The Bell Tower
An old university’s abandoned bell tower rings at midnight — even though it has no bell.
Langston University had been abandoned for twenty years.
Budget cuts, rumors of disappearances — no one wanted the place anymore.
But on cold nights, the old bell tower still chimed at midnight.
Local legend said the tower once held a massive bronze bell cast in a forgotten forge.
But when the university shut down, workers found the tower empty.
No bell.
No mechanisms.
Just an expanse of cracked stone and dust.
One night, dared by friends, Marcus Hale climbed the tower.
The air grew colder with every step.
By the time he reached the top, his breath came out in visible puffs.
The room was empty — save for deep, gouged marks along the walls, as if something massive had scraped its way in circles.
As midnight struck, Marcus heard the bell: a deep, resonant toll that vibrated in his bones.
And in that vibration, he saw things:
Students running in terror across a blood-slick quad.
Figures hanging motionless in the bell tower’s windows, swinging with the invisible chimes.
A vast thing crouched atop the campus, stitched from shadow and smoke, its hands pressed against the earth like a spider waiting for prey.
When Marcus stumbled down the steps, the tower loomed behind him, silent once more.
But every window he passed reflected a different version of himself —
some running, some screaming, some... smiling.
Budget cuts, rumors of disappearances — no one wanted the place anymore.
But on cold nights, the old bell tower still chimed at midnight.
Local legend said the tower once held a massive bronze bell cast in a forgotten forge.
But when the university shut down, workers found the tower empty.
No bell.
No mechanisms.
Just an expanse of cracked stone and dust.
One night, dared by friends, Marcus Hale climbed the tower.
The air grew colder with every step.
By the time he reached the top, his breath came out in visible puffs.
The room was empty — save for deep, gouged marks along the walls, as if something massive had scraped its way in circles.
As midnight struck, Marcus heard the bell: a deep, resonant toll that vibrated in his bones.
And in that vibration, he saw things:
Students running in terror across a blood-slick quad.
Figures hanging motionless in the bell tower’s windows, swinging with the invisible chimes.
A vast thing crouched atop the campus, stitched from shadow and smoke, its hands pressed against the earth like a spider waiting for prey.
When Marcus stumbled down the steps, the tower loomed behind him, silent once more.
But every window he passed reflected a different version of himself —
some running, some screaming, some... smiling.
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