Some people will swear they've come face to face with a Tinkerbell, and they'll swear that were also stone-cold sober. The ethereal and mythical are all around us. Now whether or not they are tangible or merely our imaginations run amok, maybe we'll never know. But some say they may have proof.
Redditor u/fukasetrash wanted to see who has had an audience with "creatures" many of us have only read about by asking.... [serious] People of reddit who claim to have seen a mythical creature, such as faires, elves, gnomes, etc, what is your story?"that was a fairy."
skeleton GIF by Kiszkiloszki
Giphy
Did not see anything, but every time I tell this story people say "that was a fairy." This is the one and only inexplicable moment of my life.
About 10 years ago I got home from school and threw my car keys on a leather ottoman in my man cave. Every day when I came home I would do this; throw keys on ottoman, turn around and go to the bathroom. When I returned from the bathroom, even though I saw my keys land on the ottoman, keys were gone. I was home alone. Maybe in the bathroom for 30-45 seconds. Looked all around the floor, no keys. Checked under the ottoman and couch, no keys. Lifted the ottoman OFF THE GROUND AND SHOOK IT OVER MY HEAD. No keys.
At this point I convinced myself I imagined throwing my keys and I had for some reason put them on the bathroom counter. No keys in the bathroom. Turn back around... AND THE FREAKING KEYS ARE SITTING RIGHT ON THE OTTOMAN. There's no way. Recalling this incident gives me chills and it is the only thing in my life that convinces me of the existence of the paranormal.
In the Attic
So when I was a kid I got a huge kick out of hiding in various spots around our house and then going out and scaring my mom or my sister whenever they would walk past.
The challenge was finding new spots that they wouldn't see coming, but that I knew they would be at. I wanted to get a good scare, but I didn't want to have to wait an eternity for someone to come by.
This only happened once and it still scares me when I think about it. I had picked a spot in our attic on this day. I knew my mom would be coming up there because she was going to get out props for a church play that we kept up there. So I set up behind a stack of boxes and waited.
About five or six minutes in I heard someone very faintly say, "hmmm", as if me being there was interesting and maybe unexpected. The sound came from almost directly behind me and I immediately froze.
Then I felt breath on the back of my neck. Now I was raised on a farm and the number one rule when encountering something that you assume you have no control over (coyotes, lynx, snakes, and the occasional irritable cow) is to not make any sudden movements. Then you slowly remove yourself from the situation and create distance without provoking whatever you are faced with.
So I sat there for about 20 seconds. Stock still, absolutely terrified. After that I slowly stood up and started to move away. I wasn't about to turn and look behind me. I got two steps and a hand clamped down on my right shoulder.
I screamed wrenched away and ran until I was out of the house. Once outside my mom and my sister came running to see why I was screaming. They had been outside with our dogs the whole time. My dad was at our other property almost ten miles away.
Sure I could've imagined it. It never happened again. Nobody believed me then. My mom and dad both made multiple trips to the attic to show me nothing was up there. I don't know what it was, but it was something.
Tall and Majestic
My daughter and I regularly and reliably saw a "hide behind" from my kitchen window.
This eventually lead to us learning the truth about this midwestern mythical creature.
What we saw was 7-8 feet tall, bipedal, spindly legs, gaunt with protruding rib cage, no horns or protruding ears.
It/they would lean out from behind a tree in the forest behind our house. If you moved about, it would pop back behind the tree.
We never saw more than one at a time, but their seemed to be more than one, as height varied.
We sometimes saw it multiple times a day, the behavior was always the same. It seemed wary of us, but if we stayed out of sight, it would lean out into view for a few seconds at a time.
When we sent the dog out, it would run off into the forest after it, but never chased it into view, so that told us nothing. I viewed it through a rifle scope, and got a good long Look at it silhouetted against the snow behind the trees, it was really creepy, like a Slenderman or something, I could determine height by going out and measuring the trees we saw it next to. I of course did not shoot it, since you should not shoot what you cannot identify, and the only large bipeds hereabouts are people, though nothing human is that tall, or narrow.
We knew the local legends, and this matched the description and behavior.
We dug out our trail camera, but solved the mystery before we got a chance to set it up.
Sorry to disappoint folks, but we solved the mystery, as I'm sure many have before us.
As winter sets in the deer like to stand on their hind legs to eat the tips of pine tree branches. They are totes scared of people, and will always do it behind trees. But every so often one that is sick, starving, had twins or gave birth too late in the season, will be desperate... The desperate ones will lean out to get the untouched branches in view of the house, but if they sense movement, they duck away.
A large deer with corvid wasting disease, standing on its hind legs is a bizarre, 8+ foot tall, skeletal looking thing, with a protruding ribs and sunken in gut.
Hippy Dippy Stuff
hello GIF by Sherlock Gnomes
Giphy
My boyfriend told me this story, and he's someone that normally wouldn't believe in this stuff or other 'hippy sh*t' but he says when he was a kid living in England.
He was in his room doing homework and this little creature walked into his room, like a gnome he described it, and they just stared at each other for a minute and he got up out of his chair to go up to it but it ran away and disappeared into a wall. He ran off and told his mum and she just laughed it off as you would, thought he was imagining it. But a few days later she was over her friends house having coffee and she told her friend the story for a bit of a laugh but then her friend turned to her and said 'Billy (her son) sees gnomes too!'
The Maine Sky
Do UFOs count? I'm not convinced it was a UFO, I'm one of those "there's probably a reasonable explanation" sorta guy when it comes to the paranormal, so I'm like 80% sure I was mistaken/my brain was just short circuiting. Anyway, I was walking down the street one night and it was clear skies. I live in Maine so the stars are out if it isn't cloudy: minimal light pollution. I look up at the sky and there is what looked like a star just chillin' (you know, like stars do).
This thing was stationary for about a second or two when I looked up. All of a sudden it just goes from being stationary to just taking off across the sky. It was fast, too. Just looked like a normal bright star that just decided to zip off somewhere else. I believe in extra terrestrial life. Not necessarily "little green men" type, but some sort of life form has to exist somewhere else. After all: we exist. Never got why some people think would it be unthinkable for some form of intelligent life to exist when we're intelligent, sentient life living here on earth.
As I said, I'm sure it was just a trick of the mind: perhaps it was a meteor or satellite that just appeared stationary when my eyes met it. Either way I was taken aback by it. That's the closest I've ever come to seeing something paranormal with my own eyes.
When at Dunde's...
My friend had Dunde's at her house. I saw just a glimpse once.
There were all sorts of weird experiences but it was like 10 years ago so I don't remember everything.
There were tiny bites taken out of fruit.
It once threw a ball at us down the stairs when no one was upstairs.
Stuff moved/tampered with in rooms no one had been in when we were all together in the house.
One time her son left the house (her dad was at home with him) and he said the Dunde told him to go to the park (a big part of the myth is them trying to lure children away, also not exact words).
I saw it once just for a split second it was an all black gnome.
I don't tell any IRL people about it because it sounds crazy but its got a lot of folklore and sightings in Hispanic culture.
Sara J's
I was eating at a restaurant called Sara J's in Garden City, SC. There's an outside patio that looks out over a little inlet. While I was eating I saw something that looked like a submarines periscope, but with an eye on the top come out of the water. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and tried to get everyone to look, but being 12 no one took me seriously and when I looked back it was gone. To this day I have no idea what I saw, but I am 100% certain that I did not imagine it.
My Cousin's Joke
Reaction GIF by moodman
Giphy
I am sure I saw a ghost in my grandma's house when I was around 12.
I was helping my cousins clean out a room my grandparents were going to turn into a guest room and when my cousins left the room, I saw a man in the corner of the room. I don't remember being scared of him but when my cousins came back in and I asked who the man was they were confused. They probably just thought I was playing a joke on them but I was sure I saw the man. I never told my parents or my grandparents about it and I never saw the man again.
On the Ocean
While up in the San Juans in Washington state off of Orca Island I was drifting in a rowboat when a head and long slender neck rose up out of the water maybe 8-10 from the boat.
My initial reaction was 'is that an eel?' It had a face similar to a moray eel and a dark greenish skin but with red eyes. It rose several feet out of the water, paused and then opened and closed its mouth a few times like it was coming up for air.
The moment I shifted in the boat to try and get a better look at it, it was like it was suddenly aware I was there and slid back under the water.
I've spent a lot of time on the ocean and have never seen anything else remotely like it.
Once in Alberta...
Party Kids GIF by Kochstrasse™
Giphy
I saw a small ape like thing on a branch, it walked towards me, then turned and walked away.
This was in the middle of Alberta. We stared at each other, and it sort of smiled at me.
This really happened. And I was there for legit scientific research purposes (not Big Foot) and you would generally trust me based on reputation.
I have told many people over the years and am not ashamed about the story. I have never figured out what kind of animal it was or if the thing escaped from a private owner. It did look thin with thinning hair.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Every now and then, a friend of ours might say something, or we might overhear a complete stranger say something that makes us stop in our tracks.
More often than not, what we can't believe we just heard is something so ridiculous, we can't help but put the person who said it in their place.
Other times, however, what we just heard might have stunned us silent because of how shockingly clever it was.
Resulting in our not wanting to scold or yell at someone, but rather give them a handshake.
Redditor SubmergingOriginal was curious to hear the sharpest and wittiest things they've ever heard, from friends and strangers alike, leading them to ask:
"Enough with the dumbest; what is the wittiest thing you've ever heard someone say?"
Don't Give Me So Much Credit...
'I was on a team at work that was on a project working insane overtime."
"One night after an 80-90 hour week, we were all sitting around the table trying to finish up so we could go home."
"Around 11, my buddy's wife called, dubious about the hours he'd been keeping."
"We heard her through the line - 'are you cheating on me?'"
"Exasperated, he looked at our boss, then replied 'honey, if I was cheating on you, I would have been home by now'."- lionbatcher
Eternal Optimism...
"Asked a blind guy if he'd been blind his whole life."
"He said 'Not yet'."- Feeling_Mode_6465
Free time Isn't The Only Thing He Has On His Hands...
"My brother got a vasectomy and when the doctor was releasing him and giving him instructions (with the nurse listening in), one of the orders was to 'come back and have a follow-up appointment after you’ve ejaculated 30 times'.”
"Without missing a beat my brother asked 'what time do you open tomorrow?'”
"The nurse couldn’t keep it together after hearing that."- UtahUtopia
Awkward Season 8 GIF by The Office
Giphy
Double Whammy!
"My pal uses the phrase 'he doesn’t look strong enough to carry information' and it cracks me up every time."
"Calling someone stupid and weak in one fell swoop."- JennyW93
Can't Hide Your DNA...
'Whenever I jokingly insult my mum, she says 'that must be where you get it from'."
"She cracked the code."
"I can never offend her without offending myself."- JennyW93
Self-Sufficient!
"My brother was a line cook at a New Orleans restaurant."
"My mom was in town, staying at a fancy hotel, and he stopped by after work, still wearing his kitchen whites."
"He was reading a newspaper in the lobby waiting for her to come down when the shocked lobby manager sputtered at him, 'MAY I HELP YOU!?!?'
"He answered, 'thanks, but I know how to read',” and went back to his paper."- jobrody
Morph Current Affairs GIF by Aardman Animations
Giphy
A Miracle!
"My brother-in-law’s comment."
"The entire family went out for my mother’s 80th birthday and after the meal we all went to a local park, largely occupied by the elderly, to rest."
"My mother needed crutches at this point, and they were resting against her bench."
"My 10-year-old niece, who looked like every starving waif image from Dickens, grabbed the crutches and started hobbling round the park."
"All the OAPs were following her progress with looks of pity until my brother ran up behind her, and kicked away the crutches."
"There was an audible gasp from round the park and then my niece picked the crutches back up and started chasing my brother, clearly intending to hit him."
"In the confused silence my brother-in-law’s voice rang out 'Praise be! She can walk again!'"
"We still think this was the highlight of the birthday celebrations."- DdraigGwyn
Still Legal, Whichever Way You Cut It...
"I picked up my pleasantly tipsy boyfriend from a nightclub."
"We were stopped by the Police for a random breath test."
"They asked me my age, and I said, 33."
"My bf blurted out '33? You told me you were 22'."
"Police just laughed and let me go."- Aggravating-Corgi379
Music Video Police GIF by Andrew W. K.
Giphy
A Bit Too On The Nose?
"Business law class in college years ago, talking about the issues that black Americans had before the Civil Rights."
"Amendment, trying to travel through the south with the discrimination so rampant, trying to find restaurants to serve them and decent lodgings."
"My instructor was posing a hypothetical: 'So you pull up out front of this place, you're exhausted from driving for hours, and you see the sign out front says 'Ku Klux Klan Motel'."
"'What would you expect to find there?'"
"Without missing a beat, from the back of the room came this gem: "'Extra sheets in every room?'"- NedsAtomicDB
Not Yet, Anyway...
"I was working with my friend and his dad."
"My friend (26) heard an ice cream truck near where we were working."
"He asked his dad if he could have a couple dollars."
"His dad asked, 'what for?'"
"My friend told his dad that there was an ice cream truck in the neighborhood, and that they were playing music."
"My friends dad told him "'They don't charge anything to listen to the music'."- tatersalad1234567890
Words Escape You In The Literal "Heat" Of The Moment...
"A friend of mine is a teacher and her husband is known for his wit."
"She told this story to him:"
"One day at school a kid took the hall pass and returned reeking like smoke."
"She asked the kid if he’d been smoking and he denied it over and over."
"She was about to send him to the office when she noticed smoke coming from somewhere."
"She told the kid and he realized that he didn’t put his cig out completely and it was burning in his pants pocket."
"The kid noticed and frantically tried to put it out and someone finally poured water on it."
"Her husband sat listening to this with a weird look on his face."
"She asked him what was wrong."
“'What’s wrong???'"
"'This was probably the only chance you’ll have in your life to say literally, ‘liar,liar, pants on fire’ and you missed your chance'."- Luder714
On Fire No GIF by PEEKASSO
Giphy
Amazing What You Might Say A Few Drinks In...
"When I went to a renaissance faire once, I went to a beer tent and ordered a Newcastle Brown Ale (seemed the most fitting for the surroundings)."
"The beer wench, without skipping a beat, said, 'Everyone wants a Newcastle - no one wants to remodel!'"- jayhof52
Read The Room People!
"My dad wiped out when skiing down a mountain and lost a ski."
"After a few minutes of hunting for it, he gives up, slings the one remaining ski over a shoulder and starts walking down the mountain in his ski boots."
"About half-way down, another skier stops and goes 'Gee! Did you lose a ski?'"
"My dad instantly replied 'No, I was out for a walk and found one!'"- PeterJoAl
There's a reason your mother always told you to "use your words".
As clever remarks can have a much more lasting effect on people than a push or shove.