[Music] [Music] a few years ago my parents and I moved to the maritimes they were retiring and I had just finished high school we settled in a tiny village with only about 20 people living there the house sits about 300 ft from the road surrounded by thick forest on three sides that same year I left for Ottawa to start school when Christmas break came I went back home to spend time with my parents I've always been a night owl staying up late but my parents don't like it they prefer an early bedtime and always tell me to go to sleep at a reasonable hour they kept telling me to wake up earlier because they hadn't seen me in months and I was sleeping through our time together that night I stayed up until sunrise hoping to fix my sleep schedule around 5:45 a. m. my dog woke up and came into my room she rested her head on my lap so I knew she wanted to go outside I went downstairs made myself a cup of tea and put on my coat that winter there was wasn't much snow but on this night it started snowing around 2:00 a.
m. I remember because when I went to the bathroom I saw the snow falling through the window and got excited now my dog usually runs out the door like crazy racing around the house at full speed but this time she didn't instead she lowered her nose to the ground sniffing the fresh snow she walked slowly moving care carefully as if she was following as scent I thought it was strange so I followed her that's when I saw the footprints in the snow my parents property has three buildings a two-door garage a workshop and the house the driveway connects all three and forms an l-shape only about 2 cm of snow had fallen just enough to show tracks I noticed a set of footprints coming from the forest near the bottom right corner of the L behind the house I was really curious so I decided to follow them the footprints came straight out of the forest and led behind my house stopping right at a window I stepped into them to see where they lined up and realized that whoever left them had been standing there looking inside the thought sent a chill through me after that the prince turned sharply making a perfect 90° angle and disappeared back into into the forest there were no other tracks no signs of them walking around the property just a straight path from the trees to the window and back again that's when I realized something disturbing the snow had started falling around 2:00 a. m.
which meant whoever left these Footprints had come after that if they had arrived earlier their tracks would have been covered by the snowfall between 2:00 a. m. and 5:45 a.
m. it's pretty dark outside so I had two thoughts either someone was walking through the woods in the middle of the night which is really weird or they had come up to the house just after Sunrise meaning within the last 40 minutes the idea of someone creeping around our house at that hour sent a shiver down my spine I didn't want to stand outside any longer I called my dog and we rushed back inside locking the door behind us I went straight to my dad and told him what I had seen he just Shrugged and said the footprints were his but that didn't make sense at all I had been awake all night and I knew for a fact he had been snoring the entire time nice try dad but that explanation didn't make me feel any better [Music] I stay in dorms on my college campus during winter break I returned a week early for Greek recruitment where I visited different sororities and talked to them since it was still break the campus was nearly empty the only people around were other girls going through recruitment there were no cleaning staff dining hall workers or even Ras the dining hall was closed so we had to find food elsewhere my roommate wasn't back since she wasn't part of the recruitment most students on my floor were exchange students and none of them had returned yet because of that my entire floor was empty and I was the only one staying there the dorms have four large towers each with 12 floors at night the building felt silent and strange the hallways were dark and I barely saw anyone when I walked around to enter the dorm this week you had to check in at the front desk to get your key reactivated every time you wanted to go up the staff had to swipe their card to let you pass after that you had to swipe your key to open the doors leading to the elevators and one more time to unlock your dorm room if your key wasn't set for a specific Tower or room you couldn't get inside on the second night I was in my room sitting on my futon with my back against the armrest facing the door the room was a long rectangle with a window on one end and the door on the other it was quiet and I had started to feel more settled in after being back for a couple of days my bed was raised high above me with a blanket hanging down from the side creating a sort of curtain behind my head because of that anyone standing in the doorway wouldn't be able to see me unless they stepped further inside the lights in my room were off and the only glow came from my laptop screen I had my headphones in switching between music videos lost in my own world then out of nowhere I heard the door open the dorm doors make a clear sound when a key card is used like Hotel doors I also still had Christmas ornaments hanging from the ceiling when I heard the door open I knew it had opened all the way because it hit an ornament knocking it off its hook I froze my roommate wasn't back yet and my ra wasn't there either they were the only two people who should have been able to enter my room my first thought was that whoever it was would realize their mistake and leave right away like when someone accidentally opens the wrong bathroom stall I waited expecting to hear the door close but instead I heard them step further into the room they took two slow steps and then I heard a soft thud as they bumped into my suitcase which was blocking part of the doorway my heart started pounding I knew I wasn't supposed to be alone in the building but no one should have been in my room I slowly shifted reaching for my phone trying not to make a sound but as I moved my futon let out a loud squeak the noise cut through the silence instantly the person froze then without a word I heard them Rush backward the door shut and their footsteps quickly faded away down the hall I stayed frozen in place for almost an hour too scared to move finally I built up the courage to turn around on the floor I saw the broken ornament that had fallen and my suitcase was slightly open my hand shook as I grabbed my phone and texted my roommate n ra hoping one of them had come back early but my roommate replied that she was still in London and my ra gave me the answer I feared she wasn't back yet either she also had no idea who could have gotten into my room even if the cleaning staff or maintenance workers were back they weren't allowed to enter dorm rooms and didn't have a way to get in there was no reason anyone should have been able to unlock my door my ra told me she would report it to the front desk and try to find out what happened she also suggested that it was probably a new spring admission student who had been given the wrong key by mistake maybe they didn't realize they were in the wrong room until they heard me move I wanted to believe that explanation it made sense they got confused walked in and then quickly left once they noticed someone was inside but that night I struggled to sleep even the next morning I felt too scared to turn and look at the door when night came again I couldn't relax I stayed up late too afraid to sleep and this time I kept my phone close ready in case something happened since my ornament had fallen and wasn't there anymore I taped a piece of string over the door I needed some way to check if someone entered or if my mind was just playing tricks on me just like before at 3:00 a. m.
I heard heavy footsteps outside my door then came the clear sound of a key card being used followed by the slow Creek of the door opening I stayed completely still my body body tense barely even breathing my heart pounded as I waited to hear footsteps coming closer but none came then out of the corner of my eye I noticed something I could see their Shadow reflected in the microwave door the microwave sat against the window facing the entrance and in its dark surface I could make out the outline of whoever was standing there they didn't step inside instead they just stood in the doorway almost filling the entire space the bright hallway light poured in behind them casting a long Shadow into my room I couldn't see their face just the dark shape of their body blocking the doorway I didn't move I didn't make a sound this time I knew it wasn't a mistake whoever they were they weren't just confused they had come back on purpose I quickly hit play on a video I had ready and as soon as the ad started playing the figure in the doorway turned and left the door shut behind them and I heard their footsteps fading down the hall when I finally worked up the courage to look I saw that the string I had taped over the door was broken everyone I talked to my ra my roommate and the front desk confirmed that no no one else had a registered key for my floor in my tower even the people who should have had access like other students or employees weren't back yet I didn't sleep for the rest of the week every night I blocked the door with my suitcase in a chair just in case but whoever it was never came back even now months later that small 9x2 room still feels scary when I'm alone at night if someone comes through that door they are only a few steps from my bed and the door is my only way [Music] out this took place 15 years ago when I returned home for winter break after college my parents had recently moved to a house closer to the city so it didn't feel like home the way it used to maybe that's why I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in my family I'm the one who always imagines bad situations my parents and siblings often tease me for worrying too much but I can't help it call it whatever you want but sometimes fear can be a useful warning right then one cold night my parents went to bed upstairs and my dogs follow them I decided to stay up a little longer and watch TV in the living room before before going to sleep the living room was at the front of the house and since we had recently moved in there were no Shutters on the Windows yet just thin see-through curtains that weren't fully closed I noticed the open view but didn't think much of it since I was used to our old home in the countryside where only familiar neighbors could see in it never felt like a big deal before but that night I had been watching TV for about about 30 minutes when the screen suddenly went blank and turned to static back then there were no streaming services you just watched whatever was on the local cable channels at first I barely paid attention I was busy with something else maybe texting on a flip phone tapping the keys one by one I sighed thinking well that's annoying but then a strange feeling crept over me the thin curtains barely covered the windows and for the first time I became aware of how exposed I was sitting there I tried using the remote but no other channels worked as I sat there wondering what to do next my cat suddenly jumped onto the window sill and started crying loudly it might not sound like a big deal but anyone who knew my cat would know this was not normal he paced back and forth letting out loud une easy cries at the window a deep sense of fear spread through me and I couldn't move I tried to calm myself in this unfamiliar dark house I told myself it was nothing just my imagination What were the chances of something actually being wrong for a moment I started to feel a little better but then it happened I swear on everything I have a cold draft of air blew through the room and I heard a Door Creek it came from the side of the house at that moment I realized something chilling I hadn't even known there was a door there suddenly my body unfroze I jumped up and ran upstairs as fast as I could I woke my parents and our Sleeping Dog frantically telling them that someone was trying to get into the house they didn't seem too worried probably just annoyed after after all I was always the one who worried too much still they got up maybe just to calm me down and started checking around the house they walked through the house checking every room even the basement while I stood there I wanted to yell at them to be more careful they were moving through the dark half asleep with no protection while who knows might already be inside but they didn't find anything they gave gave me a few reassuring words almost like patting me on the head and told me to go back to sleep then just like that they went back to bed as if nothing had happened that was until the following morning I'm not sure what made my parents call the police but they did when the officers arrive one of them asked me how did you know someone was out there so I started to explain then he said something that sent chills down my spine someone had cut the cable wires on the side of the house and whoever did it either thought they were cutting an alarm system or saw me watching TV and wanted to mess with me the muddy ground outside gave us proof fresh Footprints LED right up to it it didn't look like anyone had tried to break in but I knew what I heard as I thought more about it the truth sank in I had been right about someone being out there but that was not a good feeling from that day on I knew I would always check that side door and pay attention when the cat acted strange just to be [Music] safe I'm a female in my mid 20s went to the local grocery store around 5:00 p. m.
