Flickering Lights

Flickering Lights is an urban legend about a woman who is disturbed by reports of a crazy person on the loose and the lights flickering in her upstairs bedroom.

A few years ago, there was a lady who lived near a mental hospital. One night, she was at home watching TV, waiting for a phonecall from her brother. He was flying into town to meet her and was going to call when his plane landed.

It was a very stormy night. Suddenly, the television program was interrupted by a news bulletin. The news reader said that a crazy woman had escaped from the local mental hospital. They doctors said that the crazy woman was very dangerous. She had killed 12 people before she had been caught and sent to the mental institution. They also said she was obsessive compulsive and was obsessed with light switches.

The woman was distracted by her phone ringing. It was her neighbor from across the street. He told her that her upstairs lights in one window kept flickering on and off. The lady thanked for letting her know and hung up the phone.

She thought it was probably just an electrical problem, but she decided to go upstairs and check, just in case. In the darkened hallway, through the crack under the door, she saw that the lights in one bedroom were indeed flickering on and off. Gripping the door handle, she opened it cautiously. The room was empty. The fan in the room was on and it was blowing a coat hanging beside it. The coat kept knocking the light switch on and off. Relieved, the lady turned off the fan and went back downstairs.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door. It was her neighbor again. He told her that the lights upstairs were still flickering on and off, but this time it was in a different window. Together, they went upstairs to check it out. When she opened the door of the room, the lady found it empty. The lights were off. Her neighbor stepped into the room and began switching the lights on and off again and again.

At this point, the lady decided that her neighbor must be imagining things, so she thanked him and escorted him downstairs. After he left, the phone started ringing. Her brother called to tell her he had arrived at the airport.

“You don’t need to pick me up””, he said. “I’m getting a taxi. I’ll be there in about half an hour.”

Then, on the line, she heard a raspy female voice say “I’ll see you soon.”