My friend Marcus and I loved checking out abandoned places to kill boredom. One time we found this old wellness center on the outskirts that had been there for ages. It didn't require much sneaking skills or a lot of equipment. The building was just surrounded by a fence, no security, no cameras, nothing. Upon entering, we found a stairway leading to the upper floor. There was something written on the wall near the stairs. I brushed the dust and the word sauna was revealed underneath.
I wish this place was in good shape. I'd love to take a hot steam in this cold winter.
Marcus pushed open the door and we landed in the mosaic covered room. I suddenly felt someone's hand touching my shoulder.
Hey, stop messing with me. What I didn't do anything? Yeah right, you think your silly prank is gonna scare me, Marcus.
I kept on arguing, when suddenly a voice came to my ears. It out like a song. Yes, someone was singing. It was a woman singing a very well known nursery rhyme, but in an eerie way.
Bab bab black She have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.
Marcus and I looked at each other with fearful eyes. The way she sang felt so weird.
One for the Master, one for the Dame, and one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Who who is that? Maybe some homeless woman.
The song was coming from the other end of the sauna. I flashed my light, expecting to see someone there, but there was no one. But the song just went on.
One for the Master, one for the Dame, and one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
There is anybody here?
One for the Master, one for the Dame, and one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
The voice kept repeating these same lines again and again. We walked to the other end of the sauna and found a big gicozie filled with murky blackwater.
Look.
Marcus crouched down near the tub and picked up a small walkman. The song was coming from him.
One for the Master, one for the Dame, and one for the.
He pressed the pause button and it stopped.
Told you there's no such thing as ghosts. Do you think someone left it here to scare us? Maybe? Maybe not, But the pawn shop might pay well for the stupid antique.
Marcus took out the casette from the walkman and threw it on the floor. He stopped on it, crushing the poor thing into pieces.
What did you do that for us?
For fun?
Let's check the other rooms. Maybe there's more crap we'll be able to sell.
Marcus turned away, and I kept thinking, what are the odds? The walkman is years old and there was no way it was still working. Also, when we walked into the building, it was all quiet. The song started playing all of a sudden. Did someone do that just to scare us?
Dude, move it? We don't have all night.
Marcus's voice brought me back to reality. Just when we were about to leave the sauna room, I heard a low boiling sound. It was like water was boiling in the distance. We looked back and noticed the jacuzzi. The dirty water stood still. There was no movement in the water, yet it made sounds like bubbles popping.
I think something stuck inside.
What Marcus did next was stupid all this. He snatched the flashlight from my hand and torched it on the dark water. The water was so dark that the rays of light couldn't decipher the bottom.
Are you crazy? There's something at the bottom of the top. Come on, Marcus, don't be ridiculous.
But he didn't listen. He kept searching into the top, churning the filthy water. My heart was racing with each passing moment.
I think I touched something. It's a little what what is it?
Suddenly something jumped from the water and pulled Marcus in. He didn't even get the chance to screen. His shaking body went in, creating a huge splash.
Marcus.
No, I was terrified by the sight. Marcus was gone, and only the turned on flashlight floated in the top. There was no sound of a struggle, no sign of a third person. It was only me and my heavy breathing in that creepy, dark sauna.
Marcus, Please, this isn't funny, man.
My throat was dry, my legs were numb and fear. I wanted to leave that place. Oh what about my friend? Where did he go?
Marcus?
Suddenly bubbles appeared on the surface of the water in and I saw something. A head was slowly emerging from the water. But something wasn't normal about that head. The pale moonlight from the broken window helped me see in the dark instead of hair the head began with the chin, followed by a pair of dry lips. It took me a few more seconds to realize the actual horror. The head was upside down. The pair of flips started singing
that same nursery rhyme we heard moments back. Just a chin and a pair of flips peeking from the water.
Sinking Baba, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir.
Three packs.
I lost my balance and sat down on the dusty floor. All the blood in my veins froze. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
One for the Master, one for the Dame, and one bore the little boy who lives down the lane.
The singing stopped, the inverted head remained still too swung it rotten hands grabbed the edge of the jacuzzie. Slowly, the hands started pushing the edge, making the face lift. And that's when I saw the eyes. They had no pupils except the flushed eyeball that looked infected. I couldn't stand it anymore. A scream came out of my numb throat. I got up to run. I heard Marcus's voice calling from behind, Jimmy, stop, don't leave me here. The more I ran to the exit, Marcus's voice got distorted.
Oh Jimmy, come back for your friend.
Don't be scared.
We were just having fun.
But nothing could make me go back to that sauna. It's been fifteen years now. Marcus's body was never found. His parents blamed me. The village people think I killed them and got rid of the evidence. Every night I wake up drenched in sweat, seeing that inverted head smiling at me from that dark, murky water.
I think we all have in common that, even if only for a moment, we enjoy activities that give us peace and relaxation. I am a person who works a lot and has almost no rest, but when my vacations come, I just want to be relaxed. That vacation, I went with my family to the beach and we spent the night in a paradisiacal hotel near the beach. The next day, my husband took our children to see a soccer game. I could have gone with them, but he insisted that I stay at the hotel and enjoy some alone time
in the sauna. I thought it was an excellent idea, so I thanked him and agreed. After my family had left. I put on my towels and headed for the sauna area. I had never been in one before, but I had always wanted to. Upon entering the sauna, I must admit that it was everything I had imagined. The warmth began to permeate the room, and I laid back, relaxed, just enjoying the heat and almost falling asleep. Everything was going more than perfect until I heard the doors open. Someone
else had come in. I didn't mind another girl entering the sauna. I'm not gonna lie. I preferred to be alone, but she also had the right to have a good time, and I had no reason to feel uncomfortable. The problem is is that this person was walking very slowly in my direction, and when I had it in front of me and the steam dissipated, I realized it wasn't a woman. The person was a man. As soon as I saw him, even when I was inside a sauna, I got goosebumps.
This man's eyes were tiny, so small that it looked like they weren't even there. He had no lips on his mouth, and his nose was so close to his face that it looked like the holes were glued to his face. The man walked with great difficulty in my direction. At that moment, I didn't care how terrifying he was. I wasn't going to let a creep ruin my rest.
Hey, get out of here. This is the women's sauna.
The man ignored me and just kept walking in my direction. It was then I realized that I could be in danger. That this man had not entered the woman's sauna by accident. I stood up and walked towards the exit of the sauna, but with a quick movement, the man came back to the door and stopped it with his hand. Wait, you can't leave yet.
What what's wrong with you? Get out of my way.
I tried to push him, but the man didn't flinch, and I must admit that terrified me. No, you can't leave.
You have to help me.
What do you mean, I'm too too hot?
Too hot?
Here?
Are you crazy? If it's that hot here, just go away. This is a sauna.
No, I can't leave.
They'll find out.
What is anyone out there?
No, they're sid me. They're in my head. They talk to me all the time. They say I'm a bad point. They say they have to punish me.
Okay, that's enough.
I tried to get up from the seat, but before I could, he threw himself at me, putting one arm on each side so I couldn't get up. His face was in front of mine. His small, tiny eyes were red. That wasn't sweat. He was crying, please, you have to help me.
I can't stand the heat anymore. I hate the heat. You have to do something.
At that moment, I was speechless. I didn't know how to help them. I didn't know what to say to him, much less how to escape from that situation. That man may be crying and asking me for help, but my consent. See how unstable he was. That person could attack me at any moment. I looked at his hands in my face and realized that his fingernails, besides being dirty and broken, were very sharp. His little eyes were darting from side to side, and his body was shaking. I had never
felt so terrified in my life. While the man was screaming at me for help, all I could think about was my children, my husband. I didn't want to be in that sauna anymore. I wanted to be with them right.
Don't ignore me.
I'm melted. You have to do something. You help me. If you don't help me right now, I'm gonna.
Melt to death.
His cries were getting more and more desperate. This man was having a breakdown right in front of my eyes, and all I could do was witness it. Crying with him. I could only beg him not to do anything to me, until out of nowhere, the man let go of me and fell to the ground limb. I ran to the front door, and as I did so, I heard him whisper something in a very low voice.
Still making fun of me.
What have I done you? Why you sou mead to me. I ran in towels to the management and told them everything that was happening. I was still panicking, even though it made no sense. I felt I was still in danger, and it didn't go away until I hugged my family. A while later, the security personnel went to the sauna and found the man. He had just passed out, probably from the nervous breakdown he had just suffered. The man
ended up hospitalized in a mental health center. The man suffered from schizophrenia, and his family never took enough interest in him to get it treated, which is more common than you might think. He was convinced that there were people in his head who wanted to kill him, and
that day they almost did. I may have feared for my life at the time, and maybe my life was in danger, But today I can't stop thinking about that poor man, and as I work, I just pray that by getting the help he needs, he'll get better.
Going to the sauna used to be my regular routine. When I turned thirty, my whole body started to hurt. Sauna therapy was the only thing I found that helped me soothe my skin, ease my soreness, and alleviate this stress from my life, which can get pretty hectic. Of course, I wasn't settling for some cheap ot public sauna, so I got a membership at a more exclusive spa where I could have a regular appointment for getting my own
private sauna room. Since I own my own business, Mondays and Tuesdays are my off days, so I would go on Mondays every week at the same time of day when it's not busy. Everything about my weekly ritual was totally fine until this one guy showed up. He was about twenty years old, super greasy and weird looking. He was weirdly shure too, almost the same height as me, and I'm pretty sure even for a woman who was
standing around in the lobby. When I went in for my appointment, I was a few minutes early, so I was told to wait for my room to open up. When I sat down, this whirdo approached me and started trying to strike up a conversation.
Hi, there, you've got great skin.
Thanks.
I bet you get that a lot, though. Guys must be all over you.
Not really, it's just from the sauna. Are you a member?
I was thinking about signing up, but I'm not really sure if I want to yet. It's kind of expensive, you know.
Yeah, Well, if you can't afford it, there are plenty of other places you can go.
Nah, I'd like to go to this one. I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth. Do you think I could step in with you for a free trial.
I don't think so. I get a private room for a reason.
Is it because you don't think I'm attractive?
I just don't share my son as with other people. Now, if you'll excuse me, my appointment is ready.
I was saved by the bell. I got up and walked away as soon as the hostess gave me the signal. I was obviously very thankful to get out of being cornered by that guy. His free trial comment literally made me throw up in my mouth because I couldn't get the image out of my head of all his pimples oozing puss once the steam started to express them. Unfortunately, it was still in the lobby when I was done, except this time he was talking to the hostess about
getting a membership. I distinctly remembered the look on his face when he glanced up from the paperwork. It was the creepiest smuggest expression of victory I'd ever seen on such an ugly mug. Whatever I thought walking out and getting on with my life, by the next week, I'd almost completely forgotten about the creed. Of course, it all came back to me when I walked in and he was waiting for me again. Before I was even able to check in with the hostess, he got in my way.
Hey, I've got a membership. Now do you think you'd share a room with me? Now?
Excuse me, but no, what do you think changed? Why don't you just get.
Your own room?
I'm worried I'll get bored without someone to talk to.
Well, why don't you try it.
I walked around him flat out, ignoring him. I could tell this made him angry, but it was kind of embarrassing. Honestly, it just made him seem like a man child to my dismay. I kept seeing him in the lobby every time I went. It was clear that he was intentionally going there just to trap me into conversation. So I bit the bullet and changed the time of my appointment to a Friday afternoon, which unfortunately meant it was way busier.
I didn't see that creepy guy for a while, but he was a lot more peron assistant that I thought he would be. It wasn't long before he showed up again, but this time he was different. His skin was clearing up from the sauna treatment, and he was surprisingly better behaved. I guess that or maybe I was just feeling nicer after not having to deal with him for a bit. But he didn't come up and bother me immediately. Instead,
I ran into a problem. While I checked in with a hostess, they told me that I didn't have an appointment and that I would have to come back next week since they were books solid. I was upset, but I didn't want to blow up on the people that I saw all the time. That's when I looked over my shoulder and saw him smiling at me. I already had the feeling that I shouldn't do what I was about to do, but I really didn't want to go
all week without my ritual of relaxation. I walked up to him and said the words.
Hey, do you think I could share yours sauna room?
This time?
They seemed to have lost My appoint meant.
I thought you'd never ask.
We waited for his appointment that I reluctantly followed him into the sauna. My heart sank a bit when he threw the latch. Everything was fine for a while, we just made small talk. That was until he took off his towel, exposing himself. I immediately started to freak out.
Excuse me, but I'm not comfortable with that. Could you please cover it yourself up?
If you're not comfortable, why don't you take off your towel.
That's not what I meant. I've changed my mind. I'm leaving.
I stood up to leave, but he jumped in front of me and blocked my way out.
You're not leaving yet sweetheart, I've got another twenty five minutes with you.
Get out of my way, you creep.
I tried to get around him, but he grabbed me by the wrist.
Stop squirming, just sit still. I'm not gonna hurt you that bad top of me.
We fought back and forth. He tried to immobilize me, but I kept kicking him. Then he tried lifting me up. Suddenly he tripped on the wet floor and I fell on top of him. Then we both crashed through the glass door. He fell on his back, screaming in pain as a million shards of glass got stuck in his back. I got to my feet and ran away from him and started hollering for someone to call the police to get him arrested. Through legal action, I eventually managed to
get a restraining order placed against him. Unfortunately, I was permanently banned from the sauna for the scene I caused