Full Body Chills – “The Shaving Man” (October 31, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this nightmarish tale from Full Body Chills, host Audiochuck presents "The Shaving Man," a deeply unsettling story that blurs the line between urban legend, family trauma, and horrific science. The narrative, delivered in a confessional, first-person style, follows a new subway security guard as he unravels the terrifying truth behind a series of gruesome events in the city’s underground. It's a meditation on identity, legacy, and the horrors that lurk just out of sight—both in the tunnels and within ourselves.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Haunted by Legacy & Loss

• [02:24] The protagonist recounts warnings from his father, a beleaguered stem cell scientist, about people "who just woke up, went to work, pocketed their paycheck, and then went home."
• [02:58] After his father’s death—found violently killed near the end of a subway platform—the narrator takes a job as a subway security guard, perhaps hoping to find meaning or closure.

2. Setting: The Graveyard Shift in the Subway

• The protagonist describes the grim routine of the night shift:
  • [03:29] “My orientation was nothing but a couple YouTube videos. As of writing this, I've been working down there for three days. But after what I've seen, I’m not sure I could make it a fourth.”
  • The subway is a revolving door of drunks, squatters, business commuters, and the “old man in a baggy suit running a razor across his scalp.”

3. First Encounters with the Uncanny

• [07:30] The first odd visitor: a man in a slick, pitch-black suit, with a mannequin smile and a too-tight tie, insists on shaking the guard’s hand. The protagonist refuses to leave his booth, following a note from his boss Winston: “Only leave the booth if you absolutely have to.”
• The man’s eerie persistence and artificial manner set the stage for the horror to come.

4. Family Trauma and Paranoia

• Between shifts, the protagonist’s sleeplessness and anxiety are worsened by memories of his father’s absence and the mysterious, high-security job he held.
  • [11:50] “Dad always had excuses. Some project, some deadline. But his eyes told a different story. Haunted, hollow...”

5. Second Shifting and Faces that Don’t Fit

• [14:30] The suited man returns, again requesting a handshake. His smile starts to “melt” — his features slipping out of place, as if his very face is unspooling.
• After this encounter, the guard starts noticing: “everyone’s face looked a little bit off. Maybe I was the one who was a little too buzzed.”

6. Escalation: Vandalism and a Gruesome Discovery

• [23:00] While chasing a vandal (“mountaineer’s jersey kid”), the guard finds a hidden bucket in the maintenance tunnels.
  • The bucket is filled with “pale, wet, glistening” detached human skin—some with fingerprints, some with parts of a face still attached.
  • Quote: [25:15] “I’d never seen detached human skin before. How pale and wet it was, how glistening pieces clung in damp, sagging sheets...”

7. Corporate Conspiracies and Genetic Experiments

• The protagonist draws connections between his father’s mysterious biotech company (whose logo matches the suited man’s badge) and the horrors in the subway.
  • [28:00]: “Stem cell breakthroughs… cancer cures, eradicating paralysis, erasing the common cold… But the company... never disclosed more information.”

8. The Shaving Man: Transformation Ritual

• [32:30] In a harrowing sequence, the narrator follows the elderly razor-wielding man from the subway platform into a maintenance tunnel.
• The “shaving man” undresses, injects himself with a mysterious substance, and begins peeling and shaving off his own skin.
  • Quote: [34:46] “But it wasn’t mutilation. No. Underneath the skin was something better. Half of a taut, youthful brow, a smooth neck…”
  • As he sheds the old skin, the once-old man transforms into the young suited man — as if “discarding time like an overgrown hedge.”

9. The Confrontation and Aftermath

• Discovered by the half-transformed shaving man, the guard flees. He bursts onto the platform, warning commuters, who only laugh at his apparent madness.
  • Quote: [36:10] “He’s cutting up his own skin!”
• The shaving man retreats into the tunnels, and the narrator escapes, shaken and still running “in my head.”

10. Final Reflections: Cycles and Choices

• The story ends with the narrator wrestling with the secret he’s uncovered:
  • The subway’s skinwalking suit is loose beneath the city.
  • Was his father involved? Does his boss Winston know?
  • Final words: “I wanted this job to be my purpose, to do some good. So now I have a decision to make and I need some advice. My next shift starts in a few hours. Should I go back?” ([37:30])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Urban Legends:

  “I always knew subways were dangerous. For the longest time, me and my friends were obsessed with the Subway Stalker, an urban legend of a monster who lured hapless victims in the way of speeding trains. But that was just a story. I never took it seriously. At least not until dad died.” (03:02)

• On the Grotesque Discovery:

  “A portion of a face lay near the top, an eyelid still attached, half closed in a lifeless wink. The air around it was damp, humid with decay.” (25:16)

• On Transformation:

  “He pulled at ribbons of flesh, like little droplets of blood swelling at the seams. But the wounds were all wrong, almost like he was peeling off a callus… Beneath his exposed skin was just fresh skin, smooth and unblemished.” (34:31)

• On Identity and Purpose:

  “Nothing but a name and a handshake. That’s how dad used to describe him... Now that I know there’s some skin walking suit squirreled away in the darkness of our metro, what am I supposed to do?” (37:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:24] – Introduction to protagonist and family backstory.
• [07:30] – First booth encounter with the uncanny suited man.
• [14:30] – Second encounter; uncanny, melting features.
• [23:00] – Chase after vandal, discovery of the skin bucket.
• [28:00] – Reflection on father’s biotech company.
• [32:30] – Following the old man into the tunnels; the transformation begins.
• [34:30] – The full self-shaving and transformation sequence.
• [36:10] – Public confrontation and escape.
• [37:10] – Final dilemma: reveal, run, or return?

Tone & Storytelling

The narrative is deeply confessional, with the air of a late-night confession or written report. The protagonist’s voice blends exhaustion, dread, and grim humor, with a mounting sense of paranoia and existential unease. The story gradually peels back layers—of the city, of identity, and of skin—leaving the listener with the ultimate question: What would you do, knowing what you can’t unsee?

A chilling tale of urban horror, scientific hubris, and the nightmares that linger just out of sight, "The Shaving Man" is one of Full Body Chills' most grotesque and psychologically charged episodes.