Say Hi to Charlie

[00:00:00] Welcome to Scary Story Podcast. Today's stories are about entities that don't seem to want to leave, as well as a lingering feeling that literally crawls all over you. My name is Edwin. Here's a scary story. Say Hi to Charlie. I love this old house.

[00:00:28] I wish I could say that I built it, as I've been asked several times about that. Some of the areas are unusual, to say the least, and maybe that's why they've been asking.

[00:00:38] It's funny to me to think about what they would say if they only saw the basement. The thing has two sub-levels in there. The regular basement area, and then a door with a latch that leads to another crawl space

[00:00:52] thing, which I'm assuming was used for storage or refrigeration. It's pretty hidden down there. We raised my kid here until he turned 12, and then I raised him by myself. He's a good man now.

[00:01:07] His wife, pregnant at the time, had told him several times that I wanted them to live in this old house, and Oliver was more than happy to accept the offer. Of course his wife had to be on board, and she was overjoyed with excitement.

[00:01:22] The neighborhood had changed a bit, but in my opinion it had only gotten better. If anything, we were the ones who were lagging it as far as how the house looked.

[00:01:32] We decided to renovate a few areas, to redo the front yard and get the house a new coat of paint. Just imagining a grandson running around the yard, it just made the painful sanding and digging tasks easier.

[00:01:48] Oliver was a bit uneasy about staying there at first, and understood why. It made sense, but it had been years about the incident and I know it made him nervous.

[00:01:58] I wish I could find it on film, but my wife and I used to talk a lot about what happened with Oliver in the strange events. We were what, in our mid-twenties? We moved into that house, a bit too large for us, I thought at first, but still,

[00:02:14] we were quick to make it a real home. Three bedrooms in the second floor, and a large living room and a kitchen on the first floor. It felt like we had won the lottery. Things only started changing when Oliver was born. Little things here and there were unusual.

[00:02:31] He would sit on the inside of his crib and looked over the center of the room, jumping with excitement, and then sitting down as if he were listening to a story, just how kids do. There was no way he would understand one, at least not at that age.

[00:02:47] So one morning I called Amelia over to witness what Oliver was doing, sitting quietly in the crib by the wall of his room, looking attentively at something in the center of the carpet. Strange I remember Amelia saying to me, have you seen him try to climb the window?

[00:03:07] She had witnessed Oliver stretching out his hands trying to climb over the window sill in his room. We had nailed it shut. Some other odd things like that kept happening as he was growing up.

[00:03:19] A sudden thump would come from his room, then a few seconds would pass when suddenly he began screaming and crying with such an intense desperation in his tone. That I, don't quote me on this, thought that maybe it wasn't Oliver the one that was crying.

[00:03:36] But it wasn't until he turned four years old when things started to change. One day after I had gotten home from work, I sat next to Oliver on the couch in front of the television. He was watching some cartoon I wasn't familiar with, but I didn't mind it.

[00:03:54] It goes my eyes slightly, hoping that I wouldn't fall asleep right then. Amelia didn't like the food to get cold once she had it ready, so I made a mental note to keep my eyes slightly open.

[00:04:08] At those doves slightly, I suppose because out of nowhere I heard a sudden deep growl coming from the living room. I stood up to catch Oliver standing in front of the couch, frozen, staring into the dark hallway.

[00:04:21] I figured it could have been Amelia in the kitchen, perhaps a creaky oven door opening. Then the growl became more intense. So deep I could feel it in my chest. Soon, the headache started. I squeezed my head between my hands as hard as I could.

[00:04:43] The pain was growing from the sides of my head as a pressure felt like I was being pushed between a hand and a wall. Too many things ran through my mind, thinking about the ambulance arriving, the neighbors

[00:04:55] watching what Amelia would say, and how I would scare Oliver if I simply let out a scream. Finally, I could not take it anymore and had grunted just about to let it out. Hi Charlie, I heard from in front of me. Complete silence filled the room.

[00:05:16] I opened my eyes to find Oliver still standing in the middle of the carpet, waving, looking at something down the hall. I never brought it up to anybody, and I have a feeling Amelia probably knew about it and ignored it just like me. There were a lot alike.

[00:05:36] For a few years after that, Oliver would say, Hi Charlie. And he would enter a room. Until one day I asked who Charlie was. Most of the time he'd say nothing and ignore my question.

[00:05:51] This one time I got the chills when he looked over to the window and pointed. That's Charlie, he said. I turned my head to find nothing there. I think I did what most parents would do and assume it was an imaginary friend, or

[00:06:08] simply a habit he had picked up from the TV or his friends in kindergarten. We all kind of forgot about this Charlie thing and Oliver claims to only vaguely remember saying that, though he still gets creeped out by it.

[00:06:24] We used to laugh about it sometimes before changing the topics into other things he used to do that would make us laugh back then when he was little. But then we would turn to our memories with Amelia, his mother before she passed away.

[00:06:39] But it was during these renovations for the house that would be passed down to Oliver and his wife, a new family arriving to the house when it made a dark discovery. There was lots of documentation to get done, unsurprisingly, in order to get

[00:06:53] a renovation done in the house. Had to find records of things, submit plans, contract her names and suppliers, check for signatures. It was a mess. But it was during this search that I discovered the story of Charlie Mooring,

[00:07:10] a little boy that had died after climbing the window on the second floor. His sweater got stuck to the windowsill. The sweater was still wrapped around his neck. Neighbors spoke highly of the family they said in a newspaper article. And in one quote from a neighbor, he read,

[00:07:31] Such a tragedy. We all love seeing how to Charlie through that window. We will miss him. I kept the story for myself. I was not going to risk Oliver changing his mind about living in the place just because of a story that probably didn't mean anything.

[00:07:51] But it was after everything was done and my grandson had turned three years old that I remembered it once again. I loved what they had done to his room. Bright colors and lots of toys. And one day we were sitting there on the floor

[00:08:08] when he leaned forward and stood up, staring directly at the window. He pointed at it with his index finger and then looked back at me. Suddenly, he opened his mouth as he stared back at the window. He waved his little hand and said, Hi Charlie. Dark clouds.

[00:08:51] My girlfriend broke up with me at the coffee shop where we met. Her way of doing things always had a type of significance or she certainly tried to tie one onto it. But this was just a terrible one. I used to love that coffee shop.

[00:09:06] Probably even more than I liked her right before the breakup. Part of me knows that I was the cause of most of it but honestly, not many other things were going right. My boss had assigned me to a new team at work.

[00:09:21] Something that I was not prepared for and I did a lousy job at it. The Human Resources Department had asked to speak with me but instead of actually speaking they just gave me a note with a warning about my job performance.

[00:09:34] I was forced to sign it in front of the awkward smile from the kid at the desk. A recent graduate I think. That day I went straight to the Amtrak station right after work. I would take the ride to my parents home.

[00:09:48] I wouldn't need anything, not even a change of clothes. Sure I was still keeping a box of my things in their house and if not, I'd just buy new stuff. Perhaps toothbrush when I got there but it turns out that they had my things there and ready.

[00:10:04] Mom and dad were always happy to see me just as I was to see them but even their smiling faces did little for my mood. I forced myself to sit through the dinner conversation we had and I could tell they noticed that I wasn't feeling it.

[00:10:20] Soon they asked me to go rest up in the room. I lay down for hours on that rock hard bed looking at the sky go from purple to black through the window. I didn't know the moon moved so fast across the sky.

[00:10:35] We created a strange sense of urgency inside of me. I thought about calling Maria but I figured she'd want some space away from me. I wanted space too. Eventually I closed my eyes on that Friday night.

[00:10:50] A one night stay turned into three as I was up at 4.30 in the morning on a Monday having to take a train back to my place and straight to work. I didn't have to rush the train would leave at 6 and that was all set.

[00:11:05] I grabbed the backpack I had brought straight from work along with the pile of documents that was still waiting to be processed probably all bent up by now. I said goodbye to dad who was already making his coffee and asked him to say bye to mom for me.

[00:11:20] He handed me a Styrofoam cup of coffee and I started walking into the dark morning the blue line across the horizon barely visible from above the houses across the street. I checked where my wall is but found no cash.

[00:11:35] I started with the first credit card to the sudden buzz and large decline text on the screen. I tried my debit card and it worked. Friends had warned me about debit cards on public transit machines but I had no choice.

[00:11:50] I had my ticket slightly misprinted in my hand now and the train was arriving. I made it to work just in time greeted by a large stack of documents on my cubicle. The same people, the same smells the same fake hellos and goodbyes.

[00:12:09] After work I walked over the coffee shop the one where I met Maria and I saw two couples on the tables on the patio. One of the couples were holding hands. I saw one of them say something and they both laughed at each other.

[00:12:25] Behind them was another couple where there was one person with their phone out and the other looking down at their coffee cup and into the street. We made eye contact and swiftly looked away. Awkward moments didn't make me uncomfortable anymore.

[00:12:41] I felt like I could poke myself with a needle and not feel anything. A cloud, a cloud that followed me around day and night, raining invisible droplets of memories. My mind always went back to my job, my life. The crappy apartment by the old trees,

[00:13:01] the stink of my boss's breath and the car that sat in the driveway that I hadn't gotten around to get fixed. The loans I owed, the way my shoes felt like I had gum stuck to the bottom of my soul holding me back from ever moving forward.

[00:13:18] It was those dark clouds that wouldn't go away. The sun was setting when I got back home and I flicked on the light switch. I gave it a couple of more tries and then took a few steps back outside. There was a note stuck to the door, disconnected

[00:13:38] and then a phone number to make the payment for the electric company. I let go of the sheet of paper not even looking where it landed as I sat down on the couch and looked over to the fridge. Then I looked out to the still white open door

[00:13:53] until it became dark and cold outside. I stood up and walked to the room, flicked the light switch on out of habit but no light came out this time. I went straight to bed. Didn't even bother changing my clothes and then dozed off to sleep.

[00:14:12] It was those dark clouds that bothered me. I saw them now, even in my dreams. I opened my eyes to see those dark spots on my ceiling, enormous dark clouds flowing like the ocean right above me. I listened and I heard them rumble.

[00:14:30] Alone and tired and the feeling of a heavy blanket wet by the feelings of dread on top of me all the time. I felt the rain turn to streams now on the side of my ears as they crawled over to my face and to my neck.

[00:14:45] It was those dark streams of sadness that would follow me now. I opened my eyes, surely awake now to see those dark clouds manifesting above me. They moved with an eerie sound of rain against the metal roof. If I listened closely, I could hear the droplets hiss.

[00:15:09] I looked up at the ceiling, amazed at how I was able to visualize such a scenario. Was I really that far gone? And I started by the clouds of my room as the sun was coming out. Until I felt something crawl from my neck up to my nose.

[00:15:27] The room was getting bright enough to see the many legs of the dark creature on the tip of it. A spider, I felt more of them crawl for my legs and arms. I felt them under my shirt as I rolled around to a soft pop against my back

[00:15:46] and then liquid oozing and running down my spine. On my ear, I felt a sudden sting and then another. I had to get out of there. I rolled out of the bed to more pops and drips of the insides of those black spiders against my arms and legs.

[00:16:03] Brushed them off my hair and my neck as I stood there on the side of my bed. I looked up. Thousands of spiders on upside down hills and valleys moving in waves right above me. I ran through the thick webs across my door feeling them stretch behind me.

[00:16:23] More bites all over my body. I felt them like jolts of electricity followed by a burn under my skin. I ran outside the house and sat on the old wooden chair. I couldn't help but smile slightly to myself. Because this... This I could feel.

[00:16:56] The next story is called Aunt Kathy. And then it is coming up right after this. Visiting my in-laws is not the most fun thing to do. There are lots of rules to follow and for some reason things always get turned around into how I mismanage my own home.

[00:17:17] For instance, I was looking for one thing. Just one thing. The salt shaker. I was given a lesson how salt that comes in flakes does not belong in a salt shaker. It is done through pinching, honey. That is why it's called a pinch of salt, she said.

[00:17:35] What the heck? Okay. And they hadn't heard of a salt shaker before. My husband did very little to help which made things worse. But he knew how little I looked forward to these things and I understood the pressure he felt just like me.

[00:17:53] So normally I just bite my tongue and not say anything when it came to these things. They had talked about it, I think. This time they had made a whole new guest bedroom on the second floor. Normally we would stay in the basement area

[00:18:07] when we'd go there to stay overnight. But I had to say this guest bedroom was nice. In my mind I saw it as a way for them to make up for how mean they were to me. Maybe Frank had talked to them about it already.

[00:18:22] It made me feel better just imagining that so I accepted it and moved on. If it were up to me, I would have stayed in the guest bedroom the whole time and stick to my Ritz crackers from the drive over here. I swear I wouldn't mind it.

[00:18:38] One night when we had finished dinner and I excused myself from the table to go to the bathroom, I saw my bedroom door slightly open. It was too tempting. I simply skipped on in there and shut the door quietly. I tried not to step around too much

[00:18:55] and simply got on the bed and refused to move. It was late for them anyway, I'm sure they'd be going to bed in no time. But that's when it happened. Just like it does whenever I'm in a situation like this. I had forgotten to go to the bathroom,

[00:19:12] hopping instead for some peace and quiet. Now I really had to go. Just hold it in a little longer, I thought to myself. As I heard the plates and glasses clinking together downstairs, the urge only grew stronger. Somehow I managed to hold it

[00:19:31] until I heard them shut the door across the hallway. I immediately rolled out of bed, went for the door and straight to the bathroom. Relieved, I opened the door quietly and stepped once again out into the hallway. The lights downstairs still on

[00:19:49] and started walking back toward the bedroom. I was passing the staircase when I noticed a woman standing halfway down the stairs. I panicked. But what I say to this woman now, or worse, what would she say to me? I still had my makeup on.

[00:20:09] Oh that's bad for your skin. Critique my pajamas or something? I took a deep breath and kept walking. But she wouldn't turn around. She looked unnaturally skinny and her hair was darker than when I remembered Frank's mom's to have.

[00:20:29] I made sure to make my steps a little bit louder as I passed the staircase. Yet she still wouldn't turn around. Then, in the blink of an eye, she crawled downstairs like an animal with unnatural speed. She stood at the bottom of the stairs. I was frozen completely

[00:20:50] and I saw her neck slowly turning back toward me to reveal the darkest eyes I had ever seen. Her sleeping gal looked wet with mud from the bottom. She started leaning toward me and went over the first step on stairs. I tried to scream,

[00:21:11] but the squeaks that came out were not loud enough. This thing let out an eerie smile too wide to be anything human as she went up one more step. My arms wouldn't work as I stood there knees completely loose and about to collapse at any moment.

[00:21:32] My heart racing. Her head tilted to the side as she twitched onto the third step. That's when the door opened and Frank's mom stepped out. Ah, you saw Aunt Kathy, she said, analyzing my entire body and facial expression. I looked back down the empty staircase. Who? I asked.

[00:22:02] She murmured a few things to herself, chuckled and then shook her head as she walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. This woman, I swear. I called for Frank downstairs and I saw the light flicker off

[00:22:17] followed by his footsteps coming up toward the base of the stairs. He looked up at me rubbing his eyes and then made his way up. When we were in the room, I asked him about Aunt Kathy. Oh yeah, that thing is creepy as heck.

[00:22:35] Did my mother tell you about her or what? It's a story she told me ever since I was a kid. Go to sleep or Aunt Kathy will get you. Eat your greens or I'll call Aunt Kathy. Mom's weird like that.

[00:22:50] He looked at me as I tried not to cry or look worried over the whole thing. Are you serious? It isn't real, he said. She's tried to scare us for as long as I can remember. I watched Frank stand up and turn off the light,

[00:23:08] come back and lay down next to me. He fell asleep soon after that. I asked for me. Well, I tried to ignore the shadow blocking the moonlight casting over me as I tried to fall asleep that night. Scary Story Podcast is written and produced by me, Edwin Covarrulles.

[00:23:42] If you want to listen to even more creepy things, check out my other shows, A Dark Memory, as well as True Scary Story. Stay up to date by entering your email over on scarystorypodcast.com to get notified of new episodes,

[00:23:58] as well as by tapping follow right now on your phone. Until next time, thank you very much for listening.