We Don’t Hire People That Tall

Posted to r/nosleep

I’m 17, and I close at a Chuck E. Cheese off the highway. It’s one of the older ones—the kind with carpet that never looks clean and hallways that weren’t designed with cameras in mind.

Night shifts are weird, but predictable.

Or they were.

About two weeks ago, we started seeing Chuck E. walking around after hours.

Not the normal stuff—no birthday appearances, no waving at kids. This was after closing. Lights dimmed. Arcade off. Just staff cleaning and counting tills.

At first, I thought it was maintenance testing a suit or something, but something was wrong; he was too tall.

Not “platform shoes” tall. Not “someone’s stretching” tall. He had to duck under door frames. His shoulders brushed the walls. The head of the costume nearly scraped the ceiling tiles.

And he never spoke. No jokes. No muffled “hi, folks.” No gestures. He just walked the halls slowly, hands hanging at his sides, shoes thudding softly against the floor. The footsteps echoed long after he passed. I asked another closer who it was, and she said, “I thought you knew.”

I asked the shift lead, and he frowned and said, “I figured corporate sent someone.”

The thing is—corporate always tells us. Always. New performers get paperwork, badge access, and locker assignments.

This one didn’t use the break room.

Never clocked in. Never clocked out.

One night, I was taking trash down the hallway behind the stage when I saw him standing at the far end, half-lit by a flickering bulb.

He tilted his head, not like a character. Like a person listening.

I froze. He didn’t move toward me. He didn’t wave. He just stood there until the light went out.

When it flickered back on, the hallway was empty.

But the footsteps continued.

I finally asked the manager directly, and she went quiet, then she said, very carefully, “No one knew who was hired.”

I asked her who was wearing the suit, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled up the security footage.

We watched the cameras together. Front entrance. Game room. Hallway by the party rooms.

Every time the costumed figure turned a corner— The feed cut to static. Not lag. Not blur, just full-screen snow, but the audio kept recording.

Slow footsteps, heavy breathing, and fabric brushing against walls. The static would clear seconds later. Empty hallway.

The manager shut the monitor off and said, “If you see him, don’t interact.”

I asked why. She said, “Because he’s already here.”

Tonight, I’m in the office typing this while waiting for my ride. The hallway outside was dark, and I could hear footsteps.

They stop right outside the door.

Something is standing there. I can see the shadow stretching under the frame—too long, bending at angles shadows shouldn’t.

The handle just twitched.

If I don’t update, tell the next closer one thing:

If Chuck E. is taller than the ceiling— That isn’t a costume.

And it doesn’t need to be hired.

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