Even though real-life is far messier and often less dramatic than what you see on the silver screen, some of the things you experience could easily fit into the script of a horror movie.
#1
I was babysitting and the kids were asleep upstairs. The only lights on in the house were three table lamps in the livingroom, where I was doing homework.
The phone rang. This is the eighties, so I answer the landline. I hear a dial tone, but the phone keeps ringing after I answer it. I fiddle with the phone and it eventually stops ringing, but still has the dial tone. This happens twice.
I keep doing homework.
All at once, all three table lamps turn off. They wont turn back on. There is no overhead light in that room. Now the house is completely dark.
Then, a huge noise comes from the far side of the house.
I bounded up the stairs and turned on the hallway light. I sat in the hallway outside the kids’ bedrooms until the parents came home. I was too scared to go into the kitchen and use the one phone to call someone.
The parents explained everything when they returned:
1. They had a dual-line phone. There was a tiny switch on the side of the phone. If I had flipped it, I would have been able to answer the line that was ringing.
2. All the table lamps in the livingroom were on timers, so they would get turned off in the evening to save electricity.
3. The noise was their hot water radiator heating system. Apparently the pipes make that sound when the system turns itself on.
I suggested they tell future babysitters about these things.
The phone rang. This is the eighties, so I answer the landline. I hear a dial tone, but the phone keeps ringing after I answer it. I fiddle with the phone and it eventually stops ringing, but still has the dial tone. This happens twice.
I keep doing homework.
All at once, all three table lamps turn off. They wont turn back on. There is no overhead light in that room. Now the house is completely dark.
Then, a huge noise comes from the far side of the house.
I bounded up the stairs and turned on the hallway light. I sat in the hallway outside the kids’ bedrooms until the parents came home. I was too scared to go into the kitchen and use the one phone to call someone.
The parents explained everything when they returned:
1. They had a dual-line phone. There was a tiny switch on the side of the phone. If I had flipped it, I would have been able to answer the line that was ringing.
2. All the table lamps in the livingroom were on timers, so they would get turned off in the evening to save electricity.
3. The noise was their hot water radiator heating system. Apparently the pipes make that sound when the system turns itself on.
I suggested they tell future babysitters about these things.
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56points
#2
When I was an 11 - 12 year old girl, I was competing in a pony club show, and I’d forgotten a piece of riding equipment in my instructor’s truck. She held my pony and I ran back to her truck, down a small dirt road to the parking.
The parking lot was almost vacant because all people and ponies were near the riding ring. Except one random guy, who was just hanging out there, by his car. He asked me “if I had my drivers license”, to which i responded I didn’t because I was a kid.
He then told me his car was stuck in the mud, and asked if I’d get in it to drive while he pushed. I declined, and started walking back towards the riding ring. He drove away in his car no issues.
The parking lot was almost vacant because all people and ponies were near the riding ring. Except one random guy, who was just hanging out there, by his car. He asked me “if I had my drivers license”, to which i responded I didn’t because I was a kid.
He then told me his car was stuck in the mud, and asked if I’d get in it to drive while he pushed. I declined, and started walking back towards the riding ring. He drove away in his car no issues.
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50points
#3
I posted this in another thread, but it seems applicable here:
I was about 20 at the time and was back home from college on a visit. My friend Ian and I were having a few drinks and entertaining two girls we knew from high school. As two romantic hopefuls not quite old enough to go to the bar we opted to go drink at a secluded beach we knew of. To get to said beach required walking through a thick forested area, and despite it being dark everyone seemed fine with the idea.
We head on over and began our trek, something we had done without incident several times. However, this time we immediately realized something was off. There were no frogs or bugs, the forest was silent, absolutely nothing but a calm stillness. Ian and I quietly mentioned to each other that this usually meant a predator is around, but we'd had a few at this point and decided we were probably the scariest thing out there. We continued down the path quietly, but on a slightly heightened-alert.
Then we noticed the smell. The forest smelled off, almost like a mixture of dirty clothes and bad breath. Again, we are concerned, but at this point we are almost there so there was no sense in turning back.
The last part of the path cut through a marsh lowland that connected the barrier island to the mainland. It is admittedly creepy with old winding trees covering the path. What little light we had from the moon was now being blotted out by a twisted latticework of branches.
We begin to traverse this path and are about midway through when I heard it; a pronounced mechanical click, like a snapple bottlecap being popped. Ian and I froze, and before we could localize where the noise came from we heard it again from a different direction. There was a brief pause, and then the forest simply stood up.
A dozen figures vaguely silhouetted by moonlight stood and began to move towards us from all directions. Without hesitation Ian took off in a full sprint. I go to follow, but pull back after deciding I couldn't leave the girls alone. As they realized what was happening they began to scream the kind of scream you only let out when you are absolutely sure you're doomed. As I grabbed them to get them positioned to run I turned and the path was now blocked by obscured figures. It was game over, no way out, hopelessly outnumbered by figures that didn't even appear to be human. I kept the girls behind me and got ready to make my last stand. I was terrified, but the adrenaline rush kept me calm.
The figure closest to us ceased its advance. An arm reached up from its center mass and pulled off a helmet that had foliage strapped to it, revealing a man's painted face. He began to speak as I stood before him in utter disbelief. He identified himself as an officer of the marine corps and explained they sometimes run war games on this stretch of land, which I learned is public access but owned by the navy. They were unsure if we were part of the exercise or not, hence why they advanced. He began to apologize profusely, but I was so relieved to be alive at this point I could not have cared less.
As they escorted us back all the weirdness of the woods began to make sense. The silence, the smell, those clicks; all a result of a platoon of leathernecks creeping in the shadows. On our path back several other smaller groups that had stayed in cover made themselves known, including a pair that had stopped Ian from running all the way back to Baltimore.
Needless to say, the trip back home was awkward and the girls were quite unhappy with Ian's reaction and us (with the help of the marine corps) accidently traumatizing them.
Up until that officer removed his helmet I truly believed we were in the midst of a horror movie.
TL;DR, Some friends and a younger me with unknowingly stumbled upon a Marine corps war game, and all thought we were all gonners.
I was about 20 at the time and was back home from college on a visit. My friend Ian and I were having a few drinks and entertaining two girls we knew from high school. As two romantic hopefuls not quite old enough to go to the bar we opted to go drink at a secluded beach we knew of. To get to said beach required walking through a thick forested area, and despite it being dark everyone seemed fine with the idea.
We head on over and began our trek, something we had done without incident several times. However, this time we immediately realized something was off. There were no frogs or bugs, the forest was silent, absolutely nothing but a calm stillness. Ian and I quietly mentioned to each other that this usually meant a predator is around, but we'd had a few at this point and decided we were probably the scariest thing out there. We continued down the path quietly, but on a slightly heightened-alert.
Then we noticed the smell. The forest smelled off, almost like a mixture of dirty clothes and bad breath. Again, we are concerned, but at this point we are almost there so there was no sense in turning back.
The last part of the path cut through a marsh lowland that connected the barrier island to the mainland. It is admittedly creepy with old winding trees covering the path. What little light we had from the moon was now being blotted out by a twisted latticework of branches.
We begin to traverse this path and are about midway through when I heard it; a pronounced mechanical click, like a snapple bottlecap being popped. Ian and I froze, and before we could localize where the noise came from we heard it again from a different direction. There was a brief pause, and then the forest simply stood up.
A dozen figures vaguely silhouetted by moonlight stood and began to move towards us from all directions. Without hesitation Ian took off in a full sprint. I go to follow, but pull back after deciding I couldn't leave the girls alone. As they realized what was happening they began to scream the kind of scream you only let out when you are absolutely sure you're doomed. As I grabbed them to get them positioned to run I turned and the path was now blocked by obscured figures. It was game over, no way out, hopelessly outnumbered by figures that didn't even appear to be human. I kept the girls behind me and got ready to make my last stand. I was terrified, but the adrenaline rush kept me calm.
The figure closest to us ceased its advance. An arm reached up from its center mass and pulled off a helmet that had foliage strapped to it, revealing a man's painted face. He began to speak as I stood before him in utter disbelief. He identified himself as an officer of the marine corps and explained they sometimes run war games on this stretch of land, which I learned is public access but owned by the navy. They were unsure if we were part of the exercise or not, hence why they advanced. He began to apologize profusely, but I was so relieved to be alive at this point I could not have cared less.
As they escorted us back all the weirdness of the woods began to make sense. The silence, the smell, those clicks; all a result of a platoon of leathernecks creeping in the shadows. On our path back several other smaller groups that had stayed in cover made themselves known, including a pair that had stopped Ian from running all the way back to Baltimore.
Needless to say, the trip back home was awkward and the girls were quite unhappy with Ian's reaction and us (with the help of the marine corps) accidently traumatizing them.
Up until that officer removed his helmet I truly believed we were in the midst of a horror movie.
TL;DR, Some friends and a younger me with unknowingly stumbled upon a Marine corps war game, and all thought we were all gonners.
46points
Fear, whether it makes you feel uncomfortable, thrills you, or both, has a very important part to play. It’s what keeps you safe and helps you survive in dangerous situations. And yet, chronic fear can also wreak havoc on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
“Our body's fear response is actually a fantastic tool for survival in dangerous situations because it kicks in fast, pumps us full of energy, heightens our focus, strengthens our muscles, and gets us ready to handle whatever’s coming at us,” Kenneth Carter, a clinical psychologist at Oxford College of Emory University, told National Geographic.
#4
I woke up from a coma in hospital, I was completely paralysed and my vocal chords were messed up so I couldn't talk at all. I was in so much pain. I was put on a hallucinogenic medicament but nobody told me this, so I couldn't understand why I was hallucinating.
I saw some really scary stuff, I believed I was strapped to the bed and in some kind of illegal experimentation centre. The nurses were covered in blood and the doctors wore masks and kept screaming at the top of their voices. I cried so much and the nurses were trying to figure out why, I was desperately trying to ask them not to hurt me but I had no voice.
This went on for a week until I was taken off the medicine. It's been 12 years and I still have nightmares. Every time I get ill I'm scared I will have another coma and refuse to call an ambulance even in the most dire situations.
I genuinely thought I was in a horror film, it was terrifying.
I saw some really scary stuff, I believed I was strapped to the bed and in some kind of illegal experimentation centre. The nurses were covered in blood and the doctors wore masks and kept screaming at the top of their voices. I cried so much and the nurses were trying to figure out why, I was desperately trying to ask them not to hurt me but I had no voice.
This went on for a week until I was taken off the medicine. It's been 12 years and I still have nightmares. Every time I get ill I'm scared I will have another coma and refuse to call an ambulance even in the most dire situations.
I genuinely thought I was in a horror film, it was terrifying.
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37points
#5
I was at a friend's house to watch the Ring for the first time. We were 14yo girls alone in her bedroom with all the curtains shut and lights off for the atmosphere. We're about half way through the movie where they replay the video from start to end. As soon as the video ended in the movie, my friends house phone rang.
We just looked at each other, mildly terrified. We paused the movie and my friend answered the phone but there was nothing but white noise on the other end. She hangs up and we're freaking out a little at this point but reassure ourselves that it's all fine and press okay on the movie again.
As soon as we press okay, on phone rings again. My friend answers it and again it's a lot of white noise but there's time we hear a very faint, horse and broken up "I'm coming. I'm coming now". Well, not were absolutely terrified think that the ring is actually coming to get us.
Just as we're trying to reassure each other her front door (which had been locked) slams open. We peer around the corner and down the stairs but there's nobody there. We creep down and close the door then go into her living room to see if someone had come in the house. The door slams open again and no one is there.
At this point we're just staring at the entrance to the living room, waiting for a creep well girl to come for us.
That's when my friend's dad walks in with arms FULL of shopping going "c'mon! I rang and told you I was coming with shopping so you could help me unload the car! What's wrong? You look really pale??"
Turns out his phone signal had been absolutely awful and it was just a coincidence when he called. Then he'd got home, flung open the front door and immediately went round the corner to the car (the driveway was on the side of the house so we couldn't see the car). When he saw us close the door, he rolled his eyes and flung it open again.
Now it's a fun anecdote for us to laugh at but at the time, we genuinely thought a girl was gonna crawl our the TV!
We just looked at each other, mildly terrified. We paused the movie and my friend answered the phone but there was nothing but white noise on the other end. She hangs up and we're freaking out a little at this point but reassure ourselves that it's all fine and press okay on the movie again.
As soon as we press okay, on phone rings again. My friend answers it and again it's a lot of white noise but there's time we hear a very faint, horse and broken up "I'm coming. I'm coming now". Well, not were absolutely terrified think that the ring is actually coming to get us.
Just as we're trying to reassure each other her front door (which had been locked) slams open. We peer around the corner and down the stairs but there's nobody there. We creep down and close the door then go into her living room to see if someone had come in the house. The door slams open again and no one is there.
At this point we're just staring at the entrance to the living room, waiting for a creep well girl to come for us.
That's when my friend's dad walks in with arms FULL of shopping going "c'mon! I rang and told you I was coming with shopping so you could help me unload the car! What's wrong? You look really pale??"
Turns out his phone signal had been absolutely awful and it was just a coincidence when he called. Then he'd got home, flung open the front door and immediately went round the corner to the car (the driveway was on the side of the house so we couldn't see the car). When he saw us close the door, he rolled his eyes and flung it open again.
Now it's a fun anecdote for us to laugh at but at the time, we genuinely thought a girl was gonna crawl our the TV!
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33points
#6
My time to shine - I love telling this story.
I was about 11 at the time.
My bedroom was right next to the bathroom, old house, thin walls. I woke up during the night, nothing unusual. Rolled over to go back to sleep, that's when I heard it.
It was a kind of soft, scratching noise. I laid their for a minute, kind of awake, half asleep, so wasn't sure I'd actually heard anything.
Then I hear it again, soft, but definitely there, scratching.
This time I sat up in the bed, sure I'd heard a sound, a sound that was coming from inside the house.
It felt like forever, sitting upright in the bed, frozen, trying not to breathe too loud.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
By now I could tell it was coming from the bathroom. I'm not sure what possessed me, but instead of getting TF out and going to my mums room; I got my T-Ball bat from under the bed and decided I need to go confront whatever demon was in my bathroom.
As I crept toward the opened bathroom door, I could hear the scratching, it was louder now, more aggressive.
I stood in the doorway and flicked the lightswitch on. I stood there, staring into the empty bathroom as my eyes adjusted to the light.
I couldn't see anything. The room was empty.
Thats when the closed shower curtain started to move, along with more aggressive scratching.
I stood there in disbelief, was this really happening? Is this how I meet my end?
Armed with my bat, I creeped forward towards the shower, I remember my heart thumping so hard, petrified, I creeped closer. The shower curtain started moving again, scratch, scratch.
I held up my bat with one hand, ready to swing.
Pulled back the curtain in a swift move to find....
My cat in the bath tub.
She had pooped in the plug hole and was digging at the curtain to cover it up.
True story, the end lol.
I was about 11 at the time.
My bedroom was right next to the bathroom, old house, thin walls. I woke up during the night, nothing unusual. Rolled over to go back to sleep, that's when I heard it.
It was a kind of soft, scratching noise. I laid their for a minute, kind of awake, half asleep, so wasn't sure I'd actually heard anything.
Then I hear it again, soft, but definitely there, scratching.
This time I sat up in the bed, sure I'd heard a sound, a sound that was coming from inside the house.
It felt like forever, sitting upright in the bed, frozen, trying not to breathe too loud.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
By now I could tell it was coming from the bathroom. I'm not sure what possessed me, but instead of getting TF out and going to my mums room; I got my T-Ball bat from under the bed and decided I need to go confront whatever demon was in my bathroom.
As I crept toward the opened bathroom door, I could hear the scratching, it was louder now, more aggressive.
I stood in the doorway and flicked the lightswitch on. I stood there, staring into the empty bathroom as my eyes adjusted to the light.
I couldn't see anything. The room was empty.
Thats when the closed shower curtain started to move, along with more aggressive scratching.
I stood there in disbelief, was this really happening? Is this how I meet my end?
Armed with my bat, I creeped forward towards the shower, I remember my heart thumping so hard, petrified, I creeped closer. The shower curtain started moving again, scratch, scratch.
I held up my bat with one hand, ready to swing.
Pulled back the curtain in a swift move to find....
My cat in the bath tub.
She had pooped in the plug hole and was digging at the curtain to cover it up.
True story, the end lol.
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29points
According to Carter, this mechanism that helped our ancient ancestors flee from predators and protects us from harm today can wear our bodies down “if it's triggered too often with constant stress or frequent jump scares.”
National Geographic explains that a human being’s fear response begins in the amygdala, which is a part of the brain’s limbic system. The amygdala recognizes threats and processes emotions. After perceiving a threat, it sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, which then indicates to the nervous and endocrine systems to release hormones and neurotransmitters. These include things like cortisol, dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline.
#7
Sorry, this is long. Been wanting to properly tell this story for years.
Driving from Pennsylvania to Arizona a few years back, no hotel stops along the way, just me and 2 friends taking turns at the wheel for a 35 hour drive. We finally cross the state line and enter AZ after nearly 2 days of straight driving with minimal stops for food/fuel/etc. It’s about 1am and we’re running low on gas - the only gas station for miles that is listed as being open online is located about 3 miles inside of Petrified Forest National Park. We don’t have any other options, we decide to check it out.
My friend is driving, other friend is riding passenger, I’m in the back seat (they’re both women, I’m the one male in the car). Soon as we drive into the park, we’re wondering how the hell there’s an open gas station in here - it’s pitch black, no cars in sight, the park is clearly unoccupied. The only source of light on our 3ish mile drive to our destination was our headlights. Miraculously, we pull up to a gas station buried inside this park. There’s no attendant, the store is locked, but the pump is lit. My friend pulls over (it’s a tight squeeze, small gas station), and my friends joke that I should be the one to pump the gas since I’m the only man in the car. It’s really because none of us want to step outside, we’re all feeling creeped out about the atmosphere we’ve driven into. I get out, the pump accepts my card, and start filling up the tank.
As soon as I start fueling up, we see lights approaching from the distance. Let me restate that there had been NO lights whatsoever beside our headlights and the faint glow of the gas pump at the station - we could see the blackness of night stretching for miles in this park. There had been nobody on the narrow road with us the whole time we were driving in. Where were these lights coming from, if we hadn’t seen them until the second I exited the car? I say to my friends through the window, “must be a park ranger.” I realize as I’m saying this that I’m verbalizing it to calm myself down rather than because I think it’s true.
Lights get closer, they’re blinding (high beams are on, shining directly at me as they pull into the station). Eventually they get close enough that I can make out the vehicle - it’s a random RV, not a park ranger. I see a man in the front seat (skinny, glasses, mustache, baseball cap, white guy, that’s how I remember him) and there’s nobody else in the vehicle with him. I assume that he’s gotta be in the same boat as us - tank running low, no place to stop for gas, no choice but to fill up at the park - but he drives AROUND the unoccupied pump and faces his RV in our direction, for no apparent reason. At this point I can see his eyes, we’re close enough that I’m looking at the driver clearly as I’m filling up the tank. He smiles at me as he continues to inch his vehicle closer to ours, moving at a speed so slow that it was like he was trying to provoke us. He’s getting closer, closer, why isn’t he stopping? He’s about to hit us while we’re immobilized and he’s driving less than 5mph - so my friend in the passenger seat builds up the courage to reach over and honk the horn to tell him to stop. The sound of that horn, cutting the tension of the absolute silence of the night, will stick with me forever. At this point I was looking not only at the RV, but also through the window at my friends - without words, we’re all communicating our extreme horror and confusion at the situation unfolding in front of us.
The RV stops, just yards away from our car, and the man waves at me again, almost apologetically, with a smile. We’re not fully fueled but I know that I’m not comfortable standing at that pump any longer, so I hang it up and hop back in the car. I don’t even have to say “let’s get out of here”, as soon as I close the door my friend is already starting to move the car. RV guy has at this point positioned himself in such a way that it is impossible for us to drive straight out of the station because he’s blocking our path forward. Our only choice is to reverse into the forest (ie the unpaved, non-drivable forest), and angle ourselves out from there. We eventually do it while the RV guy sits there, staring at us, still not moving to exit his vehicle or fuel it. We get out, start driving as fast as we can on that narrow path out of the park, and keep checking behind us to see if we’re being followed. We weren’t - it looked like the RV turned its headlights off as soon as we left.
We didn’t discuss what had happened until we knew we were 100% safe and back on the highway. When we finally were able to approach the situation, we realized that the RV must have been camped out in the blackness of the forest with its lights out, waiting for someone to approach the pump. We would have seen the headlights otherwise, it would have been too black not to have noticed them. We have no idea what would have happened if we hadn’t honked that horn, if we had let him slowly inch his way closer and hit our car. Would he have said “sorry, let’s all get out of the car and check the damage” and then tried something on us? Would he have lured us out in the open so we didn’t have the protection of the car? Was he alone in the RV? We will never know and I’m sure glad that we didn’t stick around to find out.
Driving from Pennsylvania to Arizona a few years back, no hotel stops along the way, just me and 2 friends taking turns at the wheel for a 35 hour drive. We finally cross the state line and enter AZ after nearly 2 days of straight driving with minimal stops for food/fuel/etc. It’s about 1am and we’re running low on gas - the only gas station for miles that is listed as being open online is located about 3 miles inside of Petrified Forest National Park. We don’t have any other options, we decide to check it out.
My friend is driving, other friend is riding passenger, I’m in the back seat (they’re both women, I’m the one male in the car). Soon as we drive into the park, we’re wondering how the hell there’s an open gas station in here - it’s pitch black, no cars in sight, the park is clearly unoccupied. The only source of light on our 3ish mile drive to our destination was our headlights. Miraculously, we pull up to a gas station buried inside this park. There’s no attendant, the store is locked, but the pump is lit. My friend pulls over (it’s a tight squeeze, small gas station), and my friends joke that I should be the one to pump the gas since I’m the only man in the car. It’s really because none of us want to step outside, we’re all feeling creeped out about the atmosphere we’ve driven into. I get out, the pump accepts my card, and start filling up the tank.
As soon as I start fueling up, we see lights approaching from the distance. Let me restate that there had been NO lights whatsoever beside our headlights and the faint glow of the gas pump at the station - we could see the blackness of night stretching for miles in this park. There had been nobody on the narrow road with us the whole time we were driving in. Where were these lights coming from, if we hadn’t seen them until the second I exited the car? I say to my friends through the window, “must be a park ranger.” I realize as I’m saying this that I’m verbalizing it to calm myself down rather than because I think it’s true.
Lights get closer, they’re blinding (high beams are on, shining directly at me as they pull into the station). Eventually they get close enough that I can make out the vehicle - it’s a random RV, not a park ranger. I see a man in the front seat (skinny, glasses, mustache, baseball cap, white guy, that’s how I remember him) and there’s nobody else in the vehicle with him. I assume that he’s gotta be in the same boat as us - tank running low, no place to stop for gas, no choice but to fill up at the park - but he drives AROUND the unoccupied pump and faces his RV in our direction, for no apparent reason. At this point I can see his eyes, we’re close enough that I’m looking at the driver clearly as I’m filling up the tank. He smiles at me as he continues to inch his vehicle closer to ours, moving at a speed so slow that it was like he was trying to provoke us. He’s getting closer, closer, why isn’t he stopping? He’s about to hit us while we’re immobilized and he’s driving less than 5mph - so my friend in the passenger seat builds up the courage to reach over and honk the horn to tell him to stop. The sound of that horn, cutting the tension of the absolute silence of the night, will stick with me forever. At this point I was looking not only at the RV, but also through the window at my friends - without words, we’re all communicating our extreme horror and confusion at the situation unfolding in front of us.
The RV stops, just yards away from our car, and the man waves at me again, almost apologetically, with a smile. We’re not fully fueled but I know that I’m not comfortable standing at that pump any longer, so I hang it up and hop back in the car. I don’t even have to say “let’s get out of here”, as soon as I close the door my friend is already starting to move the car. RV guy has at this point positioned himself in such a way that it is impossible for us to drive straight out of the station because he’s blocking our path forward. Our only choice is to reverse into the forest (ie the unpaved, non-drivable forest), and angle ourselves out from there. We eventually do it while the RV guy sits there, staring at us, still not moving to exit his vehicle or fuel it. We get out, start driving as fast as we can on that narrow path out of the park, and keep checking behind us to see if we’re being followed. We weren’t - it looked like the RV turned its headlights off as soon as we left.
We didn’t discuss what had happened until we knew we were 100% safe and back on the highway. When we finally were able to approach the situation, we realized that the RV must have been camped out in the blackness of the forest with its lights out, waiting for someone to approach the pump. We would have seen the headlights otherwise, it would have been too black not to have noticed them. We have no idea what would have happened if we hadn’t honked that horn, if we had let him slowly inch his way closer and hit our car. Would he have said “sorry, let’s all get out of the car and check the damage” and then tried something on us? Would he have lured us out in the open so we didn’t have the protection of the car? Was he alone in the RV? We will never know and I’m sure glad that we didn’t stick around to find out.
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25points
#8
I was cutting down a large tree, it hit another tree on the way down, which I planned on. Then a very large branch from the tree I cut, broke off, and kind of catapulted of a branch from the tree it hit, through the air, maybe 20 yards, and landed right at my feet. Inches away. At the time I felt a rush of excitement, like, yes, that could have been it!
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23points
#9
So I was dating a girl in my early twenties. We went on a road trip to California when she started displaying symptoms of schizophrenia. She would be normal as all day and then all of sudden just shift in vibe.
So one night I'm with her and we're staying alone in this little building on a farm, while doing a work trade. She was having normal conversation with me when all of the sudden she freezes and stares past me with a terrified look on her face.
"It's right behind you"
Yeah no. I was so scared. I look behind me, find nothing and ask her what she saw. She doesn't explain. Then starts saying bad things about herself and spiralling more and more negative with her thoughts. Then her pupils widen in an instant like she just got eye drops put in. Then I notice she goes to grab a knife off the side table. I quickly grab her wrist of the hand with the knife and wrestle her down to the ground. I eventually got the knife from her without her being able to do anything with it.
The craziest part was how strong this person was, I had probably 60 pounds on this 110 lbs chick and she was putting up a hell of a fight trying to keep the knife.
Man that was a road trip from hell.
So one night I'm with her and we're staying alone in this little building on a farm, while doing a work trade. She was having normal conversation with me when all of the sudden she freezes and stares past me with a terrified look on her face.
"It's right behind you"
Yeah no. I was so scared. I look behind me, find nothing and ask her what she saw. She doesn't explain. Then starts saying bad things about herself and spiralling more and more negative with her thoughts. Then her pupils widen in an instant like she just got eye drops put in. Then I notice she goes to grab a knife off the side table. I quickly grab her wrist of the hand with the knife and wrestle her down to the ground. I eventually got the knife from her without her being able to do anything with it.
The craziest part was how strong this person was, I had probably 60 pounds on this 110 lbs chick and she was putting up a hell of a fight trying to keep the knife.
Man that was a road trip from hell.
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22points
Together, these hormones and neurotransmitters quicken your breathing and make your heart pump oxygen-rich blood faster to your muscles and organs. This prepares both your brain and your muscles to rapidly coordinate a response to danger. Your muscles tighten, your pupils dilate, your mind sharpens, and your hearing improves, all so that you can focus on the threat and the threat alone.
The issue is that your response to fear is the same whether the threat is real or only perceived. Chronic stress can lead to health issues such as heart problems, digestive issues, elevated blood pressure, and a dysregulated immune system.
What’s more, if you’re overexposed to scary situations, you can become desensitized to fear, meaning you might not react as strongly as necessary in actual dangerous situations.
#10
Ok here’s one. I’ve been a cop for twelve years. This happened maybe year two or three. We get a call for a lost child that can’t be found at a local Halloween festival at a church. Myself and my partner decide to check the surrounding neighborhood as there are already enough officers checking the festival grounds. This is the beginning of graveyard shift so 9:30-10:00pm more or less. As we are checking this neighborhood, a small dilapidated house that has a blanket for a front door catches my attention. I notice an eerie orange glow emanating from the inside of this house. When I say house, this place looked like a small shack than an actual house. Myself and my partner decide to check the inside to make sure she didn’t wander in here. We announce our presence and get no answer. Being that there was no front door and the objective being the safety of this girl, we entered the “shack”. Right when we entered it was apparent the house had no electricity. That eerie glow was each room and hallway was lit with dozens of glass (religious) candles. As we walked from room to room looking for anyone and said child, we kept hearing a constant crunching under our feet. The whole time we were there felt like we had stepped into another world. This evil surreal feeling was palpable and stomach turning. We both felt like we didn’t belong here. It was eerie. After not finding anyone or anything but empty rooms with candles, I pointed my flashlight at the ground. We soon found out that the crunching we were hearing was thousands of cockroaches all over the floor squirming around. The floor appeared to be moving and alive with insects. Myself and my partner both looked at each other and decided to get out of there. We continued searching the rest of the neighborhood until officers at the festival radioed that the girl was found.
Later that night after ending my shift and replaying the day/night in my head, the whole event kept bothering me. Something didn’t seem right about that place and that shack. The roaches on the ground were a horror movie level of an amount. It just felt surreal and wrong. The following day I went back to the neighborhood during the day, but could not locate the shack anywhere. It was as if it didn’t exist. I asked my partner as well if he felt similar to me. He told me he also went to check and couldn’t find the place. He said the whole thing kept him up and he couldn’t sleep. To this day that was probably the closest thing I’ve experienced to the paranormal or high strangeness in my career. Still bothers me to this day.
Later that night after ending my shift and replaying the day/night in my head, the whole event kept bothering me. Something didn’t seem right about that place and that shack. The roaches on the ground were a horror movie level of an amount. It just felt surreal and wrong. The following day I went back to the neighborhood during the day, but could not locate the shack anywhere. It was as if it didn’t exist. I asked my partner as well if he felt similar to me. He told me he also went to check and couldn’t find the place. He said the whole thing kept him up and he couldn’t sleep. To this day that was probably the closest thing I’ve experienced to the paranormal or high strangeness in my career. Still bothers me to this day.
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20points
#11
Was driving from the local airport (my wife is a pilot) one evening with my future wife. About 9 p.m. The road took us by a pull off where some county dumpsters were on one side of the road. As we drove by, a blacked out car that had been parked spun out on the gravel and got right behind me doing the speed limit. I mean, he was so close in the rear view I could only see the tint on his windshield, not even his car's hood. Wasn't a police car. It was an early 2000's Chevy.
He was following us.
I took some random turns using my blinker thinking at first he was just going the same way as me and wanted me to hurry up on the one lane road with a double yellow. But after about 3 random turns that kept up in the same area I realized it wasn't random. Told my wife to hold on to something and aggressively turned down a side road with my blinker indicating another way. Sped 90 down a road with a much lower speed than that, took a few extra turns, and ended up parking in the airport parking lot. Turned off my lights and we waited.
Same car came barreling down the road. Watched him go around a bend out of sight and took off in the opposite direction with my lights off, using the moonlight to see. Once I got close to a main road I flicked the lights on and drove under the speed limit the rest of the way home.
Freaked us both out so much. Almost called the cops and parked at the police station so the cops could pull him over instantly. No idea what they were doing but didn't play games.
He was following us.
I took some random turns using my blinker thinking at first he was just going the same way as me and wanted me to hurry up on the one lane road with a double yellow. But after about 3 random turns that kept up in the same area I realized it wasn't random. Told my wife to hold on to something and aggressively turned down a side road with my blinker indicating another way. Sped 90 down a road with a much lower speed than that, took a few extra turns, and ended up parking in the airport parking lot. Turned off my lights and we waited.
Same car came barreling down the road. Watched him go around a bend out of sight and took off in the opposite direction with my lights off, using the moonlight to see. Once I got close to a main road I flicked the lights on and drove under the speed limit the rest of the way home.
Freaked us both out so much. Almost called the cops and parked at the police station so the cops could pull him over instantly. No idea what they were doing but didn't play games.
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20points
#12
I was falling asleep staring at the ceiling, we have a few night lights in the room . The night light is casting a weird shadow on the ceiling that looked oddly like the profile of a face, and the more my brain and eyes focus in on it, the more detailed and menacing it began to look. I am completely fixated on this face and then suddenly it turned to look at me. I screamed and thrashed around in my blankets waking my highly irritated partner who was yelling "What!? What!?" at this point. My brain then realized that the shadow was created by the blanket and my partners foot, and when they moved their foot it made it appear as if the face had turned to look at me. I was so embarrassed that I told my partner I had a nightmare and turned over and went to sleep.
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19points
Once you’ve read through these netizens’ stories, we’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments below, Pandas. What are the creepiest, most terrifying things that have ever happened to you? How did you react, and what happened next? How big a horror content fan would you say that you are? Let us know!
#13
Sixth grade school camping trip; I was in a tent with two other girls. Early in the morning, barely light out, I was awakened by shouting. Opened my eyes to see the outline of a young man crouching over me and looking back over his shoulder at the tent opening. Before I really understood what was going on he was hauled out of the tent. Apparently he had been sneaking from tent to tent, and had an axe (laid gently next to my head as it turned out). It was all so fast, and I was so sleepy, I never registered that I should be terrified. And my home life was such a nightmare at the time that it never became a thing.
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19points
#14
I (then 20f) was on the outskirts of Boston visiting some friends at their college house with my (then 18) girlfriend. She and I stepped away from the party and walked to the corner store, maybe five blocks away for some cigarettes and chips. We got the sense that we were being followed so I turned over my shoulder and there was a dude RIGHT there. Like not a few steps back..like he could’ve whispered in my ear. My gf grabbed my hand and jumped. I squeezed it back twice to kind of say “relax” (even tho I was absolutely stressing myself).
I chuckled and said “Jesus man! Wear a bell or something you scared us. What’s up?”
He laughed and said “nothing I was going to see if you guys wanted to party. I’m [name] by the way”. So I said “yeah definitely [name]. I’m [lied] and this is [lied again]. Where are you headed?”
This is all while walking by the way.
He said he lived just a bit away but his car was parked like another 5-6 blocks up and we could drive to his place. So I said “yeah awesome. We’re not from here and looking for something fun to do”. My gf is panicking and I’m nudging her to speak intermediately through out this terrifying convo to seem less sketchy. We start approaching my friends house where the party has clearly gotten more rowdy in the last 30 mins.
Still holding my gfs hand, I drop something on the ground (my keys? Wallet? I don’t remember) bend down to pick it up so he is a few steps in front of us and we BOLT up the front steps into my friends house.
We told everyone what happened and the biggest dude went outside after he heard “we were followed by some guy trying to get us in his car”. He told him he’d “rip his dome off of his shoulders if he ever saw him walk down this street again”. 6’4” rugby player. I wouldn’t show back up..and luckily he never did.
I chuckled and said “Jesus man! Wear a bell or something you scared us. What’s up?”
He laughed and said “nothing I was going to see if you guys wanted to party. I’m [name] by the way”. So I said “yeah definitely [name]. I’m [lied] and this is [lied again]. Where are you headed?”
This is all while walking by the way.
He said he lived just a bit away but his car was parked like another 5-6 blocks up and we could drive to his place. So I said “yeah awesome. We’re not from here and looking for something fun to do”. My gf is panicking and I’m nudging her to speak intermediately through out this terrifying convo to seem less sketchy. We start approaching my friends house where the party has clearly gotten more rowdy in the last 30 mins.
Still holding my gfs hand, I drop something on the ground (my keys? Wallet? I don’t remember) bend down to pick it up so he is a few steps in front of us and we BOLT up the front steps into my friends house.
We told everyone what happened and the biggest dude went outside after he heard “we were followed by some guy trying to get us in his car”. He told him he’d “rip his dome off of his shoulders if he ever saw him walk down this street again”. 6’4” rugby player. I wouldn’t show back up..and luckily he never did.
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19points
#15
When I was in college I went on a biology trip to Zambia. Towards the end of the trip we stayed in a nice resort like area as a treat (we had been in tents the entire time up to that so cabins were a real treat). Anyway there was one cabin that had electricity so we all had to plug anything that needed charged in there and leave it. A friend of mine and I were in the same cabin and later at night our phones were dying so we went to the cabin to plug them in.
There was an armed guard (I’m talking army man with an AK47) standing by the entrance. We assumed he was there to prevent things being stolen but later learned there was probably another reason. I had this feeling like we were being watched, super strong and super creepy. It was mostly dark and I kept shining my flashlight in the bush to see if anything was there and I never saw anything. I figured I was just paranoid. We ran back to our cabin we were so freaked out and fell asleep for the night.
Next morning we were all at breakfast and everyone was asking if we heard the lion pride that came through camp. I was devastated that I didn’t because lions were one of the main wildlife I wanted to see. My friend and I said that we must have slept through it and asked when they came through, this is where it gets scary. The pride came through our camp mere minutes after we went to plug in our phones, and they walked DIRECTLY behind our cabin. We went to look at the prints and sure enough we could have reached out and pet them. That’s when I looked at my friend and reminded her of my feeling of being watched. We have no proof but to this day we’re pretty sure at least one of those lions was watching us at night. That was also when I realized the AK was not just for burglars. Still gives me chills to this day almost 10 years later.
There was an armed guard (I’m talking army man with an AK47) standing by the entrance. We assumed he was there to prevent things being stolen but later learned there was probably another reason. I had this feeling like we were being watched, super strong and super creepy. It was mostly dark and I kept shining my flashlight in the bush to see if anything was there and I never saw anything. I figured I was just paranoid. We ran back to our cabin we were so freaked out and fell asleep for the night.
Next morning we were all at breakfast and everyone was asking if we heard the lion pride that came through camp. I was devastated that I didn’t because lions were one of the main wildlife I wanted to see. My friend and I said that we must have slept through it and asked when they came through, this is where it gets scary. The pride came through our camp mere minutes after we went to plug in our phones, and they walked DIRECTLY behind our cabin. We went to look at the prints and sure enough we could have reached out and pet them. That’s when I looked at my friend and reminded her of my feeling of being watched. We have no proof but to this day we’re pretty sure at least one of those lions was watching us at night. That was also when I realized the AK was not just for burglars. Still gives me chills to this day almost 10 years later.
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19points
#16
When I was going to University, I lived in a share house. One night, I got up to use the bathroom.
As I was walking past the living room, a bright light suddenly appeared in the room and a Thriller-style evil laugh ("AH HAHAHAHAHAH AAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHA") loudly rang out.
After I'd almost literally jumped through the ceiling in terror.....I realised it was my housemate's phone going off and the sinister laugh was his ringtone.
As I was walking past the living room, a bright light suddenly appeared in the room and a Thriller-style evil laugh ("AH HAHAHAHAHAH AAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHA") loudly rang out.
After I'd almost literally jumped through the ceiling in terror.....I realised it was my housemate's phone going off and the sinister laugh was his ringtone.
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19points
#17
My wife and I had checked into a hotel room and had gone to bed. My wife is asleep, I'm just starting to drift off to sleep when I hear a soft voice in the dark room, just above a whisper say: "I think they're asleep now."
Thinking I just heard the voice of someone hiding in our room, I jump out of bed in terror, turn on all the lights, search the bathroom, shower, under the bed, the closet... but there was nothing, my wife and I were the only two people in the room.
Now some people might have believed the room was haunted, but what I experienced was a hypnagogic hallucination but for a few minutes there I was quite terrified.
Thinking I just heard the voice of someone hiding in our room, I jump out of bed in terror, turn on all the lights, search the bathroom, shower, under the bed, the closet... but there was nothing, my wife and I were the only two people in the room.
Now some people might have believed the room was haunted, but what I experienced was a hypnagogic hallucination but for a few minutes there I was quite terrified.
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15points
#18
Oct 3rd my area in arizona had one of its bad dust storms or haboobs. me and my husband were on the 202 driving home from his work coming up to Laveen. we had zero visibility. So we get off on Dobbins which is a small two lane country like road. We do the whole pull over thing they tell you to do on the news. We are sitting there and the car is rocking and shaking in the wind. We still can't see past the good of our car. Suddenly there was a human shape flying towards our car It hit the roof and we heard scraping sounds as it slid across our roof. We are terrified we were debating if it was a person and unsure if 60 plus mph wind could fling a person or not. My husband double masked to keep dirt out and got out of the car to check to make sure it wasn't a body. Turns out someone had lost Halloween decorations it was like a life sized zombie looking thing. However for a moment we thought a body had been flung at us.
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15points
#19
I had a stalker when I was a teenager, not as creepy as some of the stories I’ve read here already lol. One of the creepier incidents happened when I was up late (2am) on my computer, I didn’t have the blinds all the way shut but there were bushes in front of them. The doorbell rang, my parents didn’t wake up. In order to wake them up I had to walk past the front door and the windows and up the stairs which I remember being creepy.
Anyways they just told me to go to bed so I did and the next morning my dad found a pile of cigarette butts in the bushes outside the window where I had been sitting.
There were also incidents of like.. tapping on the windows and seeing someone running through the woods in the back yard but everything stopped when I moved to college.
Anyways they just told me to go to bed so I did and the next morning my dad found a pile of cigarette butts in the bushes outside the window where I had been sitting.
There were also incidents of like.. tapping on the windows and seeing someone running through the woods in the back yard but everything stopped when I moved to college.
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12points
#20
I was part of a small Drum Corps in Texas back in 06.
We were on tour and got around in three 15 passenger vans.
This was before google maps - our driver had a set of directions from Mapquest.
One night, we were on a small two-lane highway in central TX. It's 2am.
Next thing we know... we're no longer on a highway. We're on a dirt road, and the driver isn't sure how he got there in the first place.
We end up pulling into a trailer town. It is VERY dark... the town, if you could call it that, was a couple square blocks of trailers and campers, and ONE brick two-story building that looks like a convenience store.
There's only one light on, and it's the mosquito control light inside the brick building.
We start noticing eyes looking at us in every direction - glowing red and orange. Hundreds of pairs of eyes.
We are genuinely freaked out.
Driver pops on the high beams, and we realize the entire town is COVERED in live deer. I mean HUNDREDS OF DEER. They're on top of cars, on top of campers, in yards, on the side streets, and lining the side of the dirt road we were on.
And not a single one moved. Not an ear wiggle, not a ground scratch, nothing. They just stared at us. The only time they moved was to turn their heads to keep looking at our vans as we slowly, very slowly, drove past.
There were no people. No other lights aside from that mosquito trap and our headlights. Despite deer being on top of trailers and in truck beds and on top of sedans, not a single person was awake in this trailer park.
I still think about that night. I thought I dreamed it, but friends from back then remember this night. We used to joke that the deer were actually the residents of the town and at night they transform into ungulates lol.
It was just... uncanny. Unreal. Never seen anything close to that again.
We drove through just fine and ended up back in civilization but we could never explain what we saw or why there were so many freaking live deer in this trailer park.
We were on tour and got around in three 15 passenger vans.
This was before google maps - our driver had a set of directions from Mapquest.
One night, we were on a small two-lane highway in central TX. It's 2am.
Next thing we know... we're no longer on a highway. We're on a dirt road, and the driver isn't sure how he got there in the first place.
We end up pulling into a trailer town. It is VERY dark... the town, if you could call it that, was a couple square blocks of trailers and campers, and ONE brick two-story building that looks like a convenience store.
There's only one light on, and it's the mosquito control light inside the brick building.
We start noticing eyes looking at us in every direction - glowing red and orange. Hundreds of pairs of eyes.
We are genuinely freaked out.
Driver pops on the high beams, and we realize the entire town is COVERED in live deer. I mean HUNDREDS OF DEER. They're on top of cars, on top of campers, in yards, on the side streets, and lining the side of the dirt road we were on.
And not a single one moved. Not an ear wiggle, not a ground scratch, nothing. They just stared at us. The only time they moved was to turn their heads to keep looking at our vans as we slowly, very slowly, drove past.
There were no people. No other lights aside from that mosquito trap and our headlights. Despite deer being on top of trailers and in truck beds and on top of sedans, not a single person was awake in this trailer park.
I still think about that night. I thought I dreamed it, but friends from back then remember this night. We used to joke that the deer were actually the residents of the town and at night they transform into ungulates lol.
It was just... uncanny. Unreal. Never seen anything close to that again.
We drove through just fine and ended up back in civilization but we could never explain what we saw or why there were so many freaking live deer in this trailer park.
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12points