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People Describe The Scariest Thing They've Ever Woken Up To In The Middle Of The Night

People Describe The Scariest Thing They've Ever Woken Up To In The Middle Of The Night

There's nothing more unsettling than waking up in the middle of the night.

Particularly if what woke you up was a loud, unsettling creepy sound.

The only thing that could make the experience more nightmarish is opening your eyes and seeing something that makes you jump out of bed.

Most of the time, what ends up scaring the living daylights out of us is nothing more than a pile of laundry we forgot to put away or a cat's shadow, and find ourselves laughing about it weeks or even days later

Others however, haven't been so lucky, waking up to discover they were actually in legitimate danger.


Redditor SpaceHubYT was eager to hear the most terrifying things people woke up to in the middle of the night, leading them to ask:

"What’s the scariest thing you’ve woken up to in the middle of the night?"

Keeping an extra close eye...hopefully?

"My grandmother just standing there in the dark by my bed, quietly wringing her hands and staring at me."- fryinpaskettimobster

Terrifying no matter when

"My mom saying I needed to get up and go with the cop."- abletable342

An experience no one deserves

"My mom screaming up the stairs 'get out of the house now!!!' and my brother swinging my door open to get us out."

"The house was on fire."- stoneytopaz

One hundred little fingers...

"Centipede crawling on my face."

"I still shiver thinking about when that happened."- Slight_Librarian_399

Bug Insect GIF by AquariumMeGiphy

A lesson well learned?

"A cop walking into my Airbnb at 4am in Tennessee."

"Somehow he had the code and just.. walked in."

"I was sleeping on the couch right near the front door."

"He yelled at me and asked my name and what I was doing there."

"I was dazed and said 'ugh, I’m sleeping here man' and he’s like 'we were called about a B n E at this address'." - Reddit

"And I said 'I dunno man' and he was like 'well, sorry to disturb you'."

"And he walked out."

"Found out later that the call came In from a different address and the cop still had the door code from a previous call that was put in at this building before."

"This is where I learned if someone breaks in to where I’m sleeping In the middle of the night, I ain’t gonna do sh*t."

"My reaction time is about 5 minutes."- ReferHvacGuy

Sharing a midnight snack?

"Cat dropping a giant a** spider on my chest, then giant spider disappearing in my panic."- lady_of_the_lac

attack spider GIFGiphy

One can only imagine...

"My wife sitting straight up out of bed and screaming while pointing down the hallway."

"She talks in her sleep, usually it’s hilarious."

"That time it was not."- BrotherOfTheOrder

Nature's alarm clock

"8.8 Richter scale earthquake at 3am."- sparkdaniel

There's a first time for literally everything.

"Lived in an old building in NYC."

"Had a neighbor across the hall that would seldom have night terrors."

"1st time it happened, it was about 4am and I was pretty sure she was getting murdered from the piercing screaming and loud thumps from her flailing around and the sound of glass breaking."

"I grabbed a meat cleaver and went into the hallway in my underwear to see that everyone else in the building was also awake and poking their heads out into the hallway wondering what to do."

"Me and 2 other neighbors eventually knocked on her door and when she answered she looked pale like a ghost and was dripping in sweat."

"She didn't remember any of it, apologized and explained to us her condition."

"That was some blood curdling sh*t."

"She was very apologetic about it and bought us all six packs of beer for freaking us out."

"Me and the two neighbors that decided to take action were all 100% sure that she was getting murdered at that moment."

"I lived there for 2 years and I think she only had 2 episodes during that time."- azninvasion2000

Always a relief to wake up.

"Had sleep paralysis one time in my life."

"I woke up to a very clear figure slowly moving towards my bed."

"I tried to scream or move but I couldn’t."

"Eventually it made it onto my bed and pressed against my chest with its knees and I could physically feel the pressure."


"It started to choke me and just as I felt like I was about to pass out I woke up."

"Apparently I was positioned like a mummy in a Sarcophagus with my arms crossed with my OWN hands around my neck."

"The more afraid I got the more I squeezed and the more I squeezed the more afraid I got."

"Scared the death out of me and I still remember it vividly."- PriorAgreeable8103

A most unwanted visitor

​"This didn't happen directly to me but I was very close when it happened."

"When kids turn 11-12 years old in our youth movement, they get to sleep in big military like tents during summer camp."

"Usually in the back of a large grass field, away from the main buildings."

"This particular year, we slept on a part military and public terrain where there was a walking path separating the sleeping field and the main building."

"So we saw many hikers, bikers and even a military training passing by during the day."

"One evening our group was sitting outside our tent singing and talking, when we heard a loud bark."

"At first we didn't think much of it because we heard a lot of dogs during the day, but what really spiked our concern was how close and scary it sounded."

"Some doubted whether it really was a dog by the sheer loudness, deepest growl it had."

"We decided tot call it a night, and we all went to bed."

"We were fairly large size group so we slept on either side of the tent, dividing the tent lengthwise with a big walkway in the middle."

"The entrance was at the two ends of the walkway, so 4 kids slept beside it."

"At night we closed up all the gaps with a large tarp."


"The morning after we heard the loud bark, one kid was very quiet at breakfast."

"When we tried to ask what was wrong, they broke down in tears and ran inside the shower facility."

"Later when two camp leaders came back from consoling them, they had a shocked expression and where white as a sheet."

"At night, somebody had pulled off the tarp, undone all the buttons, it was hard to undo them from the outside because you fasten them from the inside, and walked through our tent."

"The kid that was quiet at breakfast, they woke up from the rustling, it was on their side, and watched how somebody walked through the tent, looking at every kid while they were asleep and even stopping and standing in the middle of the walkway for five minutes."

"The kid said they thought it was a camp leader at first but when a dog came in after the person, they knew it wasn't."

"While laying absolutely dead still, they watched as the dog sniffed around and even taking food out of backpacks that were laying at the head of beds."

"After about 10 min, the man and his dog walked out, leaving and not even closing the tarp."

"The kid lay frozen in bed, terrified of moving."

"That morning, when our camp leaders, came to wake us up they saw the removed tarp and open tent."

"They didn't think much of it and thought a kid went to go pee."

"After breakfast our camp leaders sat us down and told us what happened the night before."


"We were all too scared to sleep outside and asked to sleep in the buildings."

"The days after the event, the camp leaders slept with their groups."

"Each night after the event, we heard rustling, howling, low barking and talking."

"Not close by but we heard it."

"Until three days after when a group of little kids came running out of the forest that surrounded the ground, screaming at the top of their lungs."

"They were playing hide and seek and while hiding in an abandoned concrete pipe, they heard a low growl followed by loud barking coming at them."

"We sent all the kids home and came back the next day to clean up."

'After reporting the incidents, the police searched the whole area and found a homeless person that apparently was on the run from police."

'He had multiple sex crime conviction and was know for using his dog as a weapon."

"We were all very shocked when we heard the news."

"The little kid who saw it all didn't join the summer camps anymore, while the camp leaders decided to cancel the three following summer camps."- GroundbreakingTax302

Things are always clearer after having your morning coffee

"Got woken up on a Saturday morning by what looked like Samara from The Ring standing next to my bed."

"Let out a loud scream before the figure went "Yo chill, it's just me'."

"It was my sister telling me breakfast was ready."- Emil_Scalibia

the ring GIFGiphy

Little brothers...

"When me and my younger brother were really little, he had a night terror and was standing in his crib screaming and crying bloody murder."

"He kept screaming about an urchin in the corner of our room, and he seemed mortified."

"I had never seen someone act like that, so I was a bit freaked out."

"Took like an hour to calm him down."- Upset_Toe

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

"When I was little like 8 I was scared of the dark like most kids ."

"But one night I woke up and I saw what I thought was little girl standing next to my bed."

"I recall fainting and in the morning there was a vacuum cleaner next to my bed."

"But I still think it was a girl till this day."- barbiejeepboy

Could have been their stomach?

"Growling at the end of the bed."

"There were no animals or other people in the room."- Loserskwad

Most people prefer teddy bears...

"Okay so I was sleeping and I woke up and rolled over looking for the remote in the blankets."

"I felt what I thought was the remote in the blanket, but when I unfurled the blanket it was actually a flattened opossum carcass."

"I guess it got hit by a car outside and my cat brought it in and put it in bed with me."

"I screamed so loud that my next door neighbor came over."- randcoon

Giphy

Be it over nothing, or something incredibly serious, being woken up at all hours of the morning is never a pleasant experience.

As the place everyone should always feel safest of all, is in the comfort of their own bed.

People Explain What They Bought With Their First-Ever Paycheck

Reddit user MisterChiTown92 asked: 'What did you buy with your first ever work paycheck?'

Person fanning out wad of $100 bills
Alexander Mils/Unsplash

Working a first job is an important part of growing up.

Whether it's working a paper route (do kids even do this anymore?) or working at a video rental store (do those even exist anymore?) first-ever part-time jobs establish important life values and lessons to the youth.

Also, there's nothing that validates accomplishment at a young age more than being able to buy something with their hard-earned money.

Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor MisterChiTown92 asked:

"What did you buy with your first ever work paycheck?"

These generous Redditors found value in paying it forward.

Dinner's On Me

"It was 1976, I was making a whopping $2.50/hour at age 16 (20 cents higher than minimum wage, and it was an office job so I wasn't on my feet all day)....my family didn't have a lot of money (which is why I started working while in the 11th grade), so with my first paycheck I took my Mom and brothers out to dinner at Big Boy. I remember being all proud to say 'Get whatever you want, even the combo meal and a milkshake, it's on me."'

– Ouisch

Dinner Miscalculation

"I took my mom out to a fancy French restaurant. I had no idea how much it was going to cost, then plus tip, I didn’t even have enough! So she had to help me pay the rest. My mom still joke about that from time to time when we go out with the family."

"That was almost 25 yrs ago, damn time flew by."

– jonwtc

Gift For Mom

"I bought my mother a beautiful shawl. I never saw her wear it but it was in with her things when she died nearly 50 years later."

– WakingOwl1

These Redditors got to reward themselves with the things they enjoy most.

Creating Memories

"About twenty bucks of my first paper route earnings, for the pizza buffet and soft drinks, and some arcade games, with my best friend."

"While the shape I've been in has varied over the years, I've kept that stamina I built up hauling around damn near my weight in newsprint. For long endurance rides, hikes with a loaded-up pack, and running."

– ArmsForPeace84

Brand New Kicks

"I was 14 and got a job as a bus boy at a local BBQ joint. With my first check, I went and bought myself a pair of blue/brown Airwalk shoes. I remember how cool it felt to be able to buy something for myself and not have to ask my parents."

– johnnybmagic

Scoring Big Time

"A Playstation 2. Excellent buy, kept it for a over decade before buying an Xbox One."

– Birdo-the-Besto

"It was an Xbox 360 for me. Loved that console."

– HabeLinkin

"Still have a modded PS2. Had a hard drive with games on it too. It still turns on last I checked, I wonder if the hard drive still works..."

–DubaU

A Timeless Treasure

"My family owned a construction business, and my father had me on site for as long as I could remember. I don't remember the first thing I ever bought with what he paid me, but I remember the first thing I set out to buy and had to work for weeks to get the money for. It was a Lego castle set. $49. I'm almost 50 now, and I still have it."

– Spodson

Naughty Pleasures

"lol I bought a candy g-string so I could eat it off of my girlfriend while she was wearing it, and a black cowboy hat with spikes on it from Hot Topic hahaha"

dirtydickmf

Some recalled having to prioritize taking care of business over indulgences.

The Necessities

"gasoline and insurance to continue to be able to go to work."

– TurpitudeSnuggery

"I remember getting my first paycheck being so proud of it and my stepfather goes wow you don't have enough for gas. How are you getting to work for the next two weeks? Made me realize I needed to work more."

"I should also put in here that this was my first on the books paycheck. Made it feel a little different."

– truelydorky

Saving Up For Wheels

"Used to mow lawns and do odd jobs for cash when I was a kid. When I got my first 'real' paycheck that I had to cash at a bank, I saved every penny for several months until I bought my first car at age 16."

"Had zero expenses back then, which made it easy to save money. Fun memory."

– YupHio

Building A Wardrobe

"Clothes."

"I had to start working at the age of 12 because my parents could no longer afford to buy clothes for me."

– Opposite-Purpose365

I worked at a video game store in the mall when I was 15.

I was miserable being stuck behind a counter in a tiny corner store with hardly any adequate air circulation. Working with a personality-clashing co-worker didn't help things either.

But when I got my first paycheck, I remember thinking it was a major milestone and reward for enduring the unpleasant work conditions.

I used my first-ever earnings on a denim jacket from the Gap at the mall where I worked. I wore that stone-washed jacket with pride at school for years.

What was your most prized purchase from your first paycheck?

man and woman at wedding with balloons
Álvaro CvG on Unsplash

Weddings are built up to be magical events heralding a happily ever after for the newly minted spouses.

But like any major life event, a lot can go wrong.

Weather, illness, natural disasters, relationship drama, family squabbles... you name it and someone, somewhere has seen it at a wedding.

Keep reading...Show less
assorted items at antique shop
Christelle BOURGEOIS on Unsplash

Growing up we used a can opener, toaster and hand mixer that my Mother received as wedding gifts. She was married in 1966 and those small appliances were still working well into the 1990s.

When Mum sold her house and downsized, she decided to get new small appliances that matched. The old but still functioning ones were avocado green, stainless and harvest gold.

Since then I've gone through countless electric can openers, toasters and hand mixers and none worked as well or as long as those ones from the 1960s.

The ones with moving parts don't have the same power as the old ones and the toasters all lose heating coils in just a few years.

My complaints about small appliances are mirrored by many.

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angry girl in black and white striped shirt
Photo by Julien L on Unsplash

Double standards are an unfortunate part of society.

A double standard is when two or more individuals or sets of people are treated differently when they should be treated the same.

A good example is the difference in the way my brother and I are treated when we cook. I'm big on baking and have a natural talent for it. Whenever I bake anything, even something complicated, like cheesecake, I'm given minimal praise, if any at all. This is because I'm a woman, and in my family culture, women are expected to be able to bake.

My brother isn't as good a baker as me and rarely does it, but when he does, he is praised for subpar brownies because he's a man and it's amazing he can even cook as well as he does.

I'm not the only one who has experience with this.

Redditors have identified many double standards in society and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor Extreme-Minute-4746 asked:

"What double standards make you angry?"

Civil Service

"As a federal government employee, why do I have to follow all kinds of ethics rules, but politicians and judges don’t?"

– mittychix

"F**k, right? I have to spend six weeks reviewing documentation and hearing out dozens of random companies to award a £100k contract but the minister who runs my department can give his mate's company a multi-million£ contract to run ferries without even getting quotes - DESPITE THAT COMPANY NOT HAVING AND FERRIES AND THE PORT IN QUESTION NOT HAVING CAPACITY FOR THEM."

"I left the civil service after that one."

– Disco_is_Death

"This. Yeah I could get in trouble for accepting a gift over $50 (like I have that much influence anyway) but politicians and judges get lobbied millions..it's infuriating."

– gtbeam3r

"Yes. And they get to keep their jobs for being completely dysfunctional, but if I pulled a fraction that garbage, I’d be fired."

– TrekJaneway

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

"That some people expect you to respect their no, whilst they will most definitely not respect yours."

– IvyBloodroot

"On that note, respecting someone as an authority is often equated to respecting someone as an individual."

"Eg. Teachers who say if you don't respect me (as a superior), I won't respect you (as a person), when they're really not the same thing."

– Paperonia

The Bullied

"School bullying."

"The kid getting picked on has essentially no power. Go to a teacher? Get labeled a snitch and tattle tale. Don't do anything? You're just made an easier target. The moment they fight back, they're the ones who end up dealing with detention, suspension, expulsion, etc. You have more power as a bully in the schools than the victim."

– FriskeCrisps

"It's because bullied people are usually rule followers, and the school wants the problem dealt with as quickly as possible. Best way to do that is to expect the rule follower to follow rules, rather than the rule breaker to suddenly change their ways."

"Fairness ends up on the chopping block."

– darsynia

Services Cliff

"I'm 41 years old and have Cerebral Palsy. If I try to find anything related to the disease - how to deal with it, any kind of ongoing care - it is virtually impossible because all the care is just for children with CP. It's like once you turn 18 the world just doesn't care anymore."

– Zechnophobe

"I’m autistic and in the same boat. “How to deal with a child who…” I'M ASKING FOR ME."

– aroaceautistic

A Two-Way Street

"People who are obsessed with the idea of kids being respectful towards adults, but don't treat kids with respect in turn."

"Edit for example: I went to a very old-fashioned school where the rule was that when an adult entered the room, even in the library and break/lunch, every student in the room had to immediately fall silent - mid sentence, mid word, didn't matter - and stand up until we were given permission to sit back down again. If we didn't, we were chewed out and sometimes even given detentions. The argument was that it trained us into respect, but I was also brought up to believe it's rude to interrupt, and it felt like the teachers were constantly interrupting us."

– MerylSquirrel

"My father in law is like that. He’s “kids should be seen and not heard” type of old school."

"But then he wonders why the children in the family all steer clear of him and why they disregard most things he says."

– Macintosh0211

Doctor, Doctor

"This might be a bit controversial, but I’ve come across a couple of doctors who demand special treatment away from work but preach and practice treating all their patients equally."

– kimchi-pancake

"They charge you a fee or cancel if you’re 5 minutes late but have no problem leaving you waiting for hours. I’ve waited an hour in the lobby and another in the actual examination room."

– SadComfort8692

"Same! i can understand if it’s out of their control but i could hear her, clear as day, giggling with her coworkers about her weekend. i waited 20 in the lobby and 20 in the exam room. i love a good gab but, for f**k’s sake, do it later! if i yapped outside for 20 minutes, it would be a $50 fee and another 4 month long wait to be seen again."

"I suddenly had a $50 i-can-hear-you-nattering-through-the-wall fee. she laughed but it’s been collecting interest ever since…"

– manyfeetball

Alcohol Is Alcohol

"Beer drinkers act like they aren’t alcoholics because they don’t drink hard liquor. Ok sir you just drank 25 beers and then looked at me sideways for drinking a g&t at the family reunion."

– Brainfog_shishkabob

"Same goes for the “sophisticated” wine drinkers..."

"Stop judging me for enjoying a drink on the terrace a few times a year, when you empty 1-2 bottles each evening..."

– 2Madam_Mimmm

"That’s definitely the way it is. I’ve got a snotty alcoholic family member, that THINKS she’s sophisticated, because she drinks high dollar wine, out of very expensive glasses."

"Yeah, pissing yourself and passing out, in front of the mailbox, are definitely the traits of a sophisticated person."

– sweathogbrooklyn

Mr. Mom

"Fathers taking care of their kids."

"I take my kids to doctor appointments, dentist appointments, take them to school, and pick them up. I do all that stuff."

"Every single f**king time, it's, “Dad’s babysitting today?” Or some stupid comment like that. No, I’m not babysitting. I’m being a f**king parent!"

"I hate the double standard that dads can’t do stuff like that with their kids."

"I can’t take my daughter to the park without being questioned or looked at funny either."

"People need to give dads more respect. A lot of us bust our a**es too. I work hard. I take care of my kids, I play with my kids. I clean the house. I do laundry. I don’t stop. I don’t rest, I don’t relax."

– moms-sphaghetti

"Give us changing tables in the men's room!"

– Da1UHideFrom

"Nothing bugs me more than when a place only has changing tables in the women's bathroom."

"It's 2023, I take my son to the aquarium by myself sometimes... Looking at you London SeaLife centre 🤨"

– AstonVanilla

Household Split

"The laundry is always a wierd one. My wife is a much better cook than me. And she hates me cooking when she's in the house. So to compensate I do all the laundry, including ironing before someone mentions it, and all the washing of dishes."

"But even at work, this doesn't seem to be understood as possible. I complained my washing machine had broken and the comment was 'Oh no, what's wife's name going to do?'"

"To which the answer was 'Wonder why I haven't done the washing this week.'"

"But it's infuriating."

– RelativeStranger

Justice Is Bought

"The American justice system. You can afford the best and many more lawyers when you have money."

– TooAfraidToAsk814

"Justice is blind, but the b*tch sure can smell money."

– burgher89

Worship

"I am supposed to respect people's religion, but people aren't supposed to respect my non-religion."

"Particularly when their religion instructs them to not respect my non-religion."

– GeebusNZ

"It kinda makes my head spin that there are people who I get along well with who, per their religion, think I deserve to be tortured in agony for all eternity."

Daztur

Yup, me and my non-religious self have personal experience with that last one!