Scary Reddit Stories

Be Home Before Dark, Don't Stray From The Path

Two lovers walked home in the late evening light,

Past the snow-covered woods that grew pitch black by night,

Where something sinister watched from within,

Something that thrived on mayhem and sin.

Their walk back home was long and slow,

Until they found footsteps laid deep in the snow,

And though where they lead they couldn't possibly know,

They decided, for fun, they would see where they go.

Now low in the sky hung the fat, fading sun,

But they wouldn't go home till the game had been won,

They stepped off the road and into the trees,

Into the dark and the bitter cold breeze.

They walked deeper and deeper into the dark,

With the crunch of dead leaves and the snapping of bark,

They laughed and they joked and they thought it was fun,

But forgot that those woods belonged to someone.

A myth, a story, from when they were young,

A sinister song that had always been sung,

The kids in the town had all been told,

Of the thing that lived in the dark and the cold.

But people will do what people do best,

They'll do as they please and forget all the rest,

So the lovers kept going without looking back,

And the thing in the woods emerged from the black.

It followed the couple who followed the tracks,

That were made by a person who never came back,

Because once you enter the woods by the lane,

You can be very sure you won't surface again.

As the light started fading and the couple grew cold,

They started to wish they'd done what they'd been told,

Be home before dark and don't stray from the path,

Don't awaken the beast, don't invoke its wrath.

But the beast was awake and it followed them still,

Just watching and waiting and listening until,

The couple grew wary, the couple got scared,

And then it would show them just what was prepared.

The snap of a twig, a laugh from the trees,

The silence was filled with their own desperate pleas,

They huddled together, tried to find their own track,

But the footprints were gone and so was the way back.

The woods became quiet, the trees didn't sway,

And the road that lead home seemed miles away,

Just when they thought it had all gone too far,

Out shone a light from the dark like a star.

A house, a car, a flashlight perchance,

The lovers both sighed and shared a quick glance,

For when you are lost and afraid in the night,

There is no better sight than a warm, golden light.

They rushed through the trees, running fast hand in hand,

Their feet sank down deep as if running in sand,

But nothing could stop them or make them take rest,

Because people will do what people do best.

They will make lots of noise and cry out for help,

They will laugh and cry and scream and yelp,

They will see a bright light and think that it's good,

But forget that there is only bad in this wood.

It isn't a house, or a car, it's a torch,

A dozen of them strung up on the porch,

Of an old wooden shack broken down by the years,

They can't hide their terror, they can't stop their tears.

The light that is shining is not welcome now,

They try not to think about why, about how,

About what kind of person would do something so cruel,

To give them some hope and then make them a fool.

The torches sway softly in the cold winters breeze,

And the blood coursing through them is starting to freeze,

They're lost in the woods, in the dark, in the cold,

And it's then they remember the stories once told.

Of a beast in the woods, a terrible thing,

Of the mayhem and terror and death it would bring,

Of how it would encourage young people to stray,

And then lead them right to it by lighting the way.

But it's too late now, there's no time to run,

The monster is here and it's time to have fun,

Years have gone by since it last had a guest,

And then two come along, it must surely be blessed.

They're young and in love, they're afraid and alone,

They shiver in fear as the trees start to groan,

And then out of the night something starts to appear,

It's big and it's dark and it's dripping in fear.

It creeps in closer but they can't seem to move,

It opens its jaws, in a voice deep and smooth,

It says "come, my children, join me in the dark,

Come live in this kingdom of trees, leaves, and bark."

The couple say no, they do not want to stay,

But the monster insists and it will get its way,

It reaches out claws made of darkness and death,

And watches with glee as they take their last breath.

Then it's back to the cold, to the dark, to its home,

Where it lays down their bodies on a bed made of bone,

For now it is sated, it can go back to sleep,

Till another one strays into the woods dark and deep.

So remember, my dear, if one fateful night,

You find yourself walking in the fast fading light,

On the old beaten road by the cold, dark wood,

That straying from the path can never be good.

Don't stop to rest or look around,

Just quicken your pace and make haste back to town,

Because something sinister watches from within,

Something that thrives on mayhem and sin.