Scary Stories and Rain – Episode 226: The Man in the Trench Coat

Podcast Host: Being Scared
Release Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Scary Stories and Rain serves up a medley of chilling, real-life horror stories narrated in the series’ signature calm, measured tone against the comforting backdrop of rainfall. Episode 226, “The Man in the Trench Coat,” encompasses encounters with unnerving strangers, harrowing brushes with danger, and the haunting effects of narrowly averted tragedy—all true, all unsettling, and all meant to keep you suspended between relaxation and unease.

Story Summaries, Insights & Notable Moments

1. The Man in the “Trench Coat”

Timestamps: 02:00–10:40

• Key Points:
  • A 16-year-old female and two male friends meet at a cricket field during COVID-era restrictions.
  • The narrator feels watched by a man sitting alone on a bench; his stare is blatant and unhidden.
  • Her friend DM moves benches, seemingly to avoid the man; as they move, they realize the man isn’t wearing a trench coat, but is nearly naked, save for small underwear, an orange cap, socks, and loafers.
  • Self-defense thoughts flicker in the narrator’s mind (“the body of an electric bass can dispense a pretty heavy blow…” – [06:00]), and the group decides to leave for the safety of her garden.
  • This unsettling, ambiguous threat leaves her feeling fearful of returning to the park.
• Quote:
  • “His skin was so red and burnt from sun that it was the same color as his cap.” (Narrator, 05:20)
  • “It chilled me to my core that he would come to a public park and stare at kids while wearing next to nothing…” (Narrator, 09:50)

2. Hitchhiking Nightmare in California

Timestamps: 10:45–19:25

• Key Points:
  • The narrator, traveling from Canada to Guatemala by hitchhiking, recounts a rare dangerous ride.
  • Picked up by an older couple fresh out of jail and armed ("a pile of guns and bullets on the floor" – 12:02).
  • They smoke meth in the car, offer him some, and detail violent intentions for a money collection.
  • The man tries to recruit the narrator for a marijuana heist with the promise of $20,000.
  • The narrator invents a story about a waiting friend and is eventually dropped off safely, shaken but unharmed.
• Quote:
  • “Say, son, you ever steal something? ‘Cause we could make $20,000 today.” (Driver, 16:12)
  • “Thanks for the offer to steal marijuana plants, but I truly hope I never see you on the side of the road again.” (Narrator, 18:55)

3. The Obsessed Ex-Tenant (“Tim”)

Timestamps: 19:30–28:47

• Key Points:
  • The storyteller moves into a new condo, meets Tim (the former occupant), who soon becomes obsessed.
  • Tim’s behavior escalates from frequent visits and unwanted poetry to disturbing, religiously-tinged rants.
  • Security and police are unhelpful; the situation turns terrifying when Tim breaks in—climbing to the balcony, entering through an open window, and is found completely naked and high on mushrooms, claiming the narrator is the reincarnation of Mary.
  • The narrator moves out immediately.
• Quote:
  • “He told the police that I was the reincarnation of Mary and in order for Jesus Christ to be reborn and save the world, I would need to have his child.” (Narrator, 28:20)

4. Kidnapping Near Miss – The Blue Van Rumors

Timestamps: 28:50–39:26

• Key Points:
  • Disabled French student returns home late, heavily medicated on morphine.
  • Rumors about a kidnapping group circulate, using a blue van (though a white car appears in the story).
  • She is slowly followed by a car whose passengers eventually attempt to catch her near her building entrance.
  • Despite pain, she manages to escape inside as the men bang at the door; she and her sister later encounter the same vehicle, sparking warnings throughout their university.
• Quote:
  • “That’s when I start to panic. I’m right to do so. The car catches up to me, slows down to my walking speed. I notice that the man isn't alone in the car anymore. Someone is in the passenger seat and there's movement in the back.” (Narrator, 34:31)
  • “I slammed it shut behind me...I heard the men run into the door with a loud noise and them cursing, then yelling things to me.” (Narrator, 36:40)

5. Knife in the Alleyway – Near the US-Mexico Border

Timestamps: 39:30–46:30

• Key Points:
  • A kitchen worker in Texas takes out garbage late at night; a man appears from behind a dumpster, brandishing a knife and demanding she come with him.
  • She bravely pretends others are coming, buys time, and her coworker’s timely appearance scares the man off.
  • Police patrol but do not apprehend anyone; she is excused from trash duty.
• Quote:
  • “He took out a medium sized knife. My eyes widened as I took in a breath.” (Narrator, 42:40)
  • “You are not going to scream. I'll gut you." – “To this day I don’t know what came over me, but I replied with, ‘watch me.’” (Narrator, 44:12)

6. The Staring Family in the Black SUV

Timestamps: 46:35–52:20

• Key Points:
  • A man walking his girlfriend’s roommate’s dog late at night encounters a family in a black SUV.
  • All three—a mother, father, and young daughter—stare at him, following and circling, never breaking their unsettling eye contact.
  • He notes their license plate, flees, and watches them linger outside the apartment before finally leaving.
• Quote:
  • “Literally all of them locked eyes on me, even the little girl in the back seat. I put my arms up like in a shrugging gesture as if to say, what the hell…” (Narrator, 49:55)

7. Tim and the Sick Little Girl

Timestamps: 52:25–1:00:38

• Key Points:
  • Narrator relays a friend’s childhood ordeal: home alone sick, a mentally disabled neighbor, Tim, offers to guard her house.
  • Later, Tim enters the house through a cracked garage (meant for the cat), armed with a knife, searching for her.
  • The girl hides for hours in terror; police are ultimately called. The trauma lingers into adulthood.
• Quote:
  • “Tim walks into the bedroom. Tim is tall and thin. She can see him through the slatted closet doors. She sees him holding a knife and did everything she could to not scream.” (Narrator, 57:25)
  • “I often wonder if there was more to the story than what E told me. We were kids after all, and sometimes kids don’t know how to explain things they don’t understand." (Narrator, 1:00:05)

Episode Highlights & Memorable Quotes

• On the uncanny feeling of predatory attention:
  • “It chilled me to my core that he would come to a public park and stare at kids while wearing next to nothing.” (Man in the Trench Coat story, 09:50)
• On the sense of barely escaping criminal violence:
  • “I was never more happy to be a dirty, broke, intimidating looking hitchhiker than when I got out of that car." (Hitchhiking story, 18:45)
• On psychological escalation:
  • “The poetry started turning into quasi-religious nonsensical rants…pages long, mostly talking about how he was an angel or some kind of divine being.” (Obsessed Ex-Tenant story, 24:50)
• On the lasting trauma:
  • “We were kids…sometimes kids don’t know how to explain things they don’t understand.” (Sick Girl and Tim, 1:00:05)

Thematic Reflections

• Predators come in many forms: From apparently “harmless” individuals to entire families exhibiting menacing behaviors.
• Heightened vulnerability: Many stories center on moments of vulnerability—physical disability, substance-induced impairment, youth, or being alone in liminal spaces.
• Flight or fight: The hosts and narrators emphasize that sometimes quick thinking—bluffing awareness, pretending help is near, feigning indifference, or making an escape—can mean the difference between safety and horror.
• The aftermath: Several stories allude to the lingering psychological scars and changes in behavior that remain long after the threat is gone.

Conclusion

Episode 226 is a harrowing collection that reminds listeners of the potential dangers lurking in everyday moments and the importance of vigilance and intuition. The rain continues to fall softly in the background—an ironic comfort offsetting the raw edge of each tale. These aren’t ghost stories, but true accounts with a chilling takeaway: sometimes the monsters are terribly, terribly real.