November 19, 2025 • 52 mins
Weekly Spooky horror podcast presents a chilling small-town disappearance tale of possession, control, and a ruthless government cover-up. In the rural Midwest, people begin staring without blinking, neighbors vanish and return… wrong, and a hovering light seals the town off from the world.
What follows is a desperate run through cornfields, soldiers, fences, and a mystery scrubbed from history. If you crave alien-or-demonic takeover vibes, X-Files energy, and conspiracy horror, press play and keep your eyes moving.
I'm from a Small Town That No Longer Exists — by Michael Kelso.
You can purchase books from this author here: https://geni.us/michaelkelsoauthor
https://www.reddit.com/user/Horror_writer_1717/
This episode of This Week in Horror History is brought to you by Savorista Coffee. If you love big spooky flavors without the jitters, head to Savorista.com and use promo code SPOOKY at checkout for 25% off your order. Every purchase supports the show directly — treat yourself to better coffee and help keep the spooky stories coming!
🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!
🎉 Unlock exclusive bonus episodes and support the show on Patreon!
👉 WeeklySpooky.com/Join
📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!
🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
What follows is a desperate run through cornfields, soldiers, fences, and a mystery scrubbed from history. If you crave alien-or-demonic takeover vibes, X-Files energy, and conspiracy horror, press play and keep your eyes moving.
I'm from a Small Town That No Longer Exists — by Michael Kelso.
You can purchase books from this author here: https://geni.us/michaelkelsoauthor
https://www.reddit.com/user/Horror_writer_1717/
This episode of This Week in Horror History is brought to you by Savorista Coffee. If you love big spooky flavors without the jitters, head to Savorista.com and use promo code SPOOKY at checkout for 25% off your order. Every purchase supports the show directly — treat yourself to better coffee and help keep the spooky stories coming!
🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!
🎉 Unlock exclusive bonus episodes and support the show on Patreon!
👉 WeeklySpooky.com/Join
📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!
- Twitter: @WeeklySpooky
- Facebook: facebook.com/WeeklySpooky
- Email: WeeklySpooky@gmail.com
🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Your mother stops blinking, your father stops speaking. By midnight,
the whole town is frozen, staring at light that hovers
over the road. The door behind you opens, A voice whispers,
(00:22):
We'll come back for you.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
What's that you want to be scared to? Come with me.
You will experience tales over over, ghosts and death. It
is not recommended for the weeded.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Heart listeners in the dark ark It's more fun than
way way Way.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
This is Weekly Speaking.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Hello, my spookys, It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.
It's time for a little spooky in your Weekly. I'm
your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto, and tonight we're heading
off to a small town that no longer exists and
(01:30):
we are going to find out why. But first, I
want to thank you so much for joining us on
our spooky excursions even after Halloween is over, because here
at Weekly Spooky Halloween is a way of life, not
a date on the calendar, and we have so so
(01:50):
many scares coming for you this holiday season. So make
sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app, and make
make sure to come back on Friday as we drop
a massive Thanksgiving horror story compilation, and of course, next Wednesday,
we have a brand new Thanksgiving horror story courtesy of
(02:13):
David O'Hanlon. This episode is brought to you by Save
Airista Coffee. Head to save Aista dot com and use
promo code Spooky to get twenty five percent off your
first order. We really appreciate all the spookies who are
supporting save Arista. When you use our code, it supports
the podcast directly. So if you want delicious premium high
(02:33):
grade coffee without the caffeine jitters, head to save Arista
dot com and use promo code Spooky. But now, as
for tonight, imagine a quiet Midwestern town where the loudest
sound is wind through the corn. Now we imagine the
(02:54):
wind stopping and the people stopping with it. What if
the neighbors you trust became watchers and the rescue at
your door wasn't meant for you. What if the map
erased your hometown because something else wrote its name there.
(03:17):
First tonight, we head to a place that no longer
exists and discover the secret that made it. I'm from
a small town that no longer exists by Michael Kelso.
(03:40):
I'm from a small Midwestern town I'm sure you've never
heard of and you never will. It wasn't even a
dot on the map, just seven hundred and sixty one
people on their own in the middle of nowhere. That's
why I'm telling this story, so that someone knows what
(04:01):
happened here. I remember as a kid we used to
play in the cornfield all the time. We lived on
a farm just outside of town. The sidewalk literally began
one block away from our house. It wasn't much a
single main street with a general store, drug store, and
(04:22):
a hardware store. The grocery store and diner were around
the corner, just off of the main street. The only
reason we had a post office was because the nearest
town was twenty miles away. It was the kind of
place even Norman Rockwell would miss if he drove through.
(04:44):
My brother and sister and I didn't have a lot
of toys or games, so we played hide and seek
almost non stop with a few of the other neighborhood kids.
We tried playing around the house, but with their usually
being six or seven of us, it was just too easy.
(05:06):
The best time was during the summer, after the corn
got above our heads. Nobody wanted to be the seeker then,
because it was literally impossible to find anyone, games would
go on for hours with no one found. Our mom
would have to come out and yell for us to
(05:26):
come in for meals. The best part of hiding was
when the seeker walked right past you. The excitement and
sheer terror as you held your breath and tried to
stay as still as possible. It was incomparable. I'd nearly
pee my pants if the seeker stopped right beside me.
(05:50):
There was that moment when you didn't know if they
had no clue where you were, or if they knew
and were just toying around with you. There were a
couple of times when the seeker was indeed toying with me,
and they would just stop right beside me, right where
I was hiding, then take a step or two and
(06:13):
lunge back and grab me. I screamed both times, not
the oh you got me squeal that kids do, I
mean serious, blood curdling everyone is trying to murder me scream.
My mother came running to make sure I was okay,
(06:34):
and I got in trouble for scaring her so badly.
I usually had to sit out the next turn as
punishment watching the corn stalk sway and bend as the
pursuers hunted down their prey. The fun suddenly changed when
the strangers came to town. I remember there were a
(07:00):
lot of strangers around during that time in my life.
By strangers, I don't mean people who act odd. They
acted much more than odd. Remember when you were a
kid and you dressed up as a superhero. This was
the same, only these people seemed to be dressed up
(07:25):
pretending to be people. It was weird. We would go
to town and some of them would just be standing around,
pretending to be nonchalant. They were staring at nothing. Not
the thousand miles stare some people have, but literally staring
(07:48):
at the strangest things. An old man in a rocking
chair in front of the general store would sit staring
at an unlit street light in the middle of the day.
A man leaning against a door frame was staring at
his hand as though he had never seen it before.
(08:09):
Odd things like that became more and more commonplace, and
the people who lived in the town their entire lives
started to notice as well. The strangers were approached and
asked who they were and where they were from. They
would answer without taking their eyes off the object they
(08:32):
were focused on. They said they were from a ways
off and were traveling to their homeland. That seemed to
appease people for a while. Weeks later, when they were
still hanging around, folks started to get anxious. My parents
(08:54):
told us kids that the strangers were down on their
luck and hadn't done anything wrong. That's what they said
to our faces, But behind closed doors, I got the
feeling they weren't so optimistic. I went to the bathroom
one night and had to pass my parents' bedroom to
(09:14):
get there. I overheard them talking about the strangers, and
Dad saying he would keep the gun loaded in case
they ever came around. It seemed odd that these strangers
had never done anything wrong and yet were the subject
of such hushed tones and conversations spoken in fear. I
(09:40):
remember when our neighbor, mister Hutchins went missing. He was
a nice older man in his sixties or seventies. I
think he always gave out full size candy bars on Halloween.
He used to be out every morning early tending to
his ans animals. We'd see him when we were on
(10:02):
our way to school, and he'd always wave to us.
One morning, he just wasn't there. We didn't think much
of it at the time. We thought maybe he was
sick or something. In the evening, he wasn't there either.
We told Mom about it, but she said he was
(10:25):
probably in town getting groceries or farm supplies. The next morning,
when we went to school, there was still no mister Hutchins.
When we told Mom after school, she decided to go
visit in case he had fallen. When there was no
(10:46):
answer at the door and the animals were out roaming,
Mom decided it was time to call the sheriff. Mom
tried to show us inside when the sheriff's car show
showed up, but we went upstairs to Bobby's room and
watched out the window. The sheriff knocked and called for
(11:09):
mister Hutchins, then went inside. He was in there for
a long time. We started thinking one of mister hutchins
dogs had chewed him up or something. When the sheriff
finally came back out, he got into his car and
used the radio. The next thing we know, three more
(11:33):
sheriff's cars show up, and they start going in and
out of the house and barn like a swarm of
angry bees. I never could have imagined what they found.
We asked Mom about it at supper, and she wasn't
(11:54):
too pleased that we had been snooping. Dad was out
of town doing his delayies, but he would have told
us to mind our own business and stay out of
others affairs. Mom told us the sheriff didn't know where
mister Hutchins had gone to, but his truck was still there,
(12:15):
so he couldn't have gotten far. They said he might
have had a spell and wandered off. They looked for
him for two days, then suddenly he showed up at
his house as if nothing had happened. We were happy
he was back, but curious where he'd been. After he
(12:40):
came home, he just sat on his porch and stared
at the tree in his front yard. We went over
to visit him and asked him where he'd been. He
just kept staring at the tree like we weren't even there.
Mister Hutchins, I said, yes, he said, staring at the tree.
(13:06):
How are you, sir? I asked. He didn't answer right away,
his stare never wavered. Finally he replied, good. We were
wondering where you had gone, sir. Bobby said, I was,
(13:29):
He seemed to struggle with the right word. Away. Well,
we're glad you're back, sir, Candace said, do you need
any help with your animals? Animals? He repeated, as if
the word was unfamiliar to him. Yes, sir, taking care
(13:51):
of your animals like we've done before, she said. He
didn't reply, just stared at the tree. I looked at
Bobby and Catherine. They both seemed as shocked as I
was that he was ignoring us. We'd always been on
good terms with mister Hutchins. There were times we would
(14:14):
help out around his farm and with his animals. He
would reward us with some money or some treats, but
always he was grateful for the help. I waved my
hand in front of his eyes and he didn't blink.
We shook our heads and walked away. When we got home,
(14:37):
we told Mom how he was acting. We told her
we thought something was wrong with him, like he was sick.
Mom told us to leave him alone, that he'd had
a hard time and we shouldn't be pestering him. But
we soon had more to worry about. We played hide
(14:58):
and seek all weekend when we weren't doing our chores.
It was the last fun weekend of my childhood. We
went to school on Monday and got a nasty shock.
One of my classmates and buddies that I hung with
was Mike. When I got to class, Mike was already
(15:19):
in his seat, staring at the blackboard. Morning Mike, I said,
he didn't move or speak. What's up with you? I asked,
you stay up too late last night? No, he said,
(15:40):
still staring. So what's with the zombie routine? I said,
you practicing for Halloween? No, he said, not blinking. Okay,
so you're playing a joke on me. Ha ha, very funny.
(16:01):
You can return to Earth now, Zombie Mike. He didn't
move and stop talking whatever man I said, and let
him play his game. All through class. He didn't say
a word. Even when the teacher called on him. He
(16:21):
just sat there and stared at the board. She chided
him for ignoring her, But then when she came over
to his desk and waved her hand in front of
his eyes, he didn't blink. Mike, she said, he didn't answer.
(16:44):
I haven't seen him move in over an hour, I explained.
She took him to the nurse, mumbling that maybe he'd
had a stroke. When the teacher returned. She was alone
and very rattled. She made us read for the rest
of the period while we heard her out in the
hallway discussing Mike's odd behavior with another teacher. Mike never
(17:10):
came to class that day. When class ended, I approached her.
How's Mike, I asked. She seemed nervous. I I'm not sure,
she said, Is he okay? I don't know, she said,
(17:32):
getting up and walking to the door. If you want
to know any more about him, you'll have to ask
his parents. She held the door open as I walked
through it, then shut it and went back to her desk.
I saw her pick up her phone. She didn't look
(17:53):
very happy as she talked. I went home, confused and
concern for my friend. I asked mom if I could
go over to Mike's house to check on him. She
told me to go over and come back in an
hour for supper. As I walked down the street towards
Mike's I saw more people standing around, staring at nothing.
(18:20):
It was like they had paused in the middle of
whatever they were doing and found something extremely interesting. It was.
It was creepy. When I knocked on Mike's door, his
Mom answered, Oh, hey, Bill, She said, Mike isn't feeling
(18:42):
well right now. I know, I said, I saw him
at school today and he was acting weird. I just
wanted to check and see if he was okay. She
glanced inside the house. I don't know if you would
call it okay or not. Is he still acting like
(19:06):
a zombie? I said, expecting her to laugh. She shot
me a horrified look. Maybe you should come in and
see for yourself. I stepped inside and she led me
(19:29):
back to his room. He was standing there in the
middle of the floor, looking up at the light fixture.
It wasn't even turned on. Hey, buddy, I said, just
came by to see how you're doing. Good, he said,
(19:54):
still staring. I was a little worried about you, the
way you were acting at school today. He stood silent. Okay, Mike,
whatever game you're playing, you win. Now it's time to
snap out of it and be normal again. His gaze
(20:15):
slowly slid down from the light and landed on me.
Normal he said, slowly, yeah, normal, you know, like everyone else.
He didn't answer, but his stare freaked me out. It
(20:36):
was like he was looking at me, but not looking
at me at the same time. You know what, Mike,
I've had it with this stupid game. If you don't
quit it, we're not friends anymore. Friends, he said, staring
through me. Yes, friends, You and I have been friends
(20:58):
for years and you know that. He stood, silent and unmoving. Okay,
I'm done, I said, walking out of the room. His
mom followed me. Are you really not going to be
friends with him anymore? She asked, I was trying to
(21:20):
get him to quit playing, I said, peeking around the
corner to see Mike staring at the spot where I
had been standing. Did the nurse say anything about what
could have happened? She said, it might have been a stroke,
but his vital signs say everything is fine. This is
(21:42):
too weird, I said, he's acting just like like who?
She said, as I rushed out the door, like who,
she called after me. I ran to mister Hutchin's house
and found him sitting on the poor or. He was
staring at the tree, like the day we came to
(22:04):
talk to him. Mister Hutchins, I said, what happened when
you disappeared? He didn't respond, Mister Hutchins, I said, grabbing
him and giving him a little shake. I need to know.
His head slumped forward. I jumped back. Mister Hutchins, I said, slowly,
(22:29):
approaching him again. I reached for his neck to feel
for a pulse. I waited a long time before realizing
there was none. As I pulled my hand away, he
grabbed it. I jumped, trying to get away, but his
(22:51):
grip was too strong. He stared into my eyes. Normal,
he said, in a raspy voice that I didn't recognize.
Then he slumped over again. When he released me, I
(23:12):
ran home. Mom, Mom, I said, as I burst in
the door, Billy, what is it. It's mister Hutchins. Has
he gone missing again? She said, no, I think he's dead.
She stopped making supper and turned slowly toward me. Dead. Yes,
(23:40):
how do you know? I explained what happened with Mike
and how I went to mister Hutchins's house after I
told her what happened there, and she got this far off. Look,
stay here, she said, walking out of the door. I
(24:01):
watched her walk over to mister hutchins house. I saw
her look at the body. Then I saw her cover
her mouth and run home. When she burst in the door,
she went straight for the phone and called nine one
one within fifteen minutes. There were just as many flashing
(24:23):
lights at his house as the day he went missing.
The sheriff asked me some questions about it. I don't
think he believed me about the grabbing and talking part.
He said, mister Hutchins had been dead for hours. When
he was done, we finally had supper. None of us
(24:44):
talked much except for asking to pass the food. After supper,
I went to my room and lay on my bed,
staring at the ceiling and wondering what was going on.
Before I I knew it, I had fallen asleep. When
I woke up, I was surprised that I was still
(25:07):
in my clothes from the day before and had slept
on top of my blanket. Usually if I fall asleep
like this, Mom comes in and covers me up. She
must have been tired last night from all the excitement.
I got up and went out to the kitchen. There
(25:27):
was no one there and nothing cooking. That in itself
was odd. Mom was always the first one up in
the morning cooking breakfast. Even if we had just cereal,
she was up making coffee for her and Dad. It
was eerie walking into a dark kitchen and getting my
(25:49):
own cereal. I expected her to show up at any moment,
but she never did. Bobby and Catherine stumbled into the
room and got their breakfast too. Is Mom sick or something,
Catherine asked. I don't know, maybe she's just upset from
(26:10):
the whole mister Hutchins thing, I said. Bobby just sat
and munched on his cereal, half awake. We finished breakfast
and got ready for school. Still no Mom. I went
to their bedroom and peeked inside. Dad and Mom were
(26:30):
both laying in bed, so I let them sleep. That
school day was completely surreal. Half the kids were out sick.
I'd never seen anything like it, except on the first
day of deer season. Even a couple of the teachers
(26:50):
just sat there staring like my cat. They didn't talk
to us all day. We just sat there re or
talking quietly to each other, hoping that no one would
be loud enough to break the teacher out of her stupor.
(27:11):
I knew something was wrong. The strangers had done something
to make these people into these weird zombies. I wish
I had another word for it, because I hadn't seen
anyone trying to attack or bite anyone else, at least
not yet. They just hang around like zombies before they attack.
(27:37):
I just hoped the attack would never come. When we
got home from school that day, Mom and Dad were
still in bed. I went into their room and stood
beside them. Mom's eyes were wide open, staring at the wall. Mom,
(28:07):
I said, are you okay? Yes? She said, without blinking.
Is dad okay? Yes? Have you been in bed all day?
She didn't answer. Are you going to cook supper? She
(28:29):
didn't answer. I waved my hand in front of her face,
and she didn't blink. Please, Mom, please snap out of it.
We need you. For the slightest moment, her eyes met
mine and a single teardrop fell from her eye. Then
(28:54):
she went back to staring at the wall. I went
out and told Bobby and Catherine that they were still
in bed and I didn't think they'd be coming out
anytime soon. Should we call someone? Catherine asked, like who?
(29:16):
Bobby said, I don't know the doctor. Maybe, she thought, okay,
I said, pulling out the phone book and looking up
the number for the doctor. I dialed and waited as
it rang and rang, no one's answering. I said, who
(29:39):
else can we call? She replied? We used to ask
mister Hutchins for help when we needed it. Bobby solemnly said,
a horrible thought suddenly struck me. You don't think mom
and Dad will end up, I said, unable to finish
(29:59):
the sentence, like mister Hutchins, Catherine said. I nodded. Bobby
started to cry. We don't know that'll happen, Catherine said,
mister Hutchins was old, much older than Mom and dad.
Bobby sniffled a few times and stopped crying. So what
(30:23):
do we do now, he asked. Let's make some sandwiches
for us and for Mom and Dad. We can take
them in and see if they're hungry. I suggested we
did exactly that, but neither of them responded. They just
laid in bed, staring at the walls. The three of
(30:46):
us ate our sandwiches and put ourselves to bed. We
agreed to call the doctor again in the morning, and
if he didn't answer, we'd call the sheriff. None of
us went straight to sleep that night. We were too
worried about Mom and Dad. I was also worried about Mike.
(31:08):
This whole thing seemed like it was something out of
a late night movie. I couldn't imagine it being real.
I kept trying to pinch myself to wake up from
this bad dream. Before I knew it, I could hear
my brother and sisters breathing settle into the rhythm of sleep.
(31:31):
I smiled for the first time in a while, listening
to them in peaceful slumber. As I listened, I heard
another sound, floorboards creaking. I froze at the thought of
a burglar breaking in and Dad not being able to
do anything about it. The steps came closer. I huddled
(31:56):
under my blanket for protection. The door open, I snuck
a glance and felt immediate relief. It was Mom. She
was still dressed in her night gown. She moved slowly
to Catherine's bed and lifted her up. She turned and
(32:17):
carried her out of the room. Then Dad came in
and carried out Bobby. I got up and followed Mom. Dad.
I said, where are you taking them? Mom already had
the door open and was walking outside. Dad stopped and
(32:40):
looked at me. Don't worry, he said, we'll come back
for you. Then they walked out into the cool night.
My blood froze. I didn't know where they were going,
but I knew I didn't want to go there, I
threw my shoes on and stepped outside. As I flew
(33:05):
down the stairs, I saw a strange light at the
end of our driveway. There were two silhouettes in it,
and they were heading back toward the house. I squinted
against the light, trying to see if it was my
parents or whatever those things were that looked like my parents.
(33:28):
As the figures grew closer, I could see they were
empty handed. I stood in the middle of our yard,
frozen with fear. I didn't know what to do. If
I went back inside, they would find me and take
me to be turned into a zombie too. I couldn't
(33:49):
run to mister Hutchin's house. Running to town would leave
me wide open to be chased. I turned round and
round in a panic, looking for options. The barn was
an option, but not a good one. There weren't many
places to hide there. Then it hit me, hiding places.
(34:15):
Where was my best hiding place? I ran into the cornfield.
It was nearly harvest time and the corn was as
tall as it was going to get. It was dark
(34:35):
and would be even darker in the rows. The only
light came from the house and whatever was at the
end of our driveway. I threw myself into the forest
of green stalks and ran part way in. I stopped
and realized what I'd done. I had run in a
(34:56):
straight line, making myself an easy target. I refocused on
my usual hide and seek strategy. I started from where
I was counted a certain number of rows up and
a certain number over. I was careful to move slowly
and disturb the corn stalks as little as possible. I
(35:18):
duck walked, staying as low to the ground as possible
and moving as quietly as I could. I was near
where I wanted to hide when something in my head
told me to stop. Where I was it was almost
totally dark. The lights from the house and that thing
(35:40):
cast strange shadows at the base of the corn I
could barely see a few feet in front of me.
I resisted the urge to sit down, and instead stayed
in my crouched position on my toes so I could
be ready to bolt at a moment's notice. I settled
(36:01):
into my spot and focused on slowing my breathing. My
adrenaline fought against me, telling me to run and never stop.
I pushed those thoughts aside and tried to be as
silent as possible. The air was still. There was no wind,
(36:23):
and nothing moved. Each time I inhaled and exhaled, it
sounded like a steam engine chugging to get up a hill.
Any movement I made, I heard the creak of the
souls of my sneakers. I could even hear my neck
muscles as I turned slowly searching for any pursuers. It
(36:49):
was like my body was conspiring against me, bound and
determined to get caught somehow. Over all the racket I
was made. I heard a sound. I closed my eyes
and focused on listening. For a long moment. There was nothing,
(37:12):
I mean nothing, not even the nightly crickets were singing.
And then I heard it again. Someone was in the cornfield.
They were moving slowly. I tried to tell if it
was one or many. At first I couldn't, but then
(37:36):
I heard another sound coming from behind me. They were
still a little ways off. I thought they had just entered.
I painted a mental picture of how close they were.
My mental map showed me one coming from the direction
of the house and one from the driveway. As I
(37:58):
heard them getting closed, Sir, I had to fight to
stay still. My mind was screaming at me to run.
I knew from so many hide and seek sessions that
that was the worst thing to do. I kept my
eyes closed and waited for them to pass by. Then
(38:20):
I would sneak out in the other direction. That plan
seemed to appease my nerves enough to get them to
stop yelling. I heard one of them approaching. They were
coming right at me. I could see the stalks beside
me moving, but I stayed still. Two rows before one
(38:43):
of my pursuers would have literally run me over, but
they stopped. It seemed like there was a moment of indecision,
and then they started off again in a different direction.
I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the
other one was still approaching. They were walking slowly up
(39:08):
the row beside the one I was in. They walked
right beside me and stopped. I recognized my dad's boots.
I just didn't know what was wearing them. Now he
turned towards me. I knew I was done. There was
(39:32):
nowhere I could run that he wouldn't catch me. I
kept my eyes closed, refusing to move even to look
up at the man I called father or what he
had become. He stood there unmoving for what seemed like
an eternity. Self preservation was all that kept me from surrendering.
(39:57):
I had seen these empty shells of people I used
to love, and I wanted to survive, to pass the
memories of who they were. Before he turned and took
a step away from me, then another. I wanted to
jump for joy. I wanted to run as I never
(40:20):
ran before, but mostly I wanted to be careful. I
remembered the times playing hide and seek when the seeker
pretended to walk away, only to turn around and lunge
at me. I held my breath as his footsteps continued
away from me. I counted to one hundred before I
(40:44):
would allow myself to move. As I started to sneak away,
I saw an ear of corn lying on the ground.
I picked it up and threw it as hard as
I could in the opposite direction of my escape route.
When it landed, I heard both of my pursuers converge
(41:08):
on it. I ran quickly and quietly away from them.
Before I knew it, I was at the edge of
the cornfield near the road. I peeked out and saw
the light at the end of my driveway. It didn't
look like headlights from a vehicle. It was just a
(41:30):
bright light hovering a few feet off the ground. It
was so bright I couldn't tell what it was attached to,
or if it was attached to anything. At this point,
I didn't know what I believed any more. I just
knew someone or something had taken the people I loved
(41:54):
and turned them into zombies. No, zombies wasn't right. It
was more like robots. They would just stare at whatever
until needed, then they would be called to action, like
Mom and Dad. I turned away from the light and ran.
(42:15):
It wasn't long until I heard a strange sound. It
was like a mechanical scream. It chilled my bones to
hear it. It seemed to be coming from behind me.
The light was getting brighter too, I knew it was
(42:36):
following me. Dad dashed out of the cornfield and tried
to grab me, but I was already out of his reach.
I could hear him running behind me when Mom came
around the corner and I nearly ran in to her.
(42:59):
I have I've no idea how I avoided her open arms.
Maybe somewhere along the line there was some football player
jeans in me. But I did a stiff arm spin
move that would make any running back proud. I ran
like my life depended on it, which it did. My
(43:20):
legs were burning, my lungs were on fire. I had
a stitch in my side, and yet I kept running.
My parents and the light chasing right behind me, just
waiting for me to trip or make some mistake. I
was almost in town when a light shone in front
of me. It also hovered just above the ground. I
(43:44):
was trapped with nowhere left to go. I stopped. It
wasn't more than a heartbeat until Dad had a.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Hold of me.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Mom was right behind him. They each grabbed an arm
and turned me around to head back towards the driveway light.
At least they were walking and I could take a
breather before being turned into a zombie robot. The light
behind us got brighter, and I heard a strange sound
(44:16):
from that direction. They sounded somewhat familiar, though, as the
light got closer. Suddenly my dad started convulsing. He fell
to the ground, followed shortly by my mom. Someone ran
up and grabbed me. Come on, kid, A large man said,
(44:38):
let's get you out of here. I turned from my
unconscious parents to the man He was in a soldier's
uniform and holding a taser. He dropped it and ran
with me halfway over his shoulder toward the other light.
As we got closer, I turned to see it was
(45:00):
a helicopter. It touched down just long enough for us
to get on and then take off. I watched as
we flew over my parents laying there looking very dead.
Could the shock bring them out of it? I asked, hopefully. Sorry, kid,
(45:22):
it doesn't work that way, he replied, Once they've turned,
there's no going back. A tear slid down my cheek.
As I watched my parents disappear into the distance, I
looked back at the house I had lived in my
entire life, and hopelessness overwhelmed me. For a fleeting moment,
(45:48):
I felt like I would have been better off with them.
At least we would all be together as a family.
My eyes caught a long line of lights dry into town.
What's that, I said, pointing at the lights containment. He said,
(46:11):
what's that mean? It means we can't let anyone escape
who's been infected. Infected, he shrugged. I don't have a
better word for it, I thought. For a moment, am
I infected? He looked at me. Are you talking? Yes?
(46:32):
Are you staring mindlessly at inanimate objects? No, you're not infected.
I slumped back in the seat and closed my eyes,
happy to be alive, but incredibly sad for those i'd lost.
I don't remember falling asleep, but when I woke, we
(46:56):
were on a military base. The soldiers were hustling around
like ants on an ant hill. A man in a
suit came over to the helicopter and took me inside.
What happened next is a long story that I might
tell someday. Suffice it to say for now that after
(47:18):
a long time, I was taken to a foster family
who raised me as their own. The town I used
to live in ceased to exist. I never saw a
single soul from there ever. Again, I was told I
was the only one that was rescued that night before.
(47:40):
I don't want to get into that right now. I've
tried going back, but it's surrounded by a fence with
no trespassing government property signs posted every twenty feet. It
surrounds the entire town. I can see my old house
from the fence, but no matter what I do, they
(48:03):
won't let me back in. I have to wonder if
they don't have the people in there standing around staring
at nothing, waiting to die. I've searched the Internet for
any traces of the town. There aren't any. It's like
every piece of history, every shred of proof that the
(48:25):
town ever existed, has been erased. I've talked to others
who've heard of similar experiences. The words paranormal, possession and
alien come up the most for possible explanations. But I
wonder if it isn't something deeper than that, If it
(48:48):
isn't something so sinister that explanations could be dangerous, Maybe
it's for the best. Maybe I should just drop the
whole thing move on with my life. I just can't
help but wonder what really went on. It's a mystery
I need to unravel for Mom, Dad, Bobby, Catherine, Mike,
(49:15):
mister Hutchins, and everyone else whose life was erased first
by whoever or whatever did this to them, and then
by those who want to cover it up. I posted
this to let everyone know about the people who used
to be my friends, family, and neighbors. I don't want
(49:39):
their memories to be in vain, But mostly I don't
want to allow others to fall into the same trap.
If you see someone staring at nothing in particular and
they refuse to speak, get away from them as soon
as you can. They aren't as lost and help bliss
(50:01):
as you think. How many other tiny towns in the
middle of nowhere have suffered the same fate? I wonder?
And that's our tour through a town that officially doesn't exist,
at least according to the government. Huge thanks to Michael
(50:25):
Kelso for tonight's scary story. Make sure to check his
work out. You can find his links in the show notes.
Now sharpen your carving knives, my spookies, because this Friday
we're serving our big Thanksgiving compilation, six juicy stories, stuffed
with chills, drizzled in dread, and perfect for basting the
(50:46):
bird or hiding from your relatives. It's a full spooky spread,
quick bite, slow burns, and at least one tale you'll
swear is staring at you from across the dinner table.
Make sure you're subscribed so it lands fresh on your
feed and tell a friend who loves leftovers and maybe
some cranberry sauce. And remember, if you love what we're
(51:09):
doing here at Weekly Spooky and want to support it
in a very direct way, head to Weeklyspooky dot com
slash joy. Over ninety other spookies have signed up and
gotten two bonus stories every month for as little as
one dollar. And speaking of an extra special thank you
to our Patreon podcast boosters folks who pay just a
little bit more to hear their names at the end
(51:30):
of the show, and they are Johnny Nix, Kate and Lulu,
Jessica Fuller, Micah Skewey, Jenny Green, Amber Hansford, Karen we Met,
Jack Kerr, and Craig Cohen. If you want to hear
your name at the end of the program, sign up
at the fifteen dollars or higher tier at weeklyspooky dot
com slash Join, or sign up for as little as
a dollar a month and get two bonus episodes every
(51:53):
single month. We're happy to be here to give you
spooky even more than just on your weekly But now,
my spookies, it's time for me to get back to it.
I have so much to do to prepare for a
very very haunted holiday. So I'll see you all back
here on Friday. And remember every Tuesday, we're releasing a
new program called This Week in horror history. Make sure
(52:15):
to check it out. So for myself, for my executive
producers Rob Fields and babbletopia dot com, my producer Dan Wilder,
and my creepy composer Ray Mattis, I'll talk at you
next time.
Speaker 2 (52:25):
Thank you for listening. Make sure to find your way
back next week. But for now you are safe. Trust me,
Your mother stops blinking, your father stops speaking. By midnight,
the whole town is frozen, staring at light that hovers
over the road. The door behind you opens, A voice whispers,
(00:22):
We'll come back for you.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
What's that you want to be scared to? Come with me.
You will experience tales over over, ghosts and death. It
is not recommended for the weeded.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Heart listeners in the dark ark It's more fun than
way way Way.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
This is Weekly Speaking.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Hello, my spookys, It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.
It's time for a little spooky in your Weekly. I'm
your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto, and tonight we're heading
off to a small town that no longer exists and
(01:30):
we are going to find out why. But first, I
want to thank you so much for joining us on
our spooky excursions even after Halloween is over, because here
at Weekly Spooky Halloween is a way of life, not
a date on the calendar, and we have so so
(01:50):
many scares coming for you this holiday season. So make
sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app, and make
make sure to come back on Friday as we drop
a massive Thanksgiving horror story compilation, and of course, next Wednesday,
we have a brand new Thanksgiving horror story courtesy of
(02:13):
David O'Hanlon. This episode is brought to you by Save
Airista Coffee. Head to save Aista dot com and use
promo code Spooky to get twenty five percent off your
first order. We really appreciate all the spookies who are
supporting save Arista. When you use our code, it supports
the podcast directly. So if you want delicious premium high
(02:33):
grade coffee without the caffeine jitters, head to save Arista
dot com and use promo code Spooky. But now, as
for tonight, imagine a quiet Midwestern town where the loudest
sound is wind through the corn. Now we imagine the
(02:54):
wind stopping and the people stopping with it. What if
the neighbors you trust became watchers and the rescue at
your door wasn't meant for you. What if the map
erased your hometown because something else wrote its name there.
(03:17):
First tonight, we head to a place that no longer
exists and discover the secret that made it. I'm from
a small town that no longer exists by Michael Kelso.
(03:40):
I'm from a small Midwestern town I'm sure you've never
heard of and you never will. It wasn't even a
dot on the map, just seven hundred and sixty one
people on their own in the middle of nowhere. That's
why I'm telling this story, so that someone knows what
(04:01):
happened here. I remember as a kid we used to
play in the cornfield all the time. We lived on
a farm just outside of town. The sidewalk literally began
one block away from our house. It wasn't much a
single main street with a general store, drug store, and
(04:22):
a hardware store. The grocery store and diner were around
the corner, just off of the main street. The only
reason we had a post office was because the nearest
town was twenty miles away. It was the kind of
place even Norman Rockwell would miss if he drove through.
(04:44):
My brother and sister and I didn't have a lot
of toys or games, so we played hide and seek
almost non stop with a few of the other neighborhood kids.
We tried playing around the house, but with their usually
being six or seven of us, it was just too easy.
(05:06):
The best time was during the summer, after the corn
got above our heads. Nobody wanted to be the seeker then,
because it was literally impossible to find anyone, games would
go on for hours with no one found. Our mom
would have to come out and yell for us to
(05:26):
come in for meals. The best part of hiding was
when the seeker walked right past you. The excitement and
sheer terror as you held your breath and tried to
stay as still as possible. It was incomparable. I'd nearly
pee my pants if the seeker stopped right beside me.
(05:50):
There was that moment when you didn't know if they
had no clue where you were, or if they knew
and were just toying around with you. There were a
couple of times when the seeker was indeed toying with me,
and they would just stop right beside me, right where
I was hiding, then take a step or two and
(06:13):
lunge back and grab me. I screamed both times, not
the oh you got me squeal that kids do, I
mean serious, blood curdling everyone is trying to murder me scream.
My mother came running to make sure I was okay,
(06:34):
and I got in trouble for scaring her so badly.
I usually had to sit out the next turn as
punishment watching the corn stalk sway and bend as the
pursuers hunted down their prey. The fun suddenly changed when
the strangers came to town. I remember there were a
(07:00):
lot of strangers around during that time in my life.
By strangers, I don't mean people who act odd. They
acted much more than odd. Remember when you were a
kid and you dressed up as a superhero. This was
the same, only these people seemed to be dressed up
(07:25):
pretending to be people. It was weird. We would go
to town and some of them would just be standing around,
pretending to be nonchalant. They were staring at nothing. Not
the thousand miles stare some people have, but literally staring
(07:48):
at the strangest things. An old man in a rocking
chair in front of the general store would sit staring
at an unlit street light in the middle of the day.
A man leaning against a door frame was staring at
his hand as though he had never seen it before.
(08:09):
Odd things like that became more and more commonplace, and
the people who lived in the town their entire lives
started to notice as well. The strangers were approached and
asked who they were and where they were from. They
would answer without taking their eyes off the object they
(08:32):
were focused on. They said they were from a ways
off and were traveling to their homeland. That seemed to
appease people for a while. Weeks later, when they were
still hanging around, folks started to get anxious. My parents
(08:54):
told us kids that the strangers were down on their
luck and hadn't done anything wrong. That's what they said
to our faces, But behind closed doors, I got the
feeling they weren't so optimistic. I went to the bathroom
one night and had to pass my parents' bedroom to
(09:14):
get there. I overheard them talking about the strangers, and
Dad saying he would keep the gun loaded in case
they ever came around. It seemed odd that these strangers
had never done anything wrong and yet were the subject
of such hushed tones and conversations spoken in fear. I
(09:40):
remember when our neighbor, mister Hutchins went missing. He was
a nice older man in his sixties or seventies. I
think he always gave out full size candy bars on Halloween.
He used to be out every morning early tending to
his ans animals. We'd see him when we were on
(10:02):
our way to school, and he'd always wave to us.
One morning, he just wasn't there. We didn't think much
of it at the time. We thought maybe he was
sick or something. In the evening, he wasn't there either.
We told Mom about it, but she said he was
(10:25):
probably in town getting groceries or farm supplies. The next morning,
when we went to school, there was still no mister Hutchins.
When we told Mom after school, she decided to go
visit in case he had fallen. When there was no
(10:46):
answer at the door and the animals were out roaming,
Mom decided it was time to call the sheriff. Mom
tried to show us inside when the sheriff's car show
showed up, but we went upstairs to Bobby's room and
watched out the window. The sheriff knocked and called for
(11:09):
mister Hutchins, then went inside. He was in there for
a long time. We started thinking one of mister hutchins
dogs had chewed him up or something. When the sheriff
finally came back out, he got into his car and
used the radio. The next thing we know, three more
(11:33):
sheriff's cars show up, and they start going in and
out of the house and barn like a swarm of
angry bees. I never could have imagined what they found.
We asked Mom about it at supper, and she wasn't
(11:54):
too pleased that we had been snooping. Dad was out
of town doing his delayies, but he would have told
us to mind our own business and stay out of
others affairs. Mom told us the sheriff didn't know where
mister Hutchins had gone to, but his truck was still there,
(12:15):
so he couldn't have gotten far. They said he might
have had a spell and wandered off. They looked for
him for two days, then suddenly he showed up at
his house as if nothing had happened. We were happy
he was back, but curious where he'd been. After he
(12:40):
came home, he just sat on his porch and stared
at the tree in his front yard. We went over
to visit him and asked him where he'd been. He
just kept staring at the tree like we weren't even there.
Mister Hutchins, I said, yes, he said, staring at the tree.
(13:06):
How are you, sir? I asked. He didn't answer right away,
his stare never wavered. Finally he replied, good. We were
wondering where you had gone, sir. Bobby said, I was,
(13:29):
He seemed to struggle with the right word. Away. Well,
we're glad you're back, sir, Candace said, do you need
any help with your animals? Animals? He repeated, as if
the word was unfamiliar to him. Yes, sir, taking care
(13:51):
of your animals like we've done before, she said. He
didn't reply, just stared at the tree. I looked at
Bobby and Catherine. They both seemed as shocked as I
was that he was ignoring us. We'd always been on
good terms with mister Hutchins. There were times we would
(14:14):
help out around his farm and with his animals. He
would reward us with some money or some treats, but
always he was grateful for the help. I waved my
hand in front of his eyes and he didn't blink.
We shook our heads and walked away. When we got home,
(14:37):
we told Mom how he was acting. We told her
we thought something was wrong with him, like he was sick.
Mom told us to leave him alone, that he'd had
a hard time and we shouldn't be pestering him. But
we soon had more to worry about. We played hide
(14:58):
and seek all weekend when we weren't doing our chores.
It was the last fun weekend of my childhood. We
went to school on Monday and got a nasty shock.
One of my classmates and buddies that I hung with
was Mike. When I got to class, Mike was already
(15:19):
in his seat, staring at the blackboard. Morning Mike, I said,
he didn't move or speak. What's up with you? I asked,
you stay up too late last night? No, he said,
(15:40):
still staring. So what's with the zombie routine? I said,
you practicing for Halloween? No, he said, not blinking. Okay,
so you're playing a joke on me. Ha ha, very funny.
(16:01):
You can return to Earth now, Zombie Mike. He didn't
move and stop talking whatever man I said, and let
him play his game. All through class. He didn't say
a word. Even when the teacher called on him. He
(16:21):
just sat there and stared at the board. She chided
him for ignoring her, But then when she came over
to his desk and waved her hand in front of
his eyes, he didn't blink. Mike, she said, he didn't answer.
(16:44):
I haven't seen him move in over an hour, I explained.
She took him to the nurse, mumbling that maybe he'd
had a stroke. When the teacher returned. She was alone
and very rattled. She made us read for the rest
of the period while we heard her out in the
hallway discussing Mike's odd behavior with another teacher. Mike never
(17:10):
came to class that day. When class ended, I approached her.
How's Mike, I asked. She seemed nervous. I I'm not sure,
she said, Is he okay? I don't know, she said,
(17:32):
getting up and walking to the door. If you want
to know any more about him, you'll have to ask
his parents. She held the door open as I walked
through it, then shut it and went back to her desk.
I saw her pick up her phone. She didn't look
(17:53):
very happy as she talked. I went home, confused and
concern for my friend. I asked mom if I could
go over to Mike's house to check on him. She
told me to go over and come back in an
hour for supper. As I walked down the street towards
Mike's I saw more people standing around, staring at nothing.
(18:20):
It was like they had paused in the middle of
whatever they were doing and found something extremely interesting. It was.
It was creepy. When I knocked on Mike's door, his
Mom answered, Oh, hey, Bill, She said, Mike isn't feeling
(18:42):
well right now. I know, I said, I saw him
at school today and he was acting weird. I just
wanted to check and see if he was okay. She
glanced inside the house. I don't know if you would
call it okay or not. Is he still acting like
(19:06):
a zombie? I said, expecting her to laugh. She shot
me a horrified look. Maybe you should come in and
see for yourself. I stepped inside and she led me
(19:29):
back to his room. He was standing there in the
middle of the floor, looking up at the light fixture.
It wasn't even turned on. Hey, buddy, I said, just
came by to see how you're doing. Good, he said,
(19:54):
still staring. I was a little worried about you, the
way you were acting at school today. He stood silent. Okay, Mike,
whatever game you're playing, you win. Now it's time to
snap out of it and be normal again. His gaze
(20:15):
slowly slid down from the light and landed on me.
Normal he said, slowly, yeah, normal, you know, like everyone else.
He didn't answer, but his stare freaked me out. It
(20:36):
was like he was looking at me, but not looking
at me at the same time. You know what, Mike,
I've had it with this stupid game. If you don't
quit it, we're not friends anymore. Friends, he said, staring
through me. Yes, friends, You and I have been friends
(20:58):
for years and you know that. He stood, silent and unmoving. Okay,
I'm done, I said, walking out of the room. His
mom followed me. Are you really not going to be
friends with him anymore? She asked, I was trying to
(21:20):
get him to quit playing, I said, peeking around the
corner to see Mike staring at the spot where I
had been standing. Did the nurse say anything about what
could have happened? She said, it might have been a stroke,
but his vital signs say everything is fine. This is
(21:42):
too weird, I said, he's acting just like like who?
She said, as I rushed out the door, like who,
she called after me. I ran to mister Hutchin's house
and found him sitting on the poor or. He was
staring at the tree, like the day we came to
(22:04):
talk to him. Mister Hutchins, I said, what happened when
you disappeared? He didn't respond, Mister Hutchins, I said, grabbing
him and giving him a little shake. I need to know.
His head slumped forward. I jumped back. Mister Hutchins, I said, slowly,
(22:29):
approaching him again. I reached for his neck to feel
for a pulse. I waited a long time before realizing
there was none. As I pulled my hand away, he
grabbed it. I jumped, trying to get away, but his
(22:51):
grip was too strong. He stared into my eyes. Normal,
he said, in a raspy voice that I didn't recognize.
Then he slumped over again. When he released me, I
(23:12):
ran home. Mom, Mom, I said, as I burst in
the door, Billy, what is it. It's mister Hutchins. Has
he gone missing again? She said, no, I think he's dead.
She stopped making supper and turned slowly toward me. Dead. Yes,
(23:40):
how do you know? I explained what happened with Mike
and how I went to mister Hutchins's house after I
told her what happened there, and she got this far off. Look,
stay here, she said, walking out of the door. I
(24:01):
watched her walk over to mister hutchins house. I saw
her look at the body. Then I saw her cover
her mouth and run home. When she burst in the door,
she went straight for the phone and called nine one
one within fifteen minutes. There were just as many flashing
(24:23):
lights at his house as the day he went missing.
The sheriff asked me some questions about it. I don't
think he believed me about the grabbing and talking part.
He said, mister Hutchins had been dead for hours. When
he was done, we finally had supper. None of us
(24:44):
talked much except for asking to pass the food. After supper,
I went to my room and lay on my bed,
staring at the ceiling and wondering what was going on.
Before I I knew it, I had fallen asleep. When
I woke up, I was surprised that I was still
(25:07):
in my clothes from the day before and had slept
on top of my blanket. Usually if I fall asleep
like this, Mom comes in and covers me up. She
must have been tired last night from all the excitement.
I got up and went out to the kitchen. There
(25:27):
was no one there and nothing cooking. That in itself
was odd. Mom was always the first one up in
the morning cooking breakfast. Even if we had just cereal,
she was up making coffee for her and Dad. It
was eerie walking into a dark kitchen and getting my
(25:49):
own cereal. I expected her to show up at any moment,
but she never did. Bobby and Catherine stumbled into the
room and got their breakfast too. Is Mom sick or something,
Catherine asked. I don't know, maybe she's just upset from
(26:10):
the whole mister Hutchins thing, I said. Bobby just sat
and munched on his cereal, half awake. We finished breakfast
and got ready for school. Still no Mom. I went
to their bedroom and peeked inside. Dad and Mom were
(26:30):
both laying in bed, so I let them sleep. That
school day was completely surreal. Half the kids were out sick.
I'd never seen anything like it, except on the first
day of deer season. Even a couple of the teachers
(26:50):
just sat there staring like my cat. They didn't talk
to us all day. We just sat there re or
talking quietly to each other, hoping that no one would
be loud enough to break the teacher out of her stupor.
(27:11):
I knew something was wrong. The strangers had done something
to make these people into these weird zombies. I wish
I had another word for it, because I hadn't seen
anyone trying to attack or bite anyone else, at least
not yet. They just hang around like zombies before they attack.
(27:37):
I just hoped the attack would never come. When we
got home from school that day, Mom and Dad were
still in bed. I went into their room and stood
beside them. Mom's eyes were wide open, staring at the wall. Mom,
(28:07):
I said, are you okay? Yes? She said, without blinking.
Is dad okay? Yes? Have you been in bed all day?
She didn't answer. Are you going to cook supper? She
(28:29):
didn't answer. I waved my hand in front of her face,
and she didn't blink. Please, Mom, please snap out of it.
We need you. For the slightest moment, her eyes met
mine and a single teardrop fell from her eye. Then
(28:54):
she went back to staring at the wall. I went
out and told Bobby and Catherine that they were still
in bed and I didn't think they'd be coming out
anytime soon. Should we call someone? Catherine asked, like who?
(29:16):
Bobby said, I don't know the doctor. Maybe, she thought, okay,
I said, pulling out the phone book and looking up
the number for the doctor. I dialed and waited as
it rang and rang, no one's answering. I said, who
(29:39):
else can we call? She replied? We used to ask
mister Hutchins for help when we needed it. Bobby solemnly said,
a horrible thought suddenly struck me. You don't think mom
and Dad will end up, I said, unable to finish
(29:59):
the sentence, like mister Hutchins, Catherine said. I nodded. Bobby
started to cry. We don't know that'll happen, Catherine said,
mister Hutchins was old, much older than Mom and dad.
Bobby sniffled a few times and stopped crying. So what
(30:23):
do we do now, he asked. Let's make some sandwiches
for us and for Mom and Dad. We can take
them in and see if they're hungry. I suggested we
did exactly that, but neither of them responded. They just
laid in bed, staring at the walls. The three of
(30:46):
us ate our sandwiches and put ourselves to bed. We
agreed to call the doctor again in the morning, and
if he didn't answer, we'd call the sheriff. None of
us went straight to sleep that night. We were too
worried about Mom and Dad. I was also worried about Mike.
(31:08):
This whole thing seemed like it was something out of
a late night movie. I couldn't imagine it being real.
I kept trying to pinch myself to wake up from
this bad dream. Before I knew it, I could hear
my brother and sisters breathing settle into the rhythm of sleep.
(31:31):
I smiled for the first time in a while, listening
to them in peaceful slumber. As I listened, I heard
another sound, floorboards creaking. I froze at the thought of
a burglar breaking in and Dad not being able to
do anything about it. The steps came closer. I huddled
(31:56):
under my blanket for protection. The door open, I snuck
a glance and felt immediate relief. It was Mom. She
was still dressed in her night gown. She moved slowly
to Catherine's bed and lifted her up. She turned and
(32:17):
carried her out of the room. Then Dad came in
and carried out Bobby. I got up and followed Mom. Dad.
I said, where are you taking them? Mom already had
the door open and was walking outside. Dad stopped and
(32:40):
looked at me. Don't worry, he said, we'll come back
for you. Then they walked out into the cool night.
My blood froze. I didn't know where they were going,
but I knew I didn't want to go there, I
threw my shoes on and stepped outside. As I flew
(33:05):
down the stairs, I saw a strange light at the
end of our driveway. There were two silhouettes in it,
and they were heading back toward the house. I squinted
against the light, trying to see if it was my
parents or whatever those things were that looked like my parents.
(33:28):
As the figures grew closer, I could see they were
empty handed. I stood in the middle of our yard,
frozen with fear. I didn't know what to do. If
I went back inside, they would find me and take
me to be turned into a zombie too. I couldn't
(33:49):
run to mister Hutchin's house. Running to town would leave
me wide open to be chased. I turned round and
round in a panic, looking for options. The barn was
an option, but not a good one. There weren't many
places to hide there. Then it hit me, hiding places.
(34:15):
Where was my best hiding place? I ran into the cornfield.
It was nearly harvest time and the corn was as
tall as it was going to get. It was dark
(34:35):
and would be even darker in the rows. The only
light came from the house and whatever was at the
end of our driveway. I threw myself into the forest
of green stalks and ran part way in. I stopped
and realized what I'd done. I had run in a
(34:56):
straight line, making myself an easy target. I refocused on
my usual hide and seek strategy. I started from where
I was counted a certain number of rows up and
a certain number over. I was careful to move slowly
and disturb the corn stalks as little as possible. I
(35:18):
duck walked, staying as low to the ground as possible
and moving as quietly as I could. I was near
where I wanted to hide when something in my head
told me to stop. Where I was it was almost
totally dark. The lights from the house and that thing
(35:40):
cast strange shadows at the base of the corn I
could barely see a few feet in front of me.
I resisted the urge to sit down, and instead stayed
in my crouched position on my toes so I could
be ready to bolt at a moment's notice. I settled
(36:01):
into my spot and focused on slowing my breathing. My
adrenaline fought against me, telling me to run and never stop.
I pushed those thoughts aside and tried to be as
silent as possible. The air was still. There was no wind,
(36:23):
and nothing moved. Each time I inhaled and exhaled, it
sounded like a steam engine chugging to get up a hill.
Any movement I made, I heard the creak of the
souls of my sneakers. I could even hear my neck
muscles as I turned slowly searching for any pursuers. It
(36:49):
was like my body was conspiring against me, bound and
determined to get caught somehow. Over all the racket I
was made. I heard a sound. I closed my eyes
and focused on listening. For a long moment. There was nothing,
(37:12):
I mean nothing, not even the nightly crickets were singing.
And then I heard it again. Someone was in the cornfield.
They were moving slowly. I tried to tell if it
was one or many. At first I couldn't, but then
(37:36):
I heard another sound coming from behind me. They were
still a little ways off. I thought they had just entered.
I painted a mental picture of how close they were.
My mental map showed me one coming from the direction
of the house and one from the driveway. As I
(37:58):
heard them getting closed, Sir, I had to fight to
stay still. My mind was screaming at me to run.
I knew from so many hide and seek sessions that
that was the worst thing to do. I kept my
eyes closed and waited for them to pass by. Then
(38:20):
I would sneak out in the other direction. That plan
seemed to appease my nerves enough to get them to
stop yelling. I heard one of them approaching. They were
coming right at me. I could see the stalks beside
me moving, but I stayed still. Two rows before one
(38:43):
of my pursuers would have literally run me over, but
they stopped. It seemed like there was a moment of indecision,
and then they started off again in a different direction.
I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the
other one was still approaching. They were walking slowly up
(39:08):
the row beside the one I was in. They walked
right beside me and stopped. I recognized my dad's boots.
I just didn't know what was wearing them. Now he
turned towards me. I knew I was done. There was
(39:32):
nowhere I could run that he wouldn't catch me. I
kept my eyes closed, refusing to move even to look
up at the man I called father or what he
had become. He stood there unmoving for what seemed like
an eternity. Self preservation was all that kept me from surrendering.
(39:57):
I had seen these empty shells of people I used
to love, and I wanted to survive, to pass the
memories of who they were. Before he turned and took
a step away from me, then another. I wanted to
jump for joy. I wanted to run as I never
(40:20):
ran before, but mostly I wanted to be careful. I
remembered the times playing hide and seek when the seeker
pretended to walk away, only to turn around and lunge
at me. I held my breath as his footsteps continued
away from me. I counted to one hundred before I
(40:44):
would allow myself to move. As I started to sneak away,
I saw an ear of corn lying on the ground.
I picked it up and threw it as hard as
I could in the opposite direction of my escape route.
When it landed, I heard both of my pursuers converge
(41:08):
on it. I ran quickly and quietly away from them.
Before I knew it, I was at the edge of
the cornfield near the road. I peeked out and saw
the light at the end of my driveway. It didn't
look like headlights from a vehicle. It was just a
(41:30):
bright light hovering a few feet off the ground. It
was so bright I couldn't tell what it was attached to,
or if it was attached to anything. At this point,
I didn't know what I believed any more. I just
knew someone or something had taken the people I loved
(41:54):
and turned them into zombies. No, zombies wasn't right. It
was more like robots. They would just stare at whatever
until needed, then they would be called to action, like
Mom and Dad. I turned away from the light and ran.
(42:15):
It wasn't long until I heard a strange sound. It
was like a mechanical scream. It chilled my bones to
hear it. It seemed to be coming from behind me.
The light was getting brighter too, I knew it was
(42:36):
following me. Dad dashed out of the cornfield and tried
to grab me, but I was already out of his reach.
I could hear him running behind me when Mom came
around the corner and I nearly ran in to her.
(42:59):
I have I've no idea how I avoided her open arms.
Maybe somewhere along the line there was some football player
jeans in me. But I did a stiff arm spin
move that would make any running back proud. I ran
like my life depended on it, which it did. My
(43:20):
legs were burning, my lungs were on fire. I had
a stitch in my side, and yet I kept running.
My parents and the light chasing right behind me, just
waiting for me to trip or make some mistake. I
was almost in town when a light shone in front
of me. It also hovered just above the ground. I
(43:44):
was trapped with nowhere left to go. I stopped. It
wasn't more than a heartbeat until Dad had a.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Hold of me.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Mom was right behind him. They each grabbed an arm
and turned me around to head back towards the driveway light.
At least they were walking and I could take a
breather before being turned into a zombie robot. The light
behind us got brighter, and I heard a strange sound
(44:16):
from that direction. They sounded somewhat familiar, though, as the
light got closer. Suddenly my dad started convulsing. He fell
to the ground, followed shortly by my mom. Someone ran
up and grabbed me. Come on, kid, A large man said,
(44:38):
let's get you out of here. I turned from my
unconscious parents to the man He was in a soldier's
uniform and holding a taser. He dropped it and ran
with me halfway over his shoulder toward the other light.
As we got closer, I turned to see it was
(45:00):
a helicopter. It touched down just long enough for us
to get on and then take off. I watched as
we flew over my parents laying there looking very dead.
Could the shock bring them out of it? I asked, hopefully. Sorry, kid,
(45:22):
it doesn't work that way, he replied, Once they've turned,
there's no going back. A tear slid down my cheek.
As I watched my parents disappear into the distance, I
looked back at the house I had lived in my
entire life, and hopelessness overwhelmed me. For a fleeting moment,
(45:48):
I felt like I would have been better off with them.
At least we would all be together as a family.
My eyes caught a long line of lights dry into town.
What's that, I said, pointing at the lights containment. He said,
(46:11):
what's that mean? It means we can't let anyone escape
who's been infected. Infected, he shrugged. I don't have a
better word for it, I thought. For a moment, am
I infected? He looked at me. Are you talking? Yes?
(46:32):
Are you staring mindlessly at inanimate objects? No, you're not infected.
I slumped back in the seat and closed my eyes,
happy to be alive, but incredibly sad for those i'd lost.
I don't remember falling asleep, but when I woke, we
(46:56):
were on a military base. The soldiers were hustling around
like ants on an ant hill. A man in a
suit came over to the helicopter and took me inside.
What happened next is a long story that I might
tell someday. Suffice it to say for now that after
(47:18):
a long time, I was taken to a foster family
who raised me as their own. The town I used
to live in ceased to exist. I never saw a
single soul from there ever. Again, I was told I
was the only one that was rescued that night before.
(47:40):
I don't want to get into that right now. I've
tried going back, but it's surrounded by a fence with
no trespassing government property signs posted every twenty feet. It
surrounds the entire town. I can see my old house
from the fence, but no matter what I do, they
(48:03):
won't let me back in. I have to wonder if
they don't have the people in there standing around staring
at nothing, waiting to die. I've searched the Internet for
any traces of the town. There aren't any. It's like
every piece of history, every shred of proof that the
(48:25):
town ever existed, has been erased. I've talked to others
who've heard of similar experiences. The words paranormal, possession and
alien come up the most for possible explanations. But I
wonder if it isn't something deeper than that, If it
(48:48):
isn't something so sinister that explanations could be dangerous, Maybe
it's for the best. Maybe I should just drop the
whole thing move on with my life. I just can't
help but wonder what really went on. It's a mystery
I need to unravel for Mom, Dad, Bobby, Catherine, Mike,
(49:15):
mister Hutchins, and everyone else whose life was erased first
by whoever or whatever did this to them, and then
by those who want to cover it up. I posted
this to let everyone know about the people who used
to be my friends, family, and neighbors. I don't want
(49:39):
their memories to be in vain, But mostly I don't
want to allow others to fall into the same trap.
If you see someone staring at nothing in particular and
they refuse to speak, get away from them as soon
as you can. They aren't as lost and help bliss
(50:01):
as you think. How many other tiny towns in the
middle of nowhere have suffered the same fate? I wonder?
And that's our tour through a town that officially doesn't exist,
at least according to the government. Huge thanks to Michael
(50:25):
Kelso for tonight's scary story. Make sure to check his
work out. You can find his links in the show notes.
Now sharpen your carving knives, my spookies, because this Friday
we're serving our big Thanksgiving compilation, six juicy stories, stuffed
with chills, drizzled in dread, and perfect for basting the
(50:46):
bird or hiding from your relatives. It's a full spooky spread,
quick bite, slow burns, and at least one tale you'll
swear is staring at you from across the dinner table.
Make sure you're subscribed so it lands fresh on your
feed and tell a friend who loves leftovers and maybe
some cranberry sauce. And remember, if you love what we're
(51:09):
doing here at Weekly Spooky and want to support it
in a very direct way, head to Weeklyspooky dot com
slash joy. Over ninety other spookies have signed up and
gotten two bonus stories every month for as little as
one dollar. And speaking of an extra special thank you
to our Patreon podcast boosters folks who pay just a
little bit more to hear their names at the end
(51:30):
of the show, and they are Johnny Nix, Kate and Lulu,
Jessica Fuller, Micah Skewey, Jenny Green, Amber Hansford, Karen we Met,
Jack Kerr, and Craig Cohen. If you want to hear
your name at the end of the program, sign up
at the fifteen dollars or higher tier at weeklyspooky dot
com slash Join, or sign up for as little as
a dollar a month and get two bonus episodes every
(51:53):
single month. We're happy to be here to give you
spooky even more than just on your weekly But now,
my spookies, it's time for me to get back to it.
I have so much to do to prepare for a
very very haunted holiday. So I'll see you all back
here on Friday. And remember every Tuesday, we're releasing a
new program called This Week in horror history. Make sure
(52:15):
to check it out. So for myself, for my executive
producers Rob Fields and babbletopia dot com, my producer Dan Wilder,
and my creepy composer Ray Mattis, I'll talk at you
next time.
Speaker 2 (52:25):
Thank you for listening. Make sure to find your way
back next week. But for now you are safe. Trust me,
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