February 14, 2024 • 46 mins
When you’re getting ready to go to the airport, the last thing you need is an unexpected knock at the door. And a stranger who refuses to leave.
There’s probably never really a good time to come face-to-face with the supernatural, but there are definitely worse times than others. This is a rare ghost story that manages to be both a reminder and a premonition – it reveals a frightening event from the past, and provides a terrifying warning of what might happen if one family can’t find a way to change.
Patrons help to keep this UK horror podcast going. If you'd like to become one, just visit https://www.patreon.com/newghoststories
Find more ghost story content on my Substack - https://newghoststories.substack.com/
There’s probably never really a good time to come face-to-face with the supernatural, but there are definitely worse times than others. This is a rare ghost story that manages to be both a reminder and a premonition – it reveals a frightening event from the past, and provides a terrifying warning of what might happen if one family can’t find a way to change.
Patrons help to keep this UK horror podcast going. If you'd like to become one, just visit https://www.patreon.com/newghoststories
Find more ghost story content on my Substack - https://newghoststories.substack.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The story you're about to hear wastold to me in the strictest of confidence.
Certain names, dates, and locationshave been changed to protect that confidence.
Events that feature in this story maybe part of the public record.
If you believe you recognize any ofthe people, places, or events that
appear in this story, ask younot to reveal any information publicly out of
respect for the subject's right to remainanonymous. My name is David Paul Nixon,
(00:44):
and this is the New Ghost Storiespodcast where we delve into the New
ghost Stories archive to hear new andclassic cases of the supernatural stories that could
be delusions, lies, fantasies,or perhaps even the real thing. Just
don't make your mind up until you'velistened. I rather hope that ghosts are
(01:15):
not proof that there is life afterdeath, because who would want the life
of a ghost to exist only inpart a literal shadow of your former self,
stuck forever in a loop, performingthe same actions over and over again,
perhaps indefinitely, forever obsessed over somethingthat happened while you were alive,
(01:36):
to be like a broken record,constantly repeating, never able to let the
pain go, never able to moveon, to just be trapped in the
same place seems like an existence worsethan death. There have been times in
my life when I've been wronged,cheated, and felt myself burning up with
(01:57):
righteous anger and resentment. I've foundmyself involved in a conflict, the victim
of an injustice I simply could notput right, And in the worst of
these situations, one of the worsttimes in my life, I had to
work hard to let it go andlet myself move on, to accept that
life is short and that I wouldlose even more by not allowing myself to
(02:21):
let it go. But the waythat we understand ghosts is that they're tethered
to this world because of something theycan't let go, some tragedy, some
great wrong, some desire for revenge, and because of that they're trapped.
And years, decades, perhaps evencenturies, may pass and they remain walking
(02:42):
the same path, performing the sameactions endlessly, sometimes seen most of the
time hidden forgotten ghosts, never seento be lingering for positive reasons, rarely
because of a great love or somegreat unfinished obsession. There are no great
philosopher ghosts rattling chains and passing throughwalls as they continue their unfinished work defining
(03:07):
the meaning of life and the universe. There are no Great Coast composers finishing
the Great Symphony, which they ranout of time to complete when they were
alive. Ghosts are never doing anythingproductive. It's always the same great burning
anger, bitter as hatred that keepsthem tied up here. I would rather
(03:27):
pass into nothingness than be tethered.Keep a mindset where things, no matter
how bad they get, only getto take up so much of my available
time. Because life is too shortand I don't want to waste it.
Try not to focus on how badthings are, but always put things into
perspective, prioritize what's valuable, andlive a life focused on that and not
(03:51):
to waste it on other things.It's easy to say, it's not so
easy to do. But the lastthing I would want is to look back
when I'm old and regret the amountof time I wasted on the things that
didn't enrich my life. And ifI get things right, don't expect to
see me again after I die.I sincerely hope that when I'm gone that
(04:14):
I leave no ghost behind. Thisis New Ghost Story's case number four hundred
and fourteen, and it's called Travelsafely, and you can hear it in
full uninterrupted After these messages, Iadmit I kind of enjoyed it when the
kids didn't want to come with meto take the dog for a walk.
(04:36):
On the weekend, I could takea quiet, uninterrupted stroll to the park.
I could let Monty off his lead, let him roam the woods,
and chuck a stick for him.In peace, I could go sit at
a table on the green and enjoya quiet coffee, maybe an ice cream.
Sometimes I'd read for a little bitand drag it out before having to
(04:57):
make my way back home. Onone early summer day, it was a
Sunday afternoon, I think I waswalking along the main road on the way
home. I hadn't put Monty backon his lead yet. Normally he's very
well behaved and only walks a littlein front of me. I was daydreaming
(05:18):
and saw that he'd walked into theroad and was sniffing at something in the
gutter. I shouted at him,and he guiltily trotted back on to the
pavement. Out of curiosity, Ilooked to see what he'd been sniffing at.
To my surprise, I saw aset of car keys. Someone must
have dropped them. The horror goingto your car, finding your keys are
(05:43):
gone, then searching frantically for them, thinking about all the places you might
have dropped them. You probably wouldn'tthink about finding them in some gutter.
They must have slipped out of someone'sbag. I picked them up. The
key had a Volvo logo on them, along with a clicker, and the
Liverpool left c keering. I pointedthe clicker up the street and down the
(06:09):
street and had some of the carsparked nearby. None seemed to react to
it. I had a go atknocking on the door of the house closest
by, and then the next one. I didn't get an answer for them
either. There wasn't anything else Icould do, so I put them in
my pocket and I took them homewith me. Could you get a locksmith
(06:31):
for your car if you were stucksomewhere? Hopefully they had a spare set.
I could hear the kids fighting assoon as I was through the door.
Something to do with burning villagers inMinecraft. My wife, Catcher,
had spent the morning baking. Shebakes cakes as a side hustle, and
had made a small army of cupcakesfor guests at a work event. You've
(06:57):
been a long time. I thoughtyou were mowing the lawn this afternoon.
I let Monty into the back gardenand told her about the car keys.
She looked at me with surprise.Why did you bring them with you?
If they go looking for them now, they won't be able to find them.
I couldn't just leave them there.Anybody could have taken them. You're
(07:18):
anybody and you've taken them. Howwill that help? I hadn't expected this.
Well. I thought I could handthem in somewhere, maybe to the
police. You should put them onnext Door. This is the social app
where Catcher finds out where all thelocal food markets are happening, as well
as whose parcels have gone missing,and where all the dangerous looking youths hang
(07:42):
out. She sent me an inviteso I could join. I found a
general chat and posted hello, Ifound some car keys dropped in a gutter
on Woodside Road. There for aVolvo. If anyone has lost any keys
in that area, let me knowand I can arrange to get them back
to you. Then I went outsideto take them ower around the lawn.
(08:03):
After I'd finished and cleared away theclippings, I went and checked my phone
to see if anyone had responded.There was just one comment. Someone wrote
that I should have left the keyswhere I found them to whoever dropped them
could find them. I put myphone on charge and went to drag Teddy
away from the PlayStation to do hismaths homework. Later, I helped catch
(08:26):
a box some of her cupcakes andprepared dinner as it was my turn to
cook. There were no other commentsor responses to my post, and no
one ever came to claim the keys, so I just forgot about them.
We were getting ready for our summerholiday. It was about a year later.
(08:48):
It was literally the morning we weredue to catch our flight. I
had, unfortunately, to complete onemore meeting with my line manager Khalil,
first thing in the morning, andKhalil never shuts up. There's no process
he won't go through in excruciating detail. To prevent any delay, I'd stayed
up late the night before to finishmy packing and reassure Catchia that I would
(09:11):
definitely be ready on time. Itwas hard to stay awake while he was
talking, not that the noise inthe house would have made it possible to
sleep. I kept having to apologizefor the shouting and stomping around in the
background as Catcha corralled the kids intogetting ready. Where is it you going,
Killiel, asked Eruba. I said, Catchya's sister and her husband went
(09:35):
to Tenerif, so we had tooutdo them. Oh, dude, that
sounds amazing. It had better befor what it's costing us. I heard
Erica scream something at Catcher and thenslam her bedroom door. Yes, I
could do with getting on the way. Sure, well, there's only one
more thing I need to go overwith you and the bugger kept me on
(09:56):
teams for another twenty minutes. Whenthe chat was over, it was only
ten twenty five, however, Ihad still finished way ahead of schedule.
Erica and Catcher were still fighting upstairs. I crept slowly downstairs so no one
would hear, and I put apod in the espresso machine. I could
(10:18):
do with a pick me up.We had to leave by eleven a m.
To arrive at the airport before twelvethirty to catch our flight at two
twenty, stopping off on the wayat eleven thirty to drop Monty off at
the kennel. I picked up myphone to check the traffic. While I
waited for the machine to brew.Everything was looking fine. I could hear
(10:41):
Catcher coming down the stairs as Ipoured. Do you only have the one
adapter, she said, holding upa plug with multiple protracting parts. I
think there's another one, I said, surely you have some. I keep
mine at my parents where I needthem. Did you check the cupboard under
the water, yes, of courseI did. What about in your office,
(11:03):
the big box where you have allthe cables, I can have a
look. There was an eruption fromupstairs. Mum, Teddy, if you
can't find the charger, you can'tbring it with you, she marched back
upstairs. I was just going tolet them get on with it. I
was all packed and ready. Iwasn't going to let them stress me out.
(11:26):
I lifted the cup to my nose. I took a second to savor
the aroma. The front doorbell rang. I was so tempted to take the
whole shot, but I put thecup down and went to answer it.
Teddy was bumping a small suitcase downthe stairs. Good work, Teddy,
(11:46):
I said, almost there. Ireached the end of the hall, pressed
down on the latch and pulled thedoor open. Maybe it was a rush
of air from outside. I rememberfeeling a sudden chill, even though it
was a bright and pleasant day.The man in the doorway seemed like he
(12:07):
was dressed for the cold. Hewas wearing a thick, padded coat with
the hood pulled up over his head, but even with that, the whiteness
of his palla still stood out.He was an unusually tall man, thin
faced, with a straggly brown beardthat made him look older than he probably
was. It felt like there wasa frog in my throat. All of
(12:30):
a sudden, I felt it alittle hard to speak. I tried to
say hello, can I help you, or something to that effect, but
it came out a bit weird.We stood there staring at each other,
and I didn't like him staring atme. He had small, piercing pupils.
(12:52):
I felt like they were shooting sniperbeams at me. Keeys, he
said, all of a sudden,I'm sorry, I said to him.
He swallowed and said slowly, likea man with a stutter, I lost
my keys. I think you've foundmy gook keys. It had been so
(13:13):
long ago that I had no ideawhat he was talking about. You'll have
to excuse me. I don't keys, he said bluntly, you've found my
keys. The memory leapt back intogear. Car keys, Yes, by
keys, goodness, that was solong ago. I said, I've come
(13:37):
for my car keys, right,yes, okay, I said, I
suppose you'd better come in. Hetook his step into the doorway immediately unexpectedly.
I had to move awkwardly out ofhis way and then ease my way
around him to close the door.There wasn't much space in the hall.
(14:00):
Now that we were stood on thesame level, I realized just how tall
he was. I'm no short man, but it felt like this man was
towering over me. He seemed tocast a very long shadow. I was
distracted by a sound, not aloud sound, but a persistent one,
a tapping. I looked down.His coat was dripping on the floor.
(14:28):
It was like he'd been caught ina heavy downpour, and I was sure
it hadn't rained all morning. Iheard the pita patter of Monty's paws on
the floor. He cheerfully approached thestranger with a light bark and his tongue
hanging out. He stopped a fewfeet from him. His ears fell back.
He withdrew his tongue and fled backto the living room car keys.
(14:54):
I felt lost for words again,I was able to say, I think
they're in the kitchen before heading therea little briskly. We have a little
basket that sits on a corner shelfwhere we keep our keys for the shed,
the back door, and so on. I took the basket off the
shelf and searched through them. Theman walked slowly into the kitchen after me,
(15:16):
and was quite obvious the keys weren'tin the basket, but I checked
each one anyway. I felt hispresence intensely and felt obliged to make a
show of effort. I could feelmy heartbeat. I found it intensely uncomfortable
being around him. I started lookingthrough the envelopes we keep on that same
shelf a little desperately, in casesomehow it might be hiding in or behind
(15:41):
one of them. I checked thecutlery drawer, but knew it wouldn't be
in there. I found myself tappingmy fingers on the counter, trying to
think of other possibilities. I wasreluctant to look back at him. I
did not like the way. Hestared at me. You know, I
said, facing the cabinets in frontof me, I'm not entirely sure where
(16:03):
I put them. He didn't respond, so I let my head turn,
giving him a sideways glance. Hehad pulled off his hood, making his
pale face and sharp stairs somehow evenmore intense. It's hard to describe exactly
what it felt like when he lookedat me. It gave me a low
(16:25):
feeling, a dreadful feeling. Hejust kept staring. It made me want
to stare at my feet, crawlsomewhere and hide. Let me I'll have
a look around and I'll be backin a moment. I walked past him
to the stairs. Have to gethome, he said, suddenly, Sure,
(16:48):
I said back to him, ofcourse. Then I turned around and
almost walked into Catcher, who wascoming down the steps. What's the matter,
she asked. He nearly made mejump out of my skin, I
said, Who's that? She said, quietly, looking over my shoulder.
I ushered her into the living roomand pushed the door to you remember last
(17:11):
summer I found those keys? Whatkeys? The keys I found while walking
the dog? I don't remember anykeys. I put a post about them
online. Remember, do you knowwhere I put them? I don't remember
any keys. I don't know whatyou're talking about. Look, the man
has come to pick up the keysthat I've found, but I can't find
(17:33):
them now. I don't know whereI put them. She shrugged her shoulders.
I don't know anything about any keys. I'm trying to get us ready
for our holiday. Who is thisperson? I don't know. He just
said he was here to get thekeys. If it was last year,
why is he here now, Idon't know. He just showed up.
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Why are you sweating? Sweating?I felt my brow. I actually feel
very cold. You'd better not begetting sick, not before we get on
that plane. I just want tofind these keys and get rid of him.
I'm busy getting the kids ready,she said. Teddy has lost his
fitbit charger, and Erica can't zipup a suitcase because she's packed too many
(18:21):
outfits. Just tell him to comeback. If he's waited a year,
he can't be that desperate for them. I looked towards the door and then
back at CATCHA. I wipe thesweat off my forehead. Well, I
catcha rolled their eyes. Fine,I will tell him. She pulled open
the door. She approached the manwith her arm out stretched, ready to
(18:45):
shake his hand. Hi, I'mCatcher, what's your on making eye contact
with that bleak face? I sawher confidence quickly drain away. I saw
her take her hand back. Heremains still. I'm sorry about this,
she said, trying to recover,hands now placed in her pockets. We
(19:07):
me and my family, we areactually getting ready to go on holiday today.
My name's Chris, Yes, Chris, Hello, I'm Catcher, and
myself and my family we're getting readyto go to the airport today, so
we don't really have time to lookfor the keys. I've got to get
home, he said, raising hisvoice. We're not sure where your keys
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are. His eyes suddenly darted fromside to side. He started drawing in
deep breaths. He looked like hewas beginning to panic. We'll promise we'll
keep looking for them, but notuntil we get back. I've got to
get home. Got to get home. Catchuer took a few steps back.
The temperature seemed to have dropped afew degrees more. But we don't really
(19:56):
have time now, running out oftime. Got to get them to football.
He took a sudden step towards her. Got to get them to football.
Okay, okay, we'll get themto football. Okay, she said
in a calming, albeit confused tone. She came back into the living room,
(20:18):
looking a little shell shocked. Herarms were folded. She could feel
the cold too. I tried towarn you, I said, what time
is it. I checked my phone. It's ten thirty eight. Where did
you have them last? The keys? Yes, the fucking keys. You
must have some idea. I don'tknow. Maybe they're in my office somewhere.
(20:42):
Did you check the junk drawer?No, I didn't, I said,
feeling foolish. Fine, you checkedthere, and I'll look in your
office. Before I could argue,she was charging up the stairs, leaving
me to go awkwardly back into thekitchen. We'd squeezed a narrow dresser in
(21:02):
the porch area by the back door. I should have thought of the drawer
earlier, but it's just one ofthose things you try to forget because otherwise
you might have to do something aboutit. He watched me as I walk
through. I'm just going to checkthis draw I said, I'm sure it
must be in here, But thedrawer was hard to open. It was
so packed full of junk, andas I rummaged around inside, trying to
(21:26):
shift whatever was causing it to getstuck, I saw him shuffle over to
me, watching what I was doingintensely. I stopped being careful. I
picked up handfuls of fish, saucecapsules, chopsticks, and batteries and let
them fall to the floor. Thesound they made hitting the til seemed to
carry like it had an echo.I got the drawer open fully and continued
(21:51):
to lift out coasters and salt packetsand alan keys. I thought there was
a good chance of them being inthere, but they weren't. He was
watching me right over my shoulder.He was going to see that they weren't
there and start making a scene again. I grimaced and turned slowly to look
(22:11):
at him. But he wasn't there. He was wandering into the living room.
I went after him. I didn'twant him loose in other parts of
the house. He was still drippingwater and had left a trail all the
way up to the mantelpiece. Hesaw me and raised his arm, pointing
to a picture of my kids.He was trying to speak. He looked
(22:33):
almost happy, kids, he saidhe pointed to himself. I have two
kids. Yes, I nodded.We have two kids, a boy and
a girl. He pointed to himselfagain, two boys, he nodded.
Got to get boys to football,Yes, I said, If you just
(23:00):
come back into the kitchen, we'llfind your keys and get you to the
football. I awkwardly, hesitantly placedmy hand on the back of his shoulder.
I expected him to feel strange andcold. Instead, he felt oddly
weightless. There was nothing to him. After returning him to the kitchen,
(23:22):
I jogged upstairs. Catcher was onthe floor in my office. She'd emptied
my desk drawers and was now tippingout the folders from my filing cabinet.
What are you doing. I'm tryingto find these stupid keys. You're mixing
up all my files. What doyou need all this paper for? Anyway?
It's for work bank statements from tenyears ago, she said, clutching
(23:45):
piles of paper, then throwing themto the floor. Did you find it,
No, although I did find anothertravel adapter. Ah. What time
is it? It's ten forty two, I said. She kicked to desk
draw closed and stood back up.What if one of the kids took it
somewhere, I asked, why wouldthey? Teddy's always picking stuff up and
(24:08):
putting it down. Somewhere we heardthe toilet flushing. We went into the
hall to see who it was.Erica walked out with her phone held out
in front of her. Why isthis a cold in here? She said,
looking up? Have you finished packing? Mum? Chill? I'm watching
tiktoks about how to pack now.Just don't take so many things. Take
(24:32):
some clothes out of your suitcases.But the weather in Aruba it's hot during
the day but gets cold at night. And you guys, you can't tell
me how much time are at thebeach or on the road or in town.
I need the right coords so Ican dress up or down if we're
like moving from spending time by thepool or going to Have you seen any
(24:52):
keys? I butted in, Whatkeys? Keys? Car keys? I
don't know where you're put your keys, not my keys. There's a man
here looking for his keys. Shegave me, what the fuck is wrong
with you? Look? Why arehis keys here? Because I found them,
He's come to collect them, butI don't know where they are.
(25:15):
Aren't we supposed to be going tothe airport in like twenty minutes. Yes
we are, don't shout at me. Erica said, catcha butting in.
We need to find the keys beforewe go. Teddy might have picked them
up and taken them. I needyou to go help him look through his
room. I don't want to gothrough Teddy's stuff. Don't argue. Just
(25:37):
go up there and do it.You mean before I finished packing. I
need to know so I don't getit wrong, and you start giving me
more shit language. I snapped,first keys, go and do it now,
catcha commanded Teddy. She shouted upthe stairs. He's not upstairs,
said Erica. Then where is he? Seen him take his case downstairs?
(26:02):
Had he ever come back up again? You start, I'll go find him,
I said. I went downstairs,and before I reached the last step,
I saw Teddy sprint past the window. He was in the garden.
I walked into the kitchen towards theback door. The man turned towards me,
still looking. I said, I'msure that'll turn up. I closed
(26:25):
the back door behind me. Teddy, who'd been jogging in a circle,
changed course and sprinted towards me.What are you doing, I asked,
it's supposed to be getting ready.I need to get my ten thousand steps
before I get on the plane.Teddy was obsessed with fitness stats. Did
you find your fitbit charger? Mumsaid it was the same as Eric's hair
(26:45):
curler charger, and she'd make herlet me use it. Fine, but
I need you to come inside andhelp me with something. But I've still
got three thousand steps to do.You can run around at the airport.
Do you remember picking up any keys? You Mum won't let me have any
keys. That's because you pick thingsup and put them down and don't remember
(27:06):
where you've put them. I thinkyou might have picked up some keys I
found last year, and now agentleman is here to get them. You
always blame me when you lose something. I do not, Teddy, that
was just that one time. Nowcome inside. He stropily made his way
back into the house. Where's thestuff all over the floor, he asked,
while taking his shoes off. I'lltell you later. Come on,
(27:30):
the man was staring at him.Teddy froze to the spot. Come on,
Teddy, I said, giving hima push. Got to get them
to the football. Yes, yes, I know, I'm sure we'll find
them, I said, as upbeatas I could manage. As I led
Teddy back to the stairs, hewhispered, Dad, Who's that. I
(27:53):
don't know, Teddy, he justwants his keys. I needed to search
your room in case they're in there. Look weird. I know. I
don't like him. That's why Iwant to get him out of here.
Ideally, I checked my phone inthe next eleven minutes, Erica's in your
room. Now help her look forthem. He turned around, sharply,
(28:14):
Erica's in my room. Yes,find the keys first and she'll get out.
Tell your mother I'm searching the livingroom. I crept back downstairs and
closed the living room door behind me. I started my search by taking the
cushions off the sofa, looking downthe back of it and under it.
All I found was Monty hiding behindthe back. He looked like he was
(28:36):
trembling, and he wouldn't come outwhen I called for him. I looked
around the TV stand in the cupboardbeneath, looked around and behind all the
things on the bookshelves and the mantelpiece. There was nothing. Where the hell
could they be. I didn't rememberpicking them off or putting them anywhere.
I literally hadn't seen them since theday I found them. I was sure
of it. But they had tobe somewhere. They wouldn't have been thrown
(29:00):
away. If we kept looking,we'd find them. You can find a
needle in a haystack if you lookfor long enough. It was ten fifty
one. We had nine minutes.I could hear something from the kitchen.
I opened the door a little tolisten. The man was humming something.
(29:21):
It started to pace a little.He moved like a Victorian prisoner wearing leg
irons. He looked like he mightfault bits. That's all we'd need.
Stuck here waiting for an ambulance.The tune he was humming was familiar.
I couldn't place it, but Iknew I'd heard it before. I slipped
(29:41):
back upstairs. Catcher had finished searchingin my office and it looked like a
bomb had gone off. Couldn't bearto look at it. It would take
forever to sort it out. Icould hear Erica and Teddy fighting on the
second floor. I jogged up thereand asked, find anything, Erica,
it's built my lego, cried Teddy. Mum starting to look everywhere, but
(30:03):
did you find anything. They're nothere, saltd Teddy. Then search Erica's
room, what, said Erica.I'm going to throw your clothes everywhere,
said Teddy, leaping over a pileof bricks and running into the hall.
Erica chased after him. While Iheaded to the master bedroom. Katcha had
(30:23):
been emptying out the wardrobes and searchingall my coat, trouser and shirt pockets.
Tell me you've found them, nosign, I said. She came
right up to me. I havebeen planning this holiday for over six months.
I'm searching just as hard as youare. Why did you bring those
keys home in the first place.I was trying to do something nice.
(30:48):
I was trying to do the rightthing. Nice. You're always so nice.
We've got seven minutes left before we'resupposed to be leaving. They're here
somewhere, I said, Where elseis there to look? Try the shed.
He's spend enough time in there hidingfrom the rest of us. Maybe
it's there. I do not gothere to hide, I mumble as I
(31:11):
walked out the room and headed backdownstairs. Once again, I was starting
to get worn out by those damnstairs. He was still humming his tune
in the kitchen. As I dashedthrough, still looking, I said hurriedly
to Football, promise the new ball. I crossed the lawn and went into
(31:32):
the shed, the idea that I'dtry and spend time here. This was
the most cramped and most cluttered spacein the house. Only the attic was
more full of junk than here.Oh God, what if we'd accidentally boxed
it up with something we'd taken upto the attic. We couldn't have done,
could we. When was the lasttime we'd put something up there?
It was ten fifty four six minutes. We were rushing so badly. There
(31:56):
was no way we could be searchingthoroughly at this speed. But what else
could we do? I pulled boxesof nails, screws, and tools off
their shelves to see inside. Irummaged around old paint cans, boxes of
spare tiles, tubs of weed killer. I shook bags of old grout and
compost. This was insane, Andthen, as if from nowhere, I
(32:20):
suddenly remembered where I'd heard that tunebefore. You'll Never Walk Alone anthem of
Liverpool, left c by Jerry andthe pacemakers because he was a fucking Liverpool
fan. I'd forgotten that the keyshad Liverpool keyring. It was ten fifty
eight. This couldn't go on,the screws and nails all over the place.
(32:42):
I left the shed and looked upat the upstairs windows, hoping to
see someone there, jumping up anddown with joy that they'd found them.
No such luck. I ran acrossthe grass and back inside. Going through
the kitchen, passed the man withoutsaying a word. I found ten.
He's sitting near the top of thefirst flight of stairs. Teddy, What
(33:04):
are you doing? He was staringdown at the man, and the man
was staring back at him. Teddy. I shook him a little by the
shoulders. He turned his eyes upat me. You're supposed to be looking
for the keys, Dad, hesaid, leaning towards me. Is that
man dead? What? I madehim get up and go on to the
landing? Has he died? Ofcourse not? Teddy, I said,
(33:30):
shakily, of course not. Whywould you say that he looks like a
zombie. There are no such thingsas zombies, Teddy, I could hear
the lack of confidence in my ownvoice. We just need to give him
his keys so he can go away, so we need to keep looking,
then up again to the next landing. My legs were aching. The detritus
(33:52):
from hours of searching had spilled outof the rooms and across the hallway.
I could already hear a catchier swearingbefore I reached the bedroom room. You
haven't found it, have you,she said? I shook my head.
She howled with frustration. What timeis it? It's eleven, said Erica,
(34:12):
sitting on the floor in the hall. I've given us extra time to
get there in case there's traffic,I said, We still have time.
No, she started calmly, thereisn't time. We need to go now.
You have to go and tell himthat we can't find the keys and
that we're going now. But wealready tried, try harder, losing the
(34:37):
calm. I've earned this holiday,just two weeks once a year, to
relax, to have a little bitof time where I'm not constantly having to
pick up after everyone and organize everyoneall the time. But what am I
supposed to do? Put your footdown, take control for once, stop
(35:02):
hiding. Stop being so damn nice. We're going on holiday. We shouldn't
be flying anyway, said Erica.The carbon footprint from every flight is like,
don't you fucking start that with meagain. Catchier screamed, I don't
think he's going to leave, Isaid, But before she could yell at
(35:23):
me, I relented. I'll try, Okay, I'll try. I started
to walk down the stairs. Everythingwas quiet now, all the frantic noise
of scurrying about and searching had stopped. All I could hear was the creaking
of every stair beneath me. SoI took each footstep. I could hear
(35:46):
the family congregating on the top landing. They were getting ready to listen to
what was about to happen. Ifelt like I was taking a long,
slow walk towards a firing squad.Eyes locked onto mine immediately, so I
turned onto the final flight of stairs, as if somehow he'd been watching me
(36:07):
the whole way down. I feltsweat across my whole body. My heartbeat
gained speed, anxiety buzzed in mychest. I placed my feet on the
floor at the bottom. He saidnothing. I drew in a deep breath.
It's bad news. I'm afraid we'vetaken a good long look and we
(36:30):
can't seem to find your keys anywhere. Tears fell from both his eyes.
I'm really sorry, but we can'tseem to find them. With the kids
to football, we have to geton home for six thirty at the airport
and catch art to the force knockedme backwards, the gods. I went
(36:57):
to grab the banister but missed.I against the bottom steps. He stood
over me. Six glasses shattered inthe kitchen, the mirror cracked in the
hall. Pictures started to fall offthe walls. And put my hands over
my ears, closed my eyes,looked away. I found it. Came
(37:21):
a voice. We both locked upthe stairs. Loud footsteps were heading down
to us. Teddy appeared on thelanding. He had the keys in his
hand and jogged to the bottom.I got to my feet, took the
keys from him and handed them straightto the man, and he took them
with both his hands cupped, likehe was being handed something precious and delicate.
(37:49):
Where did you find them, Iasked Teddy. They'd fallen behind the
toilet, he said, and itall fell into place. I could see
myself carrying them, placing them downon the shelf above the loo, forgetting
to pick them back up again,and then someone else knocking them off while
they were reaching for a new rollof toilet paper, keys, landing behind
(38:12):
the loo where no one would thinkto look for them. Good work,
Teddy, I said, And thenI turned back to the man. He
was gone. I looked up anddown the hall, in the kitchen,
and in the living room. He'dvanished. Catcha and Erica are creeping down
(38:34):
the stairs, is he? Catcherbegan? Can't see him anywhere, I
said. She reached the bottom,and, like me, felt the need
to have a good look around.When it became apparent that there was no
sign of him, she swung towardsme. Then let's get the hell out
(38:55):
of here. I want everyone downstairswith their suit and in the car in
the next two minutes. Tops go. The three of them piled back upstairs.
Still feeling shell shocked, I lingeredat the bottom. I took another
look around, worried that he mightsuddenly show up somewhere. He genuinely seemed
(39:17):
to have disappeared into thin air.To my surprise, my espresso from earlier
was still there on the counter.It had been pushed across the surface,
had struck the back wall, spillinga little, but it was essentially intact.
I picked it up and swallowed thewhole thing. It was cold,
(39:40):
but it put a little spark backinto me. Because I felt faint,
I felt empty, I felt likeI didn't have the strength to make it
to the end of the road,never mind to the airport and beyond.
The sound of a sudden bang mademe jump. Looking down the hall,
(40:00):
I could see that the front doorhad blown open. Feeling my heart rate
rise again, I crept over toit. I had pushed it closed before
I knew I had. I noticedthe trail of water the stranger had brought
with him as he'd walked through thehouse, and as I stood in the
doorway looking outside to the car,I noticed that the drips stopped right by
(40:24):
the door. There was a cleardry day outside. There were no signs
of any water droplets past the frontdoorstep, and there were no drips on
the whole path up to the house. I heard the sound of suitcase wheels
clattering on the floor. Get themto the car, cried Catchier, go
(40:45):
go. I put my cases infirst thing Ericas were loaded in, followed
by catchers with Teddy's on top.I then went into the living room and
had to drag Monty out from behindthe sofa by his collar sut. He
made a runner for the front door. Erica caught him on the driveway,
and we managed to get him intothe car. With the three of them
(41:07):
all waiting on the back seat,Me and Catchier stood in the kitchen.
WI Fi off, Yes, heatingoff? Yes, back door locked.
Yes. The house looked like we'vebeen burgled the day after an earthquake.
That aside, we were ready togo. Let's get the hell out of
(41:29):
here. She turned around and slippedon the wet floor. One knee went
down against the tile with a crackthat made me shudder. Are you all
right? I cried, going toher. She tried to stand up.
I'm okay, she said, inpain. Let me help you. No,
just go, just go, I'llcatch up. I ended up waiting
(41:51):
for her in the car, watchinguncomfortably as she struggled out the door,
locked it behind her, and hobbledher way to the passenger side door.
I realized I'd forgotten to pack theother adapter i'd found. I decided I'd
just buy one at the airport.It was eleven eleven when we pulled off.
All things considered, it could havebeen much worse. The early signs
(42:15):
were good. There were no delaysas we traveled down the high street and
towards the main road. We didn'tget caught behind any buses or stopped at
any of the crossings. Things werecalm, peaceful. I was feeling more
and more confident that we'd make it. It didn't even register when I started
(42:35):
driving down Woodside Road, making ourway slowly to the spot by the park
where I'd found the keys. Nothingseemed strange to me when I started to
hear music. It started to rise, as if from nowhere. I hadn't
noticed Catcher put on the radio.It didn't sound like it was coming from
Erica's phone. I didn't think muchabout it as it faded in, slowly
(43:01):
growing in volume. The weather seemedto take a turn. The sky seemed
much darker. I could hear thepit a patter of rain drops, although
no rain seemed to be striking thewindscreen. In the distance, I saw
a man. He was wearing aheavy coat. He was taking off his
headphones and pulling off his head Hecarried the headphones in one hand. His
(43:24):
other arm had something tucked under it. He was running along the pavement,
trying to escape the downpour. Hewas getting closer the thing under his arm.
I could see now that it wasa football. Then he tripped.
The ball slipped from his grip andbounced ahead of him. It bounced on
(43:45):
the pavement and then against a parkedcar, and then into the road.
He stumbled after it, jumping offthe pavement, rushing onto the tarmac.
I slammed on the brakes. Thecar shrieked. We came out of our
seats, rubber burned. The carstopped. The shrieking stopped. We thumped
(44:06):
back into our seats. Behind us, cars screeched, coming to a stop,
one after the other. Everyone tooka deep breath. What the fuck,
screamed Catcher. Horns erupted, long, loud and obnoxious. The spell
(44:28):
was broken. The sky was clearagain. The sun was out. There
was no rain, no ball,no man, no music. There was
nothing ahead of us. The roadwas all clear. What's the matter,
Catia said, I thought, Ithought I saw something. Get a hold
(44:52):
of yourself. We're only trying toget to the airport. Thank you for
listening to the New Ghost Stories podcast. If you've enjoyed the podcast and want
to support what I do, pleaselike, comment, or leave a review
(45:15):
on any platform, and subscribe tohear future releases. You can also support
the show by becoming a patron andvisiting Patreon dot com slash New ghost Stories.
The show is written and produced byme, David Paul Nixon. If
you'd like to read more from me, visit my Substacknew ghost Stories dot substack
dot com, and you can alsofind me on Instagram, threads mastered on
(45:38):
Facebook, and the website formerly knownas Twitter at New ghost Stories, Next
Time on the New ghost Stories podcast. In the end, we all come
to dust.
The story you're about to hear wastold to me in the strictest of confidence.
Certain names, dates, and locationshave been changed to protect that confidence.
Events that feature in this story maybe part of the public record.
If you believe you recognize any ofthe people, places, or events that
appear in this story, ask younot to reveal any information publicly out of
respect for the subject's right to remainanonymous. My name is David Paul Nixon,
(00:44):
and this is the New Ghost Storiespodcast where we delve into the New
ghost Stories archive to hear new andclassic cases of the supernatural stories that could
be delusions, lies, fantasies,or perhaps even the real thing. Just
don't make your mind up until you'velistened. I rather hope that ghosts are
(01:15):
not proof that there is life afterdeath, because who would want the life
of a ghost to exist only inpart a literal shadow of your former self,
stuck forever in a loop, performingthe same actions over and over again,
perhaps indefinitely, forever obsessed over somethingthat happened while you were alive,
(01:36):
to be like a broken record,constantly repeating, never able to let the
pain go, never able to moveon, to just be trapped in the
same place seems like an existence worsethan death. There have been times in
my life when I've been wronged,cheated, and felt myself burning up with
(01:57):
righteous anger and resentment. I've foundmyself involved in a conflict, the victim
of an injustice I simply could notput right, And in the worst of
these situations, one of the worsttimes in my life, I had to
work hard to let it go andlet myself move on, to accept that
life is short and that I wouldlose even more by not allowing myself to
(02:21):
let it go. But the waythat we understand ghosts is that they're tethered
to this world because of something theycan't let go, some tragedy, some
great wrong, some desire for revenge, and because of that they're trapped.
And years, decades, perhaps evencenturies, may pass and they remain walking
(02:42):
the same path, performing the sameactions endlessly, sometimes seen most of the
time hidden forgotten ghosts, never seento be lingering for positive reasons, rarely
because of a great love or somegreat unfinished obsession. There are no great
philosopher ghosts rattling chains and passing throughwalls as they continue their unfinished work defining
(03:07):
the meaning of life and the universe. There are no Great Coast composers finishing
the Great Symphony, which they ranout of time to complete when they were
alive. Ghosts are never doing anythingproductive. It's always the same great burning
anger, bitter as hatred that keepsthem tied up here. I would rather
(03:27):
pass into nothingness than be tethered.Keep a mindset where things, no matter
how bad they get, only getto take up so much of my available
time. Because life is too shortand I don't want to waste it.
Try not to focus on how badthings are, but always put things into
perspective, prioritize what's valuable, andlive a life focused on that and not
(03:51):
to waste it on other things.It's easy to say, it's not so
easy to do. But the lastthing I would want is to look back
when I'm old and regret the amountof time I wasted on the things that
didn't enrich my life. And ifI get things right, don't expect to
see me again after I die.I sincerely hope that when I'm gone that
(04:14):
I leave no ghost behind. Thisis New Ghost Story's case number four hundred
and fourteen, and it's called Travelsafely, and you can hear it in
full uninterrupted After these messages, Iadmit I kind of enjoyed it when the
kids didn't want to come with meto take the dog for a walk.
(04:36):
On the weekend, I could takea quiet, uninterrupted stroll to the park.
I could let Monty off his lead, let him roam the woods,
and chuck a stick for him.In peace, I could go sit at
a table on the green and enjoya quiet coffee, maybe an ice cream.
Sometimes I'd read for a little bitand drag it out before having to
(04:57):
make my way back home. Onone early summer day, it was a
Sunday afternoon, I think I waswalking along the main road on the way
home. I hadn't put Monty backon his lead yet. Normally he's very
well behaved and only walks a littlein front of me. I was daydreaming
(05:18):
and saw that he'd walked into theroad and was sniffing at something in the
gutter. I shouted at him,and he guiltily trotted back on to the
pavement. Out of curiosity, Ilooked to see what he'd been sniffing at.
To my surprise, I saw aset of car keys. Someone must
have dropped them. The horror goingto your car, finding your keys are
(05:43):
gone, then searching frantically for them, thinking about all the places you might
have dropped them. You probably wouldn'tthink about finding them in some gutter.
They must have slipped out of someone'sbag. I picked them up. The
key had a Volvo logo on them, along with a clicker, and the
Liverpool left c keering. I pointedthe clicker up the street and down the
(06:09):
street and had some of the carsparked nearby. None seemed to react to
it. I had a go atknocking on the door of the house closest
by, and then the next one. I didn't get an answer for them
either. There wasn't anything else Icould do, so I put them in
my pocket and I took them homewith me. Could you get a locksmith
(06:31):
for your car if you were stucksomewhere? Hopefully they had a spare set.
I could hear the kids fighting assoon as I was through the door.
Something to do with burning villagers inMinecraft. My wife, Catcher,
had spent the morning baking. Shebakes cakes as a side hustle, and
had made a small army of cupcakesfor guests at a work event. You've
(06:57):
been a long time. I thoughtyou were mowing the lawn this afternoon.
I let Monty into the back gardenand told her about the car keys.
She looked at me with surprise.Why did you bring them with you?
If they go looking for them now, they won't be able to find them.
I couldn't just leave them there.Anybody could have taken them. You're
(07:18):
anybody and you've taken them. Howwill that help? I hadn't expected this.
Well. I thought I could handthem in somewhere, maybe to the
police. You should put them onnext Door. This is the social app
where Catcher finds out where all thelocal food markets are happening, as well
as whose parcels have gone missing,and where all the dangerous looking youths hang
(07:42):
out. She sent me an inviteso I could join. I found a
general chat and posted hello, Ifound some car keys dropped in a gutter
on Woodside Road. There for aVolvo. If anyone has lost any keys
in that area, let me knowand I can arrange to get them back
to you. Then I went outsideto take them ower around the lawn.
(08:03):
After I'd finished and cleared away theclippings, I went and checked my phone
to see if anyone had responded.There was just one comment. Someone wrote
that I should have left the keyswhere I found them to whoever dropped them
could find them. I put myphone on charge and went to drag Teddy
away from the PlayStation to do hismaths homework. Later, I helped catch
(08:26):
a box some of her cupcakes andprepared dinner as it was my turn to
cook. There were no other commentsor responses to my post, and no
one ever came to claim the keys, so I just forgot about them.
We were getting ready for our summerholiday. It was about a year later.
(08:48):
It was literally the morning we weredue to catch our flight. I
had, unfortunately, to complete onemore meeting with my line manager Khalil,
first thing in the morning, andKhalil never shuts up. There's no process
he won't go through in excruciating detail. To prevent any delay, I'd stayed
up late the night before to finishmy packing and reassure Catchia that I would
(09:11):
definitely be ready on time. Itwas hard to stay awake while he was
talking, not that the noise inthe house would have made it possible to
sleep. I kept having to apologizefor the shouting and stomping around in the
background as Catcha corralled the kids intogetting ready. Where is it you going,
Killiel, asked Eruba. I said, Catchya's sister and her husband went
(09:35):
to Tenerif, so we had tooutdo them. Oh, dude, that
sounds amazing. It had better befor what it's costing us. I heard
Erica scream something at Catcher and thenslam her bedroom door. Yes, I
could do with getting on the way. Sure, well, there's only one
more thing I need to go overwith you and the bugger kept me on
(09:56):
teams for another twenty minutes. Whenthe chat was over, it was only
ten twenty five, however, Ihad still finished way ahead of schedule.
Erica and Catcher were still fighting upstairs. I crept slowly downstairs so no one
would hear, and I put apod in the espresso machine. I could
(10:18):
do with a pick me up.We had to leave by eleven a m.
To arrive at the airport before twelvethirty to catch our flight at two
twenty, stopping off on the wayat eleven thirty to drop Monty off at
the kennel. I picked up myphone to check the traffic. While I
waited for the machine to brew.Everything was looking fine. I could hear
(10:41):
Catcher coming down the stairs as Ipoured. Do you only have the one
adapter, she said, holding upa plug with multiple protracting parts. I
think there's another one, I said, surely you have some. I keep
mine at my parents where I needthem. Did you check the cupboard under
the water, yes, of courseI did. What about in your office,
(11:03):
the big box where you have allthe cables, I can have a
look. There was an eruption fromupstairs. Mum, Teddy, if you
can't find the charger, you can'tbring it with you, she marched back
upstairs. I was just going tolet them get on with it. I
was all packed and ready. Iwasn't going to let them stress me out.
(11:26):
I lifted the cup to my nose. I took a second to savor
the aroma. The front doorbell rang. I was so tempted to take the
whole shot, but I put thecup down and went to answer it.
Teddy was bumping a small suitcase downthe stairs. Good work, Teddy,
(11:46):
I said, almost there. Ireached the end of the hall, pressed
down on the latch and pulled thedoor open. Maybe it was a rush
of air from outside. I rememberfeeling a sudden chill, even though it
was a bright and pleasant day.The man in the doorway seemed like he
(12:07):
was dressed for the cold. Hewas wearing a thick, padded coat with
the hood pulled up over his head, but even with that, the whiteness
of his palla still stood out.He was an unusually tall man, thin
faced, with a straggly brown beardthat made him look older than he probably
was. It felt like there wasa frog in my throat. All of
(12:30):
a sudden, I felt it alittle hard to speak. I tried to
say hello, can I help you, or something to that effect, but
it came out a bit weird.We stood there staring at each other,
and I didn't like him staring atme. He had small, piercing pupils.
(12:52):
I felt like they were shooting sniperbeams at me. Keeys, he
said, all of a sudden,I'm sorry, I said to him.
He swallowed and said slowly, likea man with a stutter, I lost
my keys. I think you've foundmy gook keys. It had been so
(13:13):
long ago that I had no ideawhat he was talking about. You'll have
to excuse me. I don't keys, he said bluntly, you've found my
keys. The memory leapt back intogear. Car keys, Yes, by
keys, goodness, that was solong ago. I said, I've come
(13:37):
for my car keys, right,yes, okay, I said, I
suppose you'd better come in. Hetook his step into the doorway immediately unexpectedly.
I had to move awkwardly out ofhis way and then ease my way
around him to close the door.There wasn't much space in the hall.
(14:00):
Now that we were stood on thesame level, I realized just how tall
he was. I'm no short man, but it felt like this man was
towering over me. He seemed tocast a very long shadow. I was
distracted by a sound, not aloud sound, but a persistent one,
a tapping. I looked down.His coat was dripping on the floor.
(14:28):
It was like he'd been caught ina heavy downpour, and I was sure
it hadn't rained all morning. Iheard the pita patter of Monty's paws on
the floor. He cheerfully approached thestranger with a light bark and his tongue
hanging out. He stopped a fewfeet from him. His ears fell back.
He withdrew his tongue and fled backto the living room car keys.
(14:54):
I felt lost for words again,I was able to say, I think
they're in the kitchen before heading therea little briskly. We have a little
basket that sits on a corner shelfwhere we keep our keys for the shed,
the back door, and so on. I took the basket off the
shelf and searched through them. Theman walked slowly into the kitchen after me,
(15:16):
and was quite obvious the keys weren'tin the basket, but I checked
each one anyway. I felt hispresence intensely and felt obliged to make a
show of effort. I could feelmy heartbeat. I found it intensely uncomfortable
being around him. I started lookingthrough the envelopes we keep on that same
shelf a little desperately, in casesomehow it might be hiding in or behind
(15:41):
one of them. I checked thecutlery drawer, but knew it wouldn't be
in there. I found myself tappingmy fingers on the counter, trying to
think of other possibilities. I wasreluctant to look back at him. I
did not like the way. Hestared at me. You know, I
said, facing the cabinets in frontof me, I'm not entirely sure where
(16:03):
I put them. He didn't respond, so I let my head turn,
giving him a sideways glance. Hehad pulled off his hood, making his
pale face and sharp stairs somehow evenmore intense. It's hard to describe exactly
what it felt like when he lookedat me. It gave me a low
(16:25):
feeling, a dreadful feeling. Hejust kept staring. It made me want
to stare at my feet, crawlsomewhere and hide. Let me I'll have
a look around and I'll be backin a moment. I walked past him
to the stairs. Have to gethome, he said, suddenly, Sure,
(16:48):
I said back to him, ofcourse. Then I turned around and
almost walked into Catcher, who wascoming down the steps. What's the matter,
she asked. He nearly made mejump out of my skin, I
said, Who's that? She said, quietly, looking over my shoulder.
I ushered her into the living roomand pushed the door to you remember last
(17:11):
summer I found those keys? Whatkeys? The keys I found while walking
the dog? I don't remember anykeys. I put a post about them
online. Remember, do you knowwhere I put them? I don't remember
any keys. I don't know whatyou're talking about. Look, the man
has come to pick up the keysthat I've found, but I can't find
(17:33):
them now. I don't know whereI put them. She shrugged her shoulders.
I don't know anything about any keys. I'm trying to get us ready
for our holiday. Who is thisperson? I don't know. He just
said he was here to get thekeys. If it was last year,
why is he here now, Idon't know. He just showed up.
(17:56):
Why are you sweating? Sweating?I felt my brow. I actually feel
very cold. You'd better not begetting sick, not before we get on
that plane. I just want tofind these keys and get rid of him.
I'm busy getting the kids ready,she said. Teddy has lost his
fitbit charger, and Erica can't zipup a suitcase because she's packed too many
(18:21):
outfits. Just tell him to comeback. If he's waited a year,
he can't be that desperate for them. I looked towards the door and then
back at CATCHA. I wipe thesweat off my forehead. Well, I
catcha rolled their eyes. Fine,I will tell him. She pulled open
the door. She approached the manwith her arm out stretched, ready to
(18:45):
shake his hand. Hi, I'mCatcher, what's your on making eye contact
with that bleak face? I sawher confidence quickly drain away. I saw
her take her hand back. Heremains still. I'm sorry about this,
she said, trying to recover,hands now placed in her pockets. We
(19:07):
me and my family, we areactually getting ready to go on holiday today.
My name's Chris, Yes, Chris, Hello, I'm Catcher, and
myself and my family we're getting readyto go to the airport today, so
we don't really have time to lookfor the keys. I've got to get
home, he said, raising hisvoice. We're not sure where your keys
(19:32):
are. His eyes suddenly darted fromside to side. He started drawing in
deep breaths. He looked like hewas beginning to panic. We'll promise we'll
keep looking for them, but notuntil we get back. I've got to
get home. Got to get home. Catchuer took a few steps back.
The temperature seemed to have dropped afew degrees more. But we don't really
(19:56):
have time now, running out oftime. Got to get them to football.
He took a sudden step towards her. Got to get them to football.
Okay, okay, we'll get themto football. Okay, she said
in a calming, albeit confused tone. She came back into the living room,
(20:18):
looking a little shell shocked. Herarms were folded. She could feel
the cold too. I tried towarn you, I said, what time
is it. I checked my phone. It's ten thirty eight. Where did
you have them last? The keys? Yes, the fucking keys. You
must have some idea. I don'tknow. Maybe they're in my office somewhere.
(20:42):
Did you check the junk drawer?No, I didn't, I said,
feeling foolish. Fine, you checkedthere, and I'll look in your
office. Before I could argue,she was charging up the stairs, leaving
me to go awkwardly back into thekitchen. We'd squeezed a narrow dresser in
(21:02):
the porch area by the back door. I should have thought of the drawer
earlier, but it's just one ofthose things you try to forget because otherwise
you might have to do something aboutit. He watched me as I walk
through. I'm just going to checkthis draw I said, I'm sure it
must be in here, But thedrawer was hard to open. It was
so packed full of junk, andas I rummaged around inside, trying to
(21:26):
shift whatever was causing it to getstuck, I saw him shuffle over to
me, watching what I was doingintensely. I stopped being careful. I
picked up handfuls of fish, saucecapsules, chopsticks, and batteries and let
them fall to the floor. Thesound they made hitting the til seemed to
carry like it had an echo.I got the drawer open fully and continued
(21:51):
to lift out coasters and salt packetsand alan keys. I thought there was
a good chance of them being inthere, but they weren't. He was
watching me right over my shoulder.He was going to see that they weren't
there and start making a scene again. I grimaced and turned slowly to look
(22:11):
at him. But he wasn't there. He was wandering into the living room.
I went after him. I didn'twant him loose in other parts of
the house. He was still drippingwater and had left a trail all the
way up to the mantelpiece. Hesaw me and raised his arm, pointing
to a picture of my kids.He was trying to speak. He looked
(22:33):
almost happy, kids, he saidhe pointed to himself. I have two
kids. Yes, I nodded.We have two kids, a boy and
a girl. He pointed to himselfagain, two boys, he nodded.
Got to get boys to football,Yes, I said, If you just
(23:00):
come back into the kitchen, we'llfind your keys and get you to the
football. I awkwardly, hesitantly placedmy hand on the back of his shoulder.
I expected him to feel strange andcold. Instead, he felt oddly
weightless. There was nothing to him. After returning him to the kitchen,
(23:22):
I jogged upstairs. Catcher was onthe floor in my office. She'd emptied
my desk drawers and was now tippingout the folders from my filing cabinet.
What are you doing. I'm tryingto find these stupid keys. You're mixing
up all my files. What doyou need all this paper for? Anyway?
It's for work bank statements from tenyears ago, she said, clutching
(23:45):
piles of paper, then throwing themto the floor. Did you find it,
No, although I did find anothertravel adapter. Ah. What time
is it? It's ten forty two, I said. She kicked to desk
draw closed and stood back up.What if one of the kids took it
somewhere, I asked, why wouldthey? Teddy's always picking stuff up and
(24:08):
putting it down. Somewhere we heardthe toilet flushing. We went into the
hall to see who it was.Erica walked out with her phone held out
in front of her. Why isthis a cold in here? She said,
looking up? Have you finished packing? Mum? Chill? I'm watching
tiktoks about how to pack now.Just don't take so many things. Take
(24:32):
some clothes out of your suitcases.But the weather in Aruba it's hot during
the day but gets cold at night. And you guys, you can't tell
me how much time are at thebeach or on the road or in town.
I need the right coords so Ican dress up or down if we're
like moving from spending time by thepool or going to Have you seen any
(24:52):
keys? I butted in, Whatkeys? Keys? Car keys? I
don't know where you're put your keys, not my keys. There's a man
here looking for his keys. Shegave me, what the fuck is wrong
with you? Look? Why arehis keys here? Because I found them,
He's come to collect them, butI don't know where they are.
(25:15):
Aren't we supposed to be going tothe airport in like twenty minutes. Yes
we are, don't shout at me. Erica said, catcha butting in.
We need to find the keys beforewe go. Teddy might have picked them
up and taken them. I needyou to go help him look through his
room. I don't want to gothrough Teddy's stuff. Don't argue. Just
(25:37):
go up there and do it.You mean before I finished packing. I
need to know so I don't getit wrong, and you start giving me
more shit language. I snapped,first keys, go and do it now,
catcha commanded Teddy. She shouted upthe stairs. He's not upstairs,
said Erica. Then where is he? Seen him take his case downstairs?
(26:02):
Had he ever come back up again? You start, I'll go find him,
I said. I went downstairs,and before I reached the last step,
I saw Teddy sprint past the window. He was in the garden.
I walked into the kitchen towards theback door. The man turned towards me,
still looking. I said, I'msure that'll turn up. I closed
(26:25):
the back door behind me. Teddy, who'd been jogging in a circle,
changed course and sprinted towards me.What are you doing, I asked,
it's supposed to be getting ready.I need to get my ten thousand steps
before I get on the plane.Teddy was obsessed with fitness stats. Did
you find your fitbit charger? Mumsaid it was the same as Eric's hair
(26:45):
curler charger, and she'd make herlet me use it. Fine, but
I need you to come inside andhelp me with something. But I've still
got three thousand steps to do.You can run around at the airport.
Do you remember picking up any keys? You Mum won't let me have any
keys. That's because you pick thingsup and put them down and don't remember
(27:06):
where you've put them. I thinkyou might have picked up some keys I
found last year, and now agentleman is here to get them. You
always blame me when you lose something. I do not, Teddy, that
was just that one time. Nowcome inside. He stropily made his way
back into the house. Where's thestuff all over the floor, he asked,
while taking his shoes off. I'lltell you later. Come on,
(27:30):
the man was staring at him.Teddy froze to the spot. Come on,
Teddy, I said, giving hima push. Got to get them
to the football. Yes, yes, I know, I'm sure we'll find
them, I said, as upbeatas I could manage. As I led
Teddy back to the stairs, hewhispered, Dad, Who's that. I
(27:53):
don't know, Teddy, he justwants his keys. I needed to search
your room in case they're in there. Look weird. I know. I
don't like him. That's why Iwant to get him out of here.
Ideally, I checked my phone inthe next eleven minutes, Erica's in your
room. Now help her look forthem. He turned around, sharply,
(28:14):
Erica's in my room. Yes,find the keys first and she'll get out.
Tell your mother I'm searching the livingroom. I crept back downstairs and
closed the living room door behind me. I started my search by taking the
cushions off the sofa, looking downthe back of it and under it.
All I found was Monty hiding behindthe back. He looked like he was
(28:36):
trembling, and he wouldn't come outwhen I called for him. I looked
around the TV stand in the cupboardbeneath, looked around and behind all the
things on the bookshelves and the mantelpiece. There was nothing. Where the hell
could they be. I didn't rememberpicking them off or putting them anywhere.
I literally hadn't seen them since theday I found them. I was sure
of it. But they had tobe somewhere. They wouldn't have been thrown
(29:00):
away. If we kept looking,we'd find them. You can find a
needle in a haystack if you lookfor long enough. It was ten fifty
one. We had nine minutes.I could hear something from the kitchen.
I opened the door a little tolisten. The man was humming something.
(29:21):
It started to pace a little.He moved like a Victorian prisoner wearing leg
irons. He looked like he mightfault bits. That's all we'd need.
Stuck here waiting for an ambulance.The tune he was humming was familiar.
I couldn't place it, but Iknew I'd heard it before. I slipped
(29:41):
back upstairs. Catcher had finished searchingin my office and it looked like a
bomb had gone off. Couldn't bearto look at it. It would take
forever to sort it out. Icould hear Erica and Teddy fighting on the
second floor. I jogged up thereand asked, find anything, Erica,
it's built my lego, cried Teddy. Mum starting to look everywhere, but
(30:03):
did you find anything. They're nothere, saltd Teddy. Then search Erica's
room, what, said Erica.I'm going to throw your clothes everywhere,
said Teddy, leaping over a pileof bricks and running into the hall.
Erica chased after him. While Iheaded to the master bedroom. Katcha had
(30:23):
been emptying out the wardrobes and searchingall my coat, trouser and shirt pockets.
Tell me you've found them, nosign, I said. She came
right up to me. I havebeen planning this holiday for over six months.
I'm searching just as hard as youare. Why did you bring those
keys home in the first place.I was trying to do something nice.
(30:48):
I was trying to do the rightthing. Nice. You're always so nice.
We've got seven minutes left before we'resupposed to be leaving. They're here
somewhere, I said, Where elseis there to look? Try the shed.
He's spend enough time in there hidingfrom the rest of us. Maybe
it's there. I do not gothere to hide, I mumble as I
(31:11):
walked out the room and headed backdownstairs. Once again, I was starting
to get worn out by those damnstairs. He was still humming his tune
in the kitchen. As I dashedthrough, still looking, I said hurriedly
to Football, promise the new ball. I crossed the lawn and went into
(31:32):
the shed, the idea that I'dtry and spend time here. This was
the most cramped and most cluttered spacein the house. Only the attic was
more full of junk than here.Oh God, what if we'd accidentally boxed
it up with something we'd taken upto the attic. We couldn't have done,
could we. When was the lasttime we'd put something up there?
It was ten fifty four six minutes. We were rushing so badly. There
(31:56):
was no way we could be searchingthoroughly at this speed. But what else
could we do? I pulled boxesof nails, screws, and tools off
their shelves to see inside. Irummaged around old paint cans, boxes of
spare tiles, tubs of weed killer. I shook bags of old grout and
compost. This was insane, Andthen, as if from nowhere, I
(32:20):
suddenly remembered where I'd heard that tunebefore. You'll Never Walk Alone anthem of
Liverpool, left c by Jerry andthe pacemakers because he was a fucking Liverpool
fan. I'd forgotten that the keyshad Liverpool keyring. It was ten fifty
eight. This couldn't go on,the screws and nails all over the place.
(32:42):
I left the shed and looked upat the upstairs windows, hoping to
see someone there, jumping up anddown with joy that they'd found them.
No such luck. I ran acrossthe grass and back inside. Going through
the kitchen, passed the man withoutsaying a word. I found ten.
He's sitting near the top of thefirst flight of stairs. Teddy, What
(33:04):
are you doing? He was staringdown at the man, and the man
was staring back at him. Teddy. I shook him a little by the
shoulders. He turned his eyes upat me. You're supposed to be looking
for the keys, Dad, hesaid, leaning towards me. Is that
man dead? What? I madehim get up and go on to the
landing? Has he died? Ofcourse not? Teddy, I said,
(33:30):
shakily, of course not. Whywould you say that he looks like a
zombie. There are no such thingsas zombies, Teddy, I could hear
the lack of confidence in my ownvoice. We just need to give him
his keys so he can go away, so we need to keep looking,
then up again to the next landing. My legs were aching. The detritus
(33:52):
from hours of searching had spilled outof the rooms and across the hallway.
I could already hear a catchier swearingbefore I reached the bedroom room. You
haven't found it, have you,she said? I shook my head.
She howled with frustration. What timeis it? It's eleven, said Erica,
(34:12):
sitting on the floor in the hall. I've given us extra time to
get there in case there's traffic,I said, We still have time.
No, she started calmly, thereisn't time. We need to go now.
You have to go and tell himthat we can't find the keys and
that we're going now. But wealready tried, try harder, losing the
(34:37):
calm. I've earned this holiday,just two weeks once a year, to
relax, to have a little bitof time where I'm not constantly having to
pick up after everyone and organize everyoneall the time. But what am I
supposed to do? Put your footdown, take control for once, stop
(35:02):
hiding. Stop being so damn nice. We're going on holiday. We shouldn't
be flying anyway, said Erica.The carbon footprint from every flight is like,
don't you fucking start that with meagain. Catchier screamed, I don't
think he's going to leave, Isaid, But before she could yell at
(35:23):
me, I relented. I'll try, Okay, I'll try. I started
to walk down the stairs. Everythingwas quiet now, all the frantic noise
of scurrying about and searching had stopped. All I could hear was the creaking
of every stair beneath me. SoI took each footstep. I could hear
(35:46):
the family congregating on the top landing. They were getting ready to listen to
what was about to happen. Ifelt like I was taking a long,
slow walk towards a firing squad.Eyes locked onto mine immediately, so I
turned onto the final flight of stairs, as if somehow he'd been watching me
(36:07):
the whole way down. I feltsweat across my whole body. My heartbeat
gained speed, anxiety buzzed in mychest. I placed my feet on the
floor at the bottom. He saidnothing. I drew in a deep breath.
It's bad news. I'm afraid we'vetaken a good long look and we
(36:30):
can't seem to find your keys anywhere. Tears fell from both his eyes.
I'm really sorry, but we can'tseem to find them. With the kids
to football, we have to geton home for six thirty at the airport
and catch art to the force knockedme backwards, the gods. I went
(36:57):
to grab the banister but missed.I against the bottom steps. He stood
over me. Six glasses shattered inthe kitchen, the mirror cracked in the
hall. Pictures started to fall offthe walls. And put my hands over
my ears, closed my eyes,looked away. I found it. Came
(37:21):
a voice. We both locked upthe stairs. Loud footsteps were heading down
to us. Teddy appeared on thelanding. He had the keys in his
hand and jogged to the bottom.I got to my feet, took the
keys from him and handed them straightto the man, and he took them
with both his hands cupped, likehe was being handed something precious and delicate.
(37:49):
Where did you find them, Iasked Teddy. They'd fallen behind the
toilet, he said, and itall fell into place. I could see
myself carrying them, placing them downon the shelf above the loo, forgetting
to pick them back up again,and then someone else knocking them off while
they were reaching for a new rollof toilet paper, keys, landing behind
(38:12):
the loo where no one would thinkto look for them. Good work,
Teddy, I said, And thenI turned back to the man. He
was gone. I looked up anddown the hall, in the kitchen,
and in the living room. He'dvanished. Catcha and Erica are creeping down
(38:34):
the stairs, is he? Catcherbegan? Can't see him anywhere, I
said. She reached the bottom,and, like me, felt the need
to have a good look around.When it became apparent that there was no
sign of him, she swung towardsme. Then let's get the hell out
(38:55):
of here. I want everyone downstairswith their suit and in the car in
the next two minutes. Tops go. The three of them piled back upstairs.
Still feeling shell shocked, I lingeredat the bottom. I took another
look around, worried that he mightsuddenly show up somewhere. He genuinely seemed
(39:17):
to have disappeared into thin air.To my surprise, my espresso from earlier
was still there on the counter.It had been pushed across the surface,
had struck the back wall, spillinga little, but it was essentially intact.
I picked it up and swallowed thewhole thing. It was cold,
(39:40):
but it put a little spark backinto me. Because I felt faint,
I felt empty, I felt likeI didn't have the strength to make it
to the end of the road,never mind to the airport and beyond.
The sound of a sudden bang mademe jump. Looking down the hall,
(40:00):
I could see that the front doorhad blown open. Feeling my heart rate
rise again, I crept over toit. I had pushed it closed before
I knew I had. I noticedthe trail of water the stranger had brought
with him as he'd walked through thehouse, and as I stood in the
doorway looking outside to the car,I noticed that the drips stopped right by
(40:24):
the door. There was a cleardry day outside. There were no signs
of any water droplets past the frontdoorstep, and there were no drips on
the whole path up to the house. I heard the sound of suitcase wheels
clattering on the floor. Get themto the car, cried Catchier, go
(40:45):
go. I put my cases infirst thing Ericas were loaded in, followed
by catchers with Teddy's on top.I then went into the living room and
had to drag Monty out from behindthe sofa by his collar sut. He
made a runner for the front door. Erica caught him on the driveway,
and we managed to get him intothe car. With the three of them
(41:07):
all waiting on the back seat,Me and Catchier stood in the kitchen.
WI Fi off, Yes, heatingoff? Yes, back door locked.
Yes. The house looked like we'vebeen burgled the day after an earthquake.
That aside, we were ready togo. Let's get the hell out of
(41:29):
here. She turned around and slippedon the wet floor. One knee went
down against the tile with a crackthat made me shudder. Are you all
right? I cried, going toher. She tried to stand up.
I'm okay, she said, inpain. Let me help you. No,
just go, just go, I'llcatch up. I ended up waiting
(41:51):
for her in the car, watchinguncomfortably as she struggled out the door,
locked it behind her, and hobbledher way to the passenger side door.
I realized I'd forgotten to pack theother adapter i'd found. I decided I'd
just buy one at the airport.It was eleven eleven when we pulled off.
All things considered, it could havebeen much worse. The early signs
(42:15):
were good. There were no delaysas we traveled down the high street and
towards the main road. We didn'tget caught behind any buses or stopped at
any of the crossings. Things werecalm, peaceful. I was feeling more
and more confident that we'd make it. It didn't even register when I started
(42:35):
driving down Woodside Road, making ourway slowly to the spot by the park
where I'd found the keys. Nothingseemed strange to me when I started to
hear music. It started to rise, as if from nowhere. I hadn't
noticed Catcher put on the radio.It didn't sound like it was coming from
Erica's phone. I didn't think muchabout it as it faded in, slowly
(43:01):
growing in volume. The weather seemedto take a turn. The sky seemed
much darker. I could hear thepit a patter of rain drops, although
no rain seemed to be striking thewindscreen. In the distance, I saw
a man. He was wearing aheavy coat. He was taking off his
headphones and pulling off his head Hecarried the headphones in one hand. His
(43:24):
other arm had something tucked under it. He was running along the pavement,
trying to escape the downpour. Hewas getting closer the thing under his arm.
I could see now that it wasa football. Then he tripped.
The ball slipped from his grip andbounced ahead of him. It bounced on
(43:45):
the pavement and then against a parkedcar, and then into the road.
He stumbled after it, jumping offthe pavement, rushing onto the tarmac.
I slammed on the brakes. Thecar shrieked. We came out of our
seats, rubber burned. The carstopped. The shrieking stopped. We thumped
(44:06):
back into our seats. Behind us, cars screeched, coming to a stop,
one after the other. Everyone tooka deep breath. What the fuck,
screamed Catcher. Horns erupted, long, loud and obnoxious. The spell
(44:28):
was broken. The sky was clearagain. The sun was out. There
was no rain, no ball,no man, no music. There was
nothing ahead of us. The roadwas all clear. What's the matter,
Catia said, I thought, Ithought I saw something. Get a hold
(44:52):
of yourself. We're only trying toget to the airport. Thank you for
listening to the New Ghost Stories podcast. If you've enjoyed the podcast and want
to support what I do, pleaselike, comment, or leave a review
(45:15):
on any platform, and subscribe tohear future releases. You can also support
the show by becoming a patron andvisiting Patreon dot com slash New ghost Stories.
The show is written and produced byme, David Paul Nixon. If
you'd like to read more from me, visit my Substacknew ghost Stories dot substack
dot com, and you can alsofind me on Instagram, threads mastered on
(45:38):
Facebook, and the website formerly knownas Twitter at New ghost Stories, Next
Time on the New ghost Stories podcast. In the end, we all come
to dust.
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