time before she arrived. No better time for dinner.

About 20 minutes later, I heard a knock at my door. I'd just finished putting my plate in the sink. Before I even left the kitchen, Beth said, Could you let me in? I quickly went over to the door and looked through the peephole. Sure enough, it was Beth. She was absent-mindedly looking at the walls around my door before locking eyes with me through the peephole. A second later, she looked away.

I opened the door and let her in. Well, make yourself comfortable. I had the news on, but I don't think they're coming back. I'll dust off the board games. What do you want to play first? That sounds great. You should pick one, she said. I was shuffling through my stack of games.

Really? You always fight me if we don't play. play at least one game of. I heard a floorboard creek behind me, and I turned around. Beth was standing a few feet away from me. I'm going to go use the bathroom, okay? She said, yeah, go ahead. And please never ask again, I replied. I picked a game and went over to the couch. Beth had been gone for a few minutes. I channel surfed a bit, hoping to find something interesting. Some time passed, and still I was sitting alone. Beth's phone buzzed on the table. There were four missed calls from various people. I picked her phone up and started to call back out to her, but stopped myself. The phone had

opened right to her home screen, without any pin. I checked her call log and saw she'd called every single person in her contacts and stopped after me. She lied, both about her phone's pin, and about calling me first, or maybe she was just forgetful? I needed another way to make sure it really was her something less direct, so she wouldn't get mad again. Hey, Beth, how's your brother Danny these days? Beth was standing in my kitchen, looking through the drawers.

She stopped on the silverware drawer. Oh, Danny's fine. Beth has two sisters, neither of which were named Danielle. We don't know any Danny's. A chill ran down my back. I let an imposter into my house. I got up to leave. The floor creaked loudly.

I froze as Beth's imposter came around the corner. Hey, thanks for letting me come over, it said, holding the biggest knife I had. After all, I couldn't stay at Beth's place anymore. There was no one left for me to kill. It walked towards me. I grabbed the closest thing I could find, my ottoman, and threw it towards the imposter as hard as I could. It knocked them to the ground.

The steak knife clanged on the floor. I grabbed my keys, swung the door open, and I, The imposter laughed the whole time. I made it to the parking garage and broke down. I didn't know how much more of this I could take or what else I could do. I took a deep breath and refocused. The nighttime air smelled like burning plastic and the sounds of gunshots, screams, and car crashes were everywhere.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I was scared to look. that it would be Beth, but to my relief, it was Pat. Alex, hey, you all right? I just saw your calls. Someone got into my apartment and almost killed me. I ran away. You stole at the pub? Is it safe there? Yeah, yeah, I'm here and it's safe. We boarded everything up. If you need somewhere to go... I'll be there soon. I interrupted. And Pat, thank you. I hung up and started. to leave. I was just a few steps in, when I heard someone crying. It started gentle, but quickly

devolved into full-on sobbing. Whoever they are, they needed help. Maybe there was something I could do. I spent the next five minutes looking all over the garage, but couldn't find anyone. I thought someone was playing a trick on me. I'd go to one spot, only to hear it louder a few feet away. I'd get there, and they were now somewhere else. I was just about to give up and leave when it came from the car directly behind me, and then it stopped before I could turn around. Both of my feet were yanked hard from behind, and I fell forward onto the garage floor. I was able to brace my fall and turned around to see what grabbed me.

Something crawled out from under the car. They looked just like me. They crawled on top of me with an alarming speed and before I could react, hit me in the face. They then grabbed my shirt collar with both hands, lifted me off the ground, and slammed me back into the pavement. Their hands grabbed my neck and they started to choke me. I tried to get them off, but they were too strong. I went to scratch their face, and they moved just out of reach, with no other option. I grabbed my car keys out of my jacket pocket, and I jammed them as hard as I could into their

ribcage. They recoiled back, howling with pain. They stumbled off me and stared at me in shock, and I got up and ran. Behind me, I heard them laugh. It echoed through the garage and bellowed out into the street. I sprinted down the street, made a quick turn, ran down the next street, and ducked into an alleyway. I sat, hidden out of view, with my focus completely on that sliver of street, waiting to see if they'd followed me. After no less than ten minutes, I hadn't seen a soul and decided it was safe enough to leave. I resumed my route. Around me, the night was completely silent, save for my footsteps, smacking the sidewalk as I jogged to the pub. I was getting close. It would be more dark.

dangerous to slow down now. I heard someone behind me say with my voice, Hey, come back here. You forgot something. I ran even faster now. I didn't have to look. I knew my doppelganger had found me. It was probably sitting in wait somewhere nearby. Did it think like I did? The pub was in sight now. It was completely dark. Behind me, my imposter started I reached the door and pounded on it. Let me in. Please, please. It's an emergency.

The door didn't budge. Nobody replied. My imposter was a block away. Pat, let me in. It's me. It's really me. I can prove it, I said. My imposter was drawing close.

And just then, the door opened from behind me. Someone grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in. me in. As soon as I was clear, the door was shut, locked, bolted, and blocked with a table. You're the last one of the night, said an older man holding a shotgun. Pat greeted me with a smile. The pub was lit by candlelight. There was an uneasiness in the air. People kept sneaking glances at me and speaking quietly amongst themselves. The man with a shotgun introduced himself as a Tom. He was the owner of the bar. I don't normally greet my customers with a loaded shotgun, he said. But I saw two of you out there, and I need to make sure you're the peaceful one of the two.

Pat? Pat stepped forward. Hey, man, I hope you understand. I'm going to need to make sure it's really you. Tell me something only we would know. Pat said. I thought for a minute. And then finally I replied, When I was hired, you treated me to lunch and confided that it was honestly a pretty shitty place to work. That was our first day as friends. Pat laughed and gave the thumbs up to Tom. Pat got up, and Tom extended his hand for a handshake. I interjected.

Pat, why'd you let me lie? I asked. The pub grew dead silent. Pat turned around to face me. Anger flared in his eyes. If you were really Pat, I continued. You'd know I referred you to the job. I referred you because you were my best friend.

Tom turned his focus to Pat and raised his gun. We waited for Pat's impostor to say something. Anything. But it just stared at me. A smile crept across its face, as it stifled and sputtered, trying to contain a laugh. Time slowed to a crawl, as I watched the imposter lunge at Tom. It viciously shook the gun loose from his grasp, and a moment later, I was staring down the gun's barrel. My mind raced, but no matter how hard I tried, I had nothing left that I could do.

This was it. And then two things happened. First, the imposter tried to fire Tom's gun, only to find that it was empty. In that same moment, a beer flew across the room and cracked into the back of its head. I scanned for the source of the projectile and found none other than the real pat, noticeably worse for where. The imposter hit the ground. Tom kicked his gun out of its reach.

of the crowd who'd gotten up to look, swarmed to kick its teeth in, and stomped on it. They were sickeningly eager to be violent, like they were waiting for an excuse. I looked at Tom. He must have read the disgust on my face. He started to talk, but stopped himself. He moved around the crowd. Some folks had started to pull away, but others seemed to be just getting started. They'd been waiting for their turn. They're good people, just a little scared as all, Tom weakly offered. He walked closer to me and started to speak more quietly.

It's different, you know. This morning we were all normal. Then we locked ourselves in here for hours. While the city tore itself apart. How many people don't even know if they're feeling. family is alive or dead, or real, when they finally find him. Can you blame them? What if this thing was allowed to walk out of here? He asked. I had no answer for him. I shrugged. Pat made his way over, as the crowd started to thin out. The things rattling, raspy breathing stopped minutes ago.

Nobody realized or even cared that it was already dead. Everyone went back to their cozy corner of the pub. A game of pool resumed. A laugh wasn't heard long after. They'd moved on. Were they so different, after all? Were any of us? From the violent things pretending to be us?

Was one night all it takes? Tom looked at Pat and I. Could you give me a hand, please, if that's okay? We nodded and moved to help Tom carry the carcass away. We dragged it behind the bar, past an employee's only sign, an overflowing trash can, and threw the kitchen to the freezer room, where we unceremoniously tossed it next to a few other corpses. Tom broke the silence. Not the first incident of the night.

He let out an exhaustive sigh and wiped it. sweat from his forehead, before looking at Pat and I, with a nod of gratitude. And it'll be the last, if I can help it. We worked our way back out to the bar, if it wasn't for the puddle of blood in the middle of the floor, or the boarded-up windows. It looked just like any other night here. Pat poured me a drink. It almost got me, you know, Pat said, as he slid my drink towards me. It found me in the kitchen. and it was this close to stabbing me in the throat. Tom walked in just at the right time for me to run, he said.

I'm glad you made it, I said, and I took a swig. Me too, Alex. It took time, but I settled in. We played games of pool, watch movies, and got to know the people with us. It wasn't long before day broke, and the sun. rose over the horizon. I watched the sunrise and suddenly realized I didn't have my phone on me. I retraced my steps from the night before. I had it in my apartment. I had it in the garage when Pat called back. I looked out at the street. My bright blue phone case stood out against the pavement. I must have

dropped it when I was yanked into the pub. The coast was clear, not a soul or shadow in sight, So I went out to retrieve it. As I got closer, the details of the scene rendered into view. Sitting next to it, in a pool of dried blood, was my car keys, the same keys I'd plunged into my imposter. I shakily picked both up and hurried back inside. My phone had five missed calls arranged alphabetically and one unread text message. I paged to my call history to see them in.

in better detail. And that's when I saw that someone had called every contact in my address book, each and everyone, up until whatever found my phone, called my mom. I went to the text message and a shiver ran up my spine. At 6.48, mom had wrote, Hi, honey, I see you outside. I'll be right down to let you in.