In a perfect world, most of us would only feel it if we wanted to in controlled environments like haunted houses. But we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes life gets ... terrifying.
Reddit user the-70s-kid asked people to talk about it when they posed this question to Reddit:
"What is Your Most Terrifying 'We Need to Leave, NOW!' Rush of Fear You've Felt?"
So you know how sometimes you almost wish people were LESS open and honest? Yeah...
What Happens On Tour Stays On Tour
scott hoying wtf GIF by SuperfruitGiphy"I'm a touring musician. At one point in time my tour vehicle broke down in bumf*ck Mississippi. We were able to pull into a gas station, but had thrown a belt and needed to get it replaced."
"Cue a bunch of hicks helping us work on our car. A couple of band members rode with a random do-gooder to go get a replacement belt forty-five minutes away."
"The local sheriff pulled up and bought us all coca-cola. At this point we're stressed because we don't want to miss our next show in Arkansas, but not worried about safety... YET."
"Time stretched, and through trial and error we ended up getting things close to finished up. Then our lead guitarist pulls out his iPhone. He said he had an airdrop request, but we all kinda ignored it until the job was finished."
"Then, just as we're getting into the car to pull away, he opens the airdrop."
"There were seven pictures of dead bodies, although they appeared to be cleaned up like in a morgue or something. Among the corpse pictures was a picture of one woman sitting up and smiling at the camera, the next shot she was dead."
"The last two pictures were of us repairing the car in the gas station parking lot."
"After that we lost it. I don't know whether we were just freaked or it was genuine danger, but the car behind us followed us for almost twenty miles until we got to a major highway and gunned it."
"Once we got home (2 days later) the guitarist went to the local police department."
"They basically said since it was a different state they wouldn't do anything, and since we had absolutely no info about who airdropped it, he had nothing he could 'call in' to the sheriff of the small Mississippi town."
"They also insinuated that it was probably just someone who was a mortuary or something because all the pictures had posed bodies."
"Could be someone's sick joke (and if so, I guess they got us), but I don't see how someone fat-fingers an airdrop of corpses."
"No context, no explanation, no answers. It still freaks all of us out to this day."
- Kylar21
Following A Blood Trail
Penn Badgley Joe Goldberg GIF by YOUGiphy"I was walking home one night, head down because I was dumbly looking at my phone. I almost stepped into what looked like barbeque sauce."
"Turned on the flashlight function for my phone - it was blood. Every step, there was a small blood splatter - less than a teaspoon. I followed it along the entire long street while walking home."
"Maybe eight blocks. It was hard to tell, in the dark, but the trail seemed to end at a residential facility in my neighbourhood."
"I'm not sure what type of facility it is, but I've often met people with intellectual disabilities in the area - I've helped them with how to order a train ticket, counting cash for groceries, etc."
"There were two people in the fenced off yard, talking low. I could only see their lit cigarettes in the dark."
"Suddenly I was filled with a sensation of wrongness. All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and I felt cold. I kept walking, and did some loops before going back home and calling the cops about the blood trail."
"My partner felt I overreacted, and it was probably just an animal or someone with a bloody nose."
"But that was a lot of blood in total, over eight blocks. And something felt deeply wrong. I didn't sleep well that night."
Heading Home
Dance Music Dancing GIF by DEEPSYSTEMGiphy"I was overseas at a competition and my friends and I left the after party. We part ways with me going my own way."
"Almost immediately I see a few men on the other side of the road, out the front of a bar look up, nudge each other and say something between them. As I walked past I see them cross the road to walk behind me."
"Mentally I'm thinking 'oh sh*t' - the rest of my walk would be down a not well lit, and sometimes very quiet, stretch of road."
"I turn down a shorter street and pick up my pace a bit, and sure enough the men follow but I've put some more distance between us. I make the turn I was dreading and just bolt."
"There were a few houses here with decent gardens and I just needed to make it to one before the guys turn the corner."
"I make it to one of the houses, it has a giant hedge surrounding a small gate so I lean right back into the gate and hedge. I'm in total darkness, peering through the hedge when the men turn the corner, take a few steps and stop."
"They talk to each other, then turn around and leave. I wait a few more minutes to be sure then jog the rest of the way checking behind me."
- Grieie
Air BnB
red dead redemption 2 rdr2 GIF by Rockstar GamesGiphy"Several years ago, 6 of my friends and I were out of state for a wedding. We rented an Air BnB for the group."
"Immediately after getting there we learned that the guy who rented out his house had a roommate who was almost never home, but happened to be there for the first time in weeks, and didn't realize the house was going to be occupied."
"The owner insisted that he spoke with him and he was planning to pack up and stay at his girlfriends so we could have the home to ourselves as planned. Sure enough, he was gone that afternoon."
"We went out that night and came home intoxicated, as 20-something's do from time to time. One of our guy friends came up from the basement looking shocked."
"Apparently the roommate was back... and based on him being asleep, it was clear he planned to stay."
"We quieted down and rearranged where we'd all planned to sleep. But this was only the beginning."
"The next morning we were woken up by excruciatingly loud death metal blaring from the common living area/dining room upstairs. Two of the people who'd slept in the living room came down immediately and told us we needed to pack our things and get out FAST."
"We didn't ask many questions. Just sort of grabbed all our stuff, tries to clean up, and piled into an uber XL to head to the closest hotel."
"Apparently before the music started earlier that morning they woke up to a bunch of clank/banging only to open their eyes and see this dude sitting at the table cleaning a shot gun and a hand gun."
"Needless to say, I don't think he wanted us in the house."
"I wasn't the one who had rented the Air BnB. But yes, my friend was able to get a full refund and a big ol' apology from the owner. He said he didn't really know the roommate very well and hardly saw him, like he just sort of paid rent and stopped in only now and then."
"In retrospect the whole thing just seems mind boggling."
- jillaaa
We Could All See His Face
fast food robbery GIFGiphy"It was more of a gut feeling than a rush of fear, but I was 12 or 13 with a friend in a corner store and a guy walked in. He didn't look like a criminal, he looked a bit shady but not too too off."
"But for whatever reason I just felt weird, and I whispered to my friend that I wanted to leave. so we quickly pay for our stuff, which was just a pack of gum 2 sodas and a large bag of chips and we leave."
"A couple seconds after we leave we hear 'Open up the drawer! I will shoot!' and we both book it."
"I don't know what this guy was thinking, his face was visible, I don't know if he put a mask on while he was somewhere in the store but either way the cashier, me and my friend all saw his face when he entered."
"Anyways he did get arrested, and the police found that his gun was in fact loaded, the cashier was not shot nor harmed, nothing too serious happened but it scared me that I was in a store with a man with a loaded gun."
Bill
Get Out Leave GIF by Filthy RichGiphy"A few years back coworkers and I went to another coworkers house. The house was owned by an owner of the company but this one coworker, we will call him Bill, had a key and 'permission' to use it following a company Christmas party."
"Everyone was enjoying some drinks and some smoke. About 30 minutes into us partying, Bill started acting strange."
"Basically he started aggressively hitting on the girls at the party in disgusting ways. 'If I guess your age and you're older than me or younger than me you have to sleep with me' was a common thing he repeated to more than one girl that night."
"He started trying to separate other coworkers from their dates and got aggressive about it. When I say he got aggressive about separating other coworkers from their dates, he was taking dominoes and throwing them on the floor in front of coworkers and telling them they needed to help him pick them up."
"The first time he did this he got help from our coworker, at that moment Bill stood up and started trying to get our coworkers date to go into the next room with him. He was unsuccessful but about 10 minutes later he tried it with a coworker I was pretty close with, we will call him Dan."
"He threw a deck of cards and kept telling Dan to pick them up but Dan knew what Bill was up to. After a minute of Bill trying this sh*t I walked over started grabbing cards and stuffed them in his pockets."
"I was pissed, I kept repeating 'Come on Bill let's pick up some f*cking cards.' With a plain face and monotones voice Bill simply said 'I can clean it up myself.' "
"Bill was aggressively hitting on the girls at the party but Dan later told me that Bill told him 'You're hot, I can see why so-and-so wants to f*ck you.' Nothing against anyone sexual preferences but clearly Bill was going through some sh*t."
"Right around this time I started smelling gas."
"I walked through the house and realized he had turned the stove burners on but never ignited the flame. I turned them off but the smell kept building. I realized he had done this with the fireplace as well."
"As I turned off the fireplace gas I notice Bill messing with the stove again. At that point I lost it, I made a scene."
"Bill looked shocked when I yelled 'Yeah f*ck this. Everyone out, Bill is doing some weird sh*t. Out everyone out!' "
"He rushed to the door and tried calming everyone down. I'm telling you all it was weird."
"We had to push through Bill, who was blocking the front door telling us we were being crazy. 9 of us crammed into a friends Chrysler 300 as Bill tried blocking us in with a golf cart."
"He ended up moving it and saying we were all over reacting. I have no doubt Bill was up to some nefarious stuff and to this day I believe I saved a few lives."
"People reported it and Bill was fired not long after. A few months back I was doing some home improvements and while at Home Depot I hear Bill shout 'Hey!' "
"I turned around and had a few words with him. He works there, apparently loving life. I now shop at Lowe's."
Window Cleaners Share The Best Things They've Ever Seen | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Window washers have quite an interesting job. From death-defying heights, they see cities from unique perspectives and often catch glimpses into the lives of...BBQ Bummer
zac efron bbq GIF by NEIGHBORSGiphy"I had just moved to South East Georgia. I moved into a predominantly black neighborhood which was totally fine by me. My neighbors were so welcoming and accepting."
"About 2 weeks in, I'm approached by a few white men in suits at work, asking me if I was new. I said I was."
"They said they were from the Chamber of Commerce. They wanted to invite me to a BBQ that weekend."
"Free BBQ? Sold!"
"... It was a Klan Rally. Many of them were wearing black shirts with the distinct symbol of the cross and flame."
"They introduced themselves as such eventually, though growing up in Portland, I was already pretty familiar with the symbols."
"Yeah, I wasn't keen to find out what was going to happen if they found out I was gay."
The Mall
Fast Food Mall GIF by Billie EilishGiphy"A friend dragged me to a mall (her old workplace) to visit her old coworkers. After arriving, I suddenly started feeling ill but not normal ill."
"Like really ill accompanied by a really bad gut feeling."
"I kept trying to get my friend to leave and she kept saying 10 more minutes but wouldn't leave."
"Something in my gut felt like something was really wrong and we HAD to leave and I was so panicked that I finally decided I'd leave without her if she wouldn't leave this time even though I'd have to walk over 5 miles to get home since she drove."
"She finally agreed to go and when I got home and flipped on the computer to do homework I saw that there had been a shooting at the mall after we'd left and it started at the store we were in."
High Alert
Breaking Despicable Me GIF by RegalGiphy"One time I was shopping at a Walmart with my wife and a young, bald guy seemed to be following us around the store. He had a very intense look on his face and was speaking urgently into a headset."
"He wasn't wearing a Walmart uniform, but he was dressed in business casual with a name tag. He wasn't always following us; sometimes he would pass us going in the opposite direction."
"At some point, I realized he was making announcements on the overhead speaker for people to gather at the back of the store in the electronics department because there was going to be a drawing for cash prizes."
"I couldn't tell if he was actually making the announcements on the headset or relaying a message to another guy who was, but he was pacing through the women's clothing section (I was there buying scrubs for a job that I started the next day) and intently repeating the message for people to gather at the back of the store."
"He had no expression on his face and was just repeating the message in a monotone."
"Out of the two of us, I'm the level-headed one and my wife is the one who is scared of everything. In this moment, however, I just knew there was going to be a mass shooting at that store."
"I told her to put what she had down and get the hell out of there with me. Since I'm not normally scared of much, it freaked her out and we bounced."
"Of course, nothing happened and we had to go find scrubs somewhere else, but it was the strongest fight or flight reaction I've ever had."
"I think it must have happened right after a high profile shooting (god bless america), so I must have just been on high alert."
- CryptographerShot296
Party Pranks
Punch Alcohol GIF by Grease LiveGiphy"I was getting ready to go to a party with my friends after prom. We never go to the big parties because we were not as popular, but it was open invite and our parents let us go."
"We all got there and something felt off right away. I got a wave of anxiety and almost had a panic attack and we all left the party after being there for 15 mins."
"I thought it was just me being shy or overthinking until we wake up to the news that one of our classmates put drugs in drinks as a party prank and caused people to trip out. One girl overdosed."
- the-truth827
The White Vans
scared inglorious basterds GIFGiphy"I was at work one night and walked to my car before leaving to bring some things inside. I hate parking lots so I always park pretty far away to avoid having to pull out around other cars."
"I didn't think anything of it till after, but the parking lot was mostly empty apart from two white vans RIGHT NEXT to my car with people inside. I work next to a park, so it really isn't too unusual for people to just chill there in their cars for awhile."
"As I was walking up, the door of one of the vans slid open but no one stepped out. I wasn't paying attention so I didn't see the faces of the people inside."
"I was a little creeped out so I called my boss and he came with his dog. As soon as he stepped out of his car, both vans left."
"I get a call from my boss at 3AM that night, asking me for better descriptions of the car. Someone was assaulted and carjacked there that night."
"I don't park far away from the building anymore."
- euphoriugh___
For His Wife To Find
Season 19 Nbc GIF by SVUGiphy"Several years ago I was outside on a Saturday morning cleaning out my truck in the parking lot of my complex."
"A guy who lived in the building right across from me, but parked on the other side of the complex normally, suddenly pulled in a couple parking spots from me and just sat in his vehicle."
"I had my back to him, but I got such an overwhelmingly creepy feeling all of a sudden. I switched sides so I could watch him."
"He sat there watching me for about 5 minutes and then started his truck and drove off. I couldn't shake the weird feeling I had."
"Fast forward 2 weeks later and I'm just coming home from shopping with my son. On our walk to the apartment, I watch the guy's wife and two sheriff's go into her apt and 2 min later they come speeding out."
"Come to find out, when the wife went to work, he called a sex worker, they did their thing and then he killed her. He then stuffed her body into one of his military bags."
"Then he left her there in the middle of the living room for his wife to find. It was terrifying to learn that!"
- Pretend_Impression90
Storm Chasers
Oh My God Omg GIF by AudibleGiphy"Californian in foreign Kansas ground. Always loved the severe thunderstorms - so cool with nearly constant booming rainfall and torrential downpour."
"One day when I was playing on my computer and hear sirens. No clue, look outside and sunny outside and some people walking their dogs. Go talk to my wife and we look on TV and there is a tornado warning."
"Having no clue what to do, we huddle in the bathroom under a mattress with the news on display. Panic on the news is increasing (shocking I know) and they say this is a big one and if you're in a second-story place, you are not safe."
"Soon after they abandon the news station and all we hear is pounding hail, almost a deafening silence. Well sh*t."
"We panic and start knocking on neighbors' doors but no one is there. Not a cloud in the sky. Adrenaline is kicking in and I'm getting shaky."
"I call friends and they are all true Kansans and say 'noooo problem easy peasy.' Thanks alot."
"One offers for us to come to his house for safety. Me and my girlfriend jump in the car ready to go."
"We turn the corner and a sheet of golfball-sized hail starts pelting the car. It sounded like the car was being torn apart."
"Gut-wrenching metallic pounding mixed with glass clacking to hold with every ounce of its might. My wife starts screaming and crying and I just put my arm across her chest to try to calm her."
"I look out the car and the wind is whipping on itself and leaves are circling about. She reminds me the nearby grocery store has a shelter, since our friends house is far and not easy to find even in broad daylight."
"I begin speeding there racing through an intersection with a red light. I veer up to the grocery store greeted by dozens of cars with smashed in windows."
"To this day I have no idea how ours held."
"We get out right in front covering our heads in hopes we don't get hit by hail. The doors to the store are closed."
"Panic sets in. A man is beating the front doors screaming 'LET US IN! ITS HERE ITS HERE!.' "
"The store employee inside is pale and confused and shrugs to indicate no way to open. I contemplate throwing a pot through the window."
"After what seemed an eternity a fellow employee sprints up fumbling her keys and opens a side door."
"I look back and I can see nothing but wind and tree branches circling about... and darkness. My girlfriend and I run to the door and... she trips."
"I have that movie moment where my mind thinks.... should I grab her and risk us both or just go? Well I'd be dead either way lets grab her."
"We bolt inside to the meat locker shelter. As soon as we get in all conversations stop and everyone stares at us."
"We must've been white as can be and they could see the mixture of terror and relief in our eyes."
"We learn later that the guy banging on the door beside us was a tornado chaser and the tornado got rain-wrapped, or impossible to see, and he panicked."
"To this day I get a powerful feeling in the bottom of my stomach whenever I get a phone warning of a severe thunderstorm."
"At least picking up my girlfriend paid off as she's now my wife and we have a beautiful baby girl :)"
- getloppy
Welp. We'll be doing a LOT more trusting out gut from now on.
What sorts of "near danger" experiences can you recall? Sound off in the comments.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
But some of the terrors rooted in reality are scarier.
Whether it's a brush with death after hydroplaning on black ice while driving or being held at gunpoint, they are the stuff of true nightmares.
However, the jury remains out about the reality of ghosts.
Regardless, Redditor Geace_69 asked:
"What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?"
One of the worst things must be to look down the barrel of a gun as these Redditors did.
Kid With Pistol
"Pistol in my face by a kid no more than 13 years old. I was sure that little f'king idiot was going to kill me."
"Wrong Taxi"
"A guy stopped traffic and walked up to the window of the taxi I was in and pointed a gun at my head through the window. Then said 'wrong taxi', and casually walked away."
"I hope he never found the right taxi."
Cashier At Gunpoint
"I got robbed at gunpoint when I was working alone one night at Subway when I was 16."
Getting Authentic Tacos
"I got stopped by the Cartel in Mexico. I live on the border and we decided to go eat some authentic tacos. My dad, my brother and his blonde girlfriend and I (12) were driving to our favorite taco place when this truck behind us started honking at us. Unfortunately there were 3 speed bumps in a row right in front of us. So the truck got impatient and pulled up in front of us. Then they stopped at the intersection which was right in front of us. Along with another truck that was behind them. And a van. Then, like insects, they all swarmed out of their vehicles with AK's and body armor. They lined up pointing to both out car, and then down the street in the direction our car was facing. 2 guys started smacking the car with the butt of their guns and yelling at us to leave. Then they shot some warning shots at the ground in front of the car. My dad floored it backwards while my brother shoved his white girlfriend into the floor and I tried to become one with the seat. Almost died that day. At least thats what it felt like."
Sound Of Gunfire
"An hour ago. Waiting for an Uber outside in Nashville. All of a sudden, shots fired. Like twenty shots total… everyone runs for cover (where there is little). It happened so quickly, it was hard to know what was happening. Scariest moment of my life, especially knowing that two minutes prior we were standing in a way more exposed location. We were fine, but… nothing on Twitter or the news. WTF."
– stoneguy
Vegas Mass Shooting
"I was in the middle of the crowd at the concert shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 (deadliest mass shooting in US history). Jason Aldean was performing and we thought it was fireworks until he was pulled off the stage. Everyone got down to the ground and eventually I couldn't take getting shot at anymore and sprinted out of the venue, leaving my friends behind. (If you know or Google, he was using an automatic so it was just round after round after round of gunshots, not knowing if/when one was going to hit me or my friends.) Called my parents hysterical to let them know I was okay and walked to MGM. They had triage set up in there, otherwise no one else there had any idea what had happened outside. Finally met up with one of my friends and thought we were safe. Then someone comes running through the casino saying there's an active shooter (there wasn't) so my friend and I darted and got split up again. I am freaking out trying to get a taxi/Uber back to my hotel because I'm thinking there are shooters everywhere now. One taxi kicks me out because I'm screaming to get to my hotel. Eventually I walk a couple blocks and am able to flag down a Lyft and get to my hotel. As I'm walking through the lobby, they announce they are shutting down the entrance to the hotel for safety so I sprint to the elevators to finally get to my room before they shut down elevators too. Spend all night not sleeping, unable to comprehend what had happened. Still triggered by gunshots."
These Redditors recount the times they were asked to be taken to the ATM. And not in a very polite way.
Unwelcome Passenger
"I stopped at a light in a questionable part of town and a strange lady hopped into the passenger seat of my car. She told me to drive her to the ATM and get her some money...I told her that I had forgotten my purse and could not do so (my purse was behind my seat and I was really hoping she wouldn't look around and catch my lie). She kept insisting that I give her money and I kept driving and telling her I couldn't... I'm pretty sure the $20 or so dollars I had in the bank would not have been enough anyway."
"Finally I saw a cop car stopped on the side of the road. I pulled up behind it and told her she could either get out then, or I'd start honking my horn to get the cops attention. She decided to leave."
"I was pretty shaken by that... I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't seen the cop and she was getting increasingly insistent and I know I would not have won a fight with her."
"Also... She took my bag of gummy worms."
Crazy Historical Events That Sound Fake But Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Drive To A Construction Site
"Something similar happened to my friend's dad. Guy got into his car, pointed a gun at him, told him to drive to an ATM, and pull out money. The dad was scared shi*less, but seemingly, calmly agreed. He drove the car to a construction site nearby, hoping that the workers would be on duty that day. Fortunately, they were and the dad, driving a luxury car, looked so out of place that a bunch of the workers started watching him. The dad then told the guy, 'You can either get out of my car or you can shoot me and have a dozen witnesses. Your choice, but you're not getting money from me.'"
"Guy with the gun got out of the car and ran off. The dad called off work that day and went home to spend time with his wife and kids. My friend said she had never seen him so freaked out before in her life and he made sure to tell them all that story so they would be able to do the same in that sort of situation."
– rivlet
Sometimes, a brush with death is caused by fate and not by gun-toting lunatics.
Out In The Elements
"I was driving on the northern part of the ring road in Iceland. Buddies and I were seeing the whole country and it was bad weather in the middle of winter. Roads were closing behind us so we couldn't turn back. We finally had a clear day ahead of us where we should have been able to drive and prevent being snowed in for a few days. We hit a stretch of road with no gas stations for many miles and we fill up on gas and go. Along the way the weather starts declining and eventually it gets to white out conditions. We couldn't stop for fear of being snowed in. so we crawled along at 10 miles and hour. Closest I felt I ever came to dying on a road in the middle of nowhere in Iceland in a blizzard. great trip though 10/10 would go back"
The Treacherous Slope
"nearly fell off a cliff when skiing (but got rescued)."
Swerving Towards Death
"Me 17, on a rainy day with slippery tyres went through a corner too fast. Two friends in the car with me. Lost control, car swerved, we missed on-coming traffic by probably an inch. It happened in an instant."
"I regained control when the car was pointing in the driving direction again, by lifting from the brakes so we moved forward as if nothing happened."
"A week later going around the same corner an accident happend, head to head. I was second on the scene, and held a strangers hand as they are trapped under the steering wheel. Slipping in and out of consciousness, in total pain, while waiting for emergency services. I was asked to leave by the police when they learned I was not an eye witness to the actual accident. But I knew what happened, because I escape a crash like this just a week before. I never asked people what happened to the people in the other car and I do not know if the person I assisted made it."
"All I do remember is the total chaos in my memory of arriving at the scene, linked to my irresponsible behavior behind the wheel a week before."
Carnival of Fear
"I was 14 I think. Went on a swinging boat ride at the fair, the kind that pause upside down. The auto locking seatbelt bar didn't lock all the way down against me, so when it stopped upside down I started to slip out of my seat. It probably only lasted 10-15 seconds until we went down again but I was holding myself into that car for dear life. Pretty scary, but it didn't kill my love of roller coasters!"
– cynth81
Shortness Of Breath
"About two years ago, I had severe bronchitis. Severe coughing and shortness of breath were the main symptoms. I couldn't talk without coughing. I couldn't lay down to sleep without coughing. It got so bad one night I was home alone and I couldnt breathe deeply anymore. I could only take a shallow breath. My roommate was out of town and I had no one to reach out to. I started getting panicky because I was afraid I wouldn't ever be able to breathe normally again and that I would die because I couldn't breathe or catch my breath."
Fever Dreams
"I had a pretty high fever once and i started to dream. I vaguely remembered having a choice of saving earth or destroying it and for some reason I destroyed it, woke up feeling so guilty I seriously contemplated jumping off the roof. Made me realize how crazy fevers can be."
Pricked And Spared
"Was stupidly free climbing a big rock in Sedona and lost traction and just started to slide down and couldn't stop myself. There was a small ledge with a cactus on it beneath the rock and then a drop of at least 100 feet. That cactus stopped me and likely saved my life."
Waves Of Death
"I nearly drowned. I was swimming way out in the ocean when a really bad storm came out of nowhere. I was a strong swimmer but it didn't matter. It felt like my lungs were on fire and being shredded with knives. There was so much sand in the water that I couldn't see; I figured out which way was up by being slammed into the seafloor and swimming in the opposite direction."
"I was underwater long enough that I lost consciousness and my last thought was 'I'm going to die now and nothing will ever hurt me again.'"
"When I came to, I was being dragged up the beach. I coughed and vomited up what felt like more than a litre of sand and seawater. Every time I blew my nose for weeks afterwards more sand would come out."
Friend For Life
"I was walking down a sidewalk, just about to cross a trolley track."
"My friend pulled me back, and the trolley drove on just a few feet ahead of me. Really saved my life."
"Taught me to keep my head up, and look both ways, no matter how sad or down I'm feeling that day."
My brush with death continues to haunt me and I still count my blessings.
Years ago when I still lived in Los Angeles, I barely avoided a head-on collision with an eighteen-wheeler – presumably driven by a drunk driver – who was swerving in and out of their side of the road at around 10:30 p.m.
I was blinded by the headlights, and as the truck came careening towards me, I steered the wheel at the last second and my vehicle's rear was clipped by the truck.
I spun out of control and luckily managed to not collide with the parked cars on the street.
My car was not drivable after that hit-and-run incident.
But I sure was glad my life was spared that night. I have never been so scared in life until that moment.
For the record, I'll take being haunted by ghosts over these brushes with death anyday.