Scary Stories to Chill Your Bones

tap, tap, tap

I used to live in a small house outside of town. It was tiny, with only a kitchen, and a hallway leading to the two bedrooms. I slept in one, while my two parents slept in the other. The house was surrounded with nothing but wide open fields, no trees or hills for miles around. This meant that nobody could come to our house unseen, and nobody could hide. That's what I though anyways.

I remember that night all too well. I was sitting in my room, reading my favorite book. I always read before going to bed. It was habit. My favorite book at the time had been a horror novel, and I was reaching the climax, when I heard something. It sounded like a tapping sound. Just one single tap. I, despite having been reading a horror novel, shrugged it off, assuming it to be nothing but my imagination. How foolish I had been.

I closed my book and set it down on my nightstand, and turned off my lamp. I closed my eyes, feeling sleep brush over me, when I heard it again. Another tap. However this time, it was followed by another. This time it seemed much farther away, but much louder, almost like someone knocking on the front door...

I got up, and, not being foolish enough to answer the door myself, ran into my parents room. I shook them awake, and they agreed to check outside. Another foolish mistake. We all walked to the door together, and my dad opened it, revealing nothing but the empty porch and long stretching fields. He took a step outside, and my mother and I followed, not bothering to shut the door. At that moment, another tap rang out, followed by two more. Three taps. It was coming from behind the house. I let out a squeal and hid behind my dad. The three of us moved in a tight huddle around the house, my dad clucthing a baseball bat tightly between his fingers. As we turned the corner, I could swear I saw something move, but nothing was there. Nothing at all. And I suppose, considering there was nothing there should have been my first hint, after all, something had to make that sound.

But I didn't catch on, and neither did my parents. We all walked back around the house, my dad opening the front door slowly, checking to make sure there was nothing there. Sure enough, the entrance was clear. The front door lead into the kitchen, the entrance to the hallway was at the back of the room. My father walked around the kitchen, opening every drawer, and checking every hiding spot. he sighed in relief as we found nothing. And then the tapping started again. Tap,tap,tap,tap. Four taps. And it sounded like it was coming from inside the house! My mother and I screamed and my dad ran towards the door to the hallway. He flung it open but again, nothing was there. By now my mom and I were both shivering, and my dad ran down the hallway into my parents room. He came out a few minutes later, telling us that nothing was there. "Maybe it's just the house, it is really old after all," he said. I could tell he hardly believed it himself, but it was enough to make me calm down, at least a little bit. My parents went into their room, I went into mine. I lay down, and closed my eyes, but I could faintly hear, five quiet taps. 

Later that night, I slept restlessly and uneasily. My dreams were horrific nightmares. One was of a hand, tapping at my window. Another was of someone standing on our porch, tapping on our door, and running away. The next was of the same dark figure standing behind our house, tapping on the back wall, then running around to the side. After that, was the same figure running into our house, shutting the door quietly behind him. Then, a man standing in our hallway, tapping on the door to the kitchen. he ran down the hall, and into a room. after that, was of a man standing over my parents, a knife in one hand, the other hand replaced by a hook. The final one, was  man lying under my bed.

I sat up, horribly frightened by the dreams, when I realized something. They fit everything that had happened tonight. I had little time to think about it, before I heard something. More taps, 6 this time. And they were coming from under my bed! I froze, hearing a slight rustle of someone under me, moving. I opened my mouth, hesitating on whether or not I should shout to my parents, when the door to my room flew open. A light shined inside, and I saw too men in blue uniforms run in. One grabbed my arm and rushed me out of my bed, the other crouched down and grabbed something. I was pushed outside, by what I know knew to be police officers. "What's going on?" I cried. "There's no time to explain, we need to get you out of here," the officer answered. He pushed me into his car, and sped off. As we were driving off, I thought I could see a man run out of my house.

I stayed silent for a long time, I could hear the officer saying things into his radio. "What happened?" I asked. The officer didn't reply for a second. He looked over at me, a synthetic look on his face. "Recently, a murderer escaped prison. He stole a police car and drove off. He has been missing for about a month. Until earlier today, a young man reported seeing someone walking into a house out in the country, a man who fit the description of the murderer. So we drove to your house as quickly as possible. Luckily, we got there just in time. The killer was under your bed, waiting for you to scream, before he killed you. You were smart not to make any noise. If you had, you might not be alive," he said. I sat in shock, attempting to comprehend what he just said. "w-what about my parents..," I asked quietly. He looked over at me, his eyes told me everything. "You're parents, we're killed. You might recall five taps inside your house," I nodded. I remembered the five taps coming right before I fell asleep. "That was his sign that he had killed your parents. He is known as the tapping killer. He taps his hook hand and a knife together, creating the sound you we're hearing. He uses them as code...," the officer went on to explain the system the killer uses.

1 tap- this means the killer has arrived at your house, and is searching the windows of your house to see how many are inside.

2 taps- The killer has observed your entire house, and is now luring you outside

3 taps- Once you are outside, the killer is luring you to the back of the house

4 taps- while you were distracted behind your house, the killer has snuck into your front door, and is now inside

5+ taps- The killer is about to kill a victim

That was 10 years ago. I now live alone inside an apartment building. The killer was never caught, and to this day, is on the loose.However, now, as I am telling this story, I realize something, something I hadn't realized before. As we were driving towards the city, I heard faint sound from the back of the car, 7 taps, coming from the trunk of the car. I realize I have never heard from the police officer again. However, I'm sure that was nothing, the killer couldn't have possibly gotten in the car, or have followed us, after all, I'm still perfectly fine, even though just a few minutes ago, I heard 8 taps from outside my apartment door....