Seven Steps

Note: I'm not the authour of this story. I've translated it from original Japanese into English. Please do NOT copy and paste it somewhere else on the web without my permission.

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I heard this from my friend at college.

It's a common story but there was an apartment that had one room where no one stayed for very long.
Everyone left within one week of renting it.
The room was on the first floor in the corner of the building and you could reach it by climbing a flight of stairs with seven steps.

The landlord felt uncomfortable about the whole affair and it bothered him a lot, but one day he got a tenant who stayed well over a week.

That made the landlord feel happier but just to make sure everything was alright he went to the room to check on the tenant.

But no one responded to the landlord's knockings.
The landloard felt something was amiss and he rang up the police. When the police arrived they broke into the room together.
Inside, they found the tenant's dead body.
The cause of the death was unclear and to find out what had happened the police then went around asking for information.
They managed to talk to some of the previous tenants of the room but none of them was willing to talk about the room.
However in the end they managed to get one person talking. His story went like this:

Every night a child's voice was heard.
On the first night after the tenant moved in, the voice said:
 'Oooone step Iiii've cliiiimbed...'
He wondered what it was but nothing else happened and so he just ignored it.
But the next day he heard the same voice say:
'Twooo steps Iiii've cliiiiimbed...'
On the thrid day it said: "Threee steps Iiii've cliiiiiimbed..."
And so it went on the same way, on the fourth, the fifth and the sixth day.
The voice was clearly getting closer.

There were only seven steps on the stairs.
All previous tenants ran away fearing what might happen if it reached the seventh step.

And it appears the only person who knows the answer to that is the dead tenant.

Comments

Adorably Dead said…
That's neat. I've heard a couple of tales where I live that go that way. There's also a really funny 'scary' story that is the same as this called 'Wait 'Till Martin Comes.' You should google it if you have not heard it already somewheres.
anomaly said…
there's a place in my honetown (anchorage, ak) called 'gravity hill' and if you stop at a certain point in the road on this hill, your car will begin to roll. uphill. the story behind it is different every time i here it, but there all the same in that they include a witch doing unspeakable things to children. what pushes you up the hill? i think you know it as well as i do.
Anonymous said…
I know, well, I've heard seven is unlucky number in Japan and that it is related to bad things - I forgot what.
Why is it always a kid in these stories?
I'm not complaining, just curious...
@Adorably Dead: I read 'Wait 'Till Martin Comes.' Cool! ;)

@anomaly: You live in Alaska? Sounds exotic!
If I ever visit your place I'll try to go up the gravity hill. :D

@Jasmine Tea: Is it? I've never heard that seven is an unlucky number in Japan. I think it tends to be thought of as a lucky number, actually.

I dunno, dear. There are a lot of other stories with adult ghosts but I just haven't translated them? :)
ohaiadit said…
Hi, Saya!

My friends and I (three of us) discovered your website through creepypasta by chance (note that we're not creepypasta readers—it's a long story) three days ago and have been reading all of your stories ever since. We admire your stories; they are very well written and they totally have the chilling factors to make us shiver, especially the punchline in the end. Love the way you write them! This one is a very good story too, the setting reminds us of your other story The End of a Love Affair.

Please keep writing stories and post them often, Saya :D We'd definitely recommend your site to our friends.

(By the way, we'd love to see you write about ghosts in Japanese universities and schools, Saya, we hope you write about them soon :D)

P.S.
Sorry for the long comment and greetings from Indonesia!
Luna said…
Wow, I love this story. The scary factor is there and it does freak people out :D

Thanks for the translation! :)
Yuki said…
Whoa this story did scare me.
I wonder what the child did to the dead person.
Anonymous said…
The ending was a good punch in the face! I really like this one lol! Very creepy.
Simon said…
I also found this website through creepy pasta, may I add. I love this blog <3 and this story was so good!
Tani said…
Brilliant as always, Saya san!
I don't think anyone is ever going to stay in that room again... I wonder why the last tenant stayed. Maybe he thought it was a joke?
Tia said…
Saya chan, neat story! in greece we have a similar story with a possessed doll but it happens at the same day, not in seven...great though, great job!

PS: are there no more My Master Series chapters?
Coco said…
Very well written story! :D That shook me a bit. The abundance of child ghosts is probably because at their age, they are vulnerable and naive to dangers of reality. And I must resist getting a phobia of stairs by reading it. XD
Anonymous said…
Hello Saya. I discovered your blog months ago through a dear friend of mine. I haven't commented before, but I've thought about for a while now. I love freaky stories, and I love to be scared so your blog is perfect for some weekly scaredy-catness.
It's great that the stories are japanese, as I've been very obsessed with Japan before and the stories are a good way to get closer to their culture, somehow. There are many stories I really like, for example the man with the polaroid camera. It was very simple, but sure scared you (my cousin has expirienced something similar!).
Anyways, I really liked this story and I think that's what made me comment. The child voice seemed just... haunting.
Jazzy The Man said…
Knowing me, on the seventh night I would just spend the night at a friends house. XD Or force them to be there with me.
tori said…
Small children ghost stories are some of the most creepiest in my opinion!
By the way, Saya my roommate showed me your blog an hour ago and since then I have been completely engrossed in reading all of it. I love your blog!
@Adit: Welcome! Don't apologize, I love long comments! lol Thank you dear. :)

@Luna: It's always my pleasure, dear. x

@Yuki: I hope it didn't scare you too much :)

@Anonymous: Glad you like it.

@Simon: Really? It seems I owe to Creepypasta! lol

@Tani: Thank you dear. Yes, I wonder too; I wouldn't have stayed, I'm too much of a chicken!XD

@Tia: sweet Tia. I didn't know you are from Greece. I once had a friend from Cyprus. She was a wonderful girl.

Oh My Master Series are so popular, aren't they? I will try to post one soon, dear. ;)

@Coco: People are showering me with so much praise these days! I feel so popular! LOL

When I was a teeanger I had a phobia of stairs; whenever I could, I used lifts instead of stairs to go up floors XD. But now I lead a healthier life and use stairs and avoid lifts..(oh god I'm getting sleepy and I don't know what I'm writing anymore lol)

@FANTASAI: well how wonderful to hear from you, my dear.

What!? You are into Japan!!? You must be very weird..oh, sorry! No, you must be a very fine person!

I'm glad you like my stories. Come back again! ;)

@Jazzy The Man: When the world is becoming duller and duller every minute, how great it is to have someone as jazzy as you!

But I'm glad I'm not one of your friends! XD

@tori: Welcome tori. Thank you and enjoy your time here :)
Unknown said…
I really liked this one. Spooky!
BygPhattyPlus said…
I think that if I had lived in that apartment, I would have set a camera up on the stairs to see what was happening and make sure it was a live feed to a site or something where people could watch and see what happens.
Kitsune said…
wow, its a tori here!

i'm going to make a chicken katsu!

:p anyway, smart teenants, they all just run away and survive
Qu said…
i'm reading your old story, Saya-san!