I can't wait because mine and Carman caren's new book freaky folklore terrifying tales of the world's most elusive monsters and enigmatic Cryptids is coming July 16th featuring the history and lore of terrifying folklore creatures from across the globe alongside some cool and creepy illustrations pre-order today on Amazon Barnes & Noble or your favorite bookstore or go to Eerie cast.com sreak the next 1,000 verified pre-orders will get a freaky folklore decal and a 3 month subscription code to Eerie cast plus and all entrance will get a free pdf sneak peek of the freaky folklore book to
verify and for more info go to Eerie cast.com sreak send your scariest workplace stories to us at ec.com slss submit and rate and review Tales from the breakroom on Spotify and apple podcasts thanks who would win 40 tons of metal tired middle-aged men and Little Debbie snack cakes or one big furry boy personally my money's on the oatmeal cream Pi is on a deadline but that might be because I'm always hungry love me some oatmeal cream pies speaking of snacks I hope you've prepared some because it's my break time and I've got a load of
new scary work stories for You featuring a trucker's disturbing sightings during a night drive and a mailman's most terrifying experience enjoy the these are tals from the break room it's stalks the roads from Mario s I've been a trucker for over 15 years hauling Freight across Europe from the bustling ports of roddam to the icy roads of Scandinavia I've seen just about everything there is to see on the road but nothing could have prepared me for what I encountered last winter on a remote stretch of highway in Eastern Europe I still get chills thinking about
it it was late November I had just picked up a load in Poland destined for Romania the route took me through some of the most isolated and rugged terrain I'd ever driven thick forests flanked the highway and the winter weather made the drive even more treacherous snow was falling steadily covering the road and slick icy layer that made every turn a potential disaster I had to be extra cautious which meant keeping my speed low and my eyes peeled the sun set early by 5:00 p.m. it was already pitch dark the headlights of my truck were
the only source of light casting Long Shadows across the snow covered Road I kept the radio on to drown out the Eerie silence but the old timey songs only added to the unsettling atmosphere I'd been driving for hours and I was starting to feel the strain my eyes were tired my back was hurting and I was really craving a hot meal and a nice cozy bed the next truck stop was still a good 2 hours away but I knew I had to push through stopping on the side of the road in these conditions was not
an option as I rounded a particularly sharp Bend something dark Ed across the road in front of me I slammed on the brakes the truck skidding slightly on the icy surface my heart pounded in my chest as I tried to make sense of what I saw it was too fast to be a deer too large to be a fox whatever it was it had moved with an unnatural speed I sat there for a moment my breath fogging up the windshield the snow continued to fall and the night was eerily silent once more I shook my
head chalking it up to exhaustion and I continued down the road I'll be it a bit more cautiously about an hour later I saw the lights of a small village up ahead relieved I decided to pull over to take a short break maybe I could grab a coffee and clear my head I found a spot on the outskirts of the village parked my truck and stepped out into the freezing night air The Village was quiet but considering the weather outside I don't blame everyone for staying inside I walked over to the small Cafe that was
still open felt like a moth being drawn to those warm lights as I entered the Bell above the door jingled and the woman behind the counter looked up offering a polite smile coffee please I said my voice sounding tired even to my own ears she nodded and went to work the sound of the coffee machine filling the silence I glanced around the cafe it was empty save for an old man sitting in the corner nursing a cup of tea he looked up at me eyes narrowing as if he was trying to place me you're not
from around here he said voice Gruff but not unfriendly just passing through I replied taking a seat at the counter the woman brought my coffee and I took a grateful sip the war spreading through my body be careful on these roads the old man continued especially at night I nodded not wanting to engage in a lengthy conversation I was much too tired for small talk he glanced around as if making sure no one else was listening there are legends around here by the way stories of things that live in the forest most people dismiss them
as myths but I've seen things with my own eyes a shiver ran down my spine reminded me of what I thought I saw on the road like what I asked he leaned in closer there's talk of a certain animal a beast looks like a wolf some say it's something worse I laughed nervously you're trying to scare me he shook his head believe what you want but don't say I didn't warn you I finished my coffee paid and left the cafe the old man's words echoed in my head as I walked back into the truck I
couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched I quickened my Pace eager to get back on the road the snow had stopped falling but the sky was still overcast blocking out the moon and stars I climbed into the cab started the engine and continued my journey The Village quickly disappeared in my rear view replaced by the dark about an hour later I saw something ahead of me on the road at first I thought it was an animal maybe a deer but as I got closer I realized it was on two legs my heart pounded
in my my chest and I slowed down trying to make out what it was it turned to look at me and I saw its eyes glowing a menacing yellow Panic surged through me I hit the gas swerving to avoid the thing it moved with astonishing speed darting into the trees I kept driving my hands gripping the wheels so tightly my Knuckles turned white I didn't stop until I reached the truck stop my nerves on edge the entire way I parked the truck and sat there for a moment trying to calm down my mind was Reeling
I was replaying in my head everything that I'd seen it couldn't have been real I told myself you're just tired your imagination's running wild but deep down I knew it was real the old man's warning echoed in my head and I could not shake the feeling that I had encoun Ed something that just wasn't right at some point I stopped in a small village finding myself at yet another Cafe the place was a bit more bustling than the prior other Travelers eating and chatting I found an empty table and ordered some food trying to distract
myself from the unsettling experience as I ate I overheard a conversation between two men at the table next to mine they were disc discussing strange sightings on the road stories of weird animals and unexplained disappearances my ears perked up I listened closely yeah I heard about that one of them said A buddy of mine saw something out near the Polish border said it looked like a giant wolf but on two legs the other trucker nodded same here saw something like that myself a few months back thought I was losing my mind I had to speak
up then excuse me pardon me you really believe that they looked at me expression serious after what I've seen I don't know what to believe one said but there's definitely something out there we exchanged stories each one more chilling than the last by the time I finished my meal I felt a strange of camaraderie I wasn't alone in this others had seen the same things I had I spent the night at a nearby rest stop too afraid to continue my journey until daylight the following morning I set off again the memory of the previous night
still fresh in my head the Sun was shining bright the snow was starting to melt a bit but I was nowhere near close to shaking that feeling of eeriness from the night before as I drove through the forested landscape I kept my eyes on the road scanning for any signs of something strange that might dart out of nowhere my grandparents owned a convenience store from Cricut girl 20 my grandparents Carl Jr no relation to the fast food joint and Betty owned a convenience store on High way 66 back in the 1970s my uncles worked there
and my mom helped around there when she was a little girl they made a lot of money back then until the company oot came in and made them leave at least that's what my grandpa said before that though they had a lot of experiences creepy ones with people ghosts and even animals these are a few of those experiences I don't really remember what order they happened in but they're going to be from the point of view of who told the story some of the people in the story will be referred to by the first letter
of their first name this first story is from my mom's point of view I was either 6 or 7 years old at the time must have been either 1976 or 77 it was just me and your Uncle M in the store M was in his late teens early 20s and he was bending down by the chips display stalking the chips with the way the display was positioned you couldn't see him when you walked in you had to go around it to see him I was sitting on a chair by the counter when this older man
walked into the store I'd say he was in his late 30s maybe early 40s he walked right up to me and asked how you doing today pretty thing in a country accent I shyly replied I I good the man looked around the store then back to me and said you got some chocolate on the side of your face why don't you come outside and I'll W it off for you while Uncle M heard this he stood up real fast and said what did you say to my sister the man obviously startled jumped and SED just
going to take her outside and wipe the chocolate off her face IM said what you're going to do is leave there's no chocolate on her face get out of here the man walked out and we never saw him again a few minutes later the cops stopped by they walked up to M and asked him have you seen this man they described him and him said yeah that was the guy that was here a few minutes back trying to get my sister to come outside to wipe some non-existent chocolate off her face the cops told him
to call if they saw him again and reported all this to our parents and our mama hugged me years later me my mom and my brother were watching a show called the world's most evil killers and when they got to a man named Rodney alkala my mom said that looks like him that guy who tried to take me I can't be sure but it looks like him the topic never came up again this next story was told to my grandma by my uncles Jay and T and I'll write it out how she told it to
me one day it was just Jay and T at the store with our dog lady a small bird dog Jay and T were sitting on the counter snacking on some chips and soda with Lady lying on the floor suddenly lady lifted her head and looked towards the candy aisle before they could ask her what was wrong a chocolate bar fell off the shelf by itself te jumped off the counter to see if a mouse or anything caused it to fall but he couldn't find anything so he picked it up and put it back where it
was when he turned around a loud crash came from the storage room that's when lady went crazy barking and snarling hair standing on end Jay and T went to the storage room room and found a crate toppled over they searched every inch of it but found nothing they were puzzled cuz no one came in through the front door and the door in the storage room that led outside was locked from the inside it could only be unlocked from the outside with the key they came to the conclusion that it had to be a ghost nothing
else happened that day but it definitely spooked them this next story is from my grandma herself I was stalking empty crates on side in the back when I felt I was being watched the feeling was intense so I turned around and saw this huge dog it looked like a Mastiff I was frozen had goosebumps even too scared to move the dog started to grow and was slowly moving closer to me I was waiting for the dog to attack but as soon as it took another step your grandpa came out with a baseball bat and swung
at the dog yelling scram mut the dog ran off through the woods we knew there were houses on the other side of those woods so we figured it belonged to someone I'd never been that scared of a dog before this last story came from my grandpa I was at the store alone with lady I was sitting on a chair in front front of the store with lady at my feet a man in a pickup truck pulled up next to a gas pump his truck was an old Ford with the paint peeling off now you'd think
since I was a retired Air Force captain that I wouldn't scare so easily but I got real bad vibes from him he waved me over so I walked over to him with Lady glued to my side he asked me if I could pump some gas I agreed and did so until his tank was full I told him the price he handed me the payment and as I'm taking the money he grabbed me right by the throat as soon as he did this I yanked away and Lady sank her teeth into his ankle the man screamed
trying to shake lady off but her teeth were dug in deep I tackled the man to the ground making sure not to hurt lady just then a police officer that make stops at the store pretty often pulled in seeing the struggle and was able to help me hold the man tight enough to put handcuffs on them I had to pry lady's jaw open with my hands I picked her up and ran on inside after giving a police report they hauled the man away and I closed up the store for the day right after that I
stopped by a burger joint bought lady a cheeseburger and some fries after that day lady stayed by my grandpa's side till the day she passed he was forever grateful for that little dog the route of death from weak mental the story I'm about to share with you happened to me during the summer of last year you see I'm currently working as a cargo officer for the company which I will call Sea transfers my company has the task of Distributing various Goods across Harbors in Europe the container ERS on these ships are usually filled with different
ores raw materials oil scrap metals diesel petrol and so on my job as a cargo officer is to ensure that cargo shipments are handled and stored according to strict rules that ensure the safety of the cargo and the workers on the ship I also manage all cargo documentation which I personally hand over to the administrator working in the harbor we dock in the administration is the most boring part of the job but on the bright side I get to see the world while sailing with my crew besides the sea calms my mind and I can
handle the documentation in peace Among Us workers at Sea transfers there is one route that everybody avoids we call that route the route of death obviously you're wondering why it got a name like that well you you see ships on that particular route sail through the Bermuda Triangle until the events of this story i' had never been assigned that route but many of my close colleagues had some of which came back traumatized saying they saw some weird things during their Journeys one colleague even ended up in a mental hospital because he got traumatized by some
well creature which he claimed to have seen on the ship deck personally I never believed in such stories you know planes and ships disappearing while crossing the Bermuda Triangle people seeing ghosts and other creatures I'm more of a man of logic or so I thought but my belief soon proved to be wrong the series of events I'm going to tell you about in this story made me a Believer it was a bright and clear morning when I received the assignment my captain handed me the rounde map and I immediately recognized it my heart sank and
I started to breathe fast as I saw the bold red line cutting through the Bermuda Triangle I looked up at the captain hoping it was some kind of a joke but his Stern expression told me otherwise you're taking route B17 which was codenamed the route of death I know what you're thinking but we are short on experienced officers and you're the best we've got he said not giving me a chance to protest you'll have a seasoned crew with you and I expect you to handle it professionally reluctantly I nodded and took the papers there was
no point in arguing the company had made up its mind and I had to do my duty over the next few days I prepared for the journey and uring that all cargo was properly documented and stored the crew members were quiet and I could see the fear in their eyes they knew the stories too we set sail from Lisbon the weather was fine and the sea was calm as we sailed further from the coast the mood on the ship grew tense the crew went about their tasks but there was a strong sense of unease I
tried to keep busy with my duties checking and rechecking the cargo and the paperwork but the threat of the Bermuda Triangle was always at the back of my mind the first two days were uneventful the sea was calm and the weather was perfect we had a good time and I began to think that maybe these stories were just that as the sun eased down just before the third night little did I know this would be a night I remembered for the rest of my night because on that night everything changed around 8:00 p.m. I was
in my cabin going over some documents when I heard a strange noise outside it was a low rumbling sound unlike anything I'd ever heard before I put down my papers and went to investigate as I stepped onto the deck I noticed that the sea had become eerily calm the usual sounds of the ocean were absent replaced by this unsettling silence I looked around the crew had gathered near the edge of the deck staring out over the water I walked on over to join them uh what's going on I asked a sailor we called Blitz he
shook his head eyes wide with fear I don't know sir we heard this noise and then nothing it was like the sea itself just stopped suddenly the ship shuttered and a deep resonant sound echoed through the air it was like something enormous was moving below us the crew exchanged worried glances and I felt a nod of fear tighten in my stomach everyone stay alert stick to your posts I ordered I was trying to sound more confident than I actually felt the night passed on slowly with the crew on edge and the strange noises continuing intermittently
over the next hour or so the sea had returned to its normal state but the sense of unease remained we pressed on but the atmosphere of that ship was tense the crew whispered amongst themselves sharing stories of past voyages and unexplained occurrences a way to reassure themselves because if they survived one unexplained thing they would survive another around 11:00 p.m. we encountered a thick fog visibility dropped to almost nothing and we had to slow our speed to avoid any potential hazards the fog was unlike anything I'd seen before it seemed like it stuck to the
ship and the air grew cold and damp as we navigated through the fog those strange noises returned louder and more frequent this time it was was as if something was out there just beyond our sight and it was watching I stayed on the bridge with the captain monitoring our instruments and trying to keep the ship on course you could feel tension in the air and even the captain a man with Decades of experience looked uneasy around midnight the fog began to clear revealing a calm moonlit sea we all breathed a sigh of relief thinking that
the worst was over but then one of the crew members a young sailor named Marco let out a terrified scream we rushed to his side but it was too late when we arrived at his location where we thought his location was Marco was gone all we saw was a massive dark shape moving just beneath the surface of the water it was enormous easily the size of our ship and it glided through the water the creature whatever it was disappeared almost at the same time as Marco leaving us all shaken with a certain implication after that
morale was dangerously low I started to blame myself Marco had had his whole life ahead of him if I had only reached him in time maybe things could have changed many crew members wanted to turn back sail back to Lisbon but it was too late for that we were too far from Lisbon and the return trip just wasn't worth it our best bet was to reach our destination hoping we could make it but the strangeness only continued we began hearing whispers during the night seeing fleeting Shadows on the deck feeling a kind of oppressive presence
that seemed to follow us the crew became increasingly paranoid and several of them reported seeing figures on the ship Phantoms if you will I tried to keep everyone focused on their duties but it was clear fear was taking its toll that night at about 1700 hours things reached a breaking point we were once again enveloped in a thick fog and the strange noises were louder than ever I was in my cabin unable to sleep so I was trying to make sense of the latest cargo reports when I heard a commotion on Deck I grabbed my
flashlight and hurried outside what I saw chilled me to the Bone the crew had gathered in a tight Circle their faces pale Their Eyes Wide in the center of the circle was Marco I and the crew were shocked how was he back how had he survived going overboard possibly with some creature as I was looking at Margo I noticed he looked different his usual smile was gone he was pale and his eyes they looked sess his whole body was scratched all over it looked like someone or something had been torturing him he looked more like
a ghost than himself I slowly walked closer to him asking him if he was okay suddenly Marco lunged at one of the nearby Sailors the man screamed and tried to run but Marco was much faster than we expected he grabbed him I saw him lift this man off the ground the Sailor struggled with all his might but it was no use Marco let out a deafening roar like he was possessed by a demon and threw that sailor into the sea no I shouted rushing forward Marco turned to face me his eyes burning with hatred I
grabbed a metal pipe that was nearby I began to swing it at Marco and I managed to clock him in the head knocking him out some of the others helped to tie him up we put him in his room where we locked him there another group of sailors were able to rescue the man who had been thrown in the water soon after that our ship managed to sail out of that foggy area finally sunlight made its way to us as the new day started what in the world happened one of the crew members asked me
I don't know I replied struggling to find my own voice but I think we need to get out of here as quickly as we can we kept a close ey on Marco and shift trying to make him speak to us again trying to make him less aggressive but he did not want to calm down the rest of the journey was quite tense but we encountered no more strange occurrences when we finally docked we were all relieved to be on Solid Ground again I handed over the cargo documents to the harbor administrator my hands trembling from
the encounter I tried to explain what happened but I could see the skepticism in the administrator's eyes he nodded politely but it was clear he didn't believe me exhausted I went through the motions of completing my duties the crew dispersed quickly each man eager to put distance between himself and the ship I couldn't blame them I too wanted nothing more than to forget the horrors we had experienced Marco was taken to the doctor for an exam but he couldn't explain it his best guess was that C made Marco crazy yeah right I thought to myself
over the next few weeks I tried to rationalize what had happened I talked to other Sailors read up everything I could about the Bermuda Triangle even visited a few experts some listened with interest others dismissed my story as some hallucination or a trick of my mind but deep down I knew what I had seen was real because my dreams reminded me I kept hearing Marco scream almost every time I closed my eyes eventually I did return to work but things were never quite the same the sea which once brought me peace now fills me with
a sense of dread I avoided the route of death and any mention of the Bermuda Triangle my colleagues those who knew the truth treated me with a mix of respect and pity they'd seen the fear in my eyes they knew that something terrible had happened out there and perhaps they felt lucky that it hadn't been them as for the company they quietly reassigned me to less perilous routes perhaps recognizing that I'd been through something traumatic I never saw Marco again heard he was taken into some kind of Ward if you're listening to this just keep
in mind the sea still holds many secrets secrets that are probably better left undisturbed warning the following story contains depictions of violence against pets Misfortune follows from Ali I work at a small local post office in the middle of Nevada it's a quiet Town hardly any crime happens here and when it does it's usually something Petty like spray painting a farmer's sheep or taking all the produce out of the small booths that line the roads I work as this town's reliable mailman there are usually eight of us on duty every day giving people their Parcels
packages junk mail personal mail and various online orders it tends to be a little tough sometimes most of the roads are still either dirt or gravel and a lot of the homes are out in acres of nowhere many of the homeowners have the mindset of leave the mail at the end of the driveway and get the heck out but others are endearing people who tell me to come in for a cold glass of tea or some sugary desserts that are likely to give me diabetes in my later years more often than not my job is
uninteresting sometimes however I find rather interesting things on my routes animals that act strangely likely due to disease unless you're one of those internet folks who swear it's AC crypted but I guess I can never truly know for sure at least I hope I won't have to know for sure there's also the odd behaviors of our community as well often times I see our Lively residents tending to their Farms Gardens or simply staring away into the bright afternoon Sky people are usually not aware of their own little quirks some might scratch open small wounds only
to lick the blood from either their arms or hands I swear when they do this their eyes tend to grow brighter more coherent but it could be the sun affecting me during those long days these days I tend to be rather solemn trying to just make it through the route and get back home to my cat Pedro and my Barky 60 lb lab Raven recently we've been receiving odd blue letters in the office no return address known name but the residents names and addresses are labeled clearly in a deep blue ink that was almost black
there were flower stamps and the envelope smelled slightly of vanilla and even though these letters were usually very odd we tried our best to deliver them to the residents thinking maybe several of them had a friend out of town or perhaps they got the same pin pal that year the summer was warm so far we were running everywhere with an influx of letters when I got my first letter address to Perry Street Perry Street was a small Street far out of the edges of town surrounded by Acres of farmland and woods I was familiar with
the resident there a sweet alter woman named Lorraine who always had snacks ready for whichever mailman arrived that day she was truly a town treasure I looked through my bag when I began walking up the long red dirt Road Blue envelope in hand I giddily made my way to rep porch I was kind of tired by then my day so far had been extremely long and I didn't know quite what I wanted to do the rest of the day after I got home but as I thought about it I made it to the sprawling Plantation
style home where there was a beautiful plate of mint chocolate chip cookies and a glass of ice water Lorraine sat on her porch swing quietly watching out on her acreage hello Miss lurine I was rather happy to see her doing so well after she'd been under the weather lately Holly my favorite mailman good to see you just leave the mail on the table I'll get it in a bit and don't forget to take a snack with you I'm sure you get quite busy these days she gave me a large smile setting my nerves at ease
I think I'll take you up on that I placed the blue envelope vope upon her table she stared at it a look Crossing her eyes unease or suspicion not sure which what is it I asked tucking some cookies into a Ziploc bag I carried around for such things she shook her head quietly looking at the envelope pensively just been seeing those a lot around here I nodded but gave a shrug I always assumed it was some pin pal people shared she smiled I don't have a pin pal but perhaps it's a relative I gave her
a smile back and began to walk off the porch possibly I got a few more deliveries so I'll see you tomorrow take care she waved and I went about the rest of my day making it home exhausted but safe I woke up the next morning to silence which was weird usually I had my animals demanding attention by then or neighbors bustling on down the road I got up and went about my business my animals followed me for a while before going back to bed when I arrived at the post office I noticed how somber everyone
looked what happened here a coworker I was rather fond of Samantha frowned and handed me a newspaper the front page snapped bed my attention mercilessly local sweetheart lurine Stewart dead at age 58 my heart sank I began to read the article she was discovered on her front porch with a letter in her hand she was found hanging from a beam on her porch at 11:47 p.m. last night police are asking for any leads in this case it remains open and will be investigated promptly according to local Sergeant gray I'm I put down the newspaper tears
and grief came first time I ugly cried since my mother passed in 2010 I deeply loved Lorraine she was a sweetheart made everyone's days much better there's been a lot of accidents lately Samantha looked down at the newspaper sadly Lorraine was the fourth in the last month I hope they can catch whoever would do this to such a beautiful soul I was bitter focusing on the details about the letter it was that blue one I delivered to her hours before she'd passed I gathered myself and grabbed my bag they keep happening when these letters arrive
huh supposed accidents Samantha pressed her lips together and thought before the color slowly drained from her face Misfortune I guess I shook my head I need to report this I think I should tell the police right now so they can get to the bottom of these letters I grabbed my keys and informed her I would be back I drove across the street to the police department the officers inside were already busy buzzing around the office answering phones going through piles upon piles of information I saw a rather upset man in the corner Lorraine's brother actually
Lieutenant Stewart so no wonder he was upset and he likely wasn't allowed to be part of the investigation due to his direct relation I went to the sergeant and relayed to him my information and while he looked skeptical at first he slowly began to seem invested in my suspicions well Alli we'll absolutely look into this all right we'll keep you posted if you come across more blue envelopes do not hesitate to come to us with them I gave a smile and promised to bring anything else to him spreading the word in the office to ensure
any and every blue envelope got back to the police I went about my routes still inexcusably inconsolable I was especially exhausted by the time I got home I checked my mailbox grabbing the mail that had been sitting there for the past 2 days I just wanted to get inside and SOB or sleep I was was caught with a cold Fierce dread when I saw the blue envelope mixed in with ads and bills I was horrified absolutely repulsed as I dropped the envelope and ran into my house happy to leave it outside and away from me
my animals were silent they didn't come to greet me as they usually did the air smelled strongly of iron too and as I searched my home I found the source of the smell in the bathroom specifically the bathtub I gagged nearly throwing up right there my pets were in the bathtub and they'd been slaughtered I went to call the police to this day they never did find who did this they don't know who's sending the blue envelopes and it haunts me every single day Hospitality from Sarah I work as a nurse at a small Hospital
in a quiet town in the midwest I've been working here for about 5 years now I've seen my fair share of weird things but I would have never expected something like this to happen to me it's like it's from a bad scary movie took me a while to write this down so please bear with me our Hospital isn't very big we have about 50 beds a small emergency room and a handful of departments I work the night shift in the ICU which is usually pretty calm the staff is like a second family to me there's
Jane the head nurse who's been there for over 20 years and Tom the young Doctor Who's always bringing us coffee during the long nights we all get along well and we share stories to pass the time one night in early December I was running a bit late it had been snowing all day and the roads were slick and dangerous I live about 20 minutes from the hospital so I had to drive carefully by the time I got to work I was about 10 minutes late I parked my car in the nearly empty lot and hurried
inside shaking off the cold as I went the night started off normal enough I did my rounds checking on patience and making sure everything was in order around midnight things started to get strange it was a quiet night in the ICU with only a few patients all of whom were stable I was sitting at the nurses station catching up on some paperwork when I heard a noise it sounded like a faint scratching coming from down the hallway at first I thought it might be a patient so I got up to check I walked down the
hallway the sound of my footsteps echoing Softly As I reached the end of the hall the scratching stopped I looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary so I Shrugged it off and went back to the nurses station an hour later I heard the noise again this time it was louder more insistent it sounded like it was coming from one of these storage rooms since those rooms were very badly lit I grabbed my flashlight and headed in that direction when I got to the door I hesitated for a moment before pushing it open
the room inside was pretty gloomy I shown the flashlight around but everything looked normal just shelves of medical supplies and equipment I was about to leave when I noticed something strange one of the shelves had been pushed away from the wall ever so slightly leaving a small Gap my heart started to raise I thought maybe an animal had somehow gotten inside and moved things around I went closer to the shelf and I looked at the small Gap but I couldn't see anything unusual I hurried back to the nurses station and called Tom he came over
immediately and I told him about the noises I heard he was just as puzzled as I was the rest of the night passed in a tense silence the next morning as I drove home I couldn't shake the feeling of dread what was causing those noises I hoped it was something simple but deep down I was afraid that something strange was happening at my hospital the next few days at work were tense Tom and I kept a close watch on the storage room but the scratching noises seemed to have stopped it was almost like whatever had
been causing the noises knew that we were paying attention now still the sense of unease lingered on the third night back after the initial incident I arrived at the hospital early I wanted to catch up with Jane and Tom to see if they'd heard anything new Jane told me that nothing unusual had happened since that night and Tom mentioned that a few of the night shift workers had been spooked by random noises but nothing concrete we tried to carry on as usual but there was a noticeable Edge to everyone's Behavior we were jumpy little noises
seemed to set us an edge around midnight things took another unsettling turn I was doing my rounds again and when I reached Mr Thompson's room I noticed something weird Mr Thompson was one of our long-term patients recovering from a major surgery he was usually a sound sleeper but that night he was wide awake staring at the ceiling with wide frightened eyes Mr Thompson is everything all right I asked stepping into the room he then looked at me face pale and voice shaky did you see him he whispered see who I asked my heart beginning to
pound the man he was in here he stood by my bed just staring at me I wanted to call for help but he put his finger to his lips and shushed me then he disappeared into the hallway I felt a chill run down my spine what did he look like Mr Thompson shook his head I don't know he was wearing a hood it was too dark to see his face I quickly checked the hallway but found nothing I reported the incident to Jane and Tom and we decided decided to search the hospital together we checked
every room every Corridor even the storage room but there was no sign of anyone who didn't belong there after our search Jane suggested we check the security footage we gathered in the security office and reviewed the tapes around the time Mr Thompson claimed to have seen the man we saw a shadowy figure in the hallway outside his room the figure did indeed appear to be wearing a hood and it moved quickly almost silently disturbingly enough it was impossible to figure out exactly where the figure had gone as the hospital didn't have enough cameras to cover
every Hall and corner so it felt like the figure just vanished Into Thin Air we decided now was as good a time as ever to call the police when they arrived they took our statements and reviewed the footage too they assured us they would invest investigate thoroughly and would increase their patrols around the hospital the next few nights were relatively quiet but the sense of unease never left every time I walked down the silent hallways or past the storage room I felt as if I was being watched we all did our best to stay together
looking out for each other but the tension was very palpable one night a week after the initial discovery I was working late again I had just finished checking on one of the patients when I heard a noise coming from the storage room it was a soft rhythmic tapping almost like someone was knocking on the wall my heart raced as I approached the room I opened up the door slowly flashlight in hand but like the first time the room seemed empty and yet the tapping continued I couldn't really make out from where it was coming exactly
don't ask me why but I called out hello anyone in here the tapping stopped suddenly replaced by an unsettling silence I shown the flashlight around the room once more half expecting to see someone this time but still it was empty I stepped back who was doing this where was the sound coming from why was it even happening I reported the incident to Jane and Tom and we decided to keep the storage room locked at all times from now on just to be on the safe side somehow that made us feel a little better even though
the Intruder had not been found yet at least we didn't have to worry about whatever was going on in that storage room nonetheless as I drove home that morning I could not shake the feeling that something terrible was was about to happen the hospital my second home had now become a place of fear and uncertainty I didn't know who was behind the strange occurrences but I did know one thing for sure until this Intruder was caught none of us were truly safe despite the increased police presence and our heightened vigilance the mysterious figure continued to
elude us the atmosphere at the hospital grew more tense with each passing day as more and more patients began to report sightings of a hooded man lurking in their rooms at night the whole thing was driving everyone crazy one particularly cold and snowy night I was working the graveyard shift again the hospital was early quiet with only the occasional beep from the monitors breaking the silence around 3:00 a.m. I decided to take a quick break grabbing a Cofe from the staff Lounge as I walked down the hallway I heard it again the same soft rhythmic
tapping that had haunted my thoughts for weeks it was louder this time coming directly from the dreaded storage room this time the door was slightly a jar I was surprised after all it was supposed to be locked now had someone been in there and forgotten to lock it back up I swallowed my fear and pushed it open my flashlights beam cutting through the Gloom the room looked the same as always but the tapping was louder than before echoing from the shelves where I looked the very first time this little inconspicuous Gap I saw the first
time popped into my head again and I decided to move the Shelf aside completely to take a look at it summoning every ounce of courage I stepped towards the heavy shelf and began to move it around it scratched on the floor and the tapping stopped suddenly it took me a little but I was shocked when I saw that behind the Shelf was not only a small Gap there was an entire hole that looked like the entrance to a tunnel to describe it a little bit better behind the wall was an in between space it was
just about hip high and you had to crawl I didn't dare look look inside on the flooor lay a small folded piece of paper placed neatly on the ground my hands trembled as I reached for it the note was simple written in shaky almost frantic handwriting help me I'm trapped I stared at the words my mind Reeling I quickly left the room to find Tom we called the police right away and locked up the storage room while we waited for the police to arrive we stood in front of the locked storage room door when they
got there they brought a team with them they entered the tunnel cautiously flashlights casting long Eerie shadows in the walls Tom Jane and I waited anxiously outside Minds filled with Dread minutes felt like hours but eventually the officers emerged their faces Grim they'd found a small hidden room at the end of the tunnel barely big enough for one person inside they discovered evidence that someone had been living in there scraps of food a tattered blanket and more notes all pleading for help the police continued their investigation and it didn't take long for them to identify
the person behind the tunnel looking at the notes they'd found it turned out to be one of the hospital's maintenance workers a a man named Gary he had gone missing a few months prior Gary had a history of mental health issues and it appeared he had created the tunnel and hidden away in the hospital driven by some delusion or fear it also explained why the Locking door had not kept out the Intruder and why people kept seeing this hooded figure Gary was found that night nearby wandering around in the basement disoriented and in poor health
he was taken into custody and later transferred to a mental health facility for treatment the discovery sent shock waves through our small Hospital the tunnel was sealed off and the extra security measures that were put in place were loosened but the scars remained the fear and uncertainty that had gripped us left a lasting impact I still work at the hospital but I can never quite shake the memory of those Creepy Nights at least the hospital had invested into more security cameras the sight of that dark tunnel and the sound of those desperate scratches haunt me
especially when I walk past that storage room I've learned to carry on now but every so often when the hospital is quiet and the night is at its darkest I can still hear the faint echo of tapping a chilling reminder of what had happened thanks for tuning in to Tales from the breakroom the home of the scariest true work stories if you want to hear your story narrated by me send it to me at ec.com sssubmit we pay 5 cents per word for accepted stories help us grow by leaving Tales from the breakroom a rating
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