A pod Shape production.
Welcome back to the Chills, the Spooky Story Podcast. It's hard to believe unless, of course, it happened to you. This next story is from Sophia. She sent her story in via the email at the chillsatpodshape dot com. We've had someone else read her story.
This happened about five years ago, and even now I can't shake the feeling that someone's watching me every night. It was just a regular Thursday night in late November. I'd recently moved into this old apartment on the outskirts of Freemantle. It's a quirky little place with a lot of character, at least that's what I thought at the time.
Fremantle is one of the oldest suburbs of Perth in Western Australia. It's home to an old jail and lots of old historic buildings that date back to the early settlers. It's coastal and it has a bit of a spooky bohear mean vibe to it. I should know. I grew up there. Let's hit back to Sophia's story.
The building was pretty old, probably from the early nineteen hundreds, and had this like weird, eerie charm to it. The landlord, mister Thompson, was an older guy. He seemed nice enough, but there was something about him that just felt a bit off, like he was almost too eager to help me settle in. I didn't think much of it back then, like maybe he was just lonely or something. My apartment was on the third floor, and the only other person
living on my floor was a woman named Alice. I hardly ever saw her, just a few times in the hallway. She always seemed a bit jumpy, like she was trying to avoid something or someone. One night, I was lying in bed, struggling to fall asleep. The room was pitch black and the only sound was the ticking of this old wall clock I had, And just as I was about to doze off, I heard a whisper, help me. I quickly opened my eyes and I strained to hear more,
and I heard nothing. I figured it was just my mind playing tricks on me, so I tried to go back to sleep. But then I heard it again, and this time clearer, Please help me.
Now. I don't know about you, but the amount of stories I've heard or scary movies I've seen when someone hears a voice saying help me. I can tell you I'm not staying around to find out who needs help. I'm out the door faster than you can say, like scary mom me uh huh. But Sophia isn't like me. She's kinder, some would say a little braver. So what does she do next?
I sat up in bed. My heart was pounding. The voice was coming from the corner of the room like I reached over and switched on the bedside lamb, but the corner was empty, just shadows from my wardrobe. There was nothing there. I tried to tell myself it was just the wind, or maybe the old pipes in the building. But then I heard it again, and it was even more desperate. This time, He's coming for me, please. I jumped out of bed. I freaked out. I searched the room,
but there was literally no one there. Now I was wide awake and I was completely terrified. I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. When I stepped into the hallway, I noticed Alice's door was slightly open, and I could hear her crying inside. I knocked softly on the door, Alice, are you okay? The crying stopped instantly, and after a long pause, she whispered, he's watching you too, isn't he? A chill ran down my spine. Who who's watching me? She peeped through the crack in the door,
her eyes wide with fear. The man in the corner. He's been here for years. He watches us, waits for us to fall asleep, and then he takes us. I backed away, trying to stay calm. Alice, that's not funny, her eyes filled with tears. I'm not joking. He got the last ten and two. Please, you have to believe me. I literally didn't know what to say, so I just nodded and I went back to my apartment, locking the door behind me. I did not sleep at all that night.
I don't think I would have slept that night either. I certainly wouldn't want to see Alice again, and I don't think I would actually ever close my eyes again, not while I was staying in that apartment.
The next day, I went to see mister Thompson. I told him about the voice and what Alice said. He just smiled and said, Alice has always had an overactive imagination. Don't let it get to you. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong. That night, I stayed up staring at the corner of my room. Around three am, I felt a cold breeze, even though all the windows were shut tight. And then I saw it, a shadow, darker than the rest, moving in the corner.
It started to take shape, growing taller and more defined. My heart was pounding as the figure of a man emerged from the darkness. His eyes were hollow and his mouth twisted into this creepy grin. I couldn't move, I couldn't scream. He stepped closer, and this overwhelming sense of dread hit me. Just as he reached out to touch me, there was a loud banging on the door. The figure disappeared instantly. I stumbled to the door and flung it open.
Alice was standing there, pale and shaking. Did you see him? Did you see him? She whispered. I nodded, too scared to talk. We have to leave, she said urgently. Now we packed our things and left. That night. I moved back in with my parents and never went back to that building. Later, I found out that the apartment had a history of tenants disappearing under weird circumstances.
So we've done a little bit of investigating this point. A Google search couldn't find any details of people that went missing from an apartment in Fremantle, but Sophia didn't tell us where it was or when it happens. What we do know is that in Fremantle there are regular ghosts tours that happened throughout the Fremantle Prison, which was built in eighteen fifty and was the first landing ground
for early convicts. Around that prison are old houses that used to be inhabited by people that worked in the prison or serve us the prison. Either way, Sophia's story gave us the chills.
Even now, years later, I sometimes catch a glimpse of that man in the corner, just for a split second, always watching and waiting.
If you've got a story that you think could give us the chills, email us at the Chills at podshape dot com. See you next time. Help me up pay un pay