Closet Horror | The Growing Monster in the Wall: An Audio Drama

0:05 Speaker 1: It lies in wait amidst your dreams, where nothing is ever how it seems. It is a portal to a terrifying world beyond the doorway to nightmare. Nightmare. Come in. Welcome. I'm Artemis Black. Home is where the heart is. Home is where you hang your hat. Home can be the safest or deadliest place on Earth.

1:07 Speaker 2: Nothing wrong with this door. It opens just fine. Kind of large for just a closet.

1:13 Speaker 3: No, no, no, no. There was a room with a window and some sort of bright light.

1:21 Speaker 2: There isn't one now.

1:23 Speaker 3: Just your ordinary closet. Then explain what happened to my wife. Yes, Mr.

1:30 Speaker 1: Lane.

1:31 Speaker 2: What did happen to your wife?

1:37 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Closet Horror, was written especially for Doorways to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our stars include Mark Wheeler, Gemma Mitchell, and Jonathan Rosignol. I'll be back shortly with Act One. Perhaps you will remember the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy, who found out that there is no place like home. It did take her running away to discover that little fact.

2:30 Speaker 3: The clock. ticking away the seconds how I want to stop it just to make time completely halt its maddening journey I sit here watching the second hand move around the circle of time closer closer to whatever will happen Well, here we are.

3:04 Speaker 4: Home sweet home.

3:05 Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I know it's not the honeymoon cottage you were expecting.

3:08 Speaker 4: Oh, honey, now stop. At least we have a roof over our heads.

3:12 Speaker 3: Well, lucky we were able to find this.

3:14 Speaker 4: And what a price.

3:16 Speaker 3: And that's what worries me.

3:20 Speaker 4: What are you looking for?

3:21 Speaker 3: The reason we got this place at almost half what it should have rented for.

3:27 Speaker 4: Are you really going to look a gift horse in the mouth? Just be grateful.

3:33 Speaker 3: Well, there's nothing wrong with the plumbing.

3:40 Speaker 4: Are you going to try and find trouble, or are you going to help me unpack?

3:45 Speaker 1: Nope.

3:45 Speaker 3: Walls seem to be pretty solid.

3:47 Speaker 4: Eric!

3:48 Speaker 3: Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Let me help.

3:50 Speaker 4: Finally. Now take this box to the kitchen.

3:54 Speaker 3: What the devil you got in here? Bowling balls?

3:59 Speaker 4: Now, what are we going to do with those paintings?

4:02 Speaker 3: Just leave them there. It's fine.

4:04 Speaker 4: Eric, we can't. They are awful.

4:07 Speaker 3: Well, they did come with the place.

4:09 Speaker 4: But look at them. My five-year-old nephew could paint better than that.

4:13 Speaker 3: Then just throw them in the closet.

4:15 Speaker 4: What closet? They are all full.

4:18 Speaker 3: That one, over there. At least I assume that it's a closet.

4:22 Speaker 4: Didn't you check?

4:23 Speaker 3: I haven't had time, dear.

4:27 Speaker 4: Now, who would lock a closet door?

4:29 Speaker 3: Well, it beats me. Hold on a second. Let me try one of those keys the realtor left me.

4:34 Speaker 4: Wonder what's in there.

4:35 Speaker 3: Nope, not that one. I'm sure that isn't it. No. Nope, none of them work.

4:43 Speaker 4: Well, that's kind of weird.

4:45 Speaker 3: Weird or not, this door isn't budging.

4:48 Speaker 4: Pretty solid door for a closet. Maybe you can get a locksmith out here tomorrow.

4:52 Speaker 3: Tomorrow is Sunday, dear.

4:54 Speaker 4: Well, Monday then. And I think some new curtains could do wonders for that front room.

5:02 Speaker 3: What the hell was that?

5:04 Speaker 4: I don't know, but it came from inside that closet.

5:08 Speaker 3: Well, now that's impossible. How could anything get in there when we can't even open the door? Well, I don't...

5:19 Speaker 3: Whatever it is, it's locked up tight.

5:21 Speaker 4: I just hope it doesn't go on all night.

5:28 Speaker 3: I couldn't sleep. I kept hearing that noise in my head. I finally got up and went to the kitchen to make something to eat. I went to the front room and stood at that closet. The sound was coming from the inside, from the base of the door. There was a strange light, growing brighter. I was more determined to open that door when.

6:04 Speaker 1: Eric?

6:05 Speaker 3: Eric!

6:06 Speaker 4: Wake up!

6:07 Speaker 1: Huh? What?

6:08 Speaker 4: It's almost 9.30. Why were you sleeping on the sofa?

6:11 Speaker 3: Lana, uh, uh, I don't really remember.

6:16 Speaker 4: Oh, Eric, you weren't walking in your sleep again.

6:19 Speaker 3: Maybe I was.

6:21 Speaker 4: I see you got the closet door open.

6:23 Speaker 1: What?

6:24 Speaker 3: It is open.

6:25 Speaker 4: How did you do it?

6:26 Speaker 3: I don't, I, I mean, it's the strangest thing. I thought I heard that noise again. I was standing in front of it, ready to force it open, when the door opened by itself.

6:39 Speaker 4: Eric, are you putting me on?

6:41 Speaker 3: I swear I'm not, but there wasn't a closet in there.

6:45 Speaker 4: What do you mean?

6:47 Speaker 3: It was just a room, a full-sized room with a window on the other wall, and there was this bright light, like a spotlight, shining in the middle.

6:55 Speaker 4: Sounds like one of your nightmares.

6:57 Speaker 3: It's true. The window. It showed the outside, but the landscape, it was... Different?

7:03 Speaker 4: Different? In what way?

7:05 Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I could see trees, but nothing like I have ever seen. They were just strange colors. And there was a fog hanging low to the ground.

7:13 Speaker 4: And then I woke you up. Honey, it was a bad dream. And from the looks of that half-eaten sandwich, I can see why. Really, Eric? Pastrami on rye with mustard, pickles, tomato, and cheese?

7:27 Speaker 3: I got hungry. Ha ha ha ha.

7:30 Speaker 4: It's okay. At least we can put those god-awful paintings away.

7:38 Speaker 3: What the hell?

7:39 Speaker 4: Why did you shut the door?

7:40 Speaker 1: I didn't.

7:42 Speaker 3: It just closed on its own.

7:47 Speaker 4: Maybe it hates those paintings too.

7:49 Speaker 3: Well, very funny.

7:52 Speaker 4: Eric, quit playing around.

7:54 Speaker 3: I'm not.

7:57 Speaker 1: It won't.

7:59 Speaker 3: Open.

8:05 Speaker 1: New homes do tend to make weird and frightening sounds, and they often happen in the dead of night. I'll return shortly with that too. Strange noises in a new house happening late at night are not uncommon. Most people get used to the sounds as they become more frequent. They console themselves by saying, well, it's simply the house settling.

8:55 Speaker 3: That was a wonderful dinner. Can I help you with the dishes, sweetie?

8:59 Speaker 4: Oh, let's just leave them for in the morning.

9:01 Speaker 3: Oh, suits me just fine. So, what would you like to do?

9:06 Speaker 4: Well, there is a movie on TV that I've been wanting to watch.

9:12 Speaker 3: Why don't we go out somewhere?

9:16 Speaker 4: Eric, did you hear that?

9:18 Speaker 3: Now, don't try to change the subject.

9:22 Speaker 4: Sounds like something scratching at the door.

9:24 Speaker 3: If it's Yogi Bear, we don't have any pick-a-nick baskets.

9:31 Speaker 4: Well, I'm going to check.

9:33 Speaker 3: Turn the porch light on and look out there first. Don't want a real bear getting in here.

9:39 Speaker 1: Oh, Eric!

9:40 Speaker 4: It's a cat!

9:41 Speaker 3: Not a wild cat, I hope.

9:44 Speaker 4: No, it looks domesticated.

9:46 Speaker 3: Do we really need a cat?

9:48 Speaker 4: Oh, the poor thing. I'll get it some milk.

9:51 Speaker 3: Maybe it just belongs to one of the neighbors.

9:53 Speaker 4: We can't just throw it out.

10:01 Speaker 3: There. Now are you happy?

10:03 Speaker 4: Very happy. The thing must have been starving.

10:07 Speaker 3: There's no collar either. Well, I can take a picture of it and show it around the neighborhood.

10:12 Speaker 4: What if it doesn't belong to anyone?

10:15 Speaker 3: Then I guess you better come up with a name for it.

10:19 Speaker 4: Oh, thank you, Eric.

10:30 Speaker 3: Never fails. Just can't sleep.

10:34 Speaker 4: Eric, what's going on? Are you sleepwalking again?

10:40 Speaker 3: No, I just can't sleep.

10:45 Speaker 1: And I'm tired.

10:46 Speaker 3: Dead tired.

10:47 Speaker 4: Let's not try another pastrami on Rye.

10:52 Speaker 3: Well, apparently that cat can't sleep either.

10:58 Speaker 4: Eric, there's that sound again. What is it?

11:03 Speaker 3: I don't know. Whatever it is, it's definitely coming from that closet. Look, the cat.

11:14 Speaker 4: It's looking at the closet door.

11:17 Speaker 3: Whatever it is, the cat does not like.

11:25 Speaker 1: It.

11:28 Speaker 4: Is that what you saw last night?

11:31 Speaker 3: Yes, yes. You see it too?

11:35 Speaker 4: There is a room in there. Look, the cat. No, no baby. Don't go in there!

11:51 Speaker 3: Grab her! She's going in there! Eric?

12:13 Speaker 4: What's that coming out from under the door?

12:17 Speaker 1: It.

12:17 Speaker 3: Looks like blood.

12:25 Speaker 2: And you say your cat walked into that room?

12:29 Speaker 1: Yes.

12:30 Speaker 3: Look, I know it sounds stupid calling the police over a cat, but it was the blood that disturbed us.

12:36 Speaker 4: That's why we went to a motel. I wasn't coming back here unless Eric called the police.

12:42 Speaker 2: Okay, so where's the blood?

12:46 Speaker 3: It's right over.

12:47 Speaker 1: Over....

12:49 Speaker 4: Eric, it's gone.

12:51 Speaker 3: Detective, I can assure you that... It's okay.

12:54 Speaker 1: Really.

12:55 Speaker 2: I wouldn't have called you if I thought... Like I said, it's okay. You nice folks had a nasty scare, that's all.

13:03 Speaker 4: We don't usually call the police for every little thing.

13:06 Speaker 2: Now, miss, just stay calm.

13:09 Speaker 3: When we saw the blood, I tried to open the door, but it just would not budge. You mean this door?

13:15 Speaker 1: No.

13:20 Speaker 2: Doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it now. Just a rather large walk-in closet.

13:26 Speaker 4: But.

13:30 Speaker 4: There was a room in there. I swear it.

13:34 Speaker 2: No room now.

13:35 Speaker 3: Just a closet.

13:39 Speaker 2: Now, don't you worry about it. I'm sure that you saw something.

13:44 Speaker 3: I'm sorry, Detective. I wouldn't have called you if.

13:48 Speaker 2: That's all right. Look, if you have any real trouble, don't hesitate to give us a call.

14:00 Speaker 1: Yes. No.

14:04 Speaker 3: I understand. Thank you for the information.

14:07 Speaker 4: Who were you talking to?

14:08 Speaker 3: That realtor that rented this place.

14:10 Speaker 4: What did he have to say?

14:12 Speaker 3: Well, it took some doing, but I finally got some info about other people who have lived here.

14:17 Speaker 4: What did he say about that closet?

14:19 Speaker 3: He didn't know about it. He said that there wasn't any closet.

14:22 Speaker 4: There most certainly is. We both saw it.

14:26 Speaker 3: There isn't any closet or any room, according to him, and no other renter has ever had any problem.

14:33 Speaker 4: Then how do you explain?

14:36 Speaker 3: Lana, step slowly away from that door.

14:42 Speaker 1: Stop!

14:49 Speaker 3: Eric? Quick, over here. Run!

14:52 Speaker 4: I'm being pulled into the room.

14:56 Speaker 3: Grab my hand.

14:57 Speaker 4: Eric, help me.

14:59 Speaker 3: Eric, the light is pulling me in. It burns. I'm on fire. Help me.

15:15 Speaker 1: Strange rooms that appear and disappear. A walk-in closet once there, yet not here. And now, well, we can only guess at what has happened to Lana. Return with me shortly for Act 3. It is now a little while later since the disappearance of Eric Lane's wife, Lana. We find him sitting in his living room in a state of shock. The same police detective asking some very hard questions.

16:10 Speaker 2: There is certainly blood at that door now, Mr.

16:13 Speaker 1: Lane. She.

16:17 Speaker 3: She was torn apart. Why, Mr.

16:19 Speaker 1: Lane?

16:20 Speaker 2: Why did you kill her?

16:21 Speaker 3: That light, it's not... It can't be....

16:28 Speaker 1: It's not real.

16:33 Speaker 2: And that's a pretty neat trick with this door, too. Can't even budge it open.

16:37 Speaker 3: It only opens when... When.

16:40 Speaker 2: Is your wife inside, Eric? Cut up into little pieces by the looks of it by all this blood on the floor.

16:47 Speaker 3: I didn't kill her. Whatever is on the other side of that door.

16:52 Speaker 3: It's not natural. What did you use? An axe? Knife?

16:58 Speaker 2: And where is the weapon now?

17:00 Speaker 3: The door.

17:00 Speaker 1: It opened.

17:02 Speaker 3: On its own.

17:04 Speaker 4: It.

17:05 Speaker 3: Pulled her inside and then... God, then.

17:10 Speaker 2: Now look, Mr.

17:12 Speaker 1: Lane.

17:13 Speaker 2: My men have searched this entire place. Your wife isn't anywhere. With all of that blood, she has to be in that closet.

17:22 Speaker 3: Or at least, whatever is left of her. No! Not again! What is that? We have to get out of here.

17:35 Speaker 4: Now!

17:36 Speaker 2: You are not going anywhere. Now sit down.

17:40 Speaker 3: You don't understand. What the hell is that? Get out of here.

17:50 Speaker 2: Eric Lane, get back.

17:54 Speaker 1: Here.

17:56 Speaker 2: What's happening to me?

18:01 Speaker 3: What's happening to me?

18:05 Speaker 4: Oh God, help me!

18:07 Speaker 3: I'm burning! I'm on fire! Help! The house! It's eating the house! Run!

18:21 Speaker 1: Run!

18:36 Speaker 3: Sitting here in this motel room watching the clock tick away the minutes. I sat about a block away from the house watching people being covered in that that light being ripped apart. They have been hitting out towards the house all night. It won't do any good. More Food or whatever that thing is. And it's getting bigger. I can see that light. That strange light. Getting brighter.

19:18 Speaker 1: And brighter.

19:21 Speaker 3: Coming. Closer. Wherever it came from. Whatever it is. It's growing.

19:32 Speaker 1: Consuming.

19:34 Speaker 3: Consuming.

19:37 Speaker 1: Everybody.

19:41 Speaker 3: No one is safe because it's growing.

19:47 Speaker 1: Eating. Everybody. There is nothing left in that small town, only a hole in the middle, for it is said that far down below, there is something glowing and waiting.

20:40 Speaker 1: You wait here until I return with a final word.

21:00 Speaker 1: home is where the heart is home is where you hang your hat home can be the most evil place on earth Our cast included Mark Wheeler, Jonathan Rosignol, and Gemma Mitchell. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie and directed by Winslow Swan. I'm Artemis Black, inviting you to return with us through the doorway to nightmare for another adventure into the world of your terrifying imaginations. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The Butler Did It.