I Unlocked the Door for a Dead Woman

I Unlocked the Door for a Dead Woman

Author: Randall Conrad

Chapter 1: The Locksmith’s Game

I’m a locksmith. I have a habit of secretly sabotaging the locks on residents’ doors ahead of time.

It’s a dirty little secret, and honestly, sometimes, the guilt gnaws at me, sharp as a paper cut I can’t ignore. In this line of work, you do what you have to do. In the city, competition is everywhere—guys are fighting for scraps, and people barely notice your ad stuck up in the lobby. So I make my own luck, even if it means playing dirty. I tell myself it’s just business, but that excuse never feels clean. Nobody gets hurt, I tell myself, just a little inconvenience, and hey, everyone needs a little help now and then, right?

Then, I stick my little locksmith business cards on the wall.

They’re bright neon orange—practically screaming for attention, wedged between pizza coupons and flyers for dog walkers. Cheesy, but effective. I slap them on the walls by the mailboxes, on the laundry room door, even on the bulletin board next to notices about lost cats and the upcoming neighborhood block party. People might roll their eyes, but when they’re locked out, they remember Mason’s Locksmith Service.

When residents find themselves locked out, they call me for help.

And I show up, smiling, toolbox in hand, acting like their hero. It’s a win-win, at least for me. Folks are grateful at first, until they see the bill, but by then it’s too late to complain.

That’s how I ensure a steady stream of customers.

It’s not exactly the American Dream, but in a city like this, you do what you have to do to get by. Even if it means skirting the edges of what’s right.

That is, until tonight, when I got a call from someone who was already dead.

A chill crept up my spine just remembering it, even now. Some things you can’t unsee.

You may also like

My Wife’s Corpse Won’t Let Go

My Wife’s Corpse Won’t Let Go

You can outrun the law—but not the dead. Carter Hensley thought he’d covered every trace of his wife’s tragic accident, but one midnight checkpoint changes everything. Hiding her body in his trunk, Carter’s mind unravels as guilt and panic spark hallucinations—or is it something more? When a vengeful, twisted vision of his wife claws her way from the darkness, Carter must fight for his sanity, his life, and his last chance at redemption. As the horrors close in, help is a single phone call away—if it isn’t already too late. When guilt turns flesh and bone, can you ever truly escape what you’ve done?

His Dead Wife Waits in Our Bed

His Dead Wife Waits in Our Bed

When a haunted widower begs for help, a streetwise tarot reader must confront the furious ghost of his wife—risking everything to break the curse before it claims them both. But the dead don’t let go easily, and one secret could doom them all.

The Night Grandma Swung the Dead Girl

The Night Grandma Swung the Dead Girl

When a call reports a little girl and her grandmother swinging in the dark, officers arrive to a nightmare: the child is dead, but the old woman keeps pushing her, lost in a memory loop. As grief, guilt, and dementia blur reality, a video reveals the girl’s final moments—her face twisted in terror, her corpse letting out an impossible, haunting laugh. Was it just a tragic accident, or did something unspeakable happen on the playground that night?

My Dead Wife Lives in Our House

My Dead Wife Lives in Our House

After her father vanishes, Lillian Harper inherits his strange small-town antique shop—and his secret supernatural business. When a desperate, wealthy client begs her to solve the chilling mystery of his haunted mansion, Lillian is drawn into a family riddle where one room—and one soul—shouldn’t exist. The truth will force her to risk everything, even her own sanity, for a shot at finding her missing dad.

Buried for Him, Bound by Death

Buried for Him, Bound by Death

Death was only the beginning—now I’m stuck in the afterlife’s endless line, desperate for a second chance. Forced into a ghost marriage and buried alive, my spirit lingers, tethered to the world by the wish for justice. When a wild bouquet leads rookie detective Quinn Harper to my lost grave, he becomes bound to my fate by a single broken bone. As Quinn investigates the tangled secrets of Maple Heights and my family’s hidden betrayals, every revelation draws him deeper into a web of lies, love, and vengeance. Can the truth set my soul free—or will the living and the dead both pay the price for what happened thirty years ago?

Buried My Daughter Alive for My Son's Future

Buried My Daughter Alive for My Son's Future

Twenty years ago, I locked my daughter in a cabinet and walked away, haunted by guilt ever since. Now, with my son's high-society wedding on the line, the past claws its way back—my daughter's voice echoing from the grave, demanding to be found. If I can’t face the horror I buried, my family’s future—and my soul—may be lost forever.

I Died, But I Stayed for Him

I Died, But I Stayed for Him

Death didn’t end my story—it set the stakes. I woke as a ghost, memories erased, bound to the man I once loved: Dr. Harrison, the forensic pathologist tasked with unraveling my brutal murder. As he examines my ruined body, I drift helplessly beside him, piecing together the truth of my death—and the life we almost shared. But the clock is ticking: seven days to reclaim my memories or disappear forever. Each revelation brings heartbreak, rage, and the aching hope that love might survive even death. When Harrison is abducted by my killer, I must make an unthinkable sacrifice—trading my own afterlife for a chance to save him. Will justice or love win, or will I vanish before I can say goodbye?

His Mistress Escaped the House of Corpses

His Mistress Escaped the House of Corpses

Aubrey was lured to a frozen farmhouse by the town’s golden boy, only to be thrown into a nightmare of captivity and horror. Forced to seduce and steal for Derek—the charming monster who kept dozens of bodies beneath his floorboards—Aubrey’s only hope is to claw her way out before she becomes the next corpse. But as she confesses the truth to a rookie cop, her final secret could bring down Maple Heights forever.

My Wife’s Corpse Won’t Let Me Go

My Wife’s Corpse Won’t Let Me Go

You can’t outrun guilt—or the dead. When Carter Hensley, bestselling horror novelist, is stopped at a midnight DUI checkpoint, his heart pounds for more reasons than one: his wife’s corpse is hidden in the trunk. As the trooper’s questions close in, Carter’s mind frays—until a chance encounter with a fan in uniform lets him slip away. But terror is waiting on the open road. His wife returns, twisted and relentless, forcing Carter to flee into the skeleton of an abandoned building, haunted by memories and hunted by something that may not be real. As guilt, grief, and horror converge, Carter must decide: can he trust anyone to save him, or is he doomed to be destroyed by his own secrets? When the line between hallucination and reality shatters, will Carter’s final confession be heard—or will the truth stay buried with his wife?

Trapped With Her Victim’s Corpse

Trapped With Her Victim’s Corpse

I broke into the wrong apartment, only to hide from the owner—while her last victim’s body dangled inches above me in the closet. Now I’m trapped, forced to watch her drug and butcher her next target, terrified I’ll be next. My only way out is past the killer who already claimed my best friend.

Locked In With the Killer Next Door

Locked In With the Killer Next Door

When her AI butler warns of a murderer inside her smart apartment complex, Harper thinks it’s a glitch—until she sees the headless corpse on the rooftop cam. With every resident a suspect and the building on lockdown, the killer is hiding in plain sight—and Harper’s odds of survival are dropping fast. The worst part? The murderer is one of her neighbors in the group chat, and someone just texted: Don’t trust anyone.

My Neighbor’s Wife, My Secret Sin

My Neighbor’s Wife, My Secret Sin

Through a peephole in my shabby apartment, I watched the beautiful Natalie play the perfect wife by night—and sell her love by day. When I stole her hidden cash to buy my own bride, I set off a chain of betrayal, violence, and murder just a wall away. Years later, with a family of my own, I come face-to-face with the woman whose secrets—and body—were once closer to me than anyone ever knew.