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People Share The Scariest Thing They've Ever Experienced While Home Alone

People Share The Scariest Thing They've Ever Experienced While Home Alone
Image by ambermb from Pixabay

When you are alone at home, your imagination can get the best of you.


Unfortunately, not everything is a figment of your imagination, because you may find you are not alone after all.
When Redditor ThePastelShadow asked, "What is the scariest thing that you have ever encountered while home alone?", strangers on the internet shared their horrific memories.

Many of them recalled having unexpected visitors. Not all of them were human.

Others shared creepy anecdotes that were total misunderstandings.
Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar?

It Was A Hoot

The Lion King Reaction GIF Giphy

"I was woken from a deep sleep by the most horrifying high pitched howling noise. We lived deep in a wooded area, and I was familiar with sounds like foxes barking or even fisher cats screaming, but this was eerie and didn't sound like an animal. Then it came from the other side of the house, but there was no sound of anything walking. You know how your mind isn't really logical when you first wake? I was convinced it was some terrible otherworldly creature."

"In the morning I checked some online recordings of sounds to figure it out. Turned out to be a tiny harmless screech owl. Little guy can make some demonic sounds tho!"

Darths_Desire

Unexpected Visitors

"I was taking a nap in my apartment under blankets in my bed when I hear the door open. Thinking it's my husband, I ignore it. But about five minutes later, I hear several female voices. I'm thinking I'm dreaming so again, I ignore it. The voices get louder and suddenly my bedroom door opens."

"I freak out and bolt upright in bed. Three women were in my apartment: 2 young, 1 older. I shriek! They shriek! They run out of my apartment!"

"It turned out that the management company showed the wrong apartment available for rent that day. I got an apology and a bouquet of flowers."

Chubbymommy2020

The Boom

"I was maybe 11 or 12 and was home alone one winter day. The desktop computer I was using shared a wall with our (unheated) garage. The house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All of a sudden this boom erupted from the garage that shook the wall, it honestly sounded like a bomb went off. 20 minutes later, after hiding behind the couch and getting my heart rate down I finally went to inspect."

"A 2 liter sprite bottle had frozen and exploded off the shelf."

Honey_Magnolia

Man In The Window

"I was probably about 12, newly allowed to be home alone for a couple hours over the summer. A man was walking through my fenced in backyard, walked right onto my deck to the back window. My dog was going nuts barking with her hair standing up. I had no way out of the house or to the phone without this man seeing me in the window. So I'm hiding behind the couch waiting for him to break in when I see him exit my yard through the gate. I immediately call my mom almost in tears and she said 'oh I forgot to tell you the gas meter guy was coming.' Of course the gas meter is right next to the window my brother and I always used to 'break in' to our own house when we forgot our keys. My dog was the only bada** that day.."

sleepwhileyoucan

A Forgotten Delivery

"I was about 9. My mom and I were babysitting my younger cousins at their house, and my mom ran to the store real quick. Before she left, she ordered a pizza.I don't know the exact details. I think she thought She would be back before the pizza came, but she wasn't. My mom And I lived in a rural area, so we never had a pizza be delivered, so I guess I just forgot it was coming.. So I was alone with a two and a four year old, and all of a sudden this dude starts banging on the door. I hid with them behind the couch. He kept banging and banging for quite a while. I guess he went to leave, and that's when my mom came home. We were so scared!"

Smippity

"Furbys suck."

"I was babysitting a family I was unfamiliar with. My parents knew them and suggested me when they needed a babysitter and as I liked having money, I accepted. The kids go to bed and I kill time as one does before smartphones are a thing by...reading I think? Maybe doing homework, but that seems unlikely."

"Anyways, I start to hear speaking from another room. Not just speaking, but this low, almost demonic voice speaking to another one. I'm not a religious sort, but when you realize that no, you're not just hearing things there's definitely a voice it's more then a little creepy."

"Not knowing what was going on, I slowly crept up to the doorway of the sitting room, then peered around the corner."

"F'KING FURBYS. TALKING TO EACH OTHER. AT NIGHT. IN THE DARK."

"Furbys suck."

calette

toys GIF Giphy

The Stranger

"The first night alone at my new house, a dude tried scouting around my home looking for a way in. I flipped on all the lights and ran downstairs as loudly as I could holding a plastic tomahawk in one hand, and my phone dialing 911 in the other. He never actually got inside the house, but it was terrifying especially since it was literally my first night of living on my own."

Arcinbiblo12

A Bad Reflection

"Growing up we had large old mirror with a thick wood frame leaning against the wall in our hallway. I was doing some homework in the kitchen but got up to get something from the living room. The hallway is the connecting room between the two. So I passed through it, picked up whatever I needed in the living room, turned around and was on my way back ....and that old mirror is broken on the floor. IT'S SHATTERED. Pieces everywhere. As if it had EXPLODED. It was completley fine when I passed it just seconds before. I didnt hear it break."

"I just kind of walked by it and headed out the kitchen door. Scared the sh*t out of me."

Insomniax995

Moving Out Fast

"Was in the shower when I heard the door to my apartment being unlocked. Husband wasn't due back for several hours. Turns out it was the skeevy building manager snooping around people's apartments when he thought they were not home. Reported him to the company that own the building but nothing ever came of it. Moved out shortly after."

- CylonsInAPolicebox

Meowwww...

Not Safe For Work No GIF Giphy

"I was house sitting for some family. They neglected to mention that their cat knows how to open doors.

I learned this at 2AM when the bedroom door flung open."

- -PM_me_your_recipes-

Not So LOL

"I once lived in a building where the realtor got a little too comfortable not informing me of showings and just letting himself in. My girlfriend and I were in the bedroom getting busy and I heard voices in the kitchen say, hi we're here. My buddies were around using my laundry machine so I just yelled, yea so what, busy in here. I then hear the realtors voice say my name. We toss on clothes and open the bedroom door to a family of three staring back at us. Young me was just embarrassed. Now me would have been livid. No matter tho as we had some good laughs afterwards."

- alxx11

The Sellers

"When I was in college I lived in the upstairs apartment of a house. The owners we're trying to sell the house so realtors would come by with potential buyers, but I was never notified of these times. The people downstairs were supposed to let me know. I was napping once and woke up to people coming into my room. After that I would turn on my magnetic alarm so it would go off when the door was opened and off when closed. It wasn't a pleasant way to wake up, but better than people in my apartment."

- yma_bean

Lock them Out

"Was in the shower when I heard loud banging outside. Panicked, I shut off my shower and tried to figure out what to do. I wrapped myself in a robe and peeked out my bathroom door to see that my building's superintendent had taken a hammer to the latch lock (not sure what they're called. The type of lock where you flap it over from inside the apartment) and completely ripped it off the wall to get in.

When I asked him wtf he was doing he claimed he had to change the air filters???? They were supposed to text or call when they wanted to enter. Wasn't my first or last run-in with him. So scary when creeps have keys to your home."

- wobwobwobwob

Stay Out

"We lived in a maisonette in London (we lived upstairs and a man was downstairs), he came banging at our door one day screaming that his flat was being flooded from our bathroom and to let him in. Well I was 14 and my bro 13 (mum was out). He came in, went in to the bathroom and did something. I don't know what (he was an adult and we trusted him). Well mum called the council out and there had never been a leak.

No water marks or anything so mum told us not to let him in again. Next time mum went out he came banging at the door again and we told him what mum said. He... Went.... Apes**t. LET ME F**KING IIINN, LET ME F**KING IIIINN. All the while banging the heck out of the door. God knows why he wanted in. Scary."

- Itsamemario3007

Wrong Address

"I once went to look at a duplex for rent. The property management company gave me the key and the address and just told me I had to turn in the key by such and such time. I get there, unlock and open the door, and see clothes, furniture, knick knacks etc. And then I hear the click of excited dog feet coming down the stairs. I look over to see a very confused, VERY large Rottweiler mix.

He freezes and starts at me. I freeze and stare at him. My brain finally caught up to the situation and slammed the door shut just as the dog launched himself at me, barking furiously.

The landlord meant to give me the key and address for the other half of the duplex -_-."

- tmills87

Fisher Out

black cat GIF by Francisco Negrello Giphy

"First time I heard a fisher cat in my back yard at night I nearly pooped myself. Those things sound like screaming human babies and just, no. At the time I wasn't familiar with them so I noped quickly back into the house."

- somethingsome567

the old spring

Yeah, my SO and I recently bought a house, and the garage door had a pretty old spring. So old the door was very difficult to open. Asking the sellers to get that replaced was at the top of the list of stuff to do before we signed the papers. I didn't like the idea of that thing going while working on something in the garage.

- cparks1

They're Here! 

"I was home alone in the summer as a kid and I hear people on our roof and trucks in the drive way. I call my mom from underneath her bed and whisper that there are men walking on the roof. My mom: "oh yea, the roofers are coming today." 😑

- Electronic_Law8971

Boom & Sparks

"So there I was, 11 years old, home alone. I hear a creaking noise from the garage so I grabbed a broom and went to chase off whatever animal it was. Cue me standing in the garage looking around... deadly silent. Then BAM!! Sparks fly across my vision and the sound of two planets crashing into each other assaulted my ears. Have you ever seen a half naked 11 year old white boy run when scared? Usain bolt could not have beat me in that moment."

- Rulerray97

The Crash

"A tree branch crashed through my window when I was home alone playing Xbox.

I've always thought I would be prepared for like an intruder or something, but if that was a dude that just like did that SWAT rope swing thing through my window, he would have had enough time to walk over to me, grab a gun from my hand, load it, and shoot me before I figured what the heck went on.

I was like one of those goats that faint when you scream at them."

- datacollect_ct

It's Me!

in the mirror dancing GIF by Sarah's Scribbles Giphy

"I was at a friend's house (watching her cats) and suddenly someone stood on the balcony, right when I walked down the hallway. I stopped dead and stood frozen for minutes, heartbeat up in my throat. Turns out it was my reflection...Took me solid 10 minutes."

- Deltaas

Call 911

"I was babysitting my little sister. We were both watching television. All of a sudden I hear gun shots and bullets ricocheting from the window security bars. A moment later I hear moaning and screams coming from my front door. It was a drive by shooting. Three teenagers where shot up and managed to crawl to my door seeking help. As a 14 year old at the time. It was something I was definitely not prepared to handle."

- PlanetExpress310

Let who In?!

"I was home alone since my husband was away on deployment. One night as I was falling asleep both my dog and I heard someone on the porch walking around. My dog flipped out and I decided to go downstairs. I grabbed my gun out of the safe and headed downstairs. About two thirds of the way down I saw the man through the front door windows. We locked eyes and he said, "Let me in." I told him that he needed to leave. Again, "Let me in."

I told him he needed to leave and that I was calling the cops. "Let me in." I told him I that had a gun. "So do I" and he lifted up a gun and aimed it at me. I fired my gun through the window but missed him. He ran off. The cops found him a few blocks from my house a little bit later. His gun ended up not being loaded. Still. Most terrifying crap ever."

- IndyMazzy

Legos...

"I had a massive tub of lego fell over while i was eating downstairs. I kid you not, it sounded like somebody went through the window. I was frozen on the spot thinking i was going to be killed or kidnapped or something. An hour and a bit passed and i thought they must have left. I slowly went around the house looking for evidence of a break in. Then i saw the lego all over the floor."

- who_ate_my_soap1865

Texas in the 90's

"I was 11 and home alone. I got out of the shower to discover my house had been broken into. Teen from down the street and his sister were in the living room ransacking the place. My dad kept one of those glass door gun cabinets at the end of the hall by the bedroom door. I took out the first gun I could grab and yelled at them. Dude turned around with a knife but dropped and ran when he saw the rifle.

Coward shoved his sister down as he bolted back out the door. The girl stayed on the ground screaming as I called the cops. They both got arrested over a pocket full of change the guy had shoved in his hoodie.

This was in the 90s in Texas and my mom was more pissed about the broken door and them touching her change jar than anything."

- Silaquix

Hisssss...

Turn Around Reaction GIF by Dr. Donna Thomas Rodgers Giphy

"A big, freshly-shed rattlesnake skin on the floor in front of the tv where my kids were watching cartoons.

NO! 😳This was in small town Texas, and I had cowboys and deputies and farmers and HS quarterbacks all stomping through my house, from under the porch to the rafters. We did not sleep well for weeks— and we all wore boots in the house."

- Lalllo7

Out of the Basement

"When I was like, 7 or 8, I was taking a bath when I saw a guy walk out from the basement onto the back porch, and out the back yard. Turns out we were being robbed when we got home, the guy hid in the basement for like an hour or two until he made his escape. He had stolen a bunch of hunting knives and stuff like that."

- FederalTaintInspect

The Stranger

"Just moved in to our brand new home, my husband goes out to pick up dinner. I'm just setting up our tv and all of a sudden a man comes down the flipping stairs. I scream at the top of my lungs and run for the front door. He screams at the same time. Thankfully the neighbors next door were outside so I squeak out that there is a strange man in my house. He comes out of my house and turns out he works for the development, and had been fixing an upstairs bathroom. My husband forgot to tell me he was there. 🤦🏽♀️"

- Book_devourer

Blankets

"Once i was up early so i went watch some tv, it was dark and i saw a pile of blankets on the floor so I stepped on them to reach the tv and a strange man jumped out! I screamed the house down, turns out it was just my sister's bf that she forgot to tell me was staying there."

- getyourownpillow

Through the Peephole

"I was super high cleaning the apartment one day, probably around 1pm. So the music was up, I was in my zone.

Then someone started slamming on the door. It kept going. I stopped the music, thinking that maybe it was just a neighbor who wanted the music turned down. I didn't feel like answering the door because 1) i smoked a ton so was in no place to 2) covid

Stopped the music, went quiet. But the aggressive knocking did NOT stop.

So I looked through the peep hole, smaller girl a bit bigger than my stature. Never seen her before, and I live in a complex with 6 units. So I know what my neighbors look like. But she keeps knocking. Being stupid, I opened the door. She just stared, asked where Jon was. I told her I don't know, there's no Jon here. She just stood and stared at me, definitely on something. I tell her to try down the hall, since I think there might be one that lives down there. I slowly go to close the door and she legit shoves her foot in the crack and starts to shove.

So I start to struggle back, we are both actually wrestling with this door. I just go "what?? Can I help you?? I'm trying to close the door!"

She stops and relents a bit and does some weird eye shit and goes "oh... okay" then walks off.

Locked and bolted that mess real quick. But yeah don't open doors to strangers."

- ultravioletblueberry

Out of the Cage

kathy bates misery GIF Giphy

"Our garter snakes had gotten out of their cage. We searched everywhere but couldn't find them. Finally my husband went to bed and I stayed up watching TV for a while.

We had one of those gigantic old console TVs we had gotten when someone was throwing it out. Suddenly one of the dust-covered wires came slithering out from behind the TV. I had read Stephen King's "Dolores Claiborne" not too long before, and in that book the crazy old lady thinks the wires in her house are coming alive. I had a moment of "holy crap, it's actually happening!" before I realized it was one of the snakes.

That got my blood pumping, you better believe."

- froglover215

Chucky?

"They put a warning out on the radio in my hometown a few years ago to call the police and NOT stop if you saw a car seat with a child in it abandoned on the highway. There was a slew of robberies where a group of guys would be hiding in the bushes waiting to jump anyone who stopped. The car seat just had a doll and an audio recording of a baby crying. Something like 6 or 7 women got attacked for stopping to check it out.

I still get chills thinking about it."

- Lipstick_On

I Hear it too! 

"In the house alone one night and from my room I hear deep, gutteral voices. Go in to check and no one is there. This happens a few more times that evening. After checking and finding nothing... again I stand perplexed and then I hear the voices again, from my stereo speakers! Turns out it was a nearby Ham operator coming across, somewhat, on my stereo speakers."

- BearBells

Week One

"On my first week in my new apartment, my drunk upstairs neighbor tried to break into my house, thinking that I was in her apartment. I literally had to let her take a walk into my half boxed livingroom at 3 am, and then walk her home.

She's a good lady, just had a bad day. Never had any other problems with her, or her family, but Goddamn, did I poop myself that day."

- not_another_feminazi

The Left Behinds

"Late at night I had both my cat and my girlfriend's dog start freaking out. I got up, grabbed my gun and flashlight and went through the house. Both the animals were growling and hissing at one of the vents so I went over and shined my light into it and saw a cat. Turns out the previous tenants left their cats and there was a way for animals to get into the ventilation. Fun stuff."

- Not_an_elk

The Creepy Head

Thats My Fetish Glow GIF by NETFLIX Giphy

"Someone trying to break open the window, woke up because my dog was barking, looked at the window and seen someone's head staring at me... he ran away and left a couple of tools."

- J4ck0fDiamonds

Frozen

"This year my Pipes had Frozen in my mobile home. My partner had gone to work so I was home alone dealing with this issue. I order to get them back running you have to go under the trailer and turn on a heater to heat it up so it can run. The only access to get under the trailer is by getting under the deck. I dug out a large hole in the snow under the deck and had just enough room to squeeze under as I started to shimmy towards the door to get under the ice build up became more dense and soon enough the deck and the ground had me stuck. I am not even claustrophobic and I was having a huge panic attack.

I reached for my phone but realized I had left it back in the house. The only thing I did have with me was a pry bar to get the door open so I managed to grab it and start to chip the ice away under me. Eventually after 10 minutes I was freed and got the hell out of there. The kicker to the story, my pipes were not even frozen a city water main had broke so none of this was necessary."

- Mywork93

Lungs

"Had whooping cough and after a coughing fit I was not able to breathe in again. Luckily I tried to force one more cough out of my empty lungs, it worked.

Best breath I took in my life. 10/10 would breath again."

- Dannhaltnicht

One Foot In

"I am an ex-Mormon. I was in my 20's and living at home, my parents were out of town and I had the whole house dark. I hear the doorbell ring and see a guy a little younger than me that I barely knew from my old ward standing behind a complete stranger I had never met. The stranger introduced himself as a new leader in the ward and said he wanted to come in and talk about the church. I declined, said goodbye, and started to close the door.

As I was closing the door he put his foot in the way and tried to force his way into the house while trying to tell me they were friends and that they just wanted to talk. I had to get more forceful with him to finally get him to leave.

It was completely inappropriate for him to even be there and even worse that he was trying to force his way into the house."

- alphapat23

"Hey over here you idiot!"

"I woke up one morning to a guy staring into my window right at me. I jumped up of course, ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and went to confront the guy. I found out that there was going to be a house remodeled across the street and he had came to the wrong house. He apologized profusely and a coworker of his yelled out "Hey over here you idiot!" So that turned from terror into comedy.

I also have sensor lights in my hallway. I was sitting one time, felt a really cold sensation so I turned around. The sensor lights were turning on 1 by 1 as if somebody was walking towards me. It was scary but I don't really believe in ghosts and I didn't see anybody coming so I just brushed it off as a malfunction."

- ndnsoulja

Don't Say Anything

GIF by moodman Giphy

"When i was 12, a drunk neighbor tried winning back the affections of his ex by beating on her window with a plastic chair, shouting "come out here you stupid witch!" at around midnight. Then threatened to harm anyone who tried to stop him."

- ElectricKettleGoBoom

Running head on...

"First time living alone, took my dog in the backyard early morning (still completely dark out) before work. Heard a bloodcurdling scream from next door and looked over to see the figure of someone jumping out the first floor window and proceed to start hopping the fence into my yard. Burglar was coming right at me. Luckily my dog was skittish as hell and was already on her way back to me cause of the scream. Slammed the door and locked it and proceeded to call 911.

Somehow I called 911 before the guy who was burglarized because he was in shock."

- daydreaming0629

Signs

"I moved into a house at the beginning of last year and decided I wanted to get a security system. I got one that included cameras, door and window sensors, motion detectors, etc. Installing everything myself was pretty easy and straightforward. For the first week or so, if the alarm is tripped, no police are called and there's no response whatsoever, so you can get used to it. On my 3rd night in the house at about 2:30-3:00am, the alarm starts blaring and I remember jumping out of the bed in a panic.

I couldn't believe my luck that I was really getting robbed and a lot of stuff was still in moving boxes for the guy. I turn off the alarm, grab my gun and clear the whole house. There wasn't a sign of entry anywhere to be seen.

Turns out that one of the sensors I put up wasn't secured properly so it fell off the door and assumed that the door was "opened" in the night. Felt real stupid after that."

- sooshi

TV Time

"One day my mom left the house and the tv was not working so I went upstairs to play with my legos and a car ran into the backyard fence and a wooden pole flew into the window that was right next to the couch we use to watch tv And all the glass fell onto the couch and floor."

- ddrydoctor

A Hard Night

"I was in my apartment which was on the top floor of a 4 story building which had a slanted roof with mexican tile shingles. I heard what sounded like a possum or raccoon jumping on the roof. All of sudden I hear a loud boom and feel the apartment shake. All of a sudden there was a man on my balcony; this balcony had an 1.5 foot overhang from the roof and no discernible way to get from the roof to the balcony. He was screaming that people were shooting at him (I had not heard any gunfire). I yell through the glass to get down behind the wall as I was calling the cops for him.

Not 10 seconds passed when I heard the glass sliding doors crash as he threw a potted plant into my living room. I happen to be in the kitchen and grabbed a knife while I yelled, "get the f**k out or I will f**king kill you." He ran toward the door and out. The cops took another 10 minutes to show up, while other cops caught the guy.

The 25 year old guy skipped his meds and ran out of his parents house believing he was being hunted.

It was hard to sleep for a few nights."

- MrMackSir

Crawlers

"Spider running out of shorts I just took off to get a shower while no one at home."

- Hexariel

the man in the mirror

"When I was younger (probably 14 years old) I was playing hide and seek with my little brother (about 4 years old). I was hiding and he was taking quite a while to find me. I was hiding in his room which was right next to mine. He suddenly comes running into his room (where I'm hiding) and goes straight to where I was. I asked him "how'd you know where I was?" He says "the man in your mirror told me where you were hiding."

- emersonc1998

Can I come in?

"I was left home alone to watch the dogs while my parents did a carriage job. I was sitting near a window watching random videos on my phone. Being home alone at night always makes me uneasy, and the fact I was watching the occasional horror game did not help. I looked over at the window and saw two glowing eyes staring in at me. I literally screamed and almost fell out of my seat.

It was my cat. She wanted to come inside."

- Bus_Noises

11 Flights

Tom Hanks Reaction GIF Giphy

"The apartment above mine caught fire. I thought the fire alarm was just a test until I heard something explode directly above me. I grabbed my cat and bolted down 11 flights of stairs to see flames bursting 10 feet out of the balcony above my unit."

- flyinglotusdjb

REDDIT

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.