Welcome, dear listeners, to scary stories told in the dark.

I'm Malcolm Blackwood, your host and storyteller.

And you know where I'm from, we don't do bedtime stories.

So, if that's what you're expecting, you're in the wrong place. If it's

terrifying tales you're after, well, then I've got just the thing. So, get comfortable,

settle in, turn off the lights, if you dare. Your night is about to get a whole lot darker.

Besides, who needs sleep anyway?

Good evening. You're listening to Scary Stories Told in the Dark.

I'm your host, Malcolm Blackwood.

There's a particular kind of terror that doesn't announce itself with claws or fangs.

It doesn't stalk you from the shadows,

or whisper from beneath the floorboards.

Instead, it smiles at you.

It calls you by name.

It knows exactly how to sound like someone you trust.

Tonight's story is about that moment,

the one we all dread,

whether we admit it or not.

The moment when something familiar becomes wrong.

Because monsters don't always hide behind masks.

Sometimes the real horror begins after the mask slips. Before we begin,

a brief word of thanks. Scary stories told in the dark is made possible by listeners like you,

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