Down the Stairs/Home Forever | Campfire Stories with MrBallen

0:00Welcome back to the campfire. Tonight I have two very weird and equally creepy stories to share that in many ways are perfect for this setting. Stories to be told by a campfire. But before we get into tonight's stories, if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right campfire because that's all we do, and we upload two, three, even four times every week. So if that's of interest to you, please invite the like button to go camping with you, but don't tell them that you've secretly lined the inside of their sleeping bag with itching powder.

0:37Also, please subscribe to our channel and turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our weekly uploads. Okay, let's get into tonight's stories.

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1:39Because switching your home and auto insurance is better than cutting down on the things you love, like those iced lattes that help you get ready to face the day. So switch your home and auto to Progressive and see if you could save. And keep sipping away. Get your quote today at Progressive.com, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, affiliates, and other insurers. Not available in all states. On the morning of April 25th, 2013, a 17-year-old high school senior named Henry was standing in the courtyard of this old abandoned dorm building that was on his school's campus in Tianjin, which is a major city in northeastern China.

2:15Now, Henry at this time was actually supposed to be with the rest of the students in his gym class right now playing badminton on the school's outdoor courts, but the courts were all full. So Henry and one of his friends, whose name was Wen, had decided to start their own game in this courtyard instead, even though they were not technically supposed to be over here at all. And so Henry, he hit the badminton shuttlecock towards Wen, and they were bouncing it back and forth, when suddenly Henry heard somebody calling his name. And so Henry, you know, he turned to see who was calling to him, and he saw two other boys who were heading towards their courtyard.

2:50And they, too, were holding badminton rackets. And Henry, as soon as he saw who these two were, he broke into a big smile, because one of them was one of his other classmates, whose name was Lee, who he was friends with, but the other was his childhood best friend, Pan Bowen. Henry and Pan had been very close ever since elementary school, and now they're high school seniors, and they had a ton in common. They were both tall and thin, they wore glasses, they were both kind of quiet and nerdy, and they both loved video games. But Henry and Pan, of late, had not had a chance to spend much time together because they were both very busy studying for something called the Gaokao, which is China's national college entrance exam.

3:34This test is sort of like the SAT in America, except realistically it's way more high stakes because it's literally the only thing that some colleges in China take into account for admissions. And so if Henry and Pan wanted to get into good colleges, they needed to ace this test. So they had both spent the last several months basically studying upwards of 14 hours every single day. And as a result, they didn't see their friends much, including each other. And so this was a nice break from that. And so Henry, he's so jazzed up, you know, he sees his buddies coming over here. And so he calls out to Pan as he's getting closer and he goes, hey, and he hits the badminton shuttlecock towards Pan.

4:18And Pan, he's ready, he's got his racket and he hit it back but it sort of veered off to the side and it bounced along the ground in front of one of the dorm buildings and then before anybody could stop it the shuttlecock fell into an open window that led into this abandoned dorm building's basement. A minute later Henry, Pan, Lee and Wen all gathered around this basement window and this basement it was just for ventilation so it was only a couple of inches tall and when Henry knelt down and tried to peek inside to see where the shuttlecock had gone all he could see inside was darkness and so he turned back to the group and said they just have to go back to the gym and get a new shuttlecock but Pan said he didn't want to do that they weren't technically supposed to be playing over here at all and so if they admitted that they had lost the shuttlecock you know it's entirely possible that one thing might lead to another and they might discover, you know, where the lost shuttlecock was.

5:18It was in this off-limits area. And so Pan's like, I don't want to get in trouble. I think we should just go in there and get this thing. And then before anybody could stop him, Pan got up and he walked right over to the front entrance of this abandoned dorm building and he reached for the door handle. And like, right as he's doing this, Henry got up and he was about to call out like, dude, we cannot go in there. Like, this is going to get us in more trouble than anybody finding out about a lost shuttlecock. Like, don't go in there. But Henry watched as Pan, he turned the handle on this door, and clearly it was unlocked.

5:53And so Pan, he opened the door, pushed it open, and stepped inside. A minute later, Henry as well had made his way over, and he was now standing inside the entryway of this abandoned dorm building next to Pan and then also Lee. The fourth friend, Wen, had decided that this was not for them. They would stay outside and stand guard in case any teachers showed up. But realistically, they just did not want to go in there. However, despite the fact that these other three now had, you know, an official lookout outside to keep them out of trouble, so to speak, Henry, just in being inside of this building, he couldn't help but feel really freaked out.

6:32The air inside of this building reeked of mildew, and it was so cold that literally Henry's like shivering. Now, the front entryway where they were standing was relatively well lit because there were a couple of open windows that let in a bunch of light. But beyond the entryway, basically the hallways that went in different directions, you know, Henry's looking down each of them and they were totally dark because there were no windows, at least no open windows. Things were blocked by old furniture and things that had sort of cluttered up against the side of the walls. and so it's really dark and ominous and so Henry he's standing in the entryway wondering like how do we even begin to find the way down to the basement like I don't want to go down these hallways but as he's standing there suddenly Henry he realizes Pan has has wandered off already he's gone down the right hallway you can't see him anymore he sort of vanished into the darkness but he can hear him and so Henry and Lee they're they're watching and then they hear this this metallic sort of scraping sound.

7:32And it's the sound of Pan opening up a door that led off that hallway. He had gone down the hallway and found a door. He was opening it up and he calls out to Henry and to Lee and says, hey, I think I found the door that leads down to the basement. And so Henry and Lee, it's sort of like, well, you know, Pan's leading the charge here and we're already in here. Like, let's just go get this thing. And so even though they were hesitant, they walked down this dark hallway until they eventually saw they saw pan and he was standing with the door open and henry he peered into this the stairwell that did lead down to the basement and it was very dark the only light that that made it into the the stairwell was from up in this hallway area which wasn't that light to begin with but with the limited light that was going down there all henry could see was just clutter on these stairs like they were practically completely obstructed.

8:25There was furniture, there were desks and chairs that looked like they'd almost been dumped into the stairwell. And so navigating these stairs would have been hard even with the lights on. And so at this point, Henry, he just had this sudden overwhelming feeling that they really ought to just leave. Like this didn't feel right. This felt dangerous. It felt just sort of reckless. And he actually said out loud, like, hey, let's just forget about the shuttlecock. Like who cares? If we get in trouble, we get in trouble, but this is not worth it. Let's just go out with Wynn. Let's go back. Let's just forget about this.

8:59But Pan is like, nah, we're already in here. Let's just go down and get it. It's not a big deal. Pan was like, it's my fault it's in here. I feel responsible. I just want to go down and get it and not get us in trouble. And then again, without getting a chance to try to stop his friend, Pan just started walking down the stairs. We're really climbing on the furniture and chairs, making his way down. And so Henry turns to Lee, who's still right next to him, you know, trying to get some support here, like, come on, we got to stop this guy. But Lee's like, man, we're already here. And so Lee starts making his way across the furniture and the stuff, making his way down the stairs.

9:38And so Henry's like, all right, I guess I'm going too. So we kind of propped the door open to make sure as much light would come in as he could get. And then he began the descent as well. Now, at first, for Henry, the climb down these stairs was okay. He was able to navigate the furniture, and he was very careful, and the light that he was getting from the first floor was pretty good. But the stairwell, as it went down, it eventually turned 90 degrees, and the second half of the stairs that actually led down into the basement went sort of down in the opposite direction. And as soon as Pan and Lee, who were ahead of Henry, as soon as they made that turn, Henry, like he watched as they sort of vanished into darkness as they were in that section of the stairs.

10:27And so he knew, Henry did, that once he made that turn, it was going to be just totally dark. And he was, you know, kind of nervous, but now he's committed. He's all the way in here. And so Pan and Lee, they're moving on down that last leg of the stairs. They're in total darkness. Henry can't see him. He makes that turn on the stairs. And as he's making the turn into that last leg, the very dark leg, he can hear Pan and Lee. They're clearly still navigating this last segment of the stairs. But he can't see him at all. He kind of calls out to them to, hey, slow down. Let me catch up. But they're moving along.

11:02They're calling back to him, letting him know, come on, dude, hurry up. But they're moving along. And so Henry's like, man, I got to go faster. And he makes the turn, and he starts making his way down that last leg. But once he was on that leg, it was pitch black. And he was truly just operating by touch. And all he can hear is the sound of Pan and Lee somewhere ahead of him as he descends into this void. I mean, it was terrifying. But just a moment later, as Henry is still navigating this dark section, he hears Pan and Lee call back to him. They're not that far away, but again, he can't see them.

11:35They call back to him like, hey, we reached the bottom. We're on the landing. And now we know where we have to go. And so they're clearly waiting for Henry. And Henry's like, OK, good. He manages to climb over the last big couple pieces of furniture and tables and stuff that are blocking his way. And he gets to the bottom. And when he does, immediately he, too, sees what they're talking about. Because once he reached the bottom and effectively was in the basement now, he's at the very bottom of the stairs, there was this long hallway, and at the very end of the hallway, there was one source of light.

12:10There was a door that was slightly open, and there was obviously light shining in the room beyond the door. So the open door led to a room that had light. And considering clearly there are no lights on, like electrical lights on inside of this building, that light had to be from sunlight, which suggests that's got to be the room where that window was that led outside where the shuttle cock went into the basement in the first place. And so all they got to do is go down this hallway, go to that door, open it up, go inside, get the shuttle cock and get out of there and be done with this place. And so Henry, he felt around and grabbed Pan and he grabbed Lee, he locked arms with them because it's like so dark.

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15:22However, after only walking down the hallway a few steps, Henry felt Pan stop and unlink his arms and turn around. And, you know, Henry and Lee, they can't see what Pan is doing. And so they're like, hey, what are you doing? And Pan's like, I can't find my keys. I lost my keys. I think I must have dropped them on the climb down here, like back on the stairs. And then Pan just began shuffling back towards the stairs and Henry and Lee, they can hear the sound now of Pan climbing on the furniture, like looking for his keys in the total darkness. Like, how is he going to find his keys here? And they're like, Hey, like, come on.

16:00Like we can find these later. But Pan's like, no, I have to find these keys. I won't be able to get home later unless I have these keys. I got to look. And so Henry and Lee, they're like, Oh my gosh, we don't want to be down here. And they're like, look, let's just go down. We'll get the shuttlecock. We'll come right back. and I'm sure by the time we're back, he'll still be looking for his keys, and we can help him, and we'll figure it out." And so Pan, like he's in his own world, he's looking for his keys, and Henry and Lee, they sort of relink their arms, and they begin speedwalking down the hall to get this the shuttlecock.

16:32However, after only a few moments, Henry and Lee began to notice something really unsettling about what was happening to them. Like they're in this dark hallway, they have the single light ahead of them that they're walking towards. And it's all they want to do is get to that door, get through there and get where they came here to come find. But it was like, no matter how fast they walked, they couldn't get closer to the light. They couldn't get to the door. And as they both simultaneously, but without saying anything, are experiencing this, they began speeding up to the point where they were practically running down the hall, but it didn't matter.

17:09It's like they could not get to this door. And eventually the two came to a stop. And Henry, in a very fearful voice, he says to Lee in the darkness, they can't see each other. He's like, hey, does it feel like we're not getting closer to the door? And Lee, in an equally frightened voice, is like, yeah, we're not. I don't know what's going on. And so Henry, for whatever reason, he turned around to just look in the direction they had come from. And when he turned around, it's like the only thing he could say is it was like he was looking into the blackest blackness he had ever seen in his life.

17:46It was like there was a vacuum, a void in front of him where the hallway had been. I mean, before it had been a dark hallway where he couldn't see anything, but it was like even in this total darkness, he was discerning somehow something that was even darker. Like he had been swallowed by something. And so now he's scared. You know, he has no idea if Lee is also experiencing this weird phenomenon of feeling like he was in this void. But for Henry, it was like the only thing that was anchoring him to reality was the fact that he could feel Lee on his arm. And so Henry began yelling out for Pan because he's, you know, in his mind, he's looking back in the direction of the stairs, even though he can't see them.

18:27And his friend Pan, his best bud, is like right over there he's calling out to him but not only did he not get a response from pan but when henry called out his voice echoed like way more than it should have there hadn't been an echo when they got down there now his voice is echoing as if he's inside of like a massive cave or something and so henry he waited for the the echo to stop you know and when it did he expected to maybe hear somewhere in the distance the sound of Pan, sifting through all the furniture on the stairs, still looking for his keys. But no, it was silent. It was like a completely eerie silence had fallen over the space that they were inhabiting.

19:09And Henry, he felt Lee grip onto his arm even tighter. And then Henry, he had this thought that was so strange and so crystal clear. It almost felt like it was coming from outside of him. It was like a voice whispering in his mind. And when this happened, it filled Henry with this overwhelming, almost primal sense of fear. The voice that now was just magically playing in Henry's head. It said, the place you came from doesn't exist anymore. And as soon as Henry heard that, it was like he felt goosebumps rise all along his arms. He felt like a caged animal, desperate to escape. He was trapped down here.

19:51And the only way out now was just to get out that door at the end of the hall. That was the one thing he knew he had to do, was just get out of that door. And so Henry, you know, feeling Lee on his arm still, he just yelled, we have to run, run towards the door. And the two of them turned and they just start sprinting down the hallway as fast as they could to get to that door. And so Henry and Lee, they're holding hands. They're sprinting as fast as they can to get to this door. And this time, they were able to close the distance and get to the door. But when they burst through the door, it was not like a room that had been lit up by a basement ventilation window.

20:30There was not a shuttlecock on the ground. Like, none of that was in place. Instead, when Henry and Lee burst into this room, all Henry could see was just sunlight. It was so bright, it was almost disorienting. And he also smelled fresh air, like he was outside. And then he actually saw the sky was above him. He was outside. And directly in front of him was this concrete staircase. And so Henry and Lee, they just, you know, without saying anything, they run up these stairs, because what else can they do? And when they get to the top, they realize they are not, you know, near the abandoned dorm building that they went into to arrive in that basement.

21:12They're not even on their school property anymore. Even though they only went into a dorm building and only were in that space this whole time, they are now on an elementary school property that was blocks away from their high school campus. Like, it made no sense where they were. And so Henry and Lee, they're looking at each other, they're looking around. Like, none of this made any sense. Like, there is no way to go from their high school to this location here. There was no underground tunnel. I mean, actually, there was pretty serious security around this elementary school. There was a gate that kept people out.

21:48Like, how did they bypass security and wind up here? I mean, there's so many questions. It's like, what's happened? How are we here? This makes no sense. But as weird as this was, it actually wasn't even Henry's biggest worry at this very moment. The thing that was terrifying Henry was that his best friend, Pan, was not here with them. he had to be back inside of that basement. And so Henry's first thought was, okay, as crazy as this is that we are here, we need to retrace our steps and go find Pan, and then we can figure this thing out. And so he and Lee, they ran back down the stairs, and they tried to open the door that had led them out here, but it was locked.

22:28And so without any other option, Henry and Lee just began running back in the direction of their high school. They jumped over the security gate that led them on to the elementary school campus. They cleared that and they ran down the road and eventually they got back to the high school campus grounds and they went directly to the front door of that abandoned dorm building where they had entered the first time. And Henry, he immediately tried to open the door. And remember, this door had been open not too long ago. That's how they got into the building. But now this door was locked. Henry, at this point, he spun around thinking, thinking, oh, when?

23:05The other friend who had not wanted to go with them, who had decided to stay outside to stand guard, you know, he's got to be out here somewhere. But Henry looked around, and Lee, he also began looking around, but when wasn't out here? And there was nobody else on the badminton courts either. Like, this place is abandoned. There's no one here. And in fact, when they looked over towards, like, the main area where they should have been had they stayed with their gym class, they're thinking, you know, there's no way gym class is over. We've only been gone for like, you know, 10 minutes or something.

23:35They looked and nobody was out there. Like it looked like gym class had ended and the kids had gone back inside the main school building. And so Henry and Lee, they run over to the main building and they look in one of the windows, actually into the cafeteria. And they see that, yes, clearly their class has gone back inside. And now they're in there and they're eating lunch. And Henry and Lee, they immediately see their buddy Wen, who was supposed to be standing guard. He was in there as well. And he was eating at a table all by himself. And so Henry and Lee, they rush inside the cafeteria, they go right over to Wen, and they begin bombarding him with questions.

24:11Like, what happened? Did you just like bail on us? Did Pan get caught by one of the teachers? Like, we don't know where he is. Did a teacher lock the door to the abandoned building? Because it's locked now. We tried to go in there. We don't know where Pan is. Like, hey, like, where is Pan? Have you seen Pan? And Wen, he's hearing all these questions, and Henry's seeing on Wen's face that Wen is really confused by their questions. Not like he doesn't have the answer, but it's like he doesn't understand what they're even asking him. And for a second, he just stared back at them when they were done firing off all their questions.

24:45And he's just staring at them. And then he looks at Henry, and he's like, who is Pan? It would turn out Pan Bowen was not just missing. Henry and Lee, after hearing this weird question from Wen, they began speaking to literally hundreds of other students at their school that same day. They just went around talking to everybody, desperately trying to understand where Pan Bowen had gone. Again, despite what Wen said about not knowing who they're talking about, like who's Pan? Like, forget that. Where is Pan? But nobody they spoke to that day knew where he was, one. But more than that, they also did not know, much like when, who Pan was.

25:29Like, they're like, who are you talking about? There is no Pan Bowen. And so Henry and Lee, they literally don't even know what to do. Like, this is madness. And so they got their hands on a list of the students enrolled at their high school. And they found that Pan's name was not listed. And then that day when Henry went home, because what else could he do? Like, he couldn't find his friend. He has no explanation for any of this. He goes home and he starts talking to his parents about what happened to Pan. And like this, none of this makes sense. And his parents are like, who is this Pan person?