the smiling woman in the mirror (horror story)

I wasn't going to post this but I can't stop shaking.

I'm a regular 23-year-old college student. Started living alone for the first time this year, found a studio apartment near campus. Super simple layout. Small sink, built-in closet, bed, and a full-length mirror mounted on one wall.

When I first saw the place I actually liked the mirror. Good for checking outfits before leaving, made the tiny room look bigger. Fine, right.

The weird stuff started the very first night.

I was lying in bed watching YouTube, almost asleep, when I got this feeling like something moved near the mirror. Turned to look. Nothing. Just a dark room and my own reflection staring back.

After that I couldn't stop noticing the mirror.

One day I came out of the bathroom and looked up and. There was a silhouette behind my shoulder. Long hair hanging down. A woman.

I spun around immediately. Nobody there. Looked back at the mirror. Silhouette was gone too.

Then the dreams started.

Every night at 3am, same dream. I'm sitting in my room and my reflection in the mirror is... looking at me. Except it's smiling. This WRONG smile, corners of the mouth pulled up way too high, eyes completely bloodshot red. And it's getting closer. Slowly. Like it's about to push through the glass.

I'd wake up and it was always exactly 3am. Every single time.

Okay so I covered the mirror with a cloth. Because I was terrified.

Every morning the cloth was on the floor.

I taped it down. Same thing. Came off clean, like someone had peeled it off on purpose.

Then the thing happened.

I was up late studying for exams, fell asleep around 2:50am. Had the dream again. This time the woman in the mirror was calling to me. Her mouth was moving but no sound came out. But I knew exactly what she was saying.

"Let's switch places."

I woke up SCREAMING.

Grabbed my phone. 3:10am.

And there was a photo I didn't take.

A photo of me. Asleep in my bed.

No timer. I was asleep. I couldn't have taken it.

And next to my bed in the photo...

she was standing there.

White face. Torn mouth. Twisted neck. Red red eyes. The same woman from the mirror.

She wasn't in the mirror anymore.

She was in the room. Right next to me.

I smashed the mirror with a hammer the next day. Broke it into pieces, stuffed the shards in a trash bag and threw it out far from my building.

I thought it was over.

I'm writing this right now and her face is reflecting in my laptop screen.

I'm alone. I know I'm alone. But I can feel cold breath on my back and there's a long strand of hair falling onto my keybo