The Scary Short Story

7/31/2019 The Scary Short Story

1/10

ARABELLA

Here's a creepy story my friend told me long ago (about ten years, in fact!) when I was around eleven or twelve years

old.

The way she told it, a little girl she knew had been given a small doll by her parents. The doll was a gift from anancient great aunt who had now passed away. The little girl, lets call her Lucy, was secretly unnerved by the doll

which had nasty little black eyes that seemed to follow her around the room and a cross expression on it's face.

Nevertheless, Lucy had to accept the doll, as she was well brought up and didn't want to upset her parents by

informing them of how uneasy she felt around the doll. Her parents told her the doll was called Arabella. The name

seemed to suit her. No offence at all to those people called Arabella (hey, my own name isn't anything to brag

about!) but Lucy was even more afraid now the doll had a name. It seemed to make it more human, and if it was

even a little human then what might it be capable of??

Even so, Lucy never really believed on a conscious level that the doll could do anything to her. It was just a doll, after

all, and only reached up to just above her knee. So, to put her mind at rest she stuffed Arabella into the little

cupboard under the stairs, behind a pile of shoes where her parents wouldn't see her. It was not until a few nights

later, when Lucy was lying in bed that she heard a noise...a shuffling sound, which went on for about five minutes.

Then, a brief dragging noise and finally, a scuttling like light footsteps walking very fast. By now Lucy was pinned to

the bed with fear, unable to move with fear. Then, she heard a voice-like a very deep, almost masculine tone- but

quiet enough not to wake her parents. Lucy always slept with the door open and the landing light on, as she was a

little scared of the dark. Therefore she could hear more through her open door. She heard the voice say "Lucy, I'm on

the first step"...And then loud scrabbling again as whatever was speaking apparently turned tail and returned to it's

place of hiding.

Lucy was so scared that she didn't sleep a wink that night but laid in fear until the break of dawn, when her mother

got her up for school

Lucy tried to explain to her mother what had happened the night before, but was so tired that, when her mother

passed it off as "just a dream" she began to believe it might be the case.

Of course it wasn't. Lucy begged her parents that they might get rid of the doll, but they insisted that it had been the

great aunts wish that Lucy would have her doll. So Lucy reluctantly went back to bed, repeating to herself in her

head that it had only been a dream. She checked the cupboard under the stairs, but Arabella was exactly where Lucy

had left her.

That night, Lucy fought sleep but she eventually drifted off even though she had fought sleep. Presently, the deep

disembodied voice woke Lucy again. She wondered if she could only hear it in her head.

"Luuuuucccccccyyyyy....I'm on the fifth step.." it said. Then came to scuffling noise and the voice didn't reoccur that

night. Lucy was crying by now, and again she didn't sleep that night. At school, Lucy told her friends about the doll,

and of course they laughed at her. Lucy could only think that if Arrabella was climbing four steps at a time then there

was only one more night to go.


2/10

That night Lucy decided to shut her bedroom door. When her mother turned her light out she asked why Lucy was

no longer scared of the dark. Lucy replied that she was and could she leave her light on instead of the hall light? But

her mother pointed out that her bedroom light was so bright it would keep her awake, and said no.

Therefore Lucy agreed to just sleep without a light. She opened the bedroom curtains instead to light the room a

little anyway.

Just as she began to doze, she heard the noise. And then the voice "Luuucyy. I'm on the top step..." Lucy knew her

door was closed but was still terribly afraid. Her heart pounding, she knew if she stayed in bed she wouldn't be safe.

So she got up to investigate.

And her parents found her body at the bottom of the stairs. They guessed she had tried to go to the lavatory in the

night without switching on the light, had slipped on a roller skate found beside her, and broken her neck. Arabella

had been found beside her body, and was buried with Lucy. Everyone said what a tragedy it was. But at least

Arabella was safely buried, and would never be able to strike again.

Was the roller skate from the cupboard under the stairs? That's where it was kept. It's a sad story, but one that

scared me for many, many years!!


3/10

KEEP THE LIGHTS OFF

They say there is this problem going around. No one knows what it's called and no one knows the cure. But it always

occurs with a certain someone. That certain someone is a young girl....sometimes boy...but mostly girl.

And as all young girls do....it takes place at a sleep over or get together. The story I've heard about is a girl named

Macy, who has her friends Lexie, Briget and Meagan over to spend the night. She gathers them into her room to tell

ghost stories. But she demands they keep the light on at all times. She has this problem and knows about it from

recent happenings. But yet, they finally talk her into turning the lights off. She shudders to think what is coming...but

agrees.

See this problem is a strange one. Whenever the lights are off......she will get uncontrollably scared..I mean

screaming crying kind of scared. But when she goes to turn the lights on...the other people in the room will be

standing there with empty black holes, staring at her. Or mutilated bodies...still freshly cut open and bleeding. Or

think of your worst nightmare...and have it in the room with you. Could you imagine? Turning on the lights and

seeing that?

Well back to the story...As Lexie was telling her story...she suddenly turned her flashlight out.....so that the room was

now in total darkness. Macy started whimpering for she knew what was coming. Then she heard a little girl's

voice....and she knew it couldn't be one of her friends....ring around the rosies.....pocket full of posies...ashes

ashes......we all.....fall...down... And Macy got so scared she just had to turn the light on. She jumped up and fumbled

for the light switch. But as her hand found it....she didn't want to turn on the light. Then all of a sudden lightning

flashed from the storm outside...and in the split second of light she could see her three friends with empty black

sockets....standing there with smiles on their faces....and then the room launched into total darkness again. And as

Macy screamed and screamed...You could faintly hear........ring around the rosies.......................


4/10

The Babysitter and the Man UpstairsA married couple were going out for the evening and called in a teenage babysitter to take care of their three

children. When she arrived they told her they probably wouldn't be back until late, and that the kids were already

asleep so she needn't disturb them.

The babysitter starts doing her homework while awaiting a call from her boyfriend. After awhile the phone rings. She

answers it, but hears no one on the other end just silence, then whoever it is hangs up. After a few more minutes

the phone rings again. She answers, and this time there's a man on the line who says, in a chilling voice, "Have you

checked the children?"

Click.

At first she thinks it might have been the father calling to check up and he got interrupted, so she decides to ignore

it. She goes back to her homework, then the phone rings again. "Have you checked the children?" says the creepy

voice on the other end.

"Mr. Murphy?" she asks, but the caller hangs up again.

She decides to phone the restaurant where the parents said they'd be dining, but when she asks for Mr. Murphy she

is told that he and his wife had left the restaurant 45 minutes earlier. So she calls the police and reports that a

stranger has been calling her and hanging up. "Has he threatened you?" the dispatcher asks. No, she says. "Well,

there's nothing we can really do about it. You could try reporting the prank caller to the phone company."

A few minutes go by and she gets another call. "Why haven't you checked the children?" the voice says.

"Who is this?" she asks, but he hangs up again. She dials 911 again and says, "I'm scared. I know he's out there, he's

watching me."

"Have you seen him?" the dispatcher asks. She says no. "Well, there isn't much we can do about it," the dispatcher

says. The babysitter goes into panic mode and pleads with him to help her. "Now, now, it'll be okay," he says. "Give

me your number and street address, and if you can keep this guy on the phone for at least a minute we'll try to trace

the call. What was your name again?"

"Linda."

"Okay, Linda, if he calls back we'll do our best to trace the call, but just keep calm. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," she says, and hangs up. She decides to turn the lights down so she can see if anyone's outside, and that's

when she gets another call.

"It's me," the familiar voice says. "Why did you turn the lights down?"

"Can you see me?" she asks, panicking.

"Yes," he says after a long pause.


5/10

"Look, you've scared me," she says. "I'm shaking. Are you happy? Is that what you wanted?"

"No."

"Then what do you want?" she asks.

Another long pause. "Your blood. All over me."

She slams the phone down, terrified. Almost immediately it rings again. "Leave me alone!" she screams, but it's the

dispatcher calling back. His voice is urgent.

"Linda, we've traced that call. It's coming from another room inside the house. Get out of there! Now!!!"

She tears to the front door, attempting to unlock it and dash outside, only to find the chain at the top still latched. In

the time it takes her to unhook it she sees a door open at the top of the stairs. Light streams from the children's

bedroom, revealing the profile of a man standing just inside.

She finally gets the door open and bursts outside, only to find a cop standing on the doorstep with his gun drawn. Atthis point she's safe, of course, but when they capture the intruder and drag him downstairs in handcuffs, she sees

he is covered in blood. Come to find out, all three children have all been murdered.


6/10

The Hook

A teenage boy drove his date to a dark and deserted Lovers' Lane for a make-out session. He turned on the radio for

mood music, leaned over to whisper in the girl's ear, and began kissing her.

A short while later, the music suddenly stopped mid-song. After a moment of silence an announcer's voice came on,

warning in an ominous tone that a convicted murderer had just escaped from the state insane asylum which

happened to be located within a half-mile of Lovers' Lane and urging that anyone who notices a man wearing a

stainless steel hook in place of his missing right hand should immediately report his whereabouts to the police.

The girl became frightened and asked to be taken home. The boy, feeling bold, locked all the doors instead and,

assuring his date they would be safe, attempted to kiss her again. She became frantic and pushed him away, insisting

that they leave. Relenting, the boy peevishly jerked the car into gear and spun its wheels as he pulled out of the

parking space.

When they arrived at the girl's house she got out of the car, and, reaching to close the door, began to scream

uncontrollably. The boy ran to her side to see what was wrong and there, dangling from the door handle, was a

bloody hook.


7/10

The Boyfriend's Death

A girl and her boyfriend are making out in his car. They had parked in the woods so no one would see them. When

they were done, the boy got out to pee and the girl waited for him in the safety of the car.

After waiting five minutes, the girl got out of the car to look for her boyfriend. Suddenly, she sees a man in the

shadows. Scared, she gets back in the car to drive away, when she hears a very faintsqueak... squeak... squeak...

This continued a few seconds until the girl decided she had no choice but to drive off. She hit the gas as hard as

possible but couldn't go anywhere, because someone had tied a rope from the bumper of the car to a nearby tree.

Well, the girl slams on the gas again and then hears a loud scream. She gets out of the car and realizes that her

boyfriend is hanging from the tree. The squeaky noises were his shoes slightly scraping across the top of the car!!!

Example #2:As told by Isabel Espaldon:

Here's a story my mom told to me and my friends when I was about seven years old. You can imagine I was scared to

death...

A woman and her boyfriend were on their way home from somewhere (not important) one night, and suddenly his

car ran out of gas. It was about one in the morning and they were completely alone in the middle of the nowhere.

The guy stepped out of the car, saying comfortingly to his girlfriend, "Don't worry, I'll be right back. I'm just going to

go out for some help. Lock the doors, though."

She locked the doors and sat restlessly, waiting for her boyfriend to come back. Suddenly, she sees a shadow fall

across her lap. She looks up to see... not her boyfriend, but a strange, crazed looking man. He is swinging something

in his right hand.

He sticks his face close to the window and slowly pulls up his right hand. In it is her boyfriend's decapitated head,

twisted horribly in pain and shock. She shuts her eyes in horror and tries to make the image go away. When she

opens her eyes, the man is still there, grinning psychotically. He slowly lifts his left hand, and he is holding her

boyfriend's keys... to the car.


8/10

The Body in the Bed

A man and woman went to Las Vegas for their honeymoon, and checked into a suite at a hotel. When they got to

their room they both detected a bad odor. The husband called down to the front desk and asked to speak to the

manager. He explained that the room smelled very bad and they would like another suite. The manager apologized

and told the man that they were all booked because of a convention. He offered to send them to a restaurant oftheir choice for lunch compliments of the hotel and said he was going to send a maid up to their room to clean and

to try and get rid of the odor.

After a nice lunch the couple went back to their room. When they walked in they could both still smell the same

odor. Again the husband called the front desk and told the manager that the room still smelled really bad. The

manager told the man that they would try and find a suite at another hotel. He called every hotel on the strip, but

every hotel was sold out because of the convention. The manager told the couple that they couldn't find them a

room anywhere, but they would try and clean the room again. The couple wanted to see the sights and do a little

gambling anyway, so they said they would give them two hours to clean and then they would be back.

When the couple had left, the manager and all of housekeeping went to the room to try and find what was making

the room smell so bad. They searched the entire room and found nothing, so the maids changed the sheets, changed

the towels, took down the curtains and put new ones up, cleaned the carpet and cleaned the suite again using the

strongest cleaning products they had. The couple came back two hours later to find the room still had a bad odor.

The husband was so angry at this point, he decided to find whatever this smell was himself. So he started tearing the

entire suite apart himself.

As he pulled the top mattress off the box spring he found a dead body of a woman.


9/10

The Hairy-Armed Hitchhiker

I first heard this story in 1980 in North Wales. I believed it until I was told it again a matter of days later. It is usually

told as happening to a friend or relative.

A young woman returns to her car from a day's shopping. She had parked her car in the town's multi-story car park.

As she approaches the car she notices someone sitting in the back seat. She cautiously checks the registration plate

to see if it is indeed her car, as it is a popular model and color. The car is indeed hers, and as she gets closer she sees

that it's an old woman sitting in the back seat.

She asks the woman how and why she is sitting in her car.

The old woman replies that she had been shopping with her son and family but felt unwell and returned to the car to

rest. She obviously had mistaken the young woman's car for her son's, as it was the same model and color. The old

woman then asks to be driven to a hospital, as she is still feeling unwell. The young woman agrees.

As she gets into the driver's seat something makes her very nervous about the situation and she asks the old woman

if she is feeling well enough to direct her as she reverses the car out of the parking place. The old woman agrees,

gets out of the car and proceeds to direct the reversing maneuver.

As soon as the young woman has the car out of the parking space she speeds out of the car park, leaving the old

woman stranded. She then drives straight to the nearest police station and reports the incident.

A police officer then searched the car and found an axe concealed under the driver's seat.

The young woman had had a lucky escape!


10/10

The Roommate's Death

There were two roommates (yes, I know, another college story), Sarah and Megan. Sarah was the theatrical type and

loved acting. She was in all the town's plays. Megan was more of a book person, she loved to read and her studies

were her first priority.

Anyway, there was a huge play called "Oh, Susannah" that Sarah was in, and it was coming up on Saturday... so every

chance that Sarah got, she would practice in the park (that's where she got her inspiration) for hours. Every time, she

would beg Megan to go with her, but Megan would stay in the dorm and read.

Well, on Saturday Sarah was a hit. Being the star, she was detained after the play, and got home really late. As she

entered, she heard her roommate's rocking chair squeaking in the corner, but couldn't see it, not all the lights were

on. Must be waiting for me, Sarah thought. Putting her stuff away, she went back into the main room.

From the corner came a voice. It sounded rather husky, but that wasn't what agitated Sarah.

"Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me..." came the voice.

"Stop it Megan! Don't give me that crap, okay?" said Sarah.

"Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me..."

"Stop it! I mean it, Meg!"

"Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me..."

"Stop!!!!! That's it!!!!" Sarah screamed as she flicked on the room's lights.

Sarah gawked in horror at the sight. Her roommate's body was in the rocking chair, but her head wasn't, her headwas on the wall, kept there by a butcher knife. From behind the rocking chair she could hear laughter maniacal

laughter.

"Who's there? Who are you????"

From behind the rocking chair jumped a man, later found out to be the butcher that escaped from the sanitarium in

the next town. All the time he was cutting Sarah, he was singing, over and over, "Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for

me... I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee."

Pinning Sarah to the wall next to her roommate's head, he screamed, "Now, Susannah, don't you cry for me!!!!"

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The Scary Short Story