People Share The Scariest Stories They've Ever Heard That Are 100% Legit
Sharing scary stories is something we've almost all done. As kids, we were scared of the boogeyman, but as adults we know the scariest thing out there is plain old reality. Truth can be terrifying.
Reddit user thatwheelieguy asked:
What is the scariest story you know that is 100% true?
and the answers are honestly creepier than we expected. Some people talked about old famous cases they'd heard about, or stories passed down in the family. Some people, though, shared personal experiences that they just can't shake.
We're probably never going to look at a folded dollar bill the same way again.
Dollar Bills
I lived alone with my dogs in a brownstone in a gated community in uptown Dallas. I worked a few miles away but came home every day for lunch to let my dogs out. After living there for about a year I started smelling men's cologne really strong in my entry way and up my stairs. I figured it was my neighbor next door and didn't think anything of it.
Then one day I found a dollar bill folded lengthwise on top of my purse. I never carry cash nor have I ever folded a dollar bill lengthwise. Thought it was weird.
A few weeks later I came home and both my dogs were standing in front of my bedroom door wagging their tails and staring at the door. I figured they wanted to lay on my bed but I was in a hurry and walked them real fast and went back to work
When I came home that day there were 20 or so more of those dollar bills folded lengthwise and placed neatly around various surfaces in my room. Never in my life have I been so terrified. I grabbed my dogs and noped out of that place as fast as I could.
I called the cops, they came out, my locks were changed, but i could never be there alone again. I moved a month or so later. When I moved, I found dollar bills taped to the back of pictures on my walls, under furniture, and random places. I never figured out who or why or even how.
I think the scariest thing of all is knowing that day when I was home, whoever had been going into my house was waiting quietly in my room, folding dollar bills, and my little dogs knew it.
- dadadawn
A Random Creep
The story of Jayme Closs is terrifying. In rural Wisconsin last year, a 13-14ish year old girl went missing after her parents were murdered in their home. Police arrived within 4 minutes or so, but she is just gone.
Of course, speculation is that she was kidnapped, or that she was in on it, or dead, or whatever. Nobody knows because she has completely vanished.
88 days later, in the dead of a northern Wisconsin winter, she runs out in to the street to a woman walking her dog. She had been held captive about 40 minutes from her home.
All of that is scary enough, but here's the terrifying part...
She had never had any contact with the guy that murdered her family and abducted her. One day he was driving to a new job (at which he only lasted a day) and saw her get on the school bus. At that moment he decided that he was going to take her.
There was no warning. No grooming. There was absolutely nothing that she or her family could have done to avoid everything. A creepy young man saw her from 100' away and decided that he would murder her family and take her for himself.
- bn1979
The Blue Tent
I was walking in the woods once when I saw a blue tent - or what had once been a tent. It was torn to shreds and the poles were snapped and it was all in a messy pile in the middle of a clearing.
From a distance, it had looked like this clearing was full of cream-coloured flowers, but as I got closer I realized they were pieces of paper. Pages from Stephen King's The Shining, to be precise. They were charred around the outside as though someone had set light to them, and the fact that they were individual made it look like someone had really wanted to destroy the book.
I shrugged it off. It was a very neat setup for whatever project the film students from the nearby school would be making, I told myself. Very well done, guys, very creepy.
It made the news shortly afterwards that a man from the next town over who had been missing for a long time had finally turned up. Dead. In his blue tent in the woods.
I don't know if he was still in there when I walked past. I don't want to know.
- _cosmicomics_
View From The Fort
I was probably 11 or 12. There was a telephone pole in our backyard that stood in the middle of our back fence. An electrician was working on it and needed access to our backyard for a couple days.
One of the nights, my best friend was over for a sleepover, and we were in the fort we made in my room. I was facing toward her, away from my bedroom door, and she gets startled and let's put kind of a halfhearted scream/yelp. She said she thought for a split second she saw a mans face peering between the sheets through the entrance to our fort. We both felt really creeped out the rest of the night but just fell asleep eventually.
The next day or so my family realized that two of our motor scooters we kept in the back were missing, and sometime later my dad recognized the "electrician" on Sacramento's top 10 wanted.
I'm pretty sure that night was the night he stole the scooters and he must have come inside the house through the back door and left or something when he realized we were awake.
The Living Room
Had a girl over for a date.
We woke up the next morning, and heard a young girl laughing hysterically in my living room.
There was no one in that f-ing living room, but we both heard it.
- Makazen
Drive Bro
After a cross country meet, my team's bus finally made it back to school pretty late at night. Not quite midnight, but pretty close. As a team we all celebrated our victory together very briefly before heading out with our respective families, however, I was one of the only athletes on that trip who had their own car. So I made the long walk down to the student parking lot with another runner that I promised to drop off on my way home.
We were talking about the meet, how she finally hit her PR, and how she appreciated me driving her home this late up till we got to my car and loaded our school stuff in the trunk. I went ahead and cranked up my car while she finished put her stuff away, when the passenger side door is thrown open and she jumps in screaming. "DRIVE BRO!"
This girl was the type to clear snakes from the cross country trails on her own initiative and shoo off coyotes from her family's chickens at night. She wasn't scared of much, and was very reserved. So when she gets in my car in a panic, and yells at me to go, I know sh!t is going down. Given her hysteria, I didn't ask why and I just slammed on the pedal and we sped out of the parking lot.
While we were exiting the parking lot, I saw a flash of what looked like two glowing red eyes like the headlights were reflecting a wild animal's eyes, and what I assume to be teeth reflecting light similarly to the eyes only white. Naturally, this sent me into what was essentially a pseudo-panic state. My heart was beating so hard I though it would crush my lungs, everything was a blur, and it was like my limbs were on autopilot. I couldn't feel my hands gripping the steering wheel, but there is still a section on it that is missing the fake leather because of how hard I was gripping it or something.
Luckily it seems that my body wouldn't allow my passenger to be hurt by my panic. We managed to drive a good ways away and turn onto the highway that runs close by our school and then turned off at an open Gas station to recover. As it turns out, my trunk was still open and we lost most of our school supplies in the mad dash out of the school.
My friend almost wouldn't talk to me, she was trembling so bad, but I managed to get her side of the account out of her.
Apparently she saw something in the football field the parking lot was adjacent to. At first she thought it was a large buck grazing on the grass, but when I cranked up my car, it stood up and turned to face us. Standing up, her best description she could think of was if Slenderman had deer antlers and was more muscle bound.
After we were both recovered enough, I drove her home and agreed to go back to school that afternoon since it was a weekend to make sure there was actually something there.
I couldn't sleep barely any that night. I hoarded a variety of weapons close to my bed, and set up Pornhub to calm myself down and distract my mind.
When the next morning came around, the girl and I waited until it was well into the day before I went to pick her up. With a newfound courage that came with the sunlight (and the somewhat illegal possession of 20 gauge shotgun on school property), we arrived at the parking lot to find all of our stuff torn to shreds like a pack of animals were looking for food.
We've never had any problems with people disappearing in my area either before or since that day, and no one else had seen anything else like that. So both of us decided to write it off as a trick of tired minds and some wild animals.
We still occasionally contact each other when we have to go out in the dark for some moral support, and as far as I know, we both carry at least a pocket knife.
Making Friends
When I was about 13 I was an adventure explorer wannabe. I used to pack a tent and survival gear to go camping up the hill about 4 miles from my house (elevated 1200ft). I set up my tent in this small field almost entirely surrounded by woods. I made my beans, went to sleep.
I was woken up at 3am to the sound of what I thought was a wild animal approaching the tent, not unusual. Went back to sleep.
Woke up at sunrise, opened the tent and found a parcel wrapped in white aged cloth, tied in straw string with a note on top 'welcome friend'. Inside the parcel is a calf leg/hoof.
I packed up my gear real quick, obviously left the creepy gift there. On the way back, it dawned on me that no one would believe me unless I had the foot. No way was I going back there so I just kept it to myself
Never told anyone about it to this day. Scared the soul out of me. Never went camping again, and didn't stop thinking about it for months.
Old Man
I thought I had a dream of riding my bike in Las Vegas when I was 5 or 6. In the dream an old man walked up to me cut my arm and knocked me off my bike and I woke up at home. I had stitches on my arm and my parents later told me i was riding my bike and crashed but deep down I'm 100% sure that that man really had cut me and thrown off my bike.
I wasn't sure til I was 13-14 when my neighbor asked me if I remembered the time when he found me bleeding next to my bike. Out of curiosity I asked him if he remembered if anyone was around and he said there was an elderly man walking away from me about 20 yards ahead. To this day I'm still scared of what would have happened if my neighbor hadn't seen me in the front.
That Building
I had this friend that lived in a trailer park. Whenever I would go to visit, I would drive in the back gravel roads. On the way there was this old, small concrete building. Run down, no doors, some walls were crumbled. I would look at it and think I wanted to check it out.
But there was always this subtle feeling that I shouldn't be in there. Every time, it gave me this lingering feeling that something was off.
I found it fenced off one day, and there was some ripped up yellow tape. I thought maybe some kids were hanging around when they shouldn't have, someone threw in some complaints, and it was blocked off. But other than that I didn't think much of it.
Some time later I'm sitting at my grandma's house, watching one of her shows. Might have been Dateline or something similar? They tell this story about a girl a county away that disappeared after a party. No one could find her for a while.
Then a kid found the clothes she was wearing that night.
It was in that building.
Weapons Testing
My grandfather fought during the invasion of the Soviet Union as a proud Hungarian soldier. I'm not disclosing his division or anything like it, but he only killed other soldiers. This is not a story about ghosts, like he once told me, or a story about his combat, also. In my opinion, it's far more creepy.
I can't recall which year was it, but they were deep into Rusland by the time. They would pass by some villages, some in which the population saw them as liberators, others in which they killed partisans as it was necessary. Well, once he passed through this one village that was stuck into his memory.
First thing he saw was an old lady sitting outside her house, her broom by her side, immobile. Then, it dawned on them that the entire village was recently dead. People had food prepared still on their plates, and all. It was like everybody simply dropped dead while doing their daily chores. He vividly remembered those two guys that looked like they were having small talk when they dropped dead.
He believes it was some kind of German or soviet chemical weapon testing. Spooky.
Have you ever heard of a certain job that people call a career and thought... "PEOPLE PAY YOU FOR THAT?!?!"
All hard, honest work is good work.
And then there is just trash work.
And I don't mean garbage collection, that is honest work.
I don't know how some people live with themselves.
Redditor MrTuxedo1 wanted to discuss the careers they don't believe people should chase. They asked:
"What job do you have no respect for?"
Ticket scalpers. How do you the audacity to say that's a job?
Actual burglars have more empathy.
Disrespectful
"There are debt collectors who call relatives of the deceased to pay off their debts when they are not legally obligated to."
Top_Gun_2021
Shady. Shady.
"Australian Real Estate Agents. Laws don't seem to apply to them. Just as dodgy in sales and rentals alike. Never seen anything like it overseas."
snave_
"I'm in the US, it can vary state by state but my state is pretty strict on realtor laws. Some states require attorney review and there are definitely penalties for being reported for shady sh*t. It does require consumer reporting though."
ilostmytaco
Etransfer
"Where I live, tax info was leaked and now scammers are targeting low income individuals/families (people earning under 30,000 per year) with etransfer scams. I got one the other day that was an etransfer warning that 240$ 'a family member sent me' was about to expire."
SnowyInuk
"That’s disgusting. The scammers know what they’re doing, they know the harm they cause people and yet they don’t care."
surelysandwitch
Should be illegal...
"MLM managers. Not the low level idiots that get suckered into it, they suck too for trying to bring new people into that sh*tshow, but the people who create them know exactly what they are doing and are pretty much the only ones who profit off of it. Should be illegal. Pyramid schemes are illegal. None of them ever get the just desserts except occasionally by vigilantes I assume."
Wereno
I hate debt collectors. Yeah, you calling me one hundred times a week is going to miraculously make money appear.
Animals
"Paparazzi."
VictorBlimpmuscle
"I met Jack Gleeson (King Joffrey from Game of Thrones) at a bus stop in Dublin. Really nice guy but he said he quit acting due to people being nasty online and constant hounding from paparrazi. He's happier now but it sucks that he was pushed away from a career he was quite good at."
goobi94
Scumbags
"The pastors at mega churches whom ask their followers for money for private jets. Absolute scum to abuse others faith for your own greed."
ichancho
"Brian Tamaki is a greedy freaking pig, he takes advantage of so many people who are already struggling. Every time he’s in the local news (which btw is often) I get more and more pissed off at him and his wife. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tamaki "
surelysandwitch
it’s a thing???
“'Dating Expert.' Sadly it’s a thing. It’s basically a self appointed title that requires no training or qualifications. What’s worse, is that I have a female friend who uses one. It’s very much a blind leading the blind situation."
Mean_Manufacturer_61
"Most of the self proclaimed “dating coaches” I know are women in their late 30s or early 40s who have never been married or had a longer relationship."
ipozgaj
EVIL
"Poachers. Especially big game poachers who purposefully hunt nearly extinct animals from species they know they are on the brink."
"I know there are poachers that come from rural villages who are trying to just put food on the table, which has my sympathy but poachers who come from money and hunt down animals minding their business in most shelters or restricted areas just to put a head on their wall as a trophy are absolutely heinous."
GetterdoneObiwan
I See It All
"Psychic Mediums. Specifically those who prey on the grieving."
JamesDeadite
"I've always found it interesting how many magicians go after people like this. I think it's because they know what it takes to trick people for the art. The slight of hand and mentalism. And they abhor people who use these tactics for such sh*tty purposes."
34HoldOn
I want so bad to believe in psychics and mediums. What say we on that topic?
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
The nose is constantly being attacked by odors of the world.
Going through one day without having to hold my breath during a certain point, is a miracle.
Of course, I'm a New Yorker, so I maybe exaggerating for people in the countryside.
What's funnier is odors that are pleasant, that shouldn't be.
Have you ever looked and something and thought... "yuck."
But then you smelled it and it was like... "oh lovely,"
Redditor HappQueue wanted to know what aromas are arousing to the senses that may come as a surprise to many. They asked:
"What smells good but shouldn't?"
For some odd reason I love the things burning. Anything, food, pots, pans. You name it. Weird.
Blow
"Matches/candles on a birthday cake. I remember lighting matches as a kid purely to blow them out and inhale that sweet match-y smell."
semispooked
"guilty good"
"I work at a Chemical plant. We make a highly acidic product that is dark blue, viscus, highly corrosive, and smells exactly like Fruit Loops. It is incredibly disturbing."
Turin082
"Organic chemistry has many 'guilty good' smells. Thiophosgene (sulfur derivative of a chemical weapon used extensively in WW1) apparently smells like meat. Phosgene is used to make polycarbonate, thiophosgene is used to make some sulfur-containing molecules which eventually end up in therapeutic drugs."
HammerTh_1701
I can't huff it...
"Paint, specifically house paint. I love the smell. But anytime I hear that anyone is painting a room or their house, I volunteer. I just love sitting on the floor in a room that's been freshly painted, closing my eyes and just inhaling that slightly chemically, slightly creamy aroma."
Neowza
A Hint of French...
"A fish and chips shop burnt down as couple blocks from work a few years ago. The whole neighborhood smelled amazing for days. Just the slight hint of French fries. Nothing overpowering. It was so awesome. Until I found out someone was trapped in the fire and died."
stevey_frac
Drag
"Race fuel. Instantly puts me in a good mood as it reminds me of going to the drag races with my dad when I was young."
garfnodie
Fuel and matches get me too. And they sort of go together. Interesting.
Just like the Movie...
"The water from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Mmm, bromine."
Stalkerslovemy
"This is one of my favorite scents of all time, and Disney is very aware that people enjoy it. Evidently it’s a lot harder to recreate than just adding bromine to water."
cash4panties
"black widow".
"There's a chicken wing restaurant near my house that has a challenge sauce called "black widow." The owner claims it to be around 500,000 scovilles. A few years back some buddies and I decided to try them, the sauce was a dark molasses color and smelled almost like a BBQ sauce, no hint of the danger that lurked at all. We each grabbed one wing and it went terribly. I don't know how something so spicy could smell so innocent."
Final-Chapter
Endless Weekend
"Hotel/rented rooms whenever you go on vacation. There's this particular smell that just says 'you are on vacation,' especially on a beach/swimming trips/out-of-the-town vacays."
Yummy_Llama
"Bath and Body Works has a plug-in scent called Endless Weekend that replicates that scent (to my humble nose)."
Exxcentrica
"oh no..."
"Someone you are attracted to's body odors. Anyone else who is slightly unhygienic smells repulsive."
Mini_gunslinger
"I remember back in high school a girl leaned over, sniffed me, told me that I smelled really good, and asked me what cologne I was wearing. I asked if she was joking, and she's like, no, you smell really good. When I told her I had just gotten done with gym class, she gets a small 'oh no...' look on her face and turns away. I think we both had a revelation that day."
user deleted
That Smell
"The smell inflatable things give off. I have no idea how to describe it, but it’s… nostalgic? to me."
crestfxllen
I do love the smell of plastics and inflatables. Ahh....
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
At one point in time, we've misplaced things that we've considered priceless possessions.
It's hard to imagine how to go on without the lost object–whatever it may be–but over time, it becomes a distant memory and we move on.
That is until we magically find ourselves presented with this opportunity proposed by Redditor mikehotel288, who asked:
"You find yourself in a room with everything you’ve ever lost in your life. What do you look for first?"
There are necessities people cannot do without.
No More Dry Lips Ever Again
"Gonna be a lot of chapstick in that room."
– camefromxbox
There are things that bring us comfort and are irreplaceable.
Safety Blanket
"My baby blanket. It became tattered over the years—to the point where I couldn’t reasonably wash it anymore—so I had to throw it away a little while back."
"I have heavily regretted that decision. I was really attached to it (hence it being in tatters), but I really wish that I kept what was left of it instead of throwing it away. Just knowing that I’d still have it would be a huge comfort to me."
– Uearie
Sentimental Heirloom
"The pendant my dad had made for me with my grandmother’s engagement diamond. It was 2 carats. It disappeared from a Las Vegas hotel room 20 years ago. It was hidden deep in a suitcase where it would not have been easy to find. It was just GONE. Cops didn’t do anything. Didn’t even come to take my statement. Cleaning lady said she thought she saw an elderly man enter my room. The guy I was with was not sympathetic in the least. Entire situation was f**ked. I’m still so upset about it."
– MaritimeDisaster
Lone Shark
"My plastic shark toy I lost when I was 10. Ain't no f'king way it just VANISHED."
– Guilty_As_Charged__
Not everything lost is tangible.
Tick Tock
"The time I wasted."
– shinyfennec
It Holds Value
"My private key with 6 BTC in it."
– Significant_Mirror19
"I didn't lose one, but I'll check my room for yours just in case."
– Smodphan
Finding Purpose
"The reason I walked into the room."
– Lloyd_lyle
Lost Opportunity
"That one girl i spoke to on omegle lol"
– h-amishh
If only we get to reunite with those we've lost.
The Loved Family Member
"My grandpa."
– Splatty_boi_420
Grieving Parent
"My daughter. She’ll be in my brother’s arms. So I’ll find both things I care to look for."
– SeeTheFence
Missing Mom
"My mom. She died of cancer in 2017. She never got to meet my daughter. I miss the hell out of her and wish she was still part of my family’s life."
– X-Arkturis-X
The Animals That Come Into Our Lives
"My pets that have passed: especially my horse, Blue. It's been 4 years, but it feels like just yesterday."
– Baciandrio
While many of these scenarios are unlikely, the thread gave people an opportunity to reflect on the things that made a strong impression on their lives.
Sometimes, the memories of the things we've lost–whether they are random objects or sources of love–is all we have.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
What's worse than returning home from a night out or a workday and discovering your home was broken into? Being home when the break-in happens.
Home invasions are a common trope portrayed in horror films like The Strangers and Funny Games, and they're absolutely terrifying because they are based on real-life incidents.
Redditor silentagent47 asked strangers to consider this horrifying hypothetical.
"You have 5 minutes to prepare before a guy breaks into your house with the intention to kill you. You can not exit your house. What is your strategy to survive?"
The hunter becomes the hunted, inspired by TV and movies.
Duplicating A Scene
"There was an episode of Burn Notice where Michael puts aerosol cans in the microwave with kitchen utensils and hits popcorn button. I really want to know if this works or not."
– JohnSterlingSanchez
Epic Burglar Trap
"Speed-watch Home Alone."
– pluribusduim
It's about the choice of weapon.
Jump Scare
"I get the vacuum cleaner ready in a certain room, I turn it on as hes about to enter to create a distraction, then I jump out when he's inspecting the noise and bonk the f'ker on the head with the piece of 2 inch steel tube I keep as a weapon."
– BustedBastard
Beware of Dog
"Unleash the Hounds"
– myassonreddit
Make A Weapon
"Duct tape a bunch of knives to the end of one of those tall lamps to make a spear of blinding and then proceed to go sicko mode."
– DubTheeBustocles
Preparing For A Thwack
"Turn shower on, for some reason I have a shovel behind my wardrobe?? So grab that. Wait for him to check shower, whack with shovel. Boom."
– hypersp00p
It's Just A Game
"Corner camp with a shotgun."
– Arrow3619
A Warm Welcome
"Hairspray and a lighter to his face."
– WorkingClassSheep
The effectiveness of these tactics are questionable, but points for creativity are warranted.
Stand Still
"Put a lamp shade on my head and stand in the corner of the room."
– Cannabis_Sir
Make It Erotic
"I turn on all the lights, take off all my clothes, rub butter all over myself, and start a fake conversation on the phone. As soon as he breaks in I say into the phone: 'I’ve gotta go, my next appointment is finally here…”
– FrankieTheAlchemist
Forget The Stairs
"Go to the LIVING ROOM."
– on-oath-never-again
Removing The Element Of Fun
"Draw an X on my forehead and grab a beer."
– Candycoatedmuffin3
And that's why I would opt for living in a commune or apartment complex.
People who own houses are just asking for forced entry.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.