It may not be Halloween proper, but it’s always Halloween in our hearts, which means it’s always a good time to revisit this beyond creepy story from a man on Twitter about a childhood midnight snack gone very wrong.
It’s gonna send so many chills down ya that your bones’ bones are gonna be afraid of their own skeletons. What does that mean? I have no idea, I’m just trying to set this up without spoiling anything.
Let’s get to it. Grab a blanket.
Prologue: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Who doesn’t love a little revisited trauma?
Everyone’s telling scary stories for Halloween so I’ll talk about something that happened to me when I was a kid because hey, trauma never gets old.#ScaryStories
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 1: The Sneak
It all begins with a little innocent snacking.
When I turned 9 I realized I could sneak downstairs after everyone was asleep and eat anything I wanted in the fridge. No one ever noticed!
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 2: Mayo Sandwich
Some things are worth the effort.
Creeping down was the hardest part. I had to navigate the pitch dark house all the way downstairs in total darkness like a tiny ninja.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 3: The Outline
Here’s where it gets freaky.
It took forever. I finally stepped into the totally dark den & let down my guard. All of a sudden I heard a fork click on the counter. I froze. The microwave clock light showed the outline of a man sitting at our kitchen counter.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 4: Back Away Slowly
Holy s**t.
I can’t explain how terrifying it is for someone to BE IN YOUR HOUSE. I slooooowly backed away, crept upstairs, and woke up my mom & dad.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 5: Too Many Horror Comics
Note to self: if my kid ever tells me something like this, listen to them.
Everyone said I read too many horror comics so they blew off what I said. But no way was I pouring milk on my cereal.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 6: The Hunt
I’d never be able to sleep.
My bedroom door didn’t lock so I kept a steak knife under my pillow. I must’ve stabbed myself in the hand 1000 times checking to make sure it was there.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 7: The Eyes
This just gets worse and worse.
I freaked & raised hell until my parents searched our attic and the crawl space under our house. Nothing. I wasn’t very popular for a few weeks.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 8: The Crawl
The truth comes out.
Turns out what had crawled into our vents & died was the guy. We lived in an old house with lots of space between the walls & big ducts. He’d been living in them since May. At least.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Chapter 9: Drawings
I’d never be ok.
No one ever identified him. He was buried as a John Doe. To this day I can’t look inside the vents in houses.
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Epilogue: A Little BO
Yikes on bikes.
But sometimes when I’m at someone’s house I’ll smell a little BO coming from their central air conditioning, and I’ll wonder who’s living back there in their ducts. Who’s living in the dark?
— Grady Hendrix (@grady_hendrix) October 30, 2019
Well, I’m gonna go take up several new hobbies since I won’t be sleeping ever again for the rest of my life.
What would you do in a situation like this?
Tell us in the comments.
