Creepypasta Stories

I Found A Mask In The Basement

By: Nathaniel Lewis

I pulled the mask over my face and crept up the stairs, my excitement mounting with each creaky step. I felt the heat of my own breath, unable to fully escape through the mouth slit. When I got to the top, I cracked opened the basement door and peered into the living room through two round eyeholes. She wasn't there, but I knew where she was. I could hear tap water running. She was in the kitchen.

I slipped off my shoes and walked slowly, carefully, across the hardwood floor. The rush of running water grew louder, and then I heard the sound of someone talking. Did she have visitors? I took a few more quiet steps. No. She was listening to a podcast over the speakers.

I stuck my head around the corner, and there she was at the sink, her back towards me, her long brunette hair pulled up into a bun. I took a deep breath. It was hot in there, under that heavy mask. But I couldn't take it off. Not until it was done.

It was time. I moved quickly until I was right behind her. I reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She snapped her head around and as she got a look at me, I smiled behind the mask to see her eyes go wide in fear. I was prepared to end it there, but she screamed, and brought a knee up... right into my balls. Oof.

As I was hunching over, she gave me a shove and I crashed into the island behind me. I slumped to the ground in agony, and looked in real fear as she twirled around, grabbed a knife from the sink, and raised it up.

"Hold on!" I groaned, pulling my mask off. "It's me!"

When she saw me, she froze, the giant knife still there up in the air. I could tell that my wife was not very impressed. "What the fuck are you doing?!" she asked. "Where the fuck did you get that creepy mask?"

I coughed, still holding my hand up in the air in a plea for mercy. "Down in the basement. I think it was dad's," I said. "I was... just trying to give you a little scare. For fun."

"Jesus Bill," said Debbie. "I was ready to kill you. And honestly, I'm still not quite decided on that. There's not a jury in America that would convict me... not after they saw that creepy-ass mask."

"Put the knife down, honey," I said.

She threw the knife back into the sink and bent down. I was still crumpled in pain on the floor. "Let me see that," she said, picking up the mask and then examining it.

I guessed that it was made of stone. It was perfectly round, with two round eyeholes at levels just different enough to cause a sense of unease. There was, as mentioned, a slit for a mouth. A row of sharp teeth was etched above and below the mouth... and then another row on top of those.

"It's heavy," said Debbie. "And looks ancient. Do you think your father found this on one of his exhibitions?"

"Yeah," I said, starting to recover a little. "It was in a stash box down in the basement, along with a knife that looks like it's made of bone. I was gonna bring the knife up with me, but now I'm glad I didn't."

"We should get it assessed," said Debbie, running her fingers over the mask. "Could be worth something."

"I'm sure it is," said, getting to my feet on wobbly legs. "But I was hoping we could keep it. At least for a while. As a memento of dad. I mean, if we ever need money, then yeah, we'll look into selling it. But we don't need money right now, not after the inheritance... and, well, I just still miss him, you know? Plus, it's a cool mask, isn't it? A good conversation starter."

She handed the mask back. "It's creepy. It scared the shit out of me." She sighed. "If you want to hang it up somewhere, it's got to go in your study. Someplace where I don't have to look at it."