130. Scary Reddit Stories: Terrifying Encounters (feat. Investigator Slater)

Summary

Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries
Episode 130: Scary Reddit Stories: Terrifying Encounters (feat. Investigator Slater)
Release Date: July 29, 2025

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Overview

In Episode 130 of Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries, host Kailyn teams up with the enigmatic Investigator Slater to delve into a collection of chilling Reddit stories centered around terrifying close encounters. This episode masterfully blends real-life suspense with investigative insights, offering listeners a gripping exploration of survival instincts, the dark underbelly of everyday interactions, and the thin line between intuition and paranoia.

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Meet the Guests

Kailyn: The engaging host of Heart Starts Pounding, Kailyn guides listeners through a maze of horror, hauntings, and mysteries with a keen eye for detail and a compassionate ear for survivors' tales.

Investigator Slater: A seasoned investigator renowned for covering some of the darkest cases on Psychopedia, Slater brings a wealth of knowledge and a profound understanding of criminal psychology to the conversation.

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Key Discussions and Stories

1. Fake Uber Driver: A Narrow Escape

[07:29]

Story Summary:
Reddit user Fossil Fool 12 recounts a harrowing experience where a fake Uber driver attempts to kidnap her in a rough neighborhood. After getting into what she initially believes is her Uber, she senses something is amiss and manages to escape just as her genuine Uber arrives, showcasing the importance of vigilance and trusting one's instincts.

Notable Quote:

Investigator Slater [07:39]: "Little PSA. This is Slater speaking. Never ignore that gut instinct. Never ignore the voice inside your head."

Discussion Highlights:
Slater and Kailyn discuss the prevalence of fake ride-share drivers targeting vulnerable individuals, especially those who are intoxicated. They highlight real-life implications, such as the case of Hong Kong's "Rainy Night Butcher," who used his cab for heinous crimes. The conversation underscores the necessity of verifying ride-share details and being aware of one's surroundings.

2. Alone at School: A Ghostly Encounter?

[24:20]

Story Summary:
Reddit user Darklon shares her unsettling experience at a small-town Canadian university where she encounters a mysterious figure with a wooden leg both in the forest and later lurking around her rehearsal room. The story blurs the lines between supernatural presence and human threat, leaving her with lingering fears and unanswered questions.

Notable Quote:

Kailyn [31:22]: "...if this was a ghost, I'm almost praying it was just a poltergeist or just a ghost and not some person who wandered in."

Discussion Highlights:
Slater and Kailyn debate the nature of the encounter, pondering whether it was a supernatural entity or a human predator. They delve into the psychological impact on the victim, emphasizing that regardless of the source, such experiences can lead to long-term anxiety and PTSD. The discussion also touches on camp security and the vulnerabilities of isolated environments.

3. Dodging a Serial Killer: The Propane Tank Threat

[35:04]

Story Summary:
In a spine-chilling account, a Reddit user titled "Lemon Pepper" describes how she and her husband narrowly avoid being kidnapped by a suspicious man offering free propane tanks. His aggressive insistence and unsettling behavior raise red flags, ultimately saving them from a potential serial killer.

Notable Quote:

Investigator Slater [39:11]: "Why are you insisting instead of offering? Which, by the way, offering, even in and of itself is creepy. But insisting."

Discussion Highlights:
The conversation explores the psychology behind predatory behavior, particularly targeting couples as a sadistic strategy to inflict maximum suffering. Slater references real serial killers like Joel Rifkin and Ted Bundy to illustrate how seemingly benign interactions can escalate into deadly encounters. The importance of assertiveness and not succumbing to politeness in threatening situations is emphasized.

4. Haunted Hotel Breakfast: A Silent Stalker

[60:26]

Story Summary:
Reddit user Jazzy Josie narrates her terrifying experience at a hotel where a seemingly friendly construction worker becomes increasingly obsessive, culminating in threatening behavior and persistent stalking. Despite her attempts to distance herself, the fear and uncertainty linger.

Notable Quote:

Kailyn [66:01]: "...statistically speaking, the guy next to you is not a serial killer. It's just a damn shame when he is."

Discussion Highlights:
Slater and Kailyn discuss the fine balance between normal social interactions and recognizing potential threats. They highlight how stalkers often begin with innocuous behaviors that can quickly become invasive. The importance of taking immediate action—such as contacting authorities and changing environments—is underscored as crucial steps in such encounters.

5. The Man with the Wooden Leg: Summer Camp Terror

[22:30]

Story Summary:
Reddit user faithlessness9628 shares a haunting tale from a summer camp in France where, along with friends, he encounters a man with a wooden leg who chases them into the forest and later appears ominously in his room. The unresolved nature of the encounter leaves lasting psychological scars.

Notable Quote:

Investigator Slater [34:39]: "I don't wanna be confronted with either [a ghost or a person]."

Discussion Highlights:
The narrative delves into the fear and lasting impact of unexplained encounters in seemingly safe environments like summer camps. The duo explores the implications of inadequate security measures and the vulnerability of campers, especially teenagers. They also touch upon the psychological trauma victims may endure from such experiences.

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Insights and Takeaways

1. Trusting Instincts:
   Kailyn and Slater consistently emphasize the importance of listening to one's gut feelings. Intuition often serves as a critical defense mechanism against potential threats.

2. Vigilance in Vulnerable Situations:
   Whether it's accepting a ride-share service after a night out or staying late at work, being aware of one's surroundings and verifying details can prevent dangerous situations.

3. The Psychology of Predators:
   Understanding the motives and behaviors of potential threats, including serial killers and stalkers, can help individuals recognize and respond to warning signs more effectively.

4. Impact of Isolation:
   Isolated environments, such as remote camps or lonely neighborhoods, can be breeding grounds for predators, highlighting the need for robust security measures in such settings.

5. Support Systems:
   Having someone alongside during potentially risky situations, like ride-sharing or traveling, can provide additional safety and confidence to respond to threats.

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Conclusion

Episode 130 of Heart Starts Pounding offers a compelling exploration of terrifying encounters drawn from real Reddit stories. Through the collaboration between Kailyn and Investigator Slater, listeners gain valuable insights into recognizing, responding to, and understanding the dynamics of dangerous situations. The episode serves as both a cautionary tale and an empowering guide, urging individuals to trust their instincts and prioritize their safety in everyday interactions.

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Remember: If you’ve had a horrifying tale, paranormal encounter, or unsolved mystery, share your story here to be featured on the podcast.

Stay connected:
Follow @heartstartspounding on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Note: This summary intentionally excludes advertisements, introductory segments, and closing remarks to focus solely on the core content of episode 130.

Transcript

[Kailyn]

This episode is brought to you by Audible. You all know that for this show I do a lot of research. Well, my go to place for audiobooks for research or just for pleasure is Audible. Currently, my sibling Leo and I are listening through all of the Harry Potter audiobooks. I just finished number four this year, but I think Leo's absolutely destroying me and has already gotten through six. I've also listened to Sheri Franke's audiobook version of the House of My Mother on Audible, which I've already recommended on this show. I cannot recommend it enough. With a vast selection of thousands of audiobooks, exclusive Audible originals, and immersive podcasts, Audible offers something for every listener. From best sellers to highly anticipated new releases. The options are endless. And the best part, the included selection just keeps growing, giving every member access to incredible titles at no extra cost, including the words and music series, where storytelling and music come together in an unforgettable way. Audible members can keep one title a month to keep from the entire catalog. New members can try Audible now free for 30 days and dive into a world of new thrills. Visit audible.com HSP or you can text HSP to 500500 that's audible.com HSP or text HSP to 500500 to try audible free for 30 days. This episode is brought to you by Merit Beauty. My skin has always been slightly red. I call it an Irish Glow. So I always like to have some makeup on my face, but a lot of times I want it to look like I'm not really wearing makeup, you know, And I don't want to go through a time consuming 50 step application process just to look like I'm not wearing makeup. Which is why I'm excited to tell you about Merit Beauty. I've been using their Minimalist Perfecting complexion stick on my redness and it's honestly made a huge difference. I also love their Great Skin Instant Glow Serum, which gives my skin this nice glowy look before before I apply my makeup. It's like my skin, but better. Merit is a minimalist beauty brand that helps you simplify your mornings without sacrificing looking put together. I can take five minutes in the morning before I film a social video or just go meet a friend for coffee and not look like I just rolled out of bed, which I love. And we've talked about makeup throughout the years. A bit on this podcast in one of our Morbid Medicine episodes, I mentioned how people in the 1800s used to put lead in their makeup and how it's important to know what's in the stuff you're putting on your face. And with Merit, their products are clean, vegan, and incredibly easy to use. Like, I don't even really need a mirror when I put it on. It's truly makeup you can live in. And trust me, my mornings have never been easier. Ready to simplify your routine? Head to meritbeauty.com and get their signature makeup bag free with your first order. All right, I'm here with Investigator Slater once again on Heartstarts. Pounding. Welcome.

[Investigator Slater]

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me back.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, I'm so excited to have you back. I'm really excited for this episode because on Psychopedia, I feel like you cover really, really dark cases.

[Investigator Slater]

That we do. Yes.

[Kailyn]

Yeah. I have to decompress sometimes after I listen to episodes. So the theme of today's episode that I wanted to. To have with these stories is, like, Close Encounters. I wanted to just find, like, a bunch of really scary close encounter stories for us to go over, because I feel like that's your wheelhouse. It is.

[Investigator Slater]

Well, my wheelhouse is definitely Close Encounters, but also, like full blown encounters. You know what I mean?

[Kailyn]

Oh, yes. No, of course. Yeah. You cover a lot of encounters. Has there been an episode you've done recently that's really stuck with you?

[Investigator Slater]

So I recently covered the case of the Greyhound bus beheading in Canada.

[Kailyn]

I feel like I remember when that happened, but do you wanna give me a quick refresher?

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, I'm sure you do remember. I feel like anybody who was, you know, alive when this incident happened not only remembers it, but feels traumatized by it, which is completely understanding because it was such a horrific event. And the way it concluded just leaves everybody so incredibly uneasy. So In July of 2008, on a greyhound bus, which is a public bus, a man that was struggling with mental health issues boarded the bus with a knife that nobody saw, of course. And he sat next to a young man, only 22 years old. His name was Tim McLean, the victim, and he was just sleeping. He had his head against the pillow. Excuse me, against the window. And this man, Vince Lee, boarded the bus and just decapitated Tim McLean. I mean, it's what nightmares are made of. Truly. Absolutely.

[Kailyn]

And it was totally random. It was not targeted at all.

[Investigator Slater]

Not targeted at all. Vince Lee had been, you know, struggling with severe, untreated, unchecked, unmonitored mental health issues. And it just kind of came to a head in this absolutely horrific incident. And that event has stuck with me for A number of reasons. First of all, because it just sheds a light on how society in so many ways doesn't take a proactive approach to mental health, but rather a reactive approach, which that is just a completely perfect example of why you can't do that. Cuz there were so many signs, basically, and so many times that he wound up, you know, in mental health facilities and then was just released without any monitoring or surveillance or support. So it stuck with me for that reason. Of course, it stuck with me above all else because this poor man, Tim McLean, and just the way he was killed and brutalized and also just sort of at the end of the case, the way it wrapped up is that the perpetrator was released from prison and he is completely now unsurveilled, unmonitored, and just out in society because of the way the trial went down. Basically he was deemed sort of not responsible for his criminal act because of his mental health state. So once they felt that his mental health state was treated.

[Kailyn]

Wow.

[Investigator Slater]

They released him back into society.

[Kailyn]

I did not realize that. Yeah, that's one of those cases where you see the headline and then you never see the follow up.

[Investigator Slater]

Right.

[Kailyn]

So I'm sure so many people don't even know that that's how that concluded. Which is horrible.

[Investigator Slater]

Wow. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare anybody, but you asked for a case that like, has stuck with me. That has.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, no, I. I want to go back honestly and listen to that one because I am. How the trial happened, like how all of that went down, like that is crazy. That's really dark. Wow. Thank you for sharing that.

[Investigator Slater]

I'm so sorry. And you're welcome.

[Kailyn]

And do we want to jump right into our stories today of Close Encounters? I'm very curious. So I haven't heard your stories. You haven't heard my stories. And what I like to ask the audience before we jump in is as we go. I'm very curious what the audience feels like is the scariest story. Because last time that we did this with Morgan Absher, it was all over the map. What people found the scariest. That one we did like a mix of kind of grounded and supernatural stories. Some people thought the grounded stories were way scarier, some people thought the supernatural stories were way scarier. So I am curious for those who are listening to. Let me know wherever you listen in the comments, what story is the creepiest? Because I think, I think I know from the ones that I have, which one I'm gonna say is the scariest. But I'm excited to hear yours later.

[Investigator Slater]

Oh, I can't wait. Oh my God, I love this.

[Kailyn]

You wanna.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah.

[Kailyn]

Do you wanna start?

[Investigator Slater]

Okay, let's go. Okay, so story one is called fake Uber driver tried to lure me into his car. Already. My worst nightmare already.

[Kailyn]

I hate this.

[Investigator Slater]

Okay, and this is from Reddit user Fossil Fool 12. Fake Uber driver tried to lure me into his car. This happened about a year ago. There were so many terrible factors working against me that night, I'm astounded I got away unscathed, at least physically. This all begins when I'm at my friend's apartment who lives in a really rough part of town. In a series of poor decisions that night, I decide to get belligerently drunk and take a few pills of God knows what. I know, I know. Safe to say after a solid night of partying, around 4am I was not in the right state of mind. My drug addled brain decided that instead of staying the night at my friend's apartment like I normally would, I wanted to Uber back to my own apartment. My friend's apartment had two separate entrances exits to the building. One in the back unlit parking lot of the building and one facing the street. They had two sets of keys for each door and I only had keys to the one in the back of the apartment. Since my Uber would obviously arrive at the street and the door in the front of the building locks itself behind you. I exited this way when the driver was soon to arrive. Looking back, standing outside that apartment, I realized I looked like the easiest target on the planet. I'm a small, petite female in my early 20s and I can hardly stay upright. I'm using a street lamp to prop myself up, and not doing a good job at that either. The light was basically a beacon for any nearby predator saying, come get me. I'm not paying attention to my surroundings at all in this state, despite the fact that there was literally a bullet hole in the front door I just came out of. Not good. I remember checking to see what car I was getting picked up in and was only able to pick out the fact that it was a black sedan. Soon after stepping outside, a black sedan pulls up to the curb and starts rolling down the window. So I step forward. Before this man even stopped. I could feel something was wrong. Little psa. This is Slater speaking. Never ignore that gut instinct. Never ignore the voice inside your head. Okay, back to the script. He had an expression like he was tearing me apart with just his eyes. After seeing that look, I understood why they used the word predator to describe a criminal because I knew what it felt like to be prey. He basically barks at me, I'm your Uber driver. This was the second red flag that somehow made its way through my brain. Normally Uber drivers just roll down the window and say Uber for Slater or any version of that, but always including your name. I think I just stared at him for a second, my brain slowly piecing together the situation I was potentially in and I ask him what's my name? He immediately is enraged and starts screaming about how he doesn't have time for this and just get in this stupid car. Etc, etc, etc. I don't think I've ever sobered up so fast in my life. I'm completely panicking. Obviously this wasn't my Uber. Quickly checking the license plate, I immediately see it's not a match. Meanwhile, this guy is still screaming at me and I have absolutely no, no idea what to do if I bolt in either direction. This guy could easily outrun me or have a weapon. I'm also pretty sure at this point that if he's trying to nab a random girl off the street, he must have a weapon of some sort. I can't run back inside the apartment door right behind me since it locks behind you and I don't have the keys nor the time to unlock it. Running towards the back door would do nothing as well as he's idling right by the mouth of the driveway towards the back door parking lot. And again, I would have to take the time to find the right keys and get in if I screamed. I'm not exactly in the type of neighborhood where someone would try to be a vigilante and I can still hear the music radiating from my friend's third floor apartment. I knew they wouldn't hear me. Also, it's 4am and absolutely no one is around. People talk a lot on this sub, how they either sprint into action or freeze, but I felt incapable of doing either. That's because by the way, side note, this is later. It's not just fight or flight, it's fight, flight or freeze. So that's a completely normal reaction to have. It was the absolute worst feeling I have ever felt in my life. Everything in me wanted to run, but I felt that if I did it would be the end of me. But if I kept standing there staring in shock at this screaming man, the result would be the same from when he started screaming at me to this point, I'm guessing only 20 seconds passed. But just as he's Looking like he's getting ready to get out of the car, another black sedan pulls up right behind him. Checking the license plate as quickly as I can, I realize it's my actual Uber, and I make a full sprint to the car, really only like six steps, and throw myself in, screaming at my real Uber driver, what's my name? The poor dude looks terrified, but responds with my name quickly, to which I reply, get me the hell out of here. That man is trying to kidnap me. If I was in this Uber driver's position, I think I would be too shocked to react as quickly as he did. But my dude flew out of there, offered to call the cops for me, which I declined and now regret, and then walked me to the front door of my apartment, ensuring that I got inside safely. Yeah, five star review for that guy. Truly an incredible human being. You can rest easy knowing he got the fattest tip my college student bank account would allow for. Although he deserved much, much more. P.S. although it took a while, I'm doing great now. Stay safe, y'. All. And that's the story.

[Kailyn]

Wow. Have you heard of the fake Uber drivers, like, happening in real life?

[Investigator Slater]

I haven't heard of it actually happening, but it doesn't surprise me that it happens.

[Kailyn]

You know, I knew a girl who this was probably like, 2016, 2017. It was like a friend of a friend who was in town for the weekend, and she got into a fake Uber because they, like, specifically they were targeting people outside of bars. Like drunk girls coming out of bars.

[Investigator Slater]

Yep.

[Kailyn]

Which it sounds like this person was doing. They just look for the easiest target. And so. And because sometimes when you're so drunk, you don't think to ask the name, you don't think to check on your phone. Like, thank God this person decided to check on their phone for the license plate because she just got in thinking, this is probably my Uber driver. And I know he drove her to the middle of nowhere and left her on the side of the road. I don't know the details of exactly what happened, but she was beat up pretty badly.

[Investigator Slater]

Oh, my God.

[Kailyn]

Horrible, horrible stuff. And because it's not a real Uber driver, there's no paper trail. There's nothing on the app that says who this person was. Like, there's really no way. If you don't remember, like, the license plate, there's no way to go after this person.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, I mean, you have to hope that. That investigators do their due diligence and look for CCTV or, you know, things of that nature to try and, like, back into who this person could be. But we covered a case on Psychopedia. There was a. It was actually Hong Kong's first known serial killer. His name was Lam Kor Wan, or he was known as the Rainy Night Butcher. Basically, he drove a cab. He was really a cab driver, but he would use his cab for nefarious reasons. This was back in 1982. And he would do the same exact thing that you just described. He would wait outside of bars where people would come out, women, really, really drunk, intoxicated, just not in the right state of mind. And he would abduct them. And then, I mean, he would do the absolute unthinkable, basically. Let's just say that when investigators ultimately tracked him down, they found severed body parts stored in Tupperware containers beneath his bed.

[Kailyn]

Oh, God.

[Investigator Slater]

Because that's the level of depravity we are talking about with this case. But yeah, I mean, you're very vulnerable when you're getting into a car with a driver that you have never met.

[Kailyn]

Like, yes, even.

[Investigator Slater]

Or even an Uber driver. You're in a vulnerable state. You know, but certainly one who's posing as one. That is terrifying.

[Kailyn]

I know for this episode, I was trying to think of jobs that people have where you're just one on one with a client. Like, even. Because it goes the other way too, for cab drivers. Like, you don't know who's getting into your cab. You don't know who's getting into your Uber necessarily. You could have fake passengers. Like, there's just so much risk when you work at a job. Like, I have a family member who's a real estate agent and she has terrifying stories of men that would. Like, she's showing a house in the middle of nowhere and like, a creepy man shows up. And like, you're just by yourself in this location with someone and you don't know what they're capable of. That's so scary.

[Investigator Slater]

You can't ignore your gut instinct and you can't be too polite to. To get the hell out of there. You know what I mean? Like, you can't. If you get. If you. Let's say you're a real estate agent. Example. Like, if you're showing a property to someone and your. Your spidey senses are firing on all cylinders, don't feel too polite. Like, you can't say, you know what, I'm outta here.

[Kailyn]

I actually had this recently. Okay, can I tell you this story of. It wasn't Uber, it was Lyft that I got into, which I Had never had an issue with Lyft, So I was shocked that this happened, but I had to call my sibling. And I were going home for the weekend for a funeral. So we're already in, like, a headspace.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, I'm sorry.

[Kailyn]

And it's like, four in the morning, and we have to call an Uber to get to the airport to take a super early flight. And I call this Uber. We're at my apartment. He shows up immediately. From getting the notification of who the driver was, I get, like, a weird feeling. Like, his picture is strange. The car he's driving is. Doesn't look like it would be used for, like, driving Drive Share services. And he pulls up and we go outside, and the vibes are really bad. It's four in the morning. We're by ourselves. It's just this man who gets out of the car. He goes over, pops the trunk. There's a bunch of just garbage in there. So we're like, is this even a. Like, do you really drive Lyft? Like, why? Your car is a mess. And we get in the car, and I'm not kidding you on the Bluetooth was like, he had clearly been watching porn because the title of what he had been watching was, like, on the Bluetooth.

[Investigator Slater]

Oh, my God.

[Kailyn]

And I immediately am like, we are having an emergency. We have to get out of this car. Can you please pop your trunk?

[Investigator Slater]

Good for you.

[Kailyn]

And I got us out of there, and I got us back into our. Into my apartment building. And he starts messaging me, like, if you have a problem with me, we should have been able to talk about it. Why don't you come back out and we can talk about this? Like, I'm not gonna cancel your ride for you because I'm gonna get dinged. And so I can't call another car because, like, on the app, he. He won't let me cancel the ride. And it. It wouldn't let me cancel the ride already arrived. Whatever. Like, the situation was, like, I wasn't able to cancel the ride to call another car. So I'm, like, texting him, begging him, like, please just cancel. Like, I'm sorry if you have to eat the $5 or whatever. Like, we. We're having an emergency. We can't do this. And he won't stop trying to, like, call me and contact me through the app. And my sibling is there. Like, bless their heart, they're not the most attentive person. And they weren't wearing their glasses, so they had no idea what was happening. They were just like, Sitting in the car, like, they couldn't read what was happening on the Bluetooth. So then I had to, like, debrief to them and also explain to them, like, hey, if you're getting into a lift at 4 in the morning, like, maybe wear your frigging glasses so you can see what's happening. The whole thing was just so spooky.

[Investigator Slater]

Well, thank goodness they had you there to be the. The eyes and the instinct behind getting the both of you the hell out of there. That's, you know, what you could always say too. The emergency was really quick thinking. I really, truly believe if you tell anybody driving any vehicle that you are about to puke, they will pull over faster than you can imagine.

[Kailyn]

That is such a. I didn't even think about that. Because they're not gonna want you in the car if you're gonna bomb.

[Investigator Slater]

No. So if you don't know, if you. If you're not comfortable lying, if. Or whatever, you're not sinking fast enough in your feet, just remember, I think I'm going to throw up. And you will be on the side of that road, I hope. If you need to be.

[Kailyn]

That is a great tip for everyone listening. Keep that one in the back of your mind. I do like the people on TikTok that are like, play this audio. If you don't feel safe in your Uber.

[Investigator Slater]

I've seen that.

[Kailyn]

If you don't feel safe in your Lyft and it's like, darling, you just got out of prison.

[Investigator Slater]

There is. There's this guy. I don't think I follow him, but he's, like, always showing up on my feed, so I must have, like, at some point clicked and watched and seen. Stuck around long enough for the algorithm to constantly hit me over the head with him. But he has, like, a fake conversation into the phone so that you're supposed to be on the other end. He'll be like, hey, babe, how was your night? He waits a few seconds, presumably for you to be like, it was good. How was yours? Yeah, it was good. I'm just hanging out. What's up? You know what I mean? Like, so that whoever you're feeling threatened by hears that you are having this conversation with a real human being. It's just terrifying. The lengths that. That people have to go to, to feel so vulnerable that we actually have to prepare for situations like that is.

[Kailyn]

I totally agree. But I think what's important and the person, the woman in the story does a good job of it, is like, the best time to get out is as soon as possible. Like before the car starts moving. So you don't want to be in the situation where the car's already in motion, you're locked in the backseat, and then you have to take this fake phone call. Like if you get a bad vibe, just try to get out before you're even in the car. Because just the further you go with this person, the more dangerous it's going to get. So obviously anytime you realize you're in a bad situation, just try to get out. Then even if the car's moving, that's fine. Just try to figure it out. But if you can do it before you get in the car, like this woman did, definitely try for that.

[Investigator Slater]

Yep, that's great advice.

[Kailyn]

Honestly, better to have some man yell at you through the Lyft app than to be traveling with him to God knows where.

[Investigator Slater]

Take the advice that you would give to somebody you love. Yeah, you would tell somebody you love, do not get into the car. So give yourself that same level of protection and don't get into the car.

[Kailyn]

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Accepting insurance without the support of a group practice can be tough, but most people looking for mental health care want to use their benefits to pay for sessions. If you're interested in seeing clients through insurance, ALMA can help. They make it easy to get credentialed with major insurance plans at enhanced reimbursement rates. They also handle all the paperwork from eligibility checks to claim submissions and guarantee payment within two weeks. Visit helloalma.com to get started. That's hello a l m a dot.

[Kailyn]

Com all right, do you want to hear the one that I have for my first okay, so this story is called. The title is Just Got Spooked while Alone at School and this comes from Reddit user Darklon. So this one goes I'm a music student at a small town university in Canada. Okay, also Canada. Since I was staying the summer and not going back home, I asked the director of my program for a key to a rehearsal room so that I could stay fresh over the summer and have a designated practice space. The building is very old, musty, and has so many hallways, open spaces, practice green rooms, stairwells, etc. Also for reference, this school and this area sits near a walking trail in the woods. It's on the other side of a marsh and then there's a huge basin that leads into the ocean. I had classes in this building during my first term and I've spent a lot of time in there. I never once felt uneasy while spending time alone in the building, whether during the day or at night or sometimes I would stay and play music until one or two in the morning and would only ever see security doing their 11pm patrol. Never had an issue and they always announced their presence. The other night I was in a large room that I cleaned out and converted into a sort of studio rehearsal space. It used to be a wood shop for theater students and now there's two ways into this space. First through a main large double door that leads into the common area and then the other entrance is through the percussion room door, which is then secured by an another door. Basically, when I'm in this room I am locked in from both ends. The other night while I was practicing, I heard a door open from out in the hallway and just assumed it was another one of the five ish students who were also staying over the summer. No big deal. A little while after that I heard some of the music students returning gear from the show that they played that evening. Again, I'm thinking no big deal One of them even came in and knocked and announced themselves, just wanting to say hi, knowing that I was in the big room rehearsing because I had a lamp on. A few hours after that, probably around 1:30am, I started to wind down and pack things up. Now, I'm not supposed to be in there that late, but I had an important show coming up and I've been practicing really hard. So I'm sitting down near the large double door and I can hear footsteps on the other side. I sort of freeze up and I stop what I'm doing just to listen. Now there's a square hole in the wall, probably an inch and a half by an inch and a half, where I assume an exhaust vent used to be installed to remove sawdust and all of that when the theater students would be building props. While cleaning the room and turning it into my rehearsal space, I put this thin piece of plastic over this hole. Not for any reason. I just found it when I was cleaning and was like, huh, that would fit right over this hole. So I put it there. As I'm sitting in the chair, continuing to quietly listen, staring at the door, I literally see someone bend down and look into the hole, into the practice room at me, and then quickly straighten up, back and out of sight. The hole is probably thigh height. I was so focused on the door and looking at the crack underneath that I only caught the person out of the corner of my eye and then they quickly moved away from from it. So I barely saw who it was, but they were wearing brown and had black hair. No other student that was in the space that night matched that description and security would not do that. Security always announces themselves. They will demand I open up the room and show my student ID, etc, and especially not at 1:30am they would have for sure kicked me out and probably have been pretty upset that I was there at that time. I froze. Not knowing what to do, I nervously asked, hello, who's that? Nobody answered. I felt so creeped out and spooked that I just sat there in absolute silence waiting for the sound of someone to be like, oh, hey, it's just me. I'm messing around with you. But nothing. I sat there for like five to 10 minutes just looking around quietly. Goosebumps, spooked. And after five to 10 minutes, I could hear the sound of someone walking away towards the front of the building. Like the sound of jeans rubbing together as they were walking. And a jacket and all that. I packed up so fast, leaving most of my music stuff set up, and I Just exited through the main door and out the fire exit as fast as possible. Luckily I live a five minute walk away, but I was checking over my shoulder to make sure nobody was following me. I'm sure it wasn't someone dangerous, but it freaked me out. And I know all of the music students who are staying over the summer. They for sure would have said hi or something. Security would have kicked me out. My only worry is that someone was doing something sneaky or trying to steal something from the school or something worse. Now I'm thinking I should bring this up to security so that they are a little bit more thorough. Not saying that if this was a squatter, it was a squatter that was bad or dangerous, but I was just really creeped out and this was really unexpected. This is also 100% true. And I never come on this subreddit. I just had to share. Enjoy. And then they left an update. And this update kind of spooked me even more. So the. The update is I went to school yesterday and the afternoon and all the doors were locked. I called security and then immediately they asked me what I was doing in there, suspiciously, perhaps questioning if I was actually a student or not. I had to go to security with my ID and get my key card updated. They didn't mention anything about the person that I saw, but I have a hunch that they did catch someone because now the doors are locked all of the time. And that's where the story ends.

[Investigator Slater]

Okay, so my first, my. My feeling throughout this whole thing was it's a ghost. I was immediately thinking about the Sixth Sense, the movie. And there's a scene when he's in when the little boy who can see dead people is in a theater. And the theater at one point burned down. So. So all of the people who were killed in the fire are there, but only he can see them. So I'm like, is this some kind of theater ghost that only this girl can see?

[Kailyn]

Right? Cause it is. That whole area was used for the theater. So that makes sense, right?

[Investigator Slater]

Exactly. And I'm thinking supernatural with this one.

[Kailyn]

It's interesting because I always pose this question to the Heartstarts founded community. I'm like, what's worse if this is a ghost or if this is a person? And this is one of those stories where I feel like that's exactly right where I would almost be praying that it was just a poltergeist or just a ghost and not some person who wandered in. Because right this, the practice area is by like a marsh and A forest and the ocean. Like, not someone that just wandered in from the marsh and was watching me through a little peephole as I practiced at 1:30 in the morning.

[Investigator Slater]

Oh, it's creepy no matter how you slice it, honestly.

[Kailyn]

Or someone. We, we were talking about this in an episode I did on. I did Listener Tales and I got this listener story from someone who said she went to school and one day there was like a bunch of journalists and a bunch of emergency services outside of like the area by the cafeteria. And someone had been living on campus, like basically in a closet that had this freezer and they had been sleeping in the freezer and they accidentally trapped themselves and died.

[Investigator Slater]

Oh. Oh no. Oh my God.

[Kailyn]

And so it's, it's also like. Yeah. Was this someone who lived basically like in the, the back rooms of the school and like the crawl spaces of the school, which is also a possibility.

[Investigator Slater]

And terrifying.

[Kailyn]

Yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

And sad if somebody is living in walls and creeping around, you know, with, with no place of their own.

[Kailyn]

Yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

But terrifying all the same. I mean, honestly, I hate, I hate to be somebody who lives in the world, like constantly afraid, but I don't know that as a student I would be in a pretty much abandoned building slash studio at 1:30 in the morning. It's not her fault.

[Kailyn]

Yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

If somebody was there and messing with her, she's not to blame. Right. I'm not victim blaming people.

[Kailyn]

Well. Cause it's also like the summer. It's one thing if you're like, it's school's in session, I'm at The library, it's 1:30 in the morning, but everybody's.

[Investigator Slater]

Up late, it's finals week or whatever it may be. Yeah. I feel like again, the victim is not to blame and it's not that anything happened to her. But I'm just saying, like, situationally, the victim's not to blame. But I don't know. Personally I would avoid that scenario because if it's a person that's squatting or a ghost, I'm not prepared for either.

[Kailyn]

Right, Right.

[Investigator Slater]

So I don't wanna be confronted with either.

[Kailyn]

But.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, but you gotta live your life too. Right. This, this person was practicing.

[Kailyn]

Like she was practicing. She had a big recital coming, same time. It's like, I knew music students when I went to school and they were always like cramming for their recitals and practicing at like 4 in the morning to get ready for something. You have to put in serious hours to be a very good musician.

[Investigator Slater]

Yes.

[Kailyn]

So I, I get it. Like that, that Tracks with all of the music students I've ever known, but just the fact that someone was in there, because that person probably knew that there was always students in there.

[Investigator Slater]

Right. But they didn't mess with her. They didn't. You know, it was a quick little looksy Daisy, and then, you know, whoops, somebody's in there. Excuse me. Backs up. And that's the last you ever see of them, you know, A very polite ghost. If it's a ghost.

[Kailyn]

If it is a ghost. Yeah, a rather polite one.

[Investigator Slater]

A very polite squatter, if that's what we're talking about. But I think the creepy part here is the extra little bit at the end that when she went back, all of a sudden the security was like locking the doors now and things like that, so.

[Kailyn]

And the detail about the whole being thigh high for some reason really just freaked me out. Because it's one thing if you're looking into someone's eyes, but any, like, below the waist, that just adds like a whole other. That's true for Slater. It'd be eye height. Yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

Eye level. Eye level. I'm good with thigh high. For a normal person size. That's.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

That's very creepy. I. I don't. I'm glad this person is okay.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, me too. And I'm glad. It sounds like they probably did catch someone and so they put the school on lockdown a little bit, but had to share. That one that gave. That one gave me goosebumps when I read it the other night at like midnight, so had to share.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, I can see why.

[Kailyn]

All right, do you want to share your next one?

[Investigator Slater]

I do. Okay. This one is titled My husband and I think we dodged a serial killer Reddit user who uses Lemon Pepper. That's the name. Who uses Lemon Pepper.

[Kailyn]

Love it.

[Investigator Slater]

Two years ago in the winter, my husband and I bought and moved to a farm in small town Appalachia. We decided to go down to our local tractor supply to buy a propane tank. As we were in the checkout line, a man in his late 50s, I assume, walked in and stared at us. He grabbed a random women's shirt off a shelf, then turned back, stared at us some more, and stood behind us in line. He stood so close I could feel his breath on my neck. I was extremely uncomfortable, but I figured it's a small town, so everyone is just overly nice. So I turned toward him, smiled, nodded, and said, good morning, hoping the man would feel as uncomfortable as I did and back up a bit. He did not. Instead, he started Talking to us initially, starting with pleasant small talk. The weather's getting quite cold and this line is taking forever. Telling us about him picking up his great aunt from the airport in two hours, etc. But it wasn't long before he got into more intrusive territory like where are you guys from and where are you living now? How old are you guys? For context though, I was in my late 20s and my husband was only a few years behind me. Our baby faces could have been easily passed for 20, 21. When it was our turn to check out, I said have a good day to the man and went up to the register. As the guy behind the register started to explain their propane pricing, the man started to flip out. I mean, he started yelling at the poor 17 year old kid working his weekend job saying, I can't believe y' all are charging them so much for a propane tank. And they're a young newlywed couple. Why can't you give them a break? He just kept going on and on, cussing beneath his breath at the guy behind the counter. Then he once again turned to us saying, hey, I have a hundred pound tank I'm not using at my house. I'll let you have it for free if you want. You'll just need to come with me. My husband thanked him but declined. He said, are you sure? My house is only 20 minutes from where I could even give you guys two tanks. Again, my husband declined. He continued, we have to do it now though, because I have to go to the airport and leave town in two hours. This was a slip up. We hadn't noticed until we got home later that day. Remember, first he said that he was picking up his aunt. At this point, I said no thank you in a bit more assertive tone. Getting what I assumed was annoyed, he dropped his items and stormed out. As we went outside to get our tank filled up, the man pulled up in a parking spot and next to the fill up area in his pickup truck. He got out and went back at it. You should really think about getting a second tank. It'll save you a trip and it would last you longer. He continued, if you don't want to both go, only one of y' all can just come and ride with me and the other can meet me at my place. Oh God, no thank you. Oh, I replied, no thank you. We're good. Then he said, come on, it's a small town and it's safe. I would never hurt such a lovely young couple. At this point, the outdoor employee came out of the propane area and told him to get the out of there and to stop bothering us. So he got into his truck that he did not have a license plate on, and drove off. The other day, while filling our tank up, the guy helping us asked us about that day and if we ever saw that guy again. Apparently, he comes by in the winters when it's quiet and. And only talks to young couples. Major creepy vibes. And that's the story.

[Kailyn]

There's a few huge red flags about that story. The first one is, whenever someone offers to do something nice, when they start demanding that they have to do that nice thing for you, it feels like there's a bad intention behind it.

[Investigator Slater]

Completely agree.

[Kailyn]

I've seen that with a few stories where it's like, I just want to help you. Let me change your tire. Let me give you my propane tank. And when you're like, no, thanks, like, that's very sweet of you, but no, thank you, and they're like, no, like, just come to my house and I'll give you the propane tank. Like, I'm trying to do something nice for you. Like, why do you need me to go to your house and get this propane tank so badly?

[Investigator Slater]

Why are you insisting instead of offering? Which, by the way, offering, even in and of itself is creepy. But insisting.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, the insisting.

[Investigator Slater]

Exactly. Exactly. But that goes back to what we were saying, you know, a little while ago. Like, people are wired, you know, especially kids, to be polite.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, right.

[Investigator Slater]

Like, I'll tell you as a parent, like, I'm. Of course, I'm always teaching my children, like, be polite, say thank you, give eye contact, be respectful to adults. So it's a little bit tricky. Like, the lines get a little bit blurred because your instincts, like, even how the story she started out, like, oh, no, thank you. Like, she felt like it was weird. This guy was literally breathing on her neck, Standing so close to her, and she's all, no, thank you. Da, da, da, da. It's okay in those situations to be like, no, thank you. And also, can you please take a step back? You know what I mean? But we're just wired to be polite, and it can obviously do us a disservice. Thankfully, obviously, she and her husband didn't sort of like, cave and they listened to their instincts.

[Kailyn]

I know it's almost like, good in a way that he is propositioning couples, Because I know I feel more empowered to say no if there's another person with me, Especially if, like, I can tell that they're getting Weird vibes too. If I was by myself, I worry that I would try to be too polite. Like, I worry if either of the couple was by themselves that they might be like, oh, yeah, I can go grab a propane tank from you, like, if you really want me to. Thank you especially.

[Investigator Slater]

They just moved to that small town, so you might think, like, maybe this is what happens in small towns.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, maybe people are nice here.

[Investigator Slater]

I don't want to be labeled the big city a hole. You know what I mean? Like, so, yeah, it kind of reminds me of, like, because it. The name of the story was like, what was it? My.

[Kailyn]

Oh, like, dodged a serial killer.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, like my husband and I dodged a serial killer or whatever. So have you heard about the couple that literally ran up against Ted Bundy who had just killed a woman?

[Kailyn]

No.

[Investigator Slater]

He didn't even realize it. It's just like, showing you, like, how you don't necessarily obviously know the quality of person that you are randomly meeting in life. Right. Whether it's this Reddit story or there's this story of this couple. They were on a date, they were walking together, and one of them felt their shoe, I believe, hit something sus. Right. Like kind of mushy, kind of whatever. And they didn't even speak. They just looked at each other and hightailed it out of there. And while they were running backwards, a man was watching them run away. Who was that man? Ted Bundy. And he had killed a woman. And Ted Bundy later said, had that couple gone a little bit further into the woods or realized that they had, like, stepped on a body, I would have had to have killed them.

[Kailyn]

Oh, my goodness. Wow.

[Investigator Slater]

So this couple. Yeah, their whole thing is like how we literally almost got, you know, confronted by a serial killer.

[Kailyn]

Wow. So that, I guess that's something I want to ask you too, because I can't think of any examples in my head, but this guy was propositioning couples in a very aggressive way. I feel like it's rare for if this person was a serial killer. Like, I can't think of any other serial killers that specifically targeted couples. I feel like normally they target just one person because that's easier.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, that's a unique victimology to go for two, two at once.

[Kailyn]

Yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

There's one serial killer that we covered on Psychopedia. His name is Harvey Glatman. We covered him in a two parter called the Pinup Predator. That's what we named the two parter. Now, he did not target couples, but there is one victim that he Was targeting who, when he approached her in Central park in New York, had her boyfriend with him, and they took him on, and they got. And they escaped. Whereas, like, his other victims didn't. Except for his final victim, which is ultimately how he got caught. But, yeah, in terms of a victimology, it's obviously, it's not a smart thing to go for a twofer.

[Kailyn]

Yeah. Right. So I wonder, when you're thinking about that as, like, the couple, are you even really considering that that's a possibility and that. But, like, in hindsight, you think about how weird it was, and you're like, oh, my God, I think that guy was gonna do something really bad to us if we went and got that propane tank.

[Investigator Slater]

Right.

[Kailyn]

But, yeah, I could see in the moment just like, I'm a big. Like, I'll talk myself out of things in the moment, especially if I'm starting to panic. Like, I'm always like, you're making a big deal out of nothing. Like, I just worry if I was in that situation, I totally understand people who try to be polite.

[Investigator Slater]

Right. And then you would look at your partner and be like, should we? Should we? I mean, two propane tanks.

[Kailyn]

Yeah. And if that. If that person said yes, that makes it even harder for the person that has the bad vibe to speak up.

[Investigator Slater]

Right.

[Kailyn]

If someone else is going along with.

[Investigator Slater]

It, if it was a serial killer who targets young couples, then I'm going to go out on a limb. I'm gonna profile him in my completely unprofessional FBI profiling position here, and I'm going to say that that person is a sadist and that that person will enjoy watching one of the partners, enjoy watching them watch as their partner gets attacked, humiliated, tortured, whatever it may be like, I feel like if you're targeting two, there's a sadistic element there, and it's because you want to see the pain and devastation on, let's say, the woman's face as her husband is getting killed.

[Kailyn]

That's true. And actually, now that you say that, I can think of, like, Golden State killer.

[Investigator Slater]

Right.

[Kailyn]

He would attack couples. I think BTK would also go after couples that were at home together. So maybe it actually isn't as rare of a thing to want to go after two people.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, I don't know that it's rare. I think it's a move.

[Kailyn]

Yeah.

[Investigator Slater]

I think you have to be seasoned and very manipulative to be able to persuade two people. You know, if you're not chloroforming them and getting them into your car. Like to get them to agree to walk into your car. That takes some level of manipulation. On a psychopathic level, yes, I absolutely agree.

[Kailyn]

And with that, I want to read you the next one that I have.

[Investigator Slater]

Let's go. You buy a pair of socks, that's two socks. You buy a pair of Bombas socks, that's four socks. Because one purchased is one donated. Socks are the number one most requested clothing item in homeless shelters. So when you buy a pair of super comfortable Bombas socks, you're also donating a pair. Bombas customers have powered over 150 million donations.

[Kailyn]

So Bombas would like to thank you.

[Investigator Slater]

150 million times, but we only have like 30 seconds.

[Kailyn]

Go to bombas.com and use code audio.

[Investigator Slater]

For 20% off your first purchase. That's b o m b dash.com and use code audio at checkout. Possibility means you have a chance.

[Kailyn]

Passion opens the door to all possibilities. When I feel like anything's possible, I feel kind of giddy. I want to be an astronaut, an.

[Investigator Slater]

Artist, an actress to visit another country.

[Kailyn]

All I need is a backpack and a pair of shoes and I'll find a way I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.

[Investigator Slater]

I've never found felt like more things.

[Kailyn]

Are possible than right now. In the right shoes, anything is possible. Dsw countless shoes at bragworthy prices.

[Investigator Slater]

Imagine the possibilities.

[C]

Accepting insurance without the support of a group practice can be tough. But most people looking for mental health care want to use their benefits to pay for sessions. If you're interested in seeing clients through insurance, ALMA can help. They make it easy to get credentialed with major insurance plans at enhanced reimbursement rates. They also handle all the paperwork from eligibility checks to claim submissions and guarantee payment within two weeks. Visit helloalma.com to get started. That's hello a l m a com.

[Kailyn]

So this one I've wanted to find kind of like a summary one because we're in the middle of dark summer here at Heart Starts Pounding. So we're going through a lot of like dark cruise ship stories like vacation disappearances, scary camping tales. So this one I found has a very summery vibe to it and it is also very terrifying. This story was just called the man with the Wooden Leg and it's by Reddit user. Okay, faithlessness9628 and it starts by saying, hey guys, a quick thing before I dive in. I'm a French guy posting this story. I did my best to translate all of this by myself. A little Help from Google Translate, but please excuse any mistakes. I'm 24 now, but when this happened I was just 12, so I live not very far from Paris, But I've loved traveling since I was a kid. For five summers straight from 2009 to 2013, my mom signed me up for summer camps every July. These camps were amazing. I traveled all over France. Camping, hiking mountains, doing caving, ropes courses, so many fun activities, all since I was young, and I loved every minute of it. But then came 2013, which turned out to be the worst year of my life and the last time that I went to camp that summer. The camp was on an island in western France connected to the mainland by a big bridge. The island is known for being really hot in the summer. There's amazing local food, nice beaches, and especially this famous monument called Fort Boyard, which is an old prison in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that once held criminals. The camp was set in the middle of nature. Imagine a group of small buildings arranged in an L shape. On one side was the entrance and on the other was just thick bushes that led into the forest. The buildings were divided between the kids dorms, the laundry rooms, the dining hall, and the instructors dorms. At this time in my life, I was pretty rebellious and I didn't like to listen. Two of my friends, Malik and Enzo, came with me, so we were all set for this crazy time that summer. Maybe too crazy. Everything was fine during the first six days of camp and we had so much fun. But on the seventh day, things started to go wrong. Mostly because of us. That night we had a campfire game session, playing board games like uno from 8pm to 11pm and after that, the instructors announced lights out and everyone went to their rooms. Malik, Enzo and I shared a room, so we brushed our channel teeth and went to bed. But about 25 to 30 minutes later, the instructors turned off all the lights. And around midnight, I came up with a terrible idea. A night walk in the forest with my two friends. Even though we were only 12 or 13 years old, we opened our window, looked around pretty quickly and saw that none of the instructors were awake. They were all asleep, probably too tired. After the day's activities, we quietly crossed the camp courtyard, sneaking past the buildings and entered the bushes on the far side of the site. We walked about 10 to 15 minutes into the forest. While walking, I was joking around and trying to scare my friends with creepy stories. Suddenly, we arrived at the fence of an old abandoned house. The house looked really run down and creepy, like something out of A witch's story. Being young and dumb, we decided to at least go into the garden and. And to our surprise, the gate was open, so we stepped inside. As soon as we started walking into the garden, we heard a huge loud scream coming from a man with a deep, scary voice. We were so scared that at first we couldn't even understand what he was yelling. Then the front door of the house under the porch opened and we saw a man running towards us. We panicked, nearly crying, and instantly reopened the gate behind us. We ran as fast as we could back towards the camp and we managed to get back and woke everyone up in the middle of the night. So stressed, scared and panicked that I was crying a lot. The instructors obviously scolded us for being reckless and dangerous, but it was clear from our faces that we weren't making this up. We told them what happened and we finally went back to our rooms. And I couldn't sleep at all that night. I just kept replaying the scene in my head and one detail really stuck with me. Thanks to the little bit of moonlight that shone through. The man limped and he had a wooden leg, but even so, he ran really fast. And I don't know why, but I had this really bad feeling about the whole thing. And I wish that was the end of the story, but no, it gets worse. On the ninth day, which was the last day of camp, we were outside doing various activities when the instructor asked if we had our swimsuits ready because we were going to go to the pool. I said no and that I needed to go get mine from my room. So I ran alone to the dormitory about 10 meters away. I opened my door and then closed it behind me for some reason without turning the light on. It was almost completely dark, but some little holes in the wood let a little bit of moonlight in. At that moment, just about five meters from me, I saw a tall human like figure standing still. I couldn't see his face, just the silhouette. I didn't understand what was happening, but I was frozen and I couldn't move what felt like an eternity, probably just five or six seconds. I suddenly turned, opened the door and ran outside screaming that someone was in my room. I ran crying towards the center of the camp where everyone was. An instructor immediately went with some colleagues to check my room, but it was empty. And suddenly one of the instructors called everyone to come over because they found something terrifying. On the floor was a piece of paper with the words I will come back tonight written on it. I literally froze and started crying twice as Much as before that night, the instructors stayed in pairs outside of every door, so no one could enter any rooms. Thankfully, no one came back to my room that night. We left camp the next day. But because of those incidents, I never went back to camp after that. After I was 13 years old, it took me a long time to want to travel again with friends or family to places I didn't know. It wasn't until I was 19 that I dared to even go on a vacation again. When I told my mom about what happened, she told me I was incredibly stupid, also brave at the same time for my age. And that I did the right thing because whoever was in my room that night did not mean well, especially with that note they left behind. But honestly, going into the forest was so stupid, I don't know why we went and did that. Even 12 years later, those questions still haunt me. Who was that person in my room? Was it the same man that chased us into the forest? What did he want? And how did he find my room? These questions keep me awake many nights. And I still have a lot of nightmares. Like I said at the start, even if I mostly laugh about it now, sometimes I still get anxious over small things. So to the man in the woods who chased us and then appeared in my room. Let's not meet ever.

[Investigator Slater]

Ever. Yeah, let's not. That's freaky as hell.

[Kailyn]

That is very scary. Sometimes I think about summer camp. I worked at a summer camp all throughout college. Some of the best memories of my life. Some of also the scariest experiences I've ever had.

[Investigator Slater]

Oh, yeah.

[Kailyn]

But it is just a big group of children, like, and the people in the town know that it's just all these kids and that it's just 19 year olds watching them. Like, the ability for someone to just kind of sneak in there. You're basically like, you have no guards on any side. You're isolated. Anyone can come in from any angle because it's just woods around.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah, it's interesting. I never really thought about that. My kids don't go to sleepaway camp, but they go to day camp. It's just. You made me think of something. Because my younger son is like having a little bit of a hard time at camp this summer. Whatever. And my mother was like, well, why don't you talk to the counselors? Because the counselor is a fetus.

[Kailyn]

15. I mean, the counselor was a camper last year.

[Investigator Slater]

Exactly. They aged out. They made him a counselor. Like, I don't know what kind of, you know, what you think he's gonna help my son.

[Kailyn]

You're still with, you're still dating one of the campers. Like that's always the case.

[Investigator Slater]

Exactly. But it's so interesting because I worry about, do you have enough lifeguards? I worry about things like that, but I never think about until now. Thank you very much, Kailyn. Security at camp, like, like the first thing that I thought about was like, yeah, really, really great in this story that counselors were stationed outside of the kids rooms. Not good enough. Like I, I want to see some uniforms.

[Kailyn]

That's also not every night. Right. Usually like there's not at least how it worked at my summer camp was at night. All the counselors would go, they would have their night off starting at 10pm and then one counselor, which was me, sometimes would have 12 cabins of children that I just had to kind of rotate between and make sure everyone was behaving craziness.

[Investigator Slater]

Right. You're looking for behavioral issues. You're not looking for a one legged, you know, monster. Like you're, you know what I mean? Like you're, you're not looking for what this person described as being a terrifying, you know, person with nefarious intentions.

[Kailyn]

Right, right. And that was always, I was actually just talking to Matt, my husband about this. But like the oftentimes the towns that the camps are in are just these like really small podunk towns where the people who live in the town don't send their children to that camp. Like my camp was, that I worked at was really expensive and like everyone in the area was basically priced out of going there. So they also just didn't feel any sense of community with the camp. They would often be, I think, like kind of angry with the camp.

[Investigator Slater]

Probably annoyed.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, annoyed with the camp. And so you just don't know the people in the area. There was one night too where people from the town like just came onto the camp premise and that was like a huge security breach and they were trying to like find the people and get them out and it was just like drunk teenagers. So it ended up being fine, but it was still really scary.

[Investigator Slater]

Well, the thing is too is that just predators in general obviously are attracted to areas that provide access to what they're hunting. Right. So you know, somebody who's out to hurt a child. Yeah. And an isolated sleepaway camp in the middle of nowhere is, you know, is as good as it gets for someone like that. Yeah, that's really freaky. It sounds like this, this person, this Reddit user understandably has like some PTSD going On, you know.

[Kailyn]

Yeah. Also like, on top of all this, kind of like the former camp counselor in me is like, it was way too easy for those boys to just walk away from the camp.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah.

[Kailyn]

Like, they were the ones that went and found this person. And if the story ended there with him chasing out of them out of the garden, it would fully be on these kids for like trespassing in this guy's garden. But the fact that he maybe showed up in their cabin afterwards is really, really scary. But it's also just. Yeah, the kids can just wander away.

[Investigator Slater]

Well, it's. It's on the kids in that, you know, obviously they were the ones who put themselves in that situation. But like, they are children with underdeveloped frontal lobes. Like, they are not literally not designed to be making good decisions. So why are those windows opening? If they're opening, why is there no alarm getting tripped? You know what I mean? Like it at the end of the. I mean, listen, I. I'm always, not always thinking about liability, but like, I'm also thinking like. Like it's not really these kids fault for doing what kids do, which is pushing the boundaries. Like camps need to be. Be on it better. You know what I mean? If. If they're not already. Like they were not in this case. I don't know when this was too. I mean, I think nowadays people are a little bit more on top of their security game than they used to be. Like when we were campers, you know what I mean?

[Kailyn]

They said it was 12 years ago. It was like 2013, which also was when I was a counselor at camp. So a little bit of a different time, but not that different of a time.

[Investigator Slater]

No, not that I was a counselor, but I was a counselor like 13 years before that. You know what I mean? Yeah, that was. That was a little bit of a old school type of vibe, in retrospect, you know what I mean?

[Kailyn]

Oh, I bet. I bet. Yeah. I'm curious. Anyone who's listening if you send your kids to camp. Cause I know we have a lot of listeners with children like, or also a lot of listeners that probably were campers. Like I. Summer camp scary stories are some of my favorite scary stories that exist. So I am curious what your scariest camp stories are. Anyone who's listening.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah.

[Kailyn]

And you worked at a camp and you still send your kids to camp, so that's a good sign.

[Investigator Slater]

Exactly.

[Kailyn]

Like, we've seen how the sausage is made there. We know how hungover those 19 year olds are while they're watching kids swim and you still, you know. And so. Yeah, it's just part of it, I guess. All right, Want to get to the next one?

[Investigator Slater]

Okay. The next story is titled careful what you say at breakfast in a hotel, and the Reddit user is Jazzy Josie. When I was around 22 years old, I had a scary encounter while staying at a hotel for a job. Around 2010, I was working for a traveling photography group that took church directory photos. Each photographer drove separately from all over the place. So I was in Harlan, Iowa at the time and I was staying at a hotel along with other photographers who joined me. I believe there were four of us, two guys, a girl and myself. One morning I went to breakfast and I was watching the TV in the hotel breakfast area. Someone was also down there nearby, a guy. When he looked at me, I said good morning, as I do wherever I go, just to be friendly. He said it back and we had just a polite exchange, something you would do with a stranger you never thought you would see again. He mentioned he was staying there with his team for a construction job. I go to leave and I say something very casual like, have a good one, see you later. He said something like, we would hang later. I didn't think anything of it. I just brushed it off like, yeah, maybe. I don't remember if it was the same day or not, as I didn't work until 11am we tend to work from like 11am to 10pm, give or take, depending on the size of the church, et cetera. I decided to go take a nap since I didn't sleep well the night before. While lying in my room, I kept receiving phone calls to my room phone. I wasn't used to getting calls like that ever, so I just picked up. I would say hello, but nobody would answer. After a few times, I eventually took the receiver off and placed it beside the phone so it would just stop ringing. When it was time to get up and leave, I left my room and saw the guy was there in the hall. I waved casually, still not thinking anything of it. He asked where I was going and I said I had to go to work. My friend showed up, the female photographer, and I went with her to her car. As I was going to ride with her to the church, I told her about getting strange phone calls and she mentioned that she did as well. Later that night, there was a thunderstorm. Of course there was a thunderstorm. My photographer group and I stood by the hotel lobby door watching all the lightning. It was thundering and it was extremely dark. There were chances for tornadoes. So we were keeping tabs with each other. Eventually, I go to my room for the night and I hear a knock on my door. I really didn't want to answer it. However, I did, cracking the door to see who it was. It was the guy. He talked about how I said we could hang out. And I told him I was too tired after working all day and that I needed to sit. I shut the door. Now, I can't remember if this was the next morning or a still night, but I recall him knocking again, but I wouldn't answer. I pretended to either be out or sleeping. I called my mom and I started talking to her. I told her what was happening, and although I was scared, I almost acted like I wasn't when I was speaking with her. Suddenly, I had a weird feeling. I whispered to my mom, mom, hold on a second. I need to check something. I tiptoe as quietly as I can over to my room door. I look out the peephole and I see him and then see him turn his head to my door as if he was listening for something. My heart started to pound. It said raised, but I wanted to say pound for obvious reasons. I then saw him move to the side. You know how the wall sometimes goes in for the doors so there's like an indentation in the hallway for each room? Well, he goes to the wall away from the room that juts out. I think he thought he was hiding because he would try to lean his head around the corner out of the jut as if he was listening for something. I walked to the furthest side of my room quietly and I whisper to my mom about how I'm scared. I called the front desk to complain, which is what my mom suggested. I can't remember if I also texted my friend or called her, but she also complained to the front desk about the various phone calls that she received. Eventually, we were given new rooms and the construction group manager was told by the hotel about one of his guys. And that creepy guy was told to stay away from us. I even told some of the church people about the situation and they all said if we needed to stay with them, we could. All very nice, but still all strangers to me. And I didn't trust anyone at that point. I'm not sure what happened to him as I didn't see him after that. I was a little jealous of my friend because she ended up with a hot tub in her room and I didn't, but it was fine. However, after that, I was more aware and careful with who I talked to and what I said, and that's the story.

[Kailyn]

I think the scariest thing for me, because this is something that reading and listening to, like, survivors of stalking talk about their experiences. Usually when they're saying, like, how the interactions began or, like, how the stalking started. How did this person become obsessed with you? It's always some really mundane story like that. Like, this guy at breakfast asked me a question, I responded, and all of a sudden he, like, hyper fixated on me. I remember there was one girl, I was listening to her story, and she just had a class with this guy, and he just sat behind her and became obsessed with her. And she had no idea for years. And then it wasn't until, like, five years that he started, like, trying to contact her. But it had started, like, way earlier than she knew about. But that is a huge fear that you could just be nice to someone and say something and they'd, like, hyper fixate on you.

[Investigator Slater]

It is, it is. But again, you. What? Are you supposed to not say hello to a stranger? Of course no. And I know that's not what you're saying. I'm just kind of like, riffing, like, you know, what kind of world would we live in, right? Like, if we did not say hello to each other, if we didn't talk about the weather passing by, you know what I mean? It's just. It's just rolling the dice, unfortunately, right? Like, chances are you are not going to encounter a stalker. Statistically speaking, the guy next to you is not a serial killer. It's just a damn shame when he is.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, Yeah. I just went back and revisited. Did you ever. I think it was also a Reddit post, but this woman had so many receipts. She uploaded, like, this whole journal. But she basically went on vacation. She had just quit her job. And in like, the week since she quit, she went on vacation. And when she gets back, she gets a call from the police, and they say, hey, we just wanted you to know we arrested someone outside of your building and they were waiting for you. And she's like, what the heck? And the police go on to explain to her that the guy they arrested outside of her building, first of all, he had rope, he had duct tape, he had all this stuff. His plan was to kidnap her. Oh, my God. It was a guy from her previous job. She had never spoken to him, not even one single time. Over the years she had worked there for maybe two years. He had kept a journal of every day. What she was wearing, what she said, how she looked, who she Interacted with. And it was completely all invented in his mind. Like, I know that you wore this because, you know, I love this shirt the most. Like, I know you're thinking of our future children when you do these things. And they, they. She ended up uploading some of this journal to Reddit or like, it was like imgur or wherever she like, had uploaded the journal to, so you could read it in like the guy's handwriting. And it was so scary, just the amount. And she had no idea the entire time. Not until he was getting arrested outside of her building.

[Investigator Slater]

That's terrifying. I'm researching a case right now. I'm recording it in a couple days from now. So it's not out at the time of this recording. Serial killer Joel Rifkin, Long island serial killer. And he went on to kill 17 women horrifically. But it sort of. He had a whole background. So I'm not doing the story justice. Definitely go over to Cyclopedia to hear that case. Cause it's gonna be an in depth two parter. But the short of the long is he went through an internship where he met a woman. Never even spoke to the woman. But he developed this whole relationship with her in his head. And then he also developed her slighting him and rejecting him. In his head. They never spoke a word to each other. It's possible this woman didn't even know that Joel Rifkin existed. But in his head, she rejected me. And that was like the straw that broke the camel's back for him. And after that, he was like, it's time for me to take control back and to sort of like put these women in their place.

[Kailyn]

Oh my gosh. And it. It was like not even a real slight. Like no one had ever. And he still felt the need to go and do that.

[Investigator Slater]

He had been slighted in life by loads of people. When he was a child, he was bullied relentlessly by boys, girls. So it wasn't specific to women. But the way it manifested with Joel Rifkin, I mean, he started developing these really twisted fantasies in his mind that featured exclusively women. And then just the way all of the chips fell, you know, nature, nurture, like the whole storm kind of came together and he became a ruthless. Actually New York's most prolific known serial killer. Wow.

[Kailyn]

And he. So he was also in Long Island. But he's not Rex Heuerman, the other Long island serial killer.

[Investigator Slater]

He's not. That's why I say the original Long island serial killer. No, he's not Rex Heuerman. But he's, you know, he. He actually, I'm from Long Island. That's. And I'm here still. So all of his hunting grounds and whatnot are, like, paths that I take on the regular roads that I drive daily. It's wild. It's just. It. It's not just like that. This case hits home. It is home. So it's really extra eerie for me.

[Kailyn]

Yeah, yeah. You can see the spots and, like, perfectly. Yeah, perfectly, Definitely. That is very scary. I actually. Wait, you said that episode's out now?

[Investigator Slater]

I'm recording it two days from now, so by the time this episode releases, it will be out.

[Kailyn]

Okay, great. I am very. Cause I had never heard of him before, so I'm definitely gonna check that one out because that sounds absolutely terrifying.

[Investigator Slater]

It is.

[Kailyn]

Well, that is all I have for you today. These were our creepy encounters. But also, like we said, this was a very big trust your intuition episode.

[Investigator Slater]

Yes, agree. This was crazy fun. Kaylin, thank you so much.

[Kailyn]

Thank you so much for coming on. No, seriously, I love having you on. My audience loves you. They love Psychopedia and everyone who doesn't listen to Psychopedia, go check it out. We talked about some of the episodes and I'll link some of those in the description so people can go straight there. And you have a new show that you're working on too, is that right?

[Investigator Slater]

Yes, yes, a new podcast. It's called Girl on Gore.

[Kailyn]

Love the title already.

[Investigator Slater]

Thank you. It's sort of this plunge into the not so true crime genre. That's what I'm calling it. It's a. It's like a fictional bloodbath laced with forensic facts and, like, pitch black humor. Basically, it's created and written and hosted by me. And it's, you know, it's going to be a series that I drop on the Cyclopedia feed. So anybody who's subscribed to Cyclopedia will see the notifications that that will be dropping in the end of July. Now's a good time to say if you're not subscribed to Psychopedia, maybe go ahead and do that so you don't miss all this stuff. But it's going to be a series about this really, really dark true crime, or, excuse me, not true crime, true crime adjacent. Because I pull in a lot of true crime elements and true crime cases and real forensic facts and real legalese and things of that nature, but the plot itself is completely made up, so it's this mesh.

[Kailyn]

Oh, interesting.

[Investigator Slater]

Okay, so it's fiction it's fiction with nonfiction elements.

[Kailyn]

I love that.

[Investigator Slater]

If that makes sense. It's. Yeah, it kind of hits. Hits all areas that I'm passionate about.

[Kailyn]

I'm excited to check that out. I.

[Investigator Slater]

Thank you.

[Kailyn]

I am excited to check that out. I think that's going to be really interesting. Yeah. Because you do such a good job with that series talking about, like, the nitty gritty of those jobs that people don't really know how they work.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah. Yeah. And they. You know, I really believe the people that are, like, literally and metaphorically getting their hands dirty are the ones who know the most about the crime itself.

[Kailyn]

Yes.

[Investigator Slater]

So I kind of.

[Kailyn]

So true.

[Investigator Slater]

Play off that thinking a little bit in two minutes or less on socials, but the Girl on Gore podcast is gonna allow me to expand on that.

[Kailyn]

Wow. I love that. No, that's a great idea. Okay, so everyone can check that out. It's gonna be dropped on the Psychopedia feed. So if you're already subscribed to Psychopedia, you'll see it in the feed. If not, go check it out.

[Investigator Slater]

Yeah. And thank you to everyone who listened to me on your show today. I appreciate everyone.

[Kailyn]

Yeah. And I can't wait till the next time.

[Investigator Slater]

Thank you. This was awesome.

[Kailyn]

Perfect. And anyone who's listening, wherever you listen, let us know, too, like, any trust your intuition moments that you had. Because I'm really curious to hear from the community what they're big. Like, trusting their gut, trusting their. Like, anytime you got, like, a feeling where you knew something was off. Because I think we can all learn a little bit from those kinds of stories. All right, thanks, guys.

[Investigator Slater]

Thank you.