Lighthouse Horror Podcast - I visited THE MOST DANGEROUS Town In The World. I barely survived | Scary Stories

Episode Date: September 18, 2024

Something is WRONG with this town... Scary Story exclusively written for the channel by Gar Pascoe Cover Art from Ninerio More of the artist’s works at ninerioarts             Original YouTube link: I visited THE MOST DANGEROUS Town In The World. I barely survived.       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!

There's something in Chernobyl, and it's hungry. Now, the drive to Chernobyl was not the prettiest. It was filled with long stretches of highway and empty fields. We had to be on the road at the crack of dawn, and our rented van rattled and creaked like it was about to break down. And yet, I couldn't help but feel more and more excited the closer we got to the city. I was drumming a beat in time with the song playing on the radio. Anything to keep me occupied.

In my opinion, we just couldn't get there fast enough. Behind me, Greg was glued to the window. His camera was already clicking away. He was the quiet type, always on the lookout for that perfect shot, you know? Every so often, he'd let out this low whistle. He'd shake his head and tell me that he was amazed at how nature was taking over the abandon. city. Beside him, Tim was the complete opposite. He looked like he was about to throw up, and he kept fiddling with the ties on his hoodie. Together, we made quite the trio, headed straight into the heart

of a nuclear fallout zone for a thrill. Now, back in 86, Chernobyl blew up. It was what you'd call the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen. The whole area, it was covered in radio, and act of dust. It turned the city into a no-go zone overnight. Towns emptied, lives were uprooted. The plant burned down. For years, nobody wanted to get too close. Too dangerous, they said. But you know how curiosity gets the better of people. Over time, scientists and a few weirdos started poking around, you know, to check how bad the damage really was. Then some tour companies started leading tourists around to get their thrills. Fast forward a few decades.

And here we are. Chernobyl's practically got a welcome mat out. They've built a hotel and safe zones have been marked out. There are even places where tourists can do photo ops inside the abandoned buildings. We pulled up and checked into that hotel. First-class haunting vibes, I'm telling you. Just sitting in the lobby gave me church. We spent the day hitting all the hot spots around the city.

That city that got left behind in the dust when everything went down. We checked out the old amusement park and the rested Ferris wheel, and the school where all the desks were still there. They were collecting dust, but otherwise completely intact, as if the kids had just disappeared. The thing about these tours, they showed you the decay and the empty buildings, buildings. In the daylight, it almost felt staged like it was too safe, but at night, completely different. That was when it really hit you, the real impact of what happened, the lives that were

turned upside down. So that night, we had dinner at the hotel. They even had a little bar and grill set up for the tourist. I'll be honest, it did feel a bit too cheery for such a bleak. place, though the pork chops weren't too shabby. The beer was pretty strong, though. Still, I chugged a few with the tour guide that evening, and when he was nice and friendly, I slipped him an extra couple hundred dollars to let us roam free after midnight. Nothing beats the thrill of wandering through a ghost town with just the moon in the sky. The man gave a tiny nod before he finished off his beer and said he was going to bed. Perfect.

As soon as he did, we went back up to our room and we packed up for the night. It was cold as hell, so we all bundled up. Except for Greg, of course. He threw on his usual light jacket and told us he never got cold. We used to always give him grief for that. We slipped out under the full moon. it gave us just enough light to see without needing flashlights. I figured that worked well for us, considering I didn't want to bring any extra attention to

ourselves. Still, that didn't stop Tim from whining about it. He was always a bit of a wuss. Our first stop was this old cinema. The sign was barely hanging on, creaking with every gust of wind. Inside were rows of dusty seats. They faced what used to be the screen, now just a tattered piece of cloth. Not much to see, really. Just some graffiti on the walls.

And then we hit a bunch of houses. Some were locked tight, like the folks just stepped outside and planned to come back. Others, though, were wide open, doors swinging in the wind. Inside, the places were stripped bare. In one house, a sofa. A sofa. was flipped over, with its cushions torn out. Old magazines were scattered on the floor. We found a bunch of clothes still hanging in closets. Even a faded teddy bear on a moldy mattress. The air in each one was stale and heavy.

Tim was glued to his Geiger counter the entire time we sneaked around. The thing was acting all sorts of crazy. The numbers jumping from nothing to all. the charts and back down. Made us all a bit jumpy, to be honest. Tim would pause every few feet to check the readings. He said none of the numbers were making any sense. As we walk through the empty streets of Chernobyl,

we ended up at this really beat-up apartment building. The building's windows were all boarded up, and the door looked like someone had forced it open a while back. Inside, the air was heavy with dust and mold. Our flashlights moved across walls with peeling wallpaper and floors covered in trash. This one was definitely in worse shape. And there was this rotten smell hanging in the air that just wouldn't go away. It was Tim who noticed writing on the wall when we entered the living room.

Hey, guys, check it out, he called out. We gathered around. The message was scrawled in fading paint across one wall. In a shaky hand, it read, We waited as long as we could. The head would not leave. Below it, names were listed. One under the other.

Like a final roll call. But the whole city was evacuated. So why did it feel? like these people were trapped here. I looked back at the front door. Next to it was a huge pile of furniture. A barricade? What are these people hiding from

that was more terrifying than radiation? None of us could understand it, but we didn't want to stick around to find out. This place, it felt wrong, in a different way than even the rest of Chernobyl. We left the building without a word. We should have turned back then. But we'd made it this far.

There was just one more place we needed to see. Finally, we made it to the Chernobyl power plant. I spotted a gap in the fence that was big enough for us to squeeze through. We walked through the lobby, and we entered the first room we saw. Looked like an employee lounge. Or, at least it used to be. It was a total reconciled. Tables and chairs knocked over.

Half the floor was covered in leaves and plastic wrappers. We opened the refrigerator just for kicks. Tim started gagging when he found that it was filled with rotting food. We headed deeper into the plant. Aside from the kitchen, the place was actually cleaner than I thought. As we walk through the facility, the sheer scale of the place hit us. The hallways were lined with pipes and wires that ran along the walls and ceiling. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust.

Eventually, we ended up in what must have been a control room. The room was huge. It was filled with rows of old computers and switchboards. There was a strong metallic smell in the room. here. The main control desk stood at the front. It was covered in faded buttons and levers.

Some of them were labeled in Russian, which we couldn't read. Large maps and diagrams were still pinned to the walls, outlining the layout of the plant and its systems. But as we move through the room, Tim's counter

began clicking faster again. The needle was jumping all over the place. He said that the radiation levels were way off the charts and we should turn back. But we all decided the counter had to be broken. Tourists were said to visit this place all the time, right? We were arguing about it. When Tim froze and stared at his counter,

it was going nuts over one particular spot. In the corner of the room, there was this dark pile of something. None of us had noticed it with all the men. We moved closer. I clicked on my flashlight, aiming it right at the pile. I wish I hadn't. It was a heap of dead rats, all dried up and mummified, like some sort of deformed statue. Their little bodies were all tangled up in each other, mouths wide open.

And that was our cue to get out. We left the room, watching out for any other. surprises in our way. As we were heading out of the power plant, Tim's Geiger counter suddenly started taking faster. The clicks were growing more urgent. It was coming from a room just off the main hallway. The door cracked open very slightly. Curiosity got the better of us, and we peeked inside. There, in the middle of the room, was a shriveled-up corpse. The body was a body. eyes were sunken deep into its skull. The skin was dry and tight, like it'd been mummified.

But the strangest part was the clothes it was wearing. The clothes were tattered and worn, but clearly from this century. It was even wearing a watch that looked a lot like Gregg's. On the wall was a final message. It said, The head is here. You know, it could be a drifter who got lost and died in here, I said, trying to make sense of it. Tim, still holding the counter, looked more anxious. The radiation levels are really high around this body, he said. The counter's clicking was like a rapid fire alarm now. He looked at us, clearly worried.

Look, look, we need to go now. He said, That got us to move. We all nodded. Without another word, we turned and hurried out of the room. We got outside, but I couldn't stop thinking about the body. And then we heard something. It was this whining noise coming from behind me.

And I saw a dog through one of the windows scratching at the door. Tim was standing a few feet back, checking his guy. counter. It was going crazy again. There had to be high levels of radiation coming from that spot. But I couldn't stand seeing the dog like that. So I went over and I opened the door. That dog didn't wait a second. He bolted straight out of air as soon as I opened it. I watched it disappear before turning back to the house. The inside of the room was pretty bare. There was some trash piled up in the middle and a safe in the corner. Greg wanted to take a closer look before we left.

He was stepping over the pile when he suddenly jumped back. Ah, something bit me, he said. Me and Tim rushed over and stuck on top of his shoe was what looked like a deflated balloon. It was weird, just hanging there. He tried to shake it off, kicking his leg out. But the thing wouldn't budge. Greg was freaking out, saying he felt something nipping at his leg through his pants. God, it's like ants, he said.

I got closer to see what the deal was with that weird balloon thing on his shoe. It was flopping around as Greg tried to shake it off. I noticed it wasn't just moving. It almost looked like it pulsed, like it had a heartbeat. Greg winced when he grabbed or remove it. It was stuck. Ah, ah, it's biting harder now. God, it's really starting to hurt, dude, he said.

He stumbled back, stepping out into the open space outside the house. The thing on his leg started pulsing faster. Greg was panicking now. His face twisted in pain. God, Doug, Doug, you gotta get this thing off me, man. God, what the hell is this? He said, hopping on one foot, trying to avoid putting weight on the leg with that thing attached to it. I grabbed at it, and I gave it a solid yank. But that only made Greg scream louder.

He yelled at me to stop. Suddenly, his leg just buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg and panicking. Tim shone his flashlight directly on the object, and we all stared in horror as it began to inflate right before our eyes. The wrinkled, shriveled surface stretched out, taking on a more defined shape. It still resembled the twisted version of a round, believe. balloon, but now the markings on its surface, it started to look like a human face. The balloon-like head stretched, its eyes calmly staring at us. Where the neck should be was the tail end of the balloon, where you'd normally blow into it. But this end was attached to

Greg's leg, having somehow bitten through his jeans. I pulled at the thing again harder this time. but that only hurt Greg Moore. He wasn't even yelling anymore. He was on the ground, barely making a sound. His face was turning paler by the second. He was so pale that I could see veins starting to show, creeping up his neck and face. I pulled out my Swiss Army knife, figuring I'd just slice the damn thing clean off. But my knife bounced off like it was nothing.

I tried stabbing it, even putting all my weight behind the knife, but I barely made a scratch. Frustrated, I attempted to wedge the knife under the edge of its mouth where it clung to Greg's leg, but it was sealed tight, like it had vacuum sealed itself to his skin. There was no getting the blade under there. Meanwhile, Greg was getting paler by the second. I could see his blue veins clear as day, and he looked like he lost 20 pounds in the span of the last 15 minutes. His eyes and cheeks were sunken as if he was being shrink-wrapped from the inside. He was slowly turning into a mummy right in front of our eyes.

We were getting desperate. Tim pushed me aside, and he stomped hard on the balloon head. He was hoping to squash him. but it was like stepping on a soccer ball. It just rolled under his foot, completely unaffected. Greg screamed out in pain as if we stepped on his actual leg. Running out of options now, I turned to Tim and I told him I had a crazy idea. If I could just cut around the flesh where the balloon was attached, maybe I could get Greg free.

Tim nodded. We didn't have a choice We got first aid from our backpacks And I looked at Greg His eyes were barely open And his face was gaunt We were losing more of him by the second Look, I'm sorry man

But we gotta try this, okay? It's gonna hurt I said Knowing this was a long shot But not seeing any other way I was no surgeon But I had to try to help him I positioned my knife just above where that thing clung to him, and I cut deep into his skin. A thick black liquid oozed out of the cut instead of red blood.

It spilled all over my hand in chunks. Greg went still. Did he stop breathing? I shook him by his shoulders, and I called his name over and over again. I checked for a pulse, and I felt nothing. He was gone, just like that. But I didn't have time to absorb what I'd just done. The thing attached to his leg, it was still moving.

It kept pulsing, getting bigger as Greg's body continued to shrivel up. His hair started falling out in clumps, his lips receded back, and his tongue hung out. His arms and legs got so thin I could see the outline of his bones. We got to go, Duck. We need to get help. He was right. Staying here wouldn't bring Greg back. And that thing on his leg, it was going to stop feeding soon. I took one last look at Greg or what was left of him.

And I nodded at Tim. We turned and ran. As we bolted from the plant, I saw a balloon head behind me. It was up in the air, and it had this thin piece of string dangling from it, scraping the ground. There wasn't any wind, but it was moving very fast towards us. We were running at full speed, but it looked like it was gaining on us. I made a hard right next to his shed, and I pulled Tim down with me. Just seconds later, balloon head drifted right past where we'd been.

A rat ran by us, and it brushed against the string. Instantly, the string stuck to the rat, dragging balloon head along with it. It freaked out, trying to gnaw the string off, but it was no use. And then another string dropped down from balloonhead, and it grabbed onto a rat. The poor thing started freaking out, running in circles trying to get away. As it twisted and turned, balloonhead's face was spinning slowly, and when it came around, I saw it. The face on the balloon, it wasn't just any face. It was Gregg's, and it smiled at us.

As that rat moved around trying to break free, the monster lowered itself. right onto it. It stuck to the poor thing just like it did to Greg. Balloonhead started to inflate again, growing bigger and bigger. Not wanting to see what would happen next. Tim and I took off. We tried to make our way back to the hotel, but it was too dark. Every run-down building looked the same. It felt like we were running in circles. We were totally lost. Then Tim's Geiger counter started clicking wildly again. We froze and looked around. There it was, balloonhead, right behind us. It was even bigger now about the size of a yoga ball, and it was still

growing. Seeing it that close and that big, we knew we couldn't just walk away. We had to run. We turned on our heels and sprinted, not caring about the noise we made or wetting. We went, we were going the right way. Tim and I ducked into the nearest building for cover. It was this old maintenance facility that looked like it hadn't been touched in ages. Inside, the air was thick with dust, and every step kicked up a small cloud of it. The first few rooms, we passed a series of offices. There was a desk cluttered with yellowed papers, and rusting filing cabinets stood open. Everything was covered in a layer of dirt. We moved deeper in, and we found storage rooms crammed with old tools and parts.

Tim's Geiger counter was going off the whole time, ticking away and reminding us just how much radiation was here. And then it started beeping faster, and we knew the creature wasn't far off. Behind us, I saw its shadow, moving down one of the corridors. In a snap decision, I tossed the Geiger counter into one of the office rooms. The last thing we needed was for that thing to hear us because of the noise. I grabbed Tim's arm, and I pulled them into another storage room. I shut the door, and I motioned for him to keep quiet. I didn't know if that thing could even hear or see us, but I did not want to find out.

The room was packed with old gas masks and protective suits hanging from hooks on the walls. The only window in the room was the one that looked back out into the hallway. We watched through the window, and we prayed the monster would pass us by. We saw it float down the hallway until it got to the window of the room where we were hiding, and it just stopped there. bobbing from side to side, we could still see Greg's face on it. He looked peaceful. We weren't sure if it could actually see us or not. Tim and I stood very still, waiting for it to float away, but balloon head was not going anywhere. It kept bumping its face against the glass,

as if trying to look inside. Tim slid to the side of the room, and balloon head. had followed him. He paused before grabbing a helmet and chucking it across the room. The monster didn't move from the window. In fact, it didn't react to the noise at all. What are you doing? I whispered. Whatever he was doing was going to get us killed. I think it's attracted to heat. Like, I don't know, heat signatures or something maybe. He started. Maybe that's how it ended up. up around Chernobyl, with all this radioactive stuff going on.

You think the tour companies know about things like this? I didn't know how to answer that, but I was reminded of a few articles I'd read before our trip. Tourist had gone missing over the last couple years. Nothing serious enough to alert authorities, but enough to keep the local tour guides on their toes. Tim slid back next to me, and sure enough, Balloonhead tracked his every move. It floated closer. Tim dug through his backpack, and he pulled out a thermos, unscruing the cap. All right, I'm going to try something.

Watch this, he said, as he threw coffee across the room. Balloonhead turned, and it followed the coffee. It hovered over the spot. before turning back to us. And that got us thinking, maybe this thing was drawn to heat. Tim looked over at me. Okay, all right, good.

We got a way to handle this. If it follows heat, we can use that. We just need to distract it. I nodded. It was a shot, the long shot, but at least we had something to try. All right, so we're going to try. What's the plan? I asked.

We heat up something. Throw it one way and we run the other. We keep it chasing the heat while we make a break for it. He explained. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than sitting around here waiting to die. Tim and I dug through our backpacks, looking for anything that could produce heat. Luckily, I found heat packs. Better yet, there was still hot coffee in my thermos. We also spotted a full-body protective suit in the corner of the room. Quickly, we grabbed the suit and we stuffed it with random papers lying around, trying to give it some shape. And then we activated the heat packs and we shoved them inside the suit. We tied off the arms and layings to keep everything inside, making sure it would hold together. Once the heat packs felt hot enough, we zipped up the suit and we dragged our makeshift decoy to the door. Balloon head was hovering near the window. Its face pressed against the glass.

Just to make sure it would follow the decoy, I poured the rest of the hot coffee over the suit. All right, you ready? Tim whispered. Yeah, I'm three. I nodded. One, two, three. We swung the door open, and I threw the decoy as far as I could down the hallway. Balloon Head didn't hesitate. It floated towards the decoy, drawn by the heat.

Tim and I bolted out of the room. We ran as fast as we could not looking back. We hoped the decoy would keep Balloon Head busy enough for us to escape. I ran through the dark corridors of the facility. The adrenaline made my head pound. I escaped out of the building, and I stopped to catch my breath, leaning against the wall. It took a moment for me to realize Tim wasn't with me. I yelled back towards the building.

Tim, you in there? But there was no response, just silence. I couldn't just leave him behind, so I could. turned and went back in. Tim, hey man, where are you? I called again. As I said his name, I heard a distant cry for help. I followed the sounds, and they led me to an inner courtyard.

Tim was there. He was tangled up in a mess of balloon head strings, thrashing and trying to break free. He continued to struggle. But he couldn't break free from the thing. I dug through my bag for anything that could help, and I found a flare and lit it. I waved it wildly, trying to get balloonhead's attention. But the thing ignored the flare,

not even moving when I threw it away from me. That's when I saw more strings. I watched as balloonhead's face began to change. It was morphing into teeth. Tim's face. I pulled out my lighter and flicked it. Quickly, I touched the flame to one of the strings. The fire caught instantly, and the thing burned fast. I heard a high-pitched wheezing noise coming from it. Without thinking, I moved in closer, and I aimed a flame right at its face. It shook violently, and then it lifted off the ground, dragging it.

Tim with it. He was still tangled in its strings like a limp puppet. I lunged forward, grabbing at him, trying to pull him down. But Balloonhead made this hissing sound, and it kept floating away. It was moving slower now with both of us weighing it down, though. But it was still rising, pulling both of us off the ground. My feet dangled as I held onto my friend, trying desperately to pull him back. I kept trying to burn through the strings around Tim, using my lighter to burn them away one by one. But it was like fighting a losing battle. Every time I burned one, two more slid out of the thing. We were a few feet off the ground now, and I was clinging to Tim for dear life.

and then without warning the creature made a sharp left turn the movement slammed me hard i lost my grip and i fell crashing to the ground dazed i looked up and i saw a balloon head drifting away with tim still in its strings i stared up at the sky as my best friend floated away from me I didn't know what to do or where the thing was going. I failed my friends that night and Tim was never found. So the least I can do is warn everyone. If you ever see a balloon with a face, don't touch it. Don't even go near it. Just run.