The Keyhole
This legend involves a man who checked into a hotel for a few nights. After he obtained his room key, the woman at the front desk warned him that there was a door with no number on the way to his room. She explained that the locked room was used for storage, and she also warned him not to go into the room, or even look inside. The man, although intrigued, went straight to his room without asking any more questions.
But by the second night, his curiosity had got the better of him. He tried turning the door knob, but found it to be locked, just as the woman had claimed. Not to be deterred so easily, the man proceeded to peep through the keyhole. Beyond the door was what looked like a normal hotel room, exactly like his own. However, in the corner stood a very pale woman with her head resting against the wall opposite the door. Confused, the man returned to his room.
On the third day, the man decided to look through the keyhole once more. This time, all he saw was the color red—nothing else, just a constant, deep shade of red. Maybe the woman had suspected that someone was spying on her and had blocked it with something. The man decided that he would ask the woman at the front desk. She sighed and asked if the man had looked through the keyhole.
After he confirmed that he had, the woman proceeded to tell him the whole story. Many years ago, she said, a man had murdered his wife in that very room, and her ghost now haunts it. Her ghost is said to be very pale, except for her eyes, which are bloodshot red.

Story don finish

Paranoia
March 22nd 12:54PM
Lately, I’ve been feeling a little more on-edge than usual. I can’t quite put my finger on why; I assume it’s because of my recent move. Big changes always end up making me a nervous wreck. Right now I’m renting the basement apartment of some house. I guess the landlord figured he could make twice as much money by furnishing the basement and saying that’s an apartment all on its own. It’s an interesting setup to say the least. The one thing I don’t like about the arrangement is how I can always hear the person renting the floor above me whenever they walk around.
My only other real complaint is the lack of windows. There’s one small window on the wall near the ceiling, but someone painted over it. It’s disorienting when you aren’t exposed to any natural sunlight. I can lose track of time really easily down here. Because of the window situation my sleep schedule has been wrecked. One night, I stayed up super late by mistake. Ever since then it has been impossible for me to sleep like a normal person. I don’t think I’ve slept more than 3 or 4 hours a night in the last week.
March 24th 3:45AM
I don’t know what the guy above me does, because it seems like he’s always pacing around upstairs. If I weren’t such a weirdo when it comes to talking with strangers I’d go ask him to calm down. I’ve never even seen the guy in person, but I’m pretty sure I could recognize them just by the sound of their footsteps at this point. I’d be crazy annoyed with all the pacing around if it weren’t for the fact that I’m awake regardless of the noise. I’m not going to be getting any sleep tonight anyway so it’s not like it really matters. I have to be up for work at 6; going to sleep for 2 hours would only make me even more tired than I already am.
March 26th 4:22AM
I didn’t even try to go to sleep tonight. I think my sleep issue has bloomed into an actual insomnia. I’m not even tired right now. Actually, I take that back, I am tired I’m just not sleepy. Whenever I lay in bed I only manage to toss and turn. Not to mention my neighbor inevitably gets up to continue their marathon upstairs. If I was actually capable of sleep, I wouldn’t be able to get any with this guy running around above me.
In other news, my anxiety has only managed to worsen. I was kind of a weirdo out even when I could sleep, but now I just feel anxious constantly. Every unexpected noise gives me a small heart attack, and any slight movement in my peripheral vision might as well be the boogieman himself. I just always have a creepy feeling. I feel like I’m being watched by something just out of sight. Like there’s a camera or a ghost sitting behind me all the time. It’s so hard to get anything done when I am constantly flying into a total state of panic. I keep telling myself to stop getting spooked out over nothing, but then I’ll hear a noise outside and all rational thinking evaporates until I calm myself down. I think I might need to go talk to a doctor.
March 28th 1:12AM
I feel so embarrassed. I tried to go to a doctor’s office earlier, and I completely chickened out. I honestly don’t know what happened to me. I just felt so self-conscious in the waiting room. It felt like I was on stage and everyone was focused solely on me. The whole experience was overwhelming. By the time the nurse called my name I was so nervous that I felt physically sick. I basically sprinted out of there and came straight home. Even now, just remembering how stupid that must have looked is enough to make me cringe. I really, really need to talk to a professional about getting some sleeping pills, or anti-depressants, or something. I don’t think I can live like this for much longer.
My new neighbor hasn’t gotten any less annoying either. I don’t know what that guy is doing upstairs, but it sounds like he’s running a cable through the floor or something. I guess he could be re-wiring the house, or maybe installing internet. Either way, he doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. I’ve been listening to the rustling sound for a few hours now. If I wasn’t such a loser, I’d go up there and tell him to either call a contractor or go to bed.
March 29th 2:15PM
My eyes feel so dry. It feels like I haven’t blinked in days. Every time I close my eyes they just feel irritated. To make things worse, I feel like an even bigger failure than I did after the the other day. I stayed home from work because I was too afraid to go outside. I feel like an idiot just writing that on paper. I felt so nervous standing at my door this morning I couldn’t even manage the courage to go outside. I stood there just staring at the door knob for a good ten minutes. I would inch closer to opening the door, but I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff. Every single cell in my body screamed for me to run away and find a place to hide. I couldn’t even call in to work and tell them I wasn’t coming. I held the phone in my hand and felt the same fear I felt at the door. I felt all the muscles in my abdomen tense up, my mouth became dry, and my mind was just totally blank. It’s completely illogical, but I don’t know how I can fight against it. Even in those moments of panic I have lucid thoughts in the back of my mind telling me how there’s absolutely no reason to be afraid. In the end, my fight or flight instincts win.
March 30th 3:44AM
I’m way too freaked out right now. I can barely even think coherently. I’m fully aware that what I’m experiencing is nothing more than the results of stress, and sleep deprivation. However, knowing that doesn’t seem to do much to convince the rest of my body otherwise. The rustling noises my neighbor was making really started to scare me earlier. I swear the noises were stopping only when I started listening to them. I’d hear them in the background, but when I’d start paying attention the noises would just go away almost immediately. I know it doesn’t make any sense. Even if my neighbor was the considerate type, there’s no way they could know whether or not I started paying attention. Even though I know I’m only letting my imagination run wild, I can’t help but feel even more creeped out than I did before.
April 1st 12:39AM
I haven’t been to work for 3 days. I haven’t even called to give them an excuse for not showing up. The strange thing is nobody has called me either. It seems like someone should call after the 3rd day just to make sure I haven’t died, right? I mean, someone has to be taking my shifts. If they’re giving someone else my shifts, I’m sure they want to know I’m not going to show up first. Why haven’t they called me? Now that I think about it, I haven’t actually talked with anyone at all for a few days. I guess I’ve been so caught up with being too afraid to leave my room that I hadn’t really noticed.
April 2nd 10:10AM
I don’t think I can trust the people on TV anymore. I know, it sounds crazy. Nobody thinks it sounds crazier than I do, but I can’t shake this feeling that something is off. I promise I haven’t gone completely insane. Whatever is going on is really weird, I’m just not sure what it is.
April 2nd 12:15PM
Wow, I’m a legitimate crazy person now. I can’t believe how freaked out I became over nothing. If anyone were to read this, they would think I was having some kind of a schizophrenic episode. I just feel so burnt out. I haven’t slept in days, and when I do manage to get relaxed enough to sleep, I get some anxiety attack that keeps me awake. I’m to the point where I’m not sure if I have anxiety because I can’t sleep, or if I can’t sleep because of the anxiety. Either way I’m going to need to go outside sometime soon. I didn’t think I’d never go outside again the last time I bought groceries. I suppose there’s always the option of just ordering stuff online though…
April 4th 1:17AM
Earlier I used a quarter to scratch off some of the paint on the bottom corner of my window. It was only just large enough for me to be able to look outside. Since then, I’ve spent all day watching the street. This whole time, I haven’t seen anyone. It doesn’t make any sense. This is normally a busy street. Today there has been absolutely nobody. I couldn’t even hear any traffic off in the distance either. My neighbor has been uncharacteristically quiet too. Since I stopped hearing the rustling noises I haven’t heard the guy at all. To top it off my work still hasn’t called to see where I’ve been for the last week. In fact, nobody has called me. Nobody has even texted me. I feel like I’m in solitary confinement.
April 5th 2:37AM
I know what I’m about to write is completely insane, but I’m certain something strange is happening. It’s the people on television again, they’re just not normal. I noticed when I was watching the news earlier. I don’t think the people on TV are the same people they used to be. I know how it sounds, but after watching this anchorwoman for a few hours I’m absolutely certain she isn’t herself. This woman looks like her, and sounds like her, but it is not her. I feel like I’m watching someone do a mediocre impression. It’s not just this one person either, it’s all over the place. All the people talking just sound out of tune. I don’t think I can watch TV anymore.
April 5th 1:22PM
I had to unplug my television. I even laid the screen flat on the ground. It might sound stupid, but the blank screen was just creeping me out. It made me feel like I was being monitored by whoever those people were. I still reserve the possibility that I’ve lost my mind, but this feels far too real to be a delusion. I also figure that people who are really crazy never actually question their sanity. If I was crazy, which I’m not, I’d have no doubt about my crazy thoughts. I wouldn’t have the capacity to bring any of my reasoning into question. It’s precisely because I’ve taken the time to analyze my experiences that I feel confident in something very real taking place. I think a hallucination would be preferable at this point.
April 5th 4:55PM
I’m not sure if I can trust anything I read online anymore. With whatever is happening on TV, I can’t imagine the internet being safe either. The fact that there’s nothing online about how weird everything has been only makes me more certain that all these sites have been taken over too. I’d bet money that all the online forums are being monitored for discussions about this. They probably just delete the posts about it the moment they’re created.
April 6th 11:04AM
I saw a few people outside this morning; they were just like the ones on TV. Actually, the people outside might have been even less convincing. It was so obvious just from the way they were walking. Every single movement looked so mechanical. All I could imagine was an alien in a human costume thinking they were being inconspicuous. If it wasn’t so terrifying it’d almost be funny. Each step these people took just looked so fake. I only stopped watching when I thought one of them looked at me.
April 7th 2:48AM
Oh God, I’ve never felt this afraid in my entire life. It’s been a few hours and I’m still shaking so much I can barely even write. Two police officers showed up and started looking around the outside of the house. I just sat in the dark listening to them search around outside until they eventually went into the upstairs apartment. Every single step I heard on the floor above me felt like an icicle stabbing me right through the heart. I don’t know if it’s possible to develop a heart murmur from intense fear, but I swear my heart would stop beating in between every creek on the floor above me. When they started messing with the sealed door to the basement, I thought I would literally die of a heart attack. I hid under my bed until they stopped trying to open the door. I have never felt more relieved in my life than I did when I heard them finally walk away. That was short lived though, soon they were pounding on my door. There’s no way they could have known I was in here. I can only assume that’s why they eventually went away. Please, please, please don’t let them come looking around here again.
April 7th 3:54PM
They’re at my door, and they know I’m here. I don’t know what to do. They’re trying to talk me into coming outside. I know their secret, and I think they’re aware of that. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve been watching me since I moved into this place. Whatever primal instincts I still have floating around in my head must have felt it. That’s probably why I couldn’t sleep. That’s probably why I couldn’t go outside. Something in me sensed the changes, and that something saved me.
watching me since I moved into this place. Whatever primal instincts I still have floating around in my head must have felt it. That’s probably why I couldn’t sleep. That’s probably why I couldn’t go outside. Something in me sensed the changes, and that something saved me from whoever they are.
I don’t know what to do now. They told me I had an hour to come outside. They’re playing it up like I’m a deranged individual. I don’t know why they’re putting on such a show just for me. They know I figured it out, that’s why they’re here in the first place. They even went through the trouble of bringing my sister with them. She really almost got me to open the door. That’s not really my sister out there though. It looks like her, but I can hear it in the tone of her voice, it’s not really her.
This must be how they pick off the holdouts. First the police officers try and convince you that you’re the abnormal one to get your guard down, then they bring in your family members to tug at your heart strings, then when you have enough doubt they get you. My fake sister gave this tearful speech about how worried everyone was, and how nobody had heard from me in days. Right there was where they gave the whole thing away. How would she know I never called anyone if they hadn’t actually been monitoring my calls? How would they know I never left this room if they hadn’t been observing me? This is how they trick you into doubting yourself. I can hear them at the door again. Now they’re saying they’re going to break the door down. I’m not going to let them take me without a fight. They’re not going to change me. Even if I’m the last one on earth, they won’t get me to doubt myself. I’m going to survive this. I’m never going to let them break me.
September 12th 4:34PM
Reading my journal entries from a few months ago is a really strange experience. I feel like I’m reading the journal of a stranger. Thinking back on this dark time really makes me glad my sister was able to get help. In the hospital, I was with a lot of people who had symptoms just like me. We all thought we were in some kind of brainwashing concentration camp. It just seems so stupid now that I can look back on it with a clear mind. After a couple weeks went by, a few guys gave up and went through with the therapy. Those of us who were left vowed to never give in to the hospital staff, no matter what happened. When the ones who went to therapy came back unharmed, a few more guys gave in and went too. We regarded those ones as traitors. I could barely speak their names without spitting in anger for how weak they were to give up. Eventually, I was the last one left. I can’t believe how much I prided myself on being the most stubborn inmate in the nut house. I wish I would have just went to therapy as soon as I got there. I wasted so much time just because I couldn’t admit I needed help. Now that I’ve been discharged, things are so much better. I feel like a completely different person.