I can’t prove that this is true. Noone I’ve told believes me, and I’m really just tired of telling the story and getting into the inevitable debates over plausibility. But I know what happened and figured the community here may at least have more of an open mind about the experience. If anything, I can at least get the whole story written out without being ridiculed.

It was about a year and a half ago I started attending college. After filling out mountains of applications and jumping through nonsensical hoops, I finally received notice about where I had been accepted. My first choice, UGA, had actually accepted me, which was great. But another college accepted me as well – Kennesaw State University. Now, this school was notably less prestigious than Tech, but was still one of the largest in Georgia – however, I had never even toured the place. I just sent the app out, going through the motions.

So I decided I should at least give the place a fair chance, and promptly decided to view the campus before making a final decision.

The day was rainy, and the grounds of the university were riddled with mud and soaked patches of freshly-planted grass. There were only a few of us in the tour group, since it was getting close to the fall registration deadline, and the tour ended early due to the light rainfall increasing to a thunderous downpour. Not exactly pleased with the minimal view of the campus, I opted to explore on my own. Luckily, I had a backup poncho in my car I donned before walking around and checking out the place. Thunder crackled above me and the rain increased, as if determined to stop me from proceeding. But I pressed on, exploring more of the campus.

As I journeyed through the buildings of the small campus, I realized all the buildings I had gotten to were closed down. It seemed odd – after all, it was still summer. Shouldn’t classes be going on? And on that note, the student body seemed nonexistent. That wasn’t such a big deal – after all, it was a disastrous storm – but still. I hadn’t seen a single soul since the tour group broke up.

Eventually I made my way to one of the dorm areas, named University Place. It was a small grouping of dorms that resembled apartments, though they were far off from the main campus, as if hidden away. I quickly found shelter under an overhang to briefly get out of the weather. A poncho is only so useful when it gets torrential.

And that’s when I noticed that a door to one of the dorms was open. Just…wide open. I walked past it, trying not to be too obvious, but I glanced in. Noone was home, though I could see a TV alongside the wall was lit up. Normally, I wouldn’t try and intrude – but I was determined to at least get to see some part of the campus more in-depth.

I walked to the door and knocked on the wall inside, yelling to see if anyone was inside. No answer. I knocked again, this time taking a step inside as I did. Still no answer. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least take a look around the living room, so I headed inside, removing the poncho and leaving it at the doorway and slipping my drenched shoes off as well. I called out a final time as I walked into the main living area, to no avail.

I looked over at the TV, which was stuck on static. No noise though. I walked over and turned it off, noticing that the place seemed vacant, but with signs of life. An open pizza box with food still inside was on a table in the living room, though it was inhabited by flies, seemingly left alone for days. As I walked through the room, I noticed a smell waft into my nose that was incredibly displeasing. It smelled like rotting meat.

Part of me told me to get out, but the other part was insisting I keep walking. I crept towards the smell, realizing it was coming from the kitchen. I slowly approached, the smell becoming more poignant as I got closer.

I reached the sink and found just that – rotting meat. Infested with maggots, writhing in the chunk of beef. It was disgusting and disturbing. I nearly vomited from the sight and smell, quickly turning around and leaving the kitchen, only to realize the TV was back on. Maybe it was some odd setting on the TV that made it turn back on. At this point, I was getting pretty creeped out. I turned the TV off again, and even unplugged it from the wall.

I decided it was a good time to leave, and started towards the still open doorway. That’s when I heard it – a thump. I nearly jumped at the noise, but tried to keep my composure. It came from the room near the doorway, labeled ‘A.’

Now, I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that you don’t go towards the noise. You run away from the noise. So that’s what I did. I went straight towards the door and grabbed my poncho, ready to leave.

Suddenly, the door flew closed right in front of me, slamming itself shut against the door frame. I nearly fell over from the surprising motion, and quickly shuffled backwards. I stared in awe, trying to figure out what had happened. I lurched forward and tried to twist the knob, to no avail. It was as if the door was locked from the other side. I pounded on it and cried out, yelling for help, frantically twisting the knob as hard as I could. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone to call for someone, only to see that no bars were available. Fantastic.

Eventually, I gave up, looking around the room for any other way out. I soon realized that the actual dorm rooms had windows in them, which I could maybe use to escape. I could practically feel my heart pounding in my chest as I came to the realization that something was really going wrong here. Was it a joke gone wrong? Was someone deliberately trying to freak me out? If so, it was working.

And then, I heard another thump. Louder this time. Still coming from that room. As much as I didn’t want to approach it, that room seemed like it could have someone in it, which would be my best bet at getting the hell out. I got up and advanced towards the door, and quickly realized the TV was on again. The static was lighting up the screen, even though the TV was unplugged still.

I ignored it. My only concern was getting out at this point. I knocked on the door once, then waited. No answer. I knocked again. No answer. I called out. Nothing. I gripped the knob and turned it, feeling the door give as I pushed it open slowly.

The room was dark, and the outside weather made it impossible to see anything more than the vague outlines of the furniture. A bed and a desk, with some knick-knacks here and there. I called out, trying to figure out if someone was there, with no answer. I flicked the light switch, but nothing happened.

I crept into the room towards the window. It was my ticket at escaping, and I thought about nothing else.

Until the covers on the bed rustled. I jumped, backing against the wall. “Hello?” I called out. Nothing. “Are you okay?” I asked what I presumed to be the dorm inhabitant. Again, nothing. I reached towards the bed and gripped the cover, ready to pull it off.

Slowly, I dragged the bedding off the figure and stepped over to the uncovered being. What I saw made me gag and stifle vomit – it was a man not much older than me with his eyes and mouth sown shut, dried blood caked around both orifices. He was naked, and had some sort of odd symbol cut into his chest, more blood surrounding it. I stared at him, still unsure about what I was seeing. And then his head turned, twisting towards me. He let out a small moan, which made my blood run cold and created a powerful sense of fear within me.

I quickly threw off the sheets and ran to the window. I unhinged the locks and pulled up on it as hard as I could, a metallic screeching accompanying its movement. Cold breeze shot in from outside. I didn’t care, I was getting out.

I forced the window open, the outside rain flying in as I did, and I began to climb out into the world. I tumbled into a bush outside, and quickly got up, looking back to make sure that thing wasn’t following me. Oddly enough, there was nothing in the bed now. It was vacant – but I didn’t care. I ran. And kept running. I got to my car, got in, and drove away.

I always have nightmares about that experience. I have no ideas about what happened, and I don’t want to think about it any more than that. All I know is I’m never going back there. In fact, I swore off college completely after that. It sounds stupid, but it was an experience I’ll never be able to shake off. I thought I would feel some relief typing it out and getting it out in the open, but after going through that, it didn’t help at all. It still scares the hell out me.

Credit To: esterk