Listener Submissions

Tonight on Echoes in the Dark: Original Stories, True Hauntings, & Horror Genre Explored, we dive into six terrifying listener-submitted stories from across the country—stories of shadow figures, recurring nightmares, haunted closets, sleep paralysis, unexplained entities, and encounters that refuse to stay buried in memory.

These aren’t fictional campfire tales.

These are experiences sent in by real listeners… people who still can’t explain what happened to them.

In this bonus episode, John Keaser Jr. and Macabre Bob explore the unsettling pattern connecting all six stories: something watching… waiting… and reacting the moment it realizes it’s been noticed.

If you enjoy true horror, paranormal encounters, psychological terror, creepy listener stories, and immersive late-night storytelling, this episode is going to stay with you long after it ends.

⚠️ Listener discretion advised: adult language, dark humor, disturbing themes, and nightmare fuel.

Also check out the horror novel Hopewell Hollow—available now in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

📧 Submit your stories:
 hopewellhollow1993@gmail.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

There's something different about fear when it doesn't belong to you, when it's something someone else lived through. Something they swear actually happened. Something they still won't talk about with the lights off. Tonight's episode isn't fiction. At least not entirely. These are stories sent in by listeners. People just like you. People who heard something, saw something, or maybe brought something home with them. And now you get to carry it too.

SPEAKER_05 0:43

Step into the dark. Bring me a star. From the black and bars.

SPEAKER_07 1:17

Got a voice in the wire from a room with no name. Said the walls kept moving and they knew my shame. Old porch light flicked in the air went thin. Something at the window started gringin'.

SPEAKER_05 1:30

Tell the so the truth We've been away on you.

SPEAKER_06 1:50

Stay in the light.

SPEAKER_08 1:59

One story.

SPEAKER_07 2:06

Mama heard footsteps on an empty stair. Tiny knocks on the ceiling when nobody's there. A phone line is then the baby cried back. And the voice nodded zone from the kitchen black.

SPEAKER_05 2:24

We've been awaiting on you.

SPEAKER_06 2:39

Stay the light of work.

SPEAKER_08 2:48

One more story.

SPEAKER_04 2:55

If the room goes cold, keep talking anyway. If it answers once, don't let it stay. We collect the feel like nails in the jar. Every little echo leaves a deeper scar. Echoes in the dark.

SPEAKER_08 3:15

Say it like a bird.

SPEAKER_06 3:18

Say it like a goes in the dark. Echoes in the dark.

SPEAKER_04 3:32

Listen to stories. Feed the dark.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

What up, my creeps? I'm John Keyser Jr., writer, insomniac, and horror exhibitionist. I don't sleep well, so neither should you. And this is Echoes in the Dark. Original stories, true hauntings, and horror genre explored. Now before we get into this, listener discretion is always advised. This show contains dark humor, adult language, and themes that might mess with your head a little. You think? And tonight, yeah, tonight might sit with you for a little. Because these stories aren't mine.

SPEAKER_04 4:31

You're on the line. Tell us straight, great, great, great.

SPEAKER_07 4:38

We keep the lights low and the tape rolling. First call came in the dawn from my house with the blind shut. I said the hallway had breath. And the dog won't cross that line. Then the sound drop dead. Left the white little mark on the edge of the bed. So speak slow. Don't dress it up. The truth got teeth. Let it bite. We keep record here. We keep score. Every fear gets loud when the stories arrive. A little bit.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

A little dumb eye.

SPEAKER_07 5:46

A little bit.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

A little dumb eye.

SPEAKER_07 5:49

If they follow you on, keep the details alive. My name on the glass fogs up one up step and frame. Three taps on the wall. Then the sink ran back.

unknown 6:08

Something stood them back, so speak. So don't dress it up.

SPEAKER_07 6:16

Let it bite. We keep wrecking. We keep score. Gets loud when the stories awry. A little mic.

SPEAKER_03 6:27

A little dumb eye.

SPEAKER_07 6:33

A little mic.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

A little dumb eye.

SPEAKER_07 6:36

If it follows you on, give the details a lie.

SPEAKER_03 6:41

A lie.

SPEAKER_07 6:42

No names on the doors, no prayers in the chat. Just a room full of shadows and a voice that snaps the freak all you back.

SPEAKER_04 6:53

Would you answer that? Would you answer that? Would you answer that? A little bit.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

A little the mic.

SPEAKER_07 7:04

Stay or just off.

SPEAKER_03 7:06

Say it twice.

SPEAKER_07 7:08

A little mic.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

A little the mic.

SPEAKER_07 7:12

If it follows you home, keep the details alive.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

Ali.

SPEAKER_07 7:18

Call it.

SPEAKER_04 7:20

You're on the line.

SPEAKER_06 7:22

Don't hang up yet.

SPEAKER_07 7:26

The next one starts. With a shaking breath.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Story number one. The thing in my daughter's room. Submitted by Emily R from Dayton, Ohio. You know, we get a lot of Ohio submissions on this show. I think that's pretty cool. Anyways, here we go. It started small. Her daughter Lily is waking up at night, not crying, not screaming, talking. Always toward the same corner of the room. At first, completely ignored it. Kids have imaginary friends until one night she asked, Who are you talking to? Lily didn't look at her. He doesn't like when you see him. That's when it changed. The drawing started. Stick figures, except one. Too tall, arms too long. Face scribbled out so hard it tore the paper. Always in the corner, always watching the bed. And one night Emily woke up to Lily laughing. Not like a child, slow, rhythmic. She walked into the room and Lily said, He says you weren't supposed to hear that. Emily turned on the light. Nothing there. But Lily didn't move. Still stared. Then she raised her hand and waved behind Emily. Emily turned and nothing. But then she looked back. Lily was terrified. And she whispered, he's looking at you. Moved out three weeks later. Everything stopped until two months ago. Lily asked, Why did you bring him with us? Reflection. Kids don't create fear like that. Not consistent. Not reacting. And it followed once. Story number two. The same dream every night submitted by Marcus L from Sedona, Arizona. It started as a dream. A field, a tree, a figure in the distance. Watching. Next night, the same dream. The figure closer and closer again. Every night moved toward him. Until one night it stood right in front of him and held it. Like it was studying him. And it smoked. Marcus woke up standing, not in bed, in his living room, facing the hallway. And at the end of it, for just a second, something moved. Reflection. Fuck that. Dreams don't continue like that. They don't remember where they left off. And they don't follow you out. Story number three. Man in the road. Submitted by Tyler S. from Boone, North Carolina. Late night. No lights. A man standing in the middle of the road, not moving. Tyler slowed down. He flashed his lights. Nothing. So he stopped. Hey, you good? No response. Then the man started walking toward him. Slow. Too smooth. Wrong. Tyler backed up. The man matched him perfectly. Same distance. Same speed. Never catching up. Never falling behind. Just air. Tyler spun the car road. He took off. He didn't stop until he hit the highway. He checked the mirror. The man was back where he started. Standing, waiting, like nothing happened. A week later, his friend told him the same story. Same man. Same road for years. Reflection. It didn't need to chase him. It didn't need to touch him. It just needed to be real long enough to stay with it. Story number four. Don't open the closet. Submitted by Rachel M from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every night at 3 a.m. Rachel would wake up and feel something inside the closet, not moving, making noise. Just aware. One night, three knocks from inside. She froze. Then again, three knocks out her. She whispered hello silence. A request. She didn't move. She didn't breathe. She moved out the next morning. Left everything behind. Everything in that closet. Gone. Reflection. Things don't ask you to not open doors. They need you to. Story number five. The extra face in the photo. Submitted by Daniel K from Portland, Oregon. Groupike. Photos all day. Normal. Until later that night. They zoomed in to the back row. Behind Daniel, a face, pale, smiling too wide. No one saw anyone there. No one remembered anyone. And the next photos, gone. Except in the reflection of his car window. Still there, still smiling. Daniel deleted the photos. Sometimes they come back like they were never gone. Reflection. Some things don't leave when you delete them. Because they were never supposed to be there in the first place. Final story of the night. Something sad on my chest. Submitted by Alicia T from San Antonio, Texas. She couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Then breathe. Right next to her face. Slow. Close. It leaned in. Whispered, she woke up, able to move, room empty, but the door wide open. She locks it every night. No exceptions. Now she sleeps with the lights on. Because sometimes, right before she falls asleep, she hears breathing again. Reflection. Sleep paralysis explains the body, not the door, not the voice, not something that knows. Final reflection. Six stories. Six different people, different places, different lives, and still the same pattern. Something watching. Something waiting. Something that reacts when you become aware of it. That's what makes this worse. Because it's not isolated. It's not one house. Not one place. Not one explanation. It's everywhere. And maybe it doesn't need you to chase it. Maybe it just needs you to notice it. Because once you do, you carry it. And maybe that's the whole point. Alright. Six stories. No scripts, no Hollywood bullshit. Just people getting absolutely fucked by things they can't explain. What's your pick, Bob?

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Closet. Easy. If my closet starts knocking, that's no longer storage. That's a roommate. And it can pay rent and souls, because I'm not opening that door.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

So you're not even gonna check it?

SPEAKER_02 15:37

Checking it. I don't even check my bank account. I'm definitely not checking a haunted closet. That thing can keep my hoodies and my emotional baggage. We've both been through enough.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

That's fair.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

And that dream one? Nah. Something slowly walking toward me every night while I'm asleep. That's not a dream. That's a scheduled meetup I didn't agree to.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

You're fucking insane.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

No, I'm aware. Sleep is supposed to be my escape. Not a VIP access pass to whatever the hell that thing is.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Alright then. What's the worst one?

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Sleep paralysis. Easy.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Same.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Because everything else you can run. You can move. You can back your stuff. And ghost the situation. That one. You're laid out. Can't move. Can't scream. Basically, a demon climbs on top of you. And you just sit there like Yep. This is how I go out.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Jeez, dude.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

I said what I said.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Yeah. That's the one that doesn't need to chase you.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

No. It's already got you binned.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Six stories, six different people, different places, different lives. And still, the same thing keeps showing up. Something watching, something waiting, something that reacts the moment you realize it's there. And maybe that's the part that sticks. Because none of these things needed to chase anyone. They didn't need to attack. They just needed to be seen. And once you see something like that, you don't unsee it. If you've got a story, something you've experienced, something you can't explain, something that still doesn't sit right where the lights go out, send it in. Hopewellhollow1993 at gmail.com. Again, that's Hopewell Hollow1993 at gmail.com. Because the more these stories get told, the harder they are to ignore. Make sure you're following Echoes in the Dark on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen. Leave a rating, drop a review, share the episode. That's how this shit grows and how these stories keep reaching people who need to hear them. And if you like what you hear on the show, if you like slow burn horror atmosphere, that feeling that something is just slightly off, then go check out my novel, Help Well Hollow. It's everything you hear here, just deeper, more personal, and a lot harder to shake. Available now in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. Check out Darkhollomedia LLC.com for merch, teas, hoodies, mugs. Cop that merch. Bring a little darkness with you.

SPEAKER_03 18:34

And remember When you're lying in bed tonight and you hear something, it's probably just your imagination.

SPEAKER_07 18:43

Or is it I stepped in like a bad dream, basement full of ash and grease, pages tucked in my coat, hope we'll hollow on the sleeve. The housekeep names on the wall, scratch them with the nail. You hit your own voice back in the floor, boys ring like jail. Black ink on my fingertips, coat coin in the palm. Every dog got the lid the bruise, every room got the calm. And if you came for the truth, then baby, here's the cut. The dog don't need a reason. It just opens when you touch. Listen close, don't blink now.

SPEAKER_06 19:34

That old fear is loud now. Follow in Take the route. One wrong turn. And you're listening like follow. Listen like follow. Oh, well hello. Oh well hello. Listen like fallow. Listen like follow.

unknown 20:09

Oh well hello. Hello.

SPEAKER_07 20:16

Creak in the hall like a grin. Ink running down the spine. I seen the moon in the jar in the black doubt. The thin white line. Boom full of missing ears. From porch full of flies. Everybody gotta price. Everybody gotta lie. I don't sleep. I just circle it like something wants me near. Hard cover folded. It's disappearing. So if you hear that now, better keep your hands still. Sometimes wear a human face. Some tails wipe for the threads.

SPEAKER_06 20:49

Don't blink now. That'll still get loud now. Listen like I don't. Listen to light fallow. Oh well hello. Oh well hello Mr. Light Hello. It's the light fall.

unknown 21:25

Oh well hello.

SPEAKER_07 21:30

Hello in the pit in the snap and two name on the side and got burboods to look like you, so I can't just add again.

SPEAKER_05 21:43

I'm waiting with the dread of the woods on the witness, let them hear what I said.

SPEAKER_06 21:54

It's in like follow me, merch, cop the level. Hope will hollow Hope will hollow It's in light follow It's in light follow Hop that merch Cop the novel Hope will hollow Hollow