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7 min read

Sleep Walking

11 Stories 2 Followers
Sleep Walking

In 1998 I got a new teaching job in a new town. To save money I moved into a small house that was for rent. My roommate, Claire, was nice enough and the two of us got along easily. I moved in and found my room. While unpacking I came across an old framed photograph. Three men dressed as hospital orderlies were sitting together in the living room of the house. These three men had once lived in the house I was now renting with Claire. I didn’t want to throw away the photograph, it didn’t seem right. But I didn’t want to keep it, either. I chose to hang the picture up in the living room as decoration and a reminder of the friendship that once bloomed in the house.

On the first night I was awakened by Claire stumbling around in the dark in my bedroom. Flipping on the lights I saw Claire and realized that she was sleep walking. I called her name and finally woke Claire up and she, confused by what had happened, apologized and told me that she had never slept walked before.

Claire was shaking, she then went on to explain that she was having a vivid and bizarre dream. In her dream she was in a hospital and a woman, a patient, was holding her hand and leading her down the hallway as if the woman wanted Claire to see something.

The next morning I went for a jog and spied an abandoned building a few blocks away from my house. The building was massive, the windows broken and the doors chained. There were no signs on the outside of the building but by all outward appearances it looked like a hospital. I was staring at the building as if in a trance when I noticed that there was something, or someone looking back at me from the fifth floor window. As soon as I made eye contact it disappeared.

The whole area, the building and the quiet creeped me out. I ran for home.

That night Claire and I sat down together to watch a movie, drink some wine and talk. When I brought up my crazy ex-boyfriend Claire laughed a little. She remarked that my ex sounded like her during her wilder days. She went on to tell me that she had a mental break down a few years ago and that she was on medication, but she was better now and it was all behind her. Her story sent a chill up my spine. I barely knew her and I now I learn about this.

Later when I went to bed a heard a crash outside my window. I threw back the curtain and saw Claire walking off the porch, breaking a flower pot as she moved. I opened my window and yelled her name but she didn’t respond. Claire was walking down the street toward the abandoned hospital, sleep walking, her hand out stretched as if she was being guided by some unseen force.

I threw on some clothes and ran outside the house still calling Claire’s name. By the time I caught up to her she was stepping inside the hospital doors. Someone had unchained the doors.

I was too afraid to walk inside the hospital after her, I hesitated and I regret it to this day.

When I finally worked up the nerve to walk inside I was greeted by an elderly homeless woman. I asked her if she had seen anyone come into the hospital just now and all she did was smile at me and turn away. I panicked and stepped back outside, the foreboding feeling was overwhelming.

I looked up at the hospital and saw Claire hanging out a window on the fifth floor. I yelled her name but I couldn’t get her attention. I’ll never forget the look on her face: pure terror. Clair kept leaning out the window and looking back into the hospital as if she was afraid of someone or something. Sometimes she’d look down, seemingly straight at me, but she still never saw me.

I called her name desperately as I watched her climb out through the window and jump. She died in front of me.

The police arrived and I told them everything about Claire’s sleep walking. But when they learned about her history of mental illness they quickly chalked it up to a suicide and that was the end of her story.

A week later I read her obituary in the newspaper and in the article they confirmed that the abandoned hospital was in fact a hospital. A mental hospital.

I fell asleep that night I had a very strange dream. I was walking down the hall of a hospital, a woman in a hospital gown holding my hand. She was guiding me somewhere and she kept looking back to make sure I was still following.

The snapping of fingers and a man’s voice startled me awake. I had been dreaming. I had been sleep walking. I had walked the four blocks from my house to the street of the abandoned hospital. A man had almost hit me with his car. If he hadn’t of woken me up I’m not sure what wouldn’t happened.

The idea of sleep was now terrifying. So much had happened in such little time I tried to keep awake for as long as possible. But eventually, as it often does, sleep overtook me. The dream, the same dream about being in the hospital, repeated. This time when I woke up however I wasn’t in my bed or standing in the street. I was laying the bedframe of an old cot inside the hospital.

Scared I walked through the halls trying to find the stairs and get out, but I found nothing. I heard muffled voices and screams coming from all the empty rooms that lined the halls. I rounded a corner and came face to face with three people all dressed as patients. One patient was the woman from my dream. I backed away and told myself they weren’t real, if I ignored them they’d go away.

I kept searching for the exit and heard another screaming voice from behind a door. There was an orange glow creeping out from under the door and through the small window on the door. I peeked inside and a man’s face peeked back. His face was burned, horribly burned! He begged me to let him out but I couldn’t bring myself to touch the door. I turned and saw the same three patients as I had before.

One by one the three patients approached the window and jumped out. I looked out the window but I didn’t see them, I saw three orderlies running from the building in a panic. I yelled for them but they didn’t stop. That’s when I smelled the smoke.

I turned and saw the orange flames stretching out from under the door and smoke filling every hallway. I had no choice. I had to jump.

I approached the window and prepared to leap out when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over and saw the homeless woman pulling me away from the window. She led me out of the hospital and I ran for my life.

The rest of the night I stayed awake and did some research on the hospital.

It was abandoned twenty years ago after a fire ravaged the hospital. The orderlies all fled from the building and left their patients behind, to burn alive.

I moved out of the house the next morning and back in with my parents. I haven’t sleep walked since.

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Forgetmenot_ForgottenRegardless11003 avatar

cool beans

Heimdallen
Heimdallen
7 years ago

Well, the reason why it’s short and written exactly how it is, is because it is a perfect summary narrative of an episode of a show called “My Haunted House”, season 2 episode 6, “Pest House & Sleepwalkers” from 2014, 2 years before this was written, proving it was copied from the show. No judgement on that, but what I want to know is some more about this, considering it’s alleged by the show that it’s a true story. However, I cannot find any information about a fire in a psychiatric hospital in or near Sacramento, CA, that suffered a fire roughly 20 years ago in which patients died. Does anyone live in Sacramento and know this story? Can anyone shed any light on it? I’d really appreciate any real information, as if this story is real, an obituary of the girl that “jumped”/was compelled to jump by a ghost exists in a Sacramento local newspaper at least. If anyone can shed any light on this it would really help my research. Just replace the (words) from my email with the appropriate symbols, you can reach me at: mrwentles(AT)gmail(DOT)com. And yes, I did that to avoid roaming bots grabbing my email as easily for spam. Thank you very much!

Sublime avatar
Sublime
7 years ago

It was a good story overall, could have used a little more creepy factor to it tho 😀

DaleV17 avatar
DaleV17
7 years ago

I’m down the middle. It was OKAY. But not GREAT. Good effort though.

J
JamesGore
7 years ago

Not gonna lie, I didn’t enjoy this or think it was scary. It was extremely rushed, grammar and punctuation were not good, and the plot was not developed well. The climax, which I assume was when she herself was in the hospital, was not exciting and, as I mentioned before, was rushed. The ending didn’t leave me thinking about how good this was or anything. I know this is very harsh, but I did not enjoy this piece. I think it could have been done much better.

Helloman
Helloman
7 years ago

I had experienced sleepwalking when my grandfather died I was still a child back then. His hometown where the burial was held is just near the river. At the last night of his burial I was caught sleep walking by my uncle at least thats what my mom, aunts and my play mates said to me, I couldn’t remember a thing or a when I wake up I was on my bed. What caught my attention the most is that that night they said that they saw me standing on a clif near the river.

mrcreppy
mrcreppy
7 years ago

MohterF**ker Scary Story

P
Princess_Brat
7 years ago

I’d like my five minutes back

Patricia Dorr
Patricia Dorr
7 years ago

Maybe the homeless lady was already dead, or maybe she was immune because she was on some kind of drug.

Connorjessy avatar
Connorjessy
7 years ago

That was nice

Accurate avatar
Accurate
7 years ago

Great story! I would like to read more about the women and how she copes in the hospital. [spoiler]P.S Its a bit rushed but great read anyway 9/10[/spoiler]

MsKiller avatar
MsKiller
7 years ago

[spoiler]This is a stolen story[/spoiler]

MsKiller avatar
MsKiller
7 years ago

i have 26 cps :D…. This story was great[spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler]Spoiler Alert[spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler][spoiler][/spoiler] This isn’t your story bro

Farad avatar
Farad
7 years ago

8/10 for me. Good suspense. ending is good but is a bit rushed.

JeffNinaKillers avatar
JeffNinaKillers
7 years ago

Great job even though i was diappointed at the end because it ended so quickly but i enjoyed it to the max keep it ip!

Ambie-San avatar
Ambie-San
7 years ago

tbh, it could’ve used more build up, [spoiler] maybe more about claire’s breakdown, the orderlies who abandoned their patients[/spoiler], but overall a good story.

Jonathan avatar
Jonathan
7 years ago

I read this to friends in the dark and they were scared out there minds lmao yummy pasta with the 420.

L
lillieCnation
7 years ago

I hope it is okay I am going to narrate your story? I will site author and website. If you do not wish for your story to be narrated please write back!

JollyRoger777 avatar
JollyRoger777
7 years ago

I am also curious about the homeless woman. That is the only thing, great story!

L
lillieCnation
7 years ago

I am a narrator from YouTube and I was wondering if I could have your permission to narrate this story? I will site you are the author and linkntyo this website!