Deadtime Stories: 7 Spooky Bedtime Stories for Halloween

Since it’s almost Halloween in the States, I thought it was only fitting to have spooky bedtime stories. If any of you are familiar with Reddit, you might know of the subreddit: nosleep. Some of these stories are downright bone-chilling. So, I made a list of seven of the best ones (in my opinion) to get Halloween started off right. Each one will have a snippet of the story and a link to read(some are in the title) as well as the author. Give them a read!

Spooky Bedtime Stories for Halloween

7.
The Previous Tenant Of My New Flat Left A Survival Guide. I’m Not Sure I Want To Live Here Anymore

Dear New Occupier,

Firstly, welcome to your new home. I lived here before you for 35 years with my husband. Unfortunately, he had an incident at home recently that I’d rather not discuss that claimed his life. My sister has now decided I can’t keep up with the demands of the property and has insisted that I move in with her and her husband. I was reluctant at first, but the stairs do kill me at my age and without Bernie, it’s filled with sadness.

Anyway. When you’ve lived somewhere for as long as I have it feels like a person that you know. You understand its personality and what makes it tick. I thought it was probably pertinent that I impart some of that knowledge to you.

It’s a wonderful home, honestly, I have lived through the best and worst years, and leaving it behind is very emotional but if you are to survive and get the best out of it then there are some steps you need to follow.

1. The landlord will never bother you, he doesn’t visit, call or communicate in any way. But make sure to pay your rent in a timely fashion always. I have only dealt with him once in 35 years and let’s just say I never missed another rent day. For any repairs required you speak to the agent, you rented the place with.

2. DO NOT use the communal lift between 1:11 and 3:33 am. Just don’t do it. This step is vital if you are to have a happy life here. It really is life or death. Don’t do it. This has cost me and many others in the building greatly and I would rather not elaborate on why you shouldn’t do this. Just please don’t do it. I cannot stress this enough.

3. When you hear the strange animal noises coming from flat 48 don’t question it, Mr. Prentice lives there and he’s a lovely chap. Don’t be afraid to say hello to him in the corridor or on the stairs (he’s old school, so he never risks the lift) but whatever you do, don’t check on him when you hear the noises. You’ll know when you hear them.

4. If you ever come across a window cleaner on the balcony ignore him. He may seem like the nicest fellow you’ve ever had trying to sell you something at the door but it really is best that you don’t engage. He will go away if you ignore him. But he tries pretty hard the first few times so you’ll need some resilience. Whatever you do, don’t offer him anything. No money, no hot drink.

5. Don’t leave food scraps out. Bin or refrigerate them immediately. If you have small animals, it is imperative that you watch them eat and take away any leftover food immediately after they are done. This and rule 2 go hand in hand, the things forage all day and seem to really love animal feed. You don’t want them in your flat. I promise. You can leave what you want out between 1:11 and 3:33 am so you may want to feed your pets then.

6. Don’t communicate with any neighbors who claim to come from flats 65-72. These flats suffered a fire in the late 80s that devastated the whole floor, all the residents died in their homes. The building was mostly council owned at the time and they never bothered to renovate the flats. They’ve been empty ever since but every now and again someone will knock at your door claiming to live in one of these flats and ask to borrow some sugar. They will seem entirely average but you must shut and lock the door immediately. I installed two extra security bolts to avoid these fu**ers. I don’t like to swear at my age but they really are fu**ers.

7. Simple one for you here, keep a weapon in each room. Sometimes you follow all these steps and something still slips through the net. Better to be safe than sorry.

8. The building has a committee that will try and get you to join. It’s one of those neighborhood groups about improving living conditions for all residents. It’s a nice group and the lady who runs it – Terri from flat 26- is a fantastic neighbor. By all means, get involved. But I wouldn’t recommend babysitting Terri’s 2 children. She’ll ask you because the poor woman needs a break, but if you accept don’t say I didn’t warn you.

9. Stray hairless cats sometimes roam in the hallway. I know they’re supposedly a special, expensive breed, but they don’t belong to anyone. They’re mostly harmless, but don’t pick them up. Not unless you see one of those neighbors that claims to live in 65-72. Then grab the cat and lock it inside with you. It’ll burn your skin a little but the cats are friendly and I wouldn’t want to see them hurt.

10. There is no way to fix the damp patch on the ceiling in the bedroom. Sometimes it will turn a deep crimson and look quite concerning, but please try not to be alarmed, it doesn’t drip, it doesn’t get any bigger and it’s been there longer than I have. The landlord won’t budge on it, according to the agents. I flagged it many times and even called the police the first night it changed color, but it was a waste of time and it will be for you too. It’s best to ignore it.

11. You can trust the postman. His name is Ian Flanders and he’s been the postman since before I moved in. He has his own key to the main door and delivers post to the door every morning at 8:54. I can’t include everything here, or it would become a novel but if you have any questions Ian will help you.

12. Finally, the first few weeks are the worst. You’ll feel like you’ve made a mistake, I’m sure reading this you already do, but if you can get through the first few weeks it really is a lovely block to live in. Every property has its quirks and this one is a little extra special, but you can be truly happy here if you just take my advice. I wish you all the best, I really do. Read Full Story Here by newtotownJAM

6.
I Had A Disturbing Conversation With My 7-Year-Old Daughter

“Daddy, please don’t stop me playing in the garden. I promise I won’t sneak out again. I don’t want the zombie to get me.”

“Rosie, I’m not going to stop you from playing in the garden. But you have to make me a couple of promises, too. First, promise me you’ll stop going around calling people zombies. Mr. Henderson may be old, but he’s not one of the living dead.”

Rosie frowned. “I didn’t.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t? You just ran in here a moment ago calling him one.”

“No, I didn’t. Mr. Henderson’s not a zombie. I saw the zombie in his house, but it wasn’t him.”

I frowned. I had the mug raised to my lips to take another sip of tea, but now I put it down again. “What do you mean, sweetheart? You saw someone else in his house?”

“Yeah, the zombie, dad! I could see it pressed against his little basement window while I was talking to him.”

Cold fingers ran up my spine. “What?”

“Yeah, it was really scary. Its face was all bashed up and bloody, and its mouth was open. Like it was screaming at me. But do you know what confused me most, dad?”

I tried to keep my voice steady. “What?”

“Well, I didn’t realize kids could be zombies, too. I thought it was only grownups. But I guess I must have been wrong, cuz’ the one in Mr. Henderson’s basement looked just like a little boy.” Read Full Story Here by samhaysom

5.
Something Went Wrong With My Heart Transplant

Laura’s heart beat so strongly it felt like it would come out of my chest. It did this all the time, and I realized this was what a healthy heart must feel like. So why couldn’t I shake my feeling of unease?

That night, I had a dream.

Laura was in her hospital bed, but her mother was gone. I could hear my heart, Laura’s heart, beating in my eardrums so loudly it was painful. I tried to cover them, but my hands were pinned to my sides. Some unexplainable force was moving me towards the motionless figure of Laura on the bed, her lips were blue and the window had come open, whipping her blonde hair around her face.

I was almost on top of her when her eyes flew open.

They were milky white, the eyes of someone dead.

“Get out.” She rasped, her voice guttural. I could hear the heartbeat faster and faster, drumming until I thought I couldn’t take it anymore.

Then I woke up. The sound had been real. Laura’s heart was so loud it felt like it would rupture my eardrums and I screamed in agony, trying to cover my ears. It was useless, it was coming from some deep place inside me, I could feel it reverberating around the hollows of my chest.

I stumbled out of bed, gasping for air, and tried to find my phone. I needed to call someone, anyone, an ambulance, or my mom. Anyone that would pick up.

“Get out.” It was a faint whisper over the hammering thumps of Laura’s heart, a low guttural voice that sounded like it had been made by an animal, and I crawled to the door, down the hallway, choking on my screams for help. My neighbor opened the door, his eyes as wide as saucers at the sight of me on the floor clutching my chest.

He drove me to the hospital as I cried in the passenger seat of his car.

After about fifty different checkups, the doctors told me that absolutely nothing was wrong with me. They told me my heart was regular, my blood pressure was normal, and that everything was going just swimmingly. I stood in the waiting area, wallowing in my shame and frustration.

That heart didn’t belong to me. Read Full Story Here by KatrinCiernan

4.
My Mother-In-Law Was Poisoning Me, Then I Found Out Why

Everyone has their own nightmare in-law story, though I couldn’t imagine how bad mine would be. As it turns out the worst thing wasn’t my mother-in-law poisoning me, the worst thing was why she did it.

I finally got a few days off so we could head to visit his family about six months later. His whole family came over and everyone seemed thrilled to meet me, except for his mom, Betsy. She was cold and distant and could sit there without saying a single word to me. It was creepy, but I kept trying to spark a conversation.

On our last day, he announced that we should take an afternoon hike up into the national park their house sat on the edge of. Betsy made lunch and I was changing to go out when it hit me, just waves of nausea. I wound up in the bathroom for hours that afternoon.

I figure it was just a touch of something and thought nothing of it. We went back a few months later and again had a great time except for Betsy. She wouldn’t talk to me, though Craig brushed it off and said she was just getting to know me. He finally said we could rent jet-skis the next day and explore a lake in the next town as a way to get out of the house and unwind, which made me feel better. I was so excited to tell everyone where we were going, but it wasn’t to be. After eating I got so sick I could barely walk for the next two days.

At this point, I started to get suspicious. No one else was sick, and we all ate the same food. It seemed like Betsy must have been up to something, but it wasn’t until our next visit when a night in a romantic cottage another hour up the road was canceled due to me getting sick that I was sure: Betsy was poisoning me. Read Full Story Here by nmwrites

3.
We’ve Been Stuck In Construction Traffic For 8 Hours Now. If We Leave Our Vehicles We Will Die

After a half hour had passed, I started to get antsy, and so did everyone else. People were sticking their heads out the window to try to see what was going on, but it was no use. The line of cars seemed endless. A few people got out of their vehicles to try to get a better look. I got out too and started walking to Lauren’s car.

When I was halfway there, a voice cut into the air. It sounded like someone shouting through a bullhorn. “Return immediately to your vehicles! No one is permitted to be outside! This is your only warning. If you do not heed it, there will be severe consequences.”

“Wha da fck is goin’ on?!” some guy shouted in a thick Boston accent; he was standing a few car lengths in front of me. An instant later, he was down on the ground, not moving. I didn’t see what happened exactly, but that was enough to make me hustle back to my truck. Read the Full Story Here by nslewis

2.
Buying A Weighted Blanket From Amazon Was The Worst Decision I’ve Ever Made

I came home determined to get rid of the blanket and buy a new one. But you know what happens when you lose your entire world, with no answers? You start to cling to things. You hoard them. Because you can’t lose the comfort they bring you.

Armed with my funnel and a bucket, I pulled the edge of the blanket over the bed and cut a tiny hole into the seam near the corner. I expected the beads to come pouring out in a clattery flood as soon as I dropped the corner into the bucket. Instead, there was a single, loud thump as a lump of something metallic hit the plastic. Read the Full Story Here by barkoholic

1.
Under The Back Porch

I could hear it in dad’s yells, he was pissed and was about to get violent. Mom wasn’t helping either, just piling fuel onto an inferno of a flame. So I knew I had to find a good hiding spot. I’d gotten the idea a few days before, when I realized the lattice covering the bottom half of the back porch had a hole in it. Not big enough to fit a full-grown man, most likely, but it could fit a skinny six-year-old no problem.

So wrapping myself up in my blanket and grabbing my hippo stuffie, I snuck out my window and ran into the backyard. In the middle of autumn. When it was forty degrees out and the temperature was steadily dropping.

I crawled under the porch, scraping my elbows and getting splinters in my palms but I fit inside. It was actually quite spacious compared to most of my hiding spots, I couldn’t sit up all the way but I had plenty of room to spread out my limbs.

“Honey, are you cold?”

That voice was not the voice of my mother, scratchy from all the smoking and screeching she did. It was sweet, like honey. I turned over to see the dim outline of a woman, lying on her stomach next to me. She had a pretty butterfly necklace and was just as dirty as I was.

I nodded, not wondering how she’d been down there without me noticing.

The woman’s belly crawled forward and wrapped her arms around me and suddenly I became warm. Like I was sitting next to a campfire. I snuggled into her arms, not minding the mud, after all, we were both dirty. Read the Full Story Here by theoddcatlady

Spooky, no? I spent all night reading some of these and more. And yes, I did have to sleep with the lights on but oh well.

Happy Halloween!