What It's Like To Come Back To Life: Experiences Of People Who Were Declared Clinically Dead.
People who have been declared clinically dead and then been revived were asked: "What was your experience of death?" These are some of the best answers.
2/20 I died in 1995 after serious trauma. I panicked for what had to be no-time at all but felt like forever. Then it felt like a light went out. Then there was nothing. Nothing at all.
I came to several hours later in a recovery room. Remembering the panic, not even the pain could shake that panic. A few days later the doctors let me know I had "died" between the ambulance and the operating room. They weren't so clear, only that they weren't worried.
As for the accident, I was hit by a car going about 50-60 mph, it had swerved off of the interstate into a roadside stop. I went over the car and landed on the top. My right leg (tibia, fibula) and elbow (the entire joint) were broken. My hair caught in the windshield and I was basically scalped. My lip was torn in half, and my face was peeled around the chin. Skin hung there loose. I remember it swinging there. It felt like a damn wet rag. A warm wet rag. I don't remember how much it hurt at all, but I remember that gross wet rag feeling, and just wanting to tear it off, get it away. It was, however, attached to me.
My head was leaned in such a way that blood flowed down my face from the wound on my chin and puddled in my eye-sockets. The sun baked the blood and basically scabbed my eyes over, so I lay there blind for a while in the Texas heat while I waited for a helicopter, but they couldn't land it, so an ambulance arrived about 30 minutes later.
I remember everything up until that recovery room. Being alert, making jokes, then losing it more and more over time. Finally time blended into a long minute. Everything tasted like blood and grit (the grit were bits of my broken teeth). I begged for anything to stop the pain, an advil, anything. The neck brace pressing into that open chin wound. Not being able to see a thing.
Then my mom and aunt held my good hand while that long minute ended and the lights in my mind's eye went out.
40_watt_range
3/20 Heart failed during a procedure (to see what was wrong with my heart funnily enough) and they lost my vitals. All I remember was blacking out and then hearing music. The music sounded like something you would hear in the early 1900's. A woman kept saying to me it is going to be alright, and I needed to go with her. I kept saying I wasn't ready but she was insisting I come with her. I told her again, I wasn't ready I had [stuff] to do here, and she gave up. She said she would come get me again later, and that I was always welcome. Next minute, felt like I was punched in the chest and I woke up. 7 doctors around me and a very sore chest. Chilled in the hospital for a few days and now I'm healthy as a horse. I've only ever told a couple of people, as I hate feeling pretentious for telling people I died in the first place.
Na_mate
4/20 Heroin overdose. Twice it happened. Literally pulled the needle out, and I awoke in an ambulance with EMT's leaning over me saying welcome back. There was no tunnel, no white light or anything. Just blinked and I was in an ambulance. It took some struggling but I'm several months clean now.
ScrotumAcne
5/20 I went into septic shock and organ failure last year. I only remember being wheeled into the ER and then waking up the next day. It was like going to sleep but it feels like you've been fighting sleep for weeks (I found dying exausting weirdly enough). I had no feelings of euphoria, just blackness. I could feel myself dying. I always tell people that my vision was like one of the old fashioned tvs with tubes, so that when you turn it off it just kind of shrinks until the image disappears. I also remember breathing being something that I had to make myself do, no more autopilot until I couldn't anymore. I was also profoundly sad in that moment because I felt that I would be missing so much, also that I would never see my fiance's face ever again.
LadyDudeB
6/20 I had pneumonia really badly Christmas day in 1984, went to the hospital. I remember struggling very hard to breathe then suddenly I felt like it was effortless and felt a floating feeling. I felt like I was rising up to this point that opened up in the room and in this rift I could see three angels, just cause idk what else to call them, one was large and two were small. Even tho the small ones didn't seem like kids either. They were welcoming and soothing, more like giving off those vibes than doing or saying anything. I got scared and quickly snapped my head around and I could see the room from above and see my mom running to get help. I said nooooooooo and snapped back into my body. I regretted it almost right away as breathing was so painful. Then there was about two days I remember nothing, they put tubes down my throat and kept me knocked put basically. I went home two weeks after. I tried to tell some ppl what I experienced and they only made fun of me, so I don't tell anyone anymore.
Spiritofawoman
7/20 It happened during my first c-section. I was lying there talking with my husband, waiting to hear our baby girl's first cry, when I started to feel strange. I felt warm and my vision started to get fuzzy around the edges. I blinked my eyes a few times to see if that would clear my vision, but it did not.
All of a sudden it was like someone turned the volume up and I could hear my heart monitor perfectly clear. As I'm laying there I notice that the space between my heart beats are becoming more and more spaced out. Then I hear my husband asking me if I'm ok. He just kept saying "Baby are you ok?" over and over. I could not answer him though. I felt paralyzed. A few minutes before I had only been numb from the chest down. So I'm just looking up at the ceiling and notice that black started creeping in on my vision. I got this overwhelming feeling, and knew this was it. I was never going to get to hear my baby girl's first cry, never hold her, are watch her grow up. I would never get to see my husband again. Then I felt tears rolling down the side of my face. By this time my vision was almost completely gone. My husband leaned over and wiped my tears, kissed my forehead, then squeezed my hand. I still felt paralyzed, but somehow managed to squeeze his hand back. After that I slowly faded out to blackness.
Now up to this point it felt as if time had slowed considerably. Then it sped up. It felt like I was only out for a second before I snapped awake. You know like when you fall asleep on accident and then jerk awake? That is exactly what it felt like. I could see normally and the noise around me was back to a normal level. I could also feel the parts of my body that were not numbed due to the spinal block.
After that everything went fine. My baby girl was born, and I had to stay in recovery for three hours to monitor my blood pressure. My doctor said that I had a bad reaction to the combination of drugs that were put into my spinal block, and I was on my way to a flat line. My husband later told me that after I squeezed his hand, a nurse took him out to the hallway, and he was out there for almost ten minutes before they let him come back in. He said I was just starting to wake up when he came back in. For me it seemed like just a few seconds between being out and being awake.
I have had four other surgeries and, have had issue with my blood pressure every time. Never as bad as the first time though. The doctors and nurses were more prepared given my history.
flightlesspeacock
8/20 I remember absolutely nothing.
Hit by a car. Have weird memories of ambulance ride where people who could not have possibly been there were there. Don't remember the accident but I've been told the story so many times I have the constructed memory of events.
Seriously do not remember anything from when I was clinically dead (no idea for how long) to waking up several days later.
poisondonut
9/20 A few years ago, I was hit by a truck. My nose was broken, among other things, and my head hit the pavement so hard that I received mild head trauma. I began to seize in the middle of the street where I was laying. Because of some complicated medical [stuff] involving the bizarre angle of my head during aforementioned seizure and the blood coming from my nose going down my throw instead of out of my nostrils, I suffocated.
I was not conscience, but I was aware, and that's the best way I can describe it. I did not see myself from outside of my body. I did not see a light. I felt my brain feel like it was shrinking and I felt my eyes refuse to open. I could taste the blood but couldn't spit it out. My brain felt like Pinhead's face and I was so aware that I was unable to control my body. I then had the thought that this was it. I knew that my last words were "whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there", because I was singing Drive with my friend, which was going to be the last song I had ever listened to. Everyone says that your life flashes before your eyes. I was only 14, and the only thing that flashed before my eyes was all the things i never got to do. It was terror and confusion and I was so painfully aware of it. Suddenly,the pains and the fear stopped. It felt like I had fallen asleep, but better. I felt relief. It felt like at every point in my body, there was a thread connecting it to a spiritual version of myself; I felt so many of those threads break. I felt my brain let go, lay down its burden, and feel okay.
Suddenly, I was awake. Waking up was honestly the worst part. Everything hurt, everything was loud, I wanted that medic to just let me go back. Dying was the most serene, peaceful, refreshing feeling.
wellmynameishaley
10/20 Lost most of my blood then heart stopped 3 times on operating table. Once for over 45 sec. While I was loosing my blood I'd lose consciousness then wake up again. Last time I drifted off it felt as though I was getting farther and farther from the scene. Sounds around me and of my own voice were getting fainter, room getting darker, images in front of my eyes getting smaller until it went all black.
When I woke up after my operation I knew where I was, knew the name of one my nurses and reminded her that my surgeon wanted to be notified when I woke up. I later told my surgeon about pieces of conversation he remembered having with other operating room staff while operating on me. I was under anesthesia the entire time of my operation. Weeks later I started having flashes of the operating room and seeing myself on the table with the staff working on me. Never checked to see if it was just my imagination or real images that were coming back to me. After the surgery I refocused my life on what was really important to me. I enjoy every bit of my life now. Carpe Diem describes it best.
rannieb
11/20 First year living in Japan, I was out drinking with my college aged students. And drinking a lot. I've never liked fish, due to growing up with southern parents who would fry it, and the smell alone made my friends and I leave the house for hours. But I was in Japan! When in Rome, y'know!? Sashimi didn't smell so bad. So I drunkenly started popping them in my mouth like I was eating popcorn. Hated... The taste! But I'm drunk! And in Japan! "Do you like it?! " I was asked, "Yes! " I lied in return. More was ordered. Sashimi. Beer. Whiskey. Sours.
I got really hot, and kept unbuttoning my shirt. Until I hit the point I realized I had thrown it off and was just in a white T-shirt. But why was my neck so tight? Panic hits me, and I just lie with my head back trying to focus on something besides my predicament. No go. The lights I'm looking at suck into my eyes and my memory from here on is gone...
Wake up in a hospital. Throat is in intense pain. I'm drunk. Surrounded by Japanese doctor staff, and only one female student stayed with me. She comes and says to me in English, tears in her eyes, hugging me, "You died sensei! You actually died!! " Apparently my throat swelled up, I stopped breathing and at some point I was dead for what I heard was only 18 seconds or so.
The doctor eventually musters up strength to eek out, "You. Uhhhh. Fish. Uhhhhh... Allergy. " Now I know I'm allergic to fish. Still in Japan!
TommyVillain
12/20 I remember almost nothing. I'm extremely allergic to peaches and I was at my friend's picnic and they forgot to tell me that they had peaches in their summer salad. (To be fair, i should have asked so that's on me.)
I remember my tongue swelling up and feeling like I was choking. My eyes watered up and a girl who was in nursing school realized what was happening and called 911. Apparently my heart stopped for all of a minute and a couple seconds thanks to anaphylactic shock.
But honestly I don't remember much other than waking up in the hospital with a lot of flowers. It makes for a good story though!
misenplasee
13/20 While I was deployed I took a IED while on a foot patrol. I was not knocked out after the explosion, I was quickly bleeding out and fading in and out. When I got to the point of being on the verge of death, everything started to slow down, my buddies screams turned into whispers, and this very relaxing feeling came over me.
It's a relaxed warmth I can not really describe. I found myself perfectly comfortable with the idea of passing away, I wasn't thinking of family or anything else other then the feeling. Then everything went black, woke up in a field hospital. They told me I had died twice but they were able to keep me alive.
[deleted]
14/20 I've had arrhythmia since forever. It makes my heart go all wonky at times and I have to stop what I'm doing and wait for it to settle. My heart has stopped a couple of times in the last few years and the best way I can describe it is as if you are weighted and slowly sinking into deep water. Everything gets cloudy and quiet, but it comes with an odd sense of... calm. I never felt panic when my heart stopped. It was more like "hmm my body is shutting down, interesting."
nejireta
15/20 Once my heart stopped pumping (I had an undiagnosed arrhythmia at the time). I slowly died while my heart stopped pumping.
It hurt. It hurt in a silent, whole, complete way I cannot describe. Everything went dark, I lost my hearing, then black.
And then, my heart started again, and I opened my eyes alive. That is it.
bilbiblib
16/20 When I was around 12 I got really, really sick. I don't remember what exactly I had, I'd have to ask my mother and we don't really talk very often. Whatever it was, my body felt super cold, like I was in a freezer or something, and I was shaking so violently that I remember a nurse offhand mention that I might need to be restrained.
I won't get into the gritty details, but in that moment I'm not sure if I actually 'legally died', but breathing got so hard that I lost consciousness and suddenly I felt really warm. Then I realized I was floating above my body, and I could see everything that was happening around me. I saw my parents, the doctors, and I could move around freely, even moving through walls. The craziest thing about it was that I flew down the hall towards the cafeteria where my older brother was, because I wanted to see him one last time.
Around this time, I felt like I was being pulled upward, like a magnet was drawing my upwards. Everything around me started to fade to black as I rose up toward the classic 'light at the end of the tunnel'. When I was a kid I was always afraid of dying. Sometimes even thinking about the idea of dying would make me start crying. Yet, in this moment I wasn't afraid anymore, and I accepted what was going to happen. When I got closer to the light something came up in front of me. I can't describe what it was like, almost like a cloaked figure, although the material of the cloak was translucent and shiny, and there was nothing underneath it. It spoke to me and told me that there was a mistake and that it wasn't my time yet. I then felt a falling sensation, you know like when you're having a dream where you're falling and then your body moves and reacts as if you were actually falling. That happened to me and I 'woke up'. The craziest thing about it is that like many others who have experienced this phenomenon almost immediately my condition started to improve and I was able to go home later that night.
UrsineKing
17/20 Intentional heroin overdose. It didn't feel like anything at all. One minute I was there, then I don't remember anything. I do have some recollection of feeling peaceful and calm, but I was, y'know, shooting up heroin. It's the coming back that was excruciating. I was told I was not breathing and had no heartbeat when the EMTs got there. They did stuff, I'm assuming narcan, maybe some compressions. I came to on the kitchen floor right under the light.
Intense eye pain, everything was so bright. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move. Every muscle in my body was screaming and it felt like I had battery acid in my veins. And everything was so loud, it felt like everyone was screaming. I remember being sad that I was back, I think I cried. But then pain took over and I don't remember much until the hospital. I try not to think about it too much. Would not recommend.
eyeofdelphi
18/20 I OD'd on cocaine and my friend had to do CPR to me. She said I started to turn blue and she got really scared. I'm not sure if I were legally dead, but I would assume I was. My nail beds took a couple of weeks to turn the regular color again.
For me it was just like a light switch turning off. No lights or dead relatives inviting me into the afterlife. There was nothing. It was the blackest black I had ever seen. When I woke up it was like a dream. A very scary one.
_Bag
19/20 I was buried alive in Mexico when I was seven years old. We were digging tunnels in a sand wall on the beach. It rained the night before so the sand was a little wet. It all collapsed. Most kids were buried up to there knees, necks, ankles. My step brothers thought that my twin sister was lying when she said I came with them that day. They couldn't remember and kept telling her I stayed at home. Before we left the house that day, my sister told me randomly to yell her name (Ashley) if anything happened and she would hear me.
So I remember the tunnel I was working on collapsing, hyperventilating while simultaneously yelling for Ashley, passing out, SEEING THE WHITE LIGHT, more darkness, and waking up over my dad's shoulder. My sister says she heard me screaming. She ran home and got my dad. My dad got all the neighbors. They were all digging with shovels. My dad made them use their hands after a while so they wouldn't hurt me. They found me literally 6 feet under. I was coughing at the time of the collapse so I had no sand in my lungs because I was covering my mouth. They found my hand sticking up above my body first because I was throwing sand out of my tunnel. My twin sister saw me and I was blue. My step mom attempted CPR. The ambulance came and couldn't find a pulse. They used the defibrillator and brought me back to life.
pregnantinsomnia
20/20 Almost ten years ago, I was in a really rough place, I was extremely depressed, dealing with thoughts of suicide. I was heavily medicated (on four different types of anti depressants and "mood stabilizers" as the doctors called them). This was also during a time were you could fill a three month prescription it was just a few days after I got a refill. I cannot remember what caused me to say it, but I said [screw] it and I swallowed EVERY last pill those bottles contained, and I waited thinking that it would be you know really quick.
After about 15 minutes and just feeling really stoned, that survival instinct kicked in, and I called up my friend asking him to take me to the hospital and told him what I did. I did not want to call an ambulance cause I had my sister home and I didn't want her to know what I did. So I get to the hospital and they instantly take me in, made me drink charcoal I believe? It was this black disgusting drink and the last thing I saw was some of my closest friends at the door in tears and then I blacked out.
I went into a coma, and during that I ended up vomiting and I couldn't expel it all, so a large majority of it got into my lungs which stopped me from breathing and then stopped my heart for five minutes. Somehow the doctors managed to get my heart beating again but I remained on life support for another two days afterwards while still in a coma, and during that time I couldn't move,speak or even open my eyes. I was completely trapped in darkness, and felt like I was choking (after I woke up I found out the reason I felt like I was choking was because I was still on life support when my lungs were finally able to start breathing on their own).
GigantoMan
Have you ever been reading a book, watching a movie, or even sitting down for a fantastical cartoon and began to salivate when the characters dig into some doozy of a made up food?
You're not alone.
Food is apparently fertile ground for creativity. Authors, movie directors, and animators all can't help but put a little extra time and effort into the process of making characters' tasty delights mouthwatering even for audiences on the other side of the screen.
Read on for a perfect mixture of nostalgia and hunger.
AllWhammyNoMorals asked, "What's a fictional food you've always wanted to try?"
Some people were all about the magical foods eaten in the magical places. They couldn't help but wish they could bite into something with fantastical properties and unearthly deliciousness.
Nutritious
"Enchanted golden apple" -- DabbingIsSo2015
"The Minecraft eating sounds make me hungry" -- FishingHobo
"Gotta love that health regeneration" -- r2celjazz
"Pretty sure those are based off the golden apples that grant immortality. Norse mythology I think?" -- Raven_of_Blades
Take Your Pick
"Nearly any food from Charlie and the Chocolate factory" -- CrimsonFox100
"Came here to say snozzberries!" -- Utah_Writer
"Everlasting Gobstoppers #1, but also when they're free to roam near the chocolate river and the entire environment is edible." -- devo9er
Peak Efficiency
"Lembas" -- Roxwords
"The one that fills you with just a bite? My fat a** would be making sandwiches with two lembas breads and putting bacon, avocado and cheese inside. Then probably go for some dessert afterwards. No wonder why those elves are all skinny, eating just one measly bite of this stuff." -- sushister
Some people got stuck on the foods they saw in the cartoons they watched growing up. The vibrant colors, the artistic sounds, and the exaggerated movements all come together to form some good-looking fake grub.
The One and Only
"Krabby patty 🍔" -- Cat_xox
"And a kelp shake" -- titsclitsntennerbits
"As a kid I always pretended burgers from McDonalds were Krabby Patties, heck from time to time I still do for the nostalgia of it all. Many of my friends did the same thing." -- Thisissuchadragtodo
Cheeeeeeeeese
"The pizza from an extremely goofy movie. The stringy cheese just looked magical lol" -- ES_Verified
"The pizza in the old TMNT cartoon as well." -- gate_of_steiner85
"Only bested by the pizza from All Dogs Go to Heaven." -- Purdaddy
Get a Big Old Chunk
"Those giant turkey drumsticks in old cartoons that characters would tear huge chunks out of. Those things looked amazing, turkey drumsticks in real life suck and are annoying to eat."
-- Ozwaldo
Slurp, Slurp, Slurp
"Every bowl of ramen on any anime, ever." -- Cat_xox
"Studio Ghibli eggs and bacon" -- DrManhattan_DDM
"Honestly, any food in anime. I swear to god half the budget no matter what the studio goes into making the food look absolutely delicious." -- Viridun
Finally, some highlighted the things that aren't quite so far-fetched, but still far enough away that it's nothing we'll be eating anytime soon.
That tease can be enough to make your mouth water.
What's In It??
"Butter beer" -- Damn_Dog_Inappropes
"came here to say this. i was pretty disappointed with the universal studio version which was over the top sweet. it was more of a butterscotch root beer. i imagine butter beer to be something more like butter and beer, which wouldn't be crazy sweet, but would have a very deep rich flavor" -- crazyskiingsloth
Slice of the Future
"The microwave pizzas in back to the future two" -- biggiemick91
"I've been fascinated with those for years! They just look so good!" -- skoros
As Sweet As They Had
"The Turkish Delight from Lion Witch & Wardrobe. The real ones I had weren't bad but nothing special." -- spoon_shaped_spoon
"Came here to say this. I know it's a real thing, but I always imagined that it must have been amazing to betray your siblings over." -- la_yes
"You're used to freely available too sweet sweets. For a WW2 era schoolkid, it would have represented all the sweets for an entire year." -- ResponsibleLimeade
Here's hoping you made it through the list without going into kitchen for some snack you didn't actually need.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
When a movie rakes in a ton of cash at the box office, the studio that made it has only one thing on its mind: "How do we keep shaking this money tree?"
Unfortunately, that means they make sequels, sometimes sequels on sequels on sequels.
At times, the sequels are solid. They tie nicely into the first film, emphasizing the qualities that brought folks out to the first one, while immersing them into that world for another great couple of hours.
But sometimes, it's wildly clear that the longterm planning behind a sequel was minimal at best. These part two's are truly terrible experiences, made even more disappointing by the excitement created by everyone's love for the first.
Some Redditors shared the worst examples.
Sullivans97 asked, "What is the worst movie sequel ever?"
Plenty of contributions to the thread were noteworthy simply because the Redditors' deep hatred for a sequel spurred them to write a very entertaining review.
WORST
"Son of the Mask. Worst sequel. Worst movie. Worst piece of entertainment. Worst experience to sit through as a human being."
-- cityboy1997
Oddly Specific Analogy
"Independence Day: Resurgence."
"What the fu** was that giant heap of steaming camel sh**?"
-- Snowbattt
Two Key Elements
"Mulan 2."
"The plot is mostly driven by Mushu acting like a real piece of sh**, and Shang gets turned into the butt monkey of the movie as a consequence."
"Vastly inferior to the first one."
-- Gneissisnice
Just Horrible Decisions Every Step of the Way
"Where is Speed 2?"
"No Keanu"
"Speeding cruise ship (Zzzzzzz)"
"Horrendous dialogue"
"WTF were they thinking?"
Other people chose to discuss the sequels that, for whatever reason, chose not to include the key attributes that made the first movie so good.
Whether it was the absence of character, actor, or overarching theme, the experience was as puzzling as it was frustrating.
Insert Muscle Here
"Kindergarten Cop 2. Yes it does exist and it is a bad as it sounds. Dolph Lundgren takes over the role of Schwarzenegger." -- TheBassMeister
"Bro, don't be such a jabroni. Imagine, a super ripped, super smart cop-in a mesh tank top-named officer Dolph Lundgren." -- why_not_fandy
"Ugh wtf the movie was great why make another one" -- c_girl_108
Quick Thinking
"American Psycho 2. It wasn't even originally intended to be a sequel, they just shoved the name on it and added loose references to Patrick Bateman. Awful." -- Mountain_Situation89
"Mila kunas who is in it was told it was a different name and was pissed when they ended up making it a 'sequel' " -- Imfrank123
"Yea, that's the thing. The movie would have been a decent film if it was just a serial killer film and not an AP sequel." -- JennyBean2000
Two Demerits
"Still Waiting."
"It had some okay parts, but what they did to Justin Long's character completely undercuts the meaning of the first movie. And no Ryan Reynolds."
-- NikolaiEgel
Last, some people realized that any film franchise that goes beyond two installments is just asking for things to go downhill in a hurry.
Once you cross three--and even four--your just too far from the source.
What Even Is Home Alone 5?
"Home Alone 3, 4, and 5" -- theWet_Bandits
"I honestly enjoyed 3, sure it made no sense at all, but I can look past that and really enjoyed it. 4 and 5 on the other hand, I barely remember what 4 was about and had completely forgotten that 5 existed until just now." -- botbattler30
End of the Mummy Era
"The third Mummy movie." -- goshawkgirl
"Fun fact: The trailer for Mummy 3 has Brendan Fraser saying "here we go again" and Ben Stiller thought that line was ironically hilarious in terms of cranking out soulless sequels and it inspired the 'here we go again....again' line in the fake trailers at the beginning of Tropic Thunder." -- Call_Me_Koala
Part of the Reboot Frenzy
"Not to repeat others here (hopefully), but the 4th Indiana Jones movie should never have been made."
"For what it is worth, The odd numbers are great, the even numbers are terrible with the last one being one being Steven Segal bad."
So there you have it. A full list of movies to avoid at all costs no matter how bored you are flicking through Netflix lists.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Oftentimes I like to do my best Ghostface impression and aggressively ask people what their favorite scary movies are. Because I personally have a lot! At the same time, I'm also terrified that at any point, I could end up getting my head punched off by Jason Vorhees (Part 8 of the series--best one IMO).
Real life contains the scariest horrors you could ask for. So aren't we all living in a horror movie, in a way? At least, these people sure freakin' were.
MisterSnowman69 asked: What was a moment in your life that felt like a horror movie scene?
In the words of the legendary Mary Vivian Pierce in the film Pink Flamingos, “Murder merely relieves tension”. I’m sure the following Redditors felt differently.
Nothing scarier than the woods at night.
Went into a real deep woods hike for only the second time in my life.
My gps broke and had to rely on my compass. Got turned around a few times because I couldn't remember the direction I came from, and it was getting dark. Lost the trail way.
But the woods are weirdly silent in the dark and alone.
It was around 2am by the time I found the trailhead.
Darn foxes.
My friend and I got lost late on one foggy night in the Italian countryside. There were rats all over and every once in a while we heard someone scream.
I've never been more sure I was about to get murdered than I was that night.
It was probably a red fox that was screaming.
Could've also been a lynx, but they are much rarer in Italy.
At least she wasn’t speaking in tongues.
My mom is quite the sleep talker, but it's usually pretty short and incoherent when it happens. One night as a teenager, I woke up to her scream-yelling the Hail Mary prayer (my bedroom was across the house and upstairs).
Difficult to get back to sleep after that one.
Sometimes scary sh*t ends up just being funny coincidences. Super funny. Right?
Don’t give them any ideas.
I was exploring an abandoned mental asylum and then got the scare of my life when a scary looking person inside one of the rooms was just staring at me without moving. Turns out some joker had left a cardboard cutout there.
And now I have plans this weekend... Just need to find a couple of cardboard cutouts and to break into the local abandoned asylum.
Don’t you hate when that happens?
I was driving home on backcountry roads at midnight in heavy fog. Like can't see 10 feet in front of you thick. Suddenly I see an all-white silhouette running in front of the car. Every hair on my body stood up. I immediately think "oh god, oh f*ck, it's a f*cking woman in white, I'm gonna f*cking die"
Nope just a drunk who dove into the ditch.
Gotta love paranoia.
When I was about 12, my parents went out for dinner leaving me home alone. We lived out in the country, on a private road with only three other houses, surrounded by cow fields and wooded areas.
I went into the the kitchen and glanced out the window towards the trees and there in the fading light I could see a person walking slowly through the woods. They were wearing all black, moving slowly and appeared to pause behind trees. My heart started pounding so hard in my ears I couldn't hear anything else and I was weak and shaky from fear. I froze and just watched them. Would they come to the house? Where were they going?
This was before cell phones but I suddenly remembered my mom had left the number of the restaurant by the living room phone. Slowly, I made my way towards the living room, trying to watch this stranger in the woods.
Just as I entered the living room, all the lights in the entire house went out. By this time it was nearly dark outside. I started openly sobbing and in the dark I heard a weird boom like noise. That was it, I ran to my parents room, hid under their bed and sobbed. That's where my mom found me hours later (it felt like).
Well, turns out the stranger in the woods was a stupid cow that had busted through a fence, the lights going out was from an accident a few miles away (hit the power line) and the boom was the pilot light in the gas stove. Man, I have never been that scared in my life though!
I have a lot of questions.
A naked man who was covered in blood chased me across a park at 2 in the morning. I was totally alone. He just wanted money for a bus (????) and luckily nothing bad happened but I thought I was going to die.
But of course, the genuine horrors do exist. And they aren’t scary in a fun horror movie way, they’re actually terrifying because they can happen to anyone.
A scary few seconds.
I am a "baby" in a car seat in between cousins in backseat. Dad is driving. This is in the 80s and it is my aunt's insistence that I am in this seat even though I am like 5.
A sleeping semi driver is coming over into our lane and there is a cliff on other side. Basically my dad did some amazing driving but semi blew us up. I am uninjured sitting in the seat swinging my legs while everyone is unconscious. They all wake groaning. Dad doesnt wake up.
Long story short just minor scrapes and dad has broken leg. But the crunch of metal and those few seconds/minute of being the only "alive" person was quite fear inducing.
Glad they’re all ok now.
Two days after my now boyfriend told me he liked me he fell from a zip line and broke his back. Almost died. 6 months later he got into a car wreck from a drunk driver - almost died. 6 months after that, he passed out and had to have emergency brain surgery, again, almost died. I now have severe anxiety/separation anxiety/and ptsd. That whole year was a f*cking nightmare
Edit: we're both okay now, the brain injury was almost a year ago. But TBIs take a while to heal so he still has side effects. Thankfully our relationship is still strong; he's physically getting better and I'm healing emotionally too. Lucky for him, the trauma of the injuries has caused him to forget the majority of the pain and memories of those incidents.
ALWAYS wear a helmet.
Driving home from work at 23, listening to my favorite song.
I pull up to a red light, and see this guy on a motorcycle coming up next to me in the other lane. I rolled down my window to compliment his bike when he stops. He doesn't, and runs the red light. He hits a car going at least 55mph. His motorcycle shatters apart, he goes flying, hits the hood of another car, and lands on the ground and rolls into the curb (no helmet). The car he hit with his motorcycle was totaled. I had to step over his body to talk to the police. He was still alive when they got there. I regret not holding his hand. It was just a normal day, and all of a sudden it felt like the rug was pulled from out beneath me. He was only 18.
Edit: The song was Sunny by Boney M., for those curious
What did we learn today, kids? Foxes scream like humans, shadowy figures are usually cows or drunken rednecks, and once again, PLEASE WEAR A HELMET WHEN YOU RIDE ANY KIND OF BIKE.
Scary sh*t surrounds us. But where there is horror, there are heroes. So next time you think you see a scary figure in the woods, know that Bruce Campbell is probably right around the corner
Image by Sammy-Williams from Pixabay |
I hate hypocrites. They are the bane of my existence. All you have to do is stand behind your words. How hard is that? You said them. I especially get peeved when people bloviate on a topic and condemn and holler but then when it comes to them doing it... silence.
Redditor u/ErrForceOnes wanted to know about the moments people chose to curiously "pay no mind" by asking... What is a GIANT hypocrisy that no one seems to mind?Hypocrisy is everywhere; it's like a disease. And sadly everyone does it. Some of us indulge in smaller doses than others. But some people live their life by it. Like how can you support civil servants, like police, firefighters, etc... yet try to find ways to hide money in order to not pay taxes? Tell me... I'll wait.
Manga...
Italian moms that say you're too fat then say I'm making grandma cry by not finishing my pasta.
Asian moms too! Not only that if you try to not eat, they make to go containers for you. Oh, sorry I have to leave, RUNS AT LEAST HAVE SOME FRUIT.
Phonies...
Celebrities positioning themselves as champions for social justice while launching a clothing line with no comment on the labor conditions their garments are made in.
Sexy Times...
The Porn Industry
Why is prostitution considered a crime, but it becomes perfectly legal once a camera is put beside them?
I think the first amendment helps with that one. There's been many a supreme-court case about whether porn is protected speech.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
You can get away with WAY more crap, in general, when you're attractive.
But we all kind of aspire to attractiveness and it's not like it's attractive people's fault, exactly. So what is there to be done?
So true. Money and beauty are treated like virtues and they aren't. They're luck of the draw. It probably helps you to be a better person if people assume that you are gentle and clever just by looking at your face or wallet.
KIDS
People screaming at you if you don't want Kids and Kids are the greatest thing in the World and then turn around and whine how expensive they are and how annoying yadda yadda.
Yeah see... humans are a mess. And too often then not, personal conviction and dignity are just a myth, or a punchline. Double standards have always been a way of life. And many of us have begrudgingly learned to navigate.
Fashion
If a skinny person wears something out of the ordinary, it's a fashion statement and awesome. It can even just be something like a crop top or overalls.
But God forbid a fat person wear the same thing.
Distractions
The hypocrisy hypocrisy. People love to call it out but rarely notice it on themselves and if they notice it then it's something completely different or a distraction.
That's the worst. I hate that I have to hate that. But if I don't hate it, then the hate will just continue. So, really, my hate comes from my love of an end to hate. So anyone who hates my hate hates love. And we must hate anyone who hates love!
My Morality
My own personal hypocrisy; When I was a lot less well off financially, delivering pizzas trying to get through college, I kept a cup of coins in my car. When a homeless person would approach me for spare change, I gave them the cup. Most of the time it was nearly full, so there was probably 20-30 dollars in there.
Now that I have a good salaried job, even if I've got a few bucks in my wallet, I tend to not even make eye contact anymore. I know it's awful, I know it makes me crappy, but the last 4-5 years have made me a jaded craphead towards people in general. I used to be so hopeful and I wanted to help everyone, and tried to live a life that reflected that.
Now, while my general and political morality is pretty much the same, my personal morality has gotten more grey. I'd jaded, I hate people, I assume the worst of people I used to assume the best of. I don't really care about the strangers around me like I used to, but I still expect everyone else to.
Placing Blame
Victim mentality.
It's so freaking frustrating when it becomes entrenched. "You did this, it's your fault" "you should've known to do x, its your fault" Yeah bro your problems aren't my problems and if all you do is make excuses and blame me for them, it's not going to be my fault when you don't develop as a person and accomplish your dreams. I'm sure they'll find someone to blame though.
In D.C.
Politicians work part time, are given free housing, education, and health care, and exempt from the everyday violence we experience, but refuse to lift a finger to help us.
At this points most people running for a position in the government are only in it for the benefits of being a politician and the amount of money they can embezzle. Well in my country at least.
Just speak a truth and live it. Yes, it maybe hard. But what part of life isn't? Hypocrisy is just lying. Plain and simple. And it's a sin to lie.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.