The Dark Somnium - "My childhood dog ran into the woods, There was something very wrong with him after" Creepypasta

Episode Date: May 4, 2021

This creepypasta scary story is from the nosleep subreddit, written by Atlantiik--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/darksomnium/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I vividly remember the day Duke disappeared. My family was spending the day at the lake next to our little bungalow, at a quaint property in northern Ontario. All four of us were swimming and splashing around in the warm lake water, attempting to quell the blistering August heat. Our only neighbor, for miles, an old retired police officer named Benny, was smoking on his patio. I waved to him, and he waved back.

We were in the dog days of summer, and I was just glad to be in the water. Duke loved the water as much as I did, and was still very energetic, being a large, middle-aged mutt. We would often throw frisbee's and sticks off the dock, where he would take flying leaps into the blue-green lake. That's exactly what we were doing when he vanished. As I was drawing back my hand to throw the frisbee for Duke, who was anticipating a throw and getting ready to run, he suddenly whipped his head to the woods.

I too looked back at the rows of towering hardwoods and conifers, scanning them to see what Duke was looking at. It was nothing, at least to me. What followed was a blur. Duke suddenly bolted for the trees, barking and snarling all while we were screaming his name. I screamed at my parents to get out of the water and help me chase him. I even saw Benny spring out of his rocking chair to help us. I ran as fast as my nine-year-old legs could carry me into the dense forest.

quigs and debris snapping under my feet, but you can only get so far in flip-flops before you trip. I tumbled to the ground, screaming, and crying after accidentally scraping my leg against a sharp rock. My mom consoled me while I caught a glimpse of my dad running through the woods. It was a while before my dad and Benny came back. My dad had a somber look on his face. He didn't have to tell us what we already knew, but Benny looked shaken.

I'm sorry folks, but he ain't. coming back," he said shakily. He took off his faded baseball cap respectively and patted me on the shoulder before trudging up the hill back to his house. My whole family missed him, but to me it felt like a part of me left when Duke did. He had been my best friend since I was nine, and I even had a small photo album packed with pictures of the two of us. For a while, every night before bed I would sift through the laminated pages of the photo

album, reminiscing about good times and praying that someday he would come back to us. Deep down, I knew he wouldn't. A few months after Duke disappeared, my dad arrived home from work with a surprise. It was another dog. It wasn't elegant and athletic like Duke was. It was one of those tiny, white yappy ones with crusty red goop around its eyes. My parents fell in love with it. Princess, they called her, but I didn't.

I simply referred to her as the dog. I was bitter, so bitter, because I'd interpreted my dad's gesture of kindness as his own confirmation of Duke's absence. In time, I did grow to tolerate her. I had to admit she was good company, and it was cute when she curled up by my feet. Life was going normally for us until Duke came back. It had almost been a year since Duke had disappeared. On this particular day, we were all cooped up inside, courtesy of the rain.

I was engulfed in my book when suddenly I heard a bark, not a high-pitched yap, but a deep, booming bark. I put down my book and rushed to the back door where I had heard it, princess scuttling at my heels. When I peeked through the window, I nearly fell over. It was Duke, somehow. By this time my parents had arrived. My mom rushed past me and whirled the door open while my dad. and I hung back, mouths agape. As my mom hugged Duke, I couldn't help but notice something off.

I'd spent countless hours spending time with him and sleepless nights pouring over photo albums. I'd familiarized myself with every spot, marking, and quirk of Duke's fur. One of his most striking features was a black spot over his left eye, which had appeared in almost every one of the photos. But standing here was Duke. His eye spot was now on his right eye. As a matter of fact, his whole pelt seemed to have been flipped. He was missing his collar, and he was skinnier than when we'd last seen him.

But it was him all right. Well, that's what I'd thought. The first red flag was how Princess reacted to Duke. She was a yappy dog all right, but when she saw Duke, she went ballistic, spitting and yapping like we'd never seen before. Princess barked at everything, remember? My dad told me, sensing my discreet. comfort. She's probably just barking because she smells like the forest. And with that, he went

outside to greet Duke. The barking must have alerted Benny, and he went outside to see what the commotion was. Once he saw what was going on, he darted back into his house and audibly slammed the door. When my parents came back inside, I tentatively stuck out a hand for Duke to sniff. He didn't wag his tail like I expected him to. All he did was quietly sit down. Then he heard Princess yapping from the other side of the room. His head swiveled and he lifted himself and padded confidently towards her. Before long he had her cornered. All he was doing was standing and watching her, yet Princess's eyes were bulging as she howled

and yapped. A sense of dread was beginning to creep up my spine, but before anything happened, my dad whistled and Duke lifted his head. With one last glance at Princess, he slunk away. The sense of wrongness didn't alleviate for the rest of the time Duke was with us. The second red flag was that Duke didn't eat the food we put out for him. Granted, it was food intended for small dogs, but it was still the same formula. Dogs are wired to eat everything they can get their paws on anyway, so even then it wouldn't

have mattered. Not once did I see him eat. Every time we let him outside in the woods to relieve himself, he came back twenty minutes later, his white muzzle stained pink. I found it odd that my parents didn't think he was at risk of running away again, but since he didn't run, I never brought it up. They spent all their time with Duke, petting him, coddling him, attempting to feed him, and playing with him. All this, while completely ignoring Princess, as well as my objections.

Something's different about him. I brought up during dinner one night. That's nonsense. What are you talking about? Said my dad. He was a good old Duke. He looked at the dog as if searching for approval. We ate the rest of dinner in silence. As the summer went on, Duke seemed to gain more and more influence over my family.

At this point, it was just me taking care of Princess. It was up to me to feed, walk, and take care of her now, as my parents had completely neglected her. This dog wasn't the Duke I used to know. Every time he walked into the same room that Princess was in, she would scuttle away in fear and into my arms. I took to always being in the same room as Princess, just as a precaution. From what, I didn't want to admit, but deep down, I think I knew.

One day, Benny approached me while I was walking Princess. Are you doing okay, kid? Yeah, yeah, it's... I trailed off. Benny bent down to meet my height, his friendly blue eyes clouded with concern. Be careful, kid. If you need any help, I'm right up here. Without another word, he turned and walked back into his house.

When I came back from the walk, my mom. Mom announced that we were going to the store. Dad had figured out that Duke liked raw meat, and we had run out of it. As a matter of fact, we had run out of all other food in the house. But of course, in order to enter the grocery store, we needed to leave the dogs alone. I wanted to stay home and look after Princess, but my mom wasn't having it. I don't know why you always insist on being around that dog. It's not healthy.

Look who's talking. I muttered. We're going to buy a bunch of dogs. raw meat for a dumb dog. For that, she slapped me. Tears sprung from my eyes. For that, she slapped me, tears sprung from my eyes. Don't you dare speak about Duke that way.

She huffed. Get in the car. Without another word, I did as she said and got in, leaving Princess behind with the dog. I couldn't stop thinking about Princess as my parents cleared out the raw meat section. The drive home was nerve-wracking. the walk up the driveway to our cottage was dreadful. I could hear the whimpering even before the door was open. Heart in my throat, I whirled the door open and screamed.

Princess was under the kitchen table, leg bleeding profusely. No, it was gone. One of her legs was just gone. Curled up on the carpet was Duke. Muzzles stained red. The rest of my family walked in. Oh, the mess you've made! Bad dog!

My mom said as she scolded Princess, She gave a pathetic whimper in response. This was my breaking point. Stop! I wailed. Are you guys blind? He tried to kill her. She needs to go to the vet.

Yeah, yeah. Duke, I have a snack for you. His ears shot up as my dad ripped open a package of ground beef. My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten all day, and the only food we'd brought was meat for Duke. I was livid. This damn dog was taking them over. I didn't feel safe anymore.

I'm leaving. I announced. I'm taking it. I'm taking Princess with me! Tears were streaming down my face, even as no one acknowledged me. I packed a few belongings and grabbed a towel to wrap Princess in. I remembered what Benny had said to me earlier that day, and I knew what I had to do. As I trudged down the dirt trail to Benny's house, thoughts collided into each other in my mind.

Why were my parents ignoring me so much? Why didn't they care about Princess? Did they even love me anymore? The last one made me cry even harder. I reached the faded red door of Benny's house and knocked. He appeared a moment later, and when he saw me holding Princess with tears streaming down my face, his breath hitched. I knew this would happen.

He muttered gravely under his breath. Get in the truck, kid. We'll go get your dog some help. He unlocked his truck without another word, and I climbed silently into the back seat. I watched the cloud-dotted sky turn into pale shades of pink and purple as we sped down the bumpy road. After a while, we arrived at a small house, which seemed to have been converted into a veterinarian clinic.

Benny took Princess in his arms and rushed in, yelling for help. I followed along slowly and sat down in the waiting room, sad and defeated, but too tired to cry anymore. After a lot of frantic pleading, Princess was to receive emergency care. A woman in a teal veterinarian's uniform carried her away. I sprung out of my seat. Let me go with her! I begged.

Benny guided me away. She's gonna get help now, kid. It's in God's hands now. I plop back down and curled into a ball. Benny patted me on the back. A somber's silence had appeared between us when I broke it by asking Benny something that I hadn't got a chance to before. Benny?

Mm-hmm. What did you mean when you said you knew this would happen? He tensed up. A guarded look crossed his face, then one of guilt. He exhaled a melancholy sigh. Well, you see, kid, you know why I live alone? He asked. I shook my head.

Well, I had family too once, Marjorie and my son James. A sad look crossed his face. You remind me of him. We had a dog, too, a beautiful pointer named Max. James loved him, so he was all tore up when he went running away. But one day, about a year later, we find him standing at the front door. Something's wrong in those woods. It changed Max.

He wouldn't eat the dog food we got him, only raw meat. James was happy to see him, but Marge was happier. I found it strange because the night I brought Max home from the pound, she yelled at me that she never had before. Benny chuckled wistfully to himself. Well, since I was busy patrolling all day and night, I didn't notice as much as I should have. James kept missing school, and I noticed he was thinner. I told Marge that she had to take care of her son, but all she did all day was spend time

with that dog. I tried to do the best I could, but I was a terrible dad, a terrible husband. I should have helped my wife. I should have protected James. He exhaled. I'm sorry, I said quietly, not knowing what else to say. Benny shook his head. I ain't finished yet.

You see, one day, me and my partner get a call. Some neighbors had called about a disturbance at my address. My partner was in the driver's seat, and I was the first one to get out of the car. When I walked in the house, I saw my boy in the middle of the kitchen. Dead. The dog was eating him. Instinctively, I shot the dog. That's when Marge turned around with a knife.

She lunged at me, and I shot the fatal blow. All three members of my family, dead in one night. My mouth was wide, and the full weight of his words weighed heavy on me. Was that the future of my family? Benny, that's terrible. I'm so sorry. I looked up at him to see a single tear trickling down his otherwise stony expression. I failed James as a father.

I can't do the same to you, kiddo. After his story was finished, I felt my eyelids start to droop. I leaned on Benny's arm. Good night, Benny. He was staring straight ahead, face emotionless. Good night. When I woke up, the first thing I knew, I knew, I was looking. noticed was how much my back hurt from sleeping on a chair all night, but I wasn't cold.

Benny had put his tattered flannel jacket over me as a blanket. I sprung up from my chair and yelped at the receptionist. Where's Benny? She jumped in shock. He went to go do some errands, he said. She got up from her chair and picked up a few items. Take this, dearie. You must be starving. She placed a buttered bagel, a blueberry muffin, a banana, and a bottle of apple juice on the table next to me.

She was right. was starving. Food always tastes the best after you've been deprived of it. I ran my fingers over my ribs. I could feel each one protruding from my chest. This was the first time I'd been full in ages. The receptionist had informed me that Princess had made it and that she was recovering. When I saw her for the first time, my heart exploded out of love for Princess, and I hugged her gently. I smiled and she licked my face. I didn't know where else to go, so I played scrabble with the receptionist for the rest of the day. I got to meet a fat cat named Mr. Cuddles, a rabbit named Twix, and I got to eat a hamburger

for lunch, but all throughout the day I kept wondering when would Benny be back? At 3 p.m., my question was answered, as Benny stumbled through the door, there was blood on his clothes, a couple of police cars were waiting outside. Let's get going, kid. Although I didn't get the full story immediately, I came to know the full extent of what had happened eventually. Even though he wasn't part of the police force anymore, Benny still had connections with the department and to the people who know what happened to his family.

He gathered police officers and went to my house where they found Duke eating the carcasses of my parents. Benny shot him dead. I wept profusely for my parents, not for how they were to me in their final weeks, but for the people they once were. Benny assured me that they had loved me. There were not many people at the funeral, mostly town. Sownsfolk, seeing as I didn't have any other relatives, the court placed me in the custody

of Benny after a lengthy court process. A few years later, he officially adopted me. Princess came to live with us too. Benny was proud of me when I went off to Police Academy, when I got married, when my wife and I had a child. After Benny passed away, we held a small funeral for him, as per his wishes. Life is generally good to me. I have a wonderful wife and an amazing daughter.

Sometimes, on the bad days in the dead of night, I thrash in my sleep as visions of dead dogs and screaming people writhe in my nightmares. But when I wake, I look at my daughter sleeping in her cradle, and my wife hugs me back to sleep. And I remember that everything is okay now.