# Tell me a scary story **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167 "2007-08-27T23:28:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/41 "2007-09-03T09:51:40Z")
I’ve alluded to this before, but I don’t believe I’ve ever told the whole story. I was 14. I was upstairs in the den, doing homework. The door was open, and I gradually became aware of a scratching noise in the hallway. Curious, I get up, and find that it’s coming from the linen closet. I open the closet door, look inside and see nothing. I go back to my work, leaving the closet door open. Before long, I hear a whirring noise. I look around, then up. The den has a ceiling light, a frosted-glass casing, round and flat on the bottom, over two light bulbs. Clinging to it upside down, and nosing around, is a fly, or perhaps a locust, **the size of a ten-pound turkey.** No, I’m not kidding. I get up, turn off the light, and go into the bathroom. I didn’t really see that, did I? I wash my face and return to the den. No giant bug to be seen. But…there’s more rustling from behind the sofa. I tiptoe over and look behind it. The giant bug is behind the sofa, clinging to the fabric. It has eyes about the size of young tomatoes. I swear I’m not exaggerating any of this: I recently asked my mom about it, and her memory matches mine. It turns its head and looks at me. I wonder vaguely if this is one of those bugs that sees twenty of what it looks at. I also notice that its wings are folded. I would like them to stay that way. I go downstairs and inform my mom (dad’s out of town) that there’s a bug in the den. A **giant** bug. I spread my hands to indicate size. Since I was not known for pranks, she believed me and followed me upstairs. It’s still behind the couch. Her: Oh. My. God. Me: Should we call an exterminator? Her: Not yet. Me: Should I get the Polaroid? Her: No, the flash might…agitate it. I’m just gonna open the window and close the door. Which she does. A few minutes later, we go back in the room. No bug anywhere, so it must have flown off into the night. To this day, I don’t know where it might have come from. Down from the attic? My mom theorized that since we also kept cleaning products in the linen closet, it might have consumed something and mutated. I don’t know how plausible that is. At any rate, he didn’t seem to have any friends or relatives, and we had already made plans to move, which we did about two months later. What’s especially remarkable is how calm I was throughout the whole thing. Which is good, really: panicking and raising my voice or making unnecessary movements might have…well, I’d rather not even think about it. But that bug haunts my nightmares to this day. At this stage of my life, I think it’s safe to say that I will never get over it. The only benefit is that it’s made me far less squeamish about normal insects, because nothing, at least in America, could be anywhere near that horrific. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/42 "2007-09-03T10:41:37Z")
Not so much a scary story, but a good ‘horror’ flash animation. really well made, and creeps the shit out of me even after knowing what’s going to happen. WARNING (so I don’t get in trouble for posting this) This is not a ‘screamer’ site, where an innocuous image is suddenly replaced with a screaming ghost picture. **However,** it does use images suddenly appearing on or moving across the screen. It also uses **loud and sudden noises**. Enjoy. http:// [fizzlebot.com/sinthai/thehouse.htm](http://fizzlebot.com/sinthai/thehouse.htm) (link intentionally broken so nobody complains they accidentally clicked it) ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/43 "2007-09-03T13:16:26Z")
Oh crap, **sublight** , I chickened out when the woman started rising from the bathtub. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/44 "2007-09-03T13:36:42Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] I’ve alluded to this before, but I don’t believe I’ve ever told the whole story. I was 14. I was upstairs in the den, doing homework. The door was open, and I gradually became aware of a scratching noise in the hallway. Curious, I get up, and find that it’s coming from the linen closet. I open the closet door, look inside and see nothing. I go back to my work, leaving the closet door open. Before long, I hear a whirring noise. I look around, then up. The den has a ceiling light, a frosted-glass casing, round and flat on the bottom, over two light bulbs. Clinging to it upside down, and nosing around, is a fly, or perhaps a locust, **the size of a ten-pound turkey.** No, I’m not kidding. I get up, turn off the light, and go into the bathroom. I didn’t really see that, did I? I wash my face and return to the den. No giant bug to be seen. But…there’s more rustling from behind the sofa. I tiptoe over and look behind it. The giant bug is behind the sofa, clinging to the fabric. It has eyes about the size of young tomatoes. I swear I’m not exaggerating any of this: I recently asked my mom about it, and her memory matches mine. It turns its head and looks at me. I wonder vaguely if this is one of those bugs that sees twenty of what it looks at. I also notice that its wings are folded. I would like them to stay that way. I go downstairs and inform my mom (dad’s out of town) that there’s a bug in the den. A **giant** bug. I spread my hands to indicate size. Since I was not known for pranks, she believed me and followed me upstairs. It’s still behind the couch. Her: Oh. My. God. Me: Should we call an exterminator? Her: Not yet. Me: Should I get the Polaroid? Her: No, the flash might…agitate it. I’m just gonna open the window and close the door. Which she does. A few minutes later, we go back in the room. No bug anywhere, so it must have flown off into the night. To this day, I don’t know where it might have come from. Down from the attic? My mom theorized that since we also kept cleaning products in the linen closet, it might have consumed something and mutated. I don’t know how plausible that is. At any rate, he didn’t seem to have any friends or relatives, and we had already made plans to move, which we did about two months later. What’s especially remarkable is how calm I was throughout the whole thing. Which is good, really: panicking and raising my voice or making unnecessary movements might have…well, I’d rather not even think about it. But that bug haunts my nightmares to this day. At this stage of my life, I think it’s safe to say that I will never get over it. The only benefit is that it’s made me far less squeamish about normal insects, because nothing, at least in America, could be anywhere near that horrific. [/QUOTE] I suspect that a large member of this family of insects > **[Cicada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada)** > > The cicadas (/sɪˈkɑːdəz, -ˈkeɪ-/) are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha,\[a\] along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed. Nearly all cicada species are annual cicadas with the exc... is your giant fly. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/45 "2007-09-03T16:54:40Z")
Cicadas get to be the size of a ten pound turkey?! Oh, man, **Rilch** , that is truly the beginning of a monster movie. I feel for you! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/46 "2007-09-03T19:43:16Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] I suspect that a large member of this family of insects > **[Cicada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada)** > > The cicadas (/sɪˈkɑːdəz, -ˈkeɪ-/) are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha,\[a\] along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed. Nearly all cicada species are annual cicadas with the exc... is your giant fly. [/QUOTE] Oh dear god one of the photos was animated! I don’t recall the wings extending that far behind the body, but we did have cicadas in that area, so that was probably it. I’m not revisiting that link, so I’ll just accept that explanation. And **Zoggie** , it did feel like the beginning of a horror movie! I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did, and as I said, we moved shortly afterwards. No reports of a cicada plague from the neighbors we kept in touch with, either, so it was apparently a fluke. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/47 "2007-09-03T19:55:47Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] Holy crap, that was one of the freakiest things I ever read. I wonder what the guy who wrote that is up to now. Of course, we’re supposed to believe he perished in the cave after his last entry, but come on, I want to see if he’s written anything else. [/QUOTE] I also really want to read anything else Ted has done. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![yams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/848f3c/32.png) [@yams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yams)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/48 "2007-09-03T20:42:30Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] Holy crap, that was one of the freakiest things I ever read. I wonder what the guy who wrote that is up to now. Of course, we’re supposed to believe he perished in the cave after his last entry, but come on, I want to see if he’s written anything else. [/QUOTE] not to spark a hijack or anything, but i found that very, very reminiscent of christopher pike. anybody else remember him? he had one book in particular, i forget which one, but i think it was one about a scavenger hunt, which had a long bit that took place in a cave. ted’s story _very_ much reminded me about that story, and in particular that section. (not just because they both took place in caves. the writing style i found similar, and what actually took place in the cave is a little similar as well, from what i remember). love yams!! ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/49 "2007-09-03T23:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=yams!!] not to spark a hijack or anything, but i found that very, very reminiscent of christopher pike. anybody else remember him? he had one book in particular, i forget which one, but i think it was one about a scavenger hunt, which had a long bit that took place in a cave. ted’s story _very_ much reminded me about that story, and in particular that section. (not just because they both took place in caves. the writing style i found similar, and what actually took place in the cave is a little similar as well, from what i remember). [/QUOTE] Dude, now I want to read that. Anybody know what book that was? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/50 "2007-09-03T23:10:21Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] The den has a ceiling light, a frosted-glass casing, round and flat on the bottom, over two light bulbs. Clinging to it upside down, and nosing around, is a fly, or perhaps a locust, **the size of a ten-pound turkey.** No, I’m not kidding. [/QUOTE] I’m betting on a cicada too – they do look like big flies. Of course, they usually don’t get that big. How big **is** a ten-pound turkey, anyway? In terms of, say, inches long and wide? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/51 "2007-09-03T23:50:12Z")
Mmmm…The thing is, it’s hard to make one-to-one comparisons on this. I may be underestimating the size of a ten-pound turkey. Perhaps a roasted chicken would be more accurate. Another sticking point is that nothing really has the proportions of a bug except a bug. The cicada can’t have **weighed** ten pounds, so it doesn’t have the same standard of measurement as a turkey. The point is, it was **bigger than any insect, at least in the US, would be expected to be.** Maybe a foot long and six inches wide? I remember it being slightly bigger than the light casing. It was certainly bigger than my **hand**. I was telling Mr. Rilch about it once, and he picked up a small stuffed bear and said, “As big as this?” I picked up a stuffed elephant and said, “As big as **this**.” “No way.” “Yes way.” “Come on. Nothing’s **that** big. Are you sure you didn’t just see its shadow?” “I saw its wings and its eyes; I was looking directly at it.” “Maybe it was only as big as this [picks up slightly larger stuffed bear].” “Dude…the point is, if it’s any bigger than THIS [holding thumb and forefinger an inch apart], it’s too. damn. big.” “True dat.” So it might not have been exactly the size of a turkey. But it was as big as some kind of animal. And I swear, I did not hallucinate it, I did not see a shadow and extrapolate. My mom saw it too, and she would not go along with something like that just to humor me. I looked right at it, and it was, for a bug, gigantic. I don’t know how this could have happened, but I swear to Og, it did. ---
**Author:** ![yams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/848f3c/32.png) [@yams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yams)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/52 "2007-09-03T23:57:03Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] Dude, now I want to read that. Anybody know what book that was? [/QUOTE] upon looking at some of his books on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com), i am pretty sure it is “scavenger hunt.” > **[Scavenger Hunt: Pike, Christopher: 9780671736866: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Scavenger-Hunt-Christopher-Pike/dp/0671736868)** > > Scavenger Hunt \[Pike, Christopher\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Scavenger Hunt i could tell you the reasons why i think it is this one, but that would pretty much spoil the ending for you. but i am 99% sure it is this one. kind of makes me want to revisit his whole oeuvre. love yams!! who is feeling quite saucy to have been able to use the word “oeuvre” in a post ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/53 "2007-09-04T02:53:58Z")
Thanks for all the scariness, guys! While I was reading the cave story, in the scariest part, my cat knocked something over behind me, which caused me to release a scared guinea pig squeak. The cat was not impressed. Far scarier, however, is **Rilchiam** ’s story, because it could really happen. I’m not all that afraid of evil cave spirits, seeing as I rarely go into caves, but foot-long cicadas? That’s enough to make me ask for a case of Raid for Christmas. The only thing scarier would be a football-sized earwig. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/54 "2007-09-04T02:57:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Tell me a scary story Hilary Clinton is going to run for President. And people will vote for her. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/55 "2007-09-04T02:59:54Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Purl McKnittington] Thanks for all the scariness, guys! While I was reading the cave story, in the scariest part, my cat knocked something over behind me, which caused me to release a scared guinea pig squeak. The cat was not impressed. Far scarier, however, is **Rilchiam** ’s story, because it could really happen. I’m not all that afraid of evil cave spirits, seeing as I rarely go into caves, but foot-long cicadas? That’s enough to make me ask for a case of Raid for Christmas. The only thing scarier would be a football-sized earwig. [/QUOTE] You mean you haven’t seen those guys on the farm? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/56 "2007-09-04T03:03:42Z")
Not that big! All the cicadas I’ve seen have been about grasshopper-sized. Small enough to squash with a single shoe or small brick. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/57 "2007-09-04T03:38:48Z")
Dick Cheney knocks on your front door… Ooh, I can’t go on. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167/58 "2007-09-04T18:18:47Z")
[QUOTE=yams!!] not to spark a hijack or anything, but i found that very, very reminiscent of christopher pike. anybody else remember him? he had one book in particular, i forget which one, but i think it was one about a scavenger hunt, which had a long bit that took place in a cave. ted’s story _very_ much reminded me about that story, and in particular that section. (not just because they both took place in caves. the writing style i found similar, and what actually took place in the cave is a little similar as well, from what i remember). love yams!! [/QUOTE] FWIW, there is at least a rumor around the internets that the cave story was taken from a short story called “The Fear of Darkness,” by [Thomas Lera](http://www.ontis.nl/horror_stories.htm), who, it appears, is indeed interested in caving, and writes horror stories. He might be worth checking out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-a-scary-story/417167.md?page=2)