The Smiling Man Horror Story

About five years ago, I lived in the center of a major city in the United States. I've always been a night owl, so I was often bored after my roommate, who clearly wasn't a night owl, went to bed. To pass the time, I took long walks and reflected.

I spent four years like that, walking alone at night, and I never got scared. I always joked with my roommate that even the town's drug dealers are polite. But everything changed in just a few minutes one night.

It was a Wednesday, between 1 and 2 a.m., and I was walking near a police-patrolled park, quite far from my apartment. It was a quiet night, even for a weekday, with very little traffic and almost no one on foot. The park, like most nights, was completely empty.

I turned into a small alley to go back to my apartment when I first saw it. At the end of the street, beside me, was the silhouette of a man dancing. It was a strange dance, like a waltz, but he ended each "box" with an odd step forward. I guess you could say he was dancing, walking directly toward me.

Deciding he was probably drunk, I moved as close to the street as I could so he could pass me almost across the sidewalk. The closer he came, the more I realized how gracefully he moved. He was very tall and thin, wearing an old suit. He danced closer until I could see his face. His eyes were wide and wild, his head tilted slightly back, looking up at the sky. His mouth was curved in a painfully wide smile. With a glance and a smile, I decided to cross the street before he came near.

I looked away from him and crossed the empty street. When I reached the other side, I looked around... and I froze. He stopped dancing and stood with one foot on the street, completely parallel to me. He was looking at me, but still looking up at the sky. The smile still spread across his lips. It completely unnerved me. I tried again, but I didn't take my eyes off the man. He didn't move.

Half a block away, I stepped away from him for a moment to look at the sidewalk in front of me. The street and sidewalk were completely empty. Still discouraged, I looked back where I was and discovered he was gone. I was momentarily relieved until I noticed him. He crossed the street and sat down a little. I couldn't tell because of the distance and the shadows, but I was sure he was watching me. I didn't look at him for more than ten seconds, so he was obviously moving fast.

I was so surprised that I stared at him for a while. And then he came toward me again. He was taking giant, exaggerated steps on his tiptoes, as if he were a cartoon character stalking someone. Only he was moving very, very fast. I'd like to say that at that moment I ran away, or grabbed my pepper spray, or my cell phone, or whatever, but I didn't. I stood there frozen, as a smiling man sidled up.

And then he stopped again, a car length away. Still smiling, still staring up at the sky.

When I finally found my voice, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. I wanted to ask, "What the hell do you want?" in a furious, commanding tone. What came out was a wail, "What the hell...?"

Whether or not people can smell fear, they can certainly hear it. I heard it in my own voice, and it just scared me. But he didn't react. He just stood there, smiling.

And then, after what seemed like an eternity, he turned very slowly and started dancing and walking away. Just like that. Not wanting to turn my back on him again, I just watched him walk away until he was far enough out of my sight. And then I realized something. He never left and danced. I watched in horror as his silhouette in the distance grew larger and larger. He was coming back, my dear. And this time he ran.

I ran too.

I ran until I turned off the side road and back onto the quieter, less-trafficked highway. Then, when I looked back, I couldn't find him anywhere. The rest of the way home, I looked over my shoulder, always hoping to see his stupid grin, but it was never there.

I lived in this city for six months after that night and never went for a walk again. There was something about his face that always haunted me. He didn't look drunk, he didn't look drugged. He looked completely insane. And this is very, very scary.

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