1. Hellfire Club
There are few constructions in the world that have witnessed real horror stories, but this is one of them. Among the mountains of Dublin, an ancient tomb was found that dates back to approximately the period 4500 to 2000 BC. Many centuries later, the magnate Connolly acquired this land, on which he built an ostentatious hunting lodge. After his death, the site became the exclusive meeting place for the Hellfire Club, a society of wealthy hedonists. Still today you can see the rubble of the gloomy construction where all kinds of perverse acts were carried out.
It was a night like any other at the Hellfire Club. Bets, vices, parties and orgies could not be missed, even in the middle of a cold stormy night. An enigmatic man who would have been surprised by the storm approached the door of the place. This traveler wrapped in the cloak of the night could afford a game of poker while he recovered strength by the warmth of the fire.
Nothing seemed to disturb him, but that same mysterious calm made everyone wonder his identity. This strange visitor would not reveal further details, except that he would be pleased to play poker that night. The most skillful players saw in that suggestion the possibility of earning him enough money. Quickly the onerous bets would fall on the table, including the traveller's.
The storm continued copious, while luck surrounded that enigmatic man. The player to his right was looking for a way to take advantage of the game by trying to distract the stranger, but the stranger barely spoke.
To see if he could pull any tricks in his favour, the club member made a strange stumble by dropping one of his cards to the floor and, ducking under the table, only emitted a terrifying scream. He couldn't believe his eyes: the traveler's lower limbs were goat's hooves instead of feet.
Warning with the howl, the entire club was in expectation, fixing their eyes on the enigmatic stranger. The Prince of Darkness made the revelation of his presence in the Hellfire Club, the place where, for years, he had been worshiped in the midst of the most sinful encounters of his associates.
Little was known about how that night ended. What is known and is still being discussed is that, the next morning, only the smoking remains of the building remained. And tracing an exit path, the footprints of horseshoes of a pair of goat's legs were left on the ground.
2. Kuchisake-Onna
The math teacher had given them a pop quiz at the last minute and class had ended later than usual. The shadows already covered the streets of Tokyo when the twins Sakura and Keiko began their return home. They were talking animatedly and, hardly thinking about it, they turned down a narrow street to shorten their journey. They had already advanced a few meters when they noticed the poor lighting in the place and that they were the only passers-by.
Suddenly, a woman stepped out of the shadows of a doorway and started toward them. The unknown she wore long black hair, a dark coat and the lower half of her face was covered by a surgical mask. The latter did not bother Sakura and Keiko, because before the coronavirus, many Japanese usually chose to wear masks to avoid colds and other illnesses.
The woman stopped before them and asked, "Am I beautiful?" The girls smiled in relief as they deemed the stranger harmless and Sakura stepped forward to reply, "Yes."
Then he removed his mask, exposing the horrible wounds that started from the corner of his mouth and that transformed it into a macabre smile from ear to ear. “And now?” she asked again. Sakura screamed in horror as Keiko stood motionless, unable to react.
With a swift movement, the stranger pulled a large, sharp pair of scissors from under her coat and slit Sakura's throat open. The blood, which gushed forth, splashed onto Keiko, who finally reacted and began to run in the opposite direction.
But that woman materialized in front of her. And she did it again every time Keiko tried to avoid her and get away from her. "Am I beautiful?" the yokai (demonic spirit) asked when she appeared before her.
Desperate, Keiko decided to answer him in the affirmative. The specter then gave her the most macabre grimace of hers and put the scissors in the girl's mouth, cutting the corners of her lips and the flesh of her cheeks, drawing on her face a bloody smile as terrifying as hers.
3. Lametones
The day Sophie turned 9, her parents gave her a puppy named Rocky. He was a very affectionate and playful German shepherd who immediately captivated the little girl. Her parents were always very busy with her social engagements and Sophie's only company was the servants who worked in the huge mansion.
However, everything changed with the arrival of Rocky. Girl and dog became inseparable. Rocky grew up quickly and became the most faithful guardian, so Sophie felt safe with him. The dog slept next to the little girl's bed, on the carpet. Whenever she woke up agitated due to a nightmare (which, unfortunately, used to happen often) she would reach out her arm and she would search Rocky's body with her hand. He licked her lovingly and Sophie immediately calmed down.
That's how things went until, one night, the girl woke up screaming after suffering a particularly intense nightmare. She heard Rocky growl and pulled her arm out from under the covers. In moments she felt the licks on her skin, which went on for many minutes, and she fell asleep again.
In the morning, when he turned on the light after waking up, he beheld a Dantesque spectacle: Rocky was on top of a pool of blood. His head hung down, practically severed, and his guts covered the rug. On the wall by the bed was written in blood: "Not only dogs lick."
A maid found Sophie curled up in a corner of the room. She rubbed her hands madly and repeated over and over: "Who licked my hand? Who licked my hand? Who licked my hand?" Shortly after she was locked up in a sanatorium.
4. The crybaby
Luisa was a beautiful Mexican of indigenous origin. Many men yearned to caress her velvety white skin, tangle her curly hair dark as night and kiss her strawberry lips, but she rejected all suitors of hers. However, a Spanish gentleman from high society, Don Nuño de Montes-Claros, managed to win her heart.
He explained that, due to the difference in classes, it was not possible to formalize their relationship, so they ran away together and settled in a little house in a secluded place. For six years Luisa lived there and Don Nuño visited her regularly. They had three children with curly blonde hair. After that time, the gentleman's visits began to dwindle and Luisa fell into a depression.
One night, he decided to follow Don Nuño's carriage. The vehicle stopped in front of a luxurious mansion where a big party was being held. Luisa asked the footman that she was at the door and he told her: «Don Nuño's wedding is being celebrated». Then, through a window, she herself watched the happy couple as they kissed.
Freaked out, she ran back to her little house and stabbed her three children. She then went to the river with a bloody cloak and, noticing what she had done, she shouted: «Ay, my children!». She threw herself into the waters and became a myth.
Since then, many claim to have seen La Llorona wandering through the parks and streets of Mexico City. The specter eternally mourns the death of her children, emitting a chilling cry: "Ay, my children!"
5. Help me!
Fleeing from the fast pace of life in the big city, a couple decided to move with their two children to a country house, which was very close to the town where they were born. The house had been unoccupied for many years and needed some repairs, but the low price convinced them.
The children, a boy of 10 and a girl of 6, each settled in a room and were happy to have their own space. However, something very strange happened during the first night. While everyone was sleeping, the girl got out of her bed and stopped in one of the corners of the room. She started clawing at the wooden wall as she repeatedly whispered, "Help me!"
Little Elisa had already suffered an episode of sleepwalking before, so the parents did not worry at first. As a precautionary measure, they decided that the children should sleep in the same room.
From then on, Elisa began to get up every night after her brother fell asleep. She was going to the other bedroom and clawing at the same wall as she repeated, "Help me!" Apart from this obsessive behavior, the girl became very withdrawn and she was always sad.
After inquiring in the village, the parents discovered that a man and his daughter had lived in the house. Apparently, the girl was lost in the woods and her father committed suicide shortly after.
Worried and scared, Elisa's parents decided to remove some of the wooden panels that covered the wall and that their daughter was scratching. Behind them they found a small skeleton with its hands tied.
6. Randolph Carter's Decision (H.P. Lovecraft)
The Statement of Randolph Carter , also known as Randolph Carter's Decision , is a horror story by HP Lovecraft published in 1920. The character of Randolph Carter, who studies the occult, represents the American writer himself and appears in several of his works .
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The narrator of this horror story is Randolph Carter, who explains what happened in the Big Cypress Swamp Cemetery. After finding some information in a mysterious book written in Arabic, the occultist Harley Warren, a friend of Carter, discovers that inside one of the crypts of this cemetery there is a kind of passageway that leads to the underground world, where demonic creatures live.
The two friends arrive at the cemetery around midnight and lift a heavy slab. Stone stairs descend into the darkness. Warren insists that Carter stay outside and he goes downstairs using a flashlight, although they remain in contact through a telephone cable.
A few minutes later, Warren is on the phone and claims to be seeing something amazing and monstrous at the same time. Then, in a more urgent tone of voice, he orders Carter to replace the slab and leave.
Carter hears his intrepid friend for the last time when he screams in terror, exclaiming, "It's legions!" After a few moments of silence, a monstrous voice shouts: “Fool! Warren is already dead!
7. The Signalman (Charles Dickens)
The signal-man (1866) is considered one of the best Victorian ghost stories, as well as a clear example of a psychological horror story. Two real events inspired Charles Dickens: the crash of several trains in the Clayton tunnel (United Kingdom) in 1861 and the derailment of a train at Staplehurst, in 1865, in which the British writer was travelling.
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The protagonists of this horror story are the same narrator and the signalman, a man who must spend the whole night in a booth a few meters from the mouth of a tunnel. The first time the narrator sees the signalman he calls out to him from above the ravine: “Hey, hey! Down there!”, words that visibly disturb the man.
The narrator visits him again the following night and, more confident, the signalman confesses the reason for his unease: a specter appears on the train tracks, near the mouth of the tunnel. Only he can see and hear him when he yells, “Hey, hey! Down there! Watch out!". He fails to see his face, as he hides it with his left arm while he waves his right.
After the appearance of the specter, some misfortune always occurs. After the first occasion, a railway accident occurred and several people died, while, after the second, a young passenger died.
What terrifies the signalman the most is that he has seen the ghost for the third time and does not know what new horror is coming. They say goodbye and the narrator, skeptical, walks away thinking that the man would need medical help.
The next day, while out for a walk, the narrator sees several people near the tunnel. He is informed that a locomotive has run over the signalman, despite the fact that the engineer warned him by waving his right arm and shouting: “Hey, hey! Down there! Watch out!".
8. La pata de mono (WW Jacobs)
The monkey's paw is a horror story that WW Jacobs wrote in 1902. Stephen King was inspired by it for his novel Pet Sematary . Several versions of this tale have appeared in different television series: in Stories to keep you awake , in Tales from the Crypt and even in The Simpsons .
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The Whites are an English family consisting of the father, the mother and their son Herbert. The story begins with a visit from Sergeant Morris, a youth friend of Mr. White. While they talk, the soldier begins to remember various anecdotes and then mentions the stuffed monkey's leg that came into his hands in India.
He explains that the monkey's paw was bewitched by a fakir and that it works as a talisman, as it is capable of granting three wishes. He already asked for her wishes and does not have a pleasant memory of the matter, so he wants to get rid of her.
He throws it into the fireplace to prevent it from harming more people, but Mr. White rescues it and hands his friend some bills to formalize the purchase. They make the first wish: two hundred pounds to pay off the mortgage. The monkey paw appears to move for a few seconds, but nothing else happens.
During the next day they receive terrible news: while working, their son has been trapped in one of the factory machines and has died. They will receive two hundred pounds as compensation.
Mrs. White is so affected that she convinces her husband to make a second wish: that their son come back to life. Indeed, during the night she knocks on the door what remains of Herbert's body, destroyed by machinery.
As his wife opens the door, Mr. White makes a third wish. When the door opens, there is no trace of his son.
9. The truth about the case of Mr. Valdemar (Edgar Allan Poe)
The facts in the case of Monsieur Valdemar , also known as The strange case of Mr. Valdemar , is a horror story by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1845. It caused controversy because many readers believed that it was based on real events and that it was a news report rather than a fictional story.
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The narrator of this scary story is a doctor who wishes to remain anonymous, so he only indicates that his name is P. Doctor P., who is an expert in hypnosis, proposes an interesting experiment to his friend, Mr. Valdemar , who is sick with tuberculosis: you want to hypnotize him when he is on the verge of death.
Valdemar agrees and, a few hours before his death, P. successfully hypnotizes him. Days go by and his body becomes rigid, his face acquires a cadaverous expression and his flesh begins to decompose, but Mr. Valdemar continues to answer the doctor's questions. His sepulchral voice seems to come from beyond when he says, "I'm dead."
After spending seven months in this state, the dying man begs to be left alone and P. decides to take him out of the hypnotic trance. The instant he is "released," Valdemar's body decomposes into a viscous, almost liquid mass that spills onto the bed.
10. The Thousand and One Ghosts (Alexandre Dumas)
“Les mille et un fantômes” or “The Thousand and One Ghosts” is a compilation of horror stories by Alexandre Dumas, first published in Paris in 1849. Due to the length of some of the stories, such as “The Testament of M . de Chauvelin”, “The Woman with the Velvet Necklace” and “The Marriages of Uncle Olifo”, the edition consisted of two volumes. Later, those same stories were published individually, leaving the shorter horror stories condensed in a single body.
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As a result of his travels through North Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Dumas had the opportunity to hear several terrifying stories that he managed to weave into a single story in the form of tales during a hunting season in Fontenay-aux-Roses. Dumas himself begins by narrating the first horror story, and then, night after night, gives way to other characters in the story. They all revolve around supernatural events related to death. And even with Satan himself.
In the first story he narrates how he himself becomes a witness in the investigation of a homicide. The perpetrator had walked past him with blood on his hands. His impressive appearance caught the attention of the entire town, realizing the gruesome crime that he had surely committed.
He knocked on the door of a house and immediately asked for the man, who was nothing more and nothing less than the mayor of the town. Jacquemin, the murderer, would not only confess to his wrongdoing, but also had to recount the supernatural event that occurred after having slit his wife's throat. It was his intention to bury the head and body of his wife in the cellar where he carried out the murder, but it was the mortal remains themselves that left him beside himself.
–“I took, then, the head, or rather, the head took me. Look,” Jacquemin told the inspector and the mayor at the scene. The bite that the head, still alive, had given the murderer was notorious. And not only that, some words could still come out of his lips to rebuke him: "Wretched man, I was innocent!"
The bizarre confession sent Jacquemin straight to jail, and he seemed happy with the verdict. After some other talks with the hunting companions, trying to decipher what had happened to the head of Jacquemin's wife, it could only be known that everyone, at some point, would have had some post-mortem supernatural encounter. Some of them involved talking heads. In the narrator only one thought could be echoed: “that, indeed, those heads still lived”.
11. The Talking Goblin (Zaragoza)
On the night of September 27, 1934, while the residents of the building located at number 2 Anselmo Gascón de Gotor street were already sleeping, shrill laughter resounded on the stairs between the first and second floors. That was the first time the talking goblin manifested itself.
On November 15, the mysterious entity addressed Pascuala Alcober, the housekeeper who worked for the Grijalba family, residents on the second floor. The 16-year-old girl claimed that the sinister male voice had spoken to her from inside the kitchen fireplace. She said, "I'm here!"
The activities of the goblin intensified and several of the tenants filed complaints, for which the authorities intervened. The kitchen floor was raised, the ceilings were inspected, and even the "haunted fireplace" was torn down.
Nothing was found, but a policeman heard the goblin say, "Don't bother, it's only 30 inches." Another law enforcement officer asked him: “What do you want, man?”, to which the entity replied: “Nothing. I'm not a man".
Foreign media as prestigious as The Times newspaper , The Washington Post or the BBC became interested in the phenomenon. Famous seers also attended the building, as well as the medium Asunción Jiménez Álvarez, who prepared a spiritism session to contact the talking goblin.
During the session, the spiritualist entered a trance and an unintelligible manly voice emerged from her mouth. At that moment she collapsed and she passed away.
In December 1934, the voice of the entity disappeared. His last message was: "I'm going to kill everyone in this damn house!" The building was demolished in the 70s and today there is an apartment block in its place called “Edificio Duende”.
12. The Holy Company (Galicia)
La Santa Compaña is one of the most popular horror stories to not sleep in Galicia. There are even those who claim to have seen the funeral procession pass in other regions of northern Spain. Santiago, who had ever heard of this legend, went to visit the small Galician village where his grandfather lived. Already of advanced age, he was prostrate, waiting for the embrace of his beloved grandson.
There was a hubbub among the residents of the place when they found out about Santiago's visit. Arriving at his grandfather's house, they both gave each other the long-awaited hug. Late at night and still unable to fall asleep, Santiago went out to get some fresh air through the narrow streets of the village. A chant was heard in the distance, similar to those sung at mass. It did not resemble the hubbub that there had been earlier for his arrival. In addition, there was a pungent aroma of burning wax.
Curious, he directed his steps towards those deep and enigmatic voices that could be heard in the thick of the night. The weather changed: an indescribable cold seeped through his skin until it chilled his bones. With his heart racing, Santiago thought it would be better to go back, but his curiosity wouldn't let him, so he preferred to crouch down among some bushes and wait to see what would happen. To his surprise, a spectral-looking choir was approaching in his direction.
This ghostly procession was led by an emaciated man, who raised a cross in one hand, while in the other he carried a bucket of water. The cadence of the rosary recited by the cadaverous penitents, formed in two rows behind the cross, could hardly be understood. They were dressed in black and white cassocks, while their skulls sank into the conical hoods of their mysterious clothing. In addition, they carried lighted candles in their bony hands, dimly lighting the route.
Motivated by a mystical force, Santiago stealthily followed the spectral caravan. Terror gripped him as the march continued on to the village, then stopped at the door of his grandfather's house. The old man, inexplicably, walked to the procession, where one of the ghosts gave him a candle. His grandfather joined the line and, immediately, they disappeared into the mist of the night. The bearer of the crucifix fell to the ground for a moment until he managed to get up to continue aimlessly. He looked like a walking dead exhausted by the necessity of the nocturnal processions.
Agitated, Santiago broke into his grandfather's house, finding him lifeless in his bed. At that moment he understood that what he had seen was the Holy Company demanding the presence of his grandfather from his ranks. From then on he would be part of the ghostly procession that walks eternally in search of new souls.
13. The Badajoz Ravine (Tenerife)
There are many legends and real horror stories that have been born around the Barranco de Badajoz, also known as Chamoco, located in Güímar (Tenerife). Various witnesses claim to have witnessed paranormal phenomena: appearances of lights and luminous figures at night and even sightings of UFOs.
One of the stories that has been passed down from generation to generation is that of "the girl with the pears". Popular tradition places it at the end of the 19th century. According to legend, a 5-year-old girl went to the ravine to look for fruit and did not return until twenty years later, although she was still the same age.
Her parents had aged twenty years, but for her it was only a few hours. She explained that she had amused herself by playing with some beings dressed in white, who lived inside a cave that led to another valley.
Another of the legends dates back to 1912. On this occasion, two miners were digging in one of the numerous caves in the ravine and, after a section of the wall came loose, they discovered the existence of a wide gallery. After entering it, they met two luminous beings, who showed them where they should dig to find water.
Many curious people come to the ravine attracted by its legends and camp overnight. In 1991, a group of adventurers claimed to have heard a kind of flapping overhead and stared in astonishment at some winged beings. The photographer Teyo Bermejo was part of that expedition and managed to take a photograph.
In the real horror stories that some witnesses have written, they claim to have heard murmurs of voices, rock falls and glimpsed spheres of white light that dance carelessly among the vegetation of the ravine.
14. The Devil's Armchair (Valladolid)
This true horror story dates back to the 16th century. In the year 1550, a Portuguese student named Andrés de Proaza began to show great talent in anatomy classes taught at the University of Valladolid. Despite being only 22 years old, he also caught the attention of his teachers for the knowledge he possessed.
During the course a 9-year-old boy disappeared, who was last seen near the student's house. Some of his neighbors reported having heard crying and screaming, so the authorities entered the house.
In the basement they found the dismembered child, as well as animal remains and a large amount of medical material. Andrés de Proaza confessed to the crime and explained that he had a chair that allowed him to contact the devil and, through it, he obtained greater medical wisdom.
As he commented, the chair had been a gift from a necromancer. In addition, she warned that only doctors could sit on it, since any other person would die within 3 days. The student died by hanging and the chair was kept in a warehouse at the University of Valladolid.
Years later, two men died after having taken a seat in the so-called Devil's Armchair and their legend gained strength. Currently, the chair is exhibited in the Provincial Museum of Valladolid and the prohibition to sit on it is maintained.
15. The Sworn Farmhouse (Malaga)
The Cortijo Jurado was built in the mid-19th century by the Heredia family, in the neighborhood of Campanillas (Málaga). The building, which today is quite deteriorated, is in the neo-Gothic style, has a chapel, stable, tower, basement and an extensive network of passageways. The property changed hands over the years and is currently for sale for €16 million.
There are many disturbing events that have taken place in the Cortijo Jurado, which have been feeding its legend and have led to the appearance of various horror stories to keep you awake.
After the death of the patriarch of the Heredia, at the beginning of the 20th century, several young women in the area disappeared. Some of their bodies appeared near the farmhouse and showed signs of satanic rituals.
A young 18-year-old farmworker, Manuel Martín, decided to explore one of the abandoned underground passageways and claimed to have found bones and torture machines. However, no one believed him back then.
Later, during the Civil War, the building was used as a hospital and its basements were converted into dungeons. In addition, there were many shootings in the area. The laments of the sick, tortured and dead have been recorded in numerous psychophonies made by various investigators of paranormal phenomena.
There are also witnesses who claim to have seen strange figures and lights. Other disturbing events are those that occurred during the recording of a short film in the farmhouse, in the year 2000.
Some members of the team claimed to feel presences, the cameras stopped working because the batteries were discharged for no reason and the images and hard drives suffered damage or were completely erased.
16. The gold coins
Among the horror stories for children, the one about Xóchitl and the gold coins is well known. One cool October night, Xóchitl came down the stairs of his parents' house in Córdoba, Veracruz. As several servants also lived in the house, the girl was not surprised when she heard some noises when she went up to her room again. However, she was strongly struck by the feeling of a short scamper, like childish steps at the end of the corridor of her room. Curious, she headed down the hall to see what was happening.
Hidden behind one of the long curtains of the windows, she watched a boy in shiny clothes opening a hole in the wall. The boy had a ghostly appearance, but that did not frighten Xóchitl, who did not take her eyes off her, because she was amazed at what the little boy was doing. As the childish specter continued to open the hole in the wall, he introduced endless gold coins into it, which came out of her hands. The ghost vanished, leaving that treasure in the hole, which had magically closed.
Coming out from behind the curtain, Xóchitl realized that she was accompanied. Ana, one of the servants, had also witnessed that event from beyond.
–“Niña Xóchitl, I promise to keep the secret of what we have seen tonight. But I also propose that, as accomplices, tomorrow we look for that treasure that is behind the wall”, said the maid.
–“Yes, Ana. We will not tell anyone our secret. We will take those coins and they will be ours alone,” replied the girl.
The following night, when everyone was sleeping in the house, Xóchitl and Ana met in the dark hallway by the light of a languid candle. By lighting the hole, it magically opened.
Because of her small size, Xóchitl was able to get into the hole, so that she could easily pick up the gold coins that the boy had left there the night before. Meanwhile, Ana held the candle and was storing the coins in her apron. Since the treasure was so large, Ana and Xóchitl repeated the procedure several consecutive nights.
As usual, they met in the corridor at night. The lamp barely gave off light, while Xóchitl took out and took out coins. Ana began to feel chills, terrified because the candle was about to burn out.
–Niña Xóchitl, get out, get out of the hole! We already have enough for today!
Getting up to leave, Xóchitl realized that she had dropped the last of the coins, so she bent down again to look for it inside the hole, blinded by her greed and without listening to Ana's desperate pleas for her to come out. The candle was completely extinguished, and in the darkness, the hole in the wall was closed forever.
Since then, and only at night, the muffled sobs of a girl can be heard on the other side of the wall as she seems to play with a coin in an infinite loop.
17. The Coconut
Enrique remembered very well the song that his grandmother used to sing to him when he was younger: "Go to sleep child, go to sleep now, Coco is coming and will eat you." It was she who explained that Coco is a creature that lives in the shadows and feeds on the nightmares that children suffer.
However, when a child insists on disobeying the elders, Coco emerges from the shadows and becomes visible. He grabs the little boy with his long and twisted fingers and drags him to the world of darkness, from where no one has managed to return.
The first time Grandma told him that scary story for children, Enrique was so terrified that he couldn't sleep all night. However, he was now ten years old and did not believe in those stories.
His parents had ordered him to go to bed early, but he'd decided it would be much more fun to stay in bed reading comics under a flashlight. It had just struck eleven o'clock when he felt a tremor under the bed and, unbelievably, it tilted, causing Enrique to fall on the carpet.
At that moment he saw Coco, whose long, skeletal arms protruded from a hole under his bed. The creature grabbed him by the legs and began to pull him, dragging him into the darkness.
Fortunately, Enrique saw that the flashlight had also fallen on the carpet. He reached out her arm and managed to catch her. He then turned it on, right in front of the monster, and it disappeared into the darkness of the hole. From that night on, he never again disobeyed his parents.
18. The dollhouse
Isabel was very sad when her parents told her they had to move. "We will be in a bigger house and very close to the beach," she explained. However, she would not know anyone there and that bothered her. To tell the truth, she was afraid of starting another school and making new friends.
On the appointed day they arrived at the new house and, although it had been unoccupied for some years, it seemed beautiful. While her parents were organizing things downstairs, she went through the rooms and discovered the attic.
Without a doubt, this room had been that of a girl. She found some dusty toys on a shelf and a dollhouse. She had always wanted one! She opened the windows to breathe inside and gazed at the family members in her little world: parents and a daughter.
Very happy, she decided that this would be her room. In the morning, after waking up from her, she opened the windows of the little house and discovered a cat sleeping on the girl's bed. "How strange, I didn't see him yesterday..." she thought.
Later, while he was having breakfast, his mother came in with a kitten in her arms and commented that she had found it on the doorstep. Isabel dropped her spoon due to her surprise. She then hugged the cat and they became inseparable.
The day came to start at the new school. Before leaving, she pampered the cat and looked at the dollhouse. Another figure had appeared: a girl with two red-haired braids who was holding the other girl's hand.
That day she met her new best friend and knew that she would be very happy there.
19. A monster in the closet
"Mom, there's a monster in the closet," Irene told her mother, but she never believed her, she just commented that she had too much imagination. At night, after she kissed him and turned off the light, strange noises began to come from inside the built-in closet in her room.
At first I heard what sounded like muffled growls, as if they were far away, but gradually they were getting closer. Then she heard knocking on the closet door, as if the monster was asking permission to enter.
It couldn't go on like this. Irene made the decision that she had to face her fears and solve the matter. The next night she pretended to go to bed, but she got out of bed as soon as her mother left. She pulled her jacket over her pajamas, grabbed her pirate sword, and opened the closet door.
Taking a deep breath, she went inside and suddenly felt a rush of air. She pushed aside the hanging clothes and saw an opening at the bottom. She advanced, looked out and discovered a small village among the trees of a forest. In the background the sea and a pirate ship could be distinguished. That place seemed familiar...
At that moment she felt a paw on her shoulder and Irene jumped. "Everything that exists here is the product of your imagination," said the hairy monster, smiling and showing two rows of teeth. "I really wanted to meet you, that's why I was knocking on your door," she explained.
Since then, Irene and her new friend have had great adventures exploring that magical place where their fantasies come true.
20. Respect animals
That summer, while her father was busy with an important business trip, Raquel had to stay at her grandparents' farm. She loved her grandparents, but she hated that place. Spending a month in that stinky place with so many noisy animals was a real nightmare for her.
Every day he woke up when the rooster crowed and could not get back to sleep. She then heard the mooing of the cows, which were waiting impatiently for the grandmother to go milk them. But the worst thing was the grunting of the pigs, which kept going "oing, oing!" as they wallowed in the mud.
Raquel was a very vain girl and on the farm she couldn't wear the dresses she liked the most, because they would get stained. Also, she always had to wear boots because there was a lot of mud.
One day, the grandmother convinced her to feed the chickens. As she approached the chicken coop, Raquel heard some voices: "That girl is too spoiled," she said. She looked in the coop and only saw the chickens, but she was sure she had heard...
That night, after the grandparents went to bed, he decided to go out and investigate. She took a flashlight and reached the stable. He was very surprised when he saw all the animals gathered around her and talking about her: «We have to teach her a lesson», they said. "We'll push her into the sty," the pigs opined, and the donkey commented that she would kick him.
Although at first she was very scared, that event made Raquel reflect and she began to treat all the animals with more respect.
21. The Kangaroo
Christina was very happy. She had gotten a job as a babysitter in the house of a wealthy family. She alone would have to take care of two children from 9 to 12 and they would pay her 100 euros. With that money, she could already buy the laptop that she needed so badly to do her university work.
He arrived on time and the parents introduced him to their children, a boy and a girl aged 9 and 7 respectively. She found them charming. The parents went out to dinner and Cristina put on a Disney movie. At ten o'clock, as she had been told, they went upstairs so the children could go to bed.
His room was in the attic, although there were no windows. It was big and there were many toys on the shelves, but Cristina felt a chill when she noticed a Barbie doll whose hair and half of her face were burned.
While the children slept, the babysitter stayed in the living room going over some notes. At eleven o'clock the phone rang and Cristina was startled. She answered and only heard a breath. She was going to hang up when the children started screaming.
He dialed the police number, but the power went out and the phone stopped working. She looked for the cell phone inside his bag and didn't find it. She thought about running away, but in the end she decided to grab a knife from the kitchen and go up to the attic.
He entered the room and felt the beds: the children were not there. It was then that strong hands of hers yanked her by her ankles and dragged her back. She felt teeth rip into her flesh and just turned the light. The last thing she could see was the girl's fangs closing in on her neck. The last thing she heard was her parents' words from the doorway: “Finish your dinner, kids. Do not leave even a drop.
22. The legend of the Biloko
Mivek and Sanza were deeply in love. He was a handsome and brave young man, while she was the prettiest of the tribe they were both born into in Zaire. Mivek had promised Sanza that he would make her his wife, so in order to show her gallantry to the entire tribe, he ventured to go hunting alone in the rain forest. His goal was to capture a couple of exotic birds that they would release on their wedding day.
Both young and old were on the lookout, as the jungle hid unimaginable dangers. But the greatest terror of all was a strange creature that, according to Zairean horror stories, dwelt in the heart of the jungle. It was the Biloko, a creepy being who despised life. His powerful claws and sharp teeth ripped apart anyone who dared to pass through the tropical jungle of Zaire.
Mivek said goodbye to everyone, but especially he hugged Sanza as if saying goodbye to her forever. Sanza, her heart heavy with what she perceived, waited until nightfall to follow the trail of her beloved Mivek through the rain forest. In the darkness, she walked stealthily following the footsteps of her fiancé.
In the middle of the jungle, Sanza saw the glittering eyes and fearsome fangs of a hideous being. His powerful claws and sharp teeth revealed the Biloko's thirst for blood that night. Terrified, she ran through the populated jungle, until her heart could not bear the terror anymore.
Mivek heard a terrifying scream coming from the deep jungle. That tone of voice was unmistakable: it was Sanza. The young man ran as fast as he could exclaiming:
-Sanza! Sanza! I'm coming for you!
But his cries to reassure the young woman were drowned out by a strong claw that grabbed him by the throat. The Biloko couldn't let him out of the jungle alive. With his claws he dismembered the body of the young man, while he was devouring him greedily with his ferocious jaws.
That night, the inhabitants of the Sanza and Mivek tribe heard the young man's terrified screams as he was dismembered. At dawn, they saw the silhouette of Sanza appear, who seemed to have completely lost consciousness. When asked, the young woman, with a lost look, she only repeated: "Biloko, Biloko". The locals understood that Sanza could never recover after having encountered that monster that still inhabits the Zairian jungle today.
23. You owe me
Natalia woke up sweaty after suffering a nightmare. Carlos, her former lover, had been haunting her in her dreams lately. She wondered if it was due to her remorse, but what worried her most was that she would call out her name and her husband would suspect something of her. Luckily, the husband was still sleeping like a log.
She put a dressing gown over her nightgown and went out into the garden. After a few months without a gardener, the flower beds were unkempt, full of dead leaves and weeds. He edged around the pool as the gusts of wind howled and he shivered at the sight of the hedges. He remembered Carlos's rough hands on his skin and his avid kisses. She had felt so lonely during the summer while her husband was away...
Suddenly, an uneasy feeling came over her, as if someone was watching her from the shadows. Something brushed her ankle and she let out a shriek. She staggered, lost her balance and fell into the pool.
The water was very cold. She started to swim towards the edge, but something caught on her right leg. She couldn't get free! A scream of terror tore from her throat a few seconds before something pushed her head underwater.
Then she felt hands around her waist, the caress of a cold, dead body that was, however, familiar. It was Carlos, who was dragging her to the bottom while he whispered to her: “Now we'll be together, love. You owe me".
Her husband found the body in the morning. The police concluded that Natalia's leg had become entangled in the hose, but no one discovered that there was another body lying under the hedges. She herself had killed and buried Carlos, her gardener, so that she would not tell her husband anything, but her lover never forgot her.
24. The girl from the disco
It was Friday night and, after spending the whole week concentrating on his studies, Raúl wanted to go out. He had met two friends at the disco, but at the last moment they gave him the slip because they came up with a better plan. However, he decided to go anyway, he would already know someone there.
While driving the motorcycle it started to rain. She parked in a side alley, under some balconies, and tied the scooter to a lamppost. When he turned to go to the entrance of the club he saw a girl who was watching him. He was wearing a summer dress, completely drenched and black tears were running down her face from her mascara.
He approached her and, seeing that she was shivering from the cold, Raúl offered her his jacket. The girl smiled and agreed to enter the premises with him. They spent the whole night talking and didn't come out until five in the morning. He walked her to her house and, saying goodbye to her, she kissed him on the cheek.
Raúl spent the whole next day thinking about the girl and in the end he decided to show up at her house. He opened an older woman and asked about her daughter. "Three years ago she died in a motorcycle accident," he explained.
The boy thought it was a macabre joke, but the lady showed him some photographs and even suggested that they go to the cemetery together. On the young woman's tombstone they found the jacket that Raúl had lent her the night before.
25. Veronica
One of her classmates had gotten sick and Amparo had had to work a shift and a half at the supermarket. She got home when it was about ten o'clock at night. She was so tired that she just ate an apple and got ready for bed. She was getting out of the shower when there was a knock on the door with four sharp knocks.
She put on a robe, opened it and was surprised to see a girl of about seven years old. She was blonde, with long curly hair, and she was wearing what looked like a school uniform with her name on it: Veronica. "Ma'am, I'm lost," she told him. Concerned, she Amparo commented that they should notify the police, but the girl asked her for something to eat.
After dinner, Veronica's eyes closed and Amparo put her to bed in the guest room. In the morning, when she went into her room to wake her up, the girl had disappeared.
Amparo went to the police station, but there was no missing girl of those characteristics. Then, remembering the uniform that Veronica wore, she thought that it could be the one used in the hospice for orphaned children.
"We had a girl named Veronica, but she died two years ago," Sister Piedad said, showing her a photo. It was her, as she had seen her.
That night, Amparo heard the four knocks on her door again. The girl asked for food again and the woman served it to her. She then wanted to go to bed. During the night, Amparo entered the room and, touching the sheet, Veronica's body vanished.
Only a sheet of paper remained with a message written in childish handwriting: “Thank you for the food and for taking care of me. Now I have to take away the people who didn't want to help me."
26. The girl with the curve
This horror story is among the most classic scary stories to keep you awake. Formerly, the woman appeared before a horse or carriage while it was circulating along a forest path. She would ask them to let her ride a horse or get into a carriage, until, at a given moment, she warned them of some danger and she disappeared from it.
In modern versions there are more variations. The hitchhiker is a ghostly being that has a feminine appearance, she is usually a young girl, although she can also be a girl or a teenager. There are even versions in which she is a bride dressed for the occasion, and in the end it is known that she died after getting married.
Seeing the hitchhiker, the driver stops the car and she takes the back seat. As they approach a dangerous bend in the road, the girl warns him of the danger and disappears. Later, the driver discovers that a woman had died in a tragic accident right there.
In other more macabre variations, the girl does not warn of the danger and everyone dies (except the one who is telling the story), or the driver gets scared when he sees the girl disappear, loses control of the vehicle and ends up in a fatal accident.
27. Slenderman
The Slenderman character was created by Victor Surge in 2009 to enter a Photoshop contest. He is a being that measures two to four meters tall, without features on his face, with very long limbs and fingers, and six tentacles that emerge from his back. He always wears a black suit, white shirt and black tie.
It has the power of invisibility and its victims are teenagers and young people addicted to mobile phones, tablets and computers, who regularly visit web pages that compile the best horror stories.
Slenderman quickly became a character in these horror stories and went viral. He was born on the Internet and became part of popular culture, available to the entire world thanks to the network. Such was the impact of it that some young people came to believe in its existence.
This was the case of Annisa Weier and Morgan Geyser, two twelve-year-old girls with few friends but a lot of imagination, living in Wisconsin. On May 31, 2014, while pretending to play hide and seek in a park, they stabbed a classmate, Payton Leutner, 19 times.
Luckily, the victim managed to drag himself to the road and was rushed to the hospital, where his life was saved. The girls stated that they had done it to prove the existence of Slenderman and to get to know him, which can only be achieved by killing someone.
28. The Lady in White
The legend of the Lady in White is one of the oldest known horror stories and is present in various cultures. It is the ghost of a woman who dresses in white and who usually appears in rural areas or wandering the streets of some town.
Usually, behind the appearances of this spectrum there is a dramatic story: the loss of a husband or children, the betrayal of a loved one or the desire for revenge.
During the Middle Ages, the appearance of the Lady in White presaged that someone close to her was going to die. In English tradition, however, the ghost of this woman guards a treasure, for she died without being able to tell anyone where it was hidden.
In Wales, the Lady in White is also the guardian of a treasure. According to this version of the legend, a brave knight approached her and was rewarded with half of her treasure, but he tried to take all of it from her. Then the woman killed him using her supernatural power.
In Spain there is also a curious version of the Lady in White. The protagonist is Elena, who was the lover of King Felipe II and died in strange circumstances. Several witnesses claim to have seen her ghost walking on the roof of the House of the Seven Chimneys during the night, in the central Plaza del Rey in Madrid.
29. The Ghost Waiter
Francisco was a young outstanding pilot at the Albacete Air Base. One morning, he left for a semester-long specialization course. Days passed until he had to return to his detachment.
Arriving at the military base, he only thought of relaxing and having a drink with his friend Luis, the soldier assigned to the settlement's bar. Francis couldn't be happier. Luis was at the door of the bar and invited him to come in so he could tell him how it had gone. The hours passed and the talk was livened up to the sound of drinks.
Francisco noticed that they were the only ones at the bar, much better, because that way they could talk freely. Late at night, they said goodbye with a few smiles and staying to see each other again the next day.
Walking past the bar in the afternoon of the following day, Francisco was surprised to see it closed. It seemed very strange to him, since Luis had always been punctual to open. He looked out the windows, but he couldn't figure out what had happened. The tables, chairs, bar, and other furniture were covered in dusty, frayed fabrics, as if they had been there for several months. In the center of the bar there were some tapes recorded with a warning: "Do not enter".
Shocked, Francisco turned to an officer and asked him what had happened that morning at the bar and where Luis was.
-What are you talking about, Francis? The bar has been closed for months. I thought you already knew.
-Impossible! Last night Luis and I were toasting in there and we agreed to continue talking this afternoon.
-You're drunk? That can't be…
–Do you see me in the mood to joke?
–But haven't you found out what happened in the canteen with Luis?
-Do not. What are you talking about?
-Luis blew his brains out with a regulation weapon three months ago. Since then, we have been without a canteen. He killed himself in the middle of the bar just as we all had retired to our rooms.
Stunned and confused, Francisco could not stop thinking about how it was possible that what seemed to be taken from one of the real horror stories that are told to scare young children could have happened to him. He was never the same again.
30. Legend of the Stolen Kidney
Another of the most popular horror stories is that of the stolen kidney. It is often said that it is something that happened to a family member or a friend of an acquaintance and many come to believe that it is a real scary story, but the truth is that the theft of a kidney has never been reported to the authorities .
It usually takes place in very touristic and exotic settings, such as Florida, Brazil or Bangkok, although there is also a Spanish version. The protagonist is a young man who, after being seduced by a beautiful woman, ends up being drugged and becomes unconscious.
He wakes up a day later and discovers to his horror that he has a horrible scar on his kidneys. She may even find a note, explaining that his kidney is in the hands of an organization of organ thieves.
In other versions, the man enters the changing room of a store and is kidnapped right there to remove his kidney. The couple, girlfriend or wife goes to the police to report his disappearance and the authorities manage to arrive in time to prevent the removal of the organ.
There is also a version of this scary story in which the victim is a child, who is kidnapped from a supermarket or an amusement park.
31. El Dr Gottfried Knoche (1880)
The residents of the picturesque town of Galipán, located on Cerro Ávila, next to the state of Vargas, in Venezuela, saw how Dr. Gottfried August Knoche settled on a nearby farm. The prominent German doctor and his wife would move to the Buena Vista hacienda, a place that is now in ruins but can still be visited by those interested in true horror stories.
It was the 1880s when Dr. Knoche settled in the hacienda that, removed from the curious eyes of the neighbors, would quickly be pointed out as a place where enigmatic events occurred. The doctor, recognized and admired for being both the founder and director of the San Juan de Dios Hospital, was developing a mystical secret in his private laboratory.
For the residents of the place it became customary to see carts with unclaimed corpses that Dr. Knoche bought to carry out his experiments. The gloomy procession was constant on the steep roads that go from Caracas to Galipán. What kind of experiments was Dr. Knoche doing with these anonymous corpses?
Rumors soon spread about the scientific findings of the German doctor. Everything indicates that it was an extraordinary elixir that, when applied as an intravenous serum, stopped the process of decomposition of corpses.
The story was confirmed when, one day, at the door of the Buena Vista hacienda, the same doctor placed a dog and a perfectly mummified soldier who had been one of his servants in life, José Pérez. The most surprising thing is that the corpses seemed almost alive without having removed their internal organs.
He just had to inject the solution into the deceased's jugular to stop the decomposition process. Although at first his experiments were seen as an aberration, the rumor of the existence of Dr. Knoche's embalming serum quickly spread throughout Caracas and La Guaira.
This is how the eminent doctor embalmed animals and people, especially loved ones that more than one person from Caracas wanted to be close to so as not to feel the sadness of his death. One of the most famous embalmers was Tomás Lander, a politician of the time, whom his relatives ordered to be embalmed with Knoche's elixir. Once the process was over, they made him up and sat at his desk for years, until they decided to give him a Christian burial.
The composition of the secret formula was never known. He didn't sell it either, even though they offered him a lot of money for it. It is only known that, close to his death, she prepared two vials with the embalming serum: one for him and one for her nurse, Amalie Weismann, to whom she left clear instructions on how to apply it to him... she herself.
Their bodies, as well as those of some members of the Knoche family, were deposited in the mausoleum erected on the Buena Vista ranch. And although the hacienda house was looted in search of data that would reveal the embalming formula, the presence of the curious occupants who inhabited it after death can still be felt.
32. Anatoly Moskvin, the doll collector (2011)
One of the scary stories that seems to come from the most twisted and macabre minds of Hollywood screenwriters is that of Anatoly Moskvin, a 45-year-old Russian resident of the city of Nizhny Novgorod.
Moskvin was a well-known scholar in certain circles, a writer, and an expert on the history of the area's cemeteries. At the end of 2011 the police were investigating some cases of grave desecration and they visited the scholar seeking advice from him. However, what they discovered in his apartment took their breath away.
Alongside shelves full of books, piles of children's clothing and toys, they found 29 life-size dolls dressed in vintage clothing. The strange appearance of these "dolls" and the smell that could be perceived throughout the apartment immediately alerted the police, so they carried out a more thorough examination.
In this way the macabre activities of Moskvin came to light, who confessed to being responsible for some 150 grave desecrations. He stole the corpses of girls and young women and mummified them to transform them into "her dolls of him" of him.
During the investigation they found out that, when she was 13 years old, her best friend, whom she loved very much, died. That affected him deeply. Her intention had been to offer a kind of eternal life to all those girls.
He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and locked up in a psychiatric hospital, where he is still admitted today.
33. Nachito's grave (since 1882)
In Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, is the tomb of Nachito, which is famous throughout Mexico. There are many who are attracted by the legend that surrounds it and decide to visit it and leave sweets or toys as an offering.
The legend that inspires this horror story began on May 24, 1882, when Ignacio Torres Altamirano, popularly known as Nachito, died. The boy suffered from nyctophobia (fear of the night and the dark), so his parents lit his room with candles.
At 3 years of age, during a very windy night, the candles went out and Nachito suffered a heart attack due to the terror that the absolute darkness produced in him. He was buried in a simple grave, but then something unusual happened: the gravedigger found his coffin outside the grave every morning. This happened for ten consecutive days.
His parents came to the conclusion that Nachito continued to feel terror at night, which is why his coffin came out of the ground. They decided to place his body in a stone coffin, with openings for natural light to enter. In addition, they built a pillar in each corner, on which they lit a candle.
The solution was a complete success and the coffin did not move again. People who visited his grave began to leave toys for him and continue to do so today. Some claim that they feel his presence, that they have heard his voice while he is playing and that they have seen how the toys move on their own.
34. Eulalia «la ironed» (since 1950)
Among the best known true fear legends of Mexico is also that of La planchada . With this popular nickname, reference is made to the specter of a nurse who wears a starched uniform and who appears in the corridors of the Juárez Hospital in Mexico City. It is one of the most popular horror stories of the place, but it does not stop being scary.
According to legend, this nurse was called Eulalia and began working at the Juárez Hospital around 1950. She was blonde, pretty, with blue eyes and stood out for being very applied in her work and attentive to patients.
Unfortunately, she fell in love with a handsome doctor who flirted with many women. They started a relationship, but he constantly cheated on her. One day, with the excuse of attending a conference, he left and Eulalia found out later that he had married someone else.
The young woman fell into a depression, became ill and died in hospital. It was then that some patients began to receive visits from La Planchada, a very attentive nurse who wore an impeccable and well-pressed uniform and who administered medications and clothed them.
Many testimonies claim to have seen it over the years, most of the time among the most serious patients. One of the witnesses was an eighty-year-old woman, recently operated on. She explained that a nurse had changed her serum, but no matter how hard she looked at it, she couldn't make out her face. She then she went into the bathroom and never came out.
All staff members working that day denied entering the old woman's room.
35. The Ghost of Ellen Hammell (1959)
Jim Chinnery went to Ipswich Cemetery, UK, on March 22, 1959, to visit the grave of his mother, Ellen Hammell, who had died the previous week. His wife Mabel accompanied him and, between the two of them, they cleaned the niche.
Afterwards they took some photographs in the graveyard and, seeing that there was only one photo left on the reel, Mabel decided to photograph her husband, who was already sitting in the car and waiting for her to start the drive home.
When they developed the reel, they discovered to their bewilderment that the last photograph showed the silhouette of a person sitting behind the driver's seat, occupied by Jim, despite the fact that there was no one else in the car. They recognized with astonishment that it was, without any doubt, the ghost of Mrs. Hammell, whose grave they had just visited.
Jim's mother always sat in this place when they traveled by car, as she liked to chat with the driver during the trip. The Chinnery couple considered that the photograph is a testimony that Jim's mother continues to fulfill her promises, since her last words were: "I will always be by your side."
Several experts in photography and parapsychology, among other researchers, have analyzed this photograph on several occasions and all have come to the same conclusion: there is no doubt that it is authentic and that there is someone sitting behind the driver.