
Distressed Adults Share Childhood Memories That Scarred Them
[rebelmouse-image 18348013 is_animated_gif=We don't always see the bigger picture as kids. A lot of the times, stuff we accept as normal can actually be viewed as really creepy and terrifying when we get older (looking at YOU "Dinosaurs" series finale where the whole planet dies!). Other times, though, what we didn't see as kids can be something sinister and might break us as adults.
Reddit user, u/Ducknana, wanted to know what haunting us when they asked (TRIGGER WARNING: Some of these tales are brutal in their honesty):
What is a f***ed up memory you have from your childhood that you didn't realize was f***ed up until you grew older?
A Quick Pick Up
[rebelmouse-image 18344987 is_animated_gif=I was a member at some country club where we all played tennis as kids. I was like 6 or 7 at the time this happened, but one of my friends needed to go to the bathroom. I was assigned to go with him so nobody would get lost or something.
As we were walking down, some dude just runs up and grabs my friend and starts forcefully carrying him down the hallway. He covered his mouth but my friend bit him or something and started screaming. The guy just drops him and runs off. At the time we thought nothing of it really and just kept walking to the bathroom. All the coaches were pretty f***ing freaked out when we mentioned it so they searched the building.
Playing With A Balloon. What?
[rebelmouse-image 18348014 is_animated_gif=Found a condom on the school ground. I thought it was a balloon. Brought it home, blew it up and played with it. Until my mom came home, and with a look of horror, asked where I got it. When I told her, she screamed at me to throw it away... I was so mad at her, because she wouldn't tell me the reason.
Nope, still can't laugh about it...
Birth. Day. Two Separate Words
[rebelmouse-image 18348015 is_animated_gif=I was so poor as a kid we celebrated all birthdays on the same 1 day per year, and it was the best present ever: pop ice Popsicles.
I loved birth-day...yes, I thought birthday was a family thing, not every individual person...
What's Mommy Do For A Living?
[rebelmouse-image 18348016 is_animated_gif=My mother took me and a friend of hers to a farm out in the middle of nowhere. She told me I can look at the chickens while she was inside the house with her friend and some guy that lived there.
Of course me being a little kid and mischievous I decided to walk along the house and look in the windows. In one I see my mom sitting on a couch watching tv. The next window is a the bedroom and I see her friend half naked with the guy. I don't think to much of it and just keep walking along the house. Few years later I realized my mother was a "madam" and her friends were really just sex workers.
Symbolism Is A Thing
[rebelmouse-image 18348017 is_animated_gif=So I'm adopted. I'm black, my parents are white.
One day, when I was like 8 or 9 I was watching some old animated Lord of the Rings movie. The orcs were singing a song that went "Wherever there's a whip, there's a way". Well later that day, while doing chores, I was singing that part over and over. My mom, horrified, came and asked where I heard it and told me to never sing it again.
Couldn't understand why until I was older and realized how bad it would probably look.
Mom Wasn't Going For A Ride
[rebelmouse-image 18348018 is_animated_gif=One day mum was in the garage reving the car for ages filling it with fumes, I came in and asked her what she was doing.
I now realise she was trying to end it.
Not A Normal Punishment
[rebelmouse-image 18348019 is_animated_gif=I was once casually telling a friend that once I was locked in my room with a bucket and no food or drink for two days to a friend and laughed at how gross it was.
His face went pale as he said "that's the most f***ed up punishment I've ever heard". It was then I realized how awful my childhood was.
Abnormal Lockout
[rebelmouse-image 18348020 is_animated_gif=I remember my 16 year old sister crying as she banged on the back door, begging me to let her inside, but I was 5 years old and afraid that if I did, mom would be mad at me instead.
Other times my mom would lock my dad out for things like coming home too late or looking at the neighbor lady too suggestively. Another time my sister stepped in between me and my mom, e while screaming, "She's just a kid!!" I thought this kind of drama (and unending guilt over being too afraid to help) was normal until I grew up. I'm still working on it, but I haven't seen my mom in person for 7 months now. I just don't have it in me right now to deal with her crap.
We're In Love With The Coco
[rebelmouse-image 18348021 is_animated_gif=When I was a kid, my family had an all white cat that I loved... And his name was Coke.
At the time, I thought he was named after Coca-Cola. It wasn't until later in life I realized my favorite cat was named after a white substance.
A Shifting Personality
[rebelmouse-image 18348022 is_animated_gif=My father was an alcoholic.
But I did not know this so I could not figure out why he was nice sometimes and cruel at others. I did not know why he would laugh at something I did one day and beat me for it the next. Or why he would hurt me by demonstrating army holds on me and not stop when I cried because he thought we were having fun. So many things like that happened before I finally realized he was drunk.
It Just Doesn't Click
[rebelmouse-image 18348024 is_animated_gif=When I was in preschool this girl in my class would always bring up disturbing events happening at home. I remember one time specifically when we ate lunch one day she casually completely out of the blue said "oh by the way, yesterday my dad slammed my mom into a wall". Throughout the whole year she told similar stories and I always forgot about it when we moved on to something else. It wasn't until a few years ago that it all came back to me and I was shocked that a poor 6 year old girl had to see this with her own eyes.
A Missed Encounter
[rebelmouse-image 18348025 is_animated_gif=I was just starting my freshman year of high school, so I was 14. I can't remember why, I think marching band, but I was at the High School around dusk one night. I realized that my parents forgot about me, and everyone else had left and locked up the school. This was 15 years ago, so I didn't have a cell phone. My school was only a few miles from home in a nice suburban town, so I decided to walk home.
Partway home a guy in a pick up truck pulls along the road and yells out the window asking for directions to the mall. I didn't think anything of it, and told him. He then asked me if I could get in and navigate him there since he still wasn't sure. I was tired and wanted to berate my parents, so I said no and kept walking. It was only a few years ago that I realized he very likely didn't want navigational assistance.
And to be clear, I wasn't 14 looking 18. At 29 I get mistaken for 22, and at 25 I was mistaken for 16. Between my face and the way I dressed, I probably looked 11 or so.
I was super lucky that he didn't follow me, since soon after where he pulled over the shops and house grew really sparse, and it was getting dark. Thankfully my friend's mom saw me walking and picked me up a few minutes later too.
Still creeps me out to think that if I had been less mad or tired I may have gone with. I was very naive.
The Wrong Way To Deal
[rebelmouse-image 18348026 is_animated_gif=My mom would get mad and slam her head on the wall.
I thought that was a reasonable way to deal with frustration, until I tried it myself and it really hurt (go figure). So I stopped doing that, but would punch walls fairly regularly hard enough to break a bone or put holes clean through the wall.
Trying To Be Tough
[rebelmouse-image 18348027 is_animated_gif=I would constantly electrocute myself. Mainly 110 volts and see how long I could take the pain. I thought I was some kind of superhero. Loved the comics as a kid.
Had to add this: THIS IS DANGEROUS. YOU CAN DIE. I was lucky. Chances are you will not be!
A Retreat To Hell
[rebelmouse-image 18347290 is_animated_gif=Me and my family went to a retreat that was supposed to be of jesus or whatever. You know, the type where they sing and have you clap and stuff. And at the very end, "Jesus himself" comes out in a golden chalice thing and he "heals" people. Well during that ceremony, a mentally disabled woman started screaming loudly. I think she may have been scared as everyone was crying and screaming as well. But the priest went up to her and started screaming,"go away devil! Leave this woman alone! Leave!" What do you know the disabled woman didn't stop. So they had her removed from the room.
Needless to say, that was f***ed up.
Why, Daddy?
[rebelmouse-image 18348028 is_animated_gif=My mom caught my dad cheating with a woman from an online gaming forum some time in the very early 2000s. They were sending each other vulgar messages. She read the messages out loud when she found them. I was about 6 at the time. I didn't realize what any of those words mean until about 10 years later when it just clicked. Eugh.
The part my 6-yr-old brain was most upset about was that his forum profile pic was from a family photo on the beach, but he cropped all of us out. Why didn't daddy want me in the picture? :(
(c) Oh Myyy LLC
Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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