EASTER BUNNY HORROR STORy

This happened around East of 2016 when I was in my early teens and didn't have my driver's license yet. I was forced to walk everywhere because my parents were always working and didn't have time to drive me to most places. Sometimes it was a little annoying, but I didn't mind. This was around Easter time, so most parents would take their kids out to the mall. I decided to walk to the mall one evening alone. I didn't really have any plans for that day and didn't want to sit around the house by myself, so I decided to hang out at the mall and maybe look around some stores. I even considered getting a photograph with the Mall Easter Bunny. As I strolled around the mall looking at a few stores, I came across a huge line leading up towards a platform where the Easter Bunny was taking photos with kids. At first, I couldn't see the bunny through all of the people surrounding the place, but then I caught sight of it through the crowd. I was shocked—the bunny looked scary as hell. It definitely wasn’t the bright, happy-looking bunny I remembered from my childhood. No, this one looked off somehow. I don’t know if it was the costume, the makeup, or just the way the person in it was behaving, but the more I looked at it, the creepier it got. Still, it had taken me 20 minutes to walk to the mall, and I didn’t want to leave without the picture. I got in line, figuring that the bunny had to look less creepy up close. After about 15 to 20 minutes, I finally made it to the front of the line. The bunny, unfortunately, looked even creepier up close. I still couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but I just felt uneasy around it. Hesitantly, I sat on the bunny's lap and waited to be photographed. As I sat there, I remember the bunny whispering something in my ear along the lines of, "Do you want to eat my carrot, little boy?" No sir, I just want a picture. I took my picture with the bunny as quickly as possible and then got out of there. I still felt very unsettled as I exited the mall. I was pretty disappointed too; I had hoped for a much better experience. After leaving, I started walking back home. It had gotten slightly late while I was inside the mall, and the sun was starting to go down. I hoped I would make it home before dark. After a few minutes of walking, I decided to take a shortcut through a deserted alleyway. It was honestly rather unsettling, but I was used to it by that point, and it did save a lot of time. I still felt uneasy and something told me I should get home as fast as possible. Not long after turning into the alleyway, I started to hear footsteps behind me, like someone was following me. I ignored it for a moment, thinking it was just my imagination, but then there was no mistaking the sound of footsteps getting louder and louder behind me. I suddenly felt scared and turned around to see who was there. That’s when I saw something so utterly terrifying—it was the same bunny from the mall. It stopped as I turned around and stood there motionless, staring at me gauntly. It was completely terrifying. I began to slowly back away, then out of nowhere, the bunny pulled out a machete and started sprinting towards me, laughing like a psycho. I immediately got the hell out of there and started sprinting down the alleyway, not daring to look back. As I ran, I could hear the bunny’s footsteps getting louder behind me; he was gaining on me. Then I felt the bunny’s fingertips touch my back, like he was trying to grab me and was almost close enough. I felt like my lungs were about to burst as I sprinted as fast as I could, forcing myself to go even faster. That’s when I was able to outrun the bunny. I came flying out of the alleyway and turned down the street to my house. I was so close; I still didn’t dare look behind me as I pounded up the steps and flung the door open, slamming it behind me. I immediately told my parents what had happened, and they called the cops. I looked out the window, but the bunny was nowhere to be seen. The cops arrived soon after and searched the whole area but didn’t find anything. The bunny had completely disappeared. The next day, we called the mall to find out who the bunny was. It turned out the bunny was a man named Daniel who had failed to register as an offender for his past crimes. My parents were immediately sick, and most of the parents in the area were outraged when the news came out. They couldn’t believe their kids had been sitting on that psycho’s lap. As for me, I don’t really share the same love for the Easter Bunny anymore. I still wonder what would have happened if the man had caught up to me that night. This story was inspired by a real-life case involving a 24-year-old man named Daniel Sanderson for failing to register as an offender. Sanderson had been working at Dakota Square Mall in Mino, hired by a temporary employment service and posing for photos with mall guests as the Easter Bunny. Cherry Hill Photo Enterprise, who hired Sanderson, claimed all applicants are subject to a strict background screening process. Since then, guests have expressed their outrage towards Dakota Square Mall for not taking extra precautions with new hires and Cherry Hill Photography for not doing proper background checks.