
Spooked People Share Their Animal Related Paranormal Experiences
[rebelmouse-image 18360346 is_animated_gif=Have you ever had a strange encounter with wildlife or other animals? These people have and they are sharing their spooky stories with us!
u/rmrgdr asks:
Hey Reddit, have you ever seen a mythological, spirit or ghost animal or a nature spirit or entity, or other spooky occurrences with animals, what's your experience?
The ghost dog
[rebelmouse-image 18360347 is_animated_gif=A couple of years ago I slept over at my sister's house in my baby niece's bedroom. At 02:38 am I was woken up by a small dog getting onto the bed with me and settling itself down to sleep. I reached out to touch it, it was really comforting but then I realised my sister's dog was downstairs and definitely not little. I reached for the dog again but it had vanished. Sister told me my niece woke up every night at about 3am and I've always wondered if it was the little dog.
when's the last time you had your eyes checked?
[rebelmouse-image 18360348 is_animated_gif=My grandma had a Welsh Corgi who lived to be 19. The week after they put him down, the next-door neighbor came over and was surprised that the dog, who was very protective, didn't bark when he knocked on the door. My grandpa told him that they had put the dog to sleep a week ago. The neighbor got really serious and said, "No way. I've seen him every day standing under the big tree in your front yard." We took this as a sign that he was still near us.
The phantom kangaroo
[rebelmouse-image 18360349 is_animated_gif=When I was living in Western NSW, I was out exploring the area when I saw a kangaroo with unusual markings - it had a white face.
A while later I mentioned what I'd seen at the local pub and everyone got quiet then quickly changed the subject. I find out later what I'd describe was considered a bad omen in the local dreamtime, and I totally believe it.
The walking coyote
[rebelmouse-image 18360351 is_animated_gif=One time I was hiking in southern Utah along a sandstone ridge, when I saw a pair of coyotes trotting along an adjacent ridge, maybe a hundred yards away. This could have been a trick of the light, confusing perspective, or me being tired, but I swear one of those guys suddenly stood up on his hind legs, looked around, and sauntered down the opposite side of the ridge and out of sight like a guy going for an evening walk. I just stood there for a few minutes thinking, "That was the weirdest f******* thing I've ever seen."
The hallucination is strong
[rebelmouse-image 18355940 is_animated_gif=In the hours before my dad died, he saw his pet dog from 40 years earlier, our cat that died 4 years earlier and even my pet rabbit that died 4 years ago. He sort of marvelled at it all, "Even the rabbit is jumping around, she probably shouldn't be in here."
That's a scary tradition
[rebelmouse-image 18345358 is_animated_gif=When my grandfather passed away we sat on his front porch later that night and 3 great horned owls flew over our heads. My mom busted up crying saying that when her sister passed away a great horned owl flew over like that, and when my grandmother passed away 2 owls flew over. I'm very curious if when my mother passed away the same will happen for me.
When it's a friendly ghost
[rebelmouse-image 18360352 is_animated_gif=Our black Chow, Padfield, was hit by a car just before Halloween. Halloween night I was listening to a podcast of spooky stories before walking downhill to my studio in the dark. The wind was blowing and clouds were skimming across the moon and the trees were tossing wildly. I got spooked since we lived way out in the country, plus Halloween plus spooky stories. I actually felt then saw Padfield come out of the moving shadows from the place he usually slept and walk me to my studio door. I told him thank you then went inside and told my husband that our dog had just walked with me down the hill. He said, "Sounds like he was making sure you were okay." We miss that sweet dog. He was a good boy.
The shadow people guardian
[rebelmouse-image 18360353 is_animated_gif=I used to live up in New Hampshire and for a brief period of time was having semi-frequent encounters with shadow people. At the time I had a job where I wouldn't leave work until about 1am and I lived in a densely wooded area. For a while it was bad enough that when I'd get home at night I'd be scared to get out of my car and walk to my front door. Then one night I was driving home and as I came around a big bend I looked up and at the edge of the tree line, looking right down at me, was a giant silver stag. When I say silver I truly mean it - not gray, not white - and it even shimmered ever so slightly. He was massive and beautiful and I immediately felt very calm and safe. I closed my eyes for a split second because I knew what I was looking at couldn't be real, and when I looked back he was gone.
I never saw another shadow person after seeing the silver stag and feeling that calmness come over me. Sometimes I wonder if he was some sort of guardian.
The cat man
[rebelmouse-image 18346400 is_animated_gif=I had 5 other people with me at the time it happened. We were camping in southern Ohio at a private camp grounds. It was about 11PM and we were walking to pool that was at the front of the site. When all of a sudden it looked like a large black cat (about the size of a mountain lion) was crossing the road about 60 yards in front of us. As it gets about half way across the road it stands up and walks (like a person) into the woods. We were all about 16 years old and freaked out. But being teenagers we wanted to see if we could spot it. So we all run toward the spot with flash lights, never going into the woods. We never saw anything again and I'd never seen anything like that before. My family has been going to the same place for over 40 years and has never experienced anything of the sort.
When your pet knows...
[rebelmouse-image 18346388 is_animated_gif=When I was a teenager, I went to a two day music festival, and while I was gone my mother decided that was a great time to have the dog I'd had my whole life put down. (She was really old, and I knew it was coming, but I wanted to be with her). So needless to say I was heartbroken, couldn't stop crying, and as I'm laying on my bed I feel this big whomp, just like when she'd decide it was bedtime. I could feel her curled up against my back, all warm, and I heard that huff she'd make when she got comfy. I put my hand behind me and I could feel her fur, and I calmed down and fell asleep. When I woke up, my dog was gone, but there was a big warm dent in the covers, like she'd just left.
Animal senses
[rebelmouse-image 18360354 is_animated_gif=Growing up we had horses. I lived in New England and we had lots of area to ride on a hill near us (the town called it a mountain, but they had delusions of adequacy). One time I was riding and my horse stopped suddenly and refused to move forward, he then moved around the area we were traveling, a little panicky. I looked and could barely make out the remains of an old stone wall and a few rotting posts. I later was talking to our local 'town historian' and he was telling me of the lost smallpox hospital up there (in 17th century New England, if you had smallpox, you were sent to a quarantined area - the 'hospital' - and if you recovered, you could come back). When he described the location, it fit. I took him up there later, and he found fallen stone grave markers where the horse shied. That horse was always nervous around cemeteries.
Old habits die hard
[rebelmouse-image 18359229 is_animated_gif=My cat used to run down the hallway at top speed and jump onto the bed every night when I would tell him it was bedtime. The day after he passed away I turned the kitchen lights off and told the dog it was bed time, then heard the cats collar bell and footsteps run down the hall.
The presence is real!
[rebelmouse-image 18360355 is_animated_gif=My girlfriend and I had just had her boxer put down after a lingering illness. I had a dream a few nights later of her dog coming into the kitchen and then leaving, and of me turning to my girlfriend and saying "did you see that?!" In the dream, she hadn't. I was asleep a few nights later and had a vivid dream of her dog coming into the room and jumping up onto the bed, then lying on my chest. I could feel his weight, and I struggled to come out of sleep so that I could see him. I managed to wrench my eyelids open (it's very hard for me to surface from this type of vivid dream), and i could see his silhouette against the dark of the room, before he slowly faded.
When you can't logically explain what happened
[rebelmouse-image 18353687 is_animated_gif=One morning my girlfriend and I were laying in her bed on a cold morning. We didn't have work or school that day because it had snowed. She lived out in the middle of nowhere, like no neighbor for a mile nowhere. Well I hear someone right outside the window say "get down, they're going to be able to see you if you don't get down." So of course this startled me and I turn around and see a guy and three dogs right outside walking toward the garage door. So I grab my handgun and go to meet them at the door and find out why they were there. So in those 10 seconds I get outside and no one was there. Right outside our window there were shoe prints and paw prints in the fresh snow. I tracked them down the back of the property and after about 100 yards or so there were only paw prints. I looked over to my left 10-15 yards there were very similar paw prints that looked like they had come from the forest towards the house. So I tracked those up to the house and then shoe prints appeared about 25 yards from the house. So I followed them to see if maybe they had gone out the front of the property but there were none. To this day I'm not really sure what happened or what was outside our window.
The zombie cat
[rebelmouse-image 18360356 is_animated_gif=In college, my roommate and I we're walking around town at like 2 am (not drinking, just..weird kids) and we passed a dead cat in the gutter. It was a calico, big brown spot on one side and an orange one on it's face. Rigor mortis had set in, and there was a kind of greasy smear coming from under the head. We guessed it had been mashed by a car.
We walk down to a park, wander around, and come back the same way. A car passes us, and in it's headlights we see a calico cat crossing the road away from us. We get back to the spot where the dead cat was, and it was gone. Same storefront, same street light, same greasy smear in the gutter. No cat.
Kitty in the dryer
[rebelmouse-image 18360357 is_animated_gif=A little over a month ago I had to put my cat down because she was suffering from an illness related to old age. The next day I was making my bed and I lifted up a blanket fresh out of the dryer (nice and warm) and my beloved kitty was under there. I saw her plain as day, blinked, and then she was gone.
The faries in Ireland are brutal!
[rebelmouse-image 18345368 is_animated_gif=Friend is Irish. Her uncle has a sheep farm out in the country. One day he was clearing new grazing areas and came across a fairy circle. He's not the superstitious type so he didn't think twice about destroying it. This is a big no-no in Ireland.
Every single one of his lambs came out stillborn that year. Every. Single. One. He respects the fairies now.
The cat that wanted attention
[rebelmouse-image 18358494 is_animated_gif=During my sleep paralysis episodes i used to see this cat in my room just doing normal cat stuff like scratching my furniture and laying around. I would see him pretty frequently too. One day he was scratching my nightstand, i tried to yell it him but couldn't. I always thought it was weird that i see the same cat everytime i have a sleep paralysis episode.
It could be true
[rebelmouse-image 18360358 is_animated_gif=My dad swears that back in the 70's when he was camping in the BC interior he saw a bigfoot that threw large rocks at their campsite. My dad also did lot of drugs in the 70's.
At least it was a friendly dog ghost
[rebelmouse-image 18348544 is_animated_gif=I've had a few strange animal-related experiences, but one that stands out for me was an encounter I had while staying at an inn. The innkeeper made no mention of any pets upon my arrival (usually innkeepers will warn you if a pet might be wandering into your room), but in the middle of the night I was awoken by the sensation of a dog licking my hand (I slept with my hand hanging over the edge of the bed). I opened my eyes to see a long-haired black dog standing right beside the bed. I love dogs, so it was quite heartwarming to me although unexpected, and I reached my hand further out to pet him. My hand passed right through his face as if he was nothing more than an apparition. The figure quickly faded out completely, and this startled me out of bed.
People Share Their Very Specific Dating Restrictions
Reddit user AceofSpadesYT asked: 'What is your most specific restriction when it comes to dating?'
When it comes to dating, I have my mental checklist. The guy must be kind, intelligent, funny, and a movie buff. He must be adventurous but also doesn't mind a Netflix and Chill date night.
Most of this is similar to the mental checklists other people have. Of course, I can be flexible. If someone is nice and I'm having fun with them, they don't necessarily have to check all the boxes.
However, I have one specific dating restriction that is a dealbreaker regardless of how many boxes the person checks, and that's religion. I've never been a fan, and now I'm an atheist, and I would want my partner to be as well. That's because I want kids, and the last thing I want is for us to argue about how to raise the kids when it comes to religion.
I'm not the only person who has one specific dating restriction. Everyone has that one thing that is a dealbreaker when it comes to a romantic relationship. Redditors certainly do, and they are ready to share.
It all started when Redditor AceofSpadesYT asked:
"What is your most specific restriction when it comes to dating?"
It's Just A Joke!
"No cruel or rude pranks."
– detective_kiara
"I saw a post by someone whose boyfriend "pranked" her by pretending to be dead on the kitchen floor. That is exactly how she had found her previous partner, dead on the kitchen floor, which her current boyfriend knew. He was surprised she dumped him and didn't think it was funny."
– innocuousspeculation
We're (Not) Gonna Party!
"No party people. Nothing wrong with it, I just ain't dealing with that sh*t."
– PlantBasedStangl
"True. I like planning weekend stuff, but it has to be something meaningful - visiting a different city, movie marathon, mountain hike, fancy lunch, all okay. But... clubbing and drinking? How f**king old are we, 19? No thank you, I'm old and have no energy for listening to music I don't like while being surrounded by 50 people that I don't give a single half of a sh*t about."
– PlantBasedStangl
LOL
"Same sense of humor. I have 0 interest sharing physical space with someone who doesn't laugh with me."
– Legendary_Lamb2020
My Ears Are Bleeding!
"I'm a light sleeper. I cannot date a snorer. I can hear snores through ear plugs AND a fan blowing. It's not you, it's me."
– YourLocalOrca
At that point, it does sound like them 😂
– CuriousRedditor98
Funemployed
"Have a f**king job."
– Cuss-Mustard
"Found this difficult when I was funemployed. Was fortunate enough to be able to live off savings for a bit."
"People reacted oddly to it. “But what do you do???”"
"Was dating at the same time and some girls had the same sentiment. “You don’t have a job?”"
"I had a good enough job that I didn’t need one anymore. And one lined up 8 months from then. But there were two girls specifically who treated it as a deal breaker."
– DigNitty
"I had a similar situation. I worked a high-paying job for a few years that demanded a ton of my time and had crazy hours. It burnt me out badly and I lived off of the savings from that job for a while and tried to date now that I actually had free time. I had more money in my bank account during that time than at any other point in my life but so many people were put off by me being funemployed and assumed I was looking to leech. But I guess there’s really no way to know someone's history and hard not to assume. Now I work full-time and have way less money overall but it looks better..."
– Pinsit
Just Breathe
"No smoking. Ever. I'm not kissing an ashtray, or smelling an ashtray. Instant turn off."
–fishfood19
"100% I broke up with an old gf because she started smoking behind my back knowing I’ve got asthma and it was always a hard pass. She thought I was joking but it showed me that she was also untrustworthy."
– Jonowl89
That'll Do It
"I guess my husband restricts my dating."
– HeinousEncephalon
"My wife has the same rule. But the jokes on her, I get around it by dating her!"
– AuralRapist
Prehistoric Love
"Must like dinosaurs."
– Grungeceratops
"That goes without saying."
– Plain_Chacalaca
What's In A Name?
"Cannot have the same name as any of my relatives."
– Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
"My last ex had the same name as my Dad and I reeeeeeaally didn't like it. So, fair."
– severaltalkingducks
Be Polite
"If they’re rude to people they’ll never see again (Waitstaff, cashiers, etc) I’m out."
"I can’t respect anyone who doesn’t respect themselves, and when you’re not polite to people you’re disrespecting yourself."
– OctopusCandleCompany
God Only Knows
"When I was dating, you had to be an atheist. I don't mess with religion. And I genuinely just don't think atheists + religious people work out."
"And I know... There's going to be someone who comments (assuming there are enough upvotes) who says "I worked out with my spouse who's religious and I'm not!" but you're the exception. When it comes to making decisions long-term, how to spend your money, where you think you'll go after you die, not to mention basic morality (!), and if you have children - that's a huge hurdle."
– Lulu_42
"We worked it out. It's absolutely an exception and not the rule. Don't do it if you can avoid it."
– Alcoraiden
Let's Move Tonight (Literally)
"They need to be ok with cold weather."
"I grew up in the north, live in the south, and I'm tolerating it until I can move back north. If someone says they hate the cold it's an instant turn-off because I don't want to drag someone into a climate they hate."
"The same thing also applies to walkability. I want to move somewhere walkable, and I hope to meet someone with that same goal rather than try to talk them into it."
– ThePresidentCantSwim
"Let me know when you find this mythical northern walkable community."
– Partner-Elijah
My Purr-fect Match
"Cat has to approve."
– Possible-Source-2454
Non-Negotiable
"They need to be male. Kind of important."
– RMHaney
"So weird, I want the complete opposite."
– eightvo
Yeah, the male thing is kind of important for me too!
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments.
Life is full of shock and surprise.
Apparently, that is part of the fun.
Who hasn't been left stunned by life events?
We always think we're immune to way too many things.
Anything and everything is possible.
It's important to be ready.
Redditor Bob_the_peasant wanted to hear about the things that have left people SHOOK, so they asked:
"What 'That can’t happen to me' thing happened to you?'"
I haven't been left that shocked that often.
I'm always expecting the worst, so I'm prepared.
But you never know.
I'm Dead
"A snake fell out of a tree and bit me on the head."
"ETA: I have always been more scared of snakes than anyone I know, so it’s just so ironic that this happened to me of all people."
amanitachill
Crash Into Me
"A car crashed through my kitchen last year."
aster636
"I woke up to a truck parking in my bathtub 2 weeks before Christmas a few years ago. I watched my sink roll past my bedroom door followed by a hubcap. The driver managed to cross a median, 3-lane road, up an embankment, through an iron fence and between trees. He'd been involved in an altercation nearby and was fleeing the scene."
anjie59k
Hot Air
"My family and I were in a hot air balloon crash."
GymDoll2000
"My friend had one crash into her pool when she was a kid."
Environmental-Car481
This is why hot air balloons and skydiving are just a HELL no for me.
Always have. Always will.
Tragic
"My wife cheated on me with my best friend. They’re moving in together next month. I’m in a new city thousands of miles away. I found out a month ago."
Tssodie
Bad Penguin
"Everyone else’s stories are very sad so here’s something a bit lighter. I’ve mentioned this story before but I got bitten on the neck by a penguin."
"I was at an event where the local zoo had a penguin and owl sitting on tables with handlers so you could take a picture next to them. The penguin went for my glass of wine, I moved the wine, and it bit me on the neck hard enough to bruise. They removed the penguin after that. 😂."
archaeologistbarbie
All Gone
"Our house burned in a wildfire, we lost absolutely everything we owned and only salvaged a single coffee 3 cup."
"On the good side: There was a boy I crushed on all through high school. We went to summer camp together and I adored him. We ended up getting together in our 20s after reconnecting, and have now been together more than 20 years, married almost 17. We’re as madly in love as ever."
toomuchisjustenough
Good Luck
"Homelessness. It came swiftly and out of nowhere. had no savings and the landlord sold the house I was in. couldn’t afford a new place so lived in my car with my dog for a few months. ended up finding community assistance and got into an apartment."
jumbospicyslimjim
"I can’t even imagine being in that situation. Hopefully, this is just the start of things turning around for you. Sending you good energy!"
frappbarqueen
Early Michael Myers
"About 10 years ago, I was stabbed in the arm with a flathead screwdriver. It was a coworker whom I had previously gotten along well with. He had stopped taking benzos and smoking weed a few days before and was on a hair trigger. I said something sarcastic, and he just snapped."
Mr_Spaghetti_Hands
Bad Landing
"I was lying on the beach and a seagull flying very high took a poop and it went straight in my mouth."
Competitive_Show6205
This is why I say... "Never trust a seagull!"
They are minions of the devil.
People's Craziest 'You Can't Eat At Everyone's House' Experiences
We've all heard the phrase, "You can't eat at everybody's house," but some of us have a few examples of our own to live by.
From not properly cleaning the environment to questionable hygiene ourselves, there are countless reasons why a person may not want to eat what you've cooked after watching you prepare it.
Bracing themselves, Redditor 195901 asked:
"What is your 'you can't eat at everybody's house' horror story?"
Fly Spray Sandwiches
"I told my dad my sandwich tasted like fly spray at my grandma's house. He didn’t believe me."
"Two days later, I caught my grandma spraying the benches 'clean' with the two-dollar fly spray you find at the cheap store."
"Dad figured it was safe to make sandwiches straight on the countertop because they looked clean. I dragged him over to see and he apologized and took my sister and me for fish and chips for lunch."
- littlehungrygiraffe
Special Seasoning Deviled Eggs
"My crackpot aunt served us a lovely tray of deviled eggs, complete with very old paprika sprinkled on top. So old, in fact, the many weevils mixed in it were dead."
- PhoneboothLynn
A Disturbing Surprise
"I visited a friend's house who was living with his mother, and she asked if I wanted a coffee and I said I would."
"Upon getting to the bottom of the cup and taking the last few gulps, I found there was a used bandaid stuck to the bottom… I never ate or drank there again."
- MrRailton
In Need of Child Protective Services
"I was babysitting a kid in a pretty dirty house. I was told to wake him up, supervise bathing and changing clothes, and feed him. I was welcome to whatever was in the fridge. Okay. The house and his clothes were filthy."
"Then, when I opened the cabinets, floods of roaches poured out. There were roaches in every opened box and container."
"I took him back to my house and returned him later that day. I hope the boy ended up in a better situation. I found out CPS (Child Protective Services) got involved shortly after."
- Alltheprettydresses
Traumatized by Raisins
"I was gonna complain about raisins in the potato salad but the other comments on here are scary. Oh my god."
- tcumber
"When I was a young kid, I stayed over at a friend's place, and his mom made veal or something with godd**n raisins INSIDE the meat somehow. It was so nasty, I never forgot it."
- User2716057
You WISH That Was Vinegar
"My MIL fished around in the green bin (compost bin) with her bare hands, didn't wash them, WIPED her GARBAGE JUICE HANDS on the tea towel, and then WENT BACK TO PREPPING THE SALAD."
"She also got horrifically offended if I didn't want to eat at her house."
- 116843189
Poor Home Hygiene
"My first boyfriend’s parents invited me for Thanksgiving. I came over a few days before Christmas and all the same dirty dishes from Thanksgiving were still in the kitchen. I passed on coming over for Christmas dinner."
- MinimalistHomestead
Every Surface Covered
"I went to a friend's house after school, he was going to teach a group of us to play D&D (Dungeons and Dragons)."
"We got there and his house was disgusting. I'm not the neatest person but the carpet hadn't been vacuumed in forever, clothes were all over the place, and dirty dishes were stacked everywhere."
"I tried to be polite even though the place reeked, but at some point, he was like, 'Who wants snacks!'"
"He picked up a bowl that was crusted with stuff, splashed in some water, wiped it with a towel that clearly hadn't been washed that decade, and poured chips into it. Then he asked if we wanted to stay for dinner. We did not."
- KnittinAndB***hin
O Holy Expiration Dates
"When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was always celebrated at Grandma's. I always got sick afterward. Like, Merry Christmas, you're going to puke now."
"It wasn't until I was all grown up and helping her out in the last weeks of her life that I learned why. She did not believe in expiration dates on anything!"
- SundayMorningTrisha
An Immune System to Remember
"My grandma made me a food phobic from a young age. Whether it was ramen with moths floating on top, or chunky milk in my cereal, it just scarred me for life."
"Dinner at her house was always a fight. Not eating her food was not an option. I'm not sure why that was the hill she would always choose to die on, because she was an amazing grandma other than this."
"Expiration dates aren't a thing. If the cheese was moldy, you cut it off... I think living through the great depression and raising kids in poverty changed her mindset on food."
"I mean obviously, she's doing something right because she's 91. She must have the immunity of a superhero."
- tha_stormin_mormon
Neighborly Love
"I used to help an old neighbor out with grocery shopping, I’d drop the bags at her door and she’d give me a check for the amount of groceries. She’d give me homemade cookies once in a while, chocolate chips."
"I didn’t ever eat them because one time I caught sight of her apartment. It was a large studio, a small kitchen, and tv, and a bed/couch. And there were about 20 cans of cat food, half-eaten, and one million flies and small maggots in different stages of growth, dishes with crusty food stuck to them, and a wall of empty beer cans."
"After I saw that, and got a whiff of her apartment, I started helping her with taking garbage out and putting groceries away, cleaning out her fridge, and making sure her cat was healthy."
"A couple of months later, she got the virus, ended up at a rehab facility, and passed within two weeks."
"Some people need help and a little company…"
- SnooPeripherals6557
No Longer Rice
"A girl I was interested in at the time had cats. I came to her house one day to pick her up for a date and he had a large sack of rice open in her pantry with the pantry door open."
"One of the cats hopped out of the sack of rice and she just casually laughed at it like, 'Oh, they are always getting into things.'"
"I came over the following weekend that SAME sack of rice was in the pantry and I could hear one of them tussling around in it again, we stopped dating sometime after that but anytime she offered to cook for me I immediately pivoted to taking her out to eat instead."
- justad**nfool
"Those cats probably used it as litter."
- Anonymanx
"Yeah, that was my fear."
- justad**nfool
Could Have Warned Her
"My mom told me one about going over to her aunt Virginia's house. She, her parents, and her siblings were sat around the kitchen while her aunt cooked, and my mom could not figure out why no one else was having ANY of this incredibly delicious bread that was on the table."
"She was on her third slice when her aunt stepped out to do something else, and my mom was told by her brother to go look in the flour bin."
"It was absolutely filled with miller moth larvae. Aunt Virginia had been losing her eyesight for years."
- smoothiefruit
"It's f**ked of her parents not to warn her not to eat the bread... like, what the f**k, you KNOW the bread isn't safe, so you're not eating it, but you're fine with letting your daughter have three slices?"
- whydontthissitework
Bad to the Point of Malnutrition
"I graduated high school at 6' 10" tall, but weighing only 120 pounds."
"That's not skinny, that's emaciated."
"The food prepared by my bio-mom was so bad that it wasn't providing me with the nutrients or calories I needed to survive. I went off to college where I had to cook for myself (I wasn't allowed to cook at home because my father insisted that "cooking was women's work")."
"Not only did I discover that food didn't have to be burnt to a crisp, flavorless, or boiled until everything was grey. I also discovered that food can be made to taste good, and using things like salt, or pepper, spices, or various condiments can make it taste amazing."
"The "freshman 15" likely saved my life."
"The thing is, I don't think that my biomom was even aware that her food was that disgusting. Whenever we went out for dinner (which was more often than what my father wanted, but he was the one who insisted on going), she did nothing but complain about how the food was undercooked, 'practically raw,' or 'too spicy,' to eat."
"When she went to other people's houses (including her own extended family) she would criticize them for 'doing it wrong' when she watched them cook anything. She would often end up refusing to eat their food because she 'watched them ruin it,' when they cooked it. We never had guests over to eat her cooking. Ever."
- Galaxy_Ranger_Bob
Clean Hands
"We have a chili contest every year at work around Thanksgiving and I've stopped participating in voting for it because I want to know whose I'm eating before taking any. I work with some great people, but I wouldn't eat at or anything from their house. Strangely enough, the guy I absolutely despise I'll gladly eat his chili because he is clean and well kept and I know his house is."
"I also work with a bunch of people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom in any capacity and we've secretly kept a list so to avoid any potlucks where they take food or to get food before they do."
- SafewordisJohnCandy
We're left with chills after reading these stories.
Where some people might make some mistakes in the kitchen out of just not knowing, like not properly washing rice before cooking it, most of these are just careless mistakes that have disgusting, if not dangerous, results.
What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.
Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:
"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"
These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.
Good Clean Fun
"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."
– MrDDog06
"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."
– Bogus_34
Act Of Unwrinkling
"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."
– eerie_white_glow
"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."
"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."
– xdq
Our solo actions can spark joy.
Big Brother Is Watching
"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."
– Bec_121
"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."
– doeswaspsmakehoney
The Multi-Tasker
"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."
– thickening_agent
Releasing The Kraken
"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."
– therapoootic
"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."
– TheWarmestHugz
Ultimate Comfort
"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."
– crazyloomis
Some people are obsessed with collecting things.
So Kawai
"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."
– HavingNotAttained
It's A Staple
"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."
"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."
– _CozyLavender_
Not Caring Anymore
"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."
– Bi-Beast
"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"
– deanie1970
Honorable mentions start here.
The Savior
"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."
– sky_kitten89
Hero Of The Moment
"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"
"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."
– chris14020
Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?
Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.
As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.