Lighthouse Horror Podcast - I Took a Job in a Cemetery. I Was Given A Set Of RULES | Scary Stories

Episode Date: October 23, 2023

They're very strange...      Story from Harbinger_51 Make sure to check out more of their work at u/Harbinger_51                               Original Post: I agreed to be a cemetery watchman for one night. I'm not sure I should have  Original YouTube link: I Took a Job in a Cemetery. I Was Given A Set Of RULES      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!

I had just finished taking my last final of the year. All my responsibilities were done. All except one. I'd been trying and failing to get a job for the summer. This occurred to me again while walking home, ruining my mood. Making my way off campus grounds toward my house, I looked over at the cemetery on the other side of the street. It always seemed a little out of place,

sitting between apartment buildings and campus housing. but it wasn't just its location that seemed strange. Four stone gargoyles stood watch over each corner. The fence surrounding this square plot of land looked to be around eight or nine feet tall. And it was no joke. Whoever put it up meant for it to be more than a marker of the cemetery's borders. This fence was built to keep people out.

It was on this towering fence where I noticed a new signposted. I was still across the street, but the giant help-wanted sign was easy to see. I'd never seen a sign posted on this fence, adding to my curiosity. I crossed the street to get a better look. Approaching the sign, I read the small wording underneath, see security booth inside for details. Looking through the fence, I could make out the silhouette of a man inside a small wooden booth. And without hesitation, I went in.

The man behind the booth window must have noticed my approach because he stood up and came outside, facing me with a friendly expression. Though he appeared to be older by the looks of his white hair, he certainly looked energetic and quick. He was wearing this stylish black suit. How may I help you today? He asked in a warm tone. Yeah, I just noticed a sign out there.

Is this for some kind of job or something?" I asked unsure. He bobbed his head up and down. Of sorts, he responded. I stood in silence as I waited for more details. Why don't we take a walk? He added with a small knot of the head and a smirk as he walked past the cemetery path, and I followed, listening as we walked past the rows of headstones.

I don't intend to waste your time, so I'll get to the point. This cemetery has been here for a long time. Longer than you might guess. Many keepers have watched over it. This has been my rule for more than 40 years, and I don't intend for that to change anytime soon. However, some, what you might call, extenuating circumstances, have dictated that I leave my post for a few days to attend to another matter. And those who I might normally call on in these type of situations are unavailable. The job I'm offering is simple. Act as its keeper for one night,

and one night only. A night that just so happens to be exactly one week from today. I pretty much ignored the first half of what he said entirely. I was more focused on a fact that the job was only for one day. Yeah, I'm sorry, sir, but I'm looking for more of an actual job. One day's work, you know, it's just not enough to... He cut me off quickly. I'm offering $2,000 cash up front off the books entirely. My mouth hung open for a few seconds.

Before feelings of disbelief, doubt, And mistrust took over. Yeah, no, I don't think I can do that. None of the university jobs would work like that, you know, that would be unacceptable. They... He cut me off again. This cemetery isn't owned by the university. If it was up to them, this place would be gone a long time ago.

They don't have a say. And thank God for that. I was silent then. sure of what I just walked into or what was really going on. The man must have sensed this as his expression changed. My name is Marcus. I suppose it would have been appropriate to start with that. He pulled out a set of keys and extended his hand to me. The choice is yours, but I need you to make it now. I slowly reached out my hand, and I slowly reached out my hand, and I I picked up a set of keys, without much thought as to what I was agreeing to.

Good. Be back here in one week at 7 p.m. These keys will get you into my booth. I will leave you a letter. Read it before you start. It will tell you everything you need to know. Your money will be in the drawer next to the chair inside the booth. Marcus turned and walked away, leaving me in the middle of the room.

of the graveyard, looking down at the set of keys in my hand. I pocketed them and headed for home. Still thinking it over, I considered the possibilities. Worst case, I show up at the cemetery a week from now, get no money, and go back home. In the best case, I walk away with $2,000 for one night's work. What did I have to lose? The next few days involved some drinking, celebrating, and a lot of sleeping, followed by a few more days of unsuccessful job hunting. But I wanted to enjoy at least some of my summer before returning to the grind of everyday life. On the day I was supposed to work my shift at the graveyard, I woke up mid-afternoon with the worst headache from the night before. I thought about staying home and hanging with my

roommates for another night of drinking, instead of walking down to the cemetery. for what would probably end up being a scam. But for some unknown reason, seeing those keys that Marcus gave me, sitting on my empty desk, it made me want to go. I decided that the 10-minute walk to the cemetery and back was worth seeing if the job was real,

and I had found the easiest 2000 I ever made. Without much else going on, I decided to head out early and arrived at the cemetery around 6.30. I waited around for a few minutes before walking through the cemetery gates. I wanted to look around for anything suspicious. Given the circumstances, I mean, who wouldn't? And I found no sign of Marcus or anyone else who might raise an alarm.

So I decided to just go for it. I walked with purpose into the cemetery and towards the small booth. I pulled out the set of keys Marcus gave me. And the first key I tried was the first key I tried was the room. right one. I kind of expected them not to work, and I pulled open the door. The small interior appeared simple, but comfortable and clean. It was this small square space. A single chair sat in front of a counter and window. Beside it towered a large wooden cabinet with two doors and a lock. After taking a quick look around the room, my eyes fixed on the small drawer below the

counter. My heart sped up as I stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind me. I fumbled through the chain of keys, trying each one on the small drawer until one fit. I turned the lock, and I pulled it open to reveal a thick envelope. My hands scrambled to open it, and I counted each fresh hundred dollar bill. Two thousand dollars. It added up, and I counted it again. just in case and then again. I checked each bill for any signs of forgery, but it all looked real. I was so concerned about the money, I failed to notice the letter that had fallen out of the envelope until I noticed it laying on the floor. After stuffing the bills into my backpack, I unfolded the letter, and I began to read it. This is what it said. To whom it may concern.

Though the job offered to you may seem like nothing more than an opportunity to make a quick buck, the responsibility is far greater than you can imagine. Below, I have left a list of rules. Each is to be followed with extreme care and attention. There are few burial sites in the world as special as this one. The most important thing to remember is this. no one good has ever been buried here. Rule number one, the gate.

This cemetery has one gate, the only way in or out. This gate must be closed by 8 p.m. and kept shut until sunrise. Feel free to shut it sooner. No admittance by anyone, including law enforcement or emergency service. is to be permitted during this time. You, as the temporary keeper of this cemetery, are not allowed to leave these grounds until the sun has risen. The largest key amongst the set you have been given is for this gate.

Number two. The Ghost Hunters As a consequence of being located in an urban setting with a younger population, this cemetery is frequently visited by those who call themselves ghost hunters or paranormal investigators. Though the gate should be locked for the majority of your shift, if you spot any such individuals entering or attempting to enter the cemetery grounds, you are to remove them immediately. You are permitted to call on law enforcement for the removal. of trespassers. But law enforcement may not set foot inside of the cemetery gates after 8 p.m.

Get any trespassers out as soon as possible. God only knows what these fools would do if they found something real. Number three. The suit. Another key on your chain unlocks the wooden closet next to you. Inside are numerous items, one being a suit much like mine, and a pair of shoes to accompany them. You must change out of your clothes and into this suit for the remainder of your shift. I have guessed your measurements as closely as I could. It may not be a perfect fit, but it will serve. They must think you're me. You may keep the suit once your shift is over. Number four, the salt. I have placed white roses on four graves within the cemetery.

Locate them. Inside the closet alongside the suit, you will notice canisters of salt. After locking the gate, go to these graves and pour a circle of salt around each headstone. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the one thing you must be careful of is to leave a complete circle with no gaps. After doing so, remain as far from these graves as possible, and never disturb the salt circle. Keep an extra canister of salt with you at all times. Number five, the bells. Above a few of the graves, you may notice bells hung up and a string that goes underground. These are remnants of an old practice from hundreds of years ago.

Invented as a safety measure for those who had been buried alive, if the body moved, the string would be pulled, the bell would ring, and a watchman, such as yourself, would know to dig them back up. These bells now serve a different purpose. If you hear you hear, Here a bell, encircle the headstone of said grave with salt, and then keep away from this grave too. There is another possible situation you may face with the bells. If several start ringing at the same time in rapid secession, stop where you are, and encircle yourself with salt as fast as you can. Give yourself some room as you will not be able to leave your circle for a while.

Remain perfectly still. And whatever you do, do not be tricked into leaving or breaking the circle. Number six. The Gargoyles In each corner of the cemetery, there is a stone gargoyle. All four share the same design. A small body with bat-like wings and a devilish face. They sit atop the stone pillars at the corners of the fence.

They face inward towards the middle of the cemetery. If you happen to notice that one is missing, disregard it. If you happen to see one in a different place, turn away or close your eyes. Do not give any indication that you know it is moving. They are not a danger as long as you leave them alone. Number seven. Henry.

Near the southwest corner of the cemetery sits a weathered headstone marking the grave of an unknown man. The only thing you need to know about Henry is if he rises from his grave on your shift. Watch your back. Do not go back in the security booth. Inside the front pocket of your suit jacket is a small box of matches. Light one. And throw it onto Henry's grave.

Pay no attention to Henry if you spot him after you do this. You may then return to the booth. When your shift is over, unlock the gate and leave the set of keys in the drawer. Best wishes. And good luck. Marcus. I laughed as I finished reading, enjoying the humor and exaggeration.

As funny as I found the effort Marcus had put into this letter, I did decide to follow every rule. Even if this whole thing was a joke, $2,000 was worth it. I began by opening the wooden closet next to me. And on the other side of the door was a suit as Marcus had made. as Marcus had mentioned. It looked well made and very expensive. I quickly changed out of my clothes

and into the suit, and it felt like a glove. I looked at the list once more, before folding the letter and stuffing it back into my pocket. Rule number one, the gate. I figured this would be easy to get out of the way. I grabbed my set of keys and headed out of the booth towards the gate. As I approach, I approached, I looked around to see if anyone was watching, and once again I saw no one. I tried to pull one side of the gate shut with one hand, but it wasn't so easy. The metal gate was incredibly heavy, and pulling it shut took a lot of force. After closing both sides, I found the largest key, and I inserted it into the keyhole, And as I twisted the key, I heard the satisfying noise of the lock mechanism clicking into

place. I turned away from the now locked gate, and I pulled out the letter again. I figured the ghost hunter should be too bad. I assumed there are a frequent problem for Marcus, especially at night. Since I hadn't gotten a good view of the whole cemetery yet, I decided to walk through the area and look for anyone who might still be inside. And while walking, an interesting thought occurred to me. Of the countless times I'd passed this cemetery, I had never noticed a single person inside. At some point, I should have spotted at least

one relative that was visiting here, but I'd never seen anyone. I remembered what Marcus had written in his letter. No one good has ever been buried here. And that thought, it made me uneasy. What did he mean by that? After making a few loops around the cemetery, I felt confident nobody was here, so I headed back to the security booth, where I planned to mess around on my phone and maybe read a book. It was on the walk back that I happened to look down and see a white rose on the ground. It was next to a headstone. I casually walked back to the booth, and I grabbed a canister of salt before returning to the grave and pouring a circle around it as I generously salted. I wondered if it would hurt the grass. The grass in the cemetery was perfect. So why would Marcus

make me do this? I dodged my own question. I was here to earn money not to ask questions. After completing the first circle, I moved on to locate and eventually in circle the other three graves with salt, making very sure that the circles had no gaps. After all four were complete, I went back to the security booth. Reading the letter once more, it seemed I did everything I needed. The gate was shut, the graves were accounted for, and there was nobody else here. And the next several hours went by quietly. I played around on my phone, texted a few friends, and I and I read a couple of chapters in a book I'd brought. I decided against zoning out and listening to music.

Not because I believed a corpse was going to pull the strings on a bell, but because I didn't feel all that comfortable sitting in a dark cemetery alone at night in a lit-up tiny little booth. Eventually, I got tired of sitting around, and I took a step outside to get some fresh air. There was a cool night breeze. The only sound I could hear was the soft chirping of crickets. I leaned back against the wall, and I took a long sip of my energy drink.

And when the sharp piercing sound of a bell broke the calm silence, it nearly scared me half to death. I dropped the can onto the pavement. The sound came from a short distance away, but I couldn't see its source in the dark. So I got a flashlight from the booth, and I made my way over to the noise. And searching, I found a bell beneath a headstone. I stood in confusion for a moment, as I watched the bell rock back and forth ringing loudline, and then I snapped out of my trance.

And I told myself, come on, this had to be Marcus, just trying to scare me. But I'll admit, I was kind of scared. So I ran back to the booth for more salt, and I quickly returned, and I poured salt all around the headstone. And the instant the circle had been completed, the bell stopped. I took a step back, and I caught my breath before reassessing the severity of the situation, deciding that, come on, it wasn't that bad. And feeling like I still had a handle on things, I turned away from the grave, and I took not more than three steps before the bell began to ring again.

I watched the bell swing back and forth, and then another bell joined in from behind me, this one even more rapid. I didn't even have time to process that, before another joined in from down the path. and then again on the opposite side. Only seconds had passed before they were five, six, seven bells, and the combined chimes of them culminated in a deafening noise as they seemed to synchronize. Though Marcus's rules never said so, and I felt like they were warning me of something. Without thinking, I quickly opened another canister of salt, and I poured a circle around me, trying to give myself a good eight or nine feet of space, but before I could finish it, it ran out.

I rushed to spread out the salt I'd already poured to complete the circle, brushing the ground like my life depended on it. It took about 30 seconds, and that seemed very long, but I finally completed the circle. I leaned back, falling to the ground, trying to catch my breath, when suddenly every single bell just stopped. The entire cemetery went silent. Not even the chirps of crickets remained.

And I held my breath to avoid making a sound. My eyes darted around and I kept my head on a swivel, looking for anything. I had this feeling I was being watched, but I couldn't see or hear anything. Eventually, my eyes fell on the corner pillar of the fence in front of me. I stood up and I looked from one corner to the other. All four were gone, and I didn't have time to process this before a loud scratching captured my attention. I shined my flashlight to the other end of the path, behind a tree, and I could see grass being disturbed and durbed. flying around. My first instinct was that some sort of gopher had made its way in. And that idea was

shattered when a large mass emerged from the ground. I could just see dirt now. And I dared not leave the circle. Everything was silent for a minute or two before I heard a sharp clicking sound from behind the tree. And I saw a figure. It was a corpse. And it was rotted to the bone and limping its way in my direction. It was limping, but it wasn't. When you think of limping, you think of somebody slow. No. This thing, it was limping, but it made its entire way through at a sprinting pace.

And as it approached me, my flashlight showed all of it. Blackened pieces of flesh were barely attached to, ashen-colored bones. Pale, string-like tendons hung loosely from the corpse, and from its ribcage, shriveled organs dangled and moved. Its skull was missing a jagged piece from the right side, and from its left, a horn protruded. A horn that looked somehow, like it belonged. Its jaw and teeth looked perfectly intact, but there was this black liquid oozing and dripping to the ground. As it approached, I looked around for something to grab, somewhere to go. My feet paced back and forth.

I wanted to run, but I had to keep myself inside that circle. It walked closer, and then it stopped dead in front of the salt circle. It was right in front of the salt circle. front of me. I had to catch my balance as I nearly passed out and fell out of the circle. And then again, everything went silent. As the jagged bones from the feet of whatever this was stood on the very edge of the circle, I didn't think a little salt was going to keep it out. And I knew my chances were slim. And then I heard this strong wind sound. And I heard a crash, and I could see stone wings attached to the back of one of the now-standing gargoyle statues.

And then I saw the three other gargoyles just standing around the corpse, which now lay crumpled on the ground. Remembering Marcus's letter, I pulled it out and I read the sixth rule, turn away and close my eyes. That's all I had to do. And so I did. I heard bones crack and snap and stone pound into the ground. And then I heard flesh being torn away

and liquid hitting the grass like water from a sprinkler. I only looked back when the sound stopped and only one gargoyle was there, its arms holding a pile of bones, the deformed, detached skull, neatly placed on top, and I looked to the corners of the cemetery to see that the other three gargoyles had made their way back. I turned away from the remaining one, picked up my flashlight, and after a moment of hesitation. I took a step outside of the salt circle. Now, I was still shaken by things,

but I did decide that the gargoyles weren't going to hurt me, or at least I'd be fine if I stayed out of their way. I let out a deep breath, and I felt myself get a little calmer. I was walking to the booth and about halfway there. When the hair on the back of my neck stood up, tensing. I knew something was wrong again. And I knew somehow that someone was behind me. I heard laughter then in giggling. He shouldn't laugh at the low circle.

I slowly turned around and I shone my light on the towering man standing in the darkest part of the cemetery. His fin scrunched shoulders came up to his skinny head and bounced up and down as he laughed. He looked alive, but his body was deathly skinny and scrunched together somehow. I couldn't see more than his arms and his head as he wore an old, dull-looking outfit like a farmer. His nails were long and dirty, much like his hands. His green-tinted, poisoned eyes bulged from his pale head that hung forward.

You better run, the man said. Ten. I stood confused. Nine. I realized he was counting down. Eight. My thoughts went to where Marcus described the location of Henry's grave. I figured this must be Henry, and I booked it for the southwest corner of the cemetery.

Seven. I'd never run so hard in my life. Six. I spotted what looked to be the weathered headstone described in the letter. But before I could tell for sure, I tripped. My knee connected with it head on, and I was sent tumbling. Oh, five. Five.

I glanced up at the headstone I was now laying in front of, and it read Henry. Just Henry. This was it. Four. I scrambled for the box of matches in my coat pocket. Three. I pulled them out quickly, but I spilled most of the matches into the grass. I got one, and I lifted it to the matchbox.

I struck the match against the box, but it didn't light. I tried again and again. Okay! Here I come. And it was a mistake, but I looked back and I saw Henry's long legs carrying him at a very fast pace in my direction. He'd be on me in less than a second. I kept trying the match, and then a strong thud hit the ground right next to me. I flinched and rolled over, and once again I was right in front of a gargoyle.

All four had come down and placed themselves between me and Henry. The two in the middle held him in place, as he was still trying to grab me. And I took the opportunity to strike the match. No. Henry muttered in fear. Please, no, I was just kidding. But I didn't think he was kidding. Henry started screaming then, and I ignored him.

I finally struck the match and I dropped it into the grass in front of me. I fell back as green flames, ignited on Henry's grave. He fell silent then. And when I looked back, the gargoyles were gone, and all that remained was Henry standing lifeless, head hanging in defeat. Very relieved. I got back to my feet.

I looked away from Henry, and I walked towards the gate. I was tempted to look back. And when I did, he was just gone. I gathered my things from the booth, and I sat with my back against the fence until the sun rose. When it did, I unlocked the gate, and I returned my set of keys to the booth. I walked out of that gate, down the street, and home. I didn't sleep when I got there. And I don't think I slept for days, no matter how hard I tried.

Over time, it did get better. I still see Marcus at the gates from time to time, and I know he recognizes me. He smiles when he sees me. But I haven't spoken to him since that day. I don't know what I'd say if I did. I haven't said a word about this to any of my roommates or friends either. I don't know how to bring it up. I don't know who in their right mind would even believe me.

But sometimes when I'm alone in my bedroom in the dark, the sound of clicking bones wakes me from my sleep. And sometimes when I'm drifting off, I'm interrupted by a countdown from a whisper.