Letters From the Beyond: Reader Submitted Spooky Stories
- Andi Magazine
- Oct 31, 2025
- 5 min read
We asked, you delivered! A sincere thank you to everyone who submitted their spookiest stories for us to read this Halloween.
The Hallway Light
I don’t usually believe in this sort of thing, but something happened a few years ago that I still think about every Halloween. It was late, maybe around two or three in the morning and I woke up because I heard someone walking down the hall. The sound was soft, like bare feet on old wood. I thought it was my daughter getting up for a glass of water, so I called her name. No answer. The steps stopped just outside my door. Then the hallway light flicked on. Not all the way, just a dim glow like someone had turned the switch halfway. The strange thing is the light in that hall is motion-sensor. It only goes on if someone passes directly underneath it. I got up, opened the door… and no one was there. The air was colder than the rest of the house– really noticeably cold, and it smelled faintly like my mother’s perfume, the kind she wore when I was a kid. (She passed away ten years earlier, almost to the day.)
I checked every room, even the back door, thinking maybe I’d left something open or that my daughter had gone downstairs. Nothing. She was sound asleep. The next morning, I asked her if she’d been up in the night. She said no but then she asked me why I’d come to her room around three. She said she’d seen my shadow standing in the doorway, just watching quietly for a minute before walking away. I didn’t tell her it wasn’t me. Every so often, the hallway light still flicks on for no reason. Always around the same time. Always that same dim glow, like someone just passing through.
C.R.
The Old Radio
This isn't much of a story, but every time I think about it I get the creeps. When my husband and I first moved into our place, we found this old battery-powered radio left behind in the basement. It was heavy, with a cracked leather handle and stations that barely came through.
One night, the power went out, so I decided to turn the radio on for company. The dial only picked up static so we turned it off again. Before bed my husband went to the washroom and suddenly, I heard someone whisper my name. It wasn't my husband's voice and I could have sworn it came from the radio. It only said my name once, then silence. I thought it was weird but I figured I was just freaking myself out because there was storm. I tried to shake it off and went to bed. The next morning, I mentioned it to my husband, laughing it off. He looked pale and said, “That’s odd. The same thing happened to me last night when you were asleep.”
We haven’t been able to get the radio to turn on since. Not even with new batteries.
A.K.
Hi Dad
When my dad was in hospice, I visited every evening after work. The nurses put a chair by the window so I could sit with him while he slept. He passed away in that room on a cold March morning.
A few weeks later, I went back to drop off some thank-you cards for the staff. I passed his old room– it was empty, freshly made up for someone new. But that chair, the one by the window, was turned at an angle facing the bed.
When I looked in, I swear I saw the faint shape of a man sitting there. Not a full figure, just the impression of someone. The curve of a shoulder, the dip in the cushion.
I blinked, and it was gone. The chair was empty again.I told myself it was light. But I still think he stayed until someone else came who needed company.
J.G.
Hello From The Other Side
This isn't so much a spooky story as much as one that makes me feel just a little closer to the people I love who are somewhere I just can't get to.
When I was about 15 years old, I was seeing a boy that went to the same high school as me. Lets call him Greg. We started off great friends, and spent most of our time talking and laughing together. We were born three days apart, and our Pisces personalities quickly intertwined. As much as we tried to spark our friendship into a romantic connection, it just never really fit. A few months after we broke things off, he moved a few towns over to his dads house and we lost touch.
I was 17 when I learned that he passed away one Monday evening through an Instagram post. I was devastated, and tried to navigate the grief the best way I could. I spoke to the people who loved him, spent time with people we once both considered friends. I went to his memorial and kept a picture of him on the fridge of my family home until I moved out.
Shortly after he passed away, I had a dream that I was on vacation in Colorado with my family. We were on a hike, passing through beautiful red rocks, and there he was. Happy and healthy and embracing me in a hug that felt like they used to. We talked about life and about how much I missed him. I woke up in tears realizing that it was only a dream. For a long time, I saw the word "Colorado" everywhere. On license plates, shopping bags, sweatshirts. Slowly, life continued. I stopped noticing Colorado. I started therapy and went off to College. I moved away from the town where I knew him and eventually, the grief got lighter.
I was 20 years old when my cousin got married. It was a gorgeous small wedding in Prey, Montana and my whole family and I were going. My mum organized the trip and I (being the type B personality that I am), packed for the trip on the morning of. I threw my clothes in a suitcase and picked a book from the shelf that I hadn't opened since moving into my first apartment. We showed up to the airport and checked in for our flight to Denver, where we had a layover. I never thought twice about it until we sat down at the next gate waiting to board the plane to Montana. I rifled through my bag to find the book I brought as entertainment, and when I opened it, out fell the picture of Greg that I had misplaced years ago. I was overcome with tears seeing him again, while passing through Colorado on a family vacation. It might not have been the type of hug I dreamed of, but it felt like one nonetheless.
A.M.
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