Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Wiki
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The Man In The Middle is a story about a woman who has a scary encounter on a subway train. It appears in More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Based on a common urban legend in New York, London, and Paris. The story was also used in the turn of the century but with a horse car, or a horse drawn bus in Fifth Avenue, New York during a snowstorm.


The Man in the Middle

The Story

It was almost midnight. Sally Truitt had just gotten on the subway train at 50th Street after visiting her mother. "Don't worry," Sally had told her. "The subway is safe. There is a policeman on duty." But that night she didn't see one. Except for her, the subway car was empty. At Forty-second Street, three tough-looking men got on. Two of them were holding up the third, who looked drunk. His head rolled from side to side, and his legs refused to work. When they got him seated between them, his head came to rest on one of his shoulders. Sally thought he was staring at her. She buried her head in a book and tried not to notice.

At 28th Street, one of the men stood up. "Take it easy, Jim," he said to the man in the middle, and he got off. At 23rd Street, Jim's other friend stood up. "You'll be fine," he said, and he got off.

Now the only ones left in the car were Jim and Sally. Just then the train went around a sharp curve, and Jim pitched onto the floor at Sally's feet. When she looked down at him, she saw a trickle of blood on the side of his head and, just above it, a bullet hole.

Stories

Scary Stories
to Tell in the Dark

Strange and Scary ThingsThe Big ToeThe WalkWhat Do You Come For?Me Tie Dough-ty Walker!A Man Who Lived In LeedsOld Woman All Skin and BoneThe ThingCold As ClayThe White WolfThe Haunted HouseThe GuestsThe Hearse SongThe Girl Who Stood on a GraveA New HorseAlligatorsRoom for One MoreThe WendigoThe Dead Man's BrainsMay I Carry Your Basket?The HookThe White GownHigh BeamsThe BabysitterThe ViperThe AtticThe Slithery-DeeAaron Kelly's BonesWait Till Martin ComesThe Ghost with the Bloody Fingers

More Scary Stories
to Tell in the Dark

Hoo-Ha'sSomething Was WrongThe WreckOne Sunday MorningSoundsA Weird Blue LightSomebody Fell From AloftThe Little Black DogClinkity-ClinkThe BrideRings On Her FingersThe DrumThe WindowWonderful SausageThe Cat's PawThe Voice"Oh, Susannah!"The Man In The MiddleThe Cat in a Shopping BagThe Bed by the WindowThe Dead Man's HandA Ghost in the MirrorThe CurseThe ChurchThe Bad NewsCemetery SoupThe Brown SuitBa-Rooom!Thumpity-Thump

Scary Stories 3:
More Tales to Chill your Bones

Boo MenThe AppointmentThe Bus StopFaster And FasterJust DeliciousHello, Kate!The Black DogFootstepsLike Cats' EyesBessHaroldThe Dead HandSuch Things HappenThe Wolf GirlThe DreamSam's New PetMaybe You Will RememberThe Red SpotNo, ThanksThe TroubleStrangersThe HogIs Something Wrong?It's Him!T-H-U-P-P-P-P-P-P-P!You May Be The Next...
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