Even if you believe yourself to be a logical, science-minded individual, you might experience some bizarre things that you can’t rationally explain. Meanwhile, other events might be grounded in reality, but they’re so shocking that they might traumatize you for life.
#1
My daughter (18 at the time) has epilepsy and was switched to a new medication. By 9 days into taking the new med she was hearing things that weren’t there and hallucinating. She was hearing a clock ticking in the walls and voices were telling her to harm herself. Obviously I took her to the ER and she spent a long weekend in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. It was truly scary to watch her descend into madness and not know when/if she would come out of it. Thankfully, once the medication was stopped she returned to normal and has been fine ever since. But now whenever her medications are adjusted I get nervous and super vigilant to watch for any signs of negative side effects.
40points
A significant number of people believe in mystical, supernatural, and paranormal things.
For example, based on data from a new CivicScience survey, 41% of adults in the United States said that they believe in ghosts and spirits. Furthermore, 64% of respondents said that they believe in at least one kind of paranormal or supernatural phenomenon.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, in the United Kingdom, the situation is similar.
Research conducted by the National Folklore Survey found that a third of people living in England believed in ghosts or spirits. Young people aged 25 to 34, in particular, are the most likely to believe in the paranormal, including magical beings, spells, psychics, possession, angels, and demons.
#2
When I was 11 my mom moved a new boyfriend in. I immediately didn't like him, but that was no different than any of the others. One night while my mom was at work, I woke up to my bedroom door opening. He stood there for a few seconds and then I shifted positions and coughed or something, and he slowly left the room. The next day I mentioned it to my mom, and within 24 hours he was gone.
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38points
#3
Christmas night out, quite a few years ago. We were all in a large bar, one of my colleagues was really drunk (not victim blaming, but it drew attention from a creepy guy). She was also really tiny.
I was sitting in a separate group and noticed this man staring at my colleague, not in a “ooh she’s pretty” way, more of a predatory, sizing her up and shifting position so he could keep staring.
He really gave me the creeps, but nobody else noticed as they were all messing around, going up for dances, the usual. I ended up alerting one of the male managers, who watched the guy and agreed he was indeed stalking our colleague, and he had a word with her pals and they kept her close and didn’t leave her alone at all.
Scary guy clocked me and started stalking me instead. He even tried following me to the toilets which were quite remote from the bar. Luckily my manager and another pal followed him, so he went back to the bar.
I was really freaking out, so I spoke to the bouncers and explained what was going on. Creepy man got kicked out, we could all relax. Except he started staring at me through the window, he looked absolutely furious and I was even more scared.
At closing time I had to run to the casino next door so i could wait inside for a taxi, the doorman was really kind and hid me from the guy who was staring at me through the door. He even escorted me to my taxi, and I got home safely.
About a year later, the scary guy was front page news. He’d r***d and m******d a young woman who he followed from a bar.
I still feel sick when I think about it.
I was sitting in a separate group and noticed this man staring at my colleague, not in a “ooh she’s pretty” way, more of a predatory, sizing her up and shifting position so he could keep staring.
He really gave me the creeps, but nobody else noticed as they were all messing around, going up for dances, the usual. I ended up alerting one of the male managers, who watched the guy and agreed he was indeed stalking our colleague, and he had a word with her pals and they kept her close and didn’t leave her alone at all.
Scary guy clocked me and started stalking me instead. He even tried following me to the toilets which were quite remote from the bar. Luckily my manager and another pal followed him, so he went back to the bar.
I was really freaking out, so I spoke to the bouncers and explained what was going on. Creepy man got kicked out, we could all relax. Except he started staring at me through the window, he looked absolutely furious and I was even more scared.
At closing time I had to run to the casino next door so i could wait inside for a taxi, the doorman was really kind and hid me from the guy who was staring at me through the door. He even escorted me to my taxi, and I got home safely.
About a year later, the scary guy was front page news. He’d r***d and m******d a young woman who he followed from a bar.
I still feel sick when I think about it.
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37points
“Folklore has exploded on social media. On things like TikTok, there’s PaganTok and WitchTok. Young people are really embracing folklore and making it their own,” one of the researchers, Dr. Sophie Parkes-Nield, told the Guardian.
“Something that surprised me was, of the people that say they believe in ghosts, they are more likely to be female, but they’re also more likely to believe that the presence of ghosts is something that’s comforting or quite nice, whereas the people who are more likely to believe ghosts are scary are more likely to be male,” Parkes-Nield said.
#4
This isn't as scary as some of the comments but reading through them reminded me of this.
When I was probably 18 or so I was in Atlantic City late at night with a friend getting pizza, we went to school in the area and it was the only spot open until 3/4am so this wasn't unusual.
We were waiting to order when an extremely drunk middle aged man came in with his friends, they were dressed nice probably just came back from
the club or the casino. He started talking to my friend and I and we chatted with him, not thinking much of it.
Then as if a switch flipped in him or something he suddenly got really aggressive and s****l, making tons of gross comments and hand motions. We ordered our pizza and just sat down and ignored him but he kept going up to our table to say/do more.
At one point I remember him looking me in my eyes and saying he had a wheelchair waiting for me at his house for when he was "done with me" - besides that being a completely unhinged thing to say, something about his eyes were just dark and COLD. Like he had tons of energy but nothing going on behind the eyes if that makes sense.
Finally an employee noticed what was happening and kicked him out, he stood at the window staring at me with his tongue out between his fingers in a V formation until the employee started to go outside and he walked away.
We sat in that pizzeria until they closed scared that man would be lurking outside by my car waiting for us. Being a woman is exhausting.
When I was probably 18 or so I was in Atlantic City late at night with a friend getting pizza, we went to school in the area and it was the only spot open until 3/4am so this wasn't unusual.
We were waiting to order when an extremely drunk middle aged man came in with his friends, they were dressed nice probably just came back from
the club or the casino. He started talking to my friend and I and we chatted with him, not thinking much of it.
Then as if a switch flipped in him or something he suddenly got really aggressive and s****l, making tons of gross comments and hand motions. We ordered our pizza and just sat down and ignored him but he kept going up to our table to say/do more.
At one point I remember him looking me in my eyes and saying he had a wheelchair waiting for me at his house for when he was "done with me" - besides that being a completely unhinged thing to say, something about his eyes were just dark and COLD. Like he had tons of energy but nothing going on behind the eyes if that makes sense.
Finally an employee noticed what was happening and kicked him out, he stood at the window staring at me with his tongue out between his fingers in a V formation until the employee started to go outside and he walked away.
We sat in that pizzeria until they closed scared that man would be lurking outside by my car waiting for us. Being a woman is exhausting.
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34points
#5
I went round my grandma’s house, she lives alone, we were chatting at the gate before I left, when I got the feeling we were being watched, so I looked up, and saw an old lady standing at the bedroom window looking at us and waving, It terrified me, I told my grandma to look up but when she did the woman was gone, I described the woman to my grandma and she said casually ‘’oh, that’s MY grandma!’’.
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31points
#6
I have few but, in college, my friend and I were driving home from a weekend trip. We stopped at a gas station off the 99, and I went inside alone to use the restroom. No one was in the store except two male workers. I asked where the restroom was and one man pointed to a door on the other side of the checkout. I went inside the door only to find a large closet. Confused, I turned around and the man followed me in blocking the door with his coworker behind him. At that time, my friend walked into the store and saw the closet I was in with a confused look on her face and the man blocking the door grinning. I said, what the f and pushed my way past him, I think he only let me out because they got caught. To this day I don’t know what would’ve happened if she didn’t come in the store.
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31points
However, that’s not to say that there aren’t supernatural skeptics out there. There are—and lots of them! But the situation isn’t quite clear-cut.
A recent Gallup poll found that roughly two-thirds of Americans are skeptical of paranormal beliefs.
That being said, 48% said that they believe in psychic or spiritual healing, and 39% believe in ghosts. 29% of respondents told Gallup that they believe in telepathy, 27% believe in mental communication with the deceased, and 26% believe in clairvoyance.
Furthermore, 25% of surveyed Americans said they believe in astrology, 24% believe in reincarnation, and also 24% of respondents think that witches exist.
#7
My stepdad and his sister both had cancer and died within 24 hours of each other. My family got a phone call saying she had passed away. Stepdad had been pretty much in a coma for days because it had spread to his brain it was just a matter of time. His mom comes over and tells him that it’s ok he can go now and not hurt anymore. Within 5 minutes he sits straight up in bed eyes wide staring at the corner of the room with this amazed look on his face lays down slowly takes a breath and that was it he was gone. To this day I wonder what it is he saw in the corner or how on that much morphine he could wake up like that. it’s like his sister came to get him.
30points
#8
Hurricane Katrina. I lived in New Orleans my entire life up until that point. My parents were hard headed so we didn't evacuate. It was my mom, dad, me, my oldest sister and my little brother(my oldest sister was 7mths pregnant).
The way the water rushed into our home was surreal. We had to get on the roof of our house (which was wasn't easy) and from there we were on this adventure to just be safe. We slept in a school for three nights, we were rescued by red cross and put onto the interstate where charter busses were going to take us to the Astrodome. That took another three nights. We witnessed so much despair and death. I saw sooooo many floating bodies.
The one that sticks out to me was an older wheelchair bound lady and her son. The lady was super sweet; my family would check on her from time to time and keep her company as we waited on the bridge. On the last night the officers told us we had to walk further up the bridge because the busses couldn't reach us where we were stationed so we all packed up and started walking. The old lady wasn't doing too well that day and was just moaning "please Lord take me from all this". As we walked my family passed her up and spoke with her. She said "y'all won't see me in the morning" I looked over to her son's face and he had streams of tears running out of eyes. She told my mom "you take care of those precious babies and y'all fight like hell to get out of here. I'm tired and want to go home. So my son is taking me home." I was 15 at the time so I didn't truly understand what she was talking about. She gave us a hug and my dad told us to come on. We started walking again and the next sound I heard was a hard SPLASH into the water. I told my parents that the lady's son just pushed her into the water. My parents didn't believe me. The next day we were all waiting around for the busses and her son walked past us pushing an empty wheelchair. My mom just looked at me and started crying. We all hugged and cried. It was the first time I saw my parents cry. It was all truly just sad.
Katrina changed the course of my life and I will never forgive those who had a hand in making that storm worse than what it needed to be. My life literally will never be the same. I still feel the effects of the storm to this day and it has been 20yrs.
The way the water rushed into our home was surreal. We had to get on the roof of our house (which was wasn't easy) and from there we were on this adventure to just be safe. We slept in a school for three nights, we were rescued by red cross and put onto the interstate where charter busses were going to take us to the Astrodome. That took another three nights. We witnessed so much despair and death. I saw sooooo many floating bodies.
The one that sticks out to me was an older wheelchair bound lady and her son. The lady was super sweet; my family would check on her from time to time and keep her company as we waited on the bridge. On the last night the officers told us we had to walk further up the bridge because the busses couldn't reach us where we were stationed so we all packed up and started walking. The old lady wasn't doing too well that day and was just moaning "please Lord take me from all this". As we walked my family passed her up and spoke with her. She said "y'all won't see me in the morning" I looked over to her son's face and he had streams of tears running out of eyes. She told my mom "you take care of those precious babies and y'all fight like hell to get out of here. I'm tired and want to go home. So my son is taking me home." I was 15 at the time so I didn't truly understand what she was talking about. She gave us a hug and my dad told us to come on. We started walking again and the next sound I heard was a hard SPLASH into the water. I told my parents that the lady's son just pushed her into the water. My parents didn't believe me. The next day we were all waiting around for the busses and her son walked past us pushing an empty wheelchair. My mom just looked at me and started crying. We all hugged and cried. It was the first time I saw my parents cry. It was all truly just sad.
Katrina changed the course of my life and I will never forgive those who had a hand in making that storm worse than what it needed to be. My life literally will never be the same. I still feel the effects of the storm to this day and it has been 20yrs.
29points
#9
Not creepy, more weird/strange.
After my grandpa passed on, we returned home and my fiance headed to our back porch to water our plants. A couple minutes later I hear him *scream* bloody m****r.
I go running outside and he can barely piece together two words as he's pointing furiously at our tomato plant (mind you he's still screaming). I look down and there's a little tree frog hanging out on the edge of the pot.
We proceeded to get frogs for the next month on our porch, in our apartment, in our cats water bowl **daily**. Not a day went by that a frog didn't come by to say "Hey".
Then one day, they just disappeared.
My Papa and I loved frogs. It was something his father, my great grandfather, instilled in the two of us. My papa was a very soft spoken man and I like to think he wanted to make his presence known in a very sentimental way.
I also learned my fiance is absolutely terrified of frogs. So there's that.
After my grandpa passed on, we returned home and my fiance headed to our back porch to water our plants. A couple minutes later I hear him *scream* bloody m****r.
I go running outside and he can barely piece together two words as he's pointing furiously at our tomato plant (mind you he's still screaming). I look down and there's a little tree frog hanging out on the edge of the pot.
We proceeded to get frogs for the next month on our porch, in our apartment, in our cats water bowl **daily**. Not a day went by that a frog didn't come by to say "Hey".
Then one day, they just disappeared.
My Papa and I loved frogs. It was something his father, my great grandfather, instilled in the two of us. My papa was a very soft spoken man and I like to think he wanted to make his presence known in a very sentimental way.
I also learned my fiance is absolutely terrified of frogs. So there's that.
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28points
“Most Americans approach paranormal phenomena with caution; however, women, those who attend church less frequently and adults without a college degree are more likely than their counterparts to be open to believing in at least a few paranormal phenomena,” Gallup says, explaining what it found during its research.
“Meanwhile, religious service attendance is most associated with skepticism. Despite a decline in church attendance over the past two decades, belief in the paranormal has not increased. Overall, no single phenomenon receives endorsement from a majority of Americans, and two-thirds remain generally unconvinced of paranormal ideas.”
#10
One of my pet cats died recently. She'd been with me through a terrible part of my life and I was crushed when she went. We buried her in a corner garden plot and planted a small tree over her. Our dog, Leo, was also very distraught and looked for her all over the property and house. We also noted that he was acting strangely during dinner time - not finishing his food in one sitting like normal (he's a lab and they love their food). My mother and I sat at the kitchen window one evening to see what he was doing with the left-over food. He was carrying a mouthful of it over to where my cat was buried and placing it on her grave. He never went back and ate the food there - and did it every night for at least two months after she was gone.
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26points
#11
My moms cousin got out of prison and we were letting him crash on our couch for a few days.
Two nights after we brought him there we found him dead in the dining room. We later learned it was a heart attack..
I barely even knew the guy. But my last interaction with him was him giving me a 20 for sharing some of my sandwich with him. I used that 20 to buy a case of beer. Now I'll pour one out every time I drink for Terry. Rest in peace man. You had my respect.
Two nights after we brought him there we found him dead in the dining room. We later learned it was a heart attack..
I barely even knew the guy. But my last interaction with him was him giving me a 20 for sharing some of my sandwich with him. I used that 20 to buy a case of beer. Now I'll pour one out every time I drink for Terry. Rest in peace man. You had my respect.
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25points
#12
A couple days ago I was at the beach with my friends. It was our last night on vacation so we decided to go to this restaurant that we went to as kids. We sit down and across from us is a TV screen that shows images of people’s pictures of their dogs in the restaurants clothing attire. As I’m looking at all the dogs on the screen I keep thinking of my family dog that passed away about 10 years ago and how much I missed him. I kid you not a couple seconds later his picture pops up, which my mom sent in about 12 years ago! They shuffle through thousands upon thousands of these dog pictures and my dog came up. It freaked me out at first but then everything felt okay. R.I.P Boss.
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25points
After you’ve read through this list of all the terrifying things that people encountered in their lives, we’d like to hear from you in the comments.
What are some of the most genuinely scary, weird, and unexplained things that you’ve personally experienced? What happened? Do you think there’s a rational, scientific explanation for what you witnessed? Do you believe in paranormal, supernatural, and mystical phenomena? Have you ever shared your experiences online?
If you feel like sharing your insights and perspectives, we’d be happy to read what you have to say.
#13
Once I got in a fight with my sister (both adults by this point, she living with her family in a different city). I felt bad about how it went, and went to sleep that night with her on my mind. I had a dream that night that i was back in high school marching band, but i wasn't playing the french horn (my instrument), i was playing hers, the oboe, and I couldn't do it and it was maddening. I woke up and thought "oh how cute, my subconscious was putting myself in her shoes." So i call her back to try to smooth things over.
I tell her the dream, thinking she'd think it was sweet. But she started screaming. Like, screaming. When she finally calmed down she goes, "I had a dream last night that I was in the marching band trying to play the french horn.".
I tell her the dream, thinking she'd think it was sweet. But she started screaming. Like, screaming. When she finally calmed down she goes, "I had a dream last night that I was in the marching band trying to play the french horn.".
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24points
#14
I have never believed in ghosts. My wife would talk about seeing family members. Over a year ago my wife passed away. Her parents said they saw her in their house,and talked to her. One day my son (He is 4) and I are over at the grandparents house, and my son stops, run in the yard and starts talking. After a few minutes, he comes running back and tells me that mommy told him everything would be fine.
About a month later, I am in my bed amd I wake up in the dead of night, and there at the bed is my wife, she looks at me and says, "everything is going to be fine".
I could not believe my eyes.
About a month later, I am in my bed amd I wake up in the dead of night, and there at the bed is my wife, she looks at me and says, "everything is going to be fine".
I could not believe my eyes.
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23points
#15
I saw a man in the distance get impaled final destination style by a falling part from a crane. It still gives me chills.
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21points
#16
One of my mums drunk male friends cornered a 14 yo me in a dark spot outside at a party, away from everyone and pulled me in for the worst most uncomfortable hug and started saying how beautiful I was I got this horrific feeling all through my body that I needed to gtfo asap and I did just that. That feeling (although a good gut instinct) haunts me to this day like what if I hadn’t pushed him away and ran off. I also felt like I was at fault so I didn’t tell my mum until I was an adult I just made sure I wasn’t around him. They aren’t friends anymore.
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21points
#17
When I was 4 my dad and I were stalked by a cougar on a hike. Don’t remember a lot about it except feeling deeply unstable and fearful- I realise now it was my dad’s fear I was feeling, and I wasn’t used to that. I also remember him screaming “leave us alone! Leave us the f**k alone!” while he was carrying me, but I couldn’t see what he was yelling at.
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21points
#18
A few years ago I was stationed in Okinawa with the Army. At the time I was big into Geocaching (finding hidden containers using GPS for those not familiar). We were on the southern end of the island. My wife stayed in the car while my son (around 6 or 7 at the time) and I went to look for the geocache that was in the area. This end of Okinawa has a lot of cliffs overlooking the ocean. We were maybe 50-75 feet from the cliff edge, and I had to go off the trail to find the container. I told my son to stay right there on the path since I wouldn’t be out of sight. I find the container and begin signing the log book to prove I found it when my son asked if I was almost done. I told him I was, and he said “good. Daddy, I saw hands”. I repeated what he said and he said “yeah”. I put everything back the the way I found it, grabbed his hand and hustled back to the car. The whole way back I questioned him about what he saw. The way he described it, he saw a pair of hands moving toward him. Not a person, only hands. He said that he could see through them.
I had not told him nor my wife about the area we were in. During World War II during the battle of Okinawa, a lot of people k****d themselves by jumping from these cliffs to avoid being captured by American forces. Legends about the area say that if you are American, and especially if you are male, that the angry spirits of those that jumped will try to push you off of the cliffs. Needless to say, the wife was more than a little upset that I hadn’t shared this information before we went there.
I had not told him nor my wife about the area we were in. During World War II during the battle of Okinawa, a lot of people k****d themselves by jumping from these cliffs to avoid being captured by American forces. Legends about the area say that if you are American, and especially if you are male, that the angry spirits of those that jumped will try to push you off of the cliffs. Needless to say, the wife was more than a little upset that I hadn’t shared this information before we went there.
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21points
#19
I've posted this before on another thread, but about ten years ago my grandpa passed away. We found out he had cancer and two weeks later he was gone, very suddenly and very painfully. He had been sick for months but we think he was waiting for the diagnosis to pass. The weekend before he died we had thrown a goodbye party knowing his time was coming to an end so he could see his friends and family one last time and end with happy memories. Around the hospice bed at my grandma's house were the poster boards with pictures of all of us over the years that we put so he could look at them before he went.
At the time I was teaching a bible study class on weekdays over the summer to get an escape from all the sadness in my family when one night we got the call. Grandpa had just died. The next morning I went to my grandma's for a bit to hang out before my bible study to reminisce.
I was across the room from the hospice bed when I heard a clicking sound. A picture had fallen from the poster board and onto the time floor. Turning it over it was a picture of my grandpa and I when I was little. I got misty eyed and sat on the bed when I got a very warm and safe feeling. Almost like a blanket was snuggled over my shoulders and wrapped snug around me.
Within a minute of this feeling I heard a slam from upstairs and booked it thinking my grandma had fallen or dropped something. I dropped the picture I was holding and ran to her room. She was sound asleep in her room, but in the living room there was a picture face down on the desk in its frame. It was another picture of my grandpa and I.
Creeped out I went downstairs to put the picture I had dropped back and head to church. It was gone, this picture was no where to be found and before I could get too upset I decided to head out since I was late.
A little while later my grandma called and asked why I had been in grandpa's room. I was confused since the hospice bed was in the living room and told her I hadn't been. She then asked why a picture from the poster board was on his bed in his room.
No one knows how it got there since the door was shut all day and she had seen the picture on the board before I got there but it's now hanging in my house for me to keep an eye on.
At the time I was teaching a bible study class on weekdays over the summer to get an escape from all the sadness in my family when one night we got the call. Grandpa had just died. The next morning I went to my grandma's for a bit to hang out before my bible study to reminisce.
I was across the room from the hospice bed when I heard a clicking sound. A picture had fallen from the poster board and onto the time floor. Turning it over it was a picture of my grandpa and I when I was little. I got misty eyed and sat on the bed when I got a very warm and safe feeling. Almost like a blanket was snuggled over my shoulders and wrapped snug around me.
Within a minute of this feeling I heard a slam from upstairs and booked it thinking my grandma had fallen or dropped something. I dropped the picture I was holding and ran to her room. She was sound asleep in her room, but in the living room there was a picture face down on the desk in its frame. It was another picture of my grandpa and I.
Creeped out I went downstairs to put the picture I had dropped back and head to church. It was gone, this picture was no where to be found and before I could get too upset I decided to head out since I was late.
A little while later my grandma called and asked why I had been in grandpa's room. I was confused since the hospice bed was in the living room and told her I hadn't been. She then asked why a picture from the poster board was on his bed in his room.
No one knows how it got there since the door was shut all day and she had seen the picture on the board before I got there but it's now hanging in my house for me to keep an eye on.
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21points
#20
Being a kid in the passenger seat while my drunk mom swerved into on coming traffic repeatedly, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with an 18 wheeler.
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20points