Life is full of surprises. Some of those surprises are not all that pleasant.
Some of them are downright scary. Some really take a toll on people's psyche.
And those, unfortunately, stick with us for the rest of our lives.
u/LuckyToaster1 asked:
What is the scariest/creepiest/most disturbing thing you have ever encountered? [Serious]
Here were some of those answers.
The Worst Possible Ending
About 20 years ago, I was working at a school. A teacher was in my shared office working and she and her recently divorced daughter both worked worked at this school. Anyway, her ex son-in-law just came into the school without signing in and came into my office asking his ex mother-in-law where his ex wife (her daughter) was. At this time, I had only heard anecdotal, vague stuff about him, but the second he opened my office door, I was really scared. He just had this look that told me not to engage with him in any way.
He tried to get his ex-wife to go somewhere with him and she refused and he left the school. The mother and her daughter didn't show up to work the next day and they didn't call in either. The principal went to check on them and found them shot dead along with two other people. We just continued to have school that day with kids talking about them being dead all day and it was just horrible.
Home Invasion
My mother always told me to close my window blinds as a kid before i went to sleep.I usually remembered but one night i forgot. I woke up in the middle of the night to an old man staring through my window, smiling. We stared at each other for like 10 seconds.I calmly got out of bed and walked to my mom's room. On the way there,I passed the living room and saw someone walking past our living room windows. I went to sleep in her bed and never brought it up.
The Woods Are Always A Bad Idea
About 5 years ago, a few buddies and I went camping in Tennessee. We were on mountain bikes so we were able to get way far out from civilization and set up camp in the middle of the woods. This was not a camping area, so we didn't run into any other people, and we were so far away from anything we didn't expect to. We all went to sleep without incident and it was as dark as dark can be outside with clouds blocking the moon. After being asleep for a couple of hours I heard leaves crunching probably about 20 feet from our tent.
It was obviously footsteps. I then noticed a little bit of light shining on the tent from what I assume was a flashlight. Then I hear two men whispering. Then I hear "ya'll asleep in there?" My instinct was to remain completely silent and I didn't make a sound. Eventually I heard more footsteps heading away from the tent until eventually I heard nothing again. Needless to say I got absolutely no sleep after that and I woke my buddies up about ten minutes later to tell them. In the morning there was no sign of anybody, and we left quickly. Never figured it out.
Stalked
I was 21 and just moved to a college town living in my own. I noticed my AC unit was being turned off during the day. I thought maybe it was maintenance or a faulty breaker. So I talked to property management, they couldn't figure it out. I brushed it off.
Then I started coming home and there was dishes I didn't remember leaving in the sink. A cereal bowl, a fork. I had a brain tumor so I was concerned my memory was getting really bad.
Then one day while I was in the shower, I thought I heard a man downstairs. I turned off my shower, froze, and grabbed a razor. I realized the door had no locks so I braced myself against the sink and door. I held my breath and listened. I frantically texted my high school friend who lived in the unit next door.
When I heard his voice, I flew downstairs and he was staring at ammunition on my carpet. Just bullets, scattered everywhere.
And this began the three year saga of my stalker and we made the first of multiple police calls.
So while not traditionally creepy, those bullets made my skin crawl and heart sink. I knew someone wanted to hurt me and had been watching me.
So Loud
I was speeding down this dead end road to get to the house i was house sitting (by speeding i mean 40 in a 35) and this dude runs out in the road and starts screaming at me.
I swerve around him and park behind the house, hidden from the road. While I'm getting out i hear a truck fly down the road and the man was walking around the cul de sac SCREAMING and slamming doors.
After i snuck in the house, i locked up everything and laid down.
Weeks later the owners were telling me about their crazy neighbor who is quick to pull out his gun in arguments and if people use his driveway to turn around in.
I know that's a lot and it probably sounds stupid, but i was scared.
Someone's In The House
I got a short one from a while back, maybe 8 years ago. At the time my wife was pregnant, two kids were in the living room with us and 2 kids were upstairs in their bedroom with the door closed. The oldest in the room with us went to microwave something and accidentally turned in the gas stove without lighting it. A half hour later we realize what happened so I turn it off and open some windows. A few minutes later the kids from upstairs run down screaming and crying because someone was banging on their door. They thought it was me messing with them at first so we laughed it off. Well, at first, until they said they saw black boots and heard heavy steps in the hallway. I was downstairs the entire time. Right after they finished telling their story the lid to the hamper came flying down the steps. No windows were open up there and there was never any circulation through the house. We left for a while to calm them down
Ghosts
When I was 16 my parents got a divorce and I went through the typical angst, part of it was firmly denouncing religion and anything not explained by science. My mom, sister and I moved into a creepy old house where they both complained of paranormal instances, which I was quick to dismiss. I came home from a track meet around 7:30 pm on a Friday. When I came in I heard my sister hysterically laughing with her signature snort.
I asked her "what's so funny Taylor" and while barely speaking through the laughing and snorting she replied "just come up here, it's hilarious". I slowly walk up the creaky steps as I listen to her laugh the entire time. She kept saying "you gotta see this, come up here". When I opened the door it was pitch black and she was nowhere to be found. Then I realized when I drove into the driveway there were no other cars, I was home alone. I then remembered my mom and sister had gone to tour colleges that weekend.
I got out of there ASAP. I now believe I know nothing about this world.
Republicans In My Passenger Seat
I was dropping off a rider in NJ from Manhattan and decided to pick up a couple of rides near Newark. A guy gets in my car with his family and sits in the front seat. He then turns my way and doesn't talk for like 2-3 minutes. I'm now officially creeped out and start thinking I should move a little faster. Then he starts to ask where I'm from. I'm instantly even more on alert and say Brooklyn. He says "no where are you originally from" and I'm like dude Brooklyn.
He starts getting agitated and asks where are your parents from and I'm like Brooklyn. Then he screams dude where are they originally from and I'm now officially terrified. His daughter starts screaming in the back telling him to stop cause he's scaring me and to be honest, I lost all control and may have started going through reds. Not once did I even think about looking in his direction. Made a 15 minute ride in like 6 minutes and not once was I stupid enough to mention that my family originally came from Pakistan. He started yelling at his family next and l began to regret taking rides in NJ. I was trapped in a box with a maniac and kept expecting a knife or a gun to pop into his hands any second. I was pretty happy when I pulled into a gated building and the police was there. I dropped him off, turned off the app and drove all the way back to the city without a rider. Lesson learned, no more driving in NJ.
My Feelings
When I was five years old I had a nightmare. In that nightmare there was a man, and he just stood there doing nothing but repeatedly saying "You won't wake up" over and over. I was scared to the point I couldn't move. When I woke up from the nightmare, I could still see and hear my dream. He was laughing at me. I forcefully opened my eyes with my hands but I couldn't get him out of my head. I was so frightened I was about to cry. I got up from my bed and felt my way to the kitchen where my mum was making breakfast.
I tugged on her shirt but and asked her to help me but she just said "Just open your eyes." I tried to show her my eyes were open. "They are!" But she didn't turn around and ignored me. Well, if mom wasn't going to help me, then I was. I thought if I went back to sleep I could fight this laughing man for my freedom, so I went back to bed and closed my eyes. And eventually the man and his laughing faded as I counted down from ten. Immediately I ran back out to mum, just to make sure that what happened was actually real but she just laughed and ignored me again. To this day I have never felt so betrayed by someone.
The Observer
The scariest thing I've ever encountered was I was mowing the lawn around 9PM when I was 11. I remember the lawn mower kept randomly sputtering as if it was going to shut off but wouldn't completely die. I checked the gas at least 3 times to see if that was the problem. When it finally just completely made a clunk and shut off. At the exact moment the sound could no longer be heard there was a large cracking sound behind me.
Come to find out a few weeks later there had been a man who was watching us from the fern tree behind our house. There were only 2 windows in view from that side of the house. The first one was ground level and you could see the backdoor, kitchen, living room and if my mom's door was open her room. The second one you could only see if there were lights on upstairs. If the lights were on upstairs it meant us kids were awake. The police even found a sheet of plywood in the tree for him to sit on and it was believed he'd sit there for hours on end. We never found out what his intentions were but he'd just been watching everything about us.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/cyv6za...
Reluctantly Safe
This happened very recently. I was driving east on the 91 freeway (CA) two days ago (31st) I saw a woman who was about to jump off of an overpass. As I drove past, it was so nerve wracking to see her up there. Then I got back on the freeway and the westbound traffic was backed up for several exits. I kept seeing people in stand still traffic, getting out of their cars.
Googled it later and she was detained and is safe. Thank god.
Near Miss
A few years ago, when I was at college, I was heading back to my apartment building after class. It was still early evening and the sun was still setting so it wasn't like it was dark and gloomy or anything, and I got dropped off by my school's shuttle system so I felt relatively safe. But while I was walking down the sidewalk I saw a man in jeans and big sweater round the corner of my building. The hoodie was up and over his face so I couldn't make it out and he didn't look, to me, like a college student. The build looked more for a 30/40 year old and there was no one else around but us two.
But the second he came into my line of vision my body went cold, my heart started racing and literally every single hair on my body stood up. I quickened my pace to my door but that was what caught his attention. He turned right to me and began speed walking, almost running, right at me and I was so scared I thought I would freeze. Luckily, I had my key already out and I flew inside, bolted the door and closed all the blinds. I called public safety and they sent out a patrol car but it took me forever to calm down. What sucked even more was that I was all alone that night. It was a feeling I've never felt again (knock on wood) but one I won't ever forget. I'm grateful I was lucky!
Not A Pupper
I was walking home from school one day and I saw a coyote about 20-30 feet from where I was standing. Originally, it looked like a little husky so I whistled to it. It made a loud snarling noise and ran away back into the woods. I didn't give it much thought until later that night on the local news the coyote was said to be rabid and attacking other dogs in the neighborhood. The story itself isn't that scary it's just the thought that what if it came to me when I whistled at it and attacked me is frightening
Plunger Next
I was out by myself around 12am and a scary guy followed me home and stayed outside my windows until I decided to call the cops. They said no one was there when the did a sweep of my land. I went to bed and woke up around 5am. The creepy dude was just staring into my bedroom looking at my bed, I stared right back at him and made sure to keep my eyes on him. I texted my neighbour to call the cops. I left my room and heard my window break so I went into the bathroom because the was the safest place around the time. I heard the cop cars and his foot steps. I decided to fight this guy because, it was either sit down and cry in the bath tub like a little bitch or fight. So I got my broom and opened the door. I looked around for a little and found him. He charged right at me and gave me a bloody nose, I him multiple times with my broom until the cops came. They said it was self defence and said nothing of it. After that night, I've never been out past 10pm alone.
If I could go back, I should have used my plunger.
The Bored Ghost
Ok, this one I cannot explain. It happened when I was between 8-10.
I used to get home from school long before my mum got home from work. It wasn't a big deal. I'd grab a snack and sit myself in front of the TV. This happened before we got Sky TV and kept the TV and Sky box plugged in all the time. My mum was terrified of electronics getting fried by lightning so she never left anything plugged in. I got home from school and my usual routine was to lock the house back up and turn the TV on. This afternoon I really, really needed to pee, the TV was unplugged so instead of turning it on first, I ran upstairs and with the door open I used the toilet. About half way through my TV comes on, the sound on full blast. I just froze. I could see down the stairs from where I was and nothing was moving. I finish up and eventually pluck up the courage to sneak back downstairs. No one was down there, but the TV was now plugged in and it was freaking loud. There was no way that could have happened. I turned it down and checked the house. It was still locked up tight, no one else was inside. I just went back to my usual routine and never brought it up to anyone. Now, even if the TV was on standby, which it 100% wasn't, we didn't have a remote for it so it couldn't have been that. The sound turning itself all the way up was especially weird.
