The Stalker

When an Illinois farmer opens his new corn maze in the fall of 1997, he discovers that something sinister is lurking within the labyrinth of stalks.

Created & Produced by Samuel Weston Evans
Written & Directed by Samuel Weston Evans
Sound-Designed & Edited by Samuel Weston Evans

Vocal Performances by:
Henry David Silberstein as Jim
Samuel Weston Evans as The Keeper

Cover Art Illustrated by Mongemanuk.std
Special Thanks to Ren Dara Santiago
Website: https://aloneintheattic.buzzsprout.com
Instagram: @_aloneintheattic

Transcript

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Hello there.

Welcome back to the Attic. I’m glad to see you’ve returned and weren’t scared off. Are you ready for another story?

Good. The ghosts are ready to be heard. Let’s get right to it then. Come this way.

Now...which object will you hear today?

Mmm. The pitchfork you have in your hands belonged to Jim Bayless, a farmer who encountered something sinister in his corn maze on the night of its grand opening. This is the story of...“The Stalker.”

To listen, follow the same steps as last time: close your eyes, open your ears, and journey back to that frightful evening.


It was October 4th, 1997, the grand opening of our corn maze. I woke up at ten after six, as I did every morning, rising just before the sun. I turned on the radio to check the forecast and listened in the dark.

The weatherman said we were looking to have clear skies and a mild temp; perfect for the big day. After listening to the rest of the report, I flipped through the stations. I heard our local music station talking about the Farm Aid concert happening that evening. The location of Farm Aid ‘97 was changed last minute to Tinley Park, Illinois, which happened to be a few towns over from our farm. I was happy to hear it was drawing a lot of big crowds ‘cause I knew that meant we’d have some good business over the next few days.

As I continued changing channels, the radio started to sound grainy. Only it wasn’t just static. I could hear something else. It was a harsh sound...like an animal. I tried changing the station, but it wouldn’t go away. It got even louder, like it was taunting me, until suddenly...

It stopped. The radio shut off by itself. I turned it back on and flipped through the channels, but it was just the usual broadcasts playing, no strange noises anymore. I switched it off and sat in silence for a moment.

While looking out my bedroom window, I watched the first light of day creep above the horizon. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding from what I had heard...like something was coming for me. I didn’t want to dwell on it any longer though, so I shrugged it off as nerves and started getting ready for the big day.

My two farm hands, Jack and Eddie, arrived and began hauling some grain to the elevator in town. I took out the combine and started harvesting a few loads in the corn field. After the boys got back, Jack tended to the pumpkin patch and Eddie took a final walk through the corn maze to make sure everything was all set for the guests. We had been growing and preparing the maze for a few months by that point, so it was a big deal to finally be opening it to the public.

The first commercialized corn maze was opened in Annville, Pennsylvania in 1993. So over the following four years, farmers all across the country started opening their own once they saw how profitable it could be. Most of the mazes only stayed open during the day though, so to make ours stand out, we added lights throughout the stalks to keep it running after sunset. We also decorated the rows with some cobwebs and pumpkins to make it fitting for the Halloween season. With the fun decorations and later hours, we figured it would be the perfect draw for crowds during that time.

And we were right. As soon as we opened for the day, hundreds of people of all ages flocked to our farm and spent part of their day with us. Jack manned the pumpkin patch, Eddie took care of the corn maze, and I ran around welcoming folks and tending to whatever else needed to get done. The day was flying by so fast that I was shocked when the sun started to go down.

Everything had been going well up to that point, but as soon as night fell around the farm...I felt the same eerie feeling that visited me in the morning. The sound from the radio entered my mind again and sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t know why it frightened me so much, but I couldn’t seem to shake it off. I didn’t want to be alone, so I looked after the maze with Eddie, and Jack joined us after closing up the pumpkin patch.

We agreed to keep the maze open until around ten o’clock, but I had told the boys they could leave a little early to catch the end of the Farm Aid concert if there weren’t too many people left. The crowd started to die down around nine, so I kept my word and let them go. I was left to look after the last wave of maze-goers by myself. The night crowd consisted mostly of teenagers, but there were a couple young families as well.

I climbed up the wooden overlook to monitor the maze from above. Every group that emerged seemed to be laughing and having a great time. But there was one teenager who ran out by himself and looked terrified. His face was pale and his eyes were wide, as if he had just witnessed a horrific death. I was worried. “Hey kid, you alright?” But he was so stunned that he didn’t seem to hear me. He just kept on running until he was out of my sight.

It was just about ten o’clock anyway, so I rang the bell to let the guests know that the maze was closing and they would need to make their way out. People slowly filed through the exit and they all looked fine...but then I heard a small scream from within.

After a minute or so a mother and her young daughter came out. They were the last people to leave the maze and the little girl was crying. I was alarmed, so I quickly got down from the overlook to check on her. When I approached them and asked what happened, the mother didn’t seem to know. She explained that they were playing hide and seek in the maze, and then she heard her daughter scream and found her in tears. The mother guessed that she had gotten lost and was scared, but I recognized that look of horror in the little girl’s eyes. It was the same terrified expression that was on the teenager’s face when he ran out...

“Did you see something in the maze?” While still crying, she nodded her head up and down. The mother and I shared a concerned glance with each other, before bringing our full attention back to the little girl. “What did you see in the maze?” She sniffled, then stifled her tears for a second to whisper the word...“scarecrow.”

The mother seemed fairly relieved by her response, initially fearing something worse. But I, on the other hand, was both confused and concerned by what she said because...I hadn't put a scarecrow in the maze.

I felt a shudder move up my spine again, but in trying to stay calm and rational, I figured Eddie probably put it in there as a silly joke. I explained this to the mother and the daughter, trying my best to reassure the little girl that she had nothing to fear. I apologized profusely to them both. “I’m gonna get that scarecrow out of the maze right away and I’ll make sure the boys don’t do anything like that again.”

As I walked them back out to the farm entrance and saw them off, I could tell the mother was appreciative of my care, but I also saw that the little girl was still very shaken by the whole thing. I was feeling pretty uneasy as well, and was apprehensive to return to the maze. But I knew I had to take care of the situation and close up for the night, so I summoned the courage and headed back up to the overlook.

I rang the bell once more and called out to make sure there weren’t any stragglers in the maze. I didn’t see or hear anything, so I started to head back down...but something caught my eye and I stopped. I noticed a couple corn stalks swaying at the center of the maze. A chill ran through me. “Is somebody still in there? You have to come out. I’m closing up the maze.” The corn stopped moving, but there was no response.

Suddenly, a cluster of crows flew out from the stalks and passed right over me. I clutched my chest in fright, but soon sighed with relief. As much as I was startled by it, I was glad that it wasn’t something else.

After stilling myself, I started to make my way back down from the overlook. But I stopped in my tracks when I saw the center stalks swaying again. I wanted to believe it was just more crows, but I knew deep down it was something else. I really didn’t want to go back into that maze, but I knew that I had to.

Once I was back on the ground, I grabbed a pitchfork from a bale of hay near the entrance. I was not going to venture into that labyrinth without any sort of protection, so I held it in front of me like a soldier with a spear.

I nervously stepped through the entrance and was swallowed by the vegetation after making the first turn. The corn stalks were densely packed and stood around eight or nine feet tall, so I couldn't see over or through them at all. There was nothing above me except the black sky, and the only light within the maze came from lanterns hung every few feet. I had to follow the twisting and sparsely lit path, without knowing what I would find around each corner. I at least had my bearings since I spent the past few months preparing the maze, but it had never felt as foreign and scary to me as it did in that moment.

I carefully made my way through the rows, stepping quietly and listening to my surroundings. Keeping my head on a swivel, I constantly looked over my shoulders to see if something was behind me. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, but I couldn’t help feeling like someone or something was watching me.

As I got closer to the center of the maze, I felt a crunch beneath my foot. I looked down and saw a long piece of straw sticking out from under my shoe. Gazing further down the dirt path, I could see a few more strands scattered in a trail. They were leading towards the middle.

I thought of what the little girl had said and my blood ran cold. I wanted to turn back around and run as far away from that maze as I could, but I kept pushing on to see for myself what was really at the heart of it.

When I arrived at the corner outside the center of the maze, I stopped for a moment to gather myself. I listened closely to see if I could hear anything on the other side of the corn. My mind worked away at itself, conjuring the most horrific ideas imaginable about what might be waiting around the bend. Summoning all the courage I could muster, I peeked my head around the end of the row and looked into the center of the maze.

There was nothing. Just a few more pieces of straw and a crow on the ground, perched in front of the wall of corn. I straightened myself up and moved in to investigate, still holding the pitchfork out in front of me. I banged it on the ground a couple times to try and scare the crow away, but the bird didn’t move. I stepped closer and tried again, but it still didn’t budge. It just stood there, with its back facing me.

When I finally got close enough to see it from the side, I stumbled back and fell to the ground in horror. Its entire face had been bitten off and blood was soaking down through the feathers of its gullet.

Suddenly, all the lights in the maze went out. I was filled with sheer terror. I couldn't see a single thing, but I could feel that there were eyes on me. “Help!” But as soon as I shouted, the bulbs flickered back on. I looked at where the crow had stood, but it was gone.

I quickly scrambled to my feet, but froze when I caught a glimpse of something through the thick stalks, where the bird had been facing. I couldn’t see its body, but protruding from the shadows behind the tall ears of corn was a bloody mouth and a pair of grisly sunken eyes.

Seized with the pure panic of a nightmare, I flung myself from the center of the maze and bolted down the next path. The only thing on my mind was finding a way out. But after I rounded a couple turns, the lights fizzled out again. I couldn’t stop moving, knowing that that thing was still in there with me, so I kept on running in the dark. I tried to remember my way through, but I ended up heading right into a dead end. I reached out my hand to feel where I was going, but everywhere I turned, my fingers brushed against walls of thick husks. I didn’t know what to do or where to go.

But then I heard the noise. It was the same sound I had heard on the radio coming from the other side of the maze. I stopped moving and covered my mouth. Since I couldn’t find my way in the dark, I decided to hide and pray for the lights to turn back on. I backed into a corner and listened in silence, trying not to make a sound.

With a flicker, the bulbs lit up again and I could see the exit of the maze. But as soon as the path out was illuminated, I noticed something touching the back of my neck. It felt different than the husky stalks...more like straw. And I could feel the straw moving, like fingers wrapping around my—


Jim Bayless was lost in the labyrinth that night, never to be seen again. Only to be heard by you and me. But now his spirit is free, no longer trapped in the pitchfork from that frightening and fateful night.

Well, your time here is up for now. I am sorry for how brief this meeting has been, but the hour is late and you must be gone before the sun comes up.

I’ll open the Attic door again for you soon, and I hope you will return. The ghosts and I are thankful for your service. Stay safe out there...and don’t venture into any corn mazes at night.


Thank you for listening to Alone in the Attic. Tonight's episode was written, directed, and edited by Samuel Weston Evans, with vocal performances by Henry David Silberstein as Jim and Samuel Weston Evans as The Keeper.

Join us next week to hear the chilling tale of “The Cave Dweller.” While taking refuge in London’s Chislehurst Caves during the Blitz in the winter of 1940, a young English woman explores the supposedly haunted tunnels, and comes to find out there may actually be something supernatural hiding in the dark shadows.

Find out next time...Alone in the Attic.