The Movie Poster in Our Lobby Won’t Stop Changing

Posted by u/LobbyLurker – 1 week ago

I work evenings at a mid-size theater. Nothing fancy — sticky floors, loud teenagers, broken ice machine. Same old crap every night.

But we just put up a new poster in the lobby for an upcoming horror movie, and… something’s wrong with it.

Like, really wrong.

At first, we thought it was just a weird printing effect. During the day, the actors look normal, with neutral expressions, dramatic lighting, typical promo shot. But after the 10 PM rush, when the crowds thin and the lights get dimmer, the poster starts to look… off.

Their smiles grow.

Not by a lot — just enough that you think your brain is tricking you. Their eyes widen, just slightly too far. Their teeth look sharper. I pointed it out to one of my coworkers, and he said, “Probably shadows.”

Except shadows don’t move every night.

By closing, around 1:30 AM, the poster is fully wrong.

Like… the actors are grinning ear to ear, showing rows of teeth that definitely aren’t in the original image. Their pupils shrink to little pinpricks. And the worst part?

They’re looking at you.

Not in the “the eyes follow you” optical illusion way.

No. I mean, the heads are tilted differently depending on where you stand. They look at whoever is closest.

Two nights ago, our opener — Mark — finally got fed up. He said he was going to tear it down and file a complaint with corporate. We heard him muttering, cussing at it, ripping the tape.

Then it got quiet.

We figured he left early. He does that sometimes.

But when we came in the next morning, he was sitting on the floor in front of the poster. Perfectly still. Hands on his knees. Staring up at it.

Smiling.

Not a normal smile either — his mouth was stretched wide, as it hurt. Eyes huge. Not blinking. Not reacting when we called his name. Paramedics had to physically lift him up, and even then, his head stayed turned toward the poster, like his neck didn’t want to move.

He’s in the hospital now. His chart says “unresponsive, eyes fixed forward.” They’re still waiting for him to blink.

Management took the poster down after that.

Or… they tried to.

It keeps showing back up.

Different spot every time. Yesterday it was in the staff hallway. Tonight it was taped to the glass doors, facing inward.

And the actors — their smiles are already too big.

It’s only 9:45 PM.

I don’t want to see what they look like by closing.

Update: The Movie Poster in Our Lobby Won’t Stop Changing

Posted by u/LobbyLurker – 2 days ago

Didn’t think I’d need to post again, but things have gotten weirder. And scarier.

Management “removed” the poster after what happened to Mark. They claimed they shredded it and tossed it in the compactor, and honestly, I wanted to believe them.

Except yesterday, during my break, one of the projectionists asked if I’d put a poster in the booth as a prank.

I hadn’t.

He looked freaked out enough that I followed him upstairs.

And there it was.

The same poster.

Hung behind the projectors.

Like it had been waiting for someone to notice.

But this time, the actors weren’t smiling.

They were frowning.

No — pouting.

Like they were disappointed.

The projectionist — Jay — refused to go near it. He said the faces were “wrong,” like they were mid-expression, about to change again.

He locked the booth and told me to leave it. But that night, during the last showing, we got a customer complaint that the film kept freezing for a single frame. Everyone thought it was a glitch.

Then the projection stopped completely.

Jay radioed down from the booth, whispering, “It’s smiling now.”

We all went up.

The poster’s faces had shifted again — but not just the actors’.

There were new faces in the background.

Blurry, like motion capture errors. But familiar.

One looked like Mark. Same stretched grin. Same unblinking eyes.

When Jay tried to tear the poster down, he froze the moment his fingers touched the corner. Not like he was paralyzed — more like he was listening. His head tilted back the exact same way Mark’s did before they found him.

We had to drag him away.

And the whole time, the actors on the poster were looking past us, straight at the projection windows. Toward the theater.

Almost like they were watching the audience.

We shut down early after that.

This morning, when we opened, the poster was gone again.

We checked security footage. There’s a blind spot in the hallway where it was hung — but right before it disappears, you can see the bottom corner lift on its own. Like someone invisible was peeling it off the wall.

Jay didn’t come in today.

When I called him to check in, someone answered, but it wasn’t him.

It was breathing. Slow. Heavy.

Just like Mark, when they found him.

I hung up, and a minute later, my manager texted me:

“We need you to close tonight. Don’t look at the lobby walls. Just do your job and go home.”

I’m supposed to clock in at 6.

I really don’t want to see where the poster shows up next.