my wife Laura and I moved to Hayden field in late May of this year neither of us Knew Too Much about the town before we moved in Laura was a traveling nurse and decided it was finally time to settle down at an actual clinic and get more sustainable hours hiddenfield just happened to be the closest town and had the most affordable houses near her Clinic as for me I just create mockups of websites for different companies all of my work is done wherever my computer is so I really didn't mind moving wherever Laura felt happiest
with so when Laura told me about hiddenfield I was just as excited as she was the whole town basically consisted of a small subdivision with a connected cuac the only other building being a small family-owned department store down the road it was a retirement town with the average age being well into their late 60s and 70s it was quiet old and secluded surrounded by a beautifully dense Woodland it was perfect for just the two of us our house was a two-story Continental nestled right into the center of the main cisac it had a bit of
age to its design but it was well kept and maintain besides it was a cheap buy too the previous owner had passed away from natural causes a few months prior her name was Nancy she made it to 73 the inhome death didn't bother us very much seeing death was part of Laura's occupation and for me I guess the thought of death never really bothered me that much our movein dates was a pretty standard affair our whole previous life had fit into a midsize storage van we started unpacking our belongings from the van sometime in the
early afternoon that day it wasn't until the late evening that we had all the boxes inside our new home to see all of our Lives possessions laying on the floor and not even filling up a single empty living room left us feeling a bit odd I'd like to say it was the feeling of Hope and excitement ment for having a new start but in reality it was that sense of feeling you'd get when you realize that all of your worldly possessions really meant nothing when properly laid out yet instead of dealing with that forboding sense
of dread it's easier to just collect more clutter to pretend your life has more substance than it actually does that's what we both agreed on anyway once the unpacking was finished we kicked back on our tiny little sofa we were on a little island of boxes in an otherwise empty living room we didn't have too much to say to each other that night the long day of shepherding boxes from one place to another left us both exhausted it was right about that time when we'd finally closed our eyes that we heard a knock on the
door it took me a few seconds but I forced myself up I could feel my back crack just under my skin at every little movement I knew I'd be sore for a while but I still pressed on to my front door I unlocked the dead bolt and pulled open the thick wooden frame hello neighbor a voice had filtered out towards me it was an aged voice with the consistency of sandpaper my eyes locked with the Gaze of my visitor it was just an elderly old man his face was weathered with deep canyons and valleys of
wrinkles Deep Shadows of the Setting Sun cast his face in Black Silhouettes that displayed The Contours of his age he wore an ebony black wi brimmed hat with a dark Overcoat that hung over his slender shoulders ERS he smiled with all of the effort it took for a man who'd already hit that venerable old age of carelessness hey sorry we just moved in I replied I don't think we've met yet is there anything I can do for you I asked the senior he just shook his head in steady dismissal no no nothing like that I
just wanted to give you a proper welcome to hiddenfield the name's John Clark I'm the block president here he extended one of his lanky hands towards me I took his hand in mine and shook it his skin felt like tanned leather but his grip was strong well thanks for the welcome sorry we didn't have time to meet with the neighbors yet we've had a pretty busy day Jon tightened his lips and nodded in understanding nonsense we should be apologizing to you have we've been younger we'd have helped you out with those boxes I think those
times are long past us now though John gave a half-hearted chuckle listen we pride ourselves in this town for our Hospitality if you ever need anything at all please don't hesitate to ask my wife Mary and I love love having company and we live in that blue house right next door I gave a small tired smile back to the old man thanks John I'll pass that on to my wife good tell you the truth none of us even lock our doors at night I promise you if you need anything at all just walk right in
his smile faltered with just a twitch at the end of his words his eyes focused deep into mine well I appreciate that offer I promise we'll Knock first though I gave a half-hearted laugh the old man's expression didn't change whatever makes you feel more comfortable here just remember always keep Hospitality first around here we're all guests within each other's homes he squeezed my hand tightly making me realize that he'd never let go of me in the first place be safe his leathery hand tightened over mine one last time before he let go the old man
dipped his chin slightly in a small bow of respect his wide brim hat dipping below his eyes and casting his face into total darkness our doors are open for you Gregory at any time no matter the hour and with that John swung around and turned back towards my driveway his black overcoat billowed off of his small Fray with beautiful Grace I squinted my eyes towards him trying to find the words of the strange feeling I had over the situation something about that interaction had given me a terribly uncomfortable feeling I couldn't place my finger on
it though I slowly shut the door and locked the dead bolts behind the old man I shook off the nerves that tumbled down my spine and returned back to the barren living room of my new home Laura had found herself laying half asleep on the couch her body sprawled across the cushions who was that her small voice murmured out towards me a neighbor his name's John he lives in that blue house right next to ours with his wife Laura Twisted her body and stretched out on the empty couch yawning her voice pushed past her inhale
oh was he nice she asked through her tired tone yeah he just seems a little strange I paused for a moment judging how much space was left on the couch past Laura's small frame hey let's head upstairs before we both pass out down here otherwise one of us is going to end up sleeping on the floor Laura laughed before pushing herself up we both went upstairs to our unfurnished bedroom the only thing we'd set up was a queen siiz box spring with a matching mattress that lay on top of it the box spring had found
itself laying haphazardly on the hardwood of our floor we ended up both sluggishly making our usual nest of pillows and blankets before long we were both blacked out for the night it wasn't until a few hours later I felt a pressure on my chest that was shaking me awake I looked over to the small silhouette of Laura next to me the Silvery moonlights from my window casting an aeal light over her figure Greg wake up Laura's voice sounded panicked and subdued I could hear how terrified she was even underneath her hushed tone what what's going
on I replied my hand had tried to wipe away the sleep from my eyes my body still felt exhausted from the physical labor we just finished I heard the downstairs stairs door slam shut I think someone broke in I looked at Laura and held my breath I was trying to hear if anything else in our home was making noise all I could hear was the throbbing of my own heart the rest of the house was dead quiet there hadn't been a single Creek of the floorboards I'll go check it out I whispered over to Laura
she let go of my chest and I lurched myself upwards I wished I had a gun or a bat or anything I could have used to defend myself with but I had nothing more than the mattress on the floor but I swallowed that feeling and pressed on I slowly opened up my bedroom door and crept downstairs nearly every step I took sent a loud Creek that echoed its way throughout the empty house I kept telling myself that nothing could be inside our home and be this Silent not unless it was standing completely still I entered
our moonlit living room and flipped on the lights nothing I pressed forward into the kitchen and did the same thing nothing finally the foyer still nothing I looked over to the front door and saw the deadbolt latch still flips towards the locked position I felt my body relax my shoulders slumping down in relief I took a deep breath and wandered back up into our bedroom there's no one down there the door still locked Laura just stared at me for a moment I know what I heard Greg someone slammed that door shut I could see the
absolute resolve in Laura's eyes I knew that she fully believed in what she'd heard listen I don't know everything's locked up tight down there no one's getting in without breaking down that door I laid back down on the mattress next to my wife she just stared towards our bedroom door as if she expected something to break right through it both of our physical fatigues ended up hitting their limits a few moments later and we found ourselves asleep once again but the same surprise came again and again night after night Laura would wake me up sometime
after 2: a.m. and tell me that she heard our front door slammed shut I'd head downstairs see nothing and check the lock to find everything in order it wasn't until the evening of the fourth night well after we'd finished moving in that I made a disturbing Discovery with our door the lock didn't actually work the dead bolts didn't transition over no matter how hard you twisted the locking mechanism the door had been unlocked every single night since we'd first moved in I was at a Crossroads I could break the news to Laura and have her
lose even more sleep than she'd already lost or just make the decision to handle things myself and buy a new Bolt from the Department Store in the morning so I did what I thought was best I told Laura that I'd sleep on the couch that night and keep an eye on the door I didn't tell her about the broken lock she went upstairs to our bedroom while I laid down on our couch I decided to grab a kitchen knife for protection just in case I stole the largest one I could find from our knife set
it was about the deadliest thing I could think of I positioned our couch so it faced our foyer my vision was dead set on our front door for the first few hours I did my best to keep my eyes open that night but a few hours in and they felt heavy my mind had found itself halfway to Dreamland and halfway to reality so when I watched the dimly lit front door in front of me slowly crack its way open I couldn't muster up the energy to move even when my brain had begun to scream at
me to do something my body was paralyzed I could only watch as the brass handle of the door slowly unlatched itself and the thick wooden door creaked its way open the darkness from outside had spilled forward the Shadows cast an uncanny black shade throughout the foyer despite my best efforts I couldn't make out a single figure in the emptiness of the Void outside but I could see one thing I could see an arm that had extended its lanky fingers around the exterior of our door knob it was gangly with a pale red Hue that seemed
unnaturally colored spindles of black and veins intertwined themselves with knots of tumorlike growths all along its skin the arm was so thin it could be mistaken for a discarded tree branch yet the thing's arm was impossibly long for its slender and atrophied frame the forearm alone had to have been at least four or 5 ft in length its upper arm was even more so the limbs stretched deep into the darkness of the night outside I couldn't even see the shoulder that the stick like appendage should have been connected to the entirety of the creature's body
was completely cloaked in the shadows from outside meanwhile I watched helplessly as the door creaked its way more and more open the door had nearly reached the limits of its hinges before it paused a few seconds passed before the fingers of the creature had tightened around the brass door handle with a single tug the door flew back backwards the full force of the wood slammed shut with such an impact that the intensity of it alone shook the house I finally snapped out of my paralysis my heart was racing and I could feel a cold sweat
pour down my forehead I heard my bedroom door bang open and the thudding of my wife's feet Sprint downstairs towards me Greg she yelled out as soon as she saw me I looked at her and knew immediately that she could see the expression on my face the absolutely petrified expression Greg what happened did you see anything I couldn't formulate the words out of my mouth I just nodded we stayed up the whole night with each other as soon as the department store open I made the drive over funnily enough the local store didn't sell any
type of door lock but ever determined I drove out the extra hour to a chain store and got exactly what I needed by the early afternoon I was taking off my old deadbolt and affixing on the new one my tired mind was barely able to comprehend the task I was doing hello neighbor a raspy voice had called out from behind me I turned towards the blistering sun and saw the outline of John wearing his wide brim hat right behind me what are you doing I sighed and continued on I'm fixing up our locks I just
noticed last night that they weren't working I pushed my fingertips against my eyelids and tried to force some of my exhaustion out I wouldn't worry about that none of us ever lock up our doors John continued to stare down at me I couldn't make out his expression through the blinding light that back lit his slender figure yeah well I'd just feel safer if I did I muttered to myself I grabbed the new lock and placed it into the now empty hole of the front door you won't be the hospitality of an open door policy is
what keeps this neighborhood safe always has been ever since I was a kid a lot of people had to get hurt to realize that a silence invelop us as I continued about my task Gregory if you finish what you're doing you're going to get yourself and your wife hurt now I can't say much more than that but you need to trust in your neighbors I scoffed under my breath before I turned towards John I created a visor for my eyes using my hands the makeshift Shane helped me see the Dow expression on my neighbor's face
listen John I get it you're a close Community here but we've been having issues with our front door opening since we got here that's stopping tonight Jon slowly shook his head in disappointment I can't compel someone to have good manners compelled hospitality is no Hospitality on behalf of the apart I felt my brow Furrow as I looked closer at Jon's face I felt a kinship of understanding between us I felt like he knew more than he was letting on what's going on here I whispered up to the old man it's Unbecoming to talk about someone
behind their back he paused Mary's making a pie for you tonight I'll leave it on your doorstep don't eat it it's for your guests tonight John took a deep breath and muttered I hope it'll be enough under his breath the old man swung his back towards me and began to walk back towards his house I ignored him and fixed up the door I made sure it was locked up tight as soon as I was finished sure enough just a few hours after Laura had returned home we had a knock on our door I opened it
and discovered a large steaming fresh cherry pie it had found its home resting Upon Our stoop a small card lay near it it read for the guests of Gregory and Laura Adams from the neighborhood of Hayden field we apologize for for making you feel unwelcome tonight please accept our deepest apologies very respectfully the Clarks PS Gregory a proper dessert should always be set out on your kitchen table in case any guests make an unexpected visit may you have room on your dining room table to place this in case that may happen God bless yes John
Laura and I both gave each other a strange glance what's that all about she asked flipping the card around in her hand no idea I replied examining the pie in my hands the aroma wafted over our home in the most Pleasant of ways should we have a slice Laura leaned down and smelled the tart Cherry scent that had emanated from the juices inside I pulled it away from her something in me told me that Jon knew something that we didn't I had no idea what was going on but I knew what the cards said and
I knew what I'd seen the night before let's just leave it on the table tonight we can double check with the neighbors tomorrow just to make sure they actually made it otherwise I don't know if we can trust it you know I tried my best to explain it away but Laura gave me a skeptical look thankfully she just Shrugged it off I placed the card in the pie right on the center of the dining room table and headed upstairs Laura managed to fall asleep before I did that night I felt my eyes stare deep holes
in to my eyelids no sense of drowsiness had washed over me I could only think of that strange spindly arm that I'd seen the prior night like clockwork just after 2: a.m. I heard a jingle come from my downstairs foyer the door knob was shaking it was slow at first but then got more frantic I gripped onto to my bed covers and prayed that the lock would keep whatever that thing was away but as the door handle jiggled more and more fiercely that prayer fell away I could hear the door begin thudding in its own
frame as something lurched against it at this point Laura must have heard it as well she shot up in bed and looked over at me break what the hell is that something began crashing against the door A Chorus of strange voices began screaming from outside the house their Harmony created an ethereal Echo that filled every inch of our home I glanced over to the window and saw several spider-like hands pressed against the glass their skin was the same Twisted red Hue that I'd seen the night before their niled fingertips had pressed so tightly against the
glass they had begun to crack under their grip the same crackling noise had filled our entire home as every window in the house had simultaneously begun to experience the same fate Laura's eyes fixated themselves on the gangly hands outside tears welled up in her eyes as her voice faltered and fell away into a low whimper I didn't know what to do so I reached over and pulled her tight against my chest don't look at them I whispered to her over and over again I wasn't sure if I was speaking to her or to myself I
heard the front door Splinter open under the weight of something incredibly massive a tremendous Tundra of thudding and thumping had filled the lower floor soon to follow was the sound of every window in the house shattering open one by one I squinted my eyes open for just a moment to see the bedroom window crack and explode into shards of glass broken slivers had flown their way towards me and my wife we both closed our eyes to Shield ourselves the hands from outside had begun to stretch their way into our home they seemed to Lurch their
way in our direction as if they could see us I closed my eyes again and began praying the thudding from downstairs had found its way into our kitchen the sounds of cabinets clattered open and shut the Symphony of voices floated their way into the halls I was left waiting for the feeling of those lanky hands to wrap over me I Was preparing myself to be dragged out of my home at any moment to feel them pull me right through the broken glass-filled window and into the mouth of whatever those arms were connected to but in
instead I was greeted by silence the banging had stopped all of the noises had stopped I could hear Laura crying in my arms but that was it I opened my eyes and saw nothing more than the shattered window of my bedroom greeting me I quickly picked up a large piece of glass and wrapped it in one of my socks before getting up to my feet room by room I cleared every window in our home was broken every single one I got to our front door and saw its frame completely knocked off its hinges broken splinters
of wood lay scattered across the hardwood floor yet the thing that got me the most was that the pie was gone we stopped stopped locking up our doors after that night now we're always prepared to entertain any guests that might show up no matter the time for more terrifying creepy Pastor horror stories check out the playlist or the video on screen
