Lock the Door

Lock the Door is a scary story about a young man who is alone in his apartment one night when a strange visitor comes to the door.

This happened when I was a student in university. At that time, I was living alone in a small apartment close to the university.

One night, I was sleeping peacefully in bed when I was awoken by the sound of my doorbell. Looking at the clock, I saw that it was just after midnight. I jumped out of bed and opened the front door.

There was a man standing there, wearing a grey sweater. He looked like he was around 25 or 26 years old.

“Mr. Fukumoto, is it?” he asked.

“Uh… yes,” I replied. “What is it?”

“I am the chairman of the neighborhood association in this building,” said the man in a calm tone. “A murder occurred in this area. The killer is on the loose and still has not been caught. It is very dangerous. Please do not go out today and keep your doors locked.”

Because I had just woken up, I was still groggy.

“OK,” I said. “I understand. Thank you.”

I closed the front door, made sure it was locked and went back to bed.

The next morning, I checked the newspaper and the TV news. There was no mention of any murder that occurred in the neighborhood. It struck me as very strange.

A strange man, who is not a police officer, wakes me up in the middle of the night to warn me about a murder that didn’t seem to have happened. I thought it was very suspicious.

The next night, I was just about to go to bed when I heard a doorbell ringing. It wasn’t my doorbell. It was the doorbell of the apartment next door.

It seemed that my neighbor wasn’t home, because I heard the doorbell ringing 3 or 4 times in a row.

I opened my front door and looked out into the corridor.

The man I had seen before was standing outside my neighbor’s apartment, pressing the doorbell again and again. He was still wearing a grey sweater. The man must have heard the sound of my door openeing because he looked around and noticed me watching him. Our eyes met.

I was a bit creeped-out, but I also a little angry.

“He’s probably not home,” I said. “Can I help you with something?　

“Oh, Mr. Fukumoto… Hello,” said the man. “No, I am afraid the murderer is still on the loose. So, until he is caught, I am going around the neighborhood, warning everyone to be careful and not to go out in the middle of the night.”

I regarded the man suspiciously.

“I checked the newspaper and the TV news this morning,” I said, “but I didn’t see any mention of this murder! Who are you?”

I told the man whilst ending the ending, but the man did not have a swinging appearance

“No, that’s not true,” the man replied calmly. “Besides, the criminal has not been caught yet. It is very dangerous. Well, do not go out in the middle of the night. ”

The man stared at me coldly. Something about the look in his eyes unnerved me. I felt a chill run down my spine.

“I’ll do just that,” I replied as I slammed the door and turned the key in the lock.

I went to bed that night with a strange feeling.

The next day, when I got home from university, I turned on the TV and saw something that almost made the blood freeze in my veins.

There was a news report about a murder that had taken place in the area. There were showing footage of my apartment building. It seemed that the victim was my neighbor. He had been murdered during the night as he lay in bed. The killer had somehow managed to gain entry to the apartment while the man was asleep. A suspect had been seen fleeing the scene of the crime. They said it was a man wearing a grey sweater.

I was horrified.

That night, just after midnight, my doorbell rang again. I went to the door, but I was too afraid to open it. The bell rang once… twice… three times.

“Who is it?” I called out.

Through the door, I heard a voice ask, “Mr. Fukumoto?”

I recognized the voice. It was the man in the grey sweater.

“The killer is still on the loose, Mr. Fukumoto,” he replied calmly. “Please be careful. Keep your doors and windows locked.”

Suddenly, I realized that I had closed my bedroom window but forgot to lock it.

“OK. I’ll do that,” I called out. “Thank you.”

After making sure the front door was securely locked, I hurried into the bedroom. I was going to lock the window, but when I pulled back the curtains, I recoiled in horror.

The man in the grey sweater was standing outside the window.

I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to do. I could barely breathe.

I just stood there, dumbstruck, staring at him.

Before I had a chance to react, he reached out and opened the window.

“Closing it isn’t enough,” he said with a creepy smile. “You need to keep it tightly locked… Otherwise someone could get in… Someone like me…”

With that, the man began climbing in through the window.

I let out a terrified scream and dashed out of the bedroom. With trembling fingers, I quickly unlocked the front door and ran out into the corridor.

I fled as fast as I could, but I could hear the man’s voice close behind me.

“Mr. Fukumoto, you forgot to close your front door! It is very dangerous to go out in the middle of the night! Please turn back now!”

I didn’t stop to argue. I just kept on running. When I came to the stairs, I sprinted down, jumping down the steps until I reached the ground floor and raced out into the street.

I ran and ran until I spotted a police station. Bursting through the doors, I ran up to the front desk where a young police officer was sitting. I was so scared, I almost collapsed there and then.

I was making such a commotion that an older policeman came out of the back office and wanted to know what was going on. I was huffing and puffing, trying to catch my breath. Eventually, I managed to tell them what had happened.

They decided to escort me back to the apartment to check it out for themselves. I was reluctant to return at first, but the fact that I was being accompanied by two police officers made me feel less afraid.

Finally, we arrived at my building and took the elevator up to my apartment on the 2nd floor. The young police officer opened the front door and looked inside. The apartment seemed to be empty. There was nobody around.

“Do you notice anything out of place?” the older policeman asked.

I looked around the apartment, but everything looked as it had when I left. The bedroom window was securely locked and the curtains were shut.

“Well, everything seems to be OK here,” said the older policeman. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s much more we can do. We’ll keep an eye out for the man you described and if he bothers you again, be sure to call us immediately.”

As they were leaving, the young police officer handed me a piece of paper with a phone number written on it.

“If you remember anything else, you can contact us at this number,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you,” I said. “I will.”

Then, as I was closing the door, the young police officer’s smile faded and his face suddenly became expressionless.

“Please be careful,” he said. “Because the killer is still on the loose. Keep your doors and windows firmly locked, Mr. Fukumoto…”

A chill ran down my spine.

After the policemen were gone, I went around the apartment, checking the door and all the windows to make sure they were firmly locked. Then, I turned on all the lights and the TV and sat on the bed, keeping watch until dawn.

After that, I never saw the man in the grey sweater again. Two weeks later, I moved out of the apartment.

I don’t think I will ever be able to rest easily until the police catch the man in the grey sweater…