Many classic horror movies begin with the protagonists driving on a dark, desolate road in the middle of the night.
More often than not, an ill-timed flat tire leads them to knock on the door of the home of someone with deceptively sinister intentions or walk through the woods in hopes of finding civilization, only to find themselves pursued by a beast with supernatural abilities.
Even though these films are works of fiction, they have no doubt corrupted the minds of anyone who finds themselves driving alone in a remote area at night.
As a result, these poor drivers might find their eyes deceiving them, making them hit the gas in hopes of reaching civilization sooner.
Or worse, what the things these terrified drivers thought they witnessed actually turned out to be true.
Redditor SeeleInstrumentality was eager to hear the things people have seen driving at night which forever impaired their ability to fall asleep at night, leading them to ask:
Eyes That Follow You Wherever You Go...
"A f*cking owl standing on the carcass of a large buck in the mountains at 3-5am."
"All you see as you approach are two glowing red orbs, then slowly a becomes huge dark form standing on the edge of the road with eyes of fire."
"Then you get close enough and this massive f*cking owl just gives you the death stare as you go past."
"You realize it was just a large a** owl standing on the remains of fresh road kill."
"Freaked me out for the rest of the dark part of the drive."- cidiusgix
Familiar Face, Unfortunate Circumstances
"Someone I knew locally came across a jeep that had just crashed into the ditch on a highway at night, flipped on it's top, wheels still turning kind of thing."
"He was the first on scene so called 911 and ran down into the ditch."
"The driver, who was badly mangled, had been tossed from the car and was dying."
"This guy held him and the driver died in his arms."
"The weirdest part of it all was that he found out the next day that it was his cousin, but he hadn't been able to recognize him."- Auto_Fac
How Did This Even Happen?
"Driving down a 2 lane divided highway."
"I came up to a couple semis and went into the left lane to pass."
"I did a shoulder check to get back into the right lane when I saw headlights in front of me.. in my lane."
"The car was going the wrong way."
"I managed to swerve into the ditch, felt like I was mere centimeters from death."
"Thought my wife's scream would be the last thing I ever hear."
" And I never want to hear it again."
"The semis I passed all pulled to the shoulder to come check on us."
"Didn't see the car anywhere."
"I think they just kept going."
"Had to pull into a gas station after and collect myself."- trplOG
music video headlights GIF by Lady GagaGiphyGone In A Flash
"I was following a grey Toyota Tundra in a massive blizzard through Montana on McDonald pass."
"He was going pretty quick most of the way but must have been unfamiliar with how steep the final few miles are."
"He got away from me as I slowed down to about 35."
"Not 5 min later I passed his tire marks in the fresh snow that went off the side of the mountain."
"Pulled over and looked down to see his truck upside down and on fire about 300 yards down."
"Called 911."
"He didn’t die but was burnt up pretty bad."
"Sad and scary and don’t go 50 in the snow just because you have a truck or 4wd!"- r34lsessattack
Some People Just Don't Belong Behind The Wheel...
"An a**hole overtaking a petrol tanker around a blind corner, coming my way."
"Scared the sh*t out of me."- xilog
homer simpson truck GIFGiphyOne Reason Not To Stray Off The Beaten Path...
"Whilst driving from Morelia to Ciudad Hidalgo, in Mexico, back in the 80's we had two ways to get to Ciudad Hidalgo which was the national road or the old national road which was called Mil Cumbres."
"Mil cumbres basically means 1,000 curves."
"That stretch of road literally had 1,000 curves so a lot of people would get motion sickness when on that road."
"One evening on our way back to my grandparents, who lived in Ciudad Hidalgo, my grandfather was driving and he loved taking Mil Cumbres because it had really nice views and he just really loved driving that road."
"But since we had the new national road, not a lot of people used that road anymore so it was kind of desolate with the exception of passing one or two little towns."
"It was dusk so soon that meant that being on such a desolate road in the moutains, we would be in complete darkness on the road with no many other cars on the same stretch of road."
"It took 2 hours to get to the town on that road so maybe 45 mins into the drive it had already gotten really dark and as we were driving my grandfather started slowing down."
"I was sitting in the back seat because my grandmother was in the front with my grandfather so I kind of stood over the front chairs to see why he was slowing down."
"That's when I saw a hug tree log blocking the road."
"My grandfather came to a stop and immediately started going in reverse to turn around and get out of the immediately."
"After we turned, my grandfather stepped on the gas pedal and I was sort of thrown back into the back seat."
"I immediately turned around to see if I could see anything and as we were speeding away."
"I could see men, very dimly since it the light from the tail lights from the car were starting to get dimmer and dimmer, coming from out of the adjacent trees next to tree log on the road, with flashlights and guns."
"We were about to get robbed and thanks to my grandfather's quick thinking and taking action immediately, we avoided it."
"That was the last time I was ever on that road."- Hex_Code_Glitter
Be it on an open highway, or a dimly lit dirt road, always best to be on high alert when driving at night.
And always remember to lock your doors.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.