I have been scared, and left breathless more times than I can count after sundown. I love the moon but sometimes the witching hours can be nerve-wracking. That's why all the serial killer movies have them killing at night under the darkness. So how can we trust the night?
I Hate Gordon
gordon ramsey GIFGiphyI left my laptop on and went into my bedroom to try and sleep. About 2 hours later I started hearing someone talking in the living room (next to my bedroom) and started freaking the hell out thinking someone broke in and was going to murder me.
Creeped out of my room to realize the video I had been watching unpaused itself and was playing again. It wasn't an intruder, just Gordon Ramsay screaming at someone on Hell's Kitchen.
Stay Hidden
When I was little, we used to go to the countryside where my great-grandma lived. She was 101 years old and survived two Balkan wars and two world wars, her husband was in captivity in WWI and fighting for Tito's partisans in WWII, along with my grandpa. Her other son ended up in Mauthausen concentration camp.
So, the house was old and cheeky. The only room that was heated in winter was the one my great-grandma was in, so my parents would made me sleep in the same room with her, while they were sleeping in the freezer of a bedroom.
It wasn't the squealing of the house, or the strange rhythm of an old clock, or the trains that passed by, or wild animals that talked throughout the night that kept me awake, but my great-grandma sleepwalking and talking through the night. She would sit up in her bad and have full conversations with long-lost friends. She would call for them or asked them for the directions, or tell them she missed them so much. But the worst was wailing for killed or mutilated ones. She would say things like "oh, look what they did to your beautiful eyes" or "why didn't you stay hidden? Where could I find a doctor to stitch your stomach up?"
I should have been more vocal about my great-grandma and claw my way in that cold room, in hindsight.
When I was Homeless...
One of the first nights I was homeless, I walked a distance along the bike trail that circles the lake in Madison Wisconsin to sleep. Woke up for no immediately obvious reason at what must have been a very late hour, as the sleep began to dissipate I realized I was lying down looking at a sideways view of someone crouched motionless on approach about eight feet away.
I kept from opening my eyes completely and tried to seem to be still sleeping. The stranger began to slowly take another step toward me. I made a deliberate cough/might-be-waking-up noise and they retreated quickly. Carried a knife for several years after this.
@ 3Am
I was up into the wee hours, trying to get past a level in Dishonored without being seen by any bad guys. Suddenly there is a flash of light across my screen and then a lot of noise at the front door. It's 3 AM. I go stock-still for about 2 minutes, trying to remember where the bat is, and if I locked the door.
I creep slowly to the bat, and then to the door. Check the peep hole, but I see nothing.
Look out for a few minutes, then I get the courage up to open the door and turn on the light (bat still in hand.) There is a dark spot on the porch. And that was the night I learned the the milk is delivered at 3 AM, with a bunch of ice to keep is fresh, and by a dude wearing a headlamp. The last part I learned when I remembered that we have a blink camera covering the front door.
Silent Hill
Scared Oh No GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphyStaying up late playing Silent Hill: The Room. I was in the hospital part which is pretty tense by itself, its close to midnight and out of the corner of my eye I see a woman in a flowing white gown crossing the yard.
I just about crapped myself.
It was my neighbor going home after visiting my landlord. But good lord did I almost crap myself.
See, now I'm reaching for a Bible to pray. And a phone to call my therapist and some vodka. Those are moments I'd be writing about as well. Try to sleep before 3AM...
The Orbs
glowing mr burns GIFGiphyTwo glowing orbs floating at the edge of the woods. Nothing was holding them up. They were legit just floating in mid-air. No idea what it was, didn't stick around to find out.
Edit: some are saying that it was an animal, but think of it more like a light bulb. It gave enough light that I could see in a 2 foot radius in all directions. I could see the ground behind it.
Edit edit: being that it was near kind of a marshy area, I think it might have actually been a Will o the wisp light. Still freaky tho.
The Shakes...
I was up at like 1 am, and I was on my phone. All of a sudden I hear this sudden boom from outside. It wasn't like explosive loud, but loud enough to be heard by those with good hearing. Afterwards, I could hear this very quiet rumble, like something was coming. In my mind I was going "That's an earthquake". Sure enough, two seconds later, the rumble got louder and everything started to shake. Instinct came in, and I ran downstairs.
On my phone, everyone was writing "Did you guys feel the earthquake?"
We had another earthquake happen a few weeks later, but I had just fallen asleep, but I had woken up right when it was happening. My instinct kicked in, and I just darted outside my bedroom and ran down like 8 flights of stairs. My house is built like a tower, and I live at the top of it. In my mind, my instinct told me "Get to more stable ground. Run downstairs".
The Chills
This was several years back when I lived out in the country. It was maybe 3am and out of nowhere I had this urge to look out the front bay window onto the porch. Sitting there was a coyote already looking into the window as if it knew I was going to look out. It locked eyes with me for a couple of seconds and then bolted into the woods. I still get chills thinking about it.
Under the Bed
So, I was about to go to bed. I think it was around 2:00 AM. I was all in my covers, and I had just put my phone on my nightstand after watching some YouTube. I laid awake for maybe 10 minutes, in the dark. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move in my room, and dart under my bed. Whatever it was, it was small.
I know it went under my bed because as it did, I felt a kick of sorts from under me. Some kind of force came from under the bed, strong enough to feel it through a mattress and various other layers. It was so bizarre. I couldn't sleep for an hour after that.
"you, are not, alone"
Work Omg GIF by The Drew Barrymore ShowGiphyOnce in my teens, i had a dozen tabs open on my laptop and just chilling around 2 am in the dark in the living room. Suddenly i hear a low, raspy, electronic voice repeating: "you, are not, alone". Honestly almost had a heart attack until i realized, after a moment of freaked out searching, that i had my headphones on and a YouTube video i had in another tab had ended and in it, the new Superman trailer was playing.
I wish I could fall asleep in daylight. I can't. It would be so peaceful, I assume. I wish I could erase some of the jump in the night moments of my life but, alas. We should all get together and make "In the Night" anthology horror stories. Paging Ryan Murphy...
ryan murphy GIF by Golden GlobesGiphyWant to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.