Lighthouse Horror Podcast - I found something on the DEEP WEB | Scary Stories

Episode Date: August 31, 2024

Don't look for this site... Scary Story exclusively written for the channel by Annie R. Cover Art from Ninerio More of the artist’s works at ninerioarts            Original YouTube link: I found something on the DEEP WEB    Merch: lighthousehorror.shop For more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel: Lighthouse Horror | YouTube  Patreon: Lighthouse Horror | Patreon 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!

Be very careful on the dark web. All right, I'm not Eddie Clerk. It's not my real name. See, digging up dirt on people doesn't exactly make you popular at parties or safe on the streets. So, Eddie Clerk, it is. I used to work for this decent size network. Had the title, the desk, the whole nine yards. But the problem with big networks, they've got big sponsors.

you know, investors. And sometimes those investors have skeletons in their closets. Take a local counselor, for example. I got a tip about him taking kickbacks for city contracts, real estate deals on the side, you name it, spent weeks piecing together receipts, emails, the whole shebang. I even had video of him accepting a suitcase that I'm pretty sure wasn't full of birthday cards.

We were all set to expose this guy. We had this segment, filmed, and everything. And then, poof. The story was axed last minute. Legal concerns, I was told, you know, bull. And don't get me started on the tech firm. It was a big name, the kind of company that even your grandma knows. I found out that they had a breach so big,

made the Grand Canyon look like a crack in the sidewalk. User data, credit card info works, you know, all for sale on the dark web. This was the sort of story that could really shake things up, you know? Really make people think twice about where they're typing their secrets. I had emails, documents, enough evidence for a waterproof case. But as soon as it was ready to go live, the story vanished from the lineup. too controversial, the studio exec said. And then one time I had the solid tip, right?

A worker from the local manufacturing plant reached out. He says they've been dumping all sorts of nasty stuff in the river, chemicals that you wouldn't want anywhere near your drinking water. He was willing to tell me everything. He even wanted to show me where they did it. I had a live interview planned out for the evening news, But next thing I knew, my boss says we're doing a segment on the local shelter instead. And my whistleblower, he suddenly tells me he won't do the interview.

He said that he never told me anything. And just like that, the story's dead in the water. And that's when I knew I had to go freelance. Now, my interest has always been in cybercrime. That's what led me to the dark web. It's not really shady as people think, but it's not for amateurs either. I was going through the usual sites I used to look for leads. You know the kind.

Forums where people trade classified info. Marketplaces selling anything from fake IDs to stolen art. These are the kind of places where people can show who they truly are. It was at one of those forums that I found a link to a site called Haunted Amazon. It promised to give you exactly what you needed at a price that you can afford. Figured I'd check it out. See if I could find anything I could use. So the website looked like it was ripped straight out of the 90s. Looked like how Amazon used to look when it first started, you know?

Simple HTML code, no fancy graphics or interactive menus. Just images with plain text links. on a white background. But the listings weren't like anything I've ever seen on Amazon. Each one was more bizarre than the last. The first one caught my eye immediately. It's a picture of an armchair, but calling it just an armchair feels wrong.

This thing, it's massive, like it was made for something much bigger than a human. and it's seen better days. The seat part is all burnt, like a fire got to it, but didn't quite finish the job. A rusty chain was wrapped around its feet. I could see tears along the armrest. They were big enough that I could see the stuffing poking out.

And get this, there's feathers scattered all around it, too. They were big, like they came from something much bigger than any bird I know. As I looked through the photos, I realized that the chair isn't sitting in someone's living room. It was outside. Looks like it was in the middle of the woods somewhere. One picture was a distant shot of the armchair, and I could see the trees around it are burnt. their trunks black and twisted like a forest fire just passed through.

The description under the photo just says owned by an angel, gone now. That's it. No other explanation. I scrolled down to the next listing, curious what else is on this site. The one under it just has pictures of jars

A whole bunch of them, too. Some of them were old mayo jars, with a label still stuck on them. Others, though, looked fancier, with etchings on the sides. I think I even saw a cookie jar in one of the photos. But each of them had a thin layer of black liquid inside. It was thick and shiny, almost like tar. The description under the jars read, Cannibal Souls for personal use only.

I have no idea what that meant, but I knew there were some real weirdos hiding out on the dark web. So I scrolled down some more. Next one looks like a wedding gown for sale. Just a perfectly average wedding dress with big puffy sleeves. It's on this mannequin holding some flowers. It's beady black eyes glinted in the photo. The first photo has it displayed in a store window, right where it should be.

But the next photo has the mannequin standing in the middle of a school gym. There's no event going on, no decorations, just this mannequin in a wedding dress standing there all alone. The next one has it standing beside a lake, but not like for a romantic photo shoot. It's just off the path standing in the mud. The water behind it was dark, and it's almost touching the gown's hem. It gets creepier. Another photo shows it standing right behind a closed casket at what looks like a funeral. Again, there's no one around.

And this time, someone's drawn tears running down her eyes with blue Sharpie. Okay, and the last photo really got to me. It's in a kitchen, a normal everyday kitchen, but there's a man asleep at the table. His head is resting in his arms. And the mannequin, still in the wedding gown, is standing right behind. him. Under all this, the description just read, bells, bells, bells. Now that did freak me out a little, and I really didn't know what to make of this site, but it's not like I could stop scrolling. I guess I was still hoping for some sort of explanation, you know. Maybe if I scrolled down

far enough, I'd find out that this was all some kind of joke. The next one said normal mirrors for all in the description. The name alone was enough to make me pause. Nothing on this site has been normal so far, and sure enough, the photos prove me right. The first mirror looks ordinary, but the reflection was definitely not. There's this little boy couldn't be older than six.

He is playing with a toy truck on the floor. But behind him was this huge figure wearing a pig mask. It's just standing there, watching him play. The kid doesn't seem to know it was there. But the mask's eyes, they're fixed right on the boy. The next photo, it's even weirder. It's another mirror. This one had a fancy gold frame.

The reflection shows a woman. She's kneeling down, letting a big dog lick her face, which, you know, wouldn't be strange at all. Except that her face is covered in blood. I don't know if it's hers or not. She's smiling, like this is the most normal thing in the world. And then there's a mirror that made me wonder who's taking these photos. It shows a man trapped under a fallen refrigerator. His arm is stretching out as if reaching for someone just outside the frame.

The last photo. It shows a full-length mirror, like one you'd find hanging in a closet. Two little girls, maybe twins, they're standing in front of it. Their hair is unnaturally long, long enough to stretch deep into the hallway behind them, and they're both wearing pig masks, like the figure in the first photo. The listing under that was for a rental in a place called Consumption South Carolina. Never heard of it, but what caught my eye are the photos of the house. They were all kinds of wrong. The windows look like they're melting. The front door was upside down.

It actually looked like it was attached to the ceiling instead of the floor. The walls are a mess too. Some are brick. Others look like wood, and none of them are the same color. In the hallways, they're the craziest part. One photo makes them look like they go on forever, like some kind of tunnel to who knows where. But then another photo of the same hallway makes it look short, as if you could reach the end in a couple of steps.

In the middle of this one was a chair lying on its side. And my brain can't make sense of it. But here's the kicker. The moment I look away from the screen, I can't remember any specific detail about the house. It's like trying to remember a dream right after you wake up. I'd look away, wondering why I felt off, and then I'd look back to see how weird the house was. And the only thing in the listing description, McDonald's nearby.

Yeah, that's it. No mention of the house or anything about the town, just McDonald's. as if that's supposed to make up for living in a place that looks like it's straight out of a nightmare. I was starting to get really uncomfortable. I didn't know if this was all just an elaborate hoax, the work of a bored teenager, I don't know, but whatever it was, I'd had enough. I was about to close the window when I saw the listing for Eddie's camera.

really made me blink. I never expected my name to be anywhere on a website like this. The listing was simple. It was a lot more normal than anything else I'd seen so far. It was just a single grainy image of an old Polaroid camera. The only thing the description said was that it could reveal things left to rot. I didn't know what that. hell that meant. But I've always been a curious guy. Mostly, I wanted to know why it had my name on it. So I clicked the link, expecting a standard checkout page. But instead, I got a single black screen with a single text box blinking in the middle. Tell a secret you've never shared with It said.

It didn't ask for PayPal or a credit card. Just a secret. And that got me thinking. You see, there was this one thing, something I buried deep. The town I grew up and it was the kind of place where people liked things to stay quiet. No one ever wanted to make a fuss. And if you got a problem with someone, you just have to forgive and forget. And that was why when the older kids started picking on maim.

Nobody wanted to hear it. The teachers brushed it off. The other kids looked the other way, you know, and my dad just told me to toughen up. That's why on the first real spring day of the year, I decided to skip class. It was too good a day to be miserable in school. I wanted just one day, you know, one day of peace. The sky was a clear blue. The sun was warm, but not hot.

The breeze smelled like flowers and ice cream. I decided to spend the day hidden behind some bushes at the park. I had a sandwich for my lunch and some comic books to read. It was a nice shady spot that gave me a view of the road. And that's where I saw it happen. A car sped by, like the devil was behind it. Must have been from out of town. But it didn't even stop when it hit Mr. Jenkins.

One moment he was crossing the street, and the next, he was flying through the air like a rag doll. It only happened for a second, but I remember everything. The crunch of the metal, the way groceries spilled out on the street. The sound Mr. Jenkins made when he got hit, And then I saw him lying on the ground. Even from my hiding spot, I could tell he was breathing. Shallow brats that seemed to require all his strength.

My mind screamed at me to do something, to run out there, yell for help, or, I don't know, at least hold his hand. But my feet wouldn't move. So here's my secret. I couldn't move because I was. scared. I was more terrified of getting caught playing hooky than helping Mr. Jenkins. So I waited. I stayed hidden until I heard someone else find him. But by then it was too late. That day changed me. The guilt of knowing I could have done something haunted me. And I guess that's why I decided to be a reporter. I couldn't be the kind of person that hid from the truth anymore. Typing that out

felt like ripping off a band-aid. I expected to feel regret, but instead it felt like a weight was lifted off me. But the moment I typed in the last word, my computer screen just blanked out. I didn't even get to click the submit button. dead. Just like that. I tried to reboot it. I pressed the power button more times than I could count, but it was dead as a brick. Great, I muttered. I hauled the computer to the local repair shop the next day. When I came to pick it up a few days later, the tech gave me a look. He said he had to replace almost everything. It was like something wanted to fry my system. And then for a few weeks,

life went on as usual. The whole incident, you know, kind of faded away, until one day a package arrived. No return address. Just my name scribbled on the front. And yes, inside was the camera. Eddie's camera, the listing had called it. The thing looked older than I even imagined. It was covered in scratches and dense. The lens had a crack running down its side. The buttons on the back were worn down. The symbols on them were almost completely faded.

I loaded it with the film that came in the package. I was curious and a bit skeptical. I aimed it at a building across from my apartment. The camera made a satisfying clicking sound as I pressed the button. Seconds later, a photo slid out. I watched as the image developed. Colors and shapes formed from the white surface. The details were sharp and vivid in a way I didn't think was possible.

It was like looking through a window, not a photograph. And then my eyes caught something unexpected in the photo. A man and a woman locked in an embrace by the front door of the building. I blinked, taking it back. I was sure that the only person in front of that building was the man. But there he is now, hugging a woman who wasn't his wife. So the rumors were true. They were having an affair.

Behind the couple was a blurry shadow. I couldn't really make it out, except that it looked kind of human. I decided to test the camera some more. I walked down the neighborhood, snapping random photos of people. First up was Mrs. Green's house. Curiosity got the better of me, and I snapped a photo. In the image, her living, room was filled with stolen items from all over the neighborhood.

From garden gnomes to bicycles, she hoarded them all. Mrs. Green, the neighborhood thief, who would have guessed it? Feeling a bit disillusioned, I aimed the camera towards the local diner. The photo I got showed Joe, the owner. mixing in expired food to that day's meatloaf special. Risking people's health, I thought, all to save a quick buck. And in every photo I took, there was something else. Warped versions of the people in the photos lurked in the background.

Behind Mrs. Green stood a version of her with long-reaching, fingers. Behind Joe was a figure with a wide open mouth filled with rotting teeth. And soon I was back on the dark web. The camera set next to my keyboard like some ancient relic. I tried searching for haunted amazon.com again, but I couldn't find it again. So I looked through forums. I started digging through posts about spying. gadgets and military tech. But nothing came close to what that camera did. It wasn't just capturing images.

It was peeling back layers of reality, showing things nobody was meant to see. And then I thought, you know, what about AI? Maybe they could do something like this. But every search I did ended in frustration. I even thought about whether Amazon could be behind this. But no, the trail went cold. Not a hint of a secret project or experimental site to be found. And with every dead end, I became more convinced that maybe this camera, it was only meant

for me. Maybe fate had chosen me for this. I was given a job to one. uncover the things people hid away. It had chosen me. And I knew what I had to do, you know. This was meant for something bigger than neighborhood gossip. So there I was, cruising around the city with this weird camera.

The city's a whole different beast at night, let me tell you. Streets that were just dirty during the day turned downright, terrifying. after dark. The harsh neon lights, they make everything look sinister. So I decided to take a photo of this big shot businessman, you know, the kind who's got his name on restaurants and banks across town. And when the photo came out, it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The guy was there, sure, but around him were bodies. spread everywhere. They were twisted up in ways that I don't want to talk about. But that wasn't the worst part. Behind the business man, there was this thing. It was dark, but its face was,

it was this sick, glowing red. It shone like hot coals in a dark room. And it had claws that looked sharp enough to slice through anything. It stood right behind him, almost like it was whispering in his ear. Seeing that, it clicked for me. This dude was mixed up in some really bad stuff. I was scared, yeah, but who wouldn't be? You know, there was this rush, too. excitement. This photo was proof, real proof of what this guy had done. I had to share it. I had to let people know.

This, this was big, you know, bigger than anything I'd found before. It was dangerous, yeah. But it felt like what I was meant to do. I kept going, uncovering more dirt about the rich and famous. Allie deals, bribes, affairs, all the stuff you know is happening, but you can never really prove. Except all the pictures come out with those distorted monsters in the background. Hideous monsters that show what these people truly are. And that's when it hits me. These photos, they're useless as proof. They show something's wrong, sure.

but not in a way anyone would believe. I need solid evidence. Real clear shots of what's going down. But ditching the camera. Nope, not happening. It's shown me too much, even if it's all twisted up. I got to figure out a way to use what I'm seeing. Turn it into something I can actually use as hard evidence.

So here's what I started doing. Every night I'd grab my camera and hit the streets. It was like I was on autopilot, you know? Drive around, find some politician or celebrity, and take their photo. Then I'd head back home and I'd see what they're hiding. Every night was like a mission now. One time I caught a local doctor, the head of the biggest hospital in town. I caught him out in the parking lot.

having a smoke. The guy's standing there, all respectable like in his white coat. But this photo tells a different story. He's surrounded by mountains of pills while he's counting out cash. Around him are a bunch of people. They all look desperate. They have their hands out, begging for more. But it's the thing standing behind him that really gets you. It was a creature With eyes so bloodshot, they're almost all red, thick foam dripped from its mouth. That's when it hits me. This dock has been lifting drugs from the hospital. He's been making a hell of a lot of money selling him on the streets.

Then there was this socialite. A girl everyone knows because of her dad's big job at City Hall. I snapped a photo of her in her fancy new car. But what the photo shows is the trail of destruction she's left behind. Smashed up cars, shattered windows, broken bottles. And then there's this figure in the photo in the backseat. It was a demonic-looking woman. Hair all wild, with black tears running down her face.

I wondered how much her father had to pay to me. make her drunk driving charges go away. Then there was the big boss of a construction firm. In the photo, he's literally sitting on a throne of money. It's a disaster. All around him are buildings just falling apart, houses with their roofs caved in, roads covered in potholes. So that's why the apartment building collapsed.

This guy's been using the chast. cheap stuff to make a bigger profit. With every photo, I saw how deeply rotten this city was. Every single person at the top of the food chain had something to hide. And I was the one to expose them. I decided the dark web would be the best place to post these for now. For one thing, it felt safer. chance of someone tracing it back to May. I'd upload the photos with a bit of a teaser, something

like City Hall exposed, or what they don't want you to see, and then I'd post their names and ask for leads. This became my nightly ritual, and it was kind of thrilling in a way, sneaking around, capturing these moments, bringing justice in the only way I know how. My post started getting attention. People on the forums would go nuts trying to guess what the photos mean. Some tried to debunk them as fakes, while others made up wild theories about secret government experiments or alien tech. But here's the thing. I wasn't just doing it for the kicks or the online fame.

Every time I posted a photo, I hope. I hoped someone would come forward with information, something concrete I could use. To really bring those sharks down, I needed solid proof. I'd ask the Internet for tips, for people I could talk to, for any records connected to the crimes I was exposing. So night after night, I'd go out. It was exhausting, sure, but it felt like I was finally doing something mean. But the more I posted, the more warnings I got, anonymous messages.

Every once in a while, someone would reply to a photo with a warning, stuff like, you're playing with fire, or drop this before it's too late. I tried to shrug it off. I made absolutely sure no one could trace those photos back to the time. to me. And then one night things got real serious. I was out doing my usual rounds. I spotted this guy. Nothing about him screamed danger at first, just your average dude. But something about him made me lift my camera and take a photo. Seeing that photo, I froze. The guy in it wasn't just some random person. He was aiming a gun at me, as if he could actually see me, and he looked

calm and professional about it. Behind him, it was like a scene out of a nightmare. Bodies were scattered around. Some were slumped against walls, others lying on the ground. The looks on their faces were pure terror. This guy, he wasn't. He wasn't. just mixed up in bad stuff. He was the bad stuff. He was a hitman, and he was after me. It dawned on me right then. This wasn't a game. This wasn't about being a hero or getting a story anymore. Someone had sent this guy to kill me, and they knew where I live. That night, I found a note taped to my door. The only thing written on it was my screen name,

the same one I used to post those photos online. At that point, I knew I had to get serious about protecting myself. If I was going to continue exposing those crimes, I would have to be a lot smarter about it. Going off the grid wasn't easy. It's not like in the movies. First thing I did was throw my phone in a river. I started laying low in places no one would look for me.

I crashed and run down motels where nobody asked your name. I spent nights and 24-hour laundromats pretending to wash the same set of clothes over and over again. Sometimes I'd just arrived the subway end to end, always blending in with the crowd. In every few minutes, I'd take a picture of the crowd, always checking to see if someone's on my trail. It was all about staying a step ahead and keeping my head down,

and then once things have cooled off, I'll start again in a new city. I'll take my photos, and I'll show everyone what people are hiding. It's not the safest way to live, but I can't back out now. This camera chose me. But before I disappear, I'll leave you with one last message. A warning to anyone who might find that website. If you come across a website called haunted amazon.com, be very careful what you buy.