It's spooky season, which means--lights off, jack-o-lanterns, scary movies, candy corn...wait, is that a knock on my door?
Have you ever been terrified while at home alone, and convinced yourself you're hearing an intruder, or a scary animal? Have you ever been right? Our greatest fears are that we are isolated in our homes, alone, and something happens. Will we be equipped to deal with it?
u/5cones asked:
What was your scariest experience home alone?
Here were some of those stories.
Urban Legends Do Come True
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About 10 years ago my husband was gone overnight and I got an automated phone call sometime in the evening, after dark, from the county sheriffs department saying 2 inmates had escaped from the local juvenile detention facility. I live in a very rural area and this facility is only a few miles away, also in a rural area. And? The two escapees were NOT juveniles, for some reason, and they were armed.
They had somehow overcome the officer and gotten his weapon. So there are helicopters circling the area for HOURS. I was on the computer (before I had a cell phone) all night messaging my local friends and trying to find updates. All the while the helicopters were still circling within a mile of my house. Bottom line - I turned on all the lights, barricaded the doors and sat up all night. I finally went to sleep when the sun came up. Most scared I've ever been.
Ended Up Working Out In My Favor
I lived in an apartment by myself right after highschool when I was about 19 years old. I had lived there for about a whole month when something truly horrifying happened. My front door was locked, top and bottom locks. I'm sitting in my living room watching TV when all of a sudden I hear keys going into my door locks and I see the locks physically start to turn. My body froze completely and my heart sunk into my chest. I did not have maintenance or anything else planned, nobody to come by and visit, etc.
The door swings open and I see an older asian man with bags of clothes and a few boxes. He immediately started screaming at me in a language I did not understand.
He began repeatedly hitting me and he dragged me out of the apartment. He had me in a chokehold and finally my upstairs neighbor came down and pulled him off me. We called the police and long story short; By some bizarre mistake at the leasing office, they gave this man a key to my apartment and told him it was his.
He purchased it before moving here and had only seen pictures of an empty unit. He assumed I was some sort of squatter, in his unit. I was young and poor, I had a tv, a chair, and an inflatable mattress. I had almost no possessions at all, so I could see how he might've thought that I was there illegally.
He was actually meant to get unit 54 (empty) when I was in 56 (right next door). I was able to press charges on the man and also sued the apartment complex for them allowing a stranger to have a key to my door, which ended violently. He did not move in next door after the incident, and I actually stayed there an entire year rent free. Was able to save some money and bought everything I needed as an adult. I also bought a pistol for my own protection shortly after.
To Oz!
I was home alone around 12 years of age, my dad was gone often, on dates to "heal from the divorce" which he caused by cheating. I remember being outside in the driveway looking up in the sky, the air was warm but calm. Ive never seen a sky look green, then i watched the clouds start to turn in a circle. I hauled ass inside, and shortly after a tornado formed and stuck down very close to the house. I remember the familiar freight train sound. Thankfully it was short lived and an F1.
That's MY Tree
Lightning bolt hit the tree 10 feet out my window, as I was watching the storm from my bed. I was home alone, maybe 13 years old. It was the loudest sound I ever heard, and I admit, I went from loving lightning to being afraid of it (buy only when its close). The same tree got hit 2 more times in the following 10 years, also when I was home alone.
Narrowly Avoided
Used to work in one of the older buildings on my campus. Former dorm turned office building. I was working on December 23, so NOBODY was there (Lights were off, doors were all locked, etc.)
Once i turned our hall lights and set up in my office with my dog, I went to sit at my desk and set up the computer. Right after sitting down, I heard footsteps down the hall, but didn't think much of it. They started to get closer to my door so I looked over at my door to obviously see nothing. I listened as the footsteps went all the way down my hallway (And passed my office). Once they passed my office, I walked into the hall only for the door at the end of the hallway to open and slam shut as i watched.
I flipped.
Puppy Escaped
OMFG I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER GET TO SHARE THIS. This happened when I was eleven. My parents went on a date night and it was just me (and the dog). There's a knock on the door. I peer out the window and see an unfamiliar man. I panic and run to the basement. I call my mum and panic. I hear the knock again. She tells me to calm down.
As I walk back up he has a cute little dog. Btw I'm still on the phone. I panic because i think that he is trying to lure me out. This is how it went
Me : mom he has a puppy! What do I do?!
Mom : ignore him and make sure all the doors are locked
Me : wait...
Mom : what... WHAT IS IT ANSWER ME!
Me : mom the dog looks like our puppy's name
Mom : (confused sounds)
Me : Omg it IS our dog!
Turns out our dog got out the open back door and ran after my parents car. Our neighbor who I didnt recognized because we just moved found her running, saw her collar, noticed the adress was next to his house, and brought her to me.
All Was Well
While I was at my grandma's house, she left to go to the grocery store, so I was at her house alone, playing my Wii. While playing, I hear noises coming from upstairs that sound like footsteps. I get really worried, so I walk outside for a minute or two to calm down, then walk back inside. A few minutes later, I hear more noises, and this time the noises are coming closer to the living room door. All of a sudden I see a person walking, and I let out a loud noise.
Turns out the noises I heard were my grandma. She had never actually went to the store; I had misheard what she told me.
Watchful Eyes
It was my first time being alone for an undetermined time, I was maybe 16 or 17. My mom had to take my dad to a doctor in Alabama and took my sister with me. I had no idea how long they were going to be gone, so I'm sitting in the hall on the computer and our dog starts barking. Not like "Hey, squirrel, it's a squirrel!" but deep, angry barking. "Something is in my yard and it should not be here" barking.
I had the phone in my hand and went to check out the window looking towards where the dog was, plus to make absolutely sure the back door was locked. It was a box turtle. I had never heard this dog bark like this before, was pretty sure I was going to find a burglar or worse outside the door, and it was a freaking box turtle trying to get across the yard while the dog barked and snapped at it. I went outside and helped the turtle to the far end of the yard away from the dog, but he definitely earned some pats and treats for being that watchful over the house.
This Isn't Somebody I Know
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I lived in a basement apartment that had 3 windows and one of them was in our living room (left side of house).
Some guy, who I have no idea who it was, walked up to the living room window (had to walk around a big bush mind you) and started waving and saying hi.
Then they went all the way to the other side of the house where my basement door was and started knocking on it saying, "Let me in".
I was just trying to play guitar hero. Still to this day not sure if he was drunk trying to get to my upstairs neighbors house. Called the cops and he left before they could catch him.
An Important Thing About Myself
My SO works nights and wasn't home. I came home from a long night of gallery-hopping with no dinner, lots of wine and didn't eat enough food while I was out. Suddenly had a really strong blood-sugar attack and ended up on the floor being barely able to move. Super sweaty and cold all over. Felt like fainting only my heart hurt really bad and my whole body felt odd.
I couldn't even move get to the phone to call 911. About 20 minutes later, I finally was able to get to the fridge by crawling and got some OJ into me and a couple of bites of an old pie that was there. That got me strong enough to make a meal and get things back in order. Found out later that my whole system was out of wack and I have to have food about every 2 - 3 hours or it happens again. Hypoglycemia.
When Hinges Creak In Doorless Chambers
It was a short time ago.
As context: I'm 21, was 20 at the time, but I still live with my mother. So I was playing some ArmA III with a friend through Discord, completely alone, and I swear I hared the window in my corridor open (I live on a third floor). It felt so real, that I actually reached for my airsoft gun in case it was a burglar so I could scare him off, but everything was in its place. Was weird and that's the scariest I can remember.
Nape Of Your Neck
This was about a year or 2 ago but I felt a small breeze on my back while gaming and no one was home. I turn around and nothing. My door is closed, I don't have any windows in my room, my fan is off and the aircon wasn't functional at the time. Then I heard a thump coming from my mums room then extremely light footsteps slowly traveling but stepping fast. It reaches my door so I grab my weights (but made them light so it's heavy enough to be lethal but light enough to swing around) I open the door and it was my cat so I put 2 and 2 together and assumed that he jumped off my mums bed and wanted scratches. But it still doesn't explain the breeze...
A Ghost Or Just A Child's Mind?
When I was a kid I would always sleep with a closet light on because I was afraid of the dark. I remember that I used to see black shadows fly a cross my room when I was supposed to be sleeping which were too fast to see clearly, however one night when I was around 11 I remember waking up in the middle of the night and seeing the shadow of a man standing directly in front of my bed.
Now the part that still confused me and freaks me out is the fact that it was standing DIRECTLY infront of the closet door. It was blocking the light. I hid underneath my covers for the longest 5 minutes of my life but when I gained enough courage to look back up it was gone, sort of manifested. My grandfather died a few years prior but I don't like to jump to conclusions.
Yeahhhh We Had To Move
My sibs and I (ages 8-12) were upstairs when we heard loud knocking and a loud bang. We went downstairs and saw our front door was wide open despite having multiple locks from the inside engaged. Weird that our parents always left thru the garage so the additional locks inside wont be open. But when we saw the door all the locks were open.
And these were the locks that you have to lift and slide over to open. Idk if we just forgot or if something is in that house but safe to say we no longer live there. This house was new when we got it but I always felt something was there.
A Phantom Sob
Once when i was home alone doing homework i was listening to music. When i took a brake to relax a bit i heard a low level noise from downstairs. When i decided to get up and check, in the hallway i could hear the sound of crying but it was that crying of a woman trying not to be heard. I was so afraid that i had to take a moment before asking "Who's There?" And by then it had stopped. Till today my mom says she has no idea what it could have been.
Get Off My Lawn!!!!
Owner of a house very near mine was planning to demolish it and build townhouses on the land. He allowed some young people to hold a party there, which went viral. There were hundreds of people there.
The police had to get involved, ended up with full riot squad turning out and herding hundreds of people away from the property up the street. I lived alone and got scared when I heard people trying to get on to my property (I have a high, gated, fence at the front of my property).
Loads of news crews the next day!
Soccer Strikes
I've been scared of storms since I was a kid. Like a full on had to go to therapy phobia. It was mostly better when I got older, I just get really on edge. Then I was 18 and driving home from soccer practice that was cut short by a storm and a tree across the intersection from me got hit by lighting and it was terrifying.
Killer Shrews
Alone at night watching a B & W horror movie called Killer Shrews -- huge dog like creatures with 4 inch teeth menacing people trapped in a compound on a tropical island. For some reason a pile of books fell heavily to the floor in a nearby closet. If I could have jumped out of my skin.
Deep Breaths
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I was pretty young, and it was about 1 AM. My cat came in, and immediately hissed at something across the room. Then, my cat ran away. I then felt something like a human walking across the floor, and stopped at the end of my bed. The I just heard breathing, for about an hour. I then decided to get enough courage to look up, and I did. Nobody was there, but I still heard breathing. Checked under my bed, nothing.
Checked my closet, nothing. Checked my bathroom, nothing. I then went to bed, not knowing what to do. I probably just hallucinated, but it felt pretty real. I don't suffer from anything, and that was the only time I hallucinated, unless my dog just came in, and breathed like a human.
Cookies....
When I was about thirteen, I had the house to myself. I pulled out some Oreo cookies just before I went into the bathroom and, when I came back five minutes later, they were gone. I never found the cookies.
Staying Calm
I've never taken a prescription before, but finally got some antidepressants in Feb.
I didn't know I was supposed to eat food with my medicine for the first couple weeks, and the first day I took it, I nearly passed out.
My dad was at work, and I'm not supposed to call him unless it's his lunch break. But I called him anyways. He told me to eat some crackers and lie down. I felt better. Dads make everything better.
Just Staring
Wasn't home alone, exactly, but everyone else was asleep so I hope it still counts.
I was pretty young, I'm assuming I was around seven or eight, and I just got back from the bathroom. I had one of those canopy-beds, and as I got in bed and looked in the direction of my door, I swear to God, I see this kid staring at me.
Straight up staring. For like five seconds, we stare directly at each-other and then it looks like she ducked down and hid behind the end of my bed.
So, at first I thought - for some reason - that my sister had snuck into my room to scare me. So I whisper her name and look behind the bed where the kid had hid.
Nobody was there.
To this day, I have no idea what I saw. I'm usually very skeptical about ghosts and stuff, but something about the whole experience rubbed me the wrong way.
The Shake Up
I was 14. my mom and twin were out of state, and early that morning (4 am) my dad left to go to Italy for work. my Gram was supposed to come pick me up that evening--I'd convinced my family I was grown enough that I could be on my own for a few hours, didn't need to spend the night before at grams.
4:30, my cat wakes me up, which was strange, she was usually happy to just cuddle on my feet. and my brain says " hey, animals know when a quake is coming..." and I roll off the bed and cover my head.
I lived in California.
so the house shakes, and shakes and the ceiling just comes down, slamming into my bed and the bookshelf near my headboard. glass breaking, I can just hear things crashing. my cat stayed cuddled up with me in this little sheltered pocket. I was terrified.
Called my gram as soon as the sun was up.
Walking About
Lived with my aunt for a year and she would leave for business all the time. I swear her house is haunted and only did things when I was alone. A couple of times I'd go to sleep with my door open and wake up to it closed. Seen a girl in white walk into rooms. Front door would unlock itself and door would open. Bags of chips would be thrown from a box on top of the fridge. Would scare the crap out of me.
My Sister's Car
I was about 11 and staying home alone while my mom and my older sister was out running errands. I was sitting in my living room watching tv when I heard two men arguing. It sounded like it was coming from my basement. My cat even woke up and started acting disturbed by the yelling. I freaked out. This was before cell phones. In my mind the best thing to do was go hide in my sister's car that was in the driveway until my family returned home.
After about of an hour laying in the backseat of my sister's car my family came home. I told them what happened and they called the cops. There was no sign of break in and no men in the house. They just thought I must have imagined it. To this day I will never forget the screaming and the look on my old cats face. I know I didn't imagine it.
Run
My best friend, her husband and I decided to get an apartment. It was a nice place, we all got on really well. It worked out great.
After about a month we'd notice food missing, that no one would own up to, but whatever we all brushed it off. My roommate's cats had a tendency to destroy the blinds on the windows, so it had a nice section missing out of the window that looked out from our living room to our front steps.
I was home alone, around midnight on a Wednesday. I was up late working on stuff for school in the living room. I'd been hearing weird noises all night, but brushed it off as the thin walls.
After awhile, I heard a noise out on the steps and looked over to see a mans face peering through the gaps in our front window.
As calmly as I could, I got up and locked myself in the bathroom. I called the police and then my roommates telling them they needed to come home.
After some investigating, we found evidence that there was someone living in our attic, which had outside roof access (with a broken lock).
We moved out of that apartment within a week.
The Patient
Something that happened about five years ago. My MIL who is a pediatric nurse had stopped by for a visit one evening and told us about a patient she had been treating that passed away that evening. Sometime after she left, I was doing something in the living room when something at the top of my stairs caught my eye. When I looked up, I saw what appeared to be a small shadow figure dart across the entryway to the second floor. Kind of like it got spooked and was darting out of the way to hide.
I wrote it off as my eyes playing tricks on me, but it did seem a little weird and my mind immediately went to the child my MIL told us about.
Dorothy Gale
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Tornado came through the neighborhood. Took off part of the roof. We didn't have a basement. Could only sit in a doorway in the middle of the house and watch.
Within the Fire
I was almost 15. I lit a candle... my mom doesn't like vanilla scent. So I would light it when she wasn't home. I'd done it many times before.
I still don't know how this happened... I went into the next room for a minute at most... and I came back to the curtain on fire. And I froze. I can't say how long I just stood there. I snapped out of it and called 911.
I frantically look for boots because it snowed that morning. And I grabbed the 1st coat I saw. I remember standing outside watching the fire trucks pull up. Next thing I remember is that I was in a kitchen I'd never seen before. It took me awhile to realize I was across the street. I have no idea how I got there.
We lost everything in the fire. I went into therapy because I kinda started to shut down... and sleep was hard. Legit nightmares and waking up extremely panicked.
I'm 30 now. I have dreams about it once in awhile. Especially walking back into the apartment where it happened. It was fixed and remolded. And I pass it a few times a month... I've wanted to just knock on the door and asked if I could walk around and see it ... because my last time inside was seeing everything thing burned... and the smell... something that stays with you.
While the fire it's self was scary & traumatic... it's the fact most of that day and a day or 2 afterwards... I can't remember most of it.
2012
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Remember back when people thought the world was going to end or some crap back in 2012? Well me and my siblings were home alone when the power went out. My parents came home to a group of children huddled around the table playing clue, by candlelight, during a power outage, on the day the world was supposed to end.
Not the Wind
Not sure if this qualifies as I wasn't all that scared. Was visiting my in-laws and dozing in the basement bedroom while everyone else was in church. Not really a church-goer, they're cool with that. Started reading a book when I noticed someone was tinkering on the old piano upstairs in the living room. Odd, I hadn't heard anyone come home and it was a small house, hard for anyone to have gotten in without me hearing.
But obviously they did, so I went upstairs as the person on the piano tried a weak cord or two, but then stopped when I got close. There was nobody home. Door was locked, and the piano was closed. Huh.
Told my wife when she got home and she smiled at me sympathetically. Must have been a neighbor or something. Nope it was definitely coming from upstairs, no question, and it wasn't a mouse or something as it wasn't just random notes. Odd.
Next morning my wife and I are lying in the same bed while my very-catholic in-laws are again at morning mass. We're reading and then ... the piano again. Definitely from inside the house and not random notes again. We look at each other with raised eyebrows and listen for a bit. "I think we can rule out the wind", I say. We go upstairs to check, again door locked and piano closed. Still wasn't all that alarmed but it was pretty strange.
Meth Days
My husband was working nights and I was home alone with my children in a small town. Someone started banging on my door at 2 a.m. Everyone knew everyone, and my father-in-law lived next door, so I just opened it in a sleepy state.
A man I've never met tried to walk into my house. I got the door closed just enough to block him. He had blood running down his face. For a moment, our eyes were within inches of each other. It was terrifying.
After a struggle, I got the door closed. And he started yelling at me. He said he wanted to use my phone because someone hit him. I yelled through the door that I'd call 911 but he had to stay outside. When I dialed, he bolted off the porch.
The next morning, I took my daughter to the bus stop and while waiting in the car, this same guy jumps out of the bushes and onto my car-cussing me out and trying to get in. Pure panic!
Turns out... he was on meth. The cops came and got him.
The Walk Home
I used to walk home alone at night from work. Part of the path was this old wooden bridge that I had to cross over. At just the right angle and light level I could clearly see a ghost standing on the bridge looking at me. Looked kind of like the grim reaper without the scythe. It would quickly disappear once the angle changed. It was interesting because if you look at the scene in isolation there's not really anything there that resembles what I was seeing. But the brain is good at pattern matching. Give it certain inputs though and things go haywire.
Untaglements
I remember I was alone in my house. I lived in rural Texas, and we had a shooting not long ago at that time. So I was pretty scared being alone, especially at night. I had a tangled pair of friendship necklaces that I meant to give to my friend. They were tangled PRETTY BAD. So, to calm myself down, I started untangling them.
A minute or two later my phone in another room rang. I went there and it was an unknown number. I didn't pick it up and went back to the room with the tangled necklaces.
But they weren't tangled anymore. They were perfectly straight and completely separate. Never figured out how that happened. Didn't sleep that night, either.
Off the Meds
I wasn't totally alone so not sure if this counts. I was with my older sister alone at home.
My mom called us and told us our grandmother had gone off her meds. They were told she took the car and was heading to us. Granted we lived three states away.
My mom told us to lock all the windows and doors and her and my dad where heading home as fast possible.
My sister and I did just that. We sat up in my sister room. We heard a noise of the door and went down stairs expecting our parents.
My grandmother got inside the house. She had a deck of cards and asked to play go fish with us. My sister locked me in my parents bed room and played go fish with grandma.
My parents made it home and grandpa made the next flight out to drive her home.
Yay mental illness!
Bad Vibe
One time late at night I was vibing until I saw my reflection in my glass door and thought someone was watching me.
HER
In the house that I'm in: in November this young woman knocked at our door. I recognized her from 3 years prior because she does this like clockwork every three years. She had her sleeves pulled up and all her arms were bleeding. She had cut all the way up her arms. She was demanding that her ex-boyfriend let her see her kid (he won custody). She was very drunk and drugged and bleeding everywhere.
The neighbors all came around and explained she was on meth and because she isn't sober she can't see her kid. I had to keep pressure on her wounds until an ambulance and police arrived. Her parents had driven down at this point and I could just see the disappointment in her mum's eyes. Her dad apologized profusely for her. I was just hoping she would get help tbh. I hope in time she will get better.
Be Back Soon
This thing still scares me. I was 10 at the time, and my mom and step-dad said "We'll be back in an hour." They took 9 hours. They never told us what went on. Also not responsible to leave a 10 year old home alone with their 12 year old sister.
Mickey?
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In my old home I was hearing movement in the walls. Like it sounded like small do it steps and it got so bad I had nightmares over the sound. Low & Behold it was a mouse in the walls... scarred me for life.
Creaks and Footsteps
This happened back in 2007 when I was 15. As I was doing homework on my computer, I felt someone blowing their breath on the back of my neck. It started off slow, then it was like a loud woosh, as if someone was trying to scare me. When I looked back, nobody was there. Since I was in my bedroom, nobody was behind me because I would've heard creaking footsteps. The window was on the other side of the room, so it can't be the wind from outside.
Forget It
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I heard something in my mothers room and was about to go in and check, until I realized i was home alone, so I thought 'forget that crap' and went downstairs and called my mom she came home and checked there was nothing in there, i sh!t you not redditors i had a knife under my covers, armed and ready.
The Neighbor
When my neighbor broke Into our house repeatedly, everytime our parents were gone, he would stand in the bush with a sharpened star picket and throw rocks at the house, he shot a crossbow bolt above my dad's head and my dad bashed the crap out of him, but the scariest time was he snuck in whilst no one was home but me and my younger brothers. He was walking into our bedroom about to get close to where we was sleeping and the alarm on the fridge started going off because one of my brother's left the fridge open, he then ran out of the house.
Late one Night
Sitting in my kitchen late one night watching a movie. I was sitting in a chair that has its back to a window. I was watching a movie when I randomly heard this tapping on the window behind me. Almost like someone was tapping their nails on the window. I freaked out and turned around not knowing what to expect.
here i saw our next door neighbor grinning at me. She was looking for my parents. So instead of knocking on the front door or ringing the doorbell she decided to go into our back yard and then to the window in the back where she found me sitting watching a movie, and then decided to give me a mini heart attack.
Grandma? Is that you?
Was home alone for a few days when i was 15, parents visited relatives while I didn't want to go. And my grandparents, who lived in the apartment beneath and besides us (they where separated by a door but it was basically one big house separated into an apartment, and the house of my grandma and grandpa) left for the same reason. It was about 2 days of being home alone and I was upstairs watching tv, when I suddenly heard something downstairs. It sounded exactly like the door, which separated our apartment from the house, was opened up and I was scared as hell. I ran Into my room and got a knife (As if a knife would help in that scenario) and looked through the rooms.
There was nobody. After being paranoid looking through every room in the house I heard the front door closing. Ran downstairs and saw nothing. As I found out a few years later, It was my Great-grandma looking for my Grandma because she just felt like seeing her. She lived nearby and her Alzheimers didn't help her remembering that they drove away for a few days.
Birds Flying
Not alone but everyone was asleep. When I was a kid of around 8 or 9 I had a small Hot Wheels metal trash can by my bed, a small single bed. Woke up one night from metal scratching noises, like claws scratching across metal, sounded exactly like it was coming from my trash can. I was petrified and couldn't move, sound just kept getting more and more intense, not louder, just more frequent. After lying there for what seemed like forever, I was finally able to scream out for my dad. He came into the room and turned the lights on, he looked in trash can and nothing there and made me look.
He says that I'm imagining things and to relax and go back to sleep, just as he's leaving the room and turning out the lights, he hears the noise! Ends up that the screen cover over the little chimney for our electric furnace had come loose on the roof and a bird had gotten into the furnace, which was right behind the wall next to my bed. Lucky for the bird that it was summer and not winter. Only time I have been petrified to the point I couldn't move.
Everyone hates Eddington
I was staying at my parents house, they had gone out, it was after midnight and stormy as hell outside. I was feeling a little uncomfortable in a house that was slightly unfamiliar with the storm and the lateness.
I thought I heard a voice but tried to deny it. A bit later I heard as clear as anything a voice saying "bye bye!" And this musical tune.
It was Eddington. The alphabet caterpillar that my dad bought 18 grandchildren ago and that we all hate because he just will not die. Eddington was speaking from the toy cupboard.
Eddington is only supposed to talk when someone pushes one of his many legs. I do not believe in ghosts but fully expected to open the toy cupboard to find some ghost child playing with Eddington. Eddington was switched on. I switched him the hell off and huddled on the couch 'til my parents came home.
Everyone hates Eddington but I treat that dude with respect. I don't trust that grinning purple creep.
The Look in his Eyes
I was 19 still living at my moms house, she was out for the night with friends, around midnight someone knocked at my back door and my dog started barking like crazy. I then heard my neighbor I've known for years, he was calling for my mom so I opened the door & told him she was gone & if everything was alright. He had a bat in his hand which I did not see before opening the door. He then began to tell me he had locked someone in his closet and they wouldn't stop screaming & it was driving him crazy & that he needed me to come look.
His eyes were glazed over a bit I remember, & I was totally freaked out. Long story short, I got him to leave & I called my mom. Few weeks later when everything settled down we were told by his mom that he has schizophrenia that was apparently getting worse over the years. I've since moved away & It's been almost 6 years since I've seen him or his family.
Montauk
My dad said, "I had a beach house in a very isolated spot of Montauk, and I had just seen the Blair Witch Project with a group of friends. They dropped me off at the dark, relatively isolated, unlighted house. I walked up onto the porch to find a cairn of stones, just like the one from the movie."
The Weight of Zues
I had gotten myself tense with scary videos when the sun was going down. My parents then texted me if I wanted to go eat something with them, so I said ok. I was already pretty freaked out because I kept imagining noises around the house. I was walking down the hall from my room towards the front door when my backpack fell from my bed and hit the floor. It was a heavy backpack, with 5 full binders and other assorted school crap, easily weighed 30+ pounds.
It slammed like the fist of Zeus onto my floor, making me give an audible yelp and bolt through the front door, not even to fully pull on the screen door handle before shoving it with all my weight. I ran full speed into my parent's van and had to take a couple seconds to recollect myself.
Take it from me, and don't leave items on the edge of surfaces.
The Jumper
Had been to see an alien horror movie. Stopped at grocery store on the way home to my apt. Parked in a dark area and carried in some bags. Came back out for more bags. When I pulled the door handle a cat jumped out of my car thru the open sunroof. Aaaaahhhh.
I'm Moving
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My house is actually haunted. Once, all the cupboards were being slammed. Like all 6. No joke, I pooped myself.
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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.