00:00Every winter in the Welsh countryside, the old Bryn Cwem Tunnel fell silent.
00:06No trains, no lights, just a long black mouth carved into the mountainside.
00:13Locals whispered that if you passed it after dark, you'd hear a little girl crying inside.
00:19Forty years ago, a seven-year-old named Alice Morgan disappeared in that tunnel.
00:24Search teams found her shoes, her ribbon, even her school bag.
00:30But never her.
00:31Most people stayed away except Gareth, a young man who had recently moved to the village to care for his ill father.
00:40He didn't believe in village legends.
00:42But one night, returning from the pharmacy, Gareth took the shortcut past the tunnel.
00:49Snow drifted softly, and the air felt heavy, as if the night itself was listening.
00:55As he neared the entrance, a faint, trembling sound broke the stillness.
01:01A child, crying.
01:03Gareth stopped.
01:05The sound echoed gently, like someone sobbing deep inside the tunnel.
01:11Hello, he called, shining his phone light into the darkness.
01:16The crying paused, then returned even louder, filled with fear.
01:20His chest tightened.
01:23Is someone in there?
01:25Gareth stepped closer, heart pounding.
01:28The wind seemed to push against his back, urging him forward.
01:32He hated the idea of a child alone in the freezing cold.
01:36He took a step inside.
01:39The temperature dropped instantly.
01:42His breath fogged out in thick white clouds, and his phone light barely touched the walls.
01:48The crying continued, softer now, almost as if the child sensed help arriving.
01:55It's all right, Gareth whispered.
01:57I'm coming.
01:58The sound pulled him deeper, echoing off the stone like little footsteps running ahead of him.
02:05Then he noticed something strange.
02:08The crying never changed direction.
02:11No matter how far he walked, it seemed just a few steps away or ways ahead, never closer.
02:18Gareth slowed, unease prickling his skin.
02:21Can you come to me?
02:22He asked.
02:24The crying stopped.
02:26Silence spread out around him.
02:28Stretching long and thin.
02:31Then a small voice whispered, help me.
02:34It sounded right beside his ear.
02:37Gareth spun around, shining his light wildly.
02:40But the tunnel behind him was empty, just a long stretch of darkness.
02:45He turned back and froze.
02:48A tiny figure stood in the distance, barely visible through the dim light.
02:53A little girl in an old-fashioned dress.
02:56Her hair tied with a ribbon.
02:59Ali's, he whispered without thinking.
03:02She didn't move.
03:04Her head hung low, shoulders shaking softly as if she were crying.
03:08Gareth stepped forward, but something felt wrong.
03:12Her shadow stretched unnaturally long behind her, bending at odd angles on the wall.
03:19Before he could speak, her head snapped up.
03:21She had no eyes, only hollow, black sockets dripping with something that looked like ink.
03:29Her mouth opened wider than humanly possible, as a sharp, broken cry tore out of her louder than any child could scream.
03:37The walls trembled.
03:39A gust of freezing wind slammed into Gareth, extinguishing his light.
03:45He ran, blind in the pitch darkness.
03:48He sprinted toward where he hoped the exit was.
03:52Behind him, tiny footsteps pattered rapidly too fast, too many chasing him.
03:57Her voice echoed all around him.
04:00Don't leave me.
04:01Stay with me.
04:03You came for me.
04:04Gareth stumbled out of the tunnel, collapsing into the snow.
04:08He gasped for breath, throat raw, eyes burning.
04:12The night was silent again.
04:15When he looked back, the tunnel entrance was empty, except for one thing.
04:19A small red ribbon lay at his feet, fresh, warm, as if placed there gently.
04:27The next morning, villagers found Gareth unconscious, but alive outside the tunnel.
04:33When he woke, he tried to explain, but his voice cracked whenever he said her name.
04:39Since then, locals say the crying has grown louder in winter, closer to the entrance,
04:46almost as if Alice is waiting for someone to return.
04:49And sometimes, on especially cold nights, the villagers hear another voice crying with her.
04:56A grown man's voice.
Comments