It's terrifying when your intuition starts telling you that things around you are off, yet you can't articulate why exactly this is happening.
So to learn more about this phenomenon, Redditor u/inferno2808 asked other users: "What was your scariest 'something's not right" moment?'" and as you might expect, people have submitted plenty of chilling stories.
From creepy followers to deadly acts of nature, continue scrolling and check out why it's sometimes a good idea to trust your sixth sense.
#1
When I was 10 years old, my grandma was watching my younger siblings and me while our parents were at a weekend-long work conference.
We were sitting in the living room eating pancakes, and my siblings were watching cartoons while I read the newest Harry Potter book, which had just come out the day before.
My brother asked my grandma for more pancakes and she started to get up. I was only half paying attention because I was engrossed in my book, but out of the corner of my eye, I felt like she was taking longer than usual.
She tried to get up, but her leg wouldn’t move. She tried to pick it up with her hands, but one of her hands wouldn’t move. I knew something was wrong and I put down my book.
Then she fell out of her chair onto the floor. I screamed and she tried to tell me that she was fine, her leg had just fallen asleep and she tripped, but her voice was coming out all slurred and only half of her face was moving. I recognized signs of a stroke from The Baby-Sitters Club.
I ran into the kitchen- she had no cell phone back then- and called 911. Well, first I called my best friend, the only phone number I could remember, and asked her mom if I need to dial an area code before 911. THEN I called 911. Meanwhile, my siblings got the handyman who was mowing the backyard to come in and help out.
The ambulance arrived and they took her to the hospital, and I don’t remember much else. My best friend’s mom must have somehow gotten hold of my parents because they did eventually show up at the hospital.
But here’s the good news: because she was treated so quickly, she made a full recovery and is still alive and in good health almost 20 years later!
Report
667points
The thought of asking this question came to u/inferno2808 spontaneously. "I was watching a horror movie and the idea just popped into my head," the Redditor told Bored Panda.
"There were many stories in the comments but the one that stood out for me the most was about the guy who was working on a radio system in a remote town... It really made me think about whether or not our intuition is capable of guiding us through dangerous situations. It's quite an interesting topic."
Personally, u/inferno2808 believes that people should allow their gut feeling to get involved in their decision-making or judgment. The question is just how much. "As we can see, our brains can sense danger and warn us about it. But I think it's natural for different people to have different opinions about this."
#2
TL;DR: Saved my dad's life off a 2am hunch I had that something was 'off'.
During the UK's first lockdown I hadn't seen my dad who lived on his own for 3 months - but we spoke on the phone everyday religiously. One night whilst I was drifting off to sleep at 2am I suddenly started feeling overwhelming anxiety, sweating and just feeling like something was 'off'. I could not get back to sleep due to worry so I decide to ring my night owl dad as I knew he'd be up and answer the phone... but to my suprise no answer.
I woke my partner and told him something was really off and my dad hadn't answered his phone which had my anxiety running tenfold at this point. He suggested if he still hadn't answered the phone in the morning we would drive over and check on him. However, I could not shake this feeling so at 3am my partner and I got in the car and drove 3 hours to my dad's home.
When we arrived at my dad's house I walked in to find my dad staring at the wall, grey/yellow in colour, slurring his words and utterly confused about where he was. I immediately phoned an ambulance and he spent the next 4 weeks in hospital with acute kidney failure from undiagnosed end stage liver cirrohsis. I'll never forgot the Doctor telling me if I had arrived at his home a few hours later I would have been calling an undertaker and not an ambulance.
Due to the sudden and random confusion caused by cirrhosis he genuinely believed the TV remote was his phone hence why he didn't/couldn't seek treatment. Kidney failure comes on so rapidly that the two together are fatal within hours so me turning up that morning was crucial to him getting the treatment at the right time.
As I'm typing this my dad is driving over to my house to spend the Christmas here with us and the cirrhosis symptoms remain under control - a happy ending! Sometimes anxiety can be a life saving gift.
Edit: Wow I am humbled by your support and awards - thank you so much! A bit more context for extra feels... I lost my mum and stepdad 6 months before this took place so my dad is my rock and I'm extra grateful for everyday he is healthy and happy. Even though his cirrohsis is not going away we still have time on our side :)
Report
394points
In reality, it's actually quite a reasonable position. Economist Daniel Kahneman theorizes that intuitive thinking has both a positive and a negative side: it is faster than a rational approach but more prone to error.
Kahneman, who won a Nobel prize in economics for his work on human judgment and decision-making, has proposed that we have two different thought systems: system 1 is fast and intuitive while system 2 is slower and relies on reasoning. The fast system, he thinks, is more prone to error. It has its place: it may increase the chance of survival by enabling us to anticipate serious threats and recognize promising opportunities. But the slower thought system, by engaging critical thinking and analysis, is less susceptible to producing bad decisions.
#3
Late at night, I was sitting in my car waiting for my boyfriend to finish his shift. A guy walks past and we make eye contact. I feel this sense of danger but figure I'm overreacting. A few minutes pass and the fear won't go away. I finally decide to move my car away from the edge of the parking lot to the front of the restaurant in the customer parking area. I start up my car and just as I'm putting it into drive, the guy rushes out from behind and tries to yank open my door, pulling on it really hard. I hit the gas and he trails me for a second, then hits my window with a rock. I keep going and he throws the rock at me then runs away. I was shaking so badly I could barely steer. Pretty sure he was sneaking up on me just as I decided to start my engine.
382points
Other cognitive scientists argue that intuition can lead to effective decision-making even more frequently than Kahneman suggests. Gerd Gigerenzer of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin is one of them. He agrees that people rarely make decisions on the basis of reason alone, especially when the problems faced are complex. But he argues that intuition's merit has been vastly underappreciated — he views intuition as a form of unconscious intelligence.
In one study, Ap Dijksterhuis and his colleagues, then at the University of Amsterdam, came to a similarly favorable view of intuition's value. The researchers tested what they called the "deliberation without attention" hypothesis: although conscious thought makes the most sense for simple decisions (for example, what size skillet to use), it can actually be detrimental when considering more complex matters, like buying a house.
#4
I was sitting on the beach alone and noticed that a man walking along the water was staring at me. I tried to shake it off thinking maybe he had friends or family somewhere behind and wasn’t actually looking at me.
He started walking up from the water and walked right up to me, but didn’t stop and circled around me. I felt awkward so I didn’t make eye contact. He walked away. I’m thinking at the time, maybe it was in my head.
About an hour later, he came back and did the same thing. Went down to the water, looked at me, then started walking up to me. He came right up to me again and as he starts to circle me I look at him and notice he’s staring not only at me but also at all of my things, like he was taking inventory of what I had with me. I finally said, “Can I help you?” And he seemed surprised that I spoke up and says, “oh no, no, no!” And walks away.
After he walked away, I couldn’t shake the uneasy gut feeling. They say when you know something is wrong, not to ignore your gut feeling. And I can’t explain it but I KNEW.
I was too scared to walk back to my car alone, so I ended up walking over to another man nearby who had been keeping to himself and told him what had happened and that I just wanted someone to walk back to the parking lot with so I wouldn’t have to walk back alone. He confirmed that the man was in fact totally watching me the entire time I was there - he noticed and said he saw him creeping around a couple other girls as well.
That beach is ruined for me. As I walked back with the kind stranger I still felt like I was being watched and I was paranoid my entire drive home. I’m so thankful for that kind stranger.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help and if you feel like you’re in danger, don’t ignore that feeling!!
Report
350points
Kamila Malewska of the Poznán University of Economics and Business in Poland has also studied intuition in real-world settings and also finds that people often apply it in a variety of scenarios. Malewska asked managers at a food company how they use intuition in their everyday work. Almost all of them stated that, in addition to rational analyses, they tapped gut feelings when making decisions.
So maybe there's more to these stories than the alignment of the stars after all?
#5
I've got 2 of them. Both shook me up.
I worked as a bouncer in bfe Missouri and about midnight one night I got sent to Walmart for some things. Driving down 50 I caught glimpse of a figure on the side of the road. Ghostly corner of your eye kind of thing. I pulled over and a young woman approached my passenger door.
She was hyperventilating almost and really freaked out. I couldn't understand her so I just told her to get in my truck. As we sat there for a moment she tried to talk. Just then a van pulled up behind me, still on the side of highway 50, and a man jumped out and approached the passenger side window that was still down.
He grabbed the girl and starting cussing me. About half a second goes by before I collect myself and in my biggest voice calmly explain he needs to back off and she's not leaving my truck. I told him I have no idea what's going on but I'm taking her wherever she wants to go.
We talked on the way to the hospital. She was from out of state, some guys she met through a friend assaulted her and drug her out to a field. She was beaten until she played dead. She escaped from the back of the van when they stopped for gas.
I don't usually stop for strangers at midnight but something in my gut made me slam on my brakes for that woman.
Other Missouri story, still bouncing, I used to drive girls for private shows. One girl decided to schedule her own show and make some money without having to tip me I guess. Guys wouldn't give her the address for the party just told them to meet them at a closed gas station off of 50.
On the way there she got nervous and called me. I was in bed half asleep but after hearing her I tried to talk her into just turning around. She insisted on meeting the guys because she needed the money. Made some comment about if I don't go with her it'll be my fault when she's missing and on the news.
So I met her at the empty gas station. The whole scene made me nervous, especially because they weren't expecting me. And as**oles get stupid when spooked. We sat for 10 minutes while we waited. The whole time I tried to convince her to go home.
3 vehicles rolled up with several guys in them. They were all drunk/f*cked up. She jumped out the car to be friendly. But the moment I stepped out and they saw me they started cussing and hollering and rolled out in a hurry.
I'm not the toughest idiot, I just don't think they expected a witness.
Avoid highway 50
Report
303points
#6
Few weeks ago, baby woke up in the night. I settles him but instead of going back to bed like normal, I sat outside his room waiting for him to settle. I thought he wasn't settled because the movement icon on the monitor was flashing.
Fun fact: it also flashes if the cot is empty of a breathing creature.
I poked my head in, thinking "why is he moving so much"?. Except it was silent in his room. The voice in my head sounded. Something is NOT right. I went to put my hand on his back and found he wasn't breathing. I managed to get him back but I think I had a tiny stroke from the fear. I've never been een more terrified.
If I'd gone back to bed, my baby would not have woken up the next morning. I am grateful for mom instincts and I listen to them hard-core now. I don't give a royal sh*t if people think I'm paranoid. My gut saved my boy.
Report
284points
#7
My brother and I were free range kids in the 80s. Our summer camp was wandering around downtown all day until it was time to get picked up in front of the YMCA our parents dropped us off that morning.
2 or 3 years into this routine I would've been 9 and we spent a lot of time in the library, and I focused on WWII planes and read everything about them.
A young man befriended me with a story of being a production assistant to a movie studio charged with pulling background research for an upcoming movie and wanted my opinion.
Over the course of weeks he paid me (like $10 a day, which was a LOT of money to a kid in the 80s) to answer his questions and recommend books and it finally came to the day he was going to take me to the movie studio but he never showed up and I never saw him again.
The something isn't right here moment came from my brother, who saw this guy creeping on me and was content to let him pay me while we stayed in the library, but as soon as he heard about our little field trip, he followed the guy out to the parking lot and set him straight.
My brother was only 12, but was already 6'2 and like 190lbs and basically told this guy not only was he going to get f*cked up by my brother if he ever saw him again, but that he'd call the police if he ever saw the guy around town anywhere ever again.
So yeah, thanks bro, I prefer to stay unraped and/or unmurdered.
Report
269points
#8
I was walking to school in middle school and this lady with a car pulled over next to me and called me Linda. That's not my name, but was close enough I looked up.
She apologized and explained she thought I was her grandkid. Then she offered me a ride to school. Except that I was already standing on the school grounds. I had a half block walk before I needed to turn to walk into the building.
When I said no she tried to demand I get into the car. I said no thanks and took off running. It occured to me much later that she probably had no intention of dropping me off at school.
Report
266points
#9
I’m a chalk muralist and was hired by my city to create art along walkways downtown for a festival. The thing with chalk art is you kinda have to create it the same day it’ll be displayed, meaning that I had to get started around 4am in order to be fully finished by the time the festival began at 10am.
It was around 5am, still dark, and I was just finishing up outside of a coffee shop located in a stand-alone building. I noticed a guy slowly walking down the street, several blocks away and very far ahead of me. He was far enough away that even if he’d started sprinting towards me, I would’ve had plenty of time to get into my car and flee. Still, something didn’t sit right, so I kept my eye on him. When he got about a block away, he took a left down a street where I could no longer see him. As soon as that happened, my inner voice told me I needed to get the f*ck out of there. So without gathering my chalk or any other supplies, I grabbed my car keys and hauled a*s to my car on the other side of the lot. I got in and locked my doors just in time to see him literally RUN out from the opposite side of the coffee shop where I’d seen him walking - right where I would have been on my hands and knees in a vulnerable position if I hadn’t gotten up. Idk what he was planning, but his body language told me he was in attack mode.
I ended up waiting it out for about a half hour, grabbed my supplies, and came back once the sun was up. It put me behind on finishing my work on time, but I will gladly take that L any day.
Report
263points
#10
I was working on a radio system in the local water tower of a pretty remote outback town. It was a beautiful late spring day in October when I got there, but after about 2 hours the bird noises stopped, the breeze stopped... I took my equipment out of Standby and flagged it as live test because I had the weirdest feeling I didn't have time to fully test it and went outside to sit in the car. About ninety seconds later there was a direct lightning strike on the tower I'd just left, it was the highest point in 200km. It was literally the loudest thing I'd ever heard. Ever.
256points
#11
It wasn’t me that noticed “somethings not right”. Once a women came up to me on a train that I had gotten on and said “I just wanted you to know that man there is following you” and he was. He followed me (in a quiet way) when I changed trains and I ended up asking a cop to walk me home. It was one of the creepiest experiences of my life. In hindsight I shouldn’t even have gone home. I’m pretty sure he stopped following me when I spoke with the police officer. But still.
Report
245points
#13
My mom awoke from a dead sleep and had a horrible feeling so she checked on her children all fine and asleep cause it was like 2 in the morning.
Feeling stupid for worrying over nothing she decided to smoke a cigarette to calm her nerves before she went to bed.
As she was trying to light it she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, Before going to the bar my dad has made himself some ramen on the gas stove and he'd turned the flame off but left the gas on. Horrified she snapped it off and threw open the doors and the windows not daring to smoke inside until 2 days later out of paranoia
Report
227points
#14
I planned to visit my Dad in the afternoon. Called him in the morning to ask if he needed anything because I was about to go to the store anyway and could easily pick up some things for him. He didn't answer. A little weird for him but not too uncommon. But I had that thought in the back of my head. So I tried again like 30 minutes later. Again, nothing. Neither land line or mobile. So I decided to drive over there early and check. Can't really explain it but I just knew that something had happened. Found him dead in his house. He fell and cracked his head open.
To this day I don't actually know what was worse: finding him like this or the 30 minute long drive where the feeling grew that I was going to walk into something like that.
To this day I don't actually know what was worse: finding him like this or the 30 minute long drive where the feeling grew that I was going to walk into something like that.
214points
#15
I used to have this drinking buddy. He was a regular at the cafe I worked at. Asked if I wanted to grab drinks, okay sure and hence began our drinking friendship. During this time, I was a heavy drinker. Like my roommate and I would usually take five shots to get tipsy kind of thing and then continue drinking throughout the night.
One night this guy asks me to come out with his friends to this pub. I get my own drink first, and then the second drink he offers to buy. I suppose I trusted him at this point, so I didn’t go up to the bar when he went. He comes back and I drink the drink.
I knew something was wrong within minutes. My head started swirling, I was slurring and I felt f*cked up and drunk. Right away I knew I had to leave. He was very vocal about me staying, but I just pushed past him. He followed me outside. Now this is when Uber first started up, so I called Uber from my phone. I was trying to close the door, he was still trying to argue for me to stay. Or perhaps he should come with me to make sure I got home alright. F*ck that, I left.
The next day I was asleep all day, I couldn’t really move or get up. I was in and out of consciousness. F*cking weird. And why do I think it was him that drugged me? I had put all my cards and my ID into a pocket on the inside of my jacket that was zipped up. They were all gone, and guess who had them? That guy. He went into my f*cking jacket and took all my sh*t so I wouldn’t be able to pay a cab. Jokes on him that Uber had just become a thing.
Report
205points
#16
I was a teenager around 15 babysitting 4 younger cousins eldest was about 8. I was watching TV in the living room when there was a knock at the door. It was late and I knew it was odd. I approached the door with a "Hello?" A male answered and asked if someone random was there I said no. They then said can you open the door I need a light for a cigarette. I replied no again. I walked back into the living room and saw two faces trying to look down the side of the curtains. Then they started knocking again. I walked into the kitchen to arm myself as I walked in there, there was already someone half inside and another behind him. I went into protective mode thinking I won't let them get to the children, I picked up a large knife on the bench and charged towards them they stumbled and ran off. Shaking I picked up my cell phone, knocking was still coming from the front door asking to be let in. I called the police on my mobile. I explained I have 4 children in the house and there's 4 people trying to break in. They told me to remain calm and go somewhere safe with the children. A bathroom I could lock until the police arrived. I shut the back entrance and returned to the front. I looked out the side of the window and they were stood menacingly at bottom of the garden whilst I was on the phone to the police. The police came with helicopters and police dogs. They were never caught.
Report
205points
#17
It’s a long story, but I caught some creepy guy trying to expose himself to my 11 yr old daughter. It was a gut feeling to go check on her (I was in another part of a store and walked up just in time). Always follow your instincts and trust your gut.
Report
199points
#18
I went to a friends house for a party in the before times, a few years ago. She had another friend, we’ll call her Grace. Grace had brought this man with her to the party and everyone was fawning over him- he was apparently a somewhat well known local artist. I took one look at him and got a seriously unnerved feeling. I couldn’t explain why at the time but his eyes absolutely freaked me out. No emotion. Just… cold. Extremely off putting.
So I tell my friend that this dude is freaking me out but I can’t explain why. She tells me I am being sensitive, this guy is a local gem, yadda yadda. So I suck it up and start trying to interact— it was a very small party.
Within maybe five minutes, this guy has asked me and my friend, as well as Grace to go on a road trip to a remote waterfall in Montana with him.
“It’s a spiritual experience,” he says. “I go there all the time, I bring people up there.”
Obviously, I declined his offer. He spent several minutes trying to convince me but ultimately, nobody wanted to go to Montana — my friend worked a lot, and Grace was busy with something she couldn’t miss so he dropped it.
Grace continued seeing this guy and out of nowhere he flipped a switch and started beating her. She broke it off with him and he would drive in circles around her apartment, calling her and leaving messages that he was going to kill her. She had to call the police and have him detained and move to another city overnight to get away from him.
I’ve never been more sorry to be right. Thankfully, Grace is happy and safe now.
Report
191points
#19
When I was about 19 I was waiting for my then boyfriend to get off of work at the mall, standing outside near the employee entrance. It was close to 10pm and the mall had already closed so the parking lot was fairly empty. This car drove up to the curb, probably fifteen feet from where I was standing at the wall and the window rolled down, the driver was the only person in the car and he asked if I knew how to get to X road. That road was the one visible from where I was standing so I pointed at it and told him the exit onto that road was right across the way. He kept looking at me and said, "I'm having trouble hearing you." So I walked five feet closer and shouted it at him. He said, "Could you show me? I'm terrible with directions." I immediately decided this man just wanted me to either get close enough to grab or to get into his car and just pointed to the road and said, "Drive that way, you can't miss it" and walked right into the employee entrance to wait for my boyfriend instead. I wasn't supposed to be in there but figured getting yelled at by security was way better than getting kidnapped by a guy in his forties.
Report
180points
#20
Text my friend Katie the night before and never got a response which was unlike her. I had a gut feeling something was wrong based on that. Later in the day my other friend said we needed to talk and I instantly knew my friend was dead.
She had died in a car accident the night I text her and I knew deep down before anyone told me. Miss you Katie! RIP.
Report
178points