
Next Stop: Madness – The Ghost Bus Ritual
Not all buses take you home… some take you far beyond.
It was a dark and rainy night when a call center attendant left her job after the last shift. Unfortunately, she had just missed the final regular bus of the night.
Living in an isolated area, she had no choice but to wait for the only remaining ride — a mysterious one known around town as “The Ghost Bus”, which passed by exactly at 11 p.m. at the last stop on the darkest side of the city, usually with no more than two or three passengers.
She walked to the stop, but immediately regretted it. The place was deserted and terrifying. She wasn’t sure anymore if regular people even waited there — until a few began to show up. At first, she felt relieved… until she looked closely.
The “people” who arrived walked in sync, all with sinister smiles on their faces. They sat near her… and none of them stopped smiling.
Then a little girl handed her a card that read:
“We wear our smiles wide to welcome you.”
The streetlights flickered out. The bus arrived. She tried to speak to the driver about the lack of lighting, but he didn’t seem to hear her at all.
She had two choices: enter the bus… or remain alone in the dark street.
She chose to enter — followed by the smiling faces.
A few blocks ahead, the bus slowed and finally stopped.
She called out to the driver… but there was no response.
Paralyzed, in pitch darkness, she couldn’t see what was happening.
Suddenly, she heard the footsteps of the smiling passengers… rising from their seats… walking closer and closer…
She screamed and begged for help — until the little girl leaned close and whispered:
“We wear our smiles wide… to welcome you.”
Then, her mouth was torn open, from ear to ear…
And her final gift to the night was her involuntary smile — given to death itself.