Boy Wakes up at Night Hearing Mother’s Voice, Sees a Hooded Stranger in Their Room

An eerie black figure stood in the dark motel room lit by the moonlight when the boy opened his eyes in the middle of the night. His heart skipped a beat when his mother turned around and stared at him with eyes wide open.

The boy visited Catalina Island with his family after a series of sad events took a toll on his mental well-being. He was looking forward to spending a good time with his family, not knowing what was waiting for him in the dark motel room.

After setting foot on the island, the boy and his family realized they visited in the wrong season. The place was nearly empty besides the locals and a few tourists strolling.

OP (Original Poster) and his family visited Catalina Island in late November when it was cold. They first wanted to get rid of their luggage to explore the place, so they headed towards their motel.

Before jumping into the main story, the boy explained the motel's structure. It consisted of buildings arranged in a horseshoe shape, connected by a common walkway. OP explained the location of his room:

"The entrance to the motel was essentially one of the points of the horseshoe, and if you walked dead straight, you’d reach the room we were given"

After dumping their luggage in the room, OP and his family strolled to the mainland and explored the tourist attractions. They spent the entire day there and started their journey towards the island after sunset.

She was surprised to see him in bed because she had been talking to someone else, thinking it was him.

While narrating the incident, OP revealed that he struggled with depression because of certain life events, including his close friend's death. His depression kicked in as he walked in the dark towards the island, so he covered his head with his hoodie and started walking ahead of his parents.

He told them he wanted to sleep, so he entered the motel room and immediately jumped into his bed. He remembered drifting into unconsciousness when his parents entered the room. He recalled what happened next:

"I then woke up to my mom saying my name. A harsh whisper."

He heard her voice again, but this time it sounded more concerning. Confused, he rolled over and asked, "What?"

His mother turned around and stared at him with eyes wide open. She was surprised to see him in bed because she had been talking to someone else, thinking it was him.

OP and his mother turned their heads towards where she was looking previously and saw a mysterious dark figure standing near his parents' bed. The moonlight entering through the window wasn't sufficient to figure out the unknown being's identity.

Horrified, OP and his mother stared at the hooded figure looming over them. They tried screaming for help, but in a low, shaky voice, all that came out from OP's mother's mouth was her husband's name.

They had expected the dark figure to advance towards them after hearing their cry for help, but it did something unusual. It crouched in the corner, which seemed "animalistic" to OP. He recalled:

"I knew two things: the hooded figure had been standing over us sleeping, and it’s not acting in any sort of way that I can understand."

A few moments later, OP and his mother were standing outside the door, watching his ex-military dad running further into the hotel, searching for the entity who was inside their room while shouting at the top of his lungs, threatening to kill him.

OP ran in the other direction towards the hotel entrance, but he didn't find the intruder there. Instead, he felt everyone was suddenly silent behind him. He rushed back to the hotel room and saw his father walking towards the room with his head low. He heard his father say:

“It’s a [expletive] kid.”

It turned out that a 20-year-old boy, having a physique similar to OP's, had mistakenly entered their room thinking it was his. Coincidentally, OP's parents had forgotten to lock the door, and his mother thought it was him entering the room after a depressive episode.

She called OP's name multiple times, expecting the kid to respond. Instead, he got frightened and crouched when he realized he was in the wrong room. OP later saw his mother hugging the boy while he was crying. He got scared after being chased by an ex-soldier.

OP posted his story on Reddit, hoping the boy would read his post and write his side of the story.

Meanwhile, ParameciaAntic shared a similar story in the comments section about a scary "mountain man" who was caught stealing things under people's noses by trapping them with mind games.

After stealing things from people for a month, they started believing he was a "master criminal" with special training. One day, the people caught him and discovered his true identity. The Redditor explained:

"He was a mentally ill homeless guy who was an abuse victim and terrified of all human contact. He was like 5'5", rail thin, and malnourished and had been stealing simply to stay alive."

Most people found OP's story funny, and some Redditors said his post was a rollercoaster ride. They were glad OP was safe and that no one was harmed.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you think OP's parents made a mistake by leaving the door unlocked?

Sleeping with the door unlocked while staying at a motel in a new place doesn't sound like the best idea. OP's parents mistakenly left the door open, and the consequences could have been much more dangerous. Do you think leaving the door unlocked was a big mistake on their part?

Do you think OP's parents should have informed the boy's parents that he got lost?

Some people might think OP's parents should have escorted the boy to his room and informed his parents that he had entered their room by mistake. However, others might disagree, considering the boy was old enough to take care of himself. What do you think?

If you enjoyed reading this story, you might like this one about a little boy who woke up in the middle of the night and saw a shadow in his room. No one believed him when he told them about it later.

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