A TikTok account that goes by the handle @afterdarkhotline shares scary stories sent in by followers. Now, she is retelling a story submission from her own point of view.
Some jobs come with blatant risks, such as heavy lifting, chemical exposure, or long hours. But every now and then, someone stumbles into a job that seems normal on paper and deeply unsettling in reality.
So, she used to work for a small company cleaning abandoned properties. Most of the time, it was obvious why a house had been abandoned, whether it was due to mold or severe damage.
But there was one house that looked completely normal. Everything was still there in its place. Clothes were neatly folded, a glass of water was sitting on the nightstand, and the dishes were put away.
It was her job to clean the house and report any unusual findings. She didn’t notice anything strange until she reached the hallway.
There were photos lining the wall of the same woman in different locations and wearing different outfits. In all the photos, the woman just stared directly at the camera.
TikToker @afterdarkhotline didn’t think much of the photos at first. But when she was wiping down the mirror in the bathroom, she found some writing underneath the steam.
The message was written in all caps and read, “Don’t let her see you see her.”
She stepped back quickly in shock and tried to laugh it off as a prank, something meant to scare whoever came to live in the house next.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
But later on, she went back into the hallway and noticed that the pictures on the wall were different. The woman was still wearing the same clothes and was in all the same places, but this time, she was looking off to the side.
“I slowly turned to look at whatever her eyes were aiming at, and then I looked back at her again, and her eyes were back at the camera, staring straight at me,” she said.
“And this time, the pictures were different. They were closer, like they were zoomed in a little bit more.”
That was enough to get her to leave. She grabbed her stuff and ran to the front door. She jiggled the handle, but the door wouldn’t open. Suddenly, she heard a soft footfall behind her and a quiet voice whispered, “Don’t look unless you want to stay.”
Somehow, she got the door open and sprinted outside without looking back. About a week later, she received her final paycheck. However, there was something extra inside the envelope of money. It included a picture of her standing at the front door, looking off to the side at whoever or whatever that voice was.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
