Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - [BONUS] I Found a Strange Door In Our Basement That Wasn’t There Before

Episode Date: June 6, 2026

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The lava lamp bubbles its wax up and down, flowing and rolling and twisting and turning and melting again and again and again and... Dude, I think I'm feeling something. I glanced at Bertie. He's occupied the purple bean bag for the past two hours while waving his hands in front of his face. Yeah, he's feeling it. Where'd you get this stuff? Magic mushrooms. Yeah, yeah, magic mushrooms.

Got that, yeah. He coughs, and the streams of light drifting around my head suddenly fade. Hey, cover your mouth. Sorry, yeah, magic mushrooms. Where'd you get that from again? I hook a thumb over my shoulder at the basement's back wall. In there. He tries to crane his neck so he can see the door, but the beanbag fights him,

so he's forced to roll onto his side and basically fall out of the bag to get a good view. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. That door. Um, it looks a little moldy. Mushrooms are a fungus. Mold is a fungus.

It's all one big ecosystem, right? Right. Yeah. Yeah. He keeps staring at the door, which is making my conversation with this giraffe standing in front of me a little uncomfortable. Can I open it? I hold up a finger to the giraffe. Excuse me for a second. I turn away from the giraffe and put all of my focus on Bertie. What do you want, man?

Can I open the door? Can I see what's on the other side? He isn't waiting for an answer for me as he pushes up onto his hands and knees and crawls across the basement, his trajectory taking him straight for the door. Hold on, man. Hold on. I force myself up out of my own beam bag and stumble to the door, beating Bertie by a couple of of feet, the miracle of walking upright. Kevin Sharp, what are you and your weird friend doing down there?

Nothing, Nana. Just relaxing. You aren't being gay, are you? I won't abide none of that tomfoolery in my house. I roll my eyes. No, Nana, Bertie and I aren't gay. But it's the 21st century, so being gay isn't a bad thing. Don't you sass talk me, grandson. I'll come down there and show you what the 20th century was like. Your grandma's a trip, man. Tell me about it. I placed my hand on the doorknob.

Okay, man, you gotta watch it with this space, okay? It gets strange. Fun strange? Or scary strange? Both, I guess. I twist the knob. Nothing happens. The door is locked.

I try twisting the other way. Then I try two hands. I try two hands with a foot placed on the door. jam. I yank and pull and shake and push. Nothing. The door won't budge. What's up? I don't know. It's locked. Hey man, if you don't want to show me your stash, that's fine. No, man, it wasn't locked before. It just won't open. I give it a hard kick. Something kicks back. Bertie screams and crawls away, burying himself under his beanbag. I'm an idiot, so I stand still. directly in front of the door where someone or something on the other side just gave it a hard kick.

Slowly, I reach out and knock three times. Three knocks are my answer. Oh shit, man. That didn't happen before. A slip of paper slides out from under the door. It's old paper, used and tattered, lined like we'd used back in high school, but the three holes have been torn as if the paper was ripped from a binder. The revolution will be atomized.

note reads in thick black marker. Well, shit, that's not the best note to get. I bend to pick up the paper, and a finger slides out, brushing my own fingers. I scream and jump back. The finger disappears. Then it reaches out and takes the paper back with it. Wait! I rush forward, grabbing the doorknob. I twist, and it turns this time. Yanking the door wide, I reveal the large closet I'd seen when it first appeared two days ago. No one or no thing is inside. Just the broken shelves hanging at odd angles. Everywhere I look, the wood paneling is warped and stained and coated in magic mushrooms. Bright yellow mushrooms with white and red spots on their caps.

They look just like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Or were those bright red mushrooms with yellow and white spots? I don't know, but they are freaky looking. Which is why I took a bunch and made tea. They were always drinking tea in Alice in Wonderland, so I figured, how could it hurt? Took me a day to steep and strain the tea, but damn if it didn't work out. I can still hear that giraffe back there chatting about his job at the bank. He won't tell me which bank, but ain't that just like a giraffe?

I bend and pick a few shrooms, stuffing them in my pocket. Wait, um, hold the hell on. Did the mushrooms move? Did they look at me? Is that one smiling? What the crap? This isn't fun like talking to the giraffe. Do the mushrooms have teeth now?

Oh, man, oh man, oh man. So, like, maybe we should tell someone. I jump and scream, forgetting that Bertie is with me down here. I quickly close the door and turn to Bertie, frowning. Who are we going to tell, Bertie? Huh? Who do you call when a closet filled with magic mushrooms suddenly appears in your basement? The cops?

Do we call the cops? Dude, chill out. I was just thinking out loud. Damn. Feeling stupid for snapping at him, and knowing that there's no way the mushrooms could have moved because that's crazy. I pull a mushroom from my pocket and walk it over to Bertie. Here, man, sorry. Dry it in the oven for like 15 minutes at 250.

Then you can crush it up and make tea. Can I eat it raw? I shake my head. I read somewhere you never eat magic mushrooms raw, or you end up on the toilet for a decade. Bertie nods and takes the mushroom. as if I'm handing him some long-lost treasure. You sure, man? It's yours.

I glance at the stairs. Um, so yeah, I got to make dinner for Nana. She gets real pissy if dinner's late. Oh, man, don't I know it? With considerably more effort than it should take, Bertie gets himself out from under the bean bag and stands upright without too much trouble. It's a modern miracle, really. Thanks for the shroom.

$250? Yeah. 250. 15 minutes. Set an alarm and don't let it burn. Why? What happens if it burns? I shrug. No clue. Probably tastes bad. Or maybe it makes you turn psychotic. Jesus, Bertie, let's hope not. A bit of fear tickles my lizard brain, but I push it down. I'm in my Nana's basement with my best friend. What do I have to be afraid of? My eyes ticked toward the mysterious basement door, then back to the. to Bertie. Hey, call me later, man. We can talk about the new Murder One game coming out. Oh, man. I hear you can even get convicted and sentenced to death, and you spend the whole game on Death Row. Isn't that crazy? I don't know. Sounds kind of boring. I just like killing people. It's all about authenticity, man. He shakes the mushroom at me and then heads to the stairs. See you, man. I give him a wave and he's up the stairs and gone in seconds. I can hear Nana saying something to him. Then I hear her small

steps as she comes back to the top of the basement stairs. You're gay friend left. You're gonna make me my supper or what? Coming, Nana. Something knocks three times on the other side of the door, and I run up the stairs as fast as I can. I don't even bother to wave goodbye to the giraffe. He's on his own. Listen to the rest of this bonus story, including over 90 more with a seven-day free trial of Dr. No Sleep Premium. You can cancel any time. No commitment. Just go to patreon.com

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