Shorts stories & Creepypastas

La Cloche - Beware of the Bells

My name is Caroline, I live in the city for the proximity to my job, but I have always preferred the countryside. Until recently, I loved everything, from the vast green expanses to the sound of the bells. Until recently, yes.

For the Easter holidays, I went to visit my parents in Auvergne. Their house was completely lost in the middle of the forest, I loved that. When I was a child, I roamed these woods without fear and I knew them like the back of my hand. The entire forest had been my playground.

I was happy to see my parents again and to be back in the calm. Just the sound of the church bell reached us every hour, in the distance, barely muffled by the trees. I hadn't been there for almost two years, as my work had kept me busy.

After putting my things down and spending some time with my parents, I decided to take a walk in the forest, like in the old days. It was about an hour's walk to reach a stream where I used to have a lot of fun in the past. I even used to swim there in the summer.

The woods were as clear as they used to be, and it was a real pleasure to go back there. I found all my landmarks, even though some places were more overgrown than before. As the weather was nice, I enjoyed dipping my feet in the stream. There was never anyone in these woods. All these years, I had only encountered animals there.

That's why the bell caught my attention. The sound of a bell, rather close to me. It couldn't be the church bell, it was too far away to be heard so clearly. I have always been curious, so I let myself be guided by this sound, thinking, perhaps, of a lost cow. But after ringing two more times, I heard no more noise. Of course, I waited a bit, but nothing echoed. So I simply turned back and returned home.

When I got back, I told my father what I had heard. It didn't worry him more.

"There are fields all around the forest. You must have seen right, it must be a lost cow. I'll call the local farmers tomorrow to tell them that they have lost one."

Being adventurous by nature, I was already thinking that I could find it myself and bring it back home, like a heroine.

I got up very early in the morning, while the sun was not yet up. I wanted to find this lost animal and bring it back home. I just hoped it was still in the vicinity of the stream. When I arrived at the water point, the sun was barely perceptible. I ventured a little further, listening carefully. And it was the worst mistake of my life. After only a few meters, I finally heard the sound of the bell. I immediately headed in that direction. The tinkling sounded several times, leading me further and further, until I heard it completely behind me. I was surprised. I strained to listen forward to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and the sound was heard behind me. Just behind. So I turned around. First, I saw just a bell, a little further between the trees. It was dark, but the few rays of the rising sun reflected in the copper metal. I squinted to see who or what was holding this object.

I began to distinguish a thin and even skinny body, similar to a greyhound. At first, I thought of a lost dog that might have gotten tangled in a fence with a bell, until the body stood up on its hind legs. This thing was tall. Now at a sufficiently high height to be illuminated by the sun, I saw it very well. It had a deformed body, standing straight, like a human, even though the canine illusion just before was just as perfect. It had no skin, and its raw flesh oozed a yellowish liquid. Its neck extended about a meter, curved and thinning, to which the bell was attached. I was petrified with fear. I tried to convince myself mentally that I was delusional, that it wasn't real. Until the bell rang again, snapping me out of my stupor. Because at that precise moment, its belly split open into a huge mouth, sporting equally disproportionate fangs. A hoarse cry escaped. It was at that moment that I realized that from the stream, there had been no more noise. It was the first sound that reached me, apart from the bell, for at least an hour.

It took a step in my direction, and finally regaining my senses, I ran away.

I didn't know where I was anymore. I didn't know this part of the forest. It had led me far away. As I ran, I heard the tinkling behind me. It was chasing me. No matter what it was, it wanted to harm me, that was certain! I risked a glance back. It was on all fours, its body looking like that of a dog again. It even had a tail, which I hadn't seen when it was standing up. It was fast. Too fast. I tried to turn several times to try to throw it off, but it seemed to anticipate every move. I had trouble breathing. HIt was going to catch up to me.

"(scream, from a distance) Caroline!"

It was my father's voice calling me. He seemed panicked, while the bell continued to ring furiously behind me. I heard it very close. Almost as if it were against my ear. As I risked a glance back, my foot caught on a root just above a small rise overlooking the road. My father was only a few meters away, and saw me tumble down those few meters. The thing didn't follow me. It stopped abruptly. Lying on the ground, I saw the bell, as if it were looking at me. Then it disappeared, returning to the forest. I lost consciousness at that moment.

I woke up in the hospital. I would have wanted to say that I had imagined everything, but my father confirmed the story to me.

"I saw that thing when you fell. I heard the bell. I was so scared, I thought I had lost you."

"How did you find me?"

"When I called the first farmer, he asked me for more details. I didn't understand right away, but I explained to him that you had heard a bell near the stream, and that you had gone back to see it this morning. He then told me that it was too late for you. That's when he told me this strange story. It started about three years ago. His animals started to disappear. He thought of wolves, although they wouldn't have been able to take away cows, until he found one of them near the stream, with half of its body missing. It wasn't the work of a pack. He could perfectly distinguish the bite marks of an unimaginable size. He even found a tooth, still stuck in the poor animal. So, with all the other farmers in the area, they gathered and went to look for the beast that had done this. They found the thing that chased you today. And one of them was killed. He told me he had shot at it, more than once, but the thing seems to be immune to bullets. They ran away, but they never dared to tell what had happened. Officially, the one who died was devoured by wolves. So I dropped the phone and followed the road calling out to you. I am... so relieved to have found you."

I wouldn't have believed this story if I hadn't seen that thing with my own eyes. Once I recovered, I went to talk to the local farmers about it. They just nicknamed it "La Cloche." (The Bell, in french)

They told me they had heard the sound several times since they had met it. While they had never perceived it before. Some even saw the creature again, as it took one of their animals away.

I can no longer hear a bell without trembling now, and I am terrified of the forest. After this incident, my parents moved to join me in the city, they who had never lived anywhere but in the countryside.

So, if one day you want to go to Auvergne, especially, do not go into the forest. And if you decide to go anyway, if you hear a bell, run away.