- 3 hours ago
Childhood In The Closet
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02while we were playing hide and seek i locked my daughter in the wardrobe where she was hiding
00:06and never opened it again hide well i'll come find you later
00:18then the rest of us zanes ran my wife helen my son erin and i moved away as quickly as
00:24we could
00:2820 years later i came back to bury her i stood in front of that damn wardrobe and then
00:47daddy daddy daddy daddy daddy
01:02it all started when erin was preparing to get married his future in-laws insisted that both
01:07families see a psychic before the wedding they believed the marriage should begin with a proper
01:11blessing so my wife and i went we thought it would be a formality but after the reading the psychic
01:17looked up at us with a grave expression and said you have another child don't you one who hasn't
01:23come home in years my stomach dropped i turned to helen she looked pale as hell she knew what i
01:32was
01:32thinking the psychic kept going a marriage like this needs the whole family present if someone's
01:38been left behind whatever is following them will follow the couple too what do you mean following
01:44them the old man just shook his head better not to ask you have a daughter don't you yes
01:52what it's her she's been begging to come home and she's become something powerful i was confused
01:58my daughter was dead dead for 20 years how could she want to come home how could she be powerful
02:05some spirits don't rest easy not when something was left unfinished your family has a missing piece
02:12that kind of absence doesn't stay buried go home make your family whole again then come see me we
02:19left faster than we had arrived back home helen sat on the couch trembling what do we do we moved
02:27we
02:27ran we left her there how are we supposed to bring her home now i ran my hands through my
02:34hair
02:34anxious aaron was engaged our future daughter-in-law's family was rich and prominent her people had money
02:41and influence more than we ever would aaron couldn't afford to lose a match like this
02:46i couldn't let the ghost of our daughter stand in the way i had to find a way to deal
02:49with it with her
02:55my daughter's name was katie if she were still alive she would have been 28 this year when katie was
03:018 my wife helen and i decided to move to the city for work life was hard enough already and
03:07trying to
03:07start over with two young children felt impossible the day before we left helen suddenly said she
03:12didn't want to take katie with us she only wanted to bring our seven-year-old son aaron my parents
03:18were
03:18already dead there were no grandparents to leave katie with if we didn't take her there would be no one
03:23to care for her she doesn't need anyone to care for her we'll lock her in the house and act
03:28like
03:28she was never born i stared at her stunned but she didn't seem bothered in the slightest what's so
03:34shocking about that we can't afford to drag two kids into a new life one of them was always going
03:40to slow us down aaron comes with us katie stays but enough
03:48i've made up my mind just do what i say
03:54tomorrow i'll show you exactly what to do helen had always favored our son over our daughter
03:59and once she decided something there was no changing her mind the next day we packed as usual
04:05katie and aaron were both excited running back and forth stuffing their toys into the bags when it
04:10was almost time to leave helen gave me a look i knew exactly what she meant i hesitated for a
04:16long
04:16time but in the end i walked over to katie
04:25katie daddy's tired from packing want to play hide and seek katie frowned she never liked hide and
04:31seek much i don't want to play i want to help pack then aaron chimed in at exactly the wrong
04:37moment
04:38i want to play katie please play with us i rarely spent time playing with the children
04:43aaron was always eager for any scrap of attention from me under her brother's pleading katie finally
04:49gave in so i played along for a while fake smiles fake laughter pretending everything was normal then
04:56helen gave me another look the bags were packed everything was ready it was time last round this time
05:04katie hides and aaron and i will look for her katie you better find a really good spot helen joined
05:11in
05:11with a smile that made my skin crawl don't worry i know the perfect hiding place they'll never find
05:18you there come on sweetheart mommy will take you
05:24she led katie toward the storage shed no one but helen and i knew there was a cellar underneath it
05:29my great-grandfather had dug it years ago to store grain in case of famine later when life got better
05:35it was abandoned and left to rot there was an old wardrobe down there it had been there for as
05:40long
05:40as i could remember it was thick heavy and impossible for a child to open
05:51when helen led katie down into the cellar i saw the padlock in her hand a little while later helen
05:56came back up
05:57alone that same night we called the police and told them our daughter was missing back then child
06:03trafficking cases were all over the news and helen cried so hard in front of the officers that no one
06:08ever suspected us 20 years passed in the blink of an eye we went back to our hometown a few
06:13times after
06:14that but helen and i never spoke about what we had done we never went down into the cellar either
06:19but this
06:19time for aaron's wedding i had no choice the psychic had made it clear our family had a missing piece
06:26katie had never been laid to rest if i wanted nothing to interfere with my son's marriage i had
06:31to go back i had to find her and bury her properly helen said then go right now whatever you
06:39do
06:41don't let this ruin aaron's wedding i drove back to my hometown that night the house was an old
06:47single-story place i kept all the lights off the whole time afraid the neighbors might notice something
06:52strange i found the shed and the concrete slab covering the entrance the moment i lifted it i
06:58felt something was off a gust of wind came up from below cold sharp it hit me right in the
07:04face
07:05and that wasn't all the instant i opened it i heard a bang heavy dull solid like something had suddenly
07:12slammed into the wardrobe underground i held my breath and listened carefully a few minutes passed
07:20the strange sound didn't come again just a rat just a damn rat i went down to the basement same
07:26as 20
07:27years ago empty dark flashlight swept the space only that wardrobe in the corner paint peeling padlock
07:33still locked no smell 20 years had passed katie must have decomposed beyond recognition by now
07:39any smell would have long since faded i let out a breath then i took out the key helen had
07:44given me
07:44and reached for the lock suddenly my first thought was that someone had followed me who's there who's
07:51here i looked around carefully no one but in the corner i found a dried up carcass didn't matter i
07:57went
07:57back to the wardrobe took a deep breath tried to calm myself down i was too nervous that had to
08:02be
08:03this time i heard it clearly it came from inside the wardrobe right in front of me
08:07daddy
08:10daddy is that you i've been waiting for you for so long i'm right here in the wardrobe
08:21holy shit it really was katie's voice how is that possible daddy why aren't you talking to me
08:30open the door she still sounded like that same little eight-year-old girl how was that possible
08:36locked inside an airtight wardrobe for 20 years even if she hadn't suffocated she would have starved
08:41to death so what the hell was inside that wardrobe
08:52open the door i want help
08:56daddy
09:03the wind the thud the voice wayne are you making this up because you're too scared to bury katie
09:08how could something this creepy even be real i swear i heard her she's still in there fine
09:14if you're too much of a coward i'll do it myself she slammed the door and left i sat on
09:19the couch
09:19trying to process everything that just happened i cracked open a six-pack drank until my hands
09:24stopped shaking how how could a child survive in a sealed metal box for 20 years no air no food
09:30no water unless it was a ghost but how could a ghost be trapped inside the wardrobe why did it
09:35knock
09:35why did it sound like her with all these thoughts i passed out and woke up to screams helen was
09:41shaking
09:41me her hair was matted with dirt her jacket was torn her eyes were wide you went back
09:46i went down there i heard it that voice everything what did you do i opened the door
10:00i couldn't process what she had just said i slowly turned toward the door there she was
10:04wearing the exact yellow dress with tiny blue flowers her hair was tied into two neat ponytails
10:10it was as if she had only been gone for 20 minutes daddy i'm home my heart stopped it was
10:16definitely katie my daughter the one we had buried alive don't don't come closer she stopped just stood
10:22there obedient just like she had always been this is impossible she'd be dust she'd be gone
10:28what do you mean mommy i'm right here nothing sweetheart mommy is just upset
10:35wow is this where we live now i love it i want to stay here forever
10:41by the way daddy where's aaron didn't he want to play hide and seek
10:52well he went out to take care of something helen evasively explained yeah i greased him something
10:59on me the pison anymore lear kids don't have things to take care of katie sweetie daddy and i need
11:09to talk
11:10just for a minute helen was so overwhelmed she grabbed my arm and shouted you play for a bit
11:18helen didn't wait for her answer she shut the bedroom door and whispered is she human how would
11:26i know you were the one who let her out oh god the crap like i know any better jesus
11:34let's just
11:35she took a knife out of the drawer
11:41no no you can't just kill her she's katie our little girl
11:51we already killed her once wayne what difference does it make this time i snatched the knife from her
11:57hand no not again we were poor and desperate back then
12:05now aaron has grown and we can afford to raise an eight-year-old but i couldn't tell helen about
12:10this i really missed katie how i had tricked my little girl how i had betrayed her trust how she
12:16had
12:16looked at me with those innocent eyes and now she came back maybe maybe this was my second chance
12:23however i still had to figure out why she hadn't aged and what had happened to her all those years
12:28helen was still hesitating then she continued
12:31are you out of your mind if they they find out we buried her our son's son's life is over
12:36no job
12:37no future no grandkids suddenly an idea flashed into my mind
12:46i opened the drawer and took out a business card a private investigator's business card
12:53the one i'd found shoved under our door weeks ago
12:59helen frowned where did you even get this none of your business anyway he's our only shot
13:09she had been going out a lot lately and i had started to suspect she was cheating on me
13:14i dialed a young voice answered hello mr shaw
13:22yes how can i help you i told him everything the silence was long enough to make me think he
13:28had
13:28hung up finally he said doubtfully so you mean your daughter stayed in the wardrobe for 20 years
13:34she doesn't eat doesn't drink doesn't age just still ate well that's about it i've never heard
13:42anything like this very interesting i'll take the case but you better bring her to me i want to see
13:47this miracle with my own eyes i hung up walked back into the living room katie was curled up on
13:54the
13:54couch her head rested on her arm her eyes half closed she smiled when she saw me daddy are we
14:02going
14:02to see a friend yeah sweetheart just for a little while do you want to come with me
14:09she climbed right onto my lap just like she used to of course daddy i always want to stay with
14:17you
14:24i met jamie shaw a private investigator he poured me some tea and gave katie something sweet
14:30he chatted with her about normal kid stuff favorite books cartoons and games katie answered the same
14:36thing she would have answered 20 years ago after a while he pulled me aside mr zane it does seem
14:44that
14:44your daughter really came from 20 years ago this is the most unusual case i've ever seen in my career
14:50have you ever heard the theory that there are strange spaces in this world where time moves abnormally
14:55sometimes much faster sometimes much slower something like that really exists
15:03out here 20 years in that wardrobe maybe only three days she didn't age because
15:11never left the moment he locked her in he pulled an old newspaper clipping from the shelf
15:22he pulled an old newspaper clipping from the shelf 1892 a man was stranded on a remote island for 25
15:31years when he was rescued aside for his grown-out beard he hadn't changed a bit my hands shook
15:37that that's real real enough to be recorded so she's not dead she's frozen this case is too strange
15:48so i've decided not to charge you i want to know what is really going on as well
15:53also i would suggest a paternity test from a biological standpoint it would tell you whether
15:59she's biologically your daughter how much would that cost
16:072000 but i know a lab that'll do it cheaper i thought of my son's wedding expenses everything
16:13cost money
16:18no need i know my own daughter
16:23all right then let's head to your old home now i'd like to run an experiment in that wardrobe
16:32the experiment was simple even a rough man like me could understand it jamie put a candle in the
16:37wardrobe this thing is big enough so there's plenty of air inside normally the candle should burn out
16:45in about two hours i'll light it now and come back tomorrow if it burns out our guess is wrong
16:50if it
16:51has barely burned down then time really does move slower in there to be safe he also put a popsicle
16:56inside as a second check after that i took katie home
17:05katie was tired she curled up on the couch right after we got home
17:11daddy my head is so itchy i want to wash my hair
17:18helen could you not mommy i want daddy to wash it i want daddy i froze for a moment as
17:25if i had gone
17:26back 20 years i was exhausted and the scolding almost slipped out but when i looked down into katie's
17:31dark eyes i swallowed the words i helped her wash her hair
17:35twinkle twinkle little star how i wonder what you are
17:42she looked up at me
17:44daddy do you like my song of course sweetheart i love it
17:51she giggled then daddy why'd you take so long to come find me
17:57i looked away i was busy
18:01but daddy i waited for you for so long why didn't you come find me
18:06just as i was about to lose my temper i suddenly cried out
18:09the daughter lying on my lap had somehow turned into a dried corpse
18:13her body was shriveled and yellow and her eye sockets had become two hollow pits
18:17but her mouth was still opening and closing
18:24daddy why didn't you come don't you want me to come home
18:32daddy i screamed grabbed her and shoved her face into the water she thrashed and yelled
18:43she was a monster she was not my daughter helen stormed in i gasped
18:53she's not katie she's a i looked down and froze again the dried corpse in the basin had turned back
18:59into a normal child on her neck was a long red scratch from my nails
19:13didn't you say you were gonna treat her well
19:15i wasn't trying to hurt her she katie sniffled is daddy drunk again
19:24it's okay mommy's
19:29my eyes fixed on the mirror there she was in the reflection curled in helen's arms she looked pitiful
19:35as she cried in helen's arms but the corners of her mouth were curled into a dark eerie smile
19:44that night katie insisted on sleeping in our room not a chance i'd sooner stay awake till dawn
19:51than lie next to that thing so i took a blanket and camped out on the couch half awake all
19:56night
19:56one eye open listening for the slightest sound i told myself i only had to get through one night
20:02once jamie's results came in i'd take care of her i wasn't about to let a monster keep breathing under
20:08my roof the next morning the first news i got wasn't jamie's result it was that aaron was coming
20:14home my heart lurched no absolutely not aaron could not see katie i still didn't know what
20:22she was a child a ghost or something worse but if anything happened to aaron my whole life would go
20:29down with him katie was at the table eating breakfast when i waved her over that's enough
20:34i was going to shut her in the guest room until i figured out the next move but the second
20:39i stepped
20:39toward her she drew back i was already rolling up my sleeves ready to force her if i had to
20:48aaron's back did he call you katie lit up at once aaron's home before i could stop her she flew
20:55out
20:56the door barefoot what the hell is wrong with you why would you tell her aaron was back she shrank
21:04right in front of me instinctively throwing her arm over her head her forearm was a mess purple bruises
21:10yellowing marks old scars crossing over new ones i ran after katie by the time i got downstairs she
21:18was already at the building entrance aaron had just stepped inside and there he was rooted to the spot
21:25staring at her like the dead had come back wearing a child's face confusion disbelief and dread filled
21:31his eyes his lips trembled then barely audible he said beside him stood his fiancee katie
21:40get back here i was rattled now one suspicious look from sophia and aaron's marriage could be
21:47dead before it started and she was sharp sharper than i liked who is she
21:57she's aaron's sister sister since when aaron never said he had a sister
22:04she looks just like him there was no way i was letting sophia's family hear the truth
22:10then came the worst possible sentence wait is she his daughter
22:17no no of course not sophia come on she's my daughter how could she possibly be aaron's he's
22:22far too young to have a child that so your family lied you told us aaron was an only child
22:27and now
22:27i'm supposed to find out like this that he has a sister you don't leave out something like that by
22:31accident if you were willing to hide this then what else are you hiding how am i supposed to trust
22:35any of
22:36you now then she looked at aaron disappointment written all over her face i'm going home to talk
22:40to my parents i i care about you but i can't be with someone who lies to me and just
22:46like that she
22:47turned and walked away but he didn't move what are you waiting for go after her forget it i was
22:52never
22:52an only child i didn't want to lie anymore i never really wanted to get married his face was calm
22:58if sophia
22:59decides to call it off maybe that's for the best i nearly lost my mind if we hadn't been standing
23:04in
23:04the middle of the building lobby i would have slapped him then and there that was aaron always
23:09aaron too soft too timid and never able to stand up for himself what had i raised him for to
23:15watch
23:15and throw away a good marriage without a fight are you really katie zane yes i'm your sister
23:25wow you got so tall i was only hiding for a little while how did you grow up so much
23:34the moment those
23:35words left her mouth something in aaron shattered i saw it his expression darkened his eyes went hollow
23:43like some old wound had split back open right in front of me and then he cried tears streaming down
23:49his face in front of everyone i clenched my fists so tight my bones ached that girl had already done
23:55enough damage now she was ruining aaron's marriage too she had to go back in the wardrobe if time really
24:02stopped in there then fine she could stay in the dark another 20 years 30 forever if that's what it
24:10took maybe i'd never let her out again if aaron could still marry sophia i'd be fine her family had
24:17money enough to make this whole mess go away as long as the marriage was still on the table there
24:23was
24:23still a way out so i pulled out my phone and called jamie for the test result he picked up
24:28right away i was
24:40jamie brought in three massive work lights and the cellar lit up bright as day i'd already braced myself
24:46for the worst the second i saw it with my own eyes i was still stunned inside the wardrobe the
24:53white
24:53candle had barely burned it was almost completely intact even the popsicle was still frozen solid
25:00wayne looks like we were right time really does stop in there thank god that meant katie wasn't a
25:07ghost she really hadn't died dealing with a ghost would have been a pain in the ass controlling a
25:13little girl that was easy my son was about to get married so my daughter was just going to have
25:18to
25:18keep staying in the wardrobe a little longer oh and one more thing can you help me out i need
25:23a clean
25:24story for why katie suddenly showed up something polished enough to calm sophia down shut the whole
25:28thing down and get her to go through with marrying my son we'll say she's a friend's kid no real
25:34connection
25:35to this family and back then because of some complicated situation i only pretended to be her
25:41father to protect her sure that part's easy i'm good at stuff like that and the price still free
25:50this isn't hard honestly i should be thanking you because of you i got to witness what this wardrobe can
25:57really do that pleased me he didn't look like much but there was more to him than i thought if
26:03katie
26:04had grown up and if the money made sense i might have even considered marrying my daughter off to
26:09him although i looked at him what wayne if i'm handling everything you asked for free the least you
26:17can do is show me a little respect i frowned what the hell is that supposed to mean how have
26:21i disrespected
26:22what the hell is that supposed to mean how have i disrespected you you lied
26:23you lied
26:23you lied
26:23you lied
26:23you
26:24you
26:24you
26:25you
26:25you
26:25you
26:25you
26:25you
Comments