Traditional tale

The House That Listens

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Legend / folkloreOriginal CURSED fiction. Not set at any real location.

Recorded narrator · sound starts when you tap Listen.

  1. Every old house makes noises at night. The pipes tick as they cool. The floorboards settle. The wind tests the windows. That is what grown-ups tell you, and mostly they are right.
  2. But my grandmother said that some houses do something else. Some houses listen. They learn the sound of your footsteps, your cough, the way you say goodnight.
  3. And once a house has learned you well enough, it can make those sounds by itself. Late at night, when you are already in bed, you may hear yourself walking on the landing.
  4. If that ever happens, she said, do not get up to look. Just say goodnight, clearly, so the house knows where the real you is.
  5. So say it now. Goodnight. Good. Now listen very carefully, and tell me. Did something just say it back?