Creep Radio

Midnight Ghost Skaters

• Master of Creep

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The rhythmic sound of wheels against wood can be comforting during a bustling day at the skating rink. But imagine hearing those same sounds at 1 AM when the building should be empty. This is exactly what happened to Matthew, an 18-year-old who took what seemed like a simple night job cleaning an ancient roller rink outside New Orleans.

Working alone in the 70-year-old facility wasn't for the faint of heart. The building itself was a symphony of unnerving sounds – rats scurrying through ceilings, the howling wind making the structure seem alive, and machinery that clicked and clunked without warning. Matthew had almost grown accustomed to these noises when something different caught his attention: the unmistakable sound of roller skates circling the empty rink, accompanied by the sensation of air rushing past as though someone had just whizzed by at high speed.

When Matthew's friend John witnessed the phenomenon too, they approached the rink's owner who revealed the heartbreaking truth. The ghost was likely Clyde, a special needs adult who had skated there daily for over twenty years before life circumstances and tragedy led to his death. Clyde's connection to the rink proved stronger than death itself, as demonstrated during an ill-fated late-night séance when not only did the skating sounds intensify, but a pinball machine mysteriously activated on its own – as though Clyde were still enjoying his favorite pastimes. Some passions truly are eternal, and some spirits never leave the places where they felt most at home. Listen now to discover why Matthew decided that some jobs aren't worth any amount of walking-around money – especially when the workplace already has a permanent resident who never clocks out.

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Speaker 1:

AHHHHH, welcome to Creep Radio, where we dive deep into the dark, the bizarre and the unexplained. Dim the lights and lock your doors. Prepare to get creeped out because the unknown is calling. And we're about to answer. I'm your host, the Master of Creep. Well, hello my little creepies. It is I, the Master of Creep. Tonight's story is a haunted roller rink with ghost skaters.

Speaker 1:

Well, let's get started, shall we? My name is Matthew and I turned 18 years old last April. I had just moved to a small town outside of New Orleans, louisiana, named Slidell. At the time, I was still living with my mother, who had just been transferred to work in New Orleans, and I was planning on going to a local college to get a degree in art so that I could find a job in display advertising, something that I had an interest in. My school didn't start for another four months, so I decided to get a job and save a little money in the meantime. My mother had saved for me to go to college, so all I really needed was some Wham money. You know, w-a-m. Wham money. That means walking around money. Well, I found a job through the local paper and decided to apply for it.

Speaker 1:

It was a combination security and cleaning up after hours job at a local roller rink. This roller rink must have been at least 70 years old. It looked like it was falling apart, but people still went there and skated on the weekends. During the week, the roller rink was rented out for local meetings to small groups such as AA meetings, while there was even a Clown Ellie meeting once a month. My job was to set up the chairs for the meetings and pack them away on Thursday nights, because Friday through Sunday the roller rink was actually used for skating sessions. This was a part-time job four nights a week, working Monday through Thursday from 8 pm until 1 in the morning, so I was working about 20 hours a week. So I was working about 20 hours a week Now. My duties were mostly cleaning emptying the trash and cleaning the small concession stand area, dust mopping the roller rink and cleaning up the game room. Now the game room consisted of several old style pinball machines, two pool tables, an air hockey table, and sometimes I would stay after work and spend another hour to playing pinball machines. You see, I had the keys to them so I could play for free.

Speaker 1:

This was a big, old, dark skating rink and it was pretty spooky, especially at night, because we only kept one or two lights on Just enough for me to be able to see to clean the place. This place made so much noise at night it took several nights to get used to it. At times the air conditioning would kick on and the entire place would rattle. There were rats living in the drop ceiling and you could hear them running the entire length of the roller rink at night. Now, after working there for a month, I got used to the spookiness and the strange sounds.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes one of my friends would drop by around midnight and we would stay for a few hours playing free pinball games. My friends would often say what the hell is that? And I would have to stop and explain the strange noises. And I would have to stop and explain the strange noises. Just about everything there had its own noise. The ice machine sounded as it dunked ice in the middle of the night. The fluorescent lights had worn out the ballast and they would be buzzing. And then there was the wind. When the wind would blow, you could hear the entire building howling like a pack of wolves. Every once in a while I would hear a strange noise that I couldn't identify, would hear a strange noise that I couldn't identify. Well, it sounded like something was turning on and making noises from beneath the floorboards of the skating rink. I couldn't figure it out. What was this sound? But I soon lost interest, assuming that it was just another strange sound from an old building. Assuming that it was just another strange sound from an old building.

Speaker 1:

On one particular night my friend John dropped by about midnight to hang out with me and to play pinball. Later he was sitting on the chair in the middle of the rink when all of a sudden he jumped up and yelled ''What the hell, dude'', do you hear it? And I said what? And John said someone is skating around on the floor. But no one was there. It was that same strange sound, again coming from the floor. John said it sounded like someone was skating around the track. And you know, as soon as he said that, I realized he was right. It did sound like someone was skating around and around the rink. And to make matters worse, when the sound came by us we could actually feel a soft breeze of air, like someone had just skated by at high speed. John said let's get the hell out of here. And I agreed. So we both left and stopped off at a 24-hour Denny's to eat. We talked about the old roller rink and John said you know, that place is haunted right. And I said I think you're right.

Speaker 1:

The next day was a Friday and I went by the roller rink early to pick up my paycheck and talk to the owner. I told him about the night before and he didn't seem that surprised. And that is when he informed me that the roller rink had a ghost who sometimes scared people and he went on to say that he knows who it is. He said that's probably Clyde. I asked who's Clyde and he said Clyde was my best customer for more than 20 years. He came here every single day to skate back when the roller rink was open, seven days a week.

Speaker 1:

Clyde was a special needs adult who lived with his father and he was in his early 50s and his dad would drop him off at the roller rink with a few dollars so that Clyde could skate and get lunch and maybe a drink. His dad would pick him up about 6 pm and take him back home. A few weeks after Clyde turned 55, his 83-year-old father died of natural causes and because Clyde was severely autistic, he was moved to a state mental facility where he could be cared for. Clyde hated his new home and he managed to escape. One night he walked from the state hospital back to the roller rink. He broke in and started skating until the sun came up. The police picked him up about 10 in the morning the next day after he was discovered and took him back to the hospital. Well, the next night Clyde hung himself using his bedsheets and ever since then Clyde's spirit has been living at the roller rink and skating after hours.

Speaker 1:

After hearing this story, I talked to John and we decided to throw a little party at the skating rink after hours. John was 21 and old enough to buy beer. Plus. He was really popular with the girls and invited a couple over after work. John invited Carol and Heather and the girls showed up at one in the morning, just as I was getting off work. We had a pizza delivered and everyone sat in the concession area where there were chairs and tables.

Speaker 1:

John said Matthew, tell the girl about Clyde. So I told the girls and they seemed to be intrigued and started asking lots of questions. But I told them everything that I knew and Heather said Well, maybe we should just ask Clyde, let's do a seance and see if Clyde will show himself. We sat around the table holding hands and Heather started to ask Clyde to appear. The girls were kind of giggly and I got the feeling that they didn't really believe my story. But that all changed pretty quickly when the sound of roller skates started coming from the rink area. Carol said Holy crap, do you hear that? Well, the giggling turned into fear and concern. Carol said Then, without warning, one of the pinball machines in the game room started up as though someone had dropped a quarter in it and it was racking up points just as though someone were standing in front of it and playing.

Speaker 1:

But there was no one there At this point. The girls were jumping up and screaming and heading toward the front door, followed by John and I. Well, I guess the party's over. I didn't even want to go back in the building to get the rest of the pizza. Clyde had managed to scare the hell out of everybody. Well, I quit the job the very next day and the next time I get a job it'll be during the day, with other people around. Thanks for listening to Creep Radio. Don't forget to subscribe and share with your friends, to subscribe and share with your friends. For more links to other creepy content, visit us at creepradiocom. Oh, but wait, we're not done yet. Listen to this.