Being an insomniac or one who lives at night, aka, a vampire, can be an exhausting life or it can be exciting. The world doesn't stop turning in the wee hours, in fact the things that go bump in the night can lead to some fascinating or horrifying stories. While others are shut-eyed and dreaming nightmares at sundown, some of us are living through them. Now none of us will ever get to sleep now so we might as well share stories.
Redditor u/isolatedpsychopath wanted to know what sort of craziness is happening when everyone's eyes are shut by asking.... Night owls, what is the creepiest/scariest thing you have ever seen or heard whilst everyone was asleep?
Face Off.
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I was staying at an Airbnb on the first floor and I heard noises outside of my window late at night, so I drew back the window curtains to find myself face to face with some man who I assume was trying to break in. He ran away, but that moment was straight out of a horror movie. personreddits
On Camera.
I had put a surveillance camera in front of my apartment door for various security reasons. As I passed the monitor one night, I noticed that my neighbor fell down the stairs right in front of my door. If no one had noticed it, he probably wouldn't have survived. He had a severe head injury afterwards, but at least he survived. I_am__the_GOLDEN_GOD
HEDGEHOG!
I was smoking in the backyard when i heard footsteps on the stones we have around the garden. It was moving around and i could only hear the stones popping like someone was walking on it.
Then i heard a sneeze.
I thought "crap now someone will jump out the bushes to mug me or beat me up." I was creeped out but thought the only good thing to do is approach the firs which are planted in the ground where the small stones lay. Because despite all the sounds, i could see no one, which isnt' that hard. The firs are not too bushy and far enough apart so you would definitely see someone if he was walking there.
So i came nearer and the stone popping got more intense, like something was running away from me. I switched the light from my smartphone on and theres nothing. Then i look down and see a HEDGEHOG! A real sweet and kind of big one, like he looks a bit fat. Has been eating good as it seems.
I started to call him Sonic and he comes visiting nearly every day. Nowadays he even brings a small hedgehog with him which i think is his kid, or at least a good friend. Sometimes i even leave a bit of food for them, but as it seems they don't really need it as they rarely take something from it.
10/10 would poop my pants again if it turns out to be a hedgehog. loreng94
WOOF!
My dog spontaneously barking at 3 am with no reason other than to yell.
I was home alone while my dad was out of town in a new townhome. Had to open the front door and show her nothing was there.
She still barked. Rabid_Pokemon_Girl
Knock. Knock.
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I heard a knocking on my door, looked on the space under it and there was no shadow or feet, that's why I keep a hammer beside me from now on. Max_189
If it had no legs or shadow, I don't think hammers work on revenants. 927comewhatmay
Satan?
The sound of foxes yiffing is literally the screams of Satan himself. SpringyFredbearSuit
Rabbits sometimes sound like infants that were abandoned in the woods. Then you mix in the foxes, and the rabbits screaming bloody murder as they get eaten, and you might need to go find a different pair of pants because this one's got too much crap in it. Outrageous_Disk
People Explain Which Expensive Purchases Paid For Itself In The Long Run | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The Graveyard Shift.
I'm a security guard, and I occasionally pull the graveyard shift.
During one such occasion, I was working at a warehouse where they make tractors, where my job was to sit in my car in their parking lot over night, and occasionally walk around the outside of the building to make sure everything was good, and no one had fooled with the tractors that were parked outside.
Now one particular night was foggy as hell. I might have had 10, maybe 15 feet of visibility.
I'm walking through the fog, doing my best to see everything I can, when it starts sounding like there's someone walking behind me.
I spin around, nothing. No one there. I start walking, and after a minute I hear the footsteps again. I stop, and the other footsteps stop. Then I hear what sounds like a tractor door slam.
By this point I'm nearly pissing myself. Procedure is not to confront anyone; call the cops from a point of safety. But the nearest safe point is my car, which is on the other side of the warehouse, which is basically half a mile away since I can't cut through the warehouse itself.
But I can't see the fool making the noise. So I decide to continue heading to my car, and hope like hell I make it there safe.
I go on at a pretty good clip; not out right running, but not taking my time anymore. I make my way around a tower of tractor parts, and come face to face with a man in a KKK hood glaring at me from inside a tractor.
Or at least that's what my mind initially conjured up. After standing there a minute in shocked terror, I realize what I'm seeing is a seat cover put on wrong, causing the cover to take on that iconic shape.
After that I book it back to my car, call the local police, and once they get there they patrol the area. Nothing was missing, broken, or out of place. Best guess on the footsteps was my own echoing back at me, and the slamming door was from another warehouse nearby.
Oh, then there was that time at another site where I was by myself, saw someone walk across the lot, but they didn't appear on camera. Ghost_of_Askreddit
Unplugged.
I'm female and live alone, I was sleeping and my radio which was turned off picked up a passing taxi drivers radio, it's gone 3am and all I can hear is some blokes voice accepting a new job/pickup in my bedroom! Needless to say the radio was unplugged and booted out and I had an extremely early start to my day. Joey-Pope
Go Away.
A knock on my apartment door about 10pm.
Look through the peephole, see nobody through it, on the second chain pop it open an inch. Fat at the ready to slam it shut I say stand where I can see you some sketchy woman looking like she needs a fix. She asks to see someone who doesn't live there I say wrong place slam the door and deadbolt.
The next day outside my apartment is a pile of used cigarettes butts. She had stuck around waiting for someone to come out. Phenoix512
Meow....
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Horny feral cats outside my window. Angelicbeeing
Male cats defending territory is worse. famousamos84
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The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
