- 2 days ago
- #disturbinghorror
- #horrorstory
4 scary creepypasta horror stories narrated by The Keeper.
Big thank you to: https://www.youtube.com/@UCbsNZMLtNnbfTrEMQdpTYYQ for voicing the female character
story credit: These stories were all provided with express permission from their authors. Their names show up on screen as their story begins.
Thumbnail credit: from the artists at nvrcarestudio
Music by Myuu(https://www.youtube.com/@Myuu)
Sound effects sourced from pixabay.com
Footage art from: u/xxotic with effects by capcut
Thank you for supporting REAL human art.
For story submissions or inquiries contact us at thekeeperofficial@proton.me (our story submission email)
@keeperofficial
DISCLAIMER: These are for entertainment. Neither the team at The Keeper nor the authors claim these stories to be true(though you may find other allegedly true stories on other vids of the channel).
#disturbinghorror #horrorstory
Big thank you to: https://www.youtube.com/@UCbsNZMLtNnbfTrEMQdpTYYQ for voicing the female character
story credit: These stories were all provided with express permission from their authors. Their names show up on screen as their story begins.
Thumbnail credit: from the artists at nvrcarestudio
Music by Myuu(https://www.youtube.com/@Myuu)
Sound effects sourced from pixabay.com
Footage art from: u/xxotic with effects by capcut
Thank you for supporting REAL human art.
For story submissions or inquiries contact us at thekeeperofficial@proton.me (our story submission email)
@keeperofficial
DISCLAIMER: These are for entertainment. Neither the team at The Keeper nor the authors claim these stories to be true(though you may find other allegedly true stories on other vids of the channel).
#disturbinghorror #horrorstory
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The year may have ended, but the scary stories have scarcely begun.
00:06Two years ago, I spent New Year's Eve working the late shift at a small roadside motel in upstate New
00:13York.
00:13It wasn't glamorous. I mainly handed out room keys, answered the phone, and restocked the lobby coffee.
00:20Most people avoid traveling during the holiday, so the motel was almost empty that night.
00:25Only three rooms were booked, a middle-aged couple, a family with two kids, and one solo guest in room
00:3219.
00:33The last room at the end of the second floor hallway.
00:37My boss warned me that room 19 had quirks.
00:41Old wiring, a radiator that rattled when the temperature dropped too fast.
00:46Nothing supernatural, just maintenance issues.
00:49At 10pm, everything was quiet. Snow fell steadily across the parking lot, covering the few cars that were parked there.
00:58Around 10.30, the phone rang.
01:01I answered with the usual greeting.
01:03A man's voice whispered to me,
01:06There's someone outside my door.
01:08The line cracked, then silence.
01:11Hello? I asked.
01:13The man didn't reply, so I checked the call log.
01:17The room number flashed on screen.
01:19It was from room 19.
01:22I flipped the headset to hold and checked the security monitors.
01:26The hallway outside room 19 was empty.
01:30Just pale yellow carpet, dim lights, and falling static from the old cameras.
01:35No one was standing there.
01:38I picked up the call again.
01:40Sir, I'm looking at the hallway feed right now.
01:42I don't see anyone outside your door.
01:44The man whispered again.
01:47He was just here.
01:48I asked him to stay calm and let me know if he saw anything else.
01:53At 11.05, the phone rang a second time.
01:56It was the same caller from the same room.
01:59This time, the man sounded more shaken.
02:02He's knocking now.
02:04I looked back at the monitor.
02:06Still nothing.
02:07No figure.
02:09No movement.
02:09The display was as dull as before.
02:13I told him,
02:14Sir, I don't see...
02:17The sound came through the headset, echoing throughout my mind.
02:22It was controlled and slow, like someone taking their time.
02:25The man whispered,
02:27He's asking to come in.
02:29Those words made every hair on my body stand up.
02:32I told him firmly not to open the door and promised I would check the floor myself.
02:36The hallway was silent when I walked up the stairs.
02:40My footsteps were louder than I expected.
02:43The air felt dense, heavy, and almost muffled.
02:46Halfway down the hall, I froze.
02:49Someone had left a trail of wet footprints leading from the stairwell toward room 19.
02:54I followed the footprints to room 19.
02:57They stopped directly in front of the door,
03:00then reversed, leading back toward the stairs.
03:03But they didn't go down the stairs.
03:06The prints stopped abruptly halfway up the staircase,
03:09as if whoever made them simply vanished.
03:12I didn't see anyone, or hear anything.
03:15I knocked softly on room 19's door.
03:19It's me, the front desk.
03:21The man opened the door.
03:23He looked exhausted and pale, like he hadn't slept in a week.
03:27Did you hear him?
03:28He asked.
03:29Hear what?
03:30The voice.
03:32The man pointed to the bottom of his door.
03:34He was whispering through there, asking me to unlock the door.
03:38I didn't see any moisture under the door.
03:41The footprints were the only proof something had been there.
03:44And even those didn't make sense.
03:46I told the guest I would move him to another room, one closer to the lobby.
03:51He agreed instantly.
03:53By 11.40, he was settled into room 3, much safer and much closer to the front desk.
04:00Room 19 remained empty.
04:02I left the door closed and went back to the front desk.
04:06At 11.50, the security monitor flickered.
04:10The feed for the second floor glitched, then showed something that made me sit up straight.
04:15A figure stood at the far end of the hallway, near room 19.
04:19They were tall, motionless, and facing the camera.
04:23The resolution was awful, but I could make out the shape of a long coat.
04:27Then the monitor cut to static.
04:30With a flicker, the footage returned, but the figure was gone.
04:34The hallway was empty again.
04:36About five minutes later, the phone rang, from room 3.
04:40I grabbed the phone to answer it.
04:42It's him.
04:43The man said quietly, he's in the hallway.
04:47I pulled up the hallway camera.
04:49The feed was stable, but the hallway was empty.
04:52No man's outside, I told him.
04:54I promise.
04:56The man didn't respond.
04:58Sir, are you there?
04:59But there was no reply.
05:01Just heavy breathing.
05:03And then a whisper, barely audible.
05:05He's counting down.
05:07Counting down to what?
05:08I asked.
05:09But the man didn't answer.
05:11I listened closely.
05:13Through the phone, faint and slow, I could hear someone whispering.
05:18Ten.
05:20Nine.
05:21Eight.
05:22My blood chilled instantly.
05:25I checked the live monitor again.
05:27The hallway remained empty.
05:30Seven.
05:31Six.
05:32The man whispered.
05:34He's right outside my door.
05:35But the feed still showed nothing.
05:38Five.
05:39I ran toward room 3.
05:41Four.
05:42The hall was dead quiet.
05:44No footsteps except mine.
05:47Three.
05:48I sprinted the last stretch.
05:50Two.
05:51I reached the door, panting.
05:53Sir, open the door.
05:55I'm right here.
05:56One.
05:57Silence.
05:59There was no more whispering.
06:00No more echoes.
06:02And no sound at all.
06:04Until I knocked again with more force.
06:07Sir.
06:08But again, there was no response.
06:11I unlocked the door with the master key.
06:14The lights were on.
06:16The bed was made.
06:17The suitcase was still there.
06:19The window was closed.
06:21And the radiator hummed quietly.
06:23There were no signs of a struggle.
06:26The windows were closed.
06:27And the only door was the one I entered.
06:29The only meaningful detail in this room was the phone dangling off the hook and resting
06:36on the carpet.
06:37I checked every inch of that room, every closet, and every corner, but found nothing of importance.
06:43I called the police.
06:46They also searched the property and found no trace of him leaving the building.
06:50His car was still in the parking lot.
06:53The keys were in the front seat.
06:55His wallet was untouched.
06:57Security footage of the hallway to both floors showed no one leaving.
07:02Neither him or anyone else.
07:04But at exactly midnight, on the second floor camera, a figure appeared for one frame.
07:11Just the one.
07:12Standing outside room 19.
07:15Facing the door.
07:17Until he vanished.
07:19No footsteps in the snow below.
07:21No shadows.
07:23Just a single static-filled image of something tall, still, and chillingly calm.
07:29No one ever found the man from room 3.
07:32I put my two weeks in the next day, and every new year since, I get the same feeling that
07:39when the clock hits midnight, that someone is counting down in a place I can't see, waiting
07:46for the moment when everything goes quiet, to cause another disappearance.
07:55This happened to me two New Year's Eves ago, and I can still feel the cold under my skin
08:00when I think about it.
08:02I'm not someone who believes in ghost stories or urban legends, but whatever I experienced
08:08that night was real enough to make me avoid big crowds and midnight parties forever.
08:13I lived in a mid-sized city in Ohio back then.
08:17It was nothing fancy.
08:18It had one of those downtown squares that hosted a big New Year's event.
08:23They had shut down the streets, put up stages, and set a countdown timer on the main screen.
08:30My roommates and I had gone every year.
08:33It was more of a ritual than a celebration.
08:37That year, I was supposed to go with my three friends, Sam, Ethan, and our new friend Claire.
08:44Claire had recently started a new YouTube channel and mostly planned on getting footage of us
08:50to post on it.
08:51We got there early to get a good vantage point, carrying a thermos with coffee and a handful
08:57of sparklers.
08:58The square filled up quickly with families, couples, and people of all ages.
09:03Street vendors were selling hot cider and little paper hats.
09:07I remember the noises, laughter, buses idling, a far-off siren, and the low hum of electric
09:16heaters in the city being set up along the sidewalks.
09:20Around 11pm, we settled near a lamppost with a clear view of the countdown screen.
09:26The energy was comfortable.
09:29People were practicing their countdown, even though it was an hour away.
09:33Overall, it felt casual and safe.
09:36A little later, a man wandered into our little cluster of people and stood behind us.
09:42He was wearing an oversized coat, no hat, and kept his hands deep in his pockets.
09:49At first, he looked like every other guy, tired from work, staying out late for the celebration.
09:55But something about the way he stayed very still made my skin prickle.
09:59He didn't look at the stage or the countdown.
10:02He looked at the people.
10:05Specifically, he seemed to study the faces turned toward the screen.
10:09Sam nudged me and said he'd seen the guy too.
10:12We both assumed he was trying to find a spot and would move on.
10:16But he didn't.
10:17He stayed.
10:19At about 11.50, the city DJ took the mic and started doing a mock countdown to keep the crowd
10:26engaged.
10:27People cheered, but the man behind us didn't join in.
10:31He didn't smile.
10:32He just shifted his weight and stared.
10:34With two minutes left until midnight, my phone buzzed with a message from work.
10:39Something about an early scheduled task.
10:42I didn't answer.
10:44Ethan laughed and tossed a sparkler in the air, and Claire held up her camera and started filming the crowd.
10:51From where I stood, her expression was focused and quiet.
10:55I remember thinking I liked how calm she was in contrast to everyone else.
11:00I liked her a lot, and my resolution was to tell her that, with one minute left, the countdown clock
11:07began.
11:08The crowd took a deep breath, and the city lights dimmed for effect.
11:13Everyone was leaning forward.
11:15That's when the man behind us tapped my shoulder.
11:18It was not a hard tap, just a quick, precise touch, like someone marking me to tell me something obvious
11:24without words.
11:26Confused, I turned.
11:27He was close enough that I could make up the lines on his face.
11:31He looked younger than I expected.
11:33There was a small, faded scar along his jaw.
11:37His eyes were a cold gray.
11:40His smile was tiny and faint, and his voice was soft when he spoke.
11:44I froze.
11:46People around me were already shouting, at zero.
11:49Confetti cannons exploded.
11:51Fireworks cracked overhead.
11:53The square erupted into noise and movement.
11:56I laughed it off, nudging Sam as if it were some weird New Year's joke.
12:01Ethan shouted and raised his beer.
12:04Claire filmed the fireworks.
12:06Her camera was steady.
12:08The man's hand was warm on my shoulder.
12:11He left a small, folded slip in my palm and then melted back into the crowd before I could ask
12:16anything.
12:16I opened the slip of paper while the fireworks still crackled above us.
12:22There was only two words written on it.
12:24In tight, deliberate print.
12:27Hold it.
12:28That was all.
12:29No signature.
12:31And no drawings.
12:32I crumpled the paper and stuffed it into my jacket pocket before I could register why it made my throat
12:38tight.
12:39We all spent the remainder of the night joking, hugging, and shouting plans for the rest of the weekend.
12:45I remember leaving the square around 1240, feeling the residual buzz that comes after being boxed into a crowd that
12:53just celebrated something together.
12:55That's when things started to go wrong.
12:58The next morning, I woke up to three missed calls from Claire and a text from Sam.
13:04Call me ASAP.
13:05I called Claire first.
13:07Her voice was small on the line.
13:09You need to come over.
13:10She said.
13:11Now.
13:12Her apartment was a ten minute walk away, so I dressed quickly and went.
13:17When I walked in, the living room smelled like stale coffee and Claire's camera tripod was still set up as
13:23if someone had stopped recording mid-shoot.
13:26She motioned me to the screen and handed me a cup of coffee.
13:29Watch this.
13:30She said.
13:32The footage was from last night.
13:34It started on the fireworks, then zoomed in on the crowd.
13:38I saw myself, Sam, and Ethan, jumping and laughing.
13:43Then Claire whooped and panned the camera back to the crowd.
13:46That's when the frame captured the man behind us, not walking away.
13:51Not blending in, but standing in the same place.
13:55Now with both hands in his pockets.
13:57Claire moved closer with the lens and recorded the moment he tapped my shoulder.
14:02The camera recorded his smile and his words.
14:06I heard him say it again.
14:07Don't make a wish.
14:09Then the camera caught the movement of his hand.
14:12As he left the folded slip in my palm, Claire paused the footage and her fingers trembled slightly.
14:18She rewound it and played it again.
14:22I watched the clip three times.
14:24The fireworks roared on in the background, but as the camera focused on the man, the audio changed in subtle
14:31ways.
14:32The crowd noise softened.
14:34In the tiny sliver of sound, just as his lips moved, there was another voice layered beneath it.
14:41Low, almost like wind through a pipe.
14:45I know you made a wish.
14:47Those words disturbed me.
14:49I know for a fact he didn't say that.
14:52I know for a fact no one anywhere near me said that.
14:55I wanted to accuse Claire of layering over creepy audio to string up this illusion.
15:00But I know she wouldn't do that.
15:03She wasn't into anything scary.
15:04Later that day, I found out Sam and Ethan both had the same thing on their recordings.
15:10Every camera caught the man.
15:12Every recording had his voice accusing us of disobeying him.
15:17We compared the clips and the audio matched exactly.
15:21We started to feel watched.
15:23My phone beeped with new messages, but some were empty.
15:27Others had a photo of a folded piece of paper.
15:31However, two days later, Sam sent me a text with one sentence.
15:35Do not wish.
15:37I wrote back asking what he meant, and he called immediately.
15:41Remember the slip?
15:42He said.
15:43Mine said, hold it, too.
15:46Ethan said, keep quiet.
15:47We thought it was random.
15:49Then this morning my sister, who I told about New Year's, called and said she felt sick.
15:54She didn't sleep the whole night and woke up unable to stop staring at the clock.
15:58Ethan reported similar things.
16:00Neighbors who felt a sudden chill.
16:03Pets who refused to enter rooms they'd slept in for years.
16:06And clocks that skipped a beat at odd minutes.
16:09We started to compare the notes more obsessively.
16:12I dug the folded slip out of my jacket.
16:15The words hadn't changed, but the paper felt colder than it should have.
16:19Despite its icy feeling, my palms would sweat whenever I held it.
16:23A week after New Year's, Claire posted her footage online with a short caption,
16:29Strange Encounter at the Countdown.
16:31And someone in the comments wrote,
16:33You should all be grateful.
16:35Making wishes at midnight brings dangerous things.
16:37This comment, despite being so ominous, had no replies.
16:42Three weeks after that, Sam quit his job with no warning.
16:46Ethan decided to move out of town, and Claire started traveling more and avoiding big gatherings.
16:52I tried to shrug it off as a coincidence until a small thing happened that I couldn't ignore.
16:57I had gone to mail a letter at the post office, but when I came back to my car, something
17:03was stuck to the windshield.
17:04A tiny slip of paper, folded like the one from that night.
17:09I unfolded it with shaking fingers.
17:12On it were two words, printed in the same style as before.
17:16Hold it.
17:18Once again, there was no handwriting and no signature.
17:22Nowadays, I don't make plans to celebrate with big crowds.
17:25I avoid anything that involves a countdown.
17:29I keep the folded slip folded and tucked in a drawer I rarely open.
17:34Sometimes, when the house is quiet and the clock clicks loudly,
17:38I let myself believe that everything involved with this is an odd prank,
17:42and I'm not being stalked or watched.
17:45But every December, I feel my phone buzz before midnight,
17:49and for a second my stomach drops, expecting to find another folded paper.
17:54I don't know what would happen if I ignored it.
17:57I don't know what would happen if I made a wish like everyone else does,
18:00or a quick, silly resolution shouted into the air.
18:04All I know is the man's voice is still in my head.
18:08A soft and precise,
18:10don't make a wish.
18:12And since then,
18:14I haven't.
18:18I spent last year's New Year's Eve house-sitting for a co-worker named Graham.
18:23He and his wife were flying to Florida,
18:26and they offered me a decent amount of cash if I stayed overnight
18:29to watch their two dogs and keep the pipes from freezing.
18:33Their house sat on the edge of a small town in Colorado,
18:37a quiet place where winter always arrived earlier than the calendar suggested.
18:42By the time December 31st rolled around,
18:45the entire neighborhood looked like it had been carved out of ice.
18:49The house was modern.
18:51Its back walls were made mostly of glass,
18:53and they faced the forest.
18:55In the daylight, it was beautiful.
18:58At night, the windows turned into giant mirrors
19:01that reflected the whole interior.
19:03When I arrived around 6pm,
19:05the dogs were already restless.
19:07They kept pacing near the sliding back doors,
19:11staring into the darkness outside as if they were waiting for something.
19:15I thought maybe it was a coyote or a deer.
19:18This was the edge of the forest,
19:20and animals were normal here.
19:21I fed them and checked the clocks
19:24and settled in with some leftover Christmas snacks.
19:27Everything was normal until around 10.30.
19:30I was scrolling through my phone
19:32when the dogs suddenly went silent.
19:34They froze,
19:36both facing the glass wall that overlooked the backyard.
19:39Their ears perked up,
19:41and bodies went low,
19:42quiet, but tense.
19:44Then one of them growled,
19:46the deepest, quietest growl
19:48I'd ever heard from a dog.
19:51I walked over to the glass,
19:53but all I could see was the reflection of the living room,
19:55my own outline,
19:57and the furniture.
19:58That's the one thing I always hated about huge windows at night.
20:02You feel blind.
20:04I turned on the outside floodlights.
20:06They clicked on and buzzed faintly.
20:09That's when I saw it.
20:11A person standing at the tree line.
20:14They were perfectly still,
20:15facing the house with their hands at their sides.
20:19They weren't bundled up for winter,
20:21they weren't moving,
20:22and they weren't calling for help.
20:24They were just standing there.
20:25The floodlights didn't reach far enough to show their face,
20:29only a silhouette.
20:31At first I thought maybe it was a neighbor,
20:33or some hiker who got turned around.
20:35But something felt wrong.
20:37He should be shivering in the cold,
20:40or at the very least shifting his weight,
20:42and reacting to the sounds of my dogs.
20:44But this person didn't do any of that.
20:46They just stood there,
20:48angled directly toward me,
20:50like they had been waiting for the lights to come on.
20:52The dogs barked,
20:54like they'd lost their minds.
20:56I backed away from the glass,
20:58grabbed my phone,
20:59and called the non-emergency police line.
21:01I didn't want to overreact,
21:04but it was freezing outside,
21:05and no one should just be standing motionless in the woods at night,
21:08especially with such brisk winds like we had tonight.
21:12While I waited for someone to pick up,
21:14something changed.
21:15The silhouette leaned slightly to the left.
21:18Not a natural movement,
21:20not like someone shifting,
21:22more like tilting,
21:24as if the person were testing something,
21:26and defying gravity,
21:28or trying to see around the reflection of the glass.
21:31The phone kept ringing and ringing,
21:33but there was no answer.
21:35I stepped further from the window.
21:37The dogs continued barking.
21:39Their tails were rigid,
21:40and their fangs were raised.
21:43After two minutes,
21:44the figure walked forward.
21:45Not a rushed movement.
21:47They were moving slow and determined.
21:50They made a straight line toward the floodlights.
21:52I felt my stomach drop.
21:55This wasn't a lost hiker.
21:56No person moves with such a slow,
21:58deliberate,
21:59yet jagged pace
22:00in the cold,
22:01and especially in the dark.
22:03Our yard was rocky
22:05and filled with hazards.
22:06The figure stopped
22:07halfway across the yard.
22:09They weren't wearing winter clothes at all,
22:11just a long,
22:12dark coat
22:13that was open.
22:15Underneath was something lighter,
22:16maybe a shirt
22:17or a hoodie.
22:18Their head was slightly tilted down,
22:21as if trying to see through the glass.
22:23They had no expression,
22:24and they were not waving.
22:25They were just still.
22:28Somehow,
22:29this was worse.
22:30I dialed on my phone a final time.
22:33This time,
22:34I got through.
22:35I explained that there was someone outside my windows,
22:37and they were giving me the creeps.
22:39The operator told me to stay away from the windows
22:42and to wait for an officer.
22:43I moved to the hallway,
22:45where the dogs retreated behind me.
22:47They were still growling.
22:49A few minutes passed,
22:50and the house went silent.
22:52Too silent.
22:54Even the heating system seemed quieter.
22:56Then,
22:57a soft tapping.
22:59Not on the door,
23:00but on the glass.
23:04It was slow,
23:05almost polite.
23:07I stayed hidden,
23:08but I could see enough of the living room
23:10to confirm
23:11the sound was coming
23:12from the sliding back door,
23:14the one leading to the patio.
23:17There was another series of taps,
23:19but this time,
23:20it was faster.
23:21Then there was a pause.
23:22This pause was broken
23:24by a long drag across the glass,
23:27like someone trailing their nails
23:28along the crystalline surface.
23:30The dogs barked again,
23:32but this time,
23:33they didn't run toward the sound.
23:34They stayed back,
23:36practically pressed against my legs.
23:38Something about that scared me more than anything.
23:41Dogs usually charge forward,
23:43but these dogs were terrified.
23:45I waited for the police to arrive.
23:47The tapping continued,
23:49but it stayed consistent
23:50as if whoever was outside
23:52wasn't trying to break in.
23:54Just keep my attention.
23:56Finally,
23:57the sound of an engine grew louder outside.
24:00Red and blue lights flashed against the far wall.
24:02The tapping stopped instantly.
24:05When the officer knocked on the front door,
24:07I opened it and explained everything as fast as I could.
24:11He asked me to stay inside
24:12while he walked around back to check.
24:15Seconds later,
24:16his voice came through my radio.
24:18No one's here.
24:19I stepped outside with him,
24:21staying near the door.
24:22The yard looked untouched.
24:24There was no footprints in the snow
24:26anywhere near the glass or the patio.
24:27There was no marks of disturbance,
24:30no tracks,
24:31nothing.
24:32The only visible footprints
24:34were the ones the officer
24:35and I had made earlier.
24:37I even inspected the exact spot
24:39where the figure had stood near the tree light,
24:42but the snow there was perfectly smooth.
24:45The officer asked
24:46if someone might have been playing a prank on me
24:48before the snowfall.
24:50I told him no,
24:51and I had watched the figure walk.
24:53I saw the tapping on the glass
24:54and heard it in real time.
24:56He looked uneasy,
24:58but there was nothing
24:58he could officially report.
25:00He stayed for about 15 minutes,
25:02then left after checking the property twice.
25:05I locked everything,
25:07double-checked every window,
25:08and waited for midnight.
25:10Nothing else happened
25:11for the rest of the night.
25:13But the next morning,
25:14I found something.
25:16Directly under the floodlight,
25:18placed neatly on the snow,
25:20was a single object.
25:22A long strip of black cloth.
25:24The same color
25:26as the coat the figure wore.
25:28It wasn't there
25:29when the officer checked the yard.
25:31It wasn't there
25:32when I checked the locks.
25:33And there were still no footprints around it.
25:36Not even one.
25:37When Graham returned from his trip,
25:39he joked that
25:40maybe I saw a New Year's prank gone wrong.
25:43But the cloth strip?
25:44He had never seen anything like it before.
25:47Neither had I.
25:49I still don't know what I saw that night,
25:51only that whatever stood outside those windows
25:53knew exactly where I was,
25:55even in the dark.
25:56And it wanted me to know
25:58it could come closer,
26:00whether there were footprints in the snow or not.
26:04Last year,
26:06two friends and I rented
26:07a small lakeside cabin
26:08in northern Minnesota
26:09for New Year's Eve.
26:11We wanted something quiet
26:12with no parties
26:13or crowded bars,
26:14just a peaceful winter getaway
26:16before heading back to work
26:17after the holidays.
26:19The cabins were part
26:20of an old family-run resort
26:22that technically closed
26:23for the season
26:24every December.
26:25But the owner let people rent
26:27individual units
26:28if they didn't mind the cold.
26:30Ours was cabin 12,
26:32sitting right at the edge
26:34of the frozen lake
26:35with a direct view of the water.
26:37It was supposed to be calm.
26:39It wasn't.
26:41We arrived on December 30th,
26:43and we were the only guest
26:44anywhere on the property.
26:46The main lodge was dark,
26:48the office was locked,
26:50and the surrounding cabin
26:51sat empty
26:52under the layers of snow.
26:55Nothing about this
26:56felt uncomfortable.
26:57If anything,
26:58it felt peaceful.
27:00But on New Year's Eve
27:01around 5 p.m.,
27:03snow began to fall heavily.
27:05Thick, slow flakes
27:07drifted down non-stop.
27:08The woods darkened early,
27:10and by 7 p.m.,
27:12the entire resort
27:13looked buried.
27:14My friend Ethan went outside
27:16to bring in firewood.
27:17He came back after a minute,
27:19brushing snow off his jacket,
27:20looking a little thrown off.
27:22You guys moved?
27:23The snow shovel, right?
27:25He asked.
27:26We hadn't.
27:27None of us had even been near it.
27:29He frowned,
27:30but didn't say anything.
27:31I didn't think much of it.
27:33At 8 p.m.,
27:34we played cards,
27:35and at about 9,
27:37we watched some random
27:38New Year's countdown
27:39stream on a laptop.
27:40Everything felt normal,
27:42until around 10-ish,
27:44the power flickered.
27:45That wasn't unusual
27:47for a resort this old,
27:49but this flicker was different.
27:50It lasted longer.
27:51The lights dimmed all the way down
27:54to almost nothing
27:55before finally stabilizing.
27:57We paused the game.
27:58We were annoyed,
27:59but at this point,
28:00not immediately concerned.
28:02A few minutes later,
28:04a loud thud hit the side of the cabin.
28:06It sounded heavy and solid.
28:08We all looked at each other,
28:10the concern growing on our faces.
28:12Ethan stood up
28:13and peered through the window,
28:15facing the woods.
28:16Probably snow falling from a branch.
28:18He said,
28:19trying to console
28:20our growing concern.
28:21The problem was,
28:23there was no trees
28:24close enough to hit the cabin.
28:26Only open space
28:27and the frozen lake.
28:29There was another thud.
28:30This one against the back wall,
28:32facing the empty cabins.
28:34We turned off the music
28:36from the laptop
28:36and listened.
28:37A slow, crunching sound
28:39moved across the snow
28:41behind the cabin.
28:42It wasn't fast,
28:44and it didn't sound
28:44like it was stumbling.
28:46They sounded like slow,
28:47methodical,
28:49and heavy steps.
28:50My other friend,
28:51Tyler, whispered,
28:52Is there supposed
28:53to be anyone else here?
28:54I shook my head.
28:56Cabin 12
28:57was the only one rented.
28:59The steps got closer.
29:05We moved away
29:06from the windows
29:06without speaking.
29:08There was something deliberate
29:09about the pacing
29:10of those footsteps.
29:11They were steady,
29:13purposeful,
29:14like someone walking
29:15to a clear destination
29:16with an insidious goal in mind.
29:19Then the steps stopped.
29:21Their sound had ceased
29:22at the window
29:23closest to us.
29:24The curtains were drawn,
29:26but you could see
29:27the faint outline
29:28of something tall
29:29blocking the moonlight.
29:30We waited without breathing.
29:33The silence was painful.
29:35Then the power flickered again,
29:38harder this time,
29:39and went out completely.
29:40The cabin went pitch black.
29:43Tyler grabbed his phone flashlight.
29:46Ethan did the same.
29:47I stayed still,
29:48straining to hear
29:49any movement outside.
29:51For almost a full minute,
29:52there was nothing.
29:54Then a dragging sound
29:55moved along the wall.
29:57Something scraping
29:58across the wooden exterior,
30:00slow and intentional,
30:03circling the cabin.
30:04When it reached the back door,
30:06it stopped.
30:07Tyler mouthed,
30:08Don't move.
30:09A faint pressure
30:11pushed against the door,
30:12not enough to open it,
30:13but enough to be heard.
30:15A subtle flecks of the wood.
30:17Then a second push.
30:19Ethan whispered,
30:20Who's out there?
30:22There was no answer.
30:24Only three slow steps
30:26moving away from the door.
30:28We stayed frozen
30:29until the snow outside
30:31went quiet again.
30:32The three of us
30:33pulled out knives
30:34from our pockets.
30:35Our hands were shaking,
30:37and none of us
30:38were particularly skilled
30:39with combat concerning knives,
30:42but it was the best option
30:43we had at the moment.
30:44With my other hand,
30:45I pulled out my cell phone
30:46and began inputting 911.
30:48If whatever this was
30:50decided to break through,
30:51I was going to hit send
30:52and let the sound of combat
30:53alert the cops.
30:54A long stretch of time
30:56elapsed in that silence,
30:58until finally,
30:59the lights flickered on,
31:00and we all exhaled.
31:02Tyler grabbed a jacket.
31:04His knife was still in his hand,
31:06but he looked a bit more at ease.
31:08We just need to check,
31:09make sure no one's messing with us.
31:11Ethan and I followed him outside.
31:13The cold was sharp enough
31:15to sting instantly.
31:17The snow was fresh,
31:18smooth,
31:19and untouched
31:20except for one set of footprints.
31:22Not boot prints,
31:24or shoe prints,
31:25but bare footprints.
31:28Full-sized,
31:30leading from the tree line
31:31straight to our cabin.
31:32The footprint was enormous.
31:35My entire forearm
31:36could fit into the depression.
31:38The stride was long,
31:40spaced unlike anything normal.
31:42The prints circled
31:44around the entire cabin,
31:45but here's the part
31:47that truly bothers me.
31:48There were no prints
31:50leading the way.
31:51The trail ended
31:52at the back door,
31:53then looped around
31:54to the front window,
31:56and then nothing.
31:57Just flat,
31:59untouched snow.
32:00We followed the tracks
32:01from the tree line
32:02to see how far back they went.
32:04They didn't start at the tree line.
32:06They didn't start anywhere.
32:08The footprints began abruptly.
32:10Half a footstep formed
32:12in the middle of untouched snow.
32:14Like the person,
32:15or being,
32:17appeared mid-stride.
32:19We went back inside,
32:21and locked the doors twice,
32:22and waited for midnight.
32:24By 11.55,
32:26we had all calmed down a little.
32:27We all began to theorize
32:29about what it could be.
32:30I was pretty determined
32:31that it had to be
32:32Bigfoot, Sasquatch,
32:34Wendigo,
32:34or something of that nature.
32:36Tyler was pretty sure
32:37that it was someone
32:38playing a prank on us,
32:39although I don't know
32:41how that would be possible
32:41without a very sophisticated drone.
32:44But then Ethan froze,
32:45staring at the door.
32:47A puddle had formed
32:48near the front door,
32:50from a thin outline
32:51of melted snow.
32:53I hadn't opened the door,
32:54since checking the locks,
32:56and no snow had blown in.
32:58Tyler checked the deadbolt.
32:59It was locked.
33:01He checked the windows,
33:02which were also locked.
33:03The puddle continued
33:04to slowly drip
33:05toward the door frame,
33:06as if something had been there,
33:08and then left.
33:09At 11.59,
33:11the laptop countdown began.
33:13We stood together,
33:14not really celebrating anymore.
33:16The dogs barked somewhere
33:18in the distance
33:18from a cabin we knew
33:19was empty.
33:20The wind picked up,
33:21blowing powder
33:22across the lake.
33:24When the countdown hit zero,
33:25we said nothing.
33:26There was no cheering
33:27and no noise,
33:29until the faint crackle
33:30of fireworks
33:31from a distant town
33:32a few miles away
33:33broke the silence,
33:35and we heard a new sound.
33:36A single knock
33:37on the cabin wall,
33:39not on the door,
33:40but on top of the roof,
33:42near the exact spot
33:43where the footprints
33:44first appeared.
33:45One hard,
33:47slow,
33:48deliberate knock.
33:50Ethan whispered,
33:51Don't respond to it.
33:53We didn't.
33:54We waited for more knocks,
33:56or footsteps,
33:57or anything,
33:58but all that followed
34:00was complete silence.
34:02After a few minutes
34:03of waiting unnerved,
34:05with our knives drawn again,
34:06we finally decided
34:07that whatever this was
34:08had left interest in us.
34:10We spent more time
34:11theorizing about what it was,
34:13and whether or not
34:13we should call the police.
34:15I was pretty determined to,
34:16but Ethan pointed out
34:18that with the arrangement
34:19of footprints,
34:19we would have nothing concrete
34:20to show the police.
34:22They shot down my theory
34:23about it being Sasquatch
34:24because of the way
34:25the footprints were arranged,
34:26but I had to remind them
34:27that there are some theories
34:28out there that Sasquatch
34:30is more than just
34:30a primordial animal.
34:32There are some that believe,
34:33myself included,
34:34that he's more interdimensional
34:36and can teleport.
34:37They laughed it off,
34:39but I think the evidence
34:39that we were dealing with
34:40kind of proved my point.
34:42The next morning,
34:44all of the footprints
34:44were gone.
34:45They were completely erased
34:47by the night's snowfall,
34:48but the puddle on the floor
34:50remained frozen slightly
34:51at the edges
34:52from the cold draft.
34:53When we returned the key,
34:55the owner asked
34:56if everything was okay.
34:57We told him the cabin was fine
34:59and handed it over quickly.
35:01He paused,
35:02looking confused.
35:04Cabin 12?
35:05He asked.
35:06We don't open that one
35:08in winter.
35:09The windows freeze shut.
35:10I would have put you
35:11in one of the front cabins.
35:12We told him
35:14we'd stayed in 12
35:15because that's where
35:16the key envelope said to go.
35:17He checked the office wall
35:19where all the keys hung.
35:20Cabin 12's key
35:21was still there.
35:23The envelope we had received
35:24had cabin 7's number on it
35:26and the ink had smudged,
35:28making the 7 look like a 12.
35:31Cabin 7 was near
35:32the front entrance.
35:33Cabin 12 was the one
35:35farthest back,
35:36closest to the woods,
35:38closest to the lake
35:39and completely isolated.
35:41We never came to
35:42complete agreement
35:43about what we experienced there,
35:45but the one thing
35:46we have come to agree on is
35:48that next year
35:49we'd all celebrate at home.
35:52Thank you for watching
35:54and I also want to thank Sleepy
35:56for voicing one of the characters
35:57in this episode.
35:59In the description,
36:00I've put links to her channel
36:01where you can find
36:02excellent,
36:03scary story narrations.
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