Insanity Maze

So, hello everyone!

My name, for anonymity reasons, shall be known as Jason.

I'd just like to share with you a very... Disturbing tale of mine...

Now, I've always considered myself the brave, fearless type. I even went as far as to say that I have no fears... None whatsoever... Well... I used to, up until I got that game...

Here it goes...

It all started on a normal saturday night. I had been playing a few of my favourite PlayStation 3 games to pass the time. Games such as: "Twisted Metal," "Ratchet and Clank," "Silent Hill," and the like. I was having a blast, though things started to grow stale rather quickly. It was then I realized that I needed something fresh and new to play, rather than playing the same few games over and over again.

So what do I do?

Well, being the cheapskate that I am, I immediately looked up PlayStation 3 games on ebay that were being sold for very cheap prices. While I browsed around through some action and fighting games, I brushed them off to look for some games to give me a good thrill, some horror games.

I wish I had went for the fighting games instead, as I would never had guessed what'd happen next, nor would I have wanted it...

While scrolling through a list of horror games, one game in particular had caught my eye.

The game was called "Insanity Maze."

Now, being the huge video game nerd that I am, I immediately caught that this was no game I had heard of. Though, as the name suggested, it seemed like a sort of Horror, puzzle game, of sorts, so naturally, I was interested.

I just shrugged the game off as some obscure PS3 game and decided to give it a look. I clicked on the page and saw the game was being sold for free, and was surprised by this.

"Can ebay really have things sold for free?" I asked myself, though I wasn't complaining!

"This game not only looked interesting, but it was free! What a steal!" I thought to myself, immediately clicking on the "Buy Now" button to purchase the game. If only I knew the dangers that this would put me in... I probably would never have even given it a second glance if I did...

The next day, I received a knock at my door around 9:00 a.m. and, curious, I ran down to open the door and see who it is.

When I opened the door, I saw a rather tall, caucasian man who was wearing a top hat obscuring most of his face. He had a clean black suit and tie on, as well as white gloves. The mad had an eerie grin on, but I paid very little attention to it. He was holding a package in his hands.

"Package for Jason" the man said.

"Thanks..." I said to the man, slightly confused that the game I ordered yesterday arrived so early, and that it was hand delivered to me by this... Strange man...

I didn't look too much into it though, as I was just excited to play this new game of mine.

It never even occurred to me that the man had referred to me by my first name, saying it as if he knew me or something...

I ran upstairs anyways after saying thank you once again to the man.

"Enjoy the game..." The man said in reply before departing. There was something about the way he said this that made shivers run down my spine, but I ignored the feeling. After all, this is the man with no fears, right? Right???

So I turned on my PS3, and quickly opened the case of the game, popping the disk in. The case was just a blank cover with the name "Insanity Maze" written in red, with a sort of bloody design to it. That was it, nothing on the back of the case either.

As soon as the game booted up, I was greeted with a black screen with bloody-like red text, reading, "Do you know the definition of insanity?"

I was immediately drawn to this text. There was something about it that made the hairs on my arms stand up, I couldn't explain it.

Once the main menu appeared, I immediately started the game, wondering what I may encounter within.

The game then began to flash many disturbing pictures of insane people spazzing and twitching, with bloodshot eyes, and cuts on their bodies as they pleaded to be killed.

These images lasted for about thirty seconds, and was actually succeeding in unnerving me. Like the brave boy I was, I was excited at how dark and disturbing the game seemed to be, hoping it would give me a good thrill throughout the rest of the game.

I was then dropped into this pure white maze of sorts. I was a bit confused as to the lack of any gore elements in this maze... It seemed... To clean... Blank. I didn't think much of it, as I just assumed that all the gore elements would appear later on.

The character I was controlling was in a first person view, and all I saw were his hands in front of him. He was unarmed.

"Alright... So what am I suppose to do?" I asked myself.

"Find your freedom..." A voice said that, now that I think about it, sounded eerily familiar, as if I've heard it before. The voice sent shivers down my spine, as it seemed like it was replying to my question... But that can't be right? It's just a game... Right?

I shrugged it off, and moved my character forward, down the maze.

"He comes..." The voice said.

Who comes though? I ask myself, before I hear the deafening screech of some unholy demon behind me. I dared not turn around to find out where the sound came from though, and it is then that I realize my goal. Escape this maze before this... thing finds you.

I immediately made my character push off into a sprint. Like any maze should have, I seemed to run into a lot of dead ends, which only built the suspense up even more for me. I was actually enjoying this games thrills.

The shrieks of the creature within the maze seemed to be fading, so I took that as a sign that I was heading in the right direction, and sure enough, I found a pure white door. Upon reaching the door, it began to slowly open upwards, kind of like one of those sci-fi doors you'd see in movies. The door was opening too slow for my comfort, and with every aching second that it took to open, the roars of the beast grew louder and louder. I turned and began to see the formation of a large shadow ahead, as the demon was nearing the corner to the door.

The shadow grew larger as did the roars. I was beginning to get nervous, and found myself yelling at the door to open faster, turning periodically to see whether the monster had reached the corner yet.

Then I spotted a savage, crude claw grab hold of the corner, as I jumped back in my seat. I turned to see the door finally open up, and I immediately run through, not looking back.

When I passed the door, the screen went black.

At first, I thought the game was frozen, and went to turn it off and start again. Then it started to play some more of those highly disturbing clips from before, this time these insane victims were clawing into their faces, severely disfiguring them as each and every one... One by one... Began to gouge their eyes out with their thumbs.

I winced at these actions, feeling very disturbed at the graphic imagery. I felt an emotion I thought I'd never feel... I wasn't sure at the time what it was, but now I realize what it was... Fear.

The clips then cut to one man writing on the wall in his own blood... A message that haunts me to this day... It said:

"Cannot... Be... Unseen." as the person turned to reveal he had no eyes.

I immediately turned my head from this, closing my eyes. For some reason though, I couldn't get that image out of my head, and it was really starting to freak me out.

Maybe I should have stopped the game then and there, as it was getting too disturbing, even for "fearless" me...

Maybe...

But something urged me to continue playing... I can't explain it... It felt like it wasn't "me" who decided this, it felt like something influenced me to do it...

When the clips subsided, I was within a similar blank maze room like the previous. I knew what I had to do now, so I immediately made my way forward.

I walked at a cautious rate, since I didn't know what to expect in this new level.

"Find your freedom..." The voice said. Once he did, I quickened my pace, knowing what was coming next, and sure enough.

"He comes..." The voice says, as I hear the familiar, inhuman shriek of the beast.

I begin to quicken the pace of my character even further, making my way around dead ends and false paths in order to find the door.

After passing a couple of false paths and dead ends, I spotted something off the corner of my eye, and curious, I decided to check it out, after all, I was pretty far from the creature, so I had plenty of time to explore a bit.

I noticed that where another wall should be, were these pure white bars, which naturally peeked my curiosity.

As my character progressed closer and closer to the bars, I realized that they were a means of containing someone... That's when I saw it.

I spotted a deathly pale, thin man sitting in a corner, his scraggly body curled up into a ball as he swayed bath and forth almost rhythmically, while he began to hum a tune that I found familiar, yet couldn't put my finger on it...

On the wall next to him, was a name... Written in the blood of the man...

Once I saw the name, I immediately began to sweat profusely as I gulped down my saliva...

The name said...

"Jason..."

I couldn't believe it... It was impossible... It must have been some sort of coincidence...

Maybe the characters name was Jason or something... Yeah! That's it...

This can't be real...

Yet...

Something in my head said otherwise...

The man in the corner then stops humming as I start panting heavily.

That face... I'll never forget it... It was the same from those disturbing clips...

The man revealed his face, which showed the bloodied, empty sockets where his eyes use to be... The man was almost photo-realistic, even for a video game...

He opened his mouth as saliva leaked out.

What he said.

The same phrase that plagued those clips:

"Cannot...Be...Unseen."

I immediately jump in my seat as my character is struck from behind. He falls to the floor, his vision slowly giving way, as a pair of legs enter view, covered by black pants, as well as black dress shoes.

The last thing I see is a pair of hands wearing white gloves grabbing onto my character as the screen turns black.

I contemplate turning off the game at this point. To take this game and return it to the guy I bought it from. I still remember the ebay username of the man I bought it from...

The Gentleman...

I should have followed my gut, and got rid of the game, yet... My stubbornness got the best of me, as I felt like I needed to prove that I had no fear from this game... Or anything...

I still felt like I needed to prove I was still some fearless individual... In time, I realized just how wrong that was...

When the game loaded, much to my surprise, I didn't start in the white maze level I was use to. I was in a small, white, cubic shaped room, which seemed to have no means of escaping from. There were also a series of vents that circled around the top of the cube.

I tried to move my character, but for some reason, he was stuck in place, nothing I could do would let him leave the spot he was in.

I eventually figured out how to move the camera to see what was wrong, and realized that my character was strapped to a chair.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from behind my character, but I couldn't move the camera far enough to see who it was. I swear I could feel someone breathing down my back while playing, but when I looked, no one was there.

The voice then said...

"Do you know the definition of insanity?"

And then he walks into my view, and what I saw shocked me to the core.

It was him, the man who sold and delivered the game to me... The Gentleman.

But...

I saw him... He couldn't have been a figment of my imagination, because how else would I have got this game?

Maybe he was the creator of this game? But, I got it for free. He wouldn't be making any profit on it... Or...

He then smiled at me... Not my character... He was facing me directly, that evil grin under the top hat covering his face...

I was very unnerved at this point, my hands visibly shaking, as my heart beat increased in speed. I felt every thump from my heart banging against my chest.

Suddenly, a green gas started emitting from the vents, engulfing my character as his vision was blurring to the point where the tall man seemingly known as The Gentleman became nothing but a black smudge.

My screen turned black for a short moment, and I can tell you this... I could have sworn I felt my eyes watering, and my own vision blurring as that happened to my character.

When my characters vision came back, I almost hurled in my mouth.

Everything in the room was now bloody, red, and distorted. Several new people populated the room, but their faces were all missing... Nothing but two holes where their eyes should be, as well as one larger hole for their skinless mouths.

There was something eerily familiar about those people that I couldn't quote put my finger on it.

That is, until they spoke...

"Jason, help us..." They all said in unison... Their voices striking me the hardest.

These people...

I knew them...

My... Family!

I could hardly believe it... I didn't want to believe it...

I was at a loss for words.

I was too appalled to speak.

They all kept their faces fixed on me as they took out sharpened objects, all varied, and began to cut deep into the flesh on their arms, before stabbing themselves in the stomach, blood leaking out of the fresh wounds.

"Make it stop!" I yelled at the screen.

Then the Gentleman, who wad distorted, and demonic looking, approached me, with a mirror in his hands.

"But Jason, the games have only just begun..." He said to me, holding up the mirror to my character's face.

That face, it was mine!

The character WAS me. I WAS the character.

I was shaking wildly now with fright, as I noticed my skin was visibly getting paler.

What- What was this game?

This was no ordinary game... Whatever it was, it was unnatural.

"What's the matter, Jason? Not enjoying the game?" The Gentleman said to me.

I couldn't take it anymore... I had to turn the game off... Before something happened... To me, to my family.

I quickly went to my PS3, and hit the power button, the screen going black as it was preparing to shut off.

But... Just before it shut off, a message appeared, that sent shivers down my spine.

"Find your sanity."

That was it, I was done with the game. I couldn't take it anymore.

The "game" was really creeping me the hell out, and I wasn't sure whether it would eventually start to have a physical effect on me, so I played it safe, and snapped that game disk in half, making sure no one else would get a hold of it.

But that's when I realized just what I had done.

When I snapped it, I caught a shadowy glimpse of something at the corner of my eye, near my bedroom closet, but when I looked, nothing was there.

I also just couldn't shake off this feeling of being "watched." I ignored it, but not because I was dismissing it as nothing. Because I was afraid it WAS something, yet chose not to believe.

This was turning into a nightmare for me, and it would just get worse.

I decided that some rest would be the best for me to shake off these unfamiliar emotions of fright I was experiencing.

But when I turned, I froze.

I noticed that under my blankets, was the outlined shape of a body.

I cautiously approached it, grabbing onto the edge of the blanket with two fingers, as I slowly started pulling it off, before yanking at it at the last second, pulling it clean off.

When I looked though, nothing was under it.

I assumed that my mind was just playing tricks on me... The game took a toll on me.

I quickly hopped into my bed, and covered up.

I couldn't sleep for some reason though, all I could think about was that damn game, trying to figure it out.

What was it?

Why did I choose that of all games?

I guess, I felt like something drew me to the game.

But most of all. What did this all mean?

These questions circulated in my head, as I shifted around in my bed.

Then, to my surprise, my window flew open, which shocked me as it revealed the night sky, as a cold breeze flew in.

I quickly got out of my bed to go shut my window.

As I did so, I felt something breathing heavily down my neck.

I slowly turned around to see what horrors were behind me, but when I did, nothing was there.

I was in such a state of fear, that I began jumping at the smallest things. Crack sounds from the floors, the low humming of insects outside, everything was getting to me.

I shut my eyes, trying to force sleep on myself, but it wasn't working in the slightest.

As I began to re-open my eyes, I realized that my vision was blurred and distorted. It was incredibly watery and I felt an odd burning sensation in them.

I began to panic at the temporary loss of my sight, and rubbed my eyes furiously for about five minutes.

When I stopped, I realized that my vision was back, but there was something much worse before me.

My room, it was bloody and red, the room distorted in some manner, all twisted and unholy.

I yelped in shock at the transformation my room undertook.

I covered my eyes, looking away, but I was drawn back to observe the horrific scene.

When I looked, I spotted a hanging figure in the centre of my bedroom. All I could do was look on in disbelief, as I vomited in my mouth, for the body hanging before me...

Was my own.

That was impossible though... How could I be seeing my own, lifeless self?

The limp body circled around in the air, slowly. Disturbingly.

When it circled back around, I realized that... Where its eyes should be, were two gaping holes, looking as if they were gouged out.

I slowly back up into the wall my bed laid across, not taking my eyes off of the body... My body...

My eyes began to water uncontrollably, and before I knew it, I was crying heavily.

My eyes were blurring out because of the amount of tears swelling up in my eyes, I couldn't make out anything but a blurry figure hanging in front of me.

I thought it was another figment of my imagination, but I could swear I saw my blurred out, hanging body begin to move, removing the rope from his neck, as he began to morph, and change.

And sure enough, it spoke. It had a rough, blood curdling, deep and demonic voice, like some hell spawned child of the Devil.

"Find your sanity." was the only thing it said, before my vision partially came back, revealing the outline of a shadowy figure, who was tall, and wearing what seemed like a top hat.

I then awake from the awful nightmare I just had, sweating heavily before realizing my room looked as distorted and bloody as in my dream.

I blink and rub my eyes before opening then and noticing my room had returned back to it's original state. I let out a sigh of relief.

I then got out of my bed, and immediately went to my closet to change my shirt, since it was soaked with sweat.

I looked in the mirror in my closet as I changed my shirt, staring into my own eyes, as I examined them, touching them as if to make sure they were real.

As I put on another shirt over my head, I look back into the mirror, an realize that, to my shock, it showed me, except I was covered in scars, blood, and I was a pale white colour. My eyes were also bloodshot.

I stepped back, when I noticed that there was a shadowy figure standing behind me in the mirror.

I went in closer for a look, to make sure, sweat running down my face.

I slowly turned around.

When I did, my eyes spotted the figure. His top hat, black suit and tie, large figure, with a slightly hunched posture, as he caressed his white gloves on his hands together.

"Enjoy the game," he said, before he knocked me unconscious.

I didn't know how I got there, but my eyes weren't deceiving me.

I was in it.

The maze from the game...

I got up, as my head throbbed from the blow I got from the Gentleman.

I heard a voice that I was all to familiar with.

"Find your Freedom."

Then, right on cue.

"He comes..."

I was so frightened and disoriented, that I could barely walk straight. I stumbled around as tears ran down my eyes.

I walked past several cells containing several people I hadn't known, but recognized as the people from the clips played in the game.

They all stared at me. Or rather faced me with those empty, bloody holes where their eyes should be.

They all kept saying one thing over and over again as I stumbled past them.

"No escape."

I mouthed out "I'm sorry," to them, as I passed them, knowing I could do nothing to help them.

I entered a section of the maze where there were nothing but a row of hanging corpses, who all seemed to have their faces focused on me as I passed by them.

I then passed by a section where I had to walk over a steel caged area with several prisoners trying to claw at me. They grabbed my legs and made me trip.

"Please... Just leave me alone!" I said to them, but they all just kept muttering "No escape..."

I managed to break free and soon enough, I made it to the mazes exit. I pressed the button to open up the door, but the door opened up at an excruciatingly slow rate. I heard the creatures shrieks as it got closer and closer, and eventually I realized it would be far too late to escape before the creature reached me.

Soon enough, he found me, but it wasn't what I expected.

He was there...The Gentleman.

He just stood there as I realized the door had halted in opening.

He was smiling towards me, as he slowly, menacingly approached me, fixing his gloves on his hands.

He them spoke...

"Do you know the definition of tnsanity?" He said to me.

"What do you want from me!?" I said to him, tears running down my cheeks.

He just laughed at me.

"Insanity, it is to continuously repeat a process over and over, expecting a different outcome each time... Those too far gone, they begin to see, hear, feel things that aren't there.

As you noticed, these "patients" had clawed out their eyes, why you may ask? Well, they had lost sight of everything in their lives anyways. They were plagued by haunting images that they would never overcome, so they chose not to witness these horrors anymore...

But that only made it worse for them. They continued to see them. There was no escape from their fate. They became hollowed versions of their former selves.

They caused bodily harm to themselves, spilling blood as a means of expelling their inner demons.

Eventually, they saw that the only means of escape was to end it... End their suffering. They entered a Hell of their own creation.

Do you understand now, Jason?" He said to me.

"But why me? Why choose me?" I yelled at him, as he just smiled.

"Because Jason." He said, as he grabbed his top hat, lifting it up, and revealing that, much like the others, he had two gaping holes in his face, except that his seemed to contain small white spheres in the centre, as dried blood circled around his eye sockets.

"I feed off of your false perceptions of reality. Your courage is a mere illusion. You suffer from insanity Jason, and I will cure you of it!" He says, as he grabs me, my scream echoing throughout the maze.

So that's my story.

He- He watches me as I write this.

He seems to want me to... He wants to be known.

All those people... He- He pushed them to insanity... Like he is doing to me.

These hollows, are nothing but empty shells without purpose to live... He wants them to end it so he can claim their souls.

When one is on the brink of insanity, everything becomes a blur... You start to forget... Those faceless people. They merely represent how one looses sight of the things he once held dear to him, bringing him to the point where he no longer recognizes it... It all becomes twisted and distorted.

This game was a trap... It gave you a chance to win your freedom, when in reality, it was really taking away your sanity. That was its purpose. To push you to the point where you'll willingly accept death. You'll beg for it... Anything to end the nightmare... Then, when we end it, we are forever claimed by him, where he traps you, makes your nightmares into your eternal prison.

The Gentleman.

He is not one specific thing, nor does he have a definite form...

He is merely what the eyes see.

What the mouth names...

What the mind fears...

He can be anywhere... Anything... Anyone...

He takes an interest in the ones like me, who believe themselves to be without fear. It gives him some sick pleasure to prove them wrong...

Though...

In reality, no one is really safe from him.

I'm losing all remaining contents of my sanity now.

I've already begun to forget my family's faces... All my friends...

They are all probably worried about my whereabouts, though, I sincerely hope they never find out.

I hope they aren't dragged into this Hell as well.

I have to try to pull through though...

The Gentleman mustn't win again...

I have to try and stop him! I am all alone in this, but I still have some belief that I can! I have to...

I need to...

Let me say this though...

If I hadn't known the definition of insanity before... I sure as Hell do now!