WHAT'S DRIPPING FROM MY CEILING? | TRUE HORROR STORY
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Short filmTranscript
00:00It began in the most distant corner of my apartment, just a faint shimmer of coppery red
00:05at first, seeping subtly from the ceiling and snaking downward along the wall. I stumbled
00:11forward, trying to get a better look, only to trip over a laundry hamper and send it tumbling
00:17across the floor. The thing on the wall looked strange, almost comical in how out of place it
00:23appeared. It reminded me of some amateur graffiti, freshly painted and not yet dried, glaring against
00:31the faded yellow wallpaper. I lifted my hand, thinking to touch it, but hesitated. That close,
00:38the odor hit me, so foul it felt like the room itself was rotting. It smelled like a clogged sink
00:45when you yank out a hair-covered stopper, putrid and chemical, a mix of vomit and ammonia. A wave
00:52of nausea slammed into me, and I felt like I might reach up last week's bizarre. Panicked,
00:58I stumbled to the window, my fingers fumbling over the lock. It had been years since I'd opened it.
01:06I struggled, desperate, rattling it until it finally gave way. The rush of cold air that poured in was
01:14the sweetest I'd ever tasted. I stood there, gulping it down, thinking at least now I knew where the
01:20stench had been coming from. Just a month before that, my life had felt oddly celebratory. I had
01:28come home early from my janitorial job at the hospital and treated myself to a pizza on the way
01:34back. The place I lived in wasn't the nicest, I'd always had a nagging worry in the back of my head
01:42each time I pulled into the broken-down parking lot, a persistent feeling that something might go wrong
01:48that day. The apartment building itself was ancient, well over 200 years old. You could see its age in
01:55the chipped red bricks, and the way it leaned slightly at the top like it was tired of standing.
02:02They called it the queen. She looked unreliable and warm, but you could tell she'd seen a lot over the
02:09years. I shoved my way through the glass door in front, which still had a fist-sized hole in the
02:16middle, and began the lonely ascent to the 8th floor. My room was number 48. I always called it
02:24a solemn march, head down, eyes on the floor because I didn't want to make eye contact or exchange words
02:31with anyone. Better to keep to myself. The first person I passed seemed to have the same idea.
02:38He wore a wrinkled plaid shirt over a greasy undershirt, and avoided eye contact as he slipped
02:44into apartment number 9, which I knew was a makeshift brothel. That was the queen for you, classy to the
02:51core. Climbing the stairs, I passed a door that always reaped of curry. It had for as long as I could
02:59remember. The same screaming rock music blasted from inside like a personal soundtrack. The door was open,
03:07and inside I could see a group of teenagers crowded together on the floor, injecting something. Maybe
03:13heroin, maybe bleach. Honestly, I didn't care. I focused on keeping the pizza box high enough not to
03:21brush against the filth-coated walls, which looked as though they were smeared with either mud or
03:26something far worse. Just ahead of me, I spotted old man Taylor laboring up the stairs. He had his
03:34battered veteran's cap on, and was softly homing a tune I didn't recognize. Watching him always filled
03:41me with a mix of sadness and pity. His hands trembled as he let go of the railing for each step,
03:48his body struggling under the weight of arthritis. Fortunately, I had reached my floor, and wouldn't
03:56have to trail behind him the rest of the way. You having a party tonight, boy? His voice was rusty,
04:03the result of too many cigarettes, and too many years. I glanced at him, and shifted the pizza under
04:10one arm. Every night's a party, I replied, not really knowing what else to say. What about you?
04:18Got plans? Notting. Just wanted to say hello. No one says hello and more. I gave him a polite nod and a
04:28half-smile, though my thoughts were with my rapidly cooling pizza. He returned the smile, his gums bare
04:34where teeth had long since gone missing, and resumed his slow journey up. I turned back to my door,
04:42jingled the keys into the lock, and stepped inside. The familiar sight of my apartment greeted me.
04:49A stack of DVDs sat on the coffee table, the fridge hummed behind a patchwork of magnets and
04:55appointment reminders, and the large window overlooked the dim glow of the city below.
05:01I let out a breath. I'd made it through another day. I tossed the pizza onto the arm of my mildew-stained
05:09couch and clicked on the television. The old TV was practically an antique, no cable, no smart functions,
05:17but it didn't matter. I slid in a disc of my favorite show, that 70s show, and settled in for
05:24a night with the only friends I had left. Three weeks later, my parents came to visit. The moment
05:31they stepped inside, their faces twisted in disgust. They didn't say a word about the state of the
05:38apartment. They didn't mention how long it had been since I last called them. They didn't even say
05:45anything about my dead-end job. All they could talk about was the smell. Embarrassed, I pointed to
05:52the sink overflowing with soap scum and crusted dishes, but they weren't convinced. It smells like
05:59something died in here, my mother muttered. I fought back a joke, something bitter like,
06:05yeah, my hopes and dreams. Truthfully, I couldn't smell anything myself. But they didn't stay long.
06:13They left me alone again, like always. That night, lying in bed, I found myself sinking into the past.
06:22I relived my childhood in detail, combing over every regret and missed opportunity. I saw her again
06:29standing beside the pool, waiting for me. I had never shown up. Back then I told myself it was because
06:38I didn't want to get my hair wet, but now I knew better. I'd sabotaged myself, afraid of something I
06:45couldn't name. I picked apart every, what if, imagining all the lives I might have lived. A sudden
06:53crash interrupted my thoughts, a loud bang directly above me, as if a piece of furniture had been shoved
06:59or knocked over. I bolted upright. A second sound followed, a soft, sickening thump that rattled me
07:07more than the first. The old man lived in the apartment above mine, of course. Maybe he'd fallen.
07:15But I didn't move. I didn't check. And things only got worse from there. The following night,
07:23I was kept awake by a soft, repetitive noise. Grip. Grip. Grip. Grip. It was faint, inaudible during
07:32the day, but in the silence of night, it was relentless, like a slow, sinister clock ticking
07:38away inside my skull. I imagined a dark puddle forming on the ceiling, spilling from an unseen cloud,
07:46drowning every person I had ever loved. I turned up the volume on the TV, tried to lose myself,
07:53in static and laughter, but the dripping remained. Each drop stole a little more of my sanity.
08:01Then came the stench, overwhelming and foreign. It was like opening a trapdoor straight into the
08:07underworld. The last time I smelled something that foul, was when I found my childhood parakeet,
08:14long dead and rotting behind the couch. I had screamed for my parents back then,
08:19just like I wanted to now. But who could I call? I had pushed everyone away. Now,
08:26I was alone in the middle of something horrific. Frantically, I scarred every corner of my apartment.
08:34I emptied the sink cabinet, through open closets, and searched under the bed. I even examined the air
08:42vents. That's when I noticed something strange. The smell wasn't coming from my unit at all.
08:48It was drifting in through the vents. I rushed out to buy a roll of duct tape,
08:54and sealed off every vent with multiple layers. The air slowly began to clear. I could breathe again.
09:02I felt sane again. To finish it off, I sprayed air freshener until every corner of every room reeked of
09:09lavender and chemicals. That's when I saw it. In the corner of the room, near the window,
09:16a single drop of dark red was forming. It gathered like a blister, swelling until it burst,
09:23and slid five inches down the wall. More droplets followed, thickening into strange,
09:29red stalactites that stretched into grotesque shapes. The stains looked like the roots of an
09:35inverted tree, its branches made of blood. I gagged as bile surged up my throat. I lurched forward and
09:42forced the window open once again, gasping for air. But then I saw something even more disturbing.
09:50Down below, in the parking lot, a team of men in yellow hazmat suits were climbing out of to white
09:56ones. There were at least ten of them, moving quickly into the building. My heart raced. I ducked
10:04back inside and stared at the red marks, now creeping down toward the floor. They were soaking
10:11into the carpet. I jumped back, afraid it might touch me, and bolted for the door. I could already
10:19hear the hazmat crew thundering up the stairs. They ran past my floor, heading up. That meant only one
10:27thing. They were going to old man Taylor's room. I swung open my door and managed to flag down one of the
10:34hazmat men. Please exit the building, sir, he panted, clearly out of breath. He didn't stop to talk.
10:42He just kept moving, and so I followed orders. I joined the line of tenants shuffling out into the
10:50cold night air. Winter was settling in. Later, I was told what had really happened. Old man Taylor had
10:59died, hung himself. In fact, over a month ago. No one had noticed. He had no visitors, no phone calls,
11:08and no one to check in on him. For weeks, his body had dangled in silence like a forgotten coat on a
11:16hanger. In time, his head detached from his neck. The first crash I'd heard was his body falling.
11:22The second thump was his severed head. His remains leaked onto the carpet, soaking the floor,
11:30and eventually oozed into my ceiling. The only reason anyone knew he was gone was because of
11:36the rancid smell and a missed rent payment. I've thought about him a lot since then.
11:43What really scares me is how similar we were. I'd shut myself off too, buried myself in isolation like
11:51he had. And if I kept going, I knew I'd end the same way. So, I made changes. I stopped watching TV.
12:01I sold the DVDs. I even picked up the phone and called her. I almost didn't. But the past month
12:09taught me something crucial. Life is short, and sanity is fragile. I'm done hiding in my apartment.
12:16And the noose I'd kept in my closet. I threw it away for good.