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The Laundromat Encounter



Estimated reading time — 3 minutes

I swear on my dead father, this is an honest-to-God real story. It happened when I was 13. I remember the night clearly: It was cold, and it chilled me to the bone, and I will never forget it.

I had run away again, and this time I was faced with spending a night at an apartment complex. I thought I was going to stay in my friend’s room, in one of the apartments in the compound, but that wasn’t the case. My friend’s family didn’t want me to stay with them that night (or maybe any night), so she suggested I sleep in their community Laundromat, which was open 24 hours and located in the center of the housing complex. I took the key she gave and made my way to the center.

The night was windy (definitely in the 30s), so I went into the one-room building as soon as the last apartment dweller had taken their clothes. With only a thin jacket on, I needed to be inside. It was empty and quiet, and I found a comfortable little nook between a dryer and a corner. I slumped down with my knees to my chin and looked around. It was snug; I could rest my head on either side, I had a view of the door, and I felt safe.

The silence was soothing, and I felt my eyelids grow heavy. I was exhausted from teenage angst, and from running away, but I felt relieved that I had found a comfortable refuge for the night. It was better than I had expected. Content, I closed my eyes.

A minute later, it began.

I heard a slight shuffle, followed by a sweeping sound, the kind a Chinese broom creates when it’s being swept across a hardwood floor.

A cold wind brushed against my left ear, and then the stench of garbage (the kind that’s been sitting in the sun) wrapped its stink around me. And the scariest thing happened next, the breathing.

It was short, tortured, but it was steady. It made my blood run cold and I was petrified. I knew something non-human was close to me.

My heart pounded loudly, and I sincerely thought it would explode at any moment. I had to do something. The stench had settled around my calves like a thick layer of rotting flesh. I had never been more terrified in my entire life, and it got worse.

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Once the fear sank in, I felt the entity attempting to pry into my mind. I didn’t want to die and I didn’t want to be possessed so something had to be done.

It took all the strength I could muster to open my eyes, and even more unknown reserves of courage to shift my head to the left and peek out. I saw a wall, the same one that was sandwiching me next to the dryer.

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And the room was silent, aside from the drone caused by the water system running through the washer and dryers, it was void of paranormal sounds and foul odors.  The room was completely empty. I was still in my spot, and I was still sane.

However, just before I was able to breathe a sigh of relief, it returned, and I thought I was going to die of fright at that very second. I looked around the room, frantic, my mind racing to find an explanation. Maybe my friend was playing a prank on me. Maybe the wind had carried some poor apartment dweller’s snoring party my way. But none of that was true and I knew it.

All the windows were closed and the air was still. The rustling of the leaves could be heard outside, and inside, the breathing next to my left ear became louder and more jagged. Suddenly, a surge of adrenaline raced through me and I jumped into action.

I made a mad dash through the laundry doors, past two apartment buildings, climbed to the second-floor staircase to some random building dweller, and stopped. I was panting, I had a cold sweat, and I was afraid beyond words. I could barely catch my breath, and then I felt the cold breathing next to my ear once again. My heart stopped. I didn’t know what else to do, so I ran across to the other side of the compound… and the entity followed.

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I was thoroughly scared, so much so I fell onto the steps of the staircase I had been climbing, gathered myself into a sitting fetal position and did something I didn’t normally do. I started praying.

I prayed to God, Jesus, and the saints. I promised them my good deeds and repentance for all the bad I’d done… but as I kept on praying, the breathing stayed steady in my ear.

The night passed that way, with the praying and the breathing, until the first rays of sunshine sliced through the dark and dawn broke. The entity disappeared. The light saved me.

I felt the heavy weight of a possible possession lift, and I was able to run and escape the apartment complex entity, but it never really went away. Throughout my life I would feel its presence, and hear its faint breath next to me, every time I am alone.

It is there waiting to take my mind and my spirit, and I am so afraid.

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11 thoughts on “The Laundromat Encounter”

  1. IF this is a true story, that’d be funny if it was just some homeless guy checking you out lol. That’s what took away the horror element for me. I don’t mind that the writing isn’t super creative, but you need more than a bad smell and the “feeling of being watched” to scare your reader because it’s too vague and overdone. Without any further description about what it could be and given the setting of a 24hr laundromat, my mind concluded it could just be a homesless person passing by and therefore it took away the element of horror for me. Instead I’m wondering how freaked that homeless guy was when you suddenly took off lol.

  2. On the contrary, this is very poorly written, every sentence as cliche as they come. You will benefit from looking at the complexities of other stories and more than a first draft.

  3. Well written, but I feel like nothing really happens. Feeling like someone is close to you is far more common than creepy. Especially when that’s all there is to the encounter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s eerie, but definitely common if you believe in being in touch with the spirit world. I feel like a decent buildup fell flat quickly here.
    Maybe I’m being hypercritical if it is true and that’s all that happened, but I’m here for the compelling stories. I do have to say though, I’d try a few more friends or relatives before sleeping in a public laundry room. Lol

    1. Agreed. I commented that given the 24hr laundromat setting and so few clues as to what it could be, it could easily have just been some homeless guy trying to figure out why this dude was sleeping in his spot lol. Needs more specifics

      1. I mean, it followed her or whatever, so I’d say not a hobo. But I do like the imagery there. Lmao
        I just noticed the last line though. That’s a ridiculous conclusion to come to just because something was breathing in your ear.

  4. Full of cliche phrases like “dead of night” and “made my blood run cold.” Unsatisfying ending. Overall, a very mediocre horror story.

  5. I’m very intrigued about your story, especially if it’s really true. Please email me as I’d like to know more, because I have had a similar experience happen to me. Kyciadavid@gmail

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