Scary Stories and Rain – Ep. 300 – "From Hell"

December 11, 2025
Host: Being Scared (Dane)

Episode Overview

In this milestone 300th episode, "Scary Stories for a Rainy Night – From Hell," Being Scared presents a chilling collection of true, listener-submitted paranormal and real-life horror stories, all set against the backdrop of soothing rain. The episode is crafted for listeners seeking eerie tales to accompany sleepless nights, and this installment is especially packed with harrowing encounters—from a sinister figure in Venetian woods to unsettling happenings at home and work. The tone is calm yet suspenseful, true to Being Scared’s storytelling style.

Key Stories & Insights

1. Shadow on the Beach – Midnight in Italy

[02:08–06:02]
Story Summary:
A 17-year-old and two friends, exhausted after 20 days hiking from Graz to Venice, try to find a campsite one night. A lone man appears on a path leading into the woods and, after a tense encounter where he follows them, the group flees through a field and eventually escapes.
Notable Moments & Quotes:

• "I was so exhausted that I was even walking with my eyes closed."
• The raw feeling of danger intensifies as, “all our exhaustion and pain vanished” when flight-or-fight kicked in.
• "We have no idea if he was just a drunkard playing a twisted joke or if he had more sinister intentions." – [06:02]

2. Something Lurking on the Buffalo River – Ozark Mountains

[06:32–17:02]
Story Summary:
A female Venture Scout recounts her unnerving solo night camping on the Buffalo River. Between the threatening silence, seeing a massive elk-like creature, and hearing footsteps outside her tent, she’s driven to terror, culminating in a mysterious voice luring her out in the dead of night.
Memorable Quotes & Moments:

• "The woods were completely silent. Not a cricket, not a rustle of a squirrel, nothing." – [09:38]
• “Its face, even in the shadow, triggered my primitive brain again...if my blood wasn’t running cold before, it was now.” – [12:20]
• “Sam, did you come to my tent last night? ...No, I wouldn’t try to scare you...I know how nervous you were...But I guess you were too scared last night.” – [15:02]
• The narrator’s existential dread: “What had Sam heard coming out of the woods and checking out my tent multiple times that night? Why hadn’t I heard it?” – [16:10]

3. The Top Hat Man – Sleep Paralysis Demon

[17:39–22:10]
Story Summary:
A terrifying sleep paralysis episode: the storyteller is immobilized, senses an evil presence, and sees a faceless and grinning figure in a top hat looming over them, uttering a chilling vow. The nightmare seems to follow them into reality when they later discover a photograph on their phone of themselves screaming in terror.
Notable Quotes:

• "I can't breathe. My eyes are open and I am able to see everything around me. Yes, it's shrouded in darkness, but it's still my room and I am still in my bed. Except I can't move and I can't breathe." – [17:39]
• “There he is. The guy in the top hat. He's tall, all black. He's not a he at all, but a thing...I can make out a grin spreading across his blank and stoic face.” – [19:05]
• The threat: "From this night forward until time ends, I will watch you sleep. Time and time again." – [20:36]
• The coda: “Upon returning to my bed, I grab my phone to check the time. And there, present on screen, is a picture taken of me from above: my eyes wide...mouth open... and a dark glaze over my eyes. Those don't look like my eyes.” – [22:10]

4. The Man at the Cabin Window – Family Terror in the Woods

[22:25–26:39]
Story Summary:
A man recounts a family holiday in a remote cabin in 1996. After odd banging and lights acting up, the family is confronted by a horrifying figure—a lanky, gray-skinned man with black eyes and a gaping grin peering through the window. Their father shoots the intruder before fleeing with the family.
Notable Quotes:

• “As my father prepared wood for the campfire, a sudden loud bang on the door startled us all. He bravely opened the door...but the surrounding area appeared empty.” – [23:11]
• “There was a slender, lanky man peering down through the window. His skin was gray, his eyes were jet black, and he had a massive gaping grin...” – [24:31]
• “My whole family may have ended up dead.” – [26:39]

5. 1970s Kidnapping – Aunt Cece’s Brush with Death

[26:47–34:44]
Story Summary:
A harrowing real-life account of a 17-year-old woman, Cece, in 1975 who is abducted while making a cash bank deposit for her job. Using quick thinking and her “gift of gab,” she manages to talk her kidnappers into releasing her unharmed, all while hiding the fact she was carrying over $3,000 in cash.
Notable Quotes:

• “Cece then did what she was gifted with. She kept her cool and turned on the charm...‘You guys seem pretty cool. It's too bad I can’t party...My boss will call the cops because of what's been happening lately.’” – [31:08]
• “She is an incredibly brave woman...I’m glad that her narrow escape did not diminish her adventurous spirit...She tells this one as a lesson in not getting too relaxed in daily routines and in keeping emotions in check during scary situations.” – [34:05]

6. The Watcher in the Restaurant – Unnerving Late Shift

[36:23–41:13]
Story Summary:
A restaurant worker doing closing duties experiences sheer terror when the alarm system detects movement in the supposedly empty dining room, just before they hear running footsteps approaching from the darkness. Security footage later reveals a shadowy figure watching them flee.
Memorable Quotes:

• “The dark creeps me out...I typed in the code and got an error—Error: Infrared Detected, Dining Room. I felt my stomach sink.” – [38:12]
• "I have gotten chills down my spine before when something creeps me out. But this was different. It felt like my entire nervous system was overloaded." – [39:17]
• “The exterior camera caught something that scared the life out of me...you could barely see the elongated shadow of someone standing by the door...watching me run away.” – [40:29]

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “All our exhaustion and pain vanished, along with the weight of our fully packed, fast backpacks.” – [03:38]
• “The only thing filling the silence and the darkness that surrounds me are my screams.” – [21:17]
• “I have never felt so vulnerable. I'm not really a believer in the paranormal, but I just don't know what kind of sick person would wait in a restaurant for two hours after close, not steal anything, just to scare the employee…” – [40:45]
• “She is certain that the outcome...would have ended badly if she had lost her cool…Keep emotions in check during scary situations.” – [34:05]

Themes & Tone

• The terror of isolation and how quickly ordinary situations (a hike, a camping trip, a job) can turn into nightmares
• The line between supernatural horror (the Top Hat Man, the elk-like entity, the grinning figure) and real-world threats (stalkers, kidnappers)
• The recurring motif of primal fear—how the body reacts when reason leaves and survival instincts take over
• Calm, measured narration overlays each story with a sense of stark reality, heightening the frights by grounding them in plausibility

Episode Flow & Structure

• Each story is told in first-person, drawing the listener into the experience.
• No intrusive sound effects; only ambient rain, increasing the eerie atmosphere.
• Advertisement and intro/outro segments are placed outside core story segments (skipped in this summary).

Conclusion

Episode 300 of Scary Stories and Rain is a powerful showcase of personal horror accounts, both supernatural and all-too-human, curated to maximize atmospheric dread while maintaining the series’ calm, intimate tone. The stories walk a knife’s edge between the explainable and the uncanny, making for a perfect companion to a long, rainy night.