A wet, bloodshot eye stared back at Jiro from the crack above his bed. Terror seized him as somehow a face squeezed through the tiny crack. Matted, greasy long hair framed the pale white face. Two large eyes and a wide grin filled with hundreds of narrow, sharp teeth dominated the otherwise featureless face. The creature clacked its teeth and giggled as it continued unfurling from the crack. Long, spindly arms and legs unfolded from a thin torso, ribs and hips protruding. It was naked, and Jiro could see an appendage, small and pathetic, dangling between its legs. The creature settled on the bed and crawled up Jiro’s frozen form. It put its face near his, still giggling.
Alternate Names: The In-Between, bugi man.
A subtle fall of dust from the ceiling. Creaking in the ceiling over your head. Finding the lights on when you come home, even though you swore you turned them off before you left. Pets hiding. The hair raising along your arms and the back of your neck as you enter a room, unable to shake the feeling you are not alone. An almost inaudible whisper, like someone is talking to themselves. A quiet, tittering laughter in the middle of the night, as if someone is making a joke at your expense. These are signs that a ceiling man is haunting your home.
The internet urban legend calls them ceiling men: predatory entities that have adapted to hiding in human homes, secreted away in the smallest spaces. They are named for their preference for making lairs above the beds of their potential victims, so they can watch them sleep. But they can hide in any narrow crack or space. They steal victims into these small places to feed on them. Those who have escaped encounters with a ceiling man report feeling its presence over days and weeks before ever seeing it. No one knows why they wait to snatch victims, other than that they seem to find stalking their victims amusing.
Despite online speculation, the creatures’ origin remains unknown. A 2009 viral message board post is the first known description of an encounter with a ceiling man. Since then, reports have proliferated across social media and paranormal podcasts. There were widespread sightings of a similar creature among Japanese schoolchildren in the early 1980s, though this was dismissed as a case of mass hysteria.
Though they prefer to stay hidden, a ceiling man can be lured out by destroying its hiding place. Exposed, a ceiling man is clumsy and awkward. It will flee combat, fighting only to defend itself.
Special Features
The Hidden: Spotting a ceiling man in its hiding place is near impossible. An investigator must make a Spot Hidden roll with a penalty die at Extreme difficulty to see it. Success will provoke the monster.
Crawling: A ceiling man can climb vertical surfaces and along ceilings with ease.
Impossible Geometry: A ceiling man can squeeze through any opening wide enough to fit a sheet of paper (about 0.003 inches). It takes a full round to enter or exit. Any victim held can also be pulled in.
Predatory Presence: Humans feel uneasy around a ceiling man, even if they cannot see it. Any human within 10 feet of a ceiling man feels watched and an ever-present, gnawing sense of dread. This costs the victim 0/1 Sanity per day.
Ceiling Man, hiding watchers
| Characteristic | Average | Roll |
|---|---|---|
| STR | 80-85 | (3D6+6) ×5 |
| CON | 50-55 | 3D6 ×5 |
| SIZ | 80-85 | (3D6+6) ×5 |
| DEX | 50-55 | 3D6 ×5 |
| INT | 50 | (2D6+6) ×5 |
| POW | 70 | 4D6 ×5 |
Average Hit Points: 14. Average Damage Bonus: +1D4. Average Build: 1. Average Magic Points: 14. Move: 7.
Combat
Attacks per round: 1 (claws and teeth)
A ceiling man prefers to ambush victims and drag them back to its hiding spot. They only fight when forced. Even then, it will attempt to escape. It will swipe with its claws or bite with its needle-like teeth in combat.
Seize (mnvr): The ceiling man snatches a victim. It will then attempt to flee back to its hiding spot with the victim to eat in peace. The ceiling man can pull any victim through the same cracks it can fit through. Anyone pulled into a ceiling man’s hiding spot dies instantly as they are squeezed and stretched impossibly thin.
- Fighting 40% (20/8), damage 1D4+DB
- Seize (mnvr) 55% (27/11), target seized; the ceiling man will pull the victim into its hiding spot, instant death
- Dodge 25% (12/5)
Skills: Climb 80%, Stealth 85%.
Armor: 3 points of tough skin.
Spells: None.
Sanity Loss: 1/1D6 Sanity points to encounter a ceiling man.
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast