"The Youth's Emotions" creepy pasta story

There are certain moments in my life that are etched into my memory with vivid detail, and I'm not sure if this is a blessing or a curse, as there are also times that I would prefer to forget completely. One of the most significant of these memories is from a play that I saw. While I have enjoyed many stage shows and movies, there was something special about the live actors and the energy of a live performance that made it feel more real to me. From a young age, I was drawn to the magic of the stage and made a habit of seeing as many plays as I could. I eventually moved to the city to be closer to the action and even the cost of tickets was not an issue for something that I loved so much. One play in particular stood out to me: "Hearts of the Young." I had seen the poster for the show on the streets near a popular theatre in the city, and what caught my eye was that it was free. While some may have assumed that the show would be subpar due to the lack of cost, I was always open to experiencing free entertainment."

"The "Hearts of the Young" show was presented by the Masked Midnight Players, a group that I had never heard of before. I tried to do some research on them prior to the show, but I was unable to find any information about them, leading me to believe that they were a relatively new group. As the night of the show approached, the posters advertising the free performance became more and more abundant, and it seemed like I couldn't walk a single block without seeing an advertisement for "Hearts of the Young" on Saturday."

While I understand that a group has the right to promote themselves, the advertising for "Hearts of the Young" became excessive in my opinion. They placed ads on cars, distributed flyers to every mailbox, and even posted posters on private property, which started to become a nuisance for some. When the day of the show finally arrived, it was clear that the advertising had been effective, as the theater was relatively crowded despite the late start time of 10:30 PM. While the show was free, which likely contributed to its popularity, I wasn't expecting a high level of production quality. When the lights dimmed in the theater, I was surprised to see the curtains immediately open to a lit stage with a single actress seated on a chair in the center. She wore a bright yellow dress, white gloves, and black high heels, but what stood out most was the pink mask covering her face, which depicted a woman with an excess of poorly applied makeup. The actress sat on the stage for about 10 seconds, staring at the audience, before starting to softly sob."

"During the scene, the woman on stage kept glancing to the left, offstage, as if looking at something or someone. It didn't seem to be part of the show, and she would quickly turn back as if she had done something wrong. This went on for about 30 seconds, with her sobbing growing louder at random intervals. I was ready to leave the theater at this point, but the curtains closed abruptly for the next scene. The audience was confused and it was clear that the play was going to be poorly done, but the strange elements were still holding their attention. I was considering leaving, but I decided to see what else the production had to offer. When the curtains opened again, the scene was similar to the previous one, with the same woman in a chair, crying, and a new actor, who appeared to be male, standing behind her. He was dressed in a black formal suit with a red and yellow tie that seemed out of place. Like the woman, he was also masked, but he wore a large gas mask. It was impossible to see his face, but I could sense that he was anticipating something, occasionally looking down at the woman with intent."

"The stage remained in this configuration for about 20 seconds before the curtains closed once again. At that point, I had decided to leave the show, as I had seen better places to spend my time. I was making my way to the exit when the curtains opened to a completely different scene. The change seemed too fast, as the curtains had only been closed for a few seconds before opening again. Everyone gasped at the sight of the woman on stage, still in the chair, but now screaming. Her dress was torn, and there were visible cuts on her legs and torso. She was tied to the chair, and her scream was muffled, as if something was covering her mouth. Behind her, there were 11 other actors and actresses, although it was difficult to distinguish who was male or female due to the masks they wore. They all wore formal attire similar to the gas mask man, who was now sitting at a piano on the left side of the stage. The characters around the woman also wore masks, ranging from strange to downright hideous."

"The masks worn by the other actors and actresses were best described as disfigured faces arranged in unimaginable ways. Some had noses in their foreheads with large, bloodshot eyes where their mouths should be, while others were missing certain facial features entirely, with just mouths or eyes scattered about their heads. They were all turned towards the woman in the chair with an eager anticipation. The gas mask actor seemed to look at each of them and then into the audience before starting to play the piano. He played an overly upbeat and unfamiliar tune that reminded me of a annoying Christmas jingle one might hear constantly on the radio. I only heard the specifics of the song for a moment before the curtains closed a few seconds later. As the curtains closed, the music continued to play, but it was drowned out by a series of stomps and sounds of struggle. The woman's screams were louder than before and there were sounds of the chair breaking and a crowd pushing and shoving each other. It all happened in a short period of time, so I apologize if I am not being very specific."

The audience gasped and screamed as faint sounds of ripping and gnawing, along with occasional aggressive growls, came from behind the curtain. The woman's scream stopped after a minute or less, and everyone in the theater was completely silent. Nobody knew what to make of the production or if it was even a real production at all. I was hoping that it was some sort of organized joke or a disturbingly good show designed to make a sadistic point. The piano tune continued to play before the next scene opened, or what was left of it. The curtain opened to reveal an empty stage, with the gas mask man still at the piano. There were bloody pieces of the chair and smears of blood all over the center of the stage, but there was no sign of the woman who had been sitting there previously. The gas mask man finished playing and then looked at the stunned audience, bowing formally before exiting to the right of the stage. The curtains closed and everyone was left in silence, hoping for some sort of conclusion to this strange show, but there was none. Once the gas mask man left, the theater was filled with panicked whispers and calls for the family and police."

"The police arrived quickly, conducted a brief investigation, and evacuated the theater. The theater was closed for more than a month after the incident, and I had no intention of seeing another show for a while, especially after the events of that night. I, along with I'm sure the entire audience, had nightmares about the show. I came to the conclusion that it must have been some sort of setup designed to scare its audience in the most realistic way possible. I almost fully believed this until the authorities released their report on the incident. It turned out that the crying and screaming woman in the chair was not an actress, but a woman who had gone missing shortly before the show. She had only been missing for a few hours, so there had been no reports of her disappearance. Nobody was able to identify her due to the mask she was wearing on stage, and her muffled voice was assumed to be from some sort of mouth gag. The blood left on the stage was confirmed to be real, and the actors involved in the production have not been identified. When the police searched backstage after the show, they found no traces of the suspects, except for a single note left on the exit that read: 'The hearts of the young always taste best.'"