The Mysterious Apartment #122
In the heart of a small, rural town surrounded by endless patches of farmland, stood an old apartment building. The building itself had an appearance that wasn't much different from the other apartments, but there was one particular unit which everyone noticed had a much higher turnover rate with tenants. That would be apartment #122.
The apartment building attracts many city dwellers there in pursuit of the lower rent prices and the country atmosphere which relieves the strain of the hustle and bustle of big city life. Mostly all of the tenants living there have been there for many years, yet they all realize there is only one unit that drives tenants out on a yearly basis and even leaving many tenants with severe psychological problems. But nobody knows why.
The Arrival of Alice
Alice, a young artist seeking solace in the town, moved into apartment #122 with dreams of inspiration and creativity. Little did she know, the apartment held secrets darker than any she could have imagined. At first, everything seemed ordinary.
But as the days turned into weeks, Alice began to notice strange occurrences. Shadows danced in the corners of her vision, whispers echoed through the halls in the dead of night, and objects seemed to move of their own accord. She remembers thinking the shadows she cast in her apartment were either too dark or they didn't resemble her shape. She would look into the mirror to see a malicious reflection and find that her image did not leave at the same time as she did.
The nightmares came next, vivid and terrifying. Alice would wake in a cold sweat, unable to shake the feeling of dread that clung to her like a second skin. She became paranoid, convinced that something was watching her from the shadows which would prevent her from sleeping. She began pestering her neighbors looking for answers and all they would tell her is that they've never been in that apartment. In desperation she begged the landlord to break the lease to move but her concerns were dismissed.
Unable to bear the isolation any longer, Alice reached out to friends and family, but their visits only served to confirm her suspicions. They felt the oppressive atmosphere weighing down on them also, urging them to flee. Driven to the brink of despair, Alice's paintings took a sinister turn. The more she painted, the more the apartment seemed to respond. The floorboards creaked with malice intent, and the pipes shuttered with an unreal pulse. She painted until her fingers bled, desperate to purge the darkness in her environment.
But the apartment refused to release its grip. In the end, Alice became just another haunting victim within its walls, her once vibrant spirit consumed by the sinister forces that lurked within. Then, her final masterpiece stared back at her with soulless eyes and warped, stringy fingers. No longer able to bear the weight of the apartment's malevolent presence, Alice became weak and ill. She stopped eating, lost a ton of weight and had to be carried off in a stretcher to the hospital. She never returned to that apartment not even to retrieve her furniture.
The Descent of DeAndre
DeAndre, a software engineer seeking refuge from the chaos of city life, moved into apartment #122 after Alice's abrupt departure. He was drawn to its quiet facade and affordable rent, unaware of the horrors that awaited him within. He saw there was little crime and everyone treated him politely, but things would certainly change.
It started subtly with minor disturbances, a flickering light here, a sudden chill there. DeAndre dismissed them as quirks of an aging building. As days turned into weeks, the disturbances grew more sinister, permeating every corner of his existence. Sleep became a luxury, as stalking whispers echoed through the walls at night with words indiscernible. Shadows were shapeshifting into grotesque images that seemed to leer at him with intent.
Desperate for solace, DeAndre turned to his computer, burying himself in lines of code work in a futile attempt to escape the encroaching dread. But even his sanctuary was not spared, as his computer screen would glitch, displaying fragments of messages that seemed to be from another soul. He received a pop-up message telling him to open the only closet door in his apartment. When he looked over the door was already cracked open, he instantly became overwhelmed with terror and ran out of the house!
As the days wore on, DeAndre's grip on reality began to fray. He became convinced that he was being watched, that unseen eyes followed his every move. Anxiety gnawed at his mind, driving him to the brink of madness. One fateful night, unable to bear the torment any longer, DeAndre sought refuge in the confines of the bathroom, curling into a ball as he trembled with fear. Yet, even there he found no relief, as the shower head began to drip with what appeared to be blood! He could not relax or study and was unable to concentrate, so he turned to his neighbors who told him that they have never been inside of that apartment and couldn't help.
Despite his rational nature, DeAndre found himself descending into madness. He became obsessed with uncovering the truth behind apartment #122's dark past, scouring the internet and old chat forums for any clue that might explain the horrors that plagued him. He began arguing and fighting with neighbors, blaming them for not telling him the truth. The more he searched, the deeper he fell into the grip of the apartment's force. He couldn't take the terrors any longer and suddenly became mute!
In the end, it was not only the horrors lurking within the shadows that consumed DeAndre, but also the darkness that resided within his own mind. A once-rational man driven to mutism by the same mysterious forces that had taken out the previous tenants. He packed his bags and fled to a sober living facility where others could look out for him, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and a shattered sanity.
The Evaporation of Emanuel
Emanuel, a medical student seeking a quiet place to study, was the next tenant to move into apartment #122. By now, the apartment had garnered a reputation as cursed, but Emanuel dismissed such claims as superstition. However, it wasn't long before he too fell victim to the apartment's sinister influence. The whispers grew louder, the shadows more oppressive, and the nightmares more grotesque.
Despite his scientific background, Emanuel found himself unable to rationalize away the horrors that surrounded him. He became convinced that something ominous lurked within the walls of his mysterious apartment #122, feeding off the fear of its inhabitants. Out of sheer concern he turned to his neighbors who quickly told him that they have never been inside of that apartment and couldn't help. He just wants to know how they aren't being affected by all of the chaos that is surrounding his dwelling.
Desperate for answers, Emanuel delved into the history of the building, uncovering a series of tragic events that stretched back decades. A long-time neighbor wrote about that apartment building in the online apartment review forum. It seemed that apartment #122 had always been a place of darkness and despair, claiming the sanity of all who dared to call it home. The most disturbing part of the review was the last sentence. It reads, "The tenants should not go in the...". Emanuel was furious! He anxiously wanted to know what not to go into.
He went to the local library to ponder into some magazines about the town. Chatted with the librarian and asked if she knew the guy in the neighborhood who wrote articles. Being how small the town was, she knew exactly who he was. She pointed to the computer cubicle where the writer had his accident. Emanuel said, "Accident?". The librarian told him that the writer was severely electrocuted by his laptop keyboard during a power surge, and he has been in a coma for several months.
When Emanuel got back home, he frantically began opening the kitchen drawers and cupboards. But then he suddenly realized that he keeps his small amount of clothes in his dresser. Which means that he never needed to go into his closet. As he looked towards the closet he recalled that writer's last words, "The tenants should not go in the...". He was hesitant at first, but he was drawn to the mysterious noises prompting him to come in. He felt like he had nothing else to lose.
Emanuel stepped into that closet and became overwhelmed by anger, revenge, anxiety and a slew of other emotions all striking him at the same time. With all of those emotions filling him at once, he could not operate and became frozen with a cocktail of mixed emotions! His eyes remained a blank stare because he could no longer laugh, cry, or even respond to much of anything with emotion. His mind literally evaporated!
Emanuel was declared, deranged, and was forced to move back in with his parents. He could not explain much to anybody about his incident because of his current state. The parents asked the neighbors if they knew about that unit and the neighbors said they have never been inside of that apartment and couldn't help. The landlord has posted another ad to rent, leaving apartment #122 ready and thirsty for its next victim.