Beware of the Lurkers

[00:00:00] Welcome to Scary Story Podcast.

[00:00:02] Today's episode features stories about the dark entities that lurk in your home,

[00:00:08] and about the strange case of a beloved bank customer.

[00:00:14] My name is Edwin.

[00:00:16] Here is a scary story.

[00:00:20] Beware of the Lurkers.

[00:00:22] It's tough to describe what they sound like since they barely make a noise when they move.

[00:00:32] But I know when they're there.

[00:00:34] Many have tried to help, none have succeeded.

[00:00:38] Except for one.

[00:00:40] Miss Ellie seemed far too young to be into this sort of thing.

[00:00:44] Yet something about her struck me as trustworthy.

[00:00:47] She showed up with a pack of cigarettes in one hand,

[00:00:50] and a bag about half her size over her shoulder,

[00:00:53] with corners of boxes about to poke out of the knitted brown cloth.

[00:00:58] Some sharp enough to stab her.

[00:01:01] She could set it down, I reminded her.

[00:01:04] How she could hold such a sack on her back was beyond me.

[00:01:08] Yet she refused and instead tried to carve a path between myself and the doorframe.

[00:01:13] I stepped aside as the light taps of her shoes met my wooden floors.

[00:01:18] She grunted softly as she walked inside, and all I could see was the enormous bag

[00:01:22] disappearing into the near dark interior of my home.

[00:01:27] Tap, tap, tap.

[00:01:29] Her shoes went all the way to the corner of the living room, or so I assumed.

[00:01:35] The lights were almost never on.

[00:01:37] They don't like that, and they will let you know what those sounds I told you about.

[00:01:42] I think Miss Ellie knew that already,

[00:01:45] since she did not seem the least bit concerned about the light situation.

[00:01:50] She grunted again, accompanied this time by the sounds of metal objects.

[00:01:55] Something that I imagine were jars of coins and kitchen utensils

[00:01:58] clanking together until they stopped when the sack hit the floor.

[00:02:03] She came walking up to me, stretching out the white box of cigarettes toward me,

[00:02:08] quietly telling me that she doesn't smoke.

[00:02:11] I don't smoke either.

[00:02:12] What were these for?

[00:02:15] I should have asked.

[00:02:17] Dark hair and brown eyes stared right at me, waiting for me to say something,

[00:02:21] or maybe to ask my question.

[00:02:24] I hesitated, but grabbed the box and then looked down on her shoes instead.

[00:02:30] Shiny and black.

[00:02:32] She slowly started to fit the aesthetic now,

[00:02:34] though the yellow butterfly button on her long brown dress threw me off.

[00:02:39] They're here alright, she said to me.

[00:02:43] We had spoken only on the phone up until that point,

[00:02:45] and yet she didn't seem interested in finding out much more about me.

[00:02:49] Rather she was entranced by the home just like I was when I first moved here.

[00:02:54] All wood construction was hard to find around here,

[00:02:58] and the place offered plenty of light during the day.

[00:03:01] This time she arrived right at the time when the sun was about to set

[00:03:05] and even our own eyes looked golden.

[00:03:09] I might have seen one around here.

[00:03:11] They bother you, said Wright.

[00:03:13] She asked.

[00:03:16] They used to scare me, I replied.

[00:03:18] Not so much anymore, just that sound she finished a statement for me.

[00:03:24] I know.

[00:03:26] She knew I could hear them.

[00:03:28] I told her over the phone.

[00:03:30] That may have been what convinced her to drive all the way down to my side of town.

[00:03:35] The full hour or more probably.

[00:03:40] There were four other helpers who had visited my home before.

[00:03:43] Three women and one man,

[00:03:46] all arriving at different times with one of the women knocking on my door

[00:03:49] asking if I could use some of her services out of nowhere.

[00:03:53] I thought she was offering to do housework or something like cleaning perhaps.

[00:03:58] But if anything could convince me that she had some special vision for things like these,

[00:04:02] it was her sudden appearance.

[00:04:05] I described to her the same things I described to Miss Ellie,

[00:04:09] how everything started.

[00:04:15] Two months after I moved into my home, the occurrences started.

[00:04:19] They came from the corners of your eyes, you know,

[00:04:22] the spots right on the edge of what you can see and the world that you make up until you turn your head.

[00:04:28] I was up late one evening.

[00:04:30] I had trouble sleeping thanks to a horrible headache

[00:04:33] and I figured I'd get some water.

[00:04:35] So I rolled out of the bed and walked straight to the open doorframe.

[00:04:39] When I heard the slightest shuffle you can imagine

[00:04:43] right on the other side in the hallway.

[00:04:46] I ignored it that first time, blaming it on my imagination.

[00:04:49] So I walked over the digital clock on a small table in the living room.

[00:04:54] It really was that late.

[00:04:56] Almost two in the morning.

[00:04:59] It was just about to turn the corner of the hall to cross the living room and get to the kitchen

[00:05:05] when I heard a sound again.

[00:05:07] But this was no lights shuffle.

[00:05:11] This was the sound of the lurkers.

[00:05:15] The chills down my back paralyzed my legs as I reached for the wall.

[00:05:19] My nails trying to dig into the drywall in order to hold on and not collapse backwards.

[00:05:24] The sensation of ants crawling all over my legs took over.

[00:05:28] As I felt the tingling needles, thousands of them poking at my feet and up my back once more.

[00:05:35] The hair on the back of my neck stood up on end.

[00:05:39] I reached for the light switch.

[00:05:40] I was left with no other choice but to flick it on.

[00:05:44] The sound took over from different areas of the home as the light came on.

[00:05:48] But as they had done for the past two days, they stopped after a few seconds.

[00:05:54] I tested my legs with that first step.

[00:05:57] All seemed okay then.

[00:06:01] For as long as I could remember, I had seen these figures and I ignored them just like you do too.

[00:06:08] It took lots of reading and chats with strangers that I met on the internet to better understand more about the lurkers.

[00:06:14] When I was a child, my parents got me a toy camera that I used to try to catch the lurkers with.

[00:06:20] It was a fun game for me.

[00:06:22] I might have considered them my friends possibly.

[00:06:25] Who knows?

[00:06:27] But I remember mom refusing to buy a film for me if I was only going to waste it on taking photos of the corners of the house.

[00:06:34] But they flee like birds when you get close to them.

[00:06:37] Where they go was a mystery to me until Miss Ellie helped explain some things for me.

[00:06:42] She set up some decorations around my home.

[00:06:45] Some were dark iron candle holders and some were ashtrays, all foreign to me.

[00:06:51] Plates and cutlery, silver perhaps, around the covers.

[00:06:56] This is their home too, she said.

[00:06:59] They've been here long before you and me were even born.

[00:07:04] All of this I had heard before.

[00:07:07] That they will not harm you most of the time.

[00:07:11] And when you do see them, like I do, they have gotten to trust you already.

[00:07:16] I wondered if Miss Ellie felt that same sense of pride in being chosen.

[00:07:21] But as she was speaking to me, she cleared that right up.

[00:07:25] There's nothing special about us.

[00:07:28] Everybody sees the lurkers, but most ignore them.

[00:07:33] They're there when you go to the bathroom at night or when you turn your head away from the wall in the middle of the night.

[00:07:39] Children particularly feel them under their beds and in their closets.

[00:07:44] But after hearing time after time that there is nothing there,

[00:07:48] the poor child begins to believe it and the lurkers begin to blend in with the background.

[00:07:53] The same way that you begin to ignore a stain on the wall.

[00:07:58] They crouch down behind the shower curtain and wait for you behind your doors.

[00:08:03] They're not all very friendly especially when you change their home around.

[00:08:08] I would know.

[00:08:10] The first time I saw one of the lurkers in this home, I gasped at the sight of the dark eyes and pale skin.

[00:08:17] A thinning beard seemingly growing out of its neck.

[00:08:21] It looked right at me and zoomed past the nightstand and over the closet.

[00:08:27] But we had a larger problem according to Miss Ellie.

[00:08:31] The visitors who poked around with their presence were not welcome

[00:08:34] and Miss Ellie appeared to know every single one of those supposed helpers

[00:08:38] who had tried to see the lurkers in my home.

[00:08:41] They knew about the place and they were locals.

[00:08:45] They probed them with lights and chants all fakery according to Miss Ellie.

[00:08:51] Make them feel welcome she told me

[00:08:54] and they'll come back to the shadows.

[00:08:57] Ah, the shadows.

[00:08:59] Where we want them to be and where we better coexist.

[00:09:03] I remember this part too, the shadows.

[00:09:06] Because from the shadows they became seen after that first visit from the woman.

[00:09:11] From being seen they began to grow their sounds.

[00:09:15] Stop this at all costs, this is dangerous and must be taken seriously.

[00:09:20] The next step is their physical manifestation, object and energy manipulation.

[00:09:26] This isn't a peaceful sight most of the time.

[00:09:30] Miss Ellie lifted the large bag from the floor in the middle of the hallway,

[00:09:34] folded it and stepped right out into the porch where I was standing the whole time.

[00:09:39] That should help she said.

[00:09:42] My home had a nice feel to it I must say.

[00:09:45] Vintage stuff, not quite antiques but vintage and all around the home.

[00:09:52] Worn down portraits with copper frames nicely decorated the kitchen and spare bedroom now.

[00:09:58] I write to people now too about the lurkers

[00:10:02] that they're at their happiest in the shadows.

[00:10:05] You barely notice them.

[00:10:07] But beware when they manifest their other wordly sounds.

[00:10:12] As you walk through your home in the dark,

[00:10:15] light taps and quick micro gusts of wind are normal.

[00:10:20] You feel them behind the attic door and before you flick on the light.

[00:10:25] But if you walk around your home at night down a long hallway

[00:10:28] or across a path from the front door and to the lamp in the living room

[00:10:33] and you hear the sound of a lurker.

[00:10:35] Take a step back.

[00:10:39] I haven't heard them since.

[00:10:42] I wish I could describe the sound in words, but trust me,

[00:10:47] you'll know it when you hear it.

[00:10:59] The following story is called Dead Gifts

[00:11:02] and it's coming right after a quick message from our sponsors that make these stories possible.

[00:11:07] Supporting them also supports the show.

[00:11:12] Is something getting in the way of your happiness or with you achieving your goals?

[00:11:16] Better help can assess your needs and match you to your own licensed professional therapist

[00:11:20] to connect with in under 48 hours.

[00:11:23] It is safe, private and convenient professional counseling, not self-help.

[00:11:28] You can send a message to your counselor at any time and get thoughtful responses.

[00:11:32] Plus you can schedule weekly video or phone sessions.

[00:11:35] Forget having to sit in uncomfortable waiting rooms to get help.

[00:11:38] Now you can talk with licensed professional counselors

[00:11:41] who are specialized in depression, stress, anxiety, family conflicts

[00:11:45] and more topics right from your home.

[00:11:48] Everything you share is confidential,

[00:11:50] but please remember that this is not a crisis line.

[00:11:53] If you'd like, check out the testimonials posted daily on their website.

[00:11:58] So many people have been using BetterHelp

[00:11:59] that they are now recruiting additional counselors in all 50 states.

[00:12:04] I want you to start living a happier life today

[00:12:06] and as a listener of Scary Story Podcasts

[00:12:08] you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting betterhelp.com

[00:12:12] slash Scary Story.

[00:12:15] Join over 1 million people taking charge of their mental health.

[00:12:19] Again, that's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Scary Story.

[00:12:29] Dead Gifts.

[00:12:36] I'm sure that you cannot imagine some of the things

[00:12:38] that people will purchase online

[00:12:40] and how much information is generated with your purchases.

[00:12:44] When I worked as a bank teller,

[00:12:45] I used to tell my customers to always keep their card numbers safe

[00:12:48] and protect their private information.

[00:12:51] Still, every once in a while a customer would come in

[00:12:54] trying to clear up a purchase that they did not make.

[00:12:57] I tried to justify some interesting subscriptions to services as a purchase

[00:13:01] that they had not made themselves,

[00:13:04] but with no evidence of fraud.

[00:13:07] Joint accounts with married couples were awkward to deal with sometimes because of this.

[00:13:13] But by far one of the strangest cases I ever had to deal with

[00:13:17] was with a customer that had been with a bank

[00:13:19] for far longer than I had been with the company.

[00:13:22] Heck, he had been a customer even before I was born.

[00:13:26] His name was Tom

[00:13:28] and he was one of the most interesting characters.

[00:13:31] He brought us candy and thank-you notes every chance he got.

[00:13:35] He loved to talk but always mentioned that he hated the glass between us.

[00:13:39] He was referring to the security glass at her bank.

[00:13:43] Back in his day, bank tellers had a desk only, he would say.

[00:13:47] As the years passed by, he started repeating the same things a few times during the same conversations.

[00:13:54] Still, he was a joy to deal with.

[00:13:59] When he passed,

[00:14:01] one of his sons came into the bank with the news and we started the process to hold the account.

[00:14:07] Different banks have different ways to deal with this,

[00:14:10] but we simply hold the account until the legal papers are in place to transfer the funds elsewhere

[00:14:15] or keep them for the allotted amount of time.

[00:14:18] But due to some mistake, his account was never placed on a hold.

[00:14:22] Or so it seemed.

[00:14:24] That was the strange part.

[00:14:27] One of the investigations we sent over to the department that deals with these things

[00:14:31] was that of the baker's flower shop.

[00:14:34] Confusing name I know.

[00:14:36] That was a official bank transaction identification.

[00:14:40] Two charges had been made for a little under $40 each.

[00:14:44] About two weeks on two separate days after Tom's death.

[00:14:48] These charges seemingly bypassed the system and went through unnoticed.

[00:14:55] Can we check these out please?

[00:14:56] His son asked me over the phone one evening.

[00:15:00] I cannot verify these because of his request since he had no rights over the account.

[00:15:04] Just access to his father's online banking because he had his password.

[00:15:09] But I did have the authority to check them based on the suspicion of the transactions.

[00:15:14] A dead man cannot purchase much of anything but the exception of those monthly fees that we forget to cancel.

[00:15:21] I made a note of the shop's phone number to call the next day and push the issue with Tom's account to my supervisor.

[00:15:28] The account had a hold clearly marked on the account.

[00:15:32] Yet those transactions still took place.

[00:15:35] The supervisor got back to me within an hour saying that the error had been fixed.

[00:15:42] But it hadn't.

[00:15:44] For days new transactions kept taking place even after the card had been blocked for use.

[00:15:50] We contacted the merchants at flower shops, gift shops and even a restaurant.

[00:15:56] All of them claimed that the transaction and service had taken place.

[00:16:00] Yet we had no way to verify it.

[00:16:05] It wasn't until Tom's son took possession of the account and investigated the matter himself.

[00:16:10] We all became overwhelmed with a strange feeling when we heard the news.

[00:16:16] The flower shop had delivered flowers to Tom's home.

[00:16:20] Flowers for Elsa on the card.

[00:16:23] The employee who took the order described the man's voice as distant and raspy, just like Tom's.

[00:16:30] Tom had passed two weeks before that order.

[00:16:35] Another gift delivery, a card and a box of chocolates this time from the same shop.

[00:16:41] For Elsa, said the note.

[00:16:45] My co-workers had gathered around the teller window that morning when Tom's son came to talk to us about his father's account.

[00:16:53] We all looked at each other in disbelief.

[00:16:57] Could somebody be playing a sick joke?

[00:17:00] My supervisor was more worried about the account and filing a report on unauthorized transactions.

[00:17:06] How could things be bought with a canceled account?

[00:17:11] But some of the older tellers at the bank were even more surprised at the story Tom's son was telling us.

[00:17:18] They had all met Elsa.

[00:17:20] They used to come into the bank together.

[00:17:23] They showed up holding hands when they got their first loan for their home and for the business they started together just before their two sons were born.

[00:17:32] With a suit and tie, they said.

[00:17:35] His wife as beautiful as ever, both nervous as a young couple making their first big purchase together.

[00:17:42] They joked at the slips of the pen asking to sign the document one more time due to Elsa's shaky hand.

[00:17:49] They remembered the large flash of their camera as they smiled like they never had before as it filled the entire lobby of the bank with that light.

[00:17:58] All took great a memory for themselves.

[00:18:01] My co-worker was now holding back tears.

[00:18:06] We still have Tom's thank you notes. They're up on the wall of her break room.

[00:18:11] The copy of the photo they took that day had long been taken down but Tom's son claimed that it was still in Tom's home and would be preserved.

[00:18:21] It was a bittersweet day that Friday thinking about Tom at the bank.

[00:18:26] Some people simply leave an impression on you that you will never forget.

[00:18:31] Just like Elsa left on Tom.

[00:18:36] You see the flowers arrived, his son confirmed.

[00:18:39] They stayed out on the front porch for a couple of days until they started wilting on their own.

[00:18:45] The service was purchased and delivered as promised so the transaction appeared legitimate.

[00:18:52] Based on Tom's son's decision, the charges were okay and accepted as authorized.

[00:19:01] There was nobody there to receive the flowers for Elsa though.

[00:19:05] Elsa had passed away several months before Tom.

[00:19:11] I'm glad they're together now.

[00:19:25] Get notified of new episodes over on Scary Story Podcast dot com

[00:19:30] or be sure to click follow right now on your podcast player.

[00:19:35] Scary Story Podcast is written and produced by me, Edwin Coba Rubias.

[00:19:39] Until next time, thank you very much for listening.