Chapter 1: The First Glimpse
Lena had never been afraid of the dark. She had grown up in a small town where the nights were silent, save for the occasional hoot of an owl or the rustling of leaves. Her childhood home had been warm and welcoming, never the kind of place where shadows lurked. But everything changed when she moved into her new apartment—a quiet, third-floor unit in an old Victorian building.
At first, she chalked up the strange occurrences to the creaks and groans of an aging structure. The flickering lights, the subtle whispers in the dead of night—things that could be easily dismissed. But the first time she saw it, she knew something was wrong.
It happened late one night when she dropped her phone beside the bed. As she reached down, her eyes caught movement. A shadow, darker than the surrounding darkness, shifted underneath her bed. It wasn’t the kind of shadow cast by furniture or light—it was something else. Something alive.
Lena’s breath caught in her throat. She yanked her hand back and scrambled to her feet, her heart hammering. But when she grabbed her phone and shone the flashlight under the bed, there was nothing. Just empty space and dust.
Chapter 2: The Unsettling Presence
The following nights brought more unsettling encounters. She would wake up feeling watched, her blankets tugged slightly out of place. Sometimes, she swore she heard a soft breathing sound—low and steady, like something waiting beneath her.
Determined to rationalize it, she placed a small camera on the nightstand, aimed directly at the space under her bed. The next morning, she reviewed the footage, her stomach tightening with unease. Just past 3 a.m., the darkness under the bed rippled. It expanded and contracted like a living thing. For a split second, two glinting eyes appeared before vanishing again.
Lena turned off the footage, her hands trembling. She needed to leave.
Chapter 3: The Unseen Rules
Before she could break her lease, she confided in her neighbor, Mrs. Porter, an elderly woman who had lived in the building for decades.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Porter murmured, a knowing sadness in her gaze. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”
Lena hesitated before nodding. “What is it?”
Mrs. Porter sighed. “The shadow. It’s been here longer than any of us. It only moves when you’re asleep. If you keep your feet on the floor, if you never leave your limbs dangling off the bed, it won’t touch you. But the moment you break the rule—” she trailed off, her lips pressing together tightly.
Lena’s blood ran cold. “What happens if you break the rule?”
Mrs. Porter looked away. “No one knows. Those who did… never stayed long enough to tell.”
Chapter 4: The Test of Will
Lena started following the rules obsessively. She tucked herself under the covers tightly, never letting a single toe slip past the mattress edge. She made sure her hands stayed firmly on the bed at all times. But the shadow was patient.
It whispered to her in the night, its voice slithering through the darkness. “Aren’t you tired? Just one slip… just one…”
Sleep-deprived and paranoid, Lena fought exhaustion. She placed salt around the bed, kept the lights on, even played white noise to drown out the whispers. But nothing stopped it. The moment her eyes drifted shut, it came closer.
One night, she woke up to find the bed shaking slightly. Her breath hitched. A single finger—long and black as ink—curled around the edge of her blanket. She yanked it away and bolted from the bed, turning on every light in the room. The shadow retreated, but she knew it was only biding its time.
Chapter 5: The Final Night
Lena couldn’t do it anymore. She packed her bags, deciding to leave before dawn. But exhaustion was a cruel mistress. As she sat on the bed, her eyelids grew heavy. Just a short rest, she told herself. Just for a moment.
She never heard the shadow move.
She never felt it slither up the sides of her bed.
But she did wake up—paralyzed, unable to scream as the darkness swallowed her whole.
The next morning, Lena’s apartment was empty. The bed was neatly made. The room was untouched. The only thing left behind was a faint whisper in the air, lingering like a warning.
“The shadow under the bed never sleeps when you do.”
Mark Richards is the creative mind behind Classica FM, a podcast platform that brings stories, knowledge, and inspiration to listeners of all ages. With a passion for storytelling and a love for diverse topics, he curates engaging content—from kids’ tales to thought-provoking discussions for young adults.
