Don't Run

[00:00:00] In The Place am Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Alles an einem Platz In The Place am Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Alles an einem Platz

[00:00:29] Three friends sneak into the creepy Blackwood Asylum to explore its dark history But when they find an old cassette tape, they accidentally set off something sinister My name is Edwin, and here's a scary story I don't remember when I started recording everything, but I know why I did it

[00:00:59] When you're invisible at school, and an easy target for jerks like Jake Connolly You need a reason to keep going Some people escape through video games, others lose themselves in music For me, it's my camera When I'm behind the lens, I can pretend I'm somewhere else Someone else And for a few hours, I don't have to think about the bruises on my ribs Or the laughter behind my back

[00:01:25] That's why I said yes when Noah suggested we check out Blackwood Asylum The place had been abandoned since the 1980s And the official story? The psychiatric hospital ran out of funding and shut down But the real legend, the one whispered around in online forums, was much darker The story goes that one night, the patients and staff vanished No signs of struggle, no bodies, nothing

[00:01:52] Just an empty building filled with overturned furniture and patient files scattered like dead leaves Some believed they'd been taken, maybe by something not entirely human Others said a man in black had been seen wandering the halls just before the asylum closed A shadow, with no face, only movement Even grown adults would talk about it sometimes People like that crazy dude from the coffee shop Saying how it wasn't shut down

[00:02:22] But that people had to escape in order to survive But if there had been an outbreak of sorts If the patients roamed the streets of the town I'm sure it would have been all over the news, right? Well anyway, I don't believe in ghosts But I do believe in stories If I could be the one to finally document Blackwood To film what was inside and prove something was in there Maybe people would start paying attention to me for something other than being an easy target

[00:02:51] So that's how I found myself standing outside the gates of Blackwood Asylum On a freezing January night My camera clutched in one hand Noah and Mia beside me The asylum looked like a rotting corpse All cracked brick and shattered windows Ivy curled around the rusted sign at the entrance Blackwood State Hospital for the Mentally Unwell Creepy as hell, Mia muttered Adjusting her beanie

[00:03:21] I read that Blackwood had some of the worst patient conditions in the state People went missing all the time Noah scoffed Dude, it's just an old building People love making up stories I lifted my camera and pressed record Letting the red light blink to life Only one way to find out We slipped through a hole in the chain-link fence As I stepped onto the overgrown pavement A chill crawled up my spine

[00:03:49] Inside, the place smelled like mold and dust But underneath was something sour Like rotting paper And something long, dead Noah held up his flashlight Sweeping the beam across the decaying lobby The front desk was overturned Files spilled across the floor Frozen in time like the hospital had been abandoned in a hurry This is crazy, Mia whispered I felt it too

[00:04:18] The weight of the pass pressing down on us I adjusted my grip on the camera Let's check out the records room See what they left behind Noah led the way His footsteps were echoing as we moved deeper into the asylum And the deeper we went The colder it got And I could feel that somewhere Out there in the shadows Something was watching us

[00:04:45] The hallway stretched on Lined with doors that led to patient rooms Each one was dark, empty And filled with peeling wallpaper Some still had beds inside Restraints dangling from rusted metal frames The thought of someone being strapped down there Alone Left my stomach in knots Noah kept his flashlight aimed ahead As we moved deeper

[00:05:13] Our footsteps echoed in the silence Each one feeling too loud As if we were intruding We shouldn't be here Mia murmured She wasn't wrong That was the thrill of it, wasn't it? The reason people whispered about Blackwood But never stepped inside The reason I hit record Documenting everything No one had proof of what happened here Maybe we would be the first

[00:05:40] The wrecker's room was at the end of a very long hallway Its door slightly open The moment Noah pushed it though A rush of stale, rotting air poured out I covered my nose Jesus The room looked like it had been abandoned in a hurry Papers scattered across the floor Chairs overturned Cabinets left open Like someone had been searching for something The ceiling was sagging

[00:06:09] And the water stains spread like inkblots across the plaster But what caught my eye Wasn't the mess It was a metal filing cabinet Against the far wall While everything else was all messed up This one cabinet stood untouched Its rusted drawers slightly open And a single box was resting on top Its surface was layered in thick dust I walked up to it and wiped it clean

[00:06:38] Inside, neatly stacked, were dozens of cassette tapes Whoa, Noah whispered Are those patient recordings? Mia stepped closer Her flashlight was catching the faded writing on the labels Each tape had a patient number and a date Some from the late 70s And others from the asylum's final days I reached in and grabbed the one at random The ink was smudged But I could still make out the words

[00:07:09] Patient 109 Final session Mia exhaled slowly Final session? That's not creepy at all Noah smirked But there was tension in his eyes Probably just old therapy recordings But you know The fun kind Where the doctors electrocuted people I ignored him And I reached into my bag I was finally going to get to use it

[00:07:37] I always carried a portable cassette player When we explored old places Sometimes we found old interviews Static filled radio recordings And stuff like that It would make great content But this This one was different Something inside me Hesitated to press play But I did it anyway For a few seconds There was only static Crackling softly Through the speaker And then a voice

[00:08:05] That froze The voice was weak Trembling The voice of someone Who hadn't slept in days I told them But they don't believe me A long shaky breath And then Quieter And almost pleading He stands in the doorway

[00:08:33] Always in the doorway The three of us exchanged Uneasy glances The patient's voice was hoarse Filled with exhaustion And something else Something close to fear And then suddenly the voice changed You have to listen When he runs Bang! A loud thump Rattled the speakers Followed by the patient's Sharp gasp Then Silence

[00:09:03] And not the kind of silence Where the tape had ended The kind where you know There's still something Breathing on the other side of it I stared at the recorder My pulse was hammering Did you hear that? Noah whispered Mia's breathing had gone shallow That wasn't just noise That was She stopped Then In a voice barely above a whisper Guys

[00:09:35] Look at the door We turned Something had changed When we first walked in The door was wide open And now It was halfway closed And in the dim light The shadow behind it Was too tall To be any of us For a long moment None of us spoke None of us Took a breath

[00:10:03] And then A slow Creaking sound The door inched open Noah took a step back That's not the wind It was another breath Not ours And then the sound Of sprinting footsteps Charging straight for us The footsteps came fast Too fast

[00:10:32] Too fast As a pounding rhythm Like something sprinting Full force Right toward us I froze My breath was catching In my throat It was coming from the hallway But when I turned my head Nothing was there No movement No shape Just a slamming Of invisible feet Against the tile floor Getting closer Closer And then

[00:10:56] I'm shut The impact Sent to shudder Through the room A filing cabinet Rattled And old documents Slid from the shelves Fluttering to the ground Like dying birds And then silence Not the kind of silence You get when a room Is empty The kind where You're not alone But whoever's with you Hasn't decided To speak yet The kind where

[00:11:26] Something is waiting Mia Let out a shaky breath Beside me What What was that Noah took a step back His flashlight Quivering It's just It's probably the building Settling or something Old places Do that But his voice Was too thin He didn't believe What he was saying And neither did I I reached for the door handle My palm Clammy Against the worn brass The moment

[00:11:55] My fingers touched it A jolt of cold Just shot up my arm A deep Biting chill That wasn't normal I still twisted the knob Very slowly It wasn't locked The door creaked open About an inch And then two I braced myself Expecting something To jump out From the hallway But there was nothing Nothing visible Anyway But still The air felt different Now It was heavier

[00:12:25] Thicker Like the atmosphere Inside a room Right after someone Dies Noah exhaled hard Screw this man Mia wasn't looking At the door She was looking At the cassette player In my hand Her voice Was still very low Even The tape I turned my gaze Downward The red light Was blinking The tape Was still recording That was impossible

[00:12:56] I hit play Not record I had done this A thousand times A sick feeling Crawled up my spine As it pressed stop And then rewound The last few seconds When I hit play again The recording Crackled to life But it wasn't The patient's voice Anymore It was ours Our breathing Noah cursing The sound of the door Slamming shut And then Layered beneath it Something else A whisper

[00:13:26] Another voice It was warped Deep and distorted Like it was coming From somewhere Far away Yet I could still Make out the words He will run A slow creeping Coldness Settled in my gut That wasn't on the tape Before Mia whispered Noah shook his head No No that's not possible How the heck did it Then we heard it

[00:13:55] A sound that didn't belong In an abandoned asylum A long And slow exhale It was coming From the hallway It was close Right outside the door Noah's flashlight beam Moved as he aimed it Into the corridor The walls were cracked And peeling And the floor warped With the water damage Something was different now Something was standing there And I couldn't see it

[00:14:25] Not fully anyway But I could feel it And then Something moved It wasn't a shadow Not a trick of the light Something shifted Inside of the darkness And I don't know How to explain it The air grew thick With the scent of Damp earth And something sour Like a Rotting breath I don't know Mia's fingers Dug into my arm Trembling And then

[00:14:53] A single step It was slow Deliberate And right outside The doorway The three of us Held perfectly still I don't know why But I suddenly knew Knew deep In my bones That if we moved If we so much as Breathed too loudly It would see us Another step And then another The sound was light Almost gentle

[00:15:22] Like bare feet On tile I gripped the camera Tighter Fighting the overwhelming Urge to bolt My body screamed Run Just run To get the heck Out of that place But my mind Flashed back to the tape He will run It sounded like a warning A rule There was another step Then the flashlight Flickered It was once Then twice And then it just died

[00:15:53] Now we were in Total darkness Mia's breath Hitched beside me I felt her nails Pressing into my arm again Noah was too quiet All this time But I could hear His breathing too It was short And shallow And then the worst Sound yet A whisper Right next to my ear Not in front of me Not in the hallway A little bit behind me

[00:16:22] Don't move The voice Was not human It was layered Like two voices Speaking at once One deep Bragged And the other Light I froze completely I couldn't tell If I was imagining The feeling of someone Behind me But I know I felt it And I could almost Picture it Something inches away Leaning in Waiting Mia whimpered softly

[00:16:51] The whisper came again Right against my ear Don't run I wasn't sure If my eyes were open But I knew That Noah moved And in that instant The silence shattered A deafening screech Tore through the room Inhuman And full of rage And then the sound Of rushing footsteps Coming straight for us And this time I ran

[00:17:17] In the place Am Potsdamer Platz Findest du einfach alles Von spannender Unterhaltung Über erstklassige Einkaufsmöglichkeiten Bis hin zu einzigartiger Gastronomie Komm vorbei Und genieße besondere Momente In the place Am Potsdamer Platz Berlin Alles an einem Platz We were all running I barely registered The world around me The filing cabinets The shattered glass

[00:17:46] The endless rows Of rusting doors All I knew Was the sound Of our footsteps Hammering against the floor And the thing behind us Chasing The sound was wrong Not like bare feet anymore They were wet And slapping against tile And it was fast Faster than us Noah was ahead Mia beside me But I couldn't tear my gaze Away from the darkness Behind us Where the thing Could have been Yet I couldn't see it

[00:18:15] Because it wasn't just chasing It was right there The corridor stretched too long As if the asylum itself Was warped Refusing to let us go My lungs burned My heart beat A wild drumbeat Of terror No matter how fast we ran The thing's footsteps Stayed with us And then I tripped The floor caught my foot And I hit the ground hard My camera smashing Against the tile Skidding away

[00:18:44] Pain exploded Through my knees And palms The impact Knocked a breath From my lungs Leaving me gasping Vulnerable Mia screamed my name But I didn't hear her Properly Because at that moment The footsteps stopped And they were right behind me It was there I couldn't move Not because I was hurt But because I knew Knew deep in my bones That if I turned around I would see it And if I saw it

[00:19:13] I wouldn't be able to run ever again A slow exhale ghosted Across the back of my neck It was warm Damp And too close And then Why did you run? The whisper slithered Through my ears Like oil And something touched my shoulder No Not touched Pressed A deep suffocating weight

[00:19:42] Settled all over my body Right then and there Something unseen Pressing down As if an invisible hand Was pushing me into the tile The pressure grew Heavier and heavier Until I thought My bones would snap My fingers dug into the floor Nails scraping Against the cracked surface As I struggled to breathe It was a terror Like I had never known It was swallowing me whole And then My mind fractured Into something else

[00:20:12] Something older Something I had buried The weight pressing me down Wasn't new I had felt it before At the school locker room Wet tile Sweat and chlorine Mixing in the air I was fifteen Shoved into the ground My cheek pressed Against the cold floor My nose was bleeding My ribs Aged from the last punch My backpack Was dumped out Beside me Its contents Scattered

[00:20:42] Books A journal My recorder Then above me Him Jake Connolly My bully A boy built like a tank With a grin full of teeth Someone who had decided I was weak The moment he saw me Someone who loved That I liked Old school horror Ghost stories And things that weren't Normal Normal His friends laughed From the lockers Watching Not stopping him They never did

[00:21:12] He leaned down Gripping the back Of my hoodie Yanking me up Just enough So that I could See his sneer Why do you run huh? He mocked Shaking me You always do that Just stand up For yourself for once My mouth was full Of metallic taste Of blood And shame I hated him But worse I hated myself Because I always ran It was easier The weight on my back Intensified The thing behind me New

[00:21:41] It dug into my mind Into my past Into my fears You always run The voice warped Twisting into something familiar Jake? No Not him Something wearing his voice Something inside this place That knew who I was My chest heaved with panic But I didn't scream I didn't beg Because I suddenly knew

[00:22:10] That this was a test It had been since The moment we played the tape He will run A warning A rule Maybe the patients here Had survived By following it Maybe those who ran Never made it out I felt its fingers Long Thin Impossibly cold Curl around the back Of my neck And it did the hardest thing I've ever done

[00:22:38] I didn't run I went still The footsteps started again Circling me Mia was crying Whispering my name But I didn't move Noah's breathing was ragged And he wasn't running anymore either We all kind of understood The thing circled us For what felt like forever And then A whisper

[00:23:09] Good The pressure lifted The room shifted The air losing its oppressive weight And then Silence The presence was gone My chest went back to normal As I slowly pushed myself off the ground My limbs ached But I was alive We all were Mia grabbed my arm Her face streaked with tears Ethan

[00:23:37] I nodded Swallowing hard Noah was staring down the hallway His flashlight working again The asylum was just a building now Rotten Broken Abandoned Nothing chased us No footsteps echoed anymore We didn't speak as we left We didn't need to We hadn't run That was why we were still here

[00:24:04] A week later I uploaded the footage I almost didn't After everything that happened at Blackwood A part of me wanted to forget To pretend we hadn't broken into that asylum That we hadn't heard that voice And that we almost hadn't Made it out But the need to know To understand was stronger

[00:24:34] I posted the video Under the same name I always used The footage was raw Shaky Terrifying The static-laced whispers The door slamming on its own The thing we couldn't see But felt All of it was there The real terror Was the tape The audio That very last whisper He will run

[00:25:03] Didn't take long For people to react Some Called it fake Others Dissected every frame Trying to catch a glimpse Of whatever was chasing us But a few Just a few Believed One of those comments Actually stood out It was a user With no profile picture No history No followers Just a name P109 Underscore Survivor Their message Was short

[00:25:34] Patient 109 Never ran either That's why he was The only one To leave Blackwood alive I stared at it My heart Thumping Patient 109 I'd never mention Any numbers In my video Nowhere In the footage Should we talk About patients By their numbers And so I clicked The username Nothing The account Had Absolutely Nothing

[00:26:05] It was blank No followers No other comments Just that A chill Crept up my spine And I checked The footage again And I rewound The tape The whisper Had changed It was static Silence The final voice Was gone Like whatever Was in Blackwood Had taken it back I shut my laptop My pulse Still pounding In my ears

[00:26:34] That night As I lay in bed I couldn't shake The thought Patient 109 The only survivor Had he been like me? Had he broken The rule? Had he seen What I almost saw? I turned over Pulling the covers Tight Then In the silence Of my room A whisper Not from my speakers Not from my phone

[00:27:03] From right next To my ear Good I didn't move I didn't run And just like before It left Scary Story Podcast Is written and produced

[00:27:33] By me Edwin Covarrubias Thanks for your ideas For upcoming stories You can stay tuned For those Also remember That this podcast Is available on YouTube If you search For Scary Story Podcast Or Scary Story Podcast Edwin Sometimes my name Makes it easier to find But if you find it Remember to subscribe We don't have many followers On there just yet Anyway If you're following the show here I will talk to you next week Thank you very much for listening Keep it scary everyone

[00:28:02] See you soon