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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Emergency-Bicycle496 on 2024-11-23 14:47:53+00:00.

i used to laugh it off when my five-year-old would talk about “the whispering man.” kids have wild imaginations, right? she’d tell me he would sit by her window at night and whisper things to her—stories about “lost kids” who needed friends. she’d say he was “lonely” and “didn’t like grown-ups.”

it was creepy, sure, but i brushed it off. i’d say things like “wow, that’s spooky!” or joke that she was going to be a writer someday. i figured she was piecing things together from cartoons or stuff she overheard.

then, about a week ago, i heard it too.

i was up late, sitting on the couch in the living room, scrolling on my phone. it was around midnight. i suddenly heard this faint, scratchy voice coming from her room, barely above a whisper, like someone was struggling to speak. my heart started pounding, but i told myself it was just the wind or some late-night TV echoing from a neighbor’s house.

then it got louder. this strange, raspy murmur, almost rhythmic, like someone softly chanting. i walked quietly down the hall to her room, barely breathing. when i peeked in, i saw her sitting up in bed, staring straight at her window.

when she noticed me, she put her finger to her lips, like she was warning me to stay silent. then she whispered, “don’t scare him, mom. he gets mad when you see him.”

i felt a chill crawl up my spine. her window was open. i could’ve sworn i had locked it before bed.

the next morning, i asked her about it as casually as i could manage, but she just shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “he likes it when you don’t believe in him,” she said. “it makes him stronger.” she didn’t say anything else, just went back to her breakfast like it was the most normal thing in the world.

i wanted to chalk it up to a dream, maybe even my imagination playing tricks on me. but ever since that night, i feel like there’s something wrong in our house. i keep finding her window unlocked, no matter how many times i check it. and the whispers… sometimes i hear them even when i’m alone. late at night, just barely there, but constant.

i started sleeping with my door cracked open so i could hear if she got up. last night, i heard her talking again. when i went in, she was sitting on the floor by her window, having what looked like a full conversation in whispers.

i asked her, “who are you talking to?”

she didn’t look at me. she kept her gaze fixed outside, like she could see someone just beyond the glass. then she said, “he doesn’t want you to know him, mom. he only talks to me.”

that’s when she finally looked at me, and her eyes… i don’t know how to explain it, but she looked different. empty, almost.

i don’t know what to do. every night i hear him. every night her window’s unlocked. i’m terrified to sleep, but even more terrified to stay awake, waiting to hear that voice again.

has anyone else gone through something like this? i’m not sure if i’m losing my mind, or if something’s actually here.