Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - I Work on the Navajo Reservation. I Learned There Are Rules for Killing Skinwalkers | Part 3

Episode Date: October 9, 2026

Working nights on the Navajo Reservation, I thought the warnings about Skinwalkers were just old stories—until I learned there were rules for surviving them. Rules for spotting them, rules for hunting them, and most importantly, rules you never break. Because out here, killing one doesn’t always mean it’s over. Huge thanks to our sponsor: EarnIn: Download EarnIn on the App Store or Google Play. And when you sign up, type in “ScaryHorrorStories” under PODCAST. It really helps support the show. Author:  Jake Bible Check out all of Jake’s horror story collections at: ⁠https://jakebible.com/short-storiesnovellascollections/⁠ * * * CONTENT DISCLAIMER: This episode contains explicit content not limited to intense themes, strong language, and depictions of violence intended for adults. Parental guidance is strongly advised for children under the age of 18. Listener discretion is advised.  #scarystories #horrorstories #drnosleep #doctornosleep #creepypasta #horror Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 3. Does a bear die in the desert? Metal wrenches and wood snaps halfway across the building. They're coming in the back, too. Lou says and looks to his sister. Can you and whatever his name is handle up front? Yeah. Alyssa lifts her 9mm and jogs toward the entrance. Don't just stand there. Follow her, hoss. I shake off my shock and chase after Alyssa, moving considerably slower than her,

since she knows the twists and turns, ins and outs of the place. I'm just struggling not to trip over a display of treasure maps and fake pickaxes or run into a cardboard cutout of that John Wayne actor guy. The Barrett booms from behind us, then scream in front of us. Howls and roars fill the air everywhere. Alyssa aims up toward the ceiling and squeezes off four rounds. Something furry and wet with blood falls to the floor. Its head splitting like a melon.

I have no idea what it is. But I put a round of buckshot into what's left of its skull just in case. Alyssa rounds a row of shelves, then suddenly dives back as gunfire erupts, ripping the trinkets and chotchkeys to bits. I fire the second I see the barrel of a pistol appear by the shelving. A man cries out, and the pistol clatters to the floor. He leans forward, clutching one hand with the other. I take his head off, then hurry to Alyssa and help her back to her feet.

No thanks, just a nod. I nod back. We hurry on. There's a dead man by the display of crappy bows and arrows. His belly has been ripped to shreds. His intestines strewn across the floor like discarded rope. Something growls to my right, and I swivel and fire. A coyote loses its right front leg and most of its shoulder from the shotgun blast.

That doesn't seem to stop it, though, and it leaps at me. I rack the slide and fire again, but I'm too slow. The bloody beast slams into my chest, and I tumble backwards, both of us hitting the floor hard. The breath is knocked out of my lungs and the shotgun out of my hands. Gun fire and warm wetness coat me. I wipe the blood from my eyes and see Alyssa offering me a hand. I take it, and she yanks me up. I hooked the shotgun with the toe of my cowboy boot

and kick it up into the air, catching it easily. Alyssa smirks at the move, but doesn't waste time on anything else. She's off and running again. The Barrett is booming, booming, booming, then Lou shouts in pain, and the booms, stop. Alyssa hesitates and looks back over her shoulder. I get to her just before a man with a freaking head cannon steps out from behind an impossibly tall stack of blankets.

The barrel of the giant pistol only inches from Alyssa's temple. Hey, Gary, I say. The man pauses, confused, then sees me and grins. Hey, dead man. Talking to yourself? Alyssa asks, as she shoves a 9mm up under his chin and fires. Gary drops. Not that anyone would know it's Gary anymore.

Hope he wasn't a friend of yours, Alyssa says. I shake my head and we're moving once more. Although I can feel Alyssa struggling not to run to the back and chuck on her brother. The scene up front is a chaotic nightmare. Apuma is eating a guy named Mark. The other guy, I think his name is Bill, is stomping a coyote to death or trying to. A dude dressed in a tour guide's uniform is trading punches with a chick named Ebony. Three raccoons are circling a guy whose name I can never remember.

Eddie, Nicky? I don't know. I thought you said there weren't raccoons around here. I shouted Alyssa. I said not many. And those aren't raccoons. Oh, right. Then there's the man himself. Molligan. His suit coat is torn, and there is blood all over his chest. He's favoring a leg

as he moves sideways. His eyes locked onto the little girl from earlier in the day. In his right hand is one hell of a knife, 12-inch blade with a handle made of bone. I've seen what that blade can do to a person. It ain't pretty. What the hell are you, you little bitch? Mulligan shouts. He's a big man, bigger than Lou, but he looks so small as he tries to keep some distance between himself and the little girl, Which, I really need to remember, isn't a little girl at all. The little girl catches my eye and smiles. Then she catches Alyssa's eyes, and that smile turns up so much,

I worry she'll rip the skin she's wearing. I shiver at the thought. Gotta hand it to you, Hank. Mulligan grunts, making sure his big blade is between him and the girl. You really know how to turn a simple mess into a gigantic shit show. You know me, Mulligan. I'm an overachiever. Then Mulligan lunges, slashing faster than his bulk,

would make you think he can, and the girl jumps back in surprise. Then she stands perfectly still and waggles a finger. Mulligan groans. Damn, you are one creepy bitch, you know that? The little girl doesn't say a word. She just stands there, an easy target. Don't do it, Mulligan, I say, the shotgun to my shoulder, the barrel moving back and forth between the big man and the little girl.

Go ahead, Mulligan. Alyssa counters. See what happens. Mulligan, never wanted to back down from a challenge or allow him, to be shown up by a woman, brushes the girl, his knife slashing, slashing. Before he's taken six steps, a dozen coyotes come out of nowhere and tackle him to the floor. His knife skids away, lost under a cardboard display holding slingshots. The coyotes pin him down, their muzzles quivering with saliva as they bare their teeth at him.

I can't tell for sure, but I'd guess Mulligan has pissed himself. I sure would. And it looks like I'm about to get my chance. A dozen more coyotes approach from our left. Alyssa, I see them. Growls from my right tell me that we're being boxed in. I don't even bother to look. What's the play?

Protect old cow. I waste a precious second and look at Alyssa. I'm sorry, what? Protect old cow. It's why she's here. The bear? The stuffed bear? That's why she's here?

What the hell for? I can hear you both. The little girl says. And the whelp is correct. I am here for the bear. Get them off me! Mulligan shouts. Not yet.

The little girl says. dozen steps forward. But soon. Melissa, we're surrounded. I know that, Tom. I'd rather not die before I get paid. So any suggestions? Don't let her get to Old Cal.

Not the suggestion I'm looking for. There's a noise like wet sheets tearing in half. I glanced to my left, and most of the coyotes are no longer coyotes, but grown-ass men, standing there covered in blood with coyote belts hanging from their heads and shoulders. Some coyotes do remain, and they slink into the shadows lost from sight. from sight. Put the weapons down. You'll only get yourselves hurt. The little girl says to Alyssa. There are too many of us. A bunch of abominations. Alyssa snarls. Disgusting, disrespectful monsters. The little girl rolls her eyes. Get off your high horse, girl. We do

what we have to do to survive in this day and age. This isn't survival. It's perversion. The little girl shrugs. Alyssa's arms twitched just a bit, but before she can fire, a dozen hands grab her and throw her to the ground. I know it's coming. And I have I hold the shotgun up in the air with one hand and hold my other out to ward off whatever is about to happen. The shotgun is yanked for my grip, and hands force me down onto my knees. Do you know what I am? The little girl asks, walking up to me while ignoring Alyssa's shouts and curses. I hope you do, because I don't feel like explaining it to a white man tonight.

I've been clued in, yeah, I say. But I don't really have a dog in this fight, so you can let me go, and I'll hop in my pickup and just drive off. Then I remember the tires. Or walk off. I can walk. Someone gave me some new boots today. How lucky for you. It's good to dye new boots.

What? Oh, I don't think I need to die to appreciate them. I'll just take a long walk. Maybe head to Vegas and get lost. So lost that you'll forget all about me. Tom, who you'll say? Coward! Alyssa shouts.

No, I believe his name is Hank. The little girl says and steps away from me. Names are important. They have power. The little girl now looks at Alyssa. Isn't that right? You and your brother have been trying to find my name for a long time. How was that working out for you?

I don't need your name to kill you, bitch. Is that a rule? Needing the Skinwalker's name? I ask, trying to bring some attention back to me, because the way the girl looks at Alyssa is not good. Dangerously deadly, not good. No one will tell me the rules. Is that so?

The little girl laughs. Would you like to hear them? Would you like to hear all the rules for how to kill my? My kind? If you don't mind, might come in handy. She laughs again. Then she reaches me and leans in close, her nose touching mine. The smell of dead meat wafts from between her lips.

Really, it wafts off her whole body. Not gonna happen, white boy. Not now, not ever. You sure? Secrets can be such a burden, right? She pats my cheek, my mangled cheek. I struggle not to wince. I fail.

You won't live long enough to do anything with the secrets anyway. so they'd only be a waste on you. Her hand moves to my scalp, and I scream as she rips open what Lou had glued together. I feel the blood flow immediately, and in a second, it's dripping down my forehead and in front of my eyes. The little girl licks her fingers clean, dead-eyeing me the whole time. Then she snaps her clean fingers and points past Alyssa and me.

Drag the fat man to the bear. The coyotes pinning a still-screaming mulligan, each grab a bit and pull him across the floor, and he's lost from sight. Turn them. Alyssa and I are spun about. We are now facing old cow. The little girl moves between us, steps across Mulligan, literally. She steps on his chest, then off, as she gets closer to the huge, stuffed bear.

Before I even know what is happening, the little girl grips the flesh at the base of her neck and tears. Then she digs her fingers into the opening she's made and keeps tearing. Those coyotes whose mouths aren't full of Mulligan flesh lift their snouts and howl. You can't do this! Alyssa shouts. A hand that used to be a paw, clocks her in the jaw, and she goes silent, her chin drooping to her chest. Alyssa! Elissa! I get a former paw to my jaw, but I don't black out. I get my bell wrung hard, but I don't let unconsciousness take me. Although with the sight in front of me, I kind of wish I had.

The little girl is slitting herself open from neck to navel with her own sharp fingernails. I keep my gorge in check. Unfortunately, for my mental and emotional well-being, it's not the worst. sight I've seen. Her skin sloughs off like a cheap robe, and what's left standing is more than surprising. It's an old woman. I'm not sure how old, because she's covered in gore, but she ain't young, and she has to be a good foot taller than the girl was. I'm guessing conservation of mass isn't a problem with skin walkers. They become what they wear, no matter the size, which brings my eyes to the 10-foot-tall bear standing directly behind the bloody old woman.

Oh, come on, no way, I say. Alyssa wasn't kidding. The old woman grinned. at me with brown teeth and cracked lips. Then she turns to the bear and looks it up and down. She says something in Navajo, or I assume it's in Navajo. And then she places both of her hands on the bear and leans all of her weight against it. Then, like she's parting a curtain, she slips inside Old Cal. For a few seconds, nothing happens. Then the bear shudders, shakes itself once, and lowers its arms and paws that had been held up by taxidermy for who knows how long. Think about how strange it is that we work, earn money, and then still have to wait to actually get paid. We're used to getting almost everything else instantly, but somehow payday

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available for a fee. Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service. Available and Lux states, terms and restrictions apply. Visit urnan.com for full details. The old woman, now old cow, growls low, and the screaming Mulligan is dragged closer to her. I don't even have time to turn my head before she clamps her jaws around Mulligan's neck and rips his head off. A head, she swallows whole.

Mother of God, I whisper. Old cow digs under the rest of Mulligan's body, ripping and tearing, barely chewing before swallowing. When the beast finishes and stands up straight, Its fur is lush and healthy. Okay, maybe not healthy, but it doesn't look like it's been standing in a warehouse for decades anymore. The bear stomps through Mulligan's remains and over to me.

Its head lowers, and its snout sniffs me up and down. The beast chuckles, then turns and looks at Alyssa. Hey, hey, leave her alone. Stay out of this right, boy. The old woman as old cow snarls. Do that, and maybe you live through this? This ain't no Disney bear. The voice is guttural, demonic.

It's not going to be breaking out into song anytime soon, that's for sure. Old Cal nudges Alyssa with its snout. The woman stirs, but doesn't come awake. The bear leans in and wraps its entire jaw around Alyssa's skull and squeezes. Now she comes awake, twisting and grunting from the pain. Old Cal lets go and steps back. This has been a long time counting Alyssa strong. Your great-grandfather did me wrong.

Now I will pay him back. A shot booms, and I feel at least one of the skinwalkers holding me let go. Boom, boom! Two more are gone. Old Cal stands to its full height and spins about. Get the brother! Bear and padded feet slap against the floor as almost all the skin walkers race toward the back of the building. This would be great, except that a dozen still remain, all holding onto Alyssa and me. Boom, boom, boom! The shots don't reach us. They must be for the kill party heading straight for him. That boy needs to know when to quit. Old Cal says, looking over its massive shoulder at Alyssa. Tell him this down.

You two see each other before you die. Say your goodbyes. Eat shit and die. Alyssa says and grins through bloody teeth. Simmy. Old cow stumbles slightly. Alyssa laughs, and it's not the good laugh from earlier. Oh dear. You thought I didn't know your true name. Great grandfather made the mistake of taking you on unarmed.

I'm not screwing up like that. Not now that I have you where I want you. Where you want me? Old cowl sort of growl chuckles. Bitch, please. The bear nods. And Alyssa and I are lifted to our feet and dragged closer to the beast. Boom, boom, boom! A pause.

Then full auto gunfire. Tell him this stop. Or I'll make you watch me with his belly open and he his guts. It's too late for threat, Simmy. Way too late. Oh, to hell with this. Kill her. Kill her.

Lift him apart. Boom! The middle of Old Cal becomes a wide hole. And through that hole, I can see Lou standing several feet back, the Barrett, to his shoulder. Damn. That recoil had to hurt like that. a mother. Old Cow looks down at the hole then looks up. What are you waiting for? Kill them!

How was the thing still standing? Knowing some rules sure would be nice right now. Alyssa is moving before I can tear my eyes away from the hole in the bear. Cries of pain fill the air, and I'm flung aside as my captors join their Skinwalker buddies to fight off the raging young woman. Hey Simmy, time to die! Lou shouts. He sprints at Old Cal, ducking under a massive paw as the Skinwalker tries to take off his head. The big man slides on his knees across the gore-covered floor. When he stops and jumps to his feet, he has a very large knife in his hand, Mulligan's knife.

Just before he dives at Old Cal, he looks at me and shouts, Get the noose! What? Get the noose! Now! I don't think. I just act. I know where the nooses are from the earlier tour, which feels like a lifetime ago.

Getting to my feet, I try to ignore the battle that Alyssa is waging, skirt around the battle between Lou and Old Cal, and sprint down aisle after aisle, around the battle. barrel after barrel until I'm at the museum aisle and long rows of display cabinets. I find the nooses and have a problem. Blue said to get THE NEUS, not ANUS, but THE NEUS, but which one? I scanned the display, hoping one will have a handy label under it that says, Skinwalker Killer, but none do. Then I get that tingle at the back of my skull when my eyes land on a very specific noose.

Its label says it's made of braided leather, not rope. Although I have to wonder if that actually is leather, looks a lot like. human skin to me. I shatter the display case with my elbow, slicing myself good. Ignoring the pain and flowing blood, I grabbed the noose and sprint back to the front, coming upon quite the scene. There were nothing but body strewn everywhere, with an enraged bear stomping on most of them as Alyssa and Lou hang onto its back, plunging blades into the beast over and over. Hey, Simi, look what I got! I shout. I'm the least surprised that the ploy works. Old Cal pauses, and, seeing the noose, the bear's eyes widen.

Then Lou and Alyssa both slice their blades across the bear's throat. The monster falls to its knees with Lou hopping off, grabbing both sides of its head and pulling with all of his strength as Alyssa keeps slicing. The head pops off and the entire thing begins to shrink and twist in on itself until what's left on the floor is the crumpled body of the old woman with a nasty bear rug shrouded around her. Lou grabs the old woman by the back of the neck and lifts her up. She swipes at his eyes, but he ducks back in time. Noose!

Alyssa says, her chest heaving, sweat and blood pouring off of her. She holds out a hand and I give her the noose. Thanks, she smiles. Good job, Hank. I prefer Tom, I think. She nods, then walks to her brother. He takes the noose and slips it over the old woman's head, tightening it around her neck. Then he drops her to the floor and starts dragging her toward the back.

Gonna take her to the cottonwood and get this over with. Lou says as he kicks the struggling old woman in the head, not exactly stealing her, but taking the fight out of the monster. Alyssa nods. We'll clean up in here. Most will die when she does, but some aren't fully beholden. You know what to do? I do.

I don't, I say. What do I do? The siblings laugh as Lou drags Simmy out of sight. Nice try, Tom, Alyssa says. How about I make you a deal? I help clean up these bodies, which there are a lot of, and you let me watch what you do to make sure they don't come back. That seems fair.

Or you just do your job, get paid, and stay under our protection for the rest of your life. Protection? I put a hand to my still bleeding scalp and show her my red palm. Seriously? Okay, leave. I'm sure you can handle the two cartels and their chainsaws on your own, right? I grumble. I grit my teeth.

I kick a stray, severed hand across the floor. Then I look at what's left of Mulligan. Fine, but I want to raise. Alyssa lifts an eyebrow. At some point. Then I jab a finger toward the back of the building. And I want the trailer fumigated, because we both know Fabriz ain't going to get that dead pumice.

smell out. She laughs. It's her real laugh. Deal. Now grab a body and start carrying Tom. It's going to be a long night. I think for half a second, then get to work. I've had worse jobs. Want more? Subscribe and turn on all notifications so you never miss any of our weekly uploads.