Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 283 - By The Water

Podcast: Scary Stories and Rain
Host: Being Scared
Date: November 8, 2025
Theme: Eerie and unsettling true tales taking place near water or involving haunted objects, delivered with calm narration and rain ambience—ideal for sleepless or contemplative nights.

Episode Overview

Episode 283, “By the Water,” immerses listeners in chilling, atmospheric stories rooted in lakeside wilderness, haunted cottages, harrowing encounters by the pond, and a cursed painting. The host, Dane (as Being Scared), curates a selection of unsettling supernatural and real-life brushes with terror, each story laced with introspective reflection and classic campfire fright.

Key Stories and Insights

1. The Crimson-Eyed Creature by the Northern Lake

[02:20–15:13]

Story Summary:

A seasoned outdoorsman recounts a terrifying night camping alone in the ancient forests of northern Ontario. Believing himself rational and grounded, his world upends when he’s stalked and chased by a predatory, otherworldly panther with glowing crimson eyes.

Key Points:

• Vivid recollections of childhood nightmares involving a black panther, bridging dream and reality.
• Lifelong love for the wilderness, steeped in family heritage.
• Encounter with intense, unnatural silence—“...the woods held their breath, concealing secrets as old as time itself.” (04:00)
• The presence: “A bloodcurdling howl...a haunting lament that seemed to reverberate through the very trees themselves.” (06:40)
• Description of the creature: “Its fur was as dark as the depths of the abyss, and its eyes, two crimson orbs, burned with an otherworldly fire.” (08:05)
• Psychological and physical torture: the path “seemed to stretch to double, maybe even triple its length.” (13:00)
• Survival—escape marked by disorientation, lingering fear, and years of recurring nightmares.

Notable Quote:

“I am dead certain of two things. One, if that thing got a hold of me, I would have been ripped apart ... Two, I have way more of those nightmares of being mauled by a panther these days.” – Narrator (14:55)

2. Lowe’s Cottage: England’s Most Haunted Home

[15:47–22:41]

Story Summary:

A former management consultant, seeking to restore an old cottage, unwittingly purchases “England’s most haunted house”—a place with a notorious supernatural reputation and a history of chilling phenomena.

Key Points:

• The cottage hunt is driven by a bittersweet connection to a deceased father.
• Discovery of Lowe’s Cottage’s reputation after purchase—“How does it feel to have bought England’s most haunted cottage?” (17:36)
• History of reported phenomena: cold spots, moving objects, “a creeping presence like a mist,” and a “weeping wall.”
• Reporter and clergy visits disrupted by technical failures and inexplicable moisture.
• The haunting feels “almost as if Lowe’s Cottage had a personality and was testing me in some way.” (20:35)
• Owner eventually makes peace with the cottage, attributing gratitude to its role in personal healing.

Notable Quote:

“In spite of its notoriety, I’m very grateful to Lowe’s Cottage ... it acted as a pivot between an unhappy time in my life and my more fulfilling existence.” – Narrator (20:59)

3. The Man with the Hatchet at Foster Pond

[22:41–30:11]

Story Summary:

While enjoying a romantic nighttime stroll with his girlfriend Emilia, the narrator notices a man walking with deliberate, angry strides—holding a hatchet, not in costume, and getting closer.

Key Points:

• Initially confused for Halloween hijinks, the threat quickly feels real.
• Tense, careful exit from the pond: “Hey, don’t worry about it ... just get up and let’s go right now.” (26:05)
• Safely inside, as the man reaches their bench, he erupts into a scream: “It was filled with torment and anguish, anguish and frustration…” (28:04)
• The couple never learns the man’s intent, nor revisits Foster Pond after dark.

Notable Quote:

“The scream was loud enough to give me goosebumps. ... Emilia and I never went to that pond after dark ever again.” – Narrator (28:17 & 29:42)

4. The Self-Portrait of Thomas Mallory

[30:16–end (~39:00)]

Story Summary:

A collector acquires an obscure artist’s melancholic self-portrait at auction, only to become haunted by unsettling phenomena—shadows in reflections, unexplained noises, and a series of escalating incidents culminating in a nightmarish, supernatural revelation.

Key Points:

• Instant, emotional attraction to the painting; wins it at auction easily.
• Subtle creep of paranoia begins upon bringing the painting home—manifested as shadows, feelings of being watched, and doors left open.
• Nocturnal disturbances: footsteps, cold sensations, shadows behind frosted glass.
• Frantic research unearths the painter’s tragic backstory and obsession with a lost muse: “He would keep searching for her even after death.” (36:50)
• The ultimate horror: discovering the self-portrait has changed and now displays the narrator’s own likeness.
• Story closes without resolution, underscoring the eternal lure and danger of haunted art.

Notable Quote:

“The painting had changed. The painter, Thomas Mallory, had disappeared … the canvas ... was now facing me, containing a new painting, a new portrait. A portrait that looked exactly like me.” – Narrator (~39:00)

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Dream-Reality Blur: “Nature always finds a way to humble those who think they have seen it all.” (05:59, Story 1)
• Host’s Recurring Nightmare: “If I didn’t die in there, I would surely go mad if I did not escape.” (12:35, Story 1)
• On Lowe’s Cottage: “The place seemed capable of changing moods, though I never had any sense of a malignant entity.” (20:25, Story 2)
• Pure Terror: “...the most terrifying scream I had ever witnessed escape a human body before.” (28:08, Story 3)
• Obsession with Art: “Perhaps I was overthinking it ... That, after all, was the beauty and pain of subjectivity, of art, of interpretation.” (34:02, Story 4)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:20] – Northern Ontario panther-entity encounter begins
• [15:47] – Haunted Lowe’s Cottage restoration saga
• [22:41] – Hatchet-wielding man at Foster Pond
• [30:16] – The haunted painting of Thomas Mallory

Tone & Atmosphere

The host’s narration remains calm, introspective, and tinged with melancholy. Each story is rendered in vivid, sensory language, leveraging both supernatural dread and psychological suspense. The soft rain background and deliberate pacing accentuate the unsettling, immersive atmosphere throughout.

For New Listeners

This episode is a prime example of the “Scary Stories and Rain” blend—serene yet stirring, each tale oscillates between plausibly real and hauntingly unexplainable, lingering long after the rain has faded. Perfect for listeners seeking authentic chills mixed with thoughtful storytelling.