The Smiling Man in Apartment 9B
When Claire moved into Blackthorne Apartments, she immediately noticed two things.
The silence.
And Apartment 9B.
The hallway on the ninth floor always felt colder than the rest of the building. Lights flickered constantly there, and every tenant avoided looking toward the dark apartment at the very end.
Especially at night.
On her first evening, Claire asked the old woman next door about it.
“Who lives in 9B?”
The woman’s face went pale instantly.
Then she whispered:
“Don’t talk to him.”
Claire frowned.
“Him?”
“The smiling man.”
Before Claire could ask more, the woman shut her door.
That night—
At exactly 1:14 AM—
Claire woke suddenly.
Not because of noise.
Because of laughter.
Soft.
Quiet.
Right outside her apartment door.
She slowly walked toward the peephole.
And froze.
A tall man stood in the hallway.
Completely still.
Wearing a black coat.
And smiling.
Not a normal smile.
Too wide.
Too perfect.
Like his face had been stretched into it.
Claire’s heart pounded.
The man wasn’t moving.
Wasn’t blinking.
Just standing there…
Smiling directly at her door.
Then slowly—
He lifted one finger.
And pointed toward Apartment 9B.
The hallway lights exploded.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Claire stumbled backward, terrified.
When the lights returned—
The hallway was empty.
The next morning, she convinced herself it was stress.
Until she entered the elevator.
Inside, scratched deeply into the metal wall, were the words:
HE LIKES WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIM.
Claire moved out of the elevator immediately.
Days passed.
Things got worse.
She began hearing footsteps in her apartment at night.
Wet footsteps.
Slowly circling her bed.
Sometimes she’d wake up and find chairs moved across the room.
Sometimes the bathroom mirror had smiley faces drawn in steam.
And every night—
1:14 AM.
The laughter returned.
One evening, Claire finally asked the building manager about Apartment 9B.
The manager went silent.
Then sighed heavily.
“A man lived there years ago,” he whispered.
“He murdered his entire family.”
Claire felt cold instantly.
“When police arrived,” the manager continued,
“they found him sitting in the dark…”
“Smiling.”
“They said he kept repeating one sentence.”
The manager looked directly at her.
“If you smile long enough… something smiles back.”
That night—
Claire decided to leave the building forever.
She packed quickly.
Ignored the fear.
Ignored the strange sounds in the hallway.
But when she opened her apartment door—
Her blood turned to ice.
The smiling man stood there.
Closer than ever.
Tall.
Unnaturally thin.
Eyes completely black.
Smile wider than humanly possible.
Claire couldn’t scream.
Couldn’t move.
Then slowly—
The man leaned forward.
And whispered:
“I saw you watching me.”
The hallway lights died instantly.
Neighbors later reported hearing screams echo through the building at exactly 1:14 AM.
Police searched the apartment.
No Claire.
No suitcase.
Nothing.
Only one thing remained.
Written across her bedroom mirror in something dark red:
SMILE BACK.
Now, tenants claim if you stand outside Apartment 9B long enough…
You’ll hear soft laughter behind the door.
And sometimes—
Very late at night—
The smiling man appears in the hallway.
Waiting.
For someone new to notice him.
Ending Line:
Some monsters hide in darkness…
Others wait for you to look directly at them.
