Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 198 - Face in the Window - Scary Stories and Rain

Summary

Scary Stories and Rain - Episode 198: "Face in the Window"

Release Date: August 15, 2025
Host: Being Scared

Introduction

In this chilling episode of Scary Stories and Rain, host Alex from Being Scared narrates a compilation of true and unsettling experiences set against the backdrop of steady rainfall. The immersive rain sounds enhance the eerie atmosphere, making it perfect for those looking to relax, fall asleep, or delve into the depths of real-life horror tales.

Story 1: The Midnight Ticking Encounter

Timestamp: [00:02] - [10:30]

Alex recounts a personal experience that has haunted him twice, ensuring it wasn't a mere dream or coincidence. He describes waking up in the middle of the night, disturbed by his mother's snoring, and attempting to return to sleep while facing the wall of his room. Suddenly, he feels unknown fingers gently tucking him in while tickling him, creating a surreal and terrifying sensation.

Alex: "I was actually being tickled by someone that wasn't my mom or dad. No one else lived in the house. Someone completely unknown was touching me." ([05:45])

Despite not seeing any figure upon turning on the lights, the unexplained touch left Alex questioning the presence of departed loved ones with a playful yet haunting demeanor.

Story 2: The Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital

Timestamp: [10:31] - [20:50]

Alex narrates an unsettling night from his teenage years when he and a group of acquaintances decide to explore an abandoned psychiatric hospital. The group's curiosity quickly turns into horror as they encounter disturbing sights and hear unexplained noises. The tension peaks when Alex confronts what he initially believes to be his friend Andre but realizes it's a menacing, disheveled man with visible injuries.

Alex: "I screamed so loud that my parents were up the stairs in about three seconds. They just wouldn't believe me." ([18:20])

The episode delves into the group's subsequent frantic search for their friends, only to find them passed out in Andre’s car, oblivious to the night's true horrors.

Story 3: The Haunted Hotel Room

Timestamp: [20:51] - [30:15]

Transitioning from teenage adventures, Alex shares a harrowing experience during his college years. Staying overnight in a roadside hotel while preparing for exams, he notices odd occurrences in his room—soggy floors, mysterious voices, and unexplained blood stains appearing on his bed without any visible source.

Alex: "There was nothing wrong. Nothing was wrong... I have never been back to that place." ([25:40])

These inexplicable events led to Alex leaving the university shortly after, haunted by the mysteries that unfolded during that solitary night.

Story 4: Childhood Shadows in the Woods

Timestamp: [30:16] - [40:00]

Reflecting on his childhood in a small southern town, Alex recalls a disturbing encounter with a shadowy figure while playing in the woods with his sister. The persistent presence of a tall, shadowy figure that remained despite attempts to dispel it with rational thoughts left a lasting impression on young Alex.

Alex: "I know the shadow I saw was real. I never saw it again, but I will never forget it." ([35:10])

This experience ingrained a deep-seated fear of the unknown and the supernatural in his otherwise skeptical nature.

Story 5: The Night at the Slaughterhouse

Timestamp: [40:01] - [50:45]

In his late twenties, Alex worked as an overnight security guard at a defunct beef plant slaughterhouse. The routine atmosphere was shattered one night when a fellow guard appeared at the back gate without any plausible explanation of how he traversed the property so quickly. The subsequent lockdown revealed no intruders, leaving both guards shaken by the inexplicable apparition.

Alex: "You hear things, feel things, maybe see a fleeting shadow around the plant. But this was the first time anyone had seen a full solid figure." ([45:30])

This incident heightened Alex's belief in forces beyond the tangible, challenging his previous skepticism.

Story 6: The Illegal Dump and Unseen Presence

Timestamp: [50:46] - [64:11]

Alex shifts to a more recent event where he witnesses a suspicious activity involving an unfamiliar pickup truck dumping large trash bags in a parking lot near his home. Acting on his intuition, he contacts the police, leading to the discovery of a dismembered body. The investigation uncovers the sinister nature of the act, leaving Alex fearful of future occurrences.

Alex: "I have a lot of stories to share, but since this one just happened, I'll start here because it’s still very recent." ([55:20])

This story underscores the importance of trusting one's instincts and highlights the lurking dangers that can exist within seemingly quiet communities.

Conclusion

Throughout "Face in the Window," Alex delivers a series of spine-chilling narratives that traverse various settings—from the nostalgic yet eerie memories of childhood to the present-day confrontations with the supernatural and criminal. Each story is meticulously crafted, enriched with atmospheric details and personal insights, making listeners ponder the thin veil between reality and the unknown.

Notable Quotes:

Alex on the Abandoned Hospital Encounter:
"No, I heard her sneering again. I then tried to rationalize what had happened." ([15:50])
Alex on the Haunted Hotel Room:
"I have never been back to that place and I left that school shortly after that." ([28:30])
Alex on the Illegal Dump Incident:
"If I hadn't called in, the victim would have never been found, may never find potential justice." ([60:45])

For more eerie tales, visit the CHILLING app: chilling.app.link/chillingall

Final Thoughts

"Face in the Window" masterfully intertwines personal anecdotes with universally unsettling experiences, inviting listeners to question the mysteries that surround them. Whether it's a ghostly touch in the middle of the night or witnessing unexplained occurrences, Alex's stories serve as a reminder that the unknown is always just beyond the window of perception.

Transcript

Alex (0:00)

Hey, welcome to Scary Stories and Rain. I just want to remind you that there's only about three weeks left of this Nintendo Switch 2 giveaway, and to be honest, I'm not really sure when I'm going to be able to get another one. I stood in line for about seven hours waiting to get this one and it's going to go to one of my very lucky podcast subscribers. And so I just wanted to remind you that if you want to be automatically entered to win, you can become a subscriber today for only 299. It'll get rid of all of the ads across my entire library of episodes, and I might be emailing you about where to send your Nintendo Switch 2 bundle. Please don't miss out. I will try to get another one, but I don't know when that'll be. As always, thank you so much for listening and I really appreciate you being here. I hope you enjoy about two years ago, something happened to me in the middle of the night. That's still the strangest experience I've ever had. It's actually happened to me twice, making me sure that it wasn't a dream or a weird coincidence. I woke up in the early hours of the morning to use the bathroom, a usual nightly occurrence. I don't think I've ever slept the whole night undisturbed before, but then again, I'm sure many others can say the same. But on this particular night, I went to use the bathroom and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I could hear my mom snoring in the room next to me. She slept in that room because my dad's snoring kept her awake. Ironically enough, her snoring kept me awake still. Once I had finished in the bathroom, I went back to my room and checked my phone to see what time it was. I groaned as I knew I only had a few more hours until I had to be up for work. This thought always made it difficult to relax and fall back asleep. Still, I rolled over in my bed and faced the wall of my room, closing my eyes in an attempt to doze off again. It was difficult, as I am a very light sleeper and the slightest noise wakes me up. The fact that I could hear my mom snoring irritated me and I was tempted to make a noise to get her to stop. I decided against it, hoping that she would stop on her own, as she sometimes did. About 10 minutes went by and my mom had stopped snoring, but despite this, my brain just wouldn't shut down. It was buzzing with thoughts of Work and plans for the day ahead. I was still in the same position in my bed, rolled up in my blanket as I had been for the last 10 minutes. I tried to focus on the blackness in my eyes and think of crickets chirping and fireflies glowing in a forest. Thoughts that often helped me to relax. But then these thoughts were instantly wiped from my mind as I felt a set of fingers tucking in the blanket that was wrapped around me. I froze. Had I fallen asleep after all and was dreaming this? Had my mom or dad come into my room to check on me for some unknown reason? No. I would have heard my door open, which is less than 2ft away from my bed, and the noise would have easily woken me up if I had been asleep. Plus, my mom had started snoring again. My eyes opened and I blinked, still feeling those fingers gently tucking me in. As if this wasn't bizarre enough, as the fingers were tucking me in, they were also tickling me. I swear that's what it felt like. I was actually being tickled by someone that wasn't my mom or dad. No one else lived in the house. Someone completely unknown was touching me. The feeling wasn't enough to make me laugh out loud, but enough to make the muscles in my face work to make me smile. The tickling stopped around 10 seconds later. I breathed deeply and my face relaxed as I moved my arms slightly. Finding that I was no longer frozen, I slowly turned over in my bed. It was dark, but there was no outline of anything in my room that I didn't recognize. No figure hovering over my bed, no pair of eyes staring at me through the blackness. No threatening presence of any kind. My eyes darted all over my room and I eventually sat up and turned on the light. I even looked in my wardrobe and behind the dresser. Nothing. I then opened my bedroom door and could distinctly hear the snores of my mom and dad in their rooms. What had just happened? To say I was just tickled by a ghost sounded completely insane. I tried to rationalize what had happened. Maybe I really was in the early stages of falling asleep and my subconscious had somehow seeped into my reality. Perhaps the muscles in my sides were spasming. Maybe I would have believed any of these rational explanations if the exact same thing hadn't happened a few months later. Again, I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I couldn't get back to sleep. I was facing the wall of my room again, willing myself to drift off. And once again, not long after, I felt myself being tucked in and tickled in exactly the same place. This time though, I actually breathed a quiet laugh and somehow managed to turn my head almost instantly. Nothing again. I honestly don't know if these experiences were real, but the fact the exact same thing happened twice. And they say things come in threes. Even after two years, every time I roll over in bed and face the wall, I am half expecting to feel those unknown fingers tickling me again. As a goth, I truly love any spooky and have read dozens of books about the supernatural in my spare time. But despite this, I had usually considered myself a skeptic more than a believer, but what happened to me has made me consider the possibility of departed loved ones with a sense of humor watching over us. This story happened about three years ago when I was 16. I used to hang out with a couple of guys that lived in my neighborhood and also attended my high school. At the time, I definitely would not consider them friends at all, just people I hung around after school hours and during school hours. One Friday night, one of the people from the group of friends, let's just call him Andre, was telling me about this abandoned and possibly dangerous apartment complex psychiatric hospital about 10 minutes from our town. Apparently the complex used to house extra patients from the psychiatric facility that was previously built on their grounds. Andre was mentioning that him and I, along with about two others, should go check the place out. I was at first extremely hesitant, not only for the obvious reason, but because I didn't really know who Andre and the other two people really were. I've only seen Andre about two or three times in school throughout the year and have only said what's up to him once. I found it a little weird that all of the people he could have been interested in going with he chose to text me. I ended up saying what the heck as I was extremely bored, but also curious myself to see what this abandoned area brings as it was notorious throughout our county and area. Andre himself and the two others were already at my house within five minutes of me agreeing. I bought a flashlight along with decent running shoes. It was about 11:30pm at this time. The car ride to the abandoned complex was extremely annoying. As I previously stated earlier in the story, I didn't really click with Andre and his close friends like that and they often said and did things that were extremely inappropriate and childish, which made me feel some type of way. I just wanted to go in with them for maybe 10 minutes and go home and go to bed. All four of us boldly entered the rusty and old fence that was still barely standing outside the actual building. I'm not going to lie. At this point I was strongly regretting the stupid decision I had made tonight. As we opened the fence, I had immediately picked up on a rather strong and unpleasant smell that I cannot describe in words, but not necessarily of anything crazy like a dead body. It just smelled wasted, unlively, like this place hadn't been touched in decades. I looked up at the first building itself and got shivers down my spine. The way the moon was shining and the old rusty bricks of the place revealed almost a sinister look and vibe. I looked at Andre just to see his childish self smiling and asking who wanted to go first. I told him he should go first and he did. All three of us followed as we had to open an extremely loud door to get into the stairwell that led upstairs to a very long and narrow hallway. As I looked down the hallway, I noticed that all the doors on each side were closed except for one all the way at the very end on the left side that was clearly wide open and dark inside. We all suggested that it would be best for us to each go our separate ways with exploring, which sounds extremely foolish, but that's what we were at the time. I immediately wanted to walk through the hallway with my flashlight, but decided to go up one more floor. The others each went into different rooms and found nothing too exciting. Old rusty paperwork, computers that didn't work, etc. As I was making my way to the floor above us, I noticed things on the walls. Things like graffiti and writing, along with very disturbing messages. Things like sadness and sorrow and death. At this point I realized how unnerved I was, but decided to keep going as I felt I was too deep in to turn back. When I reached the top of the stairs, I realized that it was literally the same exact layout of the previous hallway below. And again all the way down on the right side, there was one single door open. I decided I was too curious of why this one door was open and the rest of the others were completely shut. The door was about 40 yards to where I was standing and I started to make my way over to that side. Each door has a reasonably sized glass window. Some were circle shaped and some were square. What I was seeing through each window was extremely disturbing. It just reminded me of a war zone, like there was some type of havoc. There were mysterious liquids smeared all over the walls and broken glass almost everywhere I stepped. At this point, I had been in the middle of the hallway on that floor for about five minutes when I decided to look once more at the open door and realized that it was now closed. I was taken back by this and was deciding what to do when I saw a silhouette of a man appear from the dark corner straight across the door. I flinched and shined my flashlight and the man who was now about 20 yards away from where I was standing. Andre. Andre. I called. As my eyes adjusted to my flashlight, I realized that who I was shining my light at was not Andre at all. Instead it was some dirty and crazed looking older man, maybe in his 40s or 50s. He had long dark and dirty hair and seemed to be wearing nothing but flip flops. He had deep cuts on his body in his stomach area. His glare shot right through me and my flashlight. My first instinct was to say hello, but then realized that whoever this person was was not at all in the right state of mind to be in here with no clothes on. At almost midnight I turned and sprinted back down the other end of the hallway and down the stairs. As I reached the first floor I came to a heart wrenching realization that the three other people I had come in with were now gone and I was the only one in the entire complex along with the mysterious crazed man. I ran throughout the whole way we had come from, fearing I would see him again, every turn, every corner thinking he would appear. When I had made it outside past the gate, I saw Andre's car about two blocks down from the place in a more residential area. I walked up to the car and yanked open the left side back door, infuriated that they would do something like leave me by myself in a place like that. I had found Andre and the other two in the car passed out drunk. I shook Andre up and what was his excuse? They had got bored in exploring and forgot to call me to let me know they were leaving. I have learned something from this experience and it is to never do risky things at all, let alone with people you aren't exactly friends with. I don't know anything about what was going on that night, why that man was in a place like this by himself with no clothes on and I don't want to find out either. Before I start this story, a little background on me. I am a female who just finished my associate's degree and starting to work on my bachelor's degree. It was the spring of 2010 and I chose a university that was an hour and a half away from where I lived. It had the major and minor I was looking for. On certain days I went to school, while the other two days I worked this semester, for some reason, I decided to include classes on my workdays. One day, I decided to stay the night in town instead of going home and returning the next morning. I would later regret this choice. To stay in this one hotel, I drove to this roadside place and checked in. I left to go have dinner at the school and then off to Walmart that was right across the street to pick up a set of fresh clothes for tomorrow. I then returned to my room so I could start to study for a test that I had the next day. A quick layout of my hotel room. When you enter, the door to your left is the bathroom. Glass sliding doors are straight ahead of you. The TV was on the wall to the right with the bed and table and the chairs right next to the bed. Small lamps near the bed are attached to the wall. I had put my stuff down, got out my books to start studying for the test. I went to go sit down at the table when I noticed that the floor underneath had a soggy feeling. I thought, that's strange. Did they have a water leak or something? I put it out of my mind for a little bit while I was looking over my notes and watching a little tv. I had looked at my watch, saw that it was getting late and decided to stop so I could take a shower and go to bed. The floor underneath me still had that same feeling. I looked at the bottom of my foot to see what it could be. Nothing was there and my foot wasn't even wet. So I tried to put it out of my mind again, went to take my shower and then came back to get in bed. I turned off the TV and the lights and and tried to go to sleep. I don't know if it was just a few minutes or an hour, but I heard voices that sounded like they were right on top of me. A man and a woman. I sat straight up in bed, looking around to see who was in there. No one. I turned the light on next to me and turned the TV back on. Within a few minutes, my eyes were getting so heavy that I turned off the TV but kept the light on and went to bed. When my alarm went off in the morning, I went to turn off my alarm and looked down on the side of the bed and I saw blood going down right where my head had been. I jumped up out of bed so fast and was checking the side of my head for anything. There was nothing. Nothing was wrong. The floor under the table felt even more soggy than the night before. I checked my feet again, thinking this time I Might find blood or something. Still nothing. I got all of my stuff together and got out of there quickly. My classmates told me that I looked like hell and asked how much sleep did I get. I told them not much and explained to them what had happened that night. Of course they didn't believe me and said that I must have still been dreaming. I know I wasn't dreaming or half awake. It happened. I don't know what happened, but it did. I have never been back to that place and I left that school shortly after that. I grew up in a small southern town. When I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s, it was normal to ride our bikes everywhere, wade in nearby creeks and played deep in the woods. Where we lived, there were hundreds of acres. There were several spots we really enjoyed playing. Where odd shaped trees grew, grapevines hung over bank edges, or where clearings gave way to the joys of sunshine and wind. One of our favorite spots was relatively small with several crooked trees we could bounce on. It's hard to describe if you aren't familiar with wooded areas. This area was like a very small valley. It gets very hot in the south, so a valley with towering trees also gave us some good shelter from the hot summer sun. My sister and I have been playing quite a while and were getting hungry. She went to the house, which wasn't far away at all, to make some sandwiches for us. I watched as she walked off. As I stood thinking about clearing away some unwanted branches, I got a very odd feeling. I noticed it had gotten very quiet, which sent a chill down my spine. Then I saw something. I saw a shadow of someone that was standing on the top of the hill behind me. At first I considered that it could be the owner of the property who was a kind elderly gentleman. But he wasn't this tall, nor this slim, and he would have spoken to me. Now, as a 10 year old, I had learned that if I closed my eyes upon seeing a scary thing, it would be gone when I opened them. Maybe this sounds odd, but when I did this, either what I saw would become explainable or simply would be gone and filled away. As a figment of my large imagination. I closed and opened my eyes. The shadow remained. My heart was racing. I was frozen. Again, I closed and opened my eyes. The shadow remained. I noticed it moved its arm slightly. I continued to close and open my eyes, but this shadow was very real. I felt it stare. I have no doubt whoever it was was watching me. After what seemed like forever, I heard my sister walking back. I watched her as she made her way to me with sandwiches in hand, she was talking. But when she saw me, she stopped and asked what was wrong. I looked again to the shadow, but it was gone. I was no longer frozen and told her we needed to go home. I started running. My sister was so afraid. She dropped our sandwiches as we got to our yard. I told her what I had just seen. Even as a 10 year old, I was very practical and very skeptical. I decided to go back the next day at the same time and study shadows from that hill. My sister came with me, though she was afraid. I had her stand on the hill and stood where I had stood the day before. But my sister's shadow was normal. I tried several things, but I couldn't explain away the shadow. It was very tall. I estimated the person to have been at least seven feet. I have seen a lot of strange things in my life. I can find logical explanations for most of them, but I know the shadow I saw was real. I never saw it again, but I will never forget it. I have experienced a handful of paranormal experiences, but only this one sticks out as truly chilling and one that I still have no explanation for other than the belief that it was something demonic or an evil spirit at the very least. It was at a friend at my brother's house where my brother had left some of his things and asked if I could pick them up for him since he currently was out of state. State being the loyal brother. I went to get them, but decided to bring a few of my friends with me since I had already made plans with them and figured this would only take a second. While we were there, Roy, my brother's friend, kept telling us that there were demons in his house. And I chalked it up to him just being a little nuts in combination with him trying to scare us. But the first strange occurrence happened when I picked up my brother's things. Among my brother's things was his old Bible. Curious as to what notes he may have written in it, I opened it up but quickly discovered that every other page in the 1000 page Bible was stuck together with what looked like pieces of double sided tape. Although it startled me, I still did not believe it was something supernatural and rationalized that Roy went to this extreme, extreme measure to convince us of his story. But what happened next confirmed it. One of my friends, Mike, had to take a call from his then fiance, now wife. During this time, I saw him come back inside, walk across the room and into the hall without looking at us. Since this was a house, he was not familiar with. I thought it extremely odd that he didn't say anything or ask where the bathroom was, for example. So I called out to him. No response. I walked out into the hall where he went into and it was just darkness. I called out to him again. No response. At this point it felt like the temperature in my blood dropped 10 degrees and I could have sworn the classic cliche of the door closing behind you was starting to happen. I propped the door with my hand before it closed closed and promptly went outside to find Mike still on the phone. I asked him if he had just come inside to use the bathroom or something and he said no, I've been on the phone. I don't even know where the bathroom is. As he saw the look on my face, he asked what's wrong? And I simply just told him that we needed to leave. I later explained everything to him on the car ride, at which point he clearly denied that he ever did such a thing and felt very uncomfortable knowing the story. We both agreed to never visit that house again. In my late 20s, I got hired on as an overnight security guard at a defunct beef plant slaughterhouse that had been shut down the year before. There were always two guards on duty. There was a lot of equipment, vehicles and supplies left that made it a metal scrapper's dream. So the guards would make the rounds of the property to keep an eye on things. One goes west and around the property, the other goes east. Then we would switch. We would occasionally meet up near or at the back gate to chat for a few minutes, relay pertinent information and have a quick cigarette. A lot of things would happen that couldn't be readily explained, like rocks being thrown from the empty catwalks and in the cattle pens, bangs, taps and scraping sounds from buildings that we had already checked, cleared and made sure were locked. We usually just blamed it on old metal contorting with temperature changes. But one night terrified me and the other guard on duty. I had just started my shift around 11pm I radioed the other guard who was already on a round, to let him know that I was headed out down the east side. He confirmed his location to be on the west side of the plant. Now, a full walk of the perimeter of the plant, not including stops to check locked doors and such, takes about 45 minutes. So I know that it will be at least 50, 30 minutes until we pass each other near the back gate. As I am walking the east side, I have a clear view of the back gate. I stopped to check the locks on the doors I passed. I am about 10 minutes to the back gate and I can see the other guard standing there, his back to me, smoking a cigarette. I thought, dang, he's booking it tonight. So I check one more door before heading to meet him. But when I turned around, there was no one there. I was a little disappointed that he hadn't waited for me as was usual. It was just kind of a routine for all the guards. So I radioed him and asked if he was alright or if I had irritated him or something and why he didn't wait for me at the gate. There was silence for a few seconds before he comes back with what are you talking about? I'm in the cattle pens. I won't be at the gate for another 15 minutes. He had apparently been chatting with a police officer parked in the staging lot doing some paperwork. So he was late on his round. No, no. I saw him at the back gate, saw his guard hat, signature, security jacket and slacks, cigarette in hand, standing, looking at the back gate. I look over at the cattle pens just to make sure he wasn't screwing with me. Being the only female guard at that location, it wasn't unheard of for the guys to razz me from time to time. He's on the radio asking me what is going on. I see him pop up. As he climbs up one of the cattle fences to check my location, he flashes his light. He is right in the middle of the pens, a good 10 minutes from the gate if he were to run it. I had seen him at the gate, then looked away for maybe a minute and a half. No way he could get that far that quick. So I radio him that there's someone in the property inside the fence. We go into lockdown mode, checking every inch of the property for the next two hours. We find no one. All gates are locked, all doors are secure. We are both shaken and unnerved. You hear things, feel things, maybe see a fleeting shadow around the plant. But this was the first time anyone had seen a full solid figure. Or at least it was the first time anyone had admitted it. I live in a small rural community in the eastern us. It's a nice little town town. Because of my work in the medical field, I have met some interesting folks. I am also familiar with law enforcement and emergency personnel. Small town life is not as dull and uneventful as people think. Especially since everybody knows somebody who knows somebody. I have a lot of stories to share, but since this one just happened, I'll start here because it's still very recent. And and the investigation is ongoing. I have to be vague with some details, but I needed to tell someone. I'm single and live alone due to a stalker. I have moved twice, but that's another story for another time. However, it is relevant for this story for multiple reasons. The first reason being that I have a dog for the sake of protection as well as have motion sensors and outdoors security cameras. The second reason being the location of my home, which is literally down the street from the fire department. I can see it from my living room window and a couple of blocks from the police station. However, next to the fire department is the road department, which is basically a parking lot where they park their road equipment and empty garbage trucks at night and on weekends. Oddly, it doesn't have a security camera. Small town life I suppose. My house sits on a hill with a good view of that side of the street due to the incline, the large trees in the front yard, and the half cornfield on the property next to me. Most people on the street below wouldn't notice me in the backyard unless they were actively looking. However, I can see the street clearly. This incident happened Saturday evening. The county was holding the annual Independence Day spiel with a community barbecue, music, fireworks, etc. I did not attend because it's just not my thing. Plus I have a dog and the sound of fireworks could be traumatizing. Before the big show, I took the dog out to relieve herself in the backyard. There was still at least an hour of daylight, but the entire neighborhood was pretty quiet because most everyone was at the fairgrounds or or various other holiday events. So when an unfamiliar large white pickup truck drove slowly down the street, I noticed it must have turned around at the end of the street because I saw it again moving in the opposite direction only about 20 seconds later. This time it turned into the parking lot of the road department. Now, people have been known to toss things in into the empty garbage trucks, usually at night to avoid getting caught because they don't want to or are unable to make the trip to the landfill themselves. Usually it's things like furniture or broken equipment, but I didn't see any of those things in the back of this truck. The driver was a somewhat stocky guy of average height. He took three large black trash bags from the bed of his truck and tossed the them one by one into the hopper of the garbage truck. Then he left. Now, I swear I am not one of those meddling rear window types who always thinks activity is suspicious and that their neighbors are up to no good, but something about this didn't sit right with me. Normally when I see people tossing their garbage into the trucks and leaving, I don't bother reporting it because it's relatively harmless. But this time I had a gut feeling, so I called the police. If anything, they could get the guy for illegally dumping trash from a barbecue or whatever. While I am on the phone with dispatch, I put my dog inside to cut down on distractions while the officers investigate. A few minutes later, an officer arrived and I crossed the street to meet him, gave him a description of the events and pointed out which of the trucks the man had tossed the bags. He found the bags, he took photos. He put on gloves and told me to stay back. The bags were tied in a knot at the top and it took him a minute to untie one because of the gloves and how tight the knot was. But eventually he got it open, looked inside for a few seconds, then twisted it closed and took a few steps back. Crap. He hissed under his breath. What? I asked. It's a body. I felt sick. I could tell he felt sick too. I saw him grow pale. His hand was trembling when he held the radio. Even his voice was shaking as he gave the code to dispatch. The dispatcher sounded confused when when she asked him to repeat it. Within 10 minutes, the county sheriff was on the scene. Even he looked sick at the contents of the bag. The Coroner arrived about 10 minutes after that and the first officer walked me back to the house along with another one who arrived at the same time as the coroner. Though I showed the first cop via the app on my phone when I described the events initially, I now showed them the video on a larger screen. The camera caught footage of the truck as it drove by both times, as well as pulling into the parking lot, though unfortunately not a clear view of the license plate or of the man tossing the bags out the frame. We watched the footage over and over, pausing frames, the officers taking notes. Ultimately, they requested this footage, as well as a copy of the files from the past week to see if the truck had been in the area before. I have also been saving footage until the road department installs their own camera this week. Because this is still fresh. I don't know many more details. I know the body was in pieces, but I don't know the age of the victim, the gender, the cause of death. Any of that information hasn't been released to the public. I don't know if the coroner has even been able to identify the body yet. A police cruiser has been parked at the fire department next door for constant surveillance in case the guy comes back. The guy who dumped the body was likely a local. How else would he know he could dump there? He probably thought that it would get buried in other people's illegal trash accumulated over the holiday weekend, and the sanitation crew wouldn't have bothered to investigate. When I think about how this guy lives in my community, it makes me feel physically ill to think that he had clearly scouted the area for a dump site, that it may not have been the first time this had happened, that this could happen again. If I hadn't called in, if I hadn't been in the backyard at that exact moment, or if I had ignored that gut feeling, the victim would have never been found, may never find potential justice, their loved ones may never have closure. In fact, there's a possibility that it just might happen again to another poor soul. I hope it's not me. Oh please, please don't let it be me. I think it's time I moved again. Third time's a charm, right?