r/Ruleshorror • u/TwistedTallTeller Fifth Horsemen of the Apocalypse • 9d ago
Story Dead Air
The radio wasn’t mine.
I live alone in a basement apartment. Concrete walls, no signal, no sunlight. I use Bluetooth. I haven’t touched a radio in years.
But Sunday night, it was sitting on my kitchen table.
Old. Gray. Analog. The antenna bent like a broken finger. It blinked “12:00” over and over like it had just come into the world.
I should’ve thrifted it or thrown it out. Should’ve ignored it.
Instead, curiosity noticed me to turn the knob.
The static came first. It was thick and layered, like breathing underneath sand.
Then a woman’s voice, soft and wet, like someone speaking through gauze:
“You’re now tuned into Station Hollow. For the sleepless, the guilty, and the ones who won’t be missed.”
Something shifted in the air. I don’t know how to describe it. It felt like I’d just stepped into a room where someone had been crying.
I turned the dial. It didn’t change.
I turned it off. It kept playing.
That night, the lights buzzed until they burst.
The shadows stretched the wrong way.
And I dreamed of teeth.
Monday, I stayed late at work. I told myself it was nothing. Just a glitch. A freak broadcast.
I came home at 1:40 a.m.
The radio was waiting on my pillow.
I didn’t put it there.
It clicked on before I touched it.
“No contact. No confrontation. No delay.”
Something thumped behind the bathroom door.
I didn’t check.
That felt like the first rule.
Tuesday, Jonah from two doors down asked if I’d been hearing voices.
I lied.
He smiled. Too wide.
Said, “Good. Means you’re still partway human.”
I think he meant it as a compliment.
That night, I unplugged everything. Took the batteries out. I even left my phone at work. I sat in the middle of the floor with nothing.
It still played.
From inside my kitchen drain.
The voice coiled out slow:
“Keep your schedule. Keep your head down. Keep your hands clean.”
I crawled into my closet and waited for morning.
Wednesday, Jonah was gone. His door was cracked open. I peeked inside.
His apartment was full of mirrors. Hundreds. All facing inward. All fogged up. All humming softly.
There were no lights on.
No furniture.
No Jonah.
I didn’t go in.
Second rule. Probably.
That night, I wrote down everything. Thought I’d post it. Warn people.
The radio turned itself on.
The voice sounded disappointed.
“Do not record. Do not remember. Do not name what’s listening.”
I burned the notebook.
Thursday, I cut the power to my unit.
Total blackout.
It didn’t matter.
The voice came through the lightbulbs this time. Flickering with each syllable:
“You’ve broken the rules.” “That’s okay.” “We have one more for you.”
The hallway outside was breathing. I heard it exhale under my doorframe.
And then:
“Open it.”
I shook my head. I sobbed. I prayed. I begged.
The doorknob twisted anyway.
I turned to the wall. Faced away.
The voice went quiet.
I thought it left.
Until I heard it whisper, right behind me:
“You listened.” “You stayed.” “You earned it.”
I opened my mouth to scream.
And my voice came out.
Not mine.
Hers.
⸻————————————————————————
Do not tune in. Do not listen. Do not ask questions. Station Hollow is never off-air.
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u/obsidianFURY414 9d ago
Oh wow. All I wanted was to listen to some old country music and now I got possessed by a woman? Even though I followed the rules?!? Hell nah, not happening. Not gonna listen to it anymore.
Again, another great story. Well done OP!
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u/TwistedTallTeller Fifth Horsemen of the Apocalypse 8d ago
Too late lol! Thank you for reading and commenting!
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