INTRODUCTION BEFORE THE MAIN STORY
This urban legend is often associated with the United States, with its roots in Chicago's public housing projects.
It is about a vengeful spirit named Candyman.
They say Candyman's origin can be traced back to a man named Daniel Robitaille, a Black artist in the 1800s whose only crime was falling in love with a white woman.
It was a sweet love story though, however their forbidden relationship was found out and ended up leading to an awfully painful punishment which only Daniel had to bear.
He was tortured by a mob, then his hand was cut off, and he was smeared with honey and left to be stung to death by bees.
His spirit became so consumed by rage and vengeance that he transformed into the evil figure known as Candyman.
They say if you say his name five times in front of a mirror, he'll appear...
And he'll kill all who summoned him.
Most people only know him from the movies and think he's just a scary bedtime story or mostly, just a Halloween dare.
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I was staying in Chicago for college this summer, and I found a cheap apartment on the north side.
Yes it was old and drafty, but it was just good enough for a broke student like me.
I was heavily relying on drugs for my nearly blind eyes; I'd had to start taking them this month when contacts and glasses stopped walking for me.
You see, right now, Trial drugs were the only things between me and permanent blindness----- aside surgery which was too expensive.
So with all that, I needed the cheapest rented apartment in Chicago and was happy to get this place, nevermind the fact that it was 3 miles away from college.
However even with the low rent, I couldn't afford to live in it alone and still pay for trial drugs, so I hunted for a roommate until I got one.
Her name was Serena.
I can't say she was as low on cash as I was, but splitting the rent sounded like a good deal to her.
Besides, she said the house was exactly what she wanted.
You see, she was obsessed with paranormal stuff.
She had all sorts of strange things she claimed had spiritual powers; Ouija boards, haunted dolls, 'cursed paintings', music boxes that always played by themselves and even a cracked mirror she claimed came from an abandoned asylum.
Honestly they creeped me out.
I mean, Serena was quiet and gave me space when I wanted to, even letting me have my privacy instead of snooping around like some nasty roommates do as I've heard from my coursemates.
Hell, she's even lively and bubbly; definitely not what I'd have expected from a spiritual wacko----- no offence.
... But still, none of that changed the fact that her 'collections' always gave me the chills.
Currently I was reading one of my textbooks for my mid semester exam, when suddenly I heard the sound of rolling thunder.
Looking up from my book to the window, I sighed.
Looks like there was going to be a thunderstorm today.
"Hey roomieeee," Selena called in a singsong voice.
I turned to see her come into my room with a mirror in her hands, the flashing lightning from outside casting flickering shadows over her face and making her grin look mischievous.
"Guess what I found?" she said, holding up the mirror.
I groaned, "If it's another haunted thing, keep it away from me."
"It's from Cabrini- Green," she said proudly, ignoring my statement.
"The original projects where the Candyman legend started. I bought it from an old antiques shop just before they tore down the last buildings today."
I sat up, my stomach twisting.
I know that legend, yes thanks to Serena I went from not knowing what an urban legend is to knowing so many.
... And the Candyman's legend is not a nice one at all.
"Serena, that's not funny."
"I'm not joking. Look," She told me and flipped the mirror around.
The glass was all clouded with age, with dark stains creeping around its edges.
"They said it used to hang in one of the abandoned bathrooms."
'Oh no, here we go again', I thought as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Just as I'd anticipated, Serena begins to talk all about its history and origin.
... And as usual I nodded while she kept on talking.
She never gets tired of retelling these legends.
"Let's play the game," she said suddenly after a small break in talking.
"What game?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.
"You know," She smirks.
"Say his name five times."
I shake my head. "No way. It's just… creepy."
"Are you scared?" she teased.
However I don't answer her and instead roll over on my bed and pull the blanket up over myself, abandoning my open textbook.
"You do it if you want, just don't drag me into it."
"Oh come on..." She whines, but I don't respond to her.
Finally she sighs and leaves.
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I must've fallen asleep along the line because sometime later, I woke up with a start.
Groggily and sleepily confused, I tilt my head, noticing then that my window is still open and it's pitch black outside.
I heave, vaguely wondering what time it is.
And it's at this point that I hear the sound of someone whispering.
"Serena?" I whispered, rubbing my eyes.
However she doesn't reply me, so I sigh, heaving again as I push myself up from the bed on my arms.
It's dark in here so I stretch my hand out to the switch on the wall and flick it on, but the light stays dead.
Puzzled, I move towards the door, following the sound until I get to the living room.
Just as I reach there, lightning flashes, and for a split second, I see Serena standing at the center of the room with candlelight flickering on her face.
"Serena?" I call, my voice all grouchy from sleep.
"Why isn't there any light? I thought we paid our lightbill yesterday."
I'm not far from her when I speak, but I'm sure the distance is short enough fir her to hear me.
However instead of answering me, she says;
"Candy… man…"
I blink confused, "Sere------"
Lightening chooses that exact moment to flash for a second time, and it's then I get a glimpse of the cloudy mirror she's facing.
"Candy man."
My heart drops. "Serena, stop!"
I know I told her she could do what she wanted, but for Pete's sake, taking strange 'paranormal stuff' and gathering them in your house is one thing.
But trying to actually summon a spirit or whatever is a totally different thing all together.
"Stop it Serena!"
Sleep has gone from my eyes now as I shout out to her, but she didn't even turn around or act like she's hearing me.
Instead she keeps on chanting, until the fifth time.
Suddenly the candle goes out, and the room is plunged into into darkness.
I pause, worried and looking about slowly and carefully, but nothing happens.
After a while, I'm still on edge and only a tad bit sleepy when suddenly there's a buzzing noise.
Then I'm anxious; because that is NOT the sound of one bee, it's dozens, hundreds maybe and it's coming from everywhere.
I hate bees.
... They scare me.
Whipping around, I turn just in time to see them---- and just as I thought there're several of them; on the walls, the floor and...
I raise my head up instinctively, ... on the ceiling.
"Serena?" My voice trembles.
"What the hell is-----"
My words get cut off as I literally swallow them down my throat, ducking to the floor when the bees suddenly charge at me.
In the process, my right elbow collides roughly to the uncarpeted cement floor.
"Fuck!!!!!!" I groan, cussing.
The impact has pain shredding through my nerves in my elbow, sending me into temporal blindness as I squeeze my eyes shut in anguish.
I'm not one to curse but... fuck!
I whimper and raise my arm slowly from the floor, cupping it with my left palm.
Unconsciously I swing it, searching to see if I'd fractured a bone or two, but just before I can properly check, Serena screams.
Jerking, I shoot up into a crouching position, only to wince and look down again at my elbow.
Now I give it a slight shake, wincing but feeling a bout of relief that it isn't fractured.
Again Serena's voice reaches my ears but in the dark living room, I can't see anything.
Stretching my right hand out in front of me, I wake it about blindly in search of her.
"Serena? What's going on?"
She didn't answer me, but then I could hear shuffling, then movements and she was screaming again.
Panicking I wondered if there was a burglar
What was going on?!!
I staggered helplessly and urgently in the dark till my legs stepped on something and suddenly light shone up from the floor.
Looking down, I found out that it was Serena's phone and bent to pick it up, quickly using my left thumb to scroll at the screen, intending to turn on the touch light.
However I couldn't; her phone was locked with a password, and couldn't allow me to access the touch light unlike my phone that didn't need that.
With nothing else to do and Serena still screaming, my hands automatically turned to flashlight to face her, and I froze in shock, goosebumps flooded my skin.
She was swatting at her arm, jumping and even kicking, trying to rip something off from her skin.
Rushing to her, I stopped short in horror when I saw thick, black, writhing bees swarming her body.
They'd gone after her when I'd ducked to the floor, and now they were crawling into her mouth, her eyes and... all over her face.
"Jesus!--- FUCKk!!" I screamed, back away from her just as she fell backward, slamming into... the mirror and causing the glass to shatter, scattering across the floor a
Open mouthed, I took scared baby steps to were Serena was now lying, and grabbed her arm with my right hand, trying to pull her away.
But the moment I touched her, I gasped, pulling my hand away in shock before placing it back on her.
Her body was cold, like COLD, almost as if she has spent six hours in a freezer.
And...
Her skin was... sticky?!
Horror, fear and panic began clawing at my throat the instant my nose recognised the smell of the sticky substance to be honey.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, No, nO, NO!!"
I screamed, dropping the phone to the ground without thinking as I tried to wipe my hands on my clothes.
I was allergic to honey.
Frantically I wiped down harder on my clothes, wincing as my palms began to burn, stinging with pain sensations running through it from the honey.
It felt like acid was melting me from the inside
Then suddenly, right behind me, a deep voice grumbled;
"Be… my… victim."
I jerked, turning around and unintentionally grabbing the phone from the ground with my right hand.
The screen was off now, so I had to press down on the power button to turn the screen on.
However when I tried to, my right hand was numb and couldn't move, my hand was...
...Stuck? To the phone??
The screen has turned on now, and there was a shuffling movement in front of me but I was distracted by my stuck right hand which was now hurting and throbbing in pain even more than before.
I began to pull the phone off my palm but it wouldn't bulge instead it hurt again and again.
I was scared, wincing and on the verge of tears from what I was feeling.
I forgot everything, couldn't hear anything ----- not even the bees I hated------ and could only remember, could only focus on the pain I was now writhing in.
Suddenly I heard a chime and turned my attention to the phone only to be surprised that it was now unlocked.
I must have drawn the right pattern while struggling with the phone.
Taking the opportunity, I scrolled through the screen and turned on the touch light.
... But its rays were blocked by my right palm that was still stuck to the phone.
Sucking in a harsh breath, I began pulling the phone off from my hand, my gaze falling on the sight of my swollen palm which was now round, the size of a base ball, with long meaty, bloody pieces of my stretched skin connecting to the back of the phone and my palm.