Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 381 - Dead Forest

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Scary Stories and Rain – Ep. 381 – Dead Forest

Host: Being Scared
Release Date: May 12, 2026

Episode Overview

Scary Stories and Rain’s 381st episode, “Dead Forest,” delivers a chilling mix of true, unsettling stories told in a gentle, measured voice to the soothing backdrop of rainfall. This episode features a curated selection of personal encounters—ranging from mysterious prowlers and creepy home intrusions to unexplainable paranormal events and close brushes with danger. Each story vividly explores the tension between ordinary settings and extraordinary threats, with a recurring motif of not just fear, but survival and lingering uncertainty.

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Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. The Pacing Man in a White Jacket

[01:29–06:25]

• Setting: Winter 2013, early morning, a warehouse in Phoenix, AZ.
• Story: The narrator, a stocky male worker, notices a strange man pacing in the rainy darkness before work. As he walks toward the entrance, the man sprints at him—but with his down jacket pulled over his face. There's a tense standoff marked by the stranger’s “angry, rage-filled breathing.”
• Climax: The man cryptically asks, “What are you doing?” When the narrator says he’s just going to work, the stranger replies, “I’m just checking this out,” and runs off.
• Aftermath: Security footage is inconclusive. The narrator ponders: was the man going to rob him, or was he just “crazy, but harmless?”
• Quote:
  • “His breathing was so angry and full of rage… like he hated me and wanted me dead.” —Narrator [04:38]

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2. Locked Out and the Shadow in the Yard

[06:26–10:00]

• Setting: After a late party, locked out of the house at 1–2am.
• Story: Forced to sleep in their car, the narrator sees a shadowy figure circling the house and trying doors and windows. Accidentally honking the horn alerts their mom, who comes outside and calls the police.
• Police find: There’d been a prison escape nearby; the men weren’t caught until weeks later.
• Reflection: The narrator is thankful for the unusual “protection” of being locked out.

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3. The Man Called “Shadow”

[10:01–13:52]

• Setting: Santa Cruz Boardwalk, late 1990s.
• Story: A 12-year-old, left alone on the sand, is approached by a mid-20s man in black who introduces himself as “Shadow.” He tries to lure her for a “walk,” but her dad intervenes just in time.
• Eerie twist: Days later, a girl matching the narrator’s age is found dead near the boardwalk; the description roughly fits “Shadow.”
• Quote:
  • “Do you know how pretty you are?” —Shadow, to 12-year-old Catherine [12:05]
  • “Thank goodness Shadow took him seriously. By the time my dad reached me, Shadow had already fled.” —Catherine [12:55]

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4. Knocks at the Window

[13:53–16:20]

• Setting: Three sisters at home, late at night, open blinds and window.
• Story: Repeated knocking at their bedroom window escalates their fear; dad finds nothing. Later, police discover footprints and a chair under the window—someone had been watching.
• Lesson: “All I have to say is close your blinds at night and always close your window. You never know who may be watching.” —Narrator [16:19]

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5. Nighttime Paralysis and the Figure in the Doorway

[16:21–19:52]

• Setting: Age 6, home at night.
• Story: The narrator wakes in bed, unable to move or breathe, and eventually sees a tall, blank-faced figure at the door. Later “wakes up” in the hospital. Years later, recounts the incident to their parents—who insist it never happened.
• Question: Dream or something more? The details (IV, oxygen mask, the figure) remain “vivid and real.”
• Quote:
  • “I wholeheartedly believe this was not a dream. It was so vivid and real.” —Narrator [19:45]

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6. The Haunted Rental and Shared Nightmares

[19:53–24:00]

• Setting: Small Pennsylvania cabin.
• Story: Narrator dreams of a pale hand opening their front door and being grabbed in their sleep. Later, a friend’s girlfriend has a similar dream of a demonic witch dragging her. Neither told the other until afterward, and the girlfriend refuses to return to the house.
• Reflection: The house is demolished years later; both nightmares eerily correspond.

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7. A Visitor in the Night (Dad’s Story)

[24:01–27:00]

• Setting: Near a mental health facility.
• Story: The host’s father, aged 10, wakes to a woman caressing his face through an open window—a patient who’d escaped, wearing her hospital gown.
• Aftermath: Family now always locks windows at night.

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8. The Duplicitous Anna (Philippine School Paranormality)

[27:01–32:55]

• Setting: Modern-day school, Philippines.
• Story: A teacher shares a grades report privately to students. Strangely, “Anna” appears twice in line—once silent and withdrawn, once her usual bubbly self. Reviewing CCTV, there’s an unexplained 10-second freeze on the teacher and a mysteriously empty gap in line—no Anna, but multiple students behave as if someone’s there.
• Quote:
  • “That empty space... the students behind her never stepped into. Could they perhaps, like me, saw this silent girl approach me?” —Teacher [31:53]

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9. Dormitory Intruder: ‘That’s What You Get for Sleeping With Your Door Unlocked’

[32:56–39:35]

• Setting: 15th-floor dorm, move-out day, early morning.
• Story: A student, exhausted from packing, is startled by a hooded man entering her room. He returns, violently tries the locked door, and later enters two neighbors’ rooms, frightening them. Tells one, “that’s what you get for sleeping with your door unlocked.”
• Aftermath: Police never find the man.
• Memorable Line:
  • “He looked at her blank and dead eyed and said, ‘that's what you get for sleeping with your door unlocked’ and walked out of her room like it was nothing.” —Narrator [39:22]

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10. Sister’s Torment and the Dog Who Saw

[39:36–44:25]

• Setting: Family home, sister with bipolar disorder plagued by terror.
• Story: Multiple nights of ear-piercing screams; sister claims a figure with red eyes is in the corner. Others suspect attention-seeking until the family dog howls and reacts to the same empty spot.
• Reflection:
  • “It was such an uncanny image: two beings reacting in terror and distress at something I could not see.” —Narrator [42:39]

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11. The Bunnyman in the Forest (Birthday Party Gone Wrong)

[44:26–49:45]

• Setting: Rural backyard, nighttime game of sardines.
• Story: A group of kids is stalked by a man in a bunny suit lurking in the woods. He briefly grabs one child; another is nearly discovered, hiding in a barn. Shockingly, no neighbors live within miles—making the event deeply unsettling.
• Quote:
  • “This was a man in the middle of the forest late at night, two miles away from any sort of civilization, stalking and chasing us.” —Narrator [48:33]

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12. Bathroom Terror at a Philippine School

[49:46–52:20]

• Setting: Third-grade girl, alone in the bathroom.
• Story: A malfunctioning lock traps her after a phantom presence turns on water. She’s finally rescued by teachers, but the experience remains “clear as glass” 18 years later.

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13. Stalked by the Blue-Coated Woman and the Van

[52:21–56:30]

• Setting: Suburban grocery run at dusk.
• Story: A woman seeking change becomes hostile after being refused, then is later seen tailgating the narrator with a menacing man in a white van. After a high-speed pursuit, the narrator escapes, but is deeply rattled.
• Quote:
  • “The look of anger in their eyes is what haunts me the most.” —Narrator [55:42]

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14. Drugged at Thanksgiving: A Close Escape

[56:31–1:02:00]

• Setting: Thanksgiving, early 20s, vulnerable after family fight.
• Story: Invited by an older “friend” to a party, the narrator drinks something laced, starts losing control, and feels targeted by the man. Sensing danger, they manage to jump out of his car at a traffic light and escape.
• Lesson:
  • “I learned that you cannot run away from your problems, because they will eventually come back or another one will arise.” —Narrator [1:01:40]

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15. The Camera over the Wall: Haunted by New Orleans

[1:02:01–1:10:40]

• Setting: From a haunted trolley tour in New Orleans to disturbing events at home.
• Story: After capturing a photo with a strange streak in a cemetery, the narrator experiences escalating paranormal activity—culminating in discovering videos of themselves in distress, recorded on their own phone while they sleep.
• Memorable Line:
  • “It was like I was stuck in a nightmare and I could see the tears running, rolling down my face as the video abruptly stopped.” —Narrator [1:09:24]
• Reflection: Be careful what you bring home—“ghost or otherwise.”

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16. The Dead Forest: Shortcut Home

[1:10:41–1:13:43]

• Setting: Colorado winter, shortcut through forbidden woods.
• Story: A teen decides to ignore parental warnings and cuts through the forest, feeling compelled to run. Glancing back, he sees a pale, black-eyed man crawling on all fours. He’s haunted by sightings ever since.

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17. The Copper Van and a Nightlong Chase

[1:13:44–1:23:40]

• Setting: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, mid-1980s.
• Story: Two friends on BMX bikes are hunted for hours by a van with multiple men. Despite skilled maneuvers and help from locals, the adults are relentless. The pursuit only ends at 3am when the van finally disappears—motive unclear.
• Quote:
  • “What kind of grown men in a creepy van pursue two 12-year-old boys for the better part of seven hours?” —Narrator [1:21:52]

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• “His breathing was so angry and full of rage… like he hated me and wanted me dead.” —First story [04:38]
• “Thank goodness my mom locked me out of the house that night.” —Second story, reflecting on a close call
• “Do you know how pretty you are?” —Shadow, to Catherine [12:05]
• “That empty space… the students behind her never stepped into.” —Paranormal Anna [31:53]
• “That's what you get for sleeping with your door unlocked.” —Dorm intruder [39:22]
• “It was such an uncanny image: two beings reacting in terror and distress at something I could not see.” —Sister & dog story [42:39]
• “This was a man in the middle of the forest late at night, two miles away from any sort of civilization, stalking and chasing us.” —Bunnyman story [48:33]
• “The look of anger in their eyes is what haunts me the most.” —Blue raincoat stalker [55:42]
• “I learned that you cannot run away from your problems, because they will eventually come back or another one will arise.” —Thanksgiving escape [1:01:40]
• “It was like I was stuck in a nightmare and I could see the tears running… as the video abruptly stopped.” —NOLA haunting [1:09:24]
• “What kind of grown men in a creepy van pursue two 12-year-old boys for the better part of seven hours?” —Van chase [1:21:52]

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Episode Structure & Tone

• Atmosphere: Calm, measured narration contrasted with intense, anxiety-inducing content
• Style: First-person stories with conversational interludes and reflective questions from the host
• Themes: Vulnerability, the unknown, brushing with evil (both human and supernatural), and the indelible marks these experiences leave behind

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Segment Title | Start | End | |---------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------| | The Pacing Man in a White Jacket | 01:29 | 06:25 | | Locked Out and the Shadow in the Yard | 06:26 | 10:00 | | The Man Called “Shadow” | 10:01 | 13:52 | | Knocks at the Window | 13:53 | 16:20 | | Nighttime Paralysis & the Doorway Figure | 16:21 | 19:52 | | The Haunted Rental & Shared Nightmares | 19:53 | 24:00 | | A Visitor in the Night (Dad’s Story) | 24:01 | 27:00 | | The Duplicitous Anna | 27:01 | 32:55 | | Dormitory Intruder | 32:56 | 39:35 | | Sister’s Torment and the Dog Who Saw | 39:36 | 44:25 | | The Bunnyman in the Forest | 44:26 | 49:45 | | Bathroom Terror | 49:46 | 52:20 | | Stalked by Blue-Coated Woman & Van | 52:21 | 56:30 | | Drugged at Thanksgiving | 56:31 | 1:02:00 | | The Camera Over the Wall: Haunted by New Orleans | 1:02:01 | 1:10:40 | | The Dead Forest | 1:10:41 | 1:13:43 | | The Copper Van | 1:13:44 | 1:23:40 |

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Closing Thoughts

This episode is a masterful collection of genuine horror, suspension, and questions that linger long after the rain fades out. Each story taps into the primal fear of being targeted—by strangers, by forces unseen, or by the consequences of curiosity and risk. The gentle, unobtrusive narration only amplifies the chilling effect.

Listeners are left to ponder: What would I have done? What is lurking in the shadows just out of sight?

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Episode highlights the importance of intuition, listening to warnings, and the very real dangers both human and possibly supernatural that can invade the safest spaces. Be careful, lock your doors, and perhaps think twice before taking a photograph in the dead of night.

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Transcript

[A]

Girl, winter is so last season and now spring's got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders that perfect hang on the patio sundress, those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done. Hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope. It's time for a little in person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic.

[B]

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[C]

Directed hey, before this episode begins, I just want to let everyone know that my film that I've been producing for the last two years, Gale Yellow Brick Road, is now streaming on Chilling. So if you weren't able to go see it in theaters a couple months ago, no worries. Click the link in the description to this video or just search Chilling in your app store and you can watch Gale Yellow Brick Road tonight at home. I really hope you enjoy. Please leave an honest rating and review on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Thanks again. Hey, welcome back to the podcast. I really hope you enjoy this episode and if you'd like to hear more stories like these with a different background sound, please check the description to check out my other two podcasts. And if you want to get rid of all of the ads, you can subscribe for just $2.99 a month. Last thing I really appreciate you being here and I'd really love if you would follow the podcast and come back again soon. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy. Winter of 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. I worked in the shipping department of a small warehouse facility. I am a stocky male so the company tasked me with boxing products and loading pallets for shipping early in the morning. I was the first to arrive most days at 4:30am and I was alone most of the time until 6:00am because of this, I had to unlock the entrance and deactivate the security alarm. There were security cameras, but they had had major blind spots caused by some concrete pillars for the desert. It was a chilly mid December morning. I arrived to work as usual around 4.30am the ground was wet from a light rain scenting the air with mud. I parked and turned off my car and noticed something in the distance. There appeared to be a man pacing back and forth. He would walk about 10ft, turn around and then walk right back. I would guess he was roughly 40 yards away from me. There was very little light so I couldn't make out any distinguishing features apart from him wearing a heavy white down jacket. There is a gas station not too far away, so I figured he was just another customer. After a few moments I reasoned he was either on his cell phone or listening to music. So I got out of my car and headed to the entrance to work. As I approached the door, I heard heavy sprinting footsteps closing in on me fast. I turned around to look. It was the same person I saw pacing. I must have startled him as he abruptly stopped. He acted as if he didn't think I would turn around. He was about my height, maybe 180 pounds, wearing dark jeans and gray gloves with weathered and dirty white shoes. Now this sounds impossible, but this is what I saw and I assure you it's accurate. His white down jacket was pulled all the way up over his head. Let me be clear. His thick jacket was pulled up over his head, covering his entire face. I don't know how he could see anything when he was sprinting to me. Even with his jacket blocking his face, I could feel his eyes were somehow locked onto me. To this day I still ask myself how this guy was able to do this. We faced off at each other like we were in a standoff. But there was something more, something that still remains in my mind and still causes a haunting feeling in me even today. His breathing. His breathing was so angry and full of rage like he was getting ready to charge me. This odd, covered from head to toe threatening guy was standing 10ft from me, breathing like he hated me and wanted me dead. I stood there thinking this is it. I am going to get robbed, shot or stabbed. He's going to pull out a weapon. As soon as I thought this, he suddenly reached into his jacket and I felt my stomach Churn. I could not get to safety. At this point, he was between me and my car and he could reach me before I could unlock the door and get inside. I was unarmed. I had a moment where I thought this was the end of my life and felt for the first time what it was like to think you're going to die. I fully expected him to pull out a weapon from his coat and attack me, but rather he spoke muffled through his jacket. What are you doing? Adrenaline had frozen me in place, but I responded, standing my ground. I'm just going to work. What are you doing? He answered back swiftly. I'm just checking this out. Then he took his hands out of his pockets, turned and began running away with his jacket still up over his head. I got inside and locked the door behind me, feeling relieved. I don't know what became of him, and to this day I still wonder how he was able to see me with that thick jacket over his face. And the sound of his angry breathing remains a fearful memory. Now I thought of calling the police. However, after the shock of the incident wore off, I reasoned the guy didn't really do anything to me. He didn't actually threaten me, show a weapon, say something intimidating or anything like that. Sure, he was unsettling, but he really didn't commit a crime other than being intimidating and suspicious. Even if I did call the police, I imagined the incident would be low priority and the guy would be long gone by the time the police investigated. I put the ordeal out of my mind and did my work. Later that day I shared the story with some of my co workers. Many believed the guy was going to rob me but then changed his mind. Some thought the guy was on something and just acting weird. The security camera footage only caught a small portion of the incident due to the blind spots. I'm not sure what to think. So I would like to ask you what do you think this guy was up to? Do you think he was going to rob me? Was he just on something? Do you think he was crazy but harmless? I went to a party one night and was told by my mother to be home at a certain time or the door would be locked and we didn't have an extra key. So off to the party I went and it was a banger, drinks and lots of friends. I didn't want to leave. By the time I Left it was 1 or 2am and I knew I was going to be locked out of my mom's house and she was gonna be upset in the morning if I woke her up. So I pulled around back where I parked my car. I got out and checked the back door. Crap locked. I staggered around to the front. Crap locked. Now I'm screwed and gonna have to spend the night in my car. So I laid the seat back, grabbed an old sweater out of the back to cover up with and sighed. Being locked out sucks. During the night, I woke up hearing footsteps. So I poked my head up and looked around. I didn't see anything at first, so I laid back down. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was up and was too afraid to get out of the car. I reached over and locked my doors and heard the footsteps again, poked my head up and again froze. There was a shadowy figure creeping around my house. I watched as he walked around looking into the windows and checking to see if he could open them. I had no cell phone and no way to warn my mom who was inside asleep. My heart was jackhammering in my chest as I thought of what to do. I sat up a little higher to watch as he walked around the front of my house going to the front door. I leaned forward, following his progress and bumped my steering wheel and a very loud honk sounded, scaring the heck out of me. It must have woke up my mom because the porch light came on and she stood on the porch looking furious. So I ran up to her, screaming to get back into the house, that there was a man outside trying to get in. As soon as we got back inside, I ran into my mom's room and grabbed her weapon and a flashlight, instructing her to call the cops. I went back outside, weapon and flashlight in hand. The man was nowhere to be found. We waited for the cops to show up, and when they did, they told us there had been a couple guys from a jail nearby that had escaped that day and that they had been looking for them and for us to keep our doors locked tight. They never found the man I saw that night, but the escapees were caught weeks later, a hundred miles away. I am so thankful my mom locked me out of the house that night. I can't imagine what would have happened if we both had been inside and asleep. One summer in the late 90s, when I was about 11 or 12, my dad took my little brother and I on vacation to Northern California. We decided to spend a day at the Santa Cruz boardwalk. I sat alone on our blanket on the sand while my dad and brother played in the ocean not too far away. A man walking by himself on the beach crept up and squatted beside me so that he sat eye level with me. Me. He was probably early to mid-20s, had black spiky hair and all black clothing. He held a lit cigarette in the hand closest to me and wore a mischievous smirk on his face. He smiled and quietly said, hi, I'm Shadow. What's your name? I replied, hi, Catherine. What a beautiful name. Do you know how pretty you are? I shook my head as he looked me up and down. Are you here all by yourself? No, I'm here with my dad and my brother. They're right there. I pointed. Oh well. Do you want to go for a walk? The way he over pronounced the K in walk gave me chills even though it was hot and sunny out. This is when a light bulb went off in my head. I should not be talking to this guy. I didn't know how to tell him to leave me alone and I was honestly kind of scared to be rude to him. Within a split second so many thoughts went racing through my head. Was he going to pick me up and carry me away? Would my dad turn around to check on me only to find an empty blanket and no trace of which direction I had gone? I was panicking internally and I just sat there paralyzed and silent. I looked towards the water to find my dad with his mouth agape and a look of horror on his face. Rage overtook him. He picked up my brother and stormed towards us. My brother now crying. My dad yelled at the man to get away from me as he violently ran closer to us. Thank goodness Shadow took him seriously. By the time my dad reached me, Shadow had already fled down the beach. After arriving home the following week, my dad was catching up on the previous week's newspapers. He made it a point to show me the article and I will never ever forget it. The article reported that the body of a young girl was found near the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Allegedly, she had been abducted, assaulted and murdered and left behind a dumpster. Fortunately, they caught the person that did it. Unfortunately, there was no picture or detailed description of the perp. They only described him as a local man in his 20s. I won't ever know for sure if it was Shadow that committed the horrendous crime against an innocent little girl. I can only be thankful that it wasn't me. When I was about 10 or 11, I shared a room with my two older sisters. Now we would stay up late at night talking, sometimes getting us into trouble. But this one particular night we had our window open, a jar and the blinds open, meaning anyone on the outside could see in because we also had A lamp in our our bedroom. As we were laying in bed talking, there was a knock on the window. None of us could move or speak. We didn't know what to do, so we ignored it. Five minutes went by and nothing else happened. So we continued our conversation when knock knock knock. This time we all ran out of our bedroom and went straight to our parents room where we told them what was going on. First we woke up our mom because she's a light sleeper anyway. Then she woke up our dad. My dad, being the brave guy he is, went outside with a bat while my mom went into our room with us. When my dad came back inside, he told us there was no one out there, reassuring us it's okay to go back to sleep. We did 10 minutes go by when another knock woke us all up, including our mom. She jumped out of bed, went into her room, woke up our dad and I remember I heard her say call the police. As the police arrived, they looked around the house and found nothing. Now I thought that was the end of it. But as I got older I asked my mom about it. That's when I learned something very disturbing. The police found footprints underneath our window in the garden. Also they found a chair from our porch below our window. Meaning whoever was out there that night must have been watching us for who knows how long. All I have to say is close your blinds at night and always close your window. You never know who may be watching. This happened to me when I was around the age of 6. I was watching late night cartoons on the TV as I did every night before bed and my parents were having company over as this was very common for them. Around this time I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember waking up in my room and the TV was off and the only light coming into my room was from the moonlight peering through my window. My room was almost completely black. I couldn't move at all and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Not a feeling of something on my chest, but rather my throat was closed up so tight I could barely get a breath of air. I knew something was wrong so I tried to call, call out to my parents, but I was unable to speak. I sat there for probably five minutes, scared out of my mind. I heard my parents conversing loudly with their friends in the other room and I thought to myself that they'll never hear me. I stared at my door hoping my parents would come in and save me from whatever was happening. After about 10 minutes, my door cracked open a little bit and slowly crept open A few inches. There was a tall figure staring at me through the crack of my door. I couldn't make out anything other than they were really tall and had a blank stare in their eyes. The figure in the doorway backed away, and after another few minutes of trying to cry for help, my mom came in and turned the lights on. I still couldn't move or talk. My mom grabbed my dad, told him, there's something wrong with me and I need to go to the hospital. They loaded me up in the backseat of the family van and drove off frantically. The only thing I remember about being taken to the hospital is seeing the street lights coming in and out of the window as we drove down the street. Then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed surrounded by nurses. I had an oxygen mask on my face and I was hooked up to the iv. I could almost talk again, and I tried to say the words, what's happening to me? But before I could say anything, the nurse said, don't worry, you're going to be fine. And I fell back asleep. I woke up again seeing my parents happy, standing next to the bed, and the nurses were saying that I would be ready to leave shortly. Then the nurse took off my mask and gave me this peach juice that I'll always remember. My dad carried me on his back and put me back into the van and we went home. I woke up in bed the next day and felt really weird, but was relieved everything was okay. I didn't talk to my parents about it too much because every time I tried to bring it up, they wouldn't talk about it and they would just change the subject. I kind of forgot about it for a long time, but would still think about it when people would ask me, what's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? Years later, when I was in my teens, I brought it up laughing, saying, remember the time you guys had to take me to the hospital? They just stared at me with a confused look on their faces. So I described the whole event in detail, and they looked at me like I was on something and said that I must have dreamt it. So I gave up trying to get them to remember and went back to my bedroom, confused. I wholeheartedly believe that this was not a dream. It was so vivid and real, and I remember almost everything about it. The man in the doorway, the oxygen masks, the juice the nurse gave me, and the absolute helplessness of not being able to move or speak. The weirdest thing is I was never taken to the hospital before and had never seen someone hooked up to an IV before. So how could I have dreamt that? When I was 22, I moved into a rental home in Harvey's Lake, Pennsylvania. It was very small and somewhat run down. It reminded me of a cabin that you see on fishing trips. Honestly, I hated it but could not afford anything better at the time. The basement was creepy, the bathroom ceiling sloped downwards so that the shower head was eight aimed at my chest and I could not stand to pee without my head touching the ceiling. The floor also sloped, but hey, it was cheap with all utilities provided. Shortly after I had moved in, I had a dream one night. I dreamt in the third person and at first I assumed that what I was seeing was from my point of view. It was. It was like I was floating towards my front door in the middle of a full moon lit night. Once I got to the front door, a thin pale hand turned the knob and slowly opened. Wasn't my hand, so now I knew that I was seeing the vision of someone else. Slowly I started walking towards my bedroom which was the first room on the right immediately after this small kitchen and I could see myself sleeping in my bed. My vision then slowly glided into my room and to the side of my bed by a window and I was looking down at myself sleeping on my stomach. After a second the thin pale hand reached down to grab me. Seeing myself about to be attacked. I violently woke from the dream and lashed out towards towards where the figure was standing knocking things off the nightstand next to me. But there was no one there. Although I told myself that it was just a dream, I thought it was incredibly weird that there was no difference in the amount of darkness in my room. It was apparently a full moon visible right outside my window and that made the room more blue and brighter than usual. It was exactly the same as in my dream. Most nights it is very dark in my room. A week or so later I had friends over. There was an old bar down the road that we could quickly walk to. So we got a little drunk and walked back to my place. We were watching a movie to pass the time so that my friends could sober up to drive home. But after a while they all decided to just stay over. As we were watching the end of a movie, my friend's girlfriend woke up looking alarmed like she was having a nightmare and was about to yell. We all looked at her and she looked relieved to be awake, but she kept saying to her boyfriend who was my best friend, come on, let's go. I Want to go. I really don't want to be here. After a minute of him telling telling her that they could not drive, she calmed down and reluctantly agreed to stay. Nothing else happened and in the morning they all got up and drove home. She called me as soon as she got home to apologize. She was afraid that I got offended that she did not want to stay in my home and I just laughed and told her that it was fine, no big deal. She then proceeded to tell me why she wanted to leave so bad. She said she fell asleep and had a dream that some pale, evil looking lady who resembled a demonic witch dressed in black grabbed her in the apartment and was dragging her away across the floor. It was very violent apparently, but she woke up in the middle of the nightmare. She said it was the scariest thing she ever experienced. I thought she was joking with me until I realized that I told no one of my similar dream. I then told her about my dream and she freaked out and spent days doing research into the area and the home thinking that something bad must have happened there but found nothing. She never came over again after that, but it didn't matter. I was out of there within a few months and the house was torn down about 10 years later. This is not my story, but my dad's. He gave me permission to share it. When my dad was around the age of 10, he had a similar, somewhat creepy experience that to this day keeps him from leaving windows open in the night. His mother worked at a mental health facility and they actually lived just down the road from said facility. His mother was head cook in a large kitchen there. All the patients adored her as she had worked there a very long time. My dad and his younger brother shared a room together. They had two two twin beds that sat on either side of a large window that was right smack dab between their beds. Things were different back then. It was perfectly safe to sleep with your windows wide open when it was hot outside. One hot summer late night my dad awoke to someone touching his face. When he realized that what he was feeling was an adult hand, he opened his eyes to his a woman caressing his face while lightly singing. He leaped out of bed and stood there staring at her. She wore a white dress and she did nothing but stand right at their window with a smile on her face. Leaving his sleeping brother, my dad ran from the room to his parents bedroom to get help. All three of them rushed into the room to find the woman attempting to crawl inside. His mom screamed a woman woman's name shocking them all, then said she is a patient from my work. She wasn't wearing a dress like my dad had initially thought. It was actually a hospital gown. The hospital was quickly called. Searchers had been looking for her for a short time already. She had gotten out somehow and had wandered down to their home since it was a short distance away. My dad is in his 60s now and he still checks the windows nightly to make sure they are shut and locked. This is a true story that happened in 2004. I am a female junior high school teacher in a province in the Philippines. The school where I teach is one of the first private schools in that province to install CCTVs in all classrooms for the safety of students, teachers and all staff. Three months previously I had what I can only assume is a paranormal experience while teaching in one of the third floor classrooms. But when I checked the CCTV footage in the admin office, the feed for my classroom malfunctioned. The security officer back then found it really strange too, because every single feed in the building was working properly except for the room where I was at and at the exact period where this strange occurrence happened. Long story short, I saw and interacted with the student who turned out not to be there on that day, and I didn't even have CCTV footage to prove it. Ever since then I was on the lookout for more strange encounters in the classrooms. Remember, this school was in a province and the people who were born and raised there have a lot of stories to tell of unexplainable circumstances that can only be described as paranormal. But the months passed without incident and I started to forget what happened until one day I was in my 10th grade class at this time in room 405. The second quarterly exams were just finished last week and I wanted to spend this period showing my students their progress. One so that I can congratulate and give credits to students who did well, and 2 so that I can talk to students who are falling behind. I have their grades in an Excel file on my laptop, but grades are private documents. So I arranged my Excel sheet, zoomed it in and froze some of the cells so that only one student's grades will be shown at a time. I then placed my laptop on the high table situated at the front and right side of the classroom, my laptop facing me of course, away from the students eyes. I then asked my students to form a line in front of me so that I can show them their grades one by one. The rest of the students can just chill or review for their next class while waiting for their turn. And so it started. After the first student is done, I tell the next student in line to wait for a few seconds while I adjust the excel sheet, my hand raised in the air in a stop gesture. This is to avoid students seeing the grades of those before them. Then, when the Excel file is ready, I tell them to approve. Remember, I made it so that only one grade is visible at a time. Some students were pumping their fists in the air or high fiving me or hugging each other when they see how well they did. Others were sighing sadly, asking me for ways to make up for it, or laughing at how bad they did. Each interaction with a student lasted for about five seconds to a minute, some students taking longer if they needed assurance that they can do better next time. I was dreading showing one of my students her grade. Let's call her Anna. Admittedly, she was the noisiest girl in class, but in the first quarter she was one of my brightest students. For the second quarter she lost interest in the subject, oftentimes chatting with her seatmate, turning in assignments late and performing poorly overall. Her grade for this quarter went down by three points and I was preparing myself mentally to comfort her. When it was her turn, she was coming up next in line, right behind her friend who we will call Jane. Please remember that in the line Jane was standing before Anna. This will be important. Later, after I showed Jane her grade, I took a deep breath and faced Anna. I motioned for her to come forward. She was silent, expressionless. She looked at the screen for a few seconds, then turned away and went back to her seat without saying anything. I was confused because Anna was not the silent type. I shrugged it off and just went on showing my students their grades one by one. A little bit further down the line, I can hear some students chatting and laughing away and as the line inched forward, I noticed that these happy, loud students included Anna. She was next in line again. I was quite relieved to see that she was in a better mood, but I was confused why she was in line again. I asked her, you wanted to see your grades again. Anna said, huh? Again, I haven't seen my grades grades yet. Once again I shrugged it off and showed her her grade. This time she reacted. She gasped, covered her mouth and whined, aww. My grades went down. What am I going to do? In that funny drama queen way that we are all so familiar with. Her friends laughed and teased her good naturedly and they went on their way. At that moment I had a strange feeling. Who was the first Anna who checked her grade Was she telling the truth when she told me she had been in line only once? When that period ended, I could not wait to check the CCTV footage. I wanted real, tangible proof that Anna was in that line twice. Immediately after class, I marched down to the admin office and asked if I could see the circle CCTV footage of room 405. I will try to explain what I saw in the best way I can. In the monitor where I can see the footage for room 405. I could see myself standing in the upper right hand corner with that line of students starting from that point to the lower right hand corner. It was grainy, but I could clearly see myself clicking on my laptop, gesturing for the next next students in line to wait, then telling them to come closer, so on and so forth. I could even see the facial expressions on my face and my students. Now, before I tell you what I saw next, I would just like to ask you to think back to when you last lined up in a queue. There's this automatic response in everyone that if the person ahead of you moves forward, you move forward as well. And that the distance between each person in line is somewhat equal. You just don't leave an empty space in front of you when you're in line. Back to the CCTV footage. A few minutes later, at the bottom of the screen, I could see Jane falling in line talking to some people in front of her. I waited with bated breath to see Anna in the footage. As the line inched forward, Jane did too. Any moment now, I expect to see Anna at the bottom of the screen. But Anna was not there. The line inched forward again. Jane stepped forward. Still no Anna. I can clearly see another student step behind Jane, but for some reason she stayed about three to four feet behind Jane. You know, a space large enough to fit another person person in the line. But there was no one in that empty space. As the line continues to move forward, I notice that the people behind Jane maintained their distance. That empty space behind her remained constant. This seemed really weird to me because the people behind Jane are looking forward, talking to Jane and that she sometimes looks back to them, talking, laughing, but never occupying that space. This is really weird because you just don't leave an empty space in front of you when you're in a line, right? Finally, it's Jane's turn to approach me in that upper right corner. In the footage, the space behind her still remained empty. When Jane left, I saw myself look at my laptop with the light from the monitor shining on my face. And then I Saw myself in the video completely freeze up. None of the students behind Jane were approaching me. They can clearly see me. That was apparent in the footage. They were still moving. Everything was still moving except for me. In the video, I asked the security officer to zoom in on my face. Me in the video was completely, completely still. I was not even blinking. I don't think I was even breathing. After 10 seconds, me and the video started moving again. And that's when the next student in line finally occupied that empty space. The officer and I looked at each other, weirded out. What happened there? Did you have a stroke or something? He jokingly asked. Then seeing my expression after, asked me what's wrong? So he paused the video and listened as I told him what happened earlier. After listening to my story, he said, nothing left to do but check if the second Anna was real. I nodded. And so we continued watching the footage. I kept my eyes focused on the bottom right. I asked the officer to forward the footage a bit until I could see Anna at the bottom of the line. This time I could clearly see Anna chatting with her friends in line, being her usual self. When she finally reached me at the top, I can see our interaction the way I remembered it earlier. Me smiling, her covering her mouth, her friends laughing at her. Exactly as I remembered it. I asked the officer to stop the video and thanked him for his time. The officer gave me a kind of look and told me to take it easy. My mind was racing. Did I really see Anna twice in the classroom? Did I just hallucinate the first Anna that approached me? It's possible. Maybe. I'm pretty sure there's a scientific or neurological explanation for stuff like that. But I have never experienced that before. I mean, if I randomly freeze during the day, surely my stupid students and my co teachers will have noticed it by now. I was ready to accept that the first Anna, the silent Anna, the expressionless Anna, was my imagination. But then, if there really was no one in line after Jane, why didn't the student after her approach me? After I was done talking to Jane, it's apparent in the footage that they can see me. For the 10 seconds that I was not moving, the students next in line could see me. If I did really freeze up, surely one of the students will approach, if not to see her grade, then to ask me if I was okay. And also, why was there an empty space behind Jane? An empty space that the students behind her never stepped into. Could they have possibly seen someone in the line behind Jane? Could they perhaps, like me, saw this silent girl approach me, a silent girl who looked just like Anna but was not Anna. This is a story I don't usually tell because I am not sure if I was over overreacting, but it's something that still haunts me to this day. This took place during my freshman year at university a few years ago. It was around 5am on the day I was supposed to leave to go back home for summer break. I am a huge procrastinator so I had been up all night packing up my dorm room and doing a ton of laundry. Before I get into what happened, I think it's important to mention that my dorm building was slightly 17 floors high and I was on the 15th floor. Each floor had its own little laundry room. The laundry room on our floor was all the way across the building from me because my room was at the very end of the hall in an entire different wing. Since my dorm was at the end of the hall, my room was directly across the exit door leading to the staircase. While I was packing that night into the early morning morning, I kept hearing the door to the staircase occasionally opening and shutting a few times every hour. It wasn't exactly weird enough for me to be concerned about since the RAs did their rounds every hour or so and it was policy for them to use the staircase to patrol every floor. However, it was weird enough for me to notice the amount of times the door kept opening and closing as that was uncommon and usually eventually the RA stopped their rounds around 2am But I just brushed it off and figured they were doing extra rounds because it was move out day sometime between 4:30 and 5:00am I was standing in my room about to put on a shirt to go switch around my laundry. As I was pulling the shirt over my head, my door opened and a man stepped in. He was dressed in all black with a hood over his head and made it difficult to see his face. From what I could tell he looked like a student. He was young, maybe early twenties or so and filled my door frame at about six feet tall. I stood in fear and confusion without a shirt on and stared at this man with my mouth wide open in shock. We just stared at each other, not saying a word for what felt like forever but was probably only a minute or two so still in perspective. It was too long. He had the most blank and lifeless expression I had ever seen. I had no idea who this man was. I was already so tired and stressed from packing I barely remember finally muttering the words what the heck. The man quietly mumbled sorry, backed out of the room and slowly shut my door. I stood there in shock for a few seconds before quickly putting on my shirt and grabbing a small pocket knife I had in my desk drawer, I hurried and locked my door. Before I could even take a breath, my thoughts began racing. Who was that guy? Why did he just walk into my room? Why didn't he seem surprised or shocked that he just walked into a stranger's room? My brain forced rational f thought and I came to the conclusion that he must have accidentally came into my room and meant to go into my suite mate's room who lived next door to me. I told myself it was probably her boyfriend and maybe he was drunk and went to the wrong door or something, but he didn't seem drunk. In fact, he didn't seem to have any emotion at all. I felt much better after coming to this conclusion, but I was still reluctant to to go out and get my laundry. After a few minutes of hyping myself up and telling myself that it was just an accident, I finally went to get my laundry, making sure the coast was clear first and making sure to lock my door behind me just in case. I switched the clothes and dragged my laundry basket quickly down the hall and back to my room. As I stood in front of my door to unlock it, I glanced at up and all of the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I looked up and saw my huge name tag that my RA placed on my door at the beginning of the year. I realized he could not have possibly mistaken my room for someone else's as my name was written in big black letters on my door. I rushed into my room and locked the door behind me as more questions began to fill my head. I was still really freaked out about what was it had happened and it replayed in my head over and over again. Time had passed and it was around 6am at this point. I could still hear the staircase door being opened and closed periodically, but thought nothing of it at the time. I continued to pack my clothes while being overly aware of my surroundings, which probably made the next part of this even more horrifying for me. It's like that feeling when you're waiting for something really scary scary to happen, or you're trying to scare yourself and you have this huge pit in your stomach and you're constantly on edge. But nothing happens. Except something did happen. My doorknob began to violently turn. It was constant and forceful, like somebody knew they wanted to get in here even though the door was locked. I grabbed my knife and stood in the middle of My room facing the door, telling myself that I might actually have to stab this guy. After about an entire minute of him trying to open my door, he left. I knew something was definitely wrong. Now I was completely and utterly freaked out. If I had any thought left that this man had accidentally came to the wrong room, it was definitely no more. He could not have possibly came to the wrong room room twice, especially when my door was labeled with my name and I had no idea who he was. I picked up my phone and called my mom who was five hours away and frantically explained what had happened and she told me to keep my door locked and that if he came back again I should call the police. We hung up the phone and I tried my hardest to stay focused on finishing up my room. Around 6:30, there was frantic knocking at my door. I was horrified and just wished whatever this was would stop. I looked through the peephole and saw a girl who lived across from me at my door. I opened it and she was hysterical. She was crying and asking me for help. I asked her what was wrong and what she told me left me speechless. She said that she woke up to a man standing standing in her room. She explained that she was sleeping and a little tipsy when she woke up from drinking the previous night and had woken up suddenly to the feeling of being watched. When she realized there was someone standing by her bed, she screamed and he ran out of the room. That's when she got dressed and came to my door. She had no idea how long he had been there for. I told her we needed call the campus police and reassured her she would not get in trouble for being intoxicated. I called the police for her and we waited together for them to come. When they arrived about 10 minutes later, the officer questioned us about what had happened and I explained the incident that went down only an hour earlier. While I was explaining what the man looked like, my suite mate stepped out of her room and said, are you talking about a man coming into the your room? I told her yes and asked if she had heard anything. My suite mate told us about an hour ago she woke up next to a man standing next to her bed just watching her. After about 30 seconds of him standing there, he spoke. What he said to her will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. He looked at her blank and dead eyed and said that's what you get for sleeping with your door unlocked and walked out of her room like it was nothing. This happened right after he initially came into my room. I don't Think the police ever figured out who it was since I never heard back from them. But there are still questions that rack my brain. Who was that guy? Was he one just walking in and out of their staircase for hours, doing this on multiple floors? What was he doing at 5 in the morning? How did he get into the dorm in the first place? And the one question that still gives me goosebumps. What would have happened if I didn't lock the door the first time and he actually got into my room the second time he came back. When I was around 12 years old, I had a pretty creepy experience in my house. To give some backstory, I'm the youngest of three with two sisters. The way my house was laid out is my mom and dad's room was on the one side of the house and me and my sister's rooms were on the other side with the living room in the middle. Now my oldest sister is actually my stepson sister. Even though I have never thought of her like that, she has always been a true sister to me. During this time she was going through a lot. She struggled with bipolar disorder and had spent many nights getting into screaming matches with her boyfriends at ungodly hours of the morning. These arguments would almost always end in some sort of violent situation. I remember one specific instance very clearly where my sister was so furious at her boyfriend for watching something I'll leave to your imagination on his phone right in front of her, she started to beat and scratch his face with a high heel shoe. Anyway, one night something was weird. No guest was in the house and I knew this when falling asleep. Yet when I heard the screams at 2 in the morning, I was still unaffected. I imagined the that one of my sister's boyfriends had snuck in through the window to see her and they were now erupting into another fight. But I was wrong. I heard my parents run into my sister's room bursting through the door. They were silent for a few seconds. As my sister continued to scream and scream, I started to realize this was not like the other times. This wasn't an argument with a high school boy. These were Whales appear true Terror. After what seemed like forever, but was really like 15 seconds, my parents started yelling. What? What? Why are you screaming? All I could hear while sitting in my bed was my sister responding. Right there. Right there. How can you not see? How can you ask me that? This went on for a while and my sister was taken out of her room by my parents and she stayed in the kitchen drinking tea for the rest of the Night. My parents and sister didn't tell me anything that had happened since. In comparison to the drama that has happened in our household previously, this was a pretty peaceful night. Now it was the next day and time for bed again. I was having a little trouble falling asleep because I was still thinking about what my sister was screaming about. Was she seeing things? Sleep paralysis? Was she on something? Was there a ghost in the house? The hallways then proceeded to carry my sister's screams throughout the house again. This time several hours earlier than last night and even louder. My sister screamed like I have never heard any scream before. The words she said mixed with the tone of her voice gives me ice cream, cold skin, penetrating chills. Just as I tell this story, my sister was screaming the words, just kill me fast. Don't hurt me, just kill me fast. This time, my whole family, myself included, ran into her room. This sounded serious. She was screaming in terror and pointing into the corner of a room. But again, there was nothing there, there. She claimed that a large dark figure with a purple robe and red eyes was standing in the corner of her room watching her with a sinister presence. I began to get frustrated with my sister. I thought she was doing this for some kind of twisted desire for attention. In a lot of ways that's what I felt a lot of her dramatic situations were. But on the third night, I would come to believe her. On the third night, we put one of our dogs in my sister's room to keep her company. She was a small Pappy Poo, which is a ridiculous name for a mix of Papillon and Poodle. Her name was Twilight. She was a good dog and always very perceptive. Twilight was always the first to know when someone was approaching our house or even just walking past it. That night I didn't even bother sleeping as I knew there was going to be screams to startle me awake anyway. I was just staying up playing Saints Row 3 until I passed out from exhaustion or something. I hadn't been sleeping for the past two nights and was a train wreck at school, but at this point I didn't really care. And then right on cue at around one in the morning, the screams. I was mad that my sister was carrying on with this act, keeping me and my whole family awake. I was the only one who decided to stay awake in my house and my sister's room is right next to mine. So I got up, walked in there fast, getting ready to give my sister a piece of my mind on her attention seeking behavior. But then I heard Twilight. Not just barking, but howling like a desperate, urgent howling. I had never heard it before from her and would never hear it again as long as Twilight lived. I was taken aback by that, but I barged in the room anyway. And there was my sister screaming in terror while staring eyes wide open into the corner of the room. And there was Twilight looking at the exact and I mean exact same place my sister was looking. Twilight had her head up, looking at the corner of the room, howling. It was such an uncanny image, two beings reacting in terror and distress at something I could not see. Now, I am not a religious person. I was raised to believe that angels and demons exist, but I have no real belief in any kind of spiritual warfare anymore. Then I believe in the qanon theories of Hollywood celebrities sacrificing babies to the the devil or whatever. But I do believe in my own two eyes and I still can't explain what they saw after all this. My sister was brought into therapy after taking my dad's advice, and my mom had the room blessed by the priest from our church. It never happened again. All right, this is going to sound crazy, I'll admit it. If I heard this and it wasn't my own story, I probably wouldn't believe it happened. But this is 100% true. You'll just have to take my word for it. I was at a friend of a friend's birthday party the summer after our last year of middle school. It was a warm, clear night. I didn't know the birthday girl personally, as again, she was a friend of a friend. The party consisted of a huge game of sardines in her huge backyard. I'll describe the yard more in detail as it'll assist in painting a better picture in your head as to what I experienced. She lived on what could arguably be described as a small ranch. The backyard consisted of about 40 to 50 yards of lawn before gradually ascending up a hill where a thick forest started. The hill was untouched land with trees, rocks and bushes. In the middle of the hill ran a stream about 2 or 3ft wide on the left side of the backyard. Down on the lawn was a barn, a classic red one with a hay loft and everything. Her back patio had cafe lounge lights strung on the border with a fire pit in the corner. These details seem overbearing, but they will all be important later on in the story, I promise. The game of sardines started with two seekers. The rest of the group, around 30 kids, sprinted through the backyard looking for hiding places while the seekers counted to 60. Four kids and I decided to hide together and and deemed that the top of the hill right along the forest's edge would be our best bet. We sprinted up the hill, dodging rocks and ducking trees, and finally got to the top. We jumped behind the first line of brush and turned to face the back of the house. Though far away we could see the seekers running through the backyard. They had begun their search. Keep in mind with us facing the yard, our backs were turned to the thick dark forest on the edge of her property. After about five minutes of hiding, Jay, one of my friends I was hiding with, claimed he had heard rustling behind us coming from the forest. We looked back only to see nothing and started teasing Jay about being a wuss or a baby or whatever. Though I can't remember. I bet we were as scared as he was, was just trying to look brave in front of the two girls who had hidden with us. Only a mere 30 seconds or so after the first false alarm, Jay claimed to hear more rustling, though this time we all heard it. We looked behind us into the thick, dark rustling forest and saw what I can only describe as the most confusing yet horrifying thing I have ever seen. Standing about 15 yards into the wood line stood a grown man. He seemed to be about 6:2 or 6:3, though there was a catch. He was wearing a bunny suit, a full on Easter bunny type bunny suit. It took a second or two for me and my friends to process what we were seeing and right when we were done processing, he started running towards us. We couldn't believe it. After about a second delay of internally freaking out at the situation at hand, we all started sprinting down the hill. Though not as dense as the forest we were running from, we had to actively dodge and avoid trees and bushes. I was the second farthest from the bunnyman, having one of my friends in front of me with J and the two others behind me. After clearing the stream, my nails curled as I heard a scream from behind me. I looked back only to feel my heart drop. The bunny man had grabbed Jay. He was trying to drag him back up the hill. Miraculously, Jay was able to shake himself free. Jay played football and was the biggest kid in our grade, so he was able to loosen himself free somewhat easily. We sprinted back to the house as fast as we could, screaming as we went. We were yelling for everyone to get back to the house, that there was an immediate threat and that we were in danger. Luckily, the panic in our voices was genuine enough that the rest of the group listened and followed us back into the kitchen. We gathered Everyone and counted, making sure we didn't leave anyone outside with whoever was in that horrible costume. Once everything died down, I had only started to catch my breath when I heard the one line that still sticks with me to this day. Someone piped up and timidly asked, where's Sadie? Sadie was the birthday girl, who I didn't know that well. After the question was asked, everyone started desperately looking around the kitchen, living room area, looking for what they knew wasn't there. Sadie was still outside somewhere. The boys in the group, including myself, decided that we would split up into groups of three or four and go out looking for Sadie. We thought we were tough crap. A group of 18 or so hormonally driven teenagers with something to prove to the girls inside the house. We had to be tough guys who weren't scared of anything. I am not sure the facade worked. My group was assigned to the hill. We searched everywhere, behind trees, between bushes, calling out Sadie's name and flashing our flashlights everywhere we could. After about three minutes of searching, we heard a loud optimistic we got her. We found her. We sprinted back down the hill, going buck 20, itching to know where she was and if she was okay. After we all met up in the middle of the backyard, everything became clear. After everything died down, this is what happened from Sadie's point of view. Sadie had hidden by herself in the barn. To the left of the main doors was a pile of squared hay. Sadie had hidden behind the pile, covering herself with loose hay she had found on the floor in order to conceal herself. She said that for the main part, nobody had really gotten close to her hiding place. Why didn't she come out when we yelled at her? She thought it was a decoy to draw herself out of her hiding place. A little shaken, but overall okay. We all walked back to the house to regroup and retell to the girls in the house what had happened. I wish it ended there. About 20 minutes later, when we were all, all, for the most part, calmed down, we were sitting on the couch talking about everything and anything. At this point, a good amount of the kids had gone home, whether forced by curfew or at their own will due to the fears of the Bunnyman. So it was down to me, Sadie and three or four other people. Out of nowhere, Sadie spoke up. You know, now that I think about it, you guys did almost catch me. I would have had no idea, as I was a hider myself, but the two seekers from the Game of Sardines were still at Sadie's house. They both admitted to her that they did venture into the barn and that they must have missed her. Sadie then said this. I knew the screaming to go inside was a decoy. Somewhat confused at her statement, we urged her to elaborate. Don't play dumb, she told the seekers. I heard you guys come in about two minutes after I heard the yelling. You guys were looking everywhere for me and actually walked up right next to my hiding spot before walking away. For some reason, that's when you guys almost caught me. It took a minute for us to process what she said, but then it clicked. We were all inside two minutes after we had been yelling and everyone was accounted for except for Sadie. So nobody would have been outside when Sadie claimed that they would have been. That left one possibility. Sadie wasn't close to being caught by us. Sadie was close to being caught by whoever was in that bunny costume, whoever that was, and walked up right next to her hiding place. If he had moved the loose hay or even moved one block of tied hay, he would have found her and heaven knows what would have happened next. But that was all in the past. We were all inside now, safe and behind locked doors. My mom came shortly afterwards to pick me up and on the drive home I realized something I hadn't realized before. As I was looking out the window thinking about the events of the night, I realized that I was watching fields and farmland fly by. Sadie's nearest neighbor was two miles away from her house. She lived in a very, very rural part of town. It may seem like a small detail that should easily be thrown to the side, but to me it illustrated a glaring and disturbing circumstance. The Bunnyman could not have been a neighbor, family friend, or neighborhood teenager looking for entertainment. The closest house to Sadie's was two miles away. This was no teenager trying to scare younger kids or creepy adult on some power trip. This was a man in the middle of the forest late at night, two miles away from any sort of other civilization, stalking and chasing us. To this day the Bunnyman has not been identified or found and now that I'm telling this, all the details are coming back and I am remembering just how scary and traumatizing that night was for my 14 year old mind. This happened at the school I went to in the Philippines, which was a local Catholic one, but not that strict to describe where it happened. My classroom that time was at the end of the hallway located at the first floor. It also was across our mini library where our kind librarian sits. Behind the door beside the library were the bathrooms for girls and boys. The girls bathroom is bigger with three cubicles inside of it. The boys bathroom was just an entire bathroom without a cubicle. It's way back in 2003, I was in third grade. It happened during the summertime, two or three o' clock in the afternoon. We had an ongoing class at that time in that classroom. When I excused myself to go to the bathroom, I walked across the hall hallway and reached the girls bathroom. Just a brief description of how the bathroom looked. When you enter, a big dirty, scratchy mirror on the wall will welcome you. Beneath it was a clogged and dirty sink. Beside the sink were the cubicles, three of them, made of soft aluminum material. The locks on the doors were broken. This is an important detail. So when I entered the bathroom, I was the only one inside. No other students around. All the doors of the cubicles were wide open. I am the usual scaredy cat girl. So I went inside the first cubicle. Since the locks were broken, I just held the door while going to the bathroom. So if anyone entered, they would know I was there. As I was finishing my business, a sudden gust of wind entered the bathroom and I felt some someone, a presence had entered. I waited for that someone to enter one of the cubicles, but nothing happened. I was clueless. But I heard the faucet in the third cubicle open and water was flowing. I, without thinking too much, peeped below the cubicles. There was no one, no feet, nothing. Just water flowing. I freaked out. So I hurriedly fixed my uniform and when I was trying to open the door, it would not open. Remember, the lock was broken, so just a little nudge would open it, but it was not moving. I was hysterical. I was punching the door so hard that I put dents in it. I was screaming, crying, really, really scared. I tried kicking the door, but it just wouldn't budge. I screamed loud. My throat was getting sore until my teacher and the librarian rushed inside. They opened the door, mind you, without any issue. I was dumbfounded and they asked me what had happened and I told them everything. They just stared at each other and gave me a feigned but worried laugh and helped me to get back to class. It was the scariest feeling I ever felt because I felt helpless, trapped. I remember stories of other students seeing ghosts and such at that school. Some say that the school was initially rice plains where salvaged bodies were usually thrown. So I guess that can explain if it's all true. 18 years passed and that memory is still as clear as glass. I hope nothing like this ever happens to me again. To preface, I recently passed my driver's test and got my license, meaning I can now work as a part time delivery service from my parents. I honestly don't mind however, as there's something peaceful about the freedom of driving somewhere with simply yourself and a good playlist. On this particular night, my dad asked me to pick up a few groceries from a halal store such as fish and Indian sweets. The drive was around 30 minutes and I left around 6:30 and by the time I arrived the place was getting ready to close. Thankfully, the store owner has known us for almost nine years as we frequent that location for food that you can't find at a local grocery store. As I was waiting for them to slice the fish into pieces and bag it up, I stepped out to take a call. As I finished, I watched as a woman seemingly appeared from the bus stop and began making her way towards me. She seemed panicked, as if she was on the run from someone and was wearing a tattered blue raincoat despite it being almost 90 degrees at sunset. She slowly walked up to me and asked in a labored tone, hi sir, do you have any change? I'm trying to get away from someone, just as I assumed. Now I can understand if some people find my decision to be a bit rude and possibly an instigator for the events. I'm someone who believes in helping people, but also understands the risk of helping strangers whose intentions aren't as clear. Instead of handing her money, I recommended that she go inside and ask the owner if he could help her and that maybe he would be willing to get her help for her situation. She defeatedly looked at me and said in an almost sarcastic tone, okay, thanks for the the help. I guess despite her slightly condescending mannerism, I was willing to believe that something was wrong and just brushed it off and hoped that the people inside could help. I watched as she almost unnaturally went from a look of dissatisfaction to a look for a plea for help. I watched as she asked the owner for change and told him a quick spiel about her situation. But this is where things took a turn for the worst. The owner said something and her face turned from sadness to pure hatred and she said something along the lines of you people have no care for others, pointing angrily at the owner and a few surrounding customers and stormed out the back. I quickly went inside and just paid the owner for the fish, not wanting to question him about what happened. As I was walking over to the my car, I thought I saw a figure in blue dash across to get behind my car. I knew for a fact now that this lady was probably having issues with something else. And I began to move much more slowly, facing the direction in which I thought I had seen her duck behind the car. Nothing. Thoroughly weirded out. I jumped in my car and started down the road. As I was pulling out of the park parking lot, I watched as a white Ford van pulled up behind me, almost tailgating. I looked in my rearview mirror. I not only saw that lady, but in the driver's seat sat a bulky man with a bald head and a beard almost resembling that of a crazy wrestler or bodybuilder. The look of anger in their eyes is what haunts me the most. Thinking about it, I realized that I was now stunned, stuck in traffic with these crazies sitting mere inches behind me. So I knew I had to do something. I didn't want to drive on the highway. I quickly made a beeline for the first exit as the light turned green and the big van screeched behind me As I began speeding to almost 80 miles per hour, praying that I wouldn't lose control. I kept looking back, only to see them just as close as they had been before. I watched as they kept trying to signal to move into the lane next to mine, but kept missing their timing, which seemed to make the guy angrier. At this point, it had been almost 10 minutes that I was traveling these random interstates and had almost no clue what was happening. I knew I had to find an exit and find one quick because the last thing I wanted was for my parents to start worrying and for the roads to to start getting more vacant. Also, pair this with the fact that I was going almost 100 miles per hour and it was impending recipe for disaster. Just then, I saw my chance to get out. My phone alerted me to an exit that led right back onto main roads, which if I was able to make it on them, it would be easier for me to lose the psychos. I hatched my plan to trick the driver into thinking I was surrendering. But in truth, I was going to make a daring escape. Or a really good attempt at one. At least. I baited the van into thinking I was about to turn into the left lane. I saw an exit about a mile ahead and realized that if I could turn onto it at the last second, I could be free from this mess. So, bracing myself for what could be a serious accident, I near swerved my car into the Subaru next to me and barely made it onto the main road again without a scratch. My nightmare was over. I hightailed it home while constantly staring in my rearview mirror out of pure paranoia that I hadn't lost them and that they were going to follow me home. Thankfully, I made it home safe without my parents questioning me and I am now able to share this truly gut wrenching experience with everyone. It's safe to say I'll have my eyes in the back of my head next time I go to get groceries after six o'. Clock. The following story is true and took place on Thanksgiving Day in 2019. During this time I was 22. I was staying with a friend for a couple of months after I had a physical dispute with my father. We did not get along. As I grew into adulthood, he had certain expectations for my future, but my mind was set on a different path. I was in a vulnerable state and I desperately wanted to get rid of these feelings of anger and loneliness. I normally spent Thanksgiving at home home. So this year was a bit different for me. As the night approached, my friend Valerie left to attend dinner at her grandparents house. She planned to stay there for a few days. Because of this, Valerie expected me to go home until she came back, but she also wanted me to go so that I could mend my differences with my dad. However, I dreaded going back home to face him. So instead I accepted an invitation from someone to go to a party. A little background information the person who invited me was an older gentleman named Jerry who I have known for a few years. When I worked as a bartender, he would order a drink and we would have casual conversation. He disguised himself as a guardian, gave me advice and would occasionally hand me an envelope with several hundred dollars in it. He seemed really kind. He admired that I was in college and still managed to work a full time job. His energy was genuine. But don't get me wrong, there was always a thought in the back of my mind that told me he maneuvered with an ulterior motive. Prior to this party, Jerry and I have always communicated with each other only at the bar. When he invited me to the party, he did not explain the details and he sounded a bit frantic over the phone. Nonetheless, I showered, got dressed and headed outside to wait for him to pick me up. As Jerry pulled into the driveway, I could see him through his car window, either talking to someone or to himself, I could not tell. I get inside of the car and shoot him a quick glance. His eyes were bloodshot, shot red. On our way to the party, Jerry and I discuss our lives and what's been going on with us. He asks me about school and I ask him about his job. I am not sure exactly what Jerry does in his personal life, but he always seems to be paranoid and on edge. Anytime I would ask him something, he would fidget with the steering wheel and shoot me awkward glances. His hands gripped the words wheel tightly as he sped down the road. I believe he was on something. Jerry hands me a white envelope as we pull into the driveway of the location. After arriving, we enter a house and immediately I see at least 40 to 50 people of all ages talking and performing risque acts. I walk further into the crowd. I can feel the eyes of men and women stare me down in interest. Jerry grabs my shoulder from behind and asks me if I'm comfortable. He claimed he wanted to show me a different part of his lifestyle. I assured him that I would be okay even though I felt completely awkward at that point. I was nervous. I was not expecting to be put in a situation like this, but I was going to make the best of it while I could. Red silhouette light lights beam down from the ceiling as I move past the crowd and into the dining room. To relax my nerves, I get an alcoholic beverage from a pitcher in the kitchen and sit down in the dining room. After about 10 minutes, I head to the bathroom upstairs and come back down. When I'm done, I drink the rest of my beverage and go into the kitchen to get some more. All of a sudden I start to feel dizzy. My heart was beginning to beat faster than normal, my body temperature was increasing and the room around me appeared blurry. Something wasn't right. A woman with long blonde hair sitting next to me in the dining room whispered in my ear and asked me if I was okay. I told her that I thought something was wrong. I felt weird. She shook her head in disappointment and went into the living room to approach Jerry. I could not tell what she was saying to him, but I assumed she was telling him to go talk to me because she continuously kept pointing her finger in my direction. I prayed in my head that they would hurry and finish their conversation because a guy kept staring at me from the couch in the living room. He was completely nude and was smoking some sort of pipe. He winked at me and smiled as he blew out smoke from his last hit. I was completely turned off. Moments later, Jerry walks over to me and we begin to talk for a few minutes. I convinced him to take me home. He kept trying to get me to stay at the party, but I told him that I felt nauseous and I was not having a good time. This was the red flag. He eventually gave up and began to drive me back to my friend's place. While he was driving, I sat in the back seat instead of the passenger seat. I felt waves of euphoria passing through my body. But I also felt this overwhelming sense of dread and nervousness. Whatever I had drank was more than just alcohol. We approach my friend's house. I notice that Jerry drives right past it. I ask him repeatedly to turn around and take me back. He doesn't say a word. I can see his red eye staring at me through the rear view window. He looked angry. At this point, I was beyond terrified. I start screaming at him to let me out of the car, but he refused to hear my plea. There was only one option for me to escape. I had to jump out of the car. I noticed that my car door did not have a child lock. So all I had to do was plan where I was going. Going to jump out. I waited until he reached a red light and when he did, I ran out of the car quickly leaving the door swinging open. I ran as fast as I could down the block and reminded myself in my head to not look back. The sound of his voice echoed down the street as I got farther away from him. When I got to my friend's house, I remembered that I did not have a key and I was not supposed to be there. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. When the coast became clear, I climbed into the living room window, closed it back up and ran upstairs. Before I could even enter the bedroom, I passed out on the hallway floor. I woke up in the middle of the night crying and upset about what took place on Thanksgiving. At that moment I decided to put my differences to the this side with my father and I went back home. I learned that you cannot run away from your problems because they will eventually come back or another one will arise. Okay, so I guess in all stories you need to start with a little background. I live about 20 minutes outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. Home to all of the creeps, Anne Rice novels and paranormal lore. I grew up with it. I have grown to distinguish between tourist trap spooks and the real deal, quote unquote, so to speak. Being here has ironically made me even more the hard nosed skeptic. New Orleans is a place where when you step onto the centuries old cobblestone roads and see old buildings mixed into modern structures, you feel how different it is. The history, tragedy and the joy of the last centuries permeates the air. It almost vibrates. If you have never visited, I can't explain this unique experience and vibe that I've never felt anywhere else. If you're into history, I highly suggest you visit sometime in your life. That being said, the paranormal never really scared me. I believe in a lot of things. I also believe that there are a lot of things that we can't explain and that we're not supposed to be able to explain. My family and I always go to New Orleans many times a year. My step grandmother, God rest her soul, who is Native American, always told me that I have a beacon aura and that I've always been a magnet for things not of this world. Great thing to tell an 8 year old, huh? I digress. At any rate, I never understood what she meant until a few years ago. It all started when my then boyfriend's family came down to visit. We always take everyone to the French Quarter to do all of the touristy things it has to offer. They have dozens of would be professional tours. We decided to shell out the money to take a trolley paranormal tour. The Quarter is big after all and I was already in a foul mood. We started at St. Louis Cemetery, one where the most notorious voodoo priestess is buried and where Nicolas Cage has has reserved a monument to be buried in. Same old, same old, but they were into it. Another thing that's unique about this city is that all of the graves are built above ground with the bodies being placed in crypts. Because we can't bury our dead below ground due to being below sea level. It just adds to the creep factor. We went to a few more stops before we came to the oldest Jewish cemetery in Nola. Surprisingly, I had never been there before. It was almost 6pm and the sun was almost down. The cemetery had closed earlier so we couldn't go in the gates. It had been my birthday a few days earlier and my boyfriend's family got me a brand new digital camera. I tried to take some pictures through the iron gate at the front as I really love old headstones. I'm weird, don't judge me. The tourist lady kept on with her story about the place. She said that the cemetery had a lot of lost souls as it was made to be segregated during World War II. Sad. I wasn't paying close attention. We went around to the side of it with a six foot stone wall. After she finished, we started to head back to the trolley. I don't know why I did this, but I. But I turned around from our group and ran back to the wall. I am a short girl so I got up on my tiptoes and reached my camera over the wall to get a picture of the cemetery. I couldn't see what I was taking a picture of as I just lifted my camera over the wall and pressed the button blindly. I only took one picture, Just one. I didn't look at it until we all got back on the trolley. My boyfriend asked me to see the picture I had taken of him in front of the gate. I flipped through until I got to the one over the wall. My stomach sank down to the floor and I know I went three shades whiter even though I'm Irish and already extremely pale. My boyfriend asked me what was wrong. I didn't say anything and just showed him the picture. He looked at it and shook his head, doing a double take. The picture was of the cemetery over the wall and in the middle of the picture was a huge blue and purple jagged streak. It was creepy. It wasn't the sun because it was already behind the horizon and there were no street lights. The couple in front of us asked to see it and that led to the whole trolley wanting to see. The tourist lady was shocked and asked if I would email it to them to put on their website. I tried to brush it off, but I couldn't shake the weird off me. After we finished the tour, we decided to take them to the oldest bar in Nola for a drink. It's an old pirate bar. Cool, right? Well, it's not very big and the back of the bar is pitch black with a few candles. After we finished, we were talking about where to eat. As we're about to get get up, I suddenly feel a huge shove on my back. It knocked me to the floor. I jumped up quickly, mad at my boyfriend for pushing me. I was like, what the heck? I was moving. Was I not fast enough? It was dark, but I could see his face and he wasn't laughing. Babe, I didn't push you. Did you trip? Are you okay? I was so mad thinking he was just messing with me because I knew that I was pushed hard. I stomped out, fuming. I calmed down after a while and met them at the restaurant. I apologized and tried to rationalize again. We finished our night and went home. My boyfriend's family left a few days later and thought nothing more about my experience. A week later, I started having weird things happen at our house. My dad was living with my boyfriend and I at the time. Odd things happened, like finding lights on when we knew they were turned off. Our laptops being open when we know we shut them earlier. Cabinets being opened randomly. We even watched a nightlight in the kitchen go on and off. A few times while we were in the bedroom we tried to brush all this off like we tried to do back in New Orleans, but this was child's play. One night we were cooking dinner and I went to get my phone from our bedroom. I was laughing at our conversation, looking at my dad when I stepped into our room. And when I turned my head back towards the front, I was startled when I saw a huge black figure in the corner near the window. The room was bright with our lamps and TV on, so I know what I saw. It scared me so bad that I screamed and fell backwards onto the floor. My dad and boyfriend came running over to me asking if I was okay. I was not okay. It freaked me out and I refused to stay by myself after. I wish this was the end of my story. I wish one morning I had to be by myself as everyone was at work. I tried to chill and cook my breakfast. It was quiet and I was getting out my pan to cook eggs. All of a sudden I hear a huge bang. I dropped my pan and looked around bewildered trying to figure out what it was. I found my air conditioner cover almost ripped off the hinges. It had a lock on it and it was bent backwards like it was pulled out with a pair of pliers. I ran out of the house and refused to go back until my dad got off. Then that night my boyfriend and I went to bed and we must have been asleep for hours. Around 3am I was woken straight up out of a dead sleep by a loud guttural deep howl in my ear. It sounded like someone was right in my ear. I sat up super fast, my heart beating hard, breathing fast, fast. I look over to wake my boyfriend up but he was already awake. He was sporting the same terrified look on his face. We just looked at each other wide eyed. He whispered, did you hear that too? I was shocked. He had the same eardrum splitting scream in his ear too. We didn't sleep the rest of the night. Then a week later I get up to go to the bathroom. Our room is pitch black during the day because we both worked nights and slept during the day. So we have dark curtains and no lights. If we get up we can't see if the other is still in bed unless we reach and feel for the other. When I walk out of the room I see my boyfriend and dad leaning against the wall across from the bathroom. The door to the only bathroom in our home was closed, closed, shut. Both of them just stared at me dumbfounded. I was like what? Who's in the bathroom? They both just looked at the door and back at me. My dad said, we thought you were in there. We've been waiting to piss for over 30 minutes. I was like, well no. I just woke up to P2. My boyfriend lunges towards the door to open it and I could see the light on under the door. He tried to open it but it was locked. We had to get a butter knife to turn the lock and open it. No one was in there. Even though this was so creepy. They both brushed it off saying, I probably just did it in my sleep. Really guys, I sleepwalked, which I have never done. Upset, left the lights on, locked the knob and closed the door and went back to bed. Right? Sure. Besides other little things, the last experience of this story was what made us move three days later after the bathroom incident, I was staying at home alone for a few days as they had gone on a fishing trip. I had to work so I had to stay, albeit reluctantly. I finally settled down to try and watch some TV in my bed before sleep. I don't remember going to sleep that night. I don't even remember turning off the TV. I woke up around 3am again and the TV was blaring loudly, much louder than I remember having it. When I turned it on, I shook my head, feeling drowsy trying to find my remote but I couldn't find it. I felt dizzy. I stood up and almost fell back down. I turned on my lamp that I swore I had left on when I fell asleep. I looked around and the loud TV was disorienting. I finally found the remote across the room. Odd. Our room was extremely long as it was a garage turned into a room. It was all the way on the opposite end from my bed. I turned down the TV and looked around for my cat. I couldn't find her. I went to go find my phone to call my boyfriend to check on him. Still thinking it was early, I couldn't find my cell phone either. I was so confused and still very disoriented. I looked around for about 10 minutes before I realized that I had to use the bathroom. I stumbled into into the restroom and while I was doing my business, I jumped almost off the toilet at hearing my ringtone blare next to me. After composing myself, I look down and there's my phone sitting on a pile of magazines. The last time I saw it it was next to me on my bed on the charger. I picked it up confused and I look at the missed call. It was from an unknown number so I couldn't call it back. I was a bit taken aback that it was so late at night when I clicked out of the call log to message my boyfriend. I was taken to my photo gallery as it was the last screen it was on before the call. I don't remember looking through my gallery recently. At the time I had an older model cell phone because I hadn't upgraded to a smartphone yet. It was a simpler slider phone phone. Remember those? I finished my business and walked back to my room. I looked back down to my phone and I noticed three new video files in the gallery. They looked dark and I couldn't really tell what it was. Now for those of you that don't remember those phones, when you take a video with it, you have to go to the camera function, press the Record Video button, press Enter, Record the video and when you click the button to stop recording, it doesn't automatically stop and save the recording. It asks if you want to save or delete it and you have to physically choose the option you want. If you click Save, you are then prompted to name the file and then click save. I have a point to why I'm telling you the function of my phone. When I clicked on the first video, I couldn't tell what it was was, but I continued to watch. I started to hear mumbling and whimpering so I put my ear back down to the phone to listen harder. It started to get louder and it sounded like me. I felt my blood go cold when I heard myself beginning to whimper and audibly cry like I was in pain mumbling about please don't hurt my daddy and please stop. I couldn't understand most of it, but I sounded terrified. I looked at the screen and I can finally see the backlight of the TV on my face. Barely. I could make out that I look like I'm asleep. But in a really bad dream I was moving from side to side making these noises and terrified whimpers, screaming every little bit bit or so. The video ended and I immediately clicked the next one. It was the same thing, only this time I realized that whoever or whatever was holding my phone and recording me was right directly above my face. They would have had to stretch out their arms very far over the edge of the king size bed to achieve this angle or be standing on the bed above me. The phone kept moving in to my face, face close up, not zooming, physically moving right in front of my face. I was even more terrified in this video and my pain seemed louder. The third one Was the exact same, only I was screaming bloody murder in this one and the TV was up very loud in the state I found it when I woke up earlier. It was like I was stuck in a nightmare and I could see the tears running, rolling down my face as the video abruptly stopped. I reached up and felt my hair matted to my forehead and cheeks where I had tears and sweat dry. I couldn't understand what was happening. The reason I told you how that particular phone works was because there was no way I filmed myself in my sleep and was able to fumble my way through all of the crap to do on that phone. It's not complicated if you're awake, but even in a sleep state, I deem that impossible. The titles of the videos were 9991, 9992 and 9999. I couldn't even fathom what was happening, and all I could do is stare at my phone. I felt like someone was watching me the whole time I was going through this, enjoying it. There was no one in the house and none of my friends would break into my house, record this, put it in the bathroom, and then leave. There's just no way. I found my cat hiding in the closet, Terrified out of her mind for some reason, I scooped her up, put her in her carrier, and hauled to my friend's house. When I told my dad and boyfriend, they said it was probably a prank or maybe an intruder. Intruder. All of the doors were closed and locked, no windows broken or open. I felt like an idiot for suggesting it was anything but explainable. They knew I wasn't going back in that house, so we found an apartment and moved out within three days. While we were unpacking, I found that camera from the New Orleans trip. I had uploaded them on my laptop, so I quickly deleted them when I freaked myself out thinking about it. But I didn't delete it from my camera. It's been three years since this happened and I still have night terrors and crazy little things happen. My boyfriend is now my husband, and I'm wondering if maybe I brought something back with me that day. Ennola. Did I catch something in my camera and it clung to me? I don't know. I try not to think about it too much or I freak myself out again. Like I said, I still have things happen. For example, I closed my laptop while I was writing this to go take a shower. When I came back, it was open. Thanks, ghost. I guess they just want their story told. I constantly feel watched and hear random noises and not being able to find the source. Friends who know this story suggest I do EVP or Electronic Voice Phenomenon, but I refuse to ever do a recorder session as I'm terrified to listen to what they may have to say. Well, there it is. I would send in those videos too, but I am not prepared to let strangers hear me be in that much pain. Believe me or not, I see people talk crap on these videos saying they're fake. Usually I agree, but I'm a hypocrite. This really happened. I don't care. Just be careful what you bring home, whether it be a stray animal, a stray one night stand, or a stray ghost. Pleasant dreams. It was a cold afternoon in early December. I was walking home from school at around 5pm due to sports. I live in Colorado and during the winter temperatures can hit to a single digit or lower. Even though I had multiple layers of coats on, I still felt a cold shiver run throughout my back. I shivered every other minute as the path home seemed to stretch on forever. The path I am told to take by my parents runs along the outside of a dense forest area. It is extremely inconvenient that the school I was attending at the time was on the opposite side of my neighborhood. Ever since I was little, my parents always told me to never cross through the center of the woods woods. They never specified why, and anytime I asked, they would uncomfortably change the subject. Knowing darn well that I had a long time before I would make it home. I chose to make the biggest mistake of my life. As I walked, I blankly thought about taking a shortcut through the woods to save time and energy. But the only thing that held me back was how heavily my parents stressed me to not My cold, wet boots from the snow and my numb fingers caused me to think about the more efficient way to get home rather than the safer, longer way. I looked to the sky. I thought for a moment about how long it would be before the sun set. Based on my memory, I believed I had enough time to cut through and make it back home before the sun disappeared over the horizon. I then looked into the woods and took a deep breath before walking in. Nothing strange happened most of the trip and if anything it felt only peaceful having the birds chirping and the breeze brushing the pine needles. About halfway through, I noticed that the sun was already starting to set and that my calculations were not too accurate. I didn't panic because I knew I was close to home by the sound of the cars ahead. I am not 100% sure why? But I began to get the urge to just run. I accused my body of being foolish and that there was no boogeyman chasing me, but as I continued, the urge did not subside. Every part of my body told me to run and that's what I did. I ran as fast as my cold limbs could and for some insane reason I believed I heard another pair of footsteps behind me. When a glimpse of light from nearby houses appeared, I ran faster. I leaped into some random person's backyard and stopped to catch my breath. As I looked behind me, I saw a pale white faced man on all fours crawling slowly back into the woods, dead black eyes staring right into my soul. My eyes swelled with tears and I walked through the lit concrete sidewalk the entire way home. When I arrived, I didn't tell my parents of the encounter, but they seemed to be more worried about me than usual. Over time I began to forget about it, but whenever I looked into the woods from my window, I sometimes see the man watching, observing from a distance. I am too afraid to tell my parents, but I also don't think I can keep it a secret for much longer. Hopefully the man will get bored or find a new victim. Just please let him leave me alone. This event takes place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa during the mid-1980s. What I can say about this is that it was the most frightening experience I have ever had and I am very thankful that I never found out what the true motives of these men were. I cannot definitively remember the exact year, but it was early summer of either 1986 or 1987. I was around 11 or 12 at the time and can still recall the fear of this incident quite vividly. I should first start by saying that growing up I was unusually strong and big for my age. Therefore, my parents were never that worried about me being out on my own, even at an age as young as 11 or 12. Since this particular story involves bicycles, I should start by saying that I started racing BMX when I was seven years old, as did my friend who was with me during this time incident and continued up until around the age that this story takes place. This fact is important because I believe those BMX skills are part of what enabled my friend and I to escape unharmed during the incident. When I look back on this incident, I can remember myself feeling uneasy at the time and for no real reason. I can recall that it was a night in early summer. I get the feeling that it was very close to school, ending as this was one of the reasons my friend and I used to convince My mom that summer was pretty much beginning on that night. My best friend Luke and I were planning on riding our bikes to his grandparents house and spending the night. I should note that his grandparents house was a beautiful four story house that was a near mansion built on the edge of the downtown area. The interesting part is that by this time in the mid-1980s the house was in what was considered to be one of the worst areas of town. It sat all alone surrounded by medical offices at the very edge of both the downtown area and the beginning of what was considered the dangerous area of the city. Very sad how quickly neighborhoods can change for the worse but but this is vital to the story as it relates to the reason my mom was hesitant for us to ride our bikes down and through that neighborhood so close to nightfall. I think she was also concerned that our bikes may tempt someone to try and steal them. It's worth noting that I had a blue and white Club Fuji road bike and my friend had a sweet super sport Schwinn. I can't remember exactly how much they were valued at in 1986 or 87, but they were nice bikes and probably cost over $450 a piece at the time. Kind of spoiled now that I think about it, but we were middle class kids and did not understand how much that set our parents back at the time. It was starting to get late by the time we convinced my mom to let us head out. I remember thinking we didn't have much light left and even some of the street lights were threatening to turn on. I would estimate that it was around 7:30pm When Luke and I took off on our ride to his grandparents house which was where he was living at the time with his mom. We grew up across the street from each other and have known each other since we were two years old. We are like brothers. I should also say that the neighborhood where we grew up and the one we had to pass through through to get to our destination was at the time considered part of the bad neighborhood in town. We felt perfectly fine going through it because it was our stomping ground and we knew everyone around there and the streets like the back of our hands. The ride should only take us about 20 minutes at a regular riding pace, but knowing how my friend liked to take detours and make stops to get pop or candy, I figured it would take us longer. Now at this point of our trip we are about 10 minutes in and having fun just riding around, taking different streets and flying through our old neighborhoods. The only thing I can remember is that it was extremely deserted on the streets. No traffic, no people out and about, which is kind of odd for this area in the evening. There was really no explanation for this, but I can remember it fueled the strange feeling I had from the beginning of this ride. I told Luke we should probably start taking a more direct path to his grandparents house. Luke said he wanted to stop and get a Gatorade at the Jiffy Mart which is where we spent a lot of our time growing up getting our candy and pop fixes. He went inside the store to get us a couple of orange Gatorades. I sat outside to watch our bike and as I did I noticed this creepy looking van driving around the block. I didn't think much of it at first other than to think to myself how much it looked like a stereotypical kidnapper's van. After I saw it circle around three times I started feeling a bit nervous. But as I stated earlier, I was extremely strong and big for my age and my friend Luke was the most street smart smart kid I ever met. In fact, he recently spent five months in the projects of Washington D.C. when his mom moved there with her piece of garbage boyfriend. They eventually moved back after the boyfriend showed his true colors and I couldn't have been more thrilled. He told me how tough it was in the projects. He's afraid of no one, nothing even to this day. Sorry I'm getting a bit off point, but this is important as neither of us were concerned about being abducted. In our minds that happens to little kids. I guess we forgot that the famous Des Moines Register paperboy Johnny Gosch was 12 years old when he was abducted, roughly the same age as we were at this time. So Luke isn't worried at all and even seems to be getting a rush from it. I'm not feeling the same way and I can't shake the feeling that there's something different going on, something more sinister. We sit outside the Jiffy Mart drinking our Gatorade while keeping a lookout for the van. We don't see it come back around and decide to take off down the road and go past our childhood houses. Now at this point we think that the van is gone and was possibly not even interested in us in any way. I felt slightly relieved as it was getting dark at this time and I was ready to get to where we were going. Now I know this area better than anyone and have hiding spots in my memory from growing up here. So I was already preparing different escape routes for us that a vehicle would have trouble following. I Think I was doing it to ease my mind because I was still pretty spooked and couldn't figure out exactly why I was. As we got about halfway down the hilly road that leads away from the Jiffy Mart, I saw the van on a side street out of the corner of my eye. Like you might imagine, the van must have seen us because I heard a screech of tires and the van came squealing around the corner in our direction. I yelled to Luke and he followed me as I already had a path in mind. Now the BMX racing comes into play. Both Luke and I are extremely fast on bikes with excellent handling skills. Whoever was driving and navigating the van appeared to not be familiar with the area as we were able to lose them by taking routes that weren't obvious paths for vehicles. The topography of the area we were at in the beginning of the chase was on a hill and there were many alleyways that were somewhat hidden. Hidden unless you knew exactly where to turn. I think this was the only reason we were able to put some distance between us and the van. The thing that really scared me was the sound of the van gunning the engine as it desperately searched for us. I remember thinking that the van's engine roared like a demon and I was having a hard time understanding why they would continue to pursue us with such unrelenting commitment. Luckily, Luke and I knew the area so well and had found our old hiding spot from when we were kids. It was in a wooded spot behind a garage that no one used but gave us cover and many escape routes. Luke and I had eluded the van for a moment, but we could still hear it in the distance, circling around and with the same demonic engine roar that made me cringe when it got closer. Close. Our plan was to hang out there for a bit until we felt it was safe. We were still quite far from his grandparents house and since it was the days before cell phones, we had no other option but to wait. Luke still wasn't as concerned as I was, even though I could tell he was a bit unnerved by the situation. We both couldn't understand why they would be so reckless in their driving just to scare us or take our bikes away. It felt like they were hunting us for something bigger. I don't know why I thought that, but I just got that feeling. So after about 20 minutes of waiting, we decide that the van and its occupants must have gotten bored looking for us and we cautiously exit our hiding spot. We look around and see nothing, not even any neighbor Activity. We head down the alley and make sure we check every route and headlights we see to make sure the van is nowhere in sight. I should describe the van in question before moving on. It was a rather beat up copper colored Ford or Chevy van, 1970s or 1980s I think. My fear at the time blocks the detail of it since the only time it got really close, I was too busy making some crazy maneuver to get away from it. As we get to the street that our childhood homes are on, we decide to go down like we planned and we reminisce for a few minutes about past memories on this street. We then head around the corner of this street as we are planning on connecting with the road that will lead us straight to the parking lot that connects to his grandparents home. It's just a couple of blocks away when I think I see the van cross roughly four blocks down. Luke thinks I'm seeing things and I can't be certain but it seems likely knowing what was to come. We keep on riding down the road and I am feeling very uncomfortable, like I am being watched but there isn't anyone around. I still to this day can't believe how strangely absent people were that night. Although we did see some guys who possibly saved us. So we get to the street that will eventually take us to our destination. I'm still feeling anxious but slightly relieved because we are only six or seven minutes away. Just as I am thinking that, I hear the sound of skidding tires. I look back to see the van backing up after screeching to a stop, reversing and coming straight forward us. Luke takes off and I follow as the van is gaining on us. We cut off through a narrow alley not meant for vehicles and the van follows our exact path, which I was shocked at. I am in full panic mode and Luke is too, which made me even more frightened. We did everything we could to try to elude this van. We were very close to the busiest street in town so we pedaled over towards that way. As the van finally got out of the maze that we took it on. It was at this point that I got a look at the occupants of the van and it didn't make me feel any better. There appeared to be at least three men in the van, all scruffy males. From the fleeting glance I got. For some reason I still get the feeling that they weren't interested in our bikes, especially since it seemed like they were trying to run us over. Once we got to the main busy road, we again hid in the COVID of people walking around the city sidewalks. I felt safer by all the traffic lights and businesses, but 9:30pm downtown at this time wasn't particularly safe for kids either. There was still an adult theater right on the main road at this time in the 1980s, but at least the perverts running around this night weren't after us. We rode over and hung out by a McDonald's that was crowded and only saw the van briefly as it passed by and headed off into the night. We decided to leave when we saw the McDonald's crew shutting the place down. At this point we are only a few minutes away from Luke's grandparents house. Our plan was to ride as far as we can on the busy road road until we have to turn left for the last leg of our journey. We are exhausted at this point and just want to get home. So we book it up the road and turn onto the street that leads to his grandparents house. As we start riding down the road we see the van three blocks down and it spots us and floors it coming after us. Luke and I are forced to take left which takes us further away from his grandparents house, but we have no choice as the van is approaching us fast. We hop a curb and speed across a parking lot with no entrance on the side. We take thinking the van won't follow and we can lose it while it has to go around the block to find us. I hear the sliding door of the van open but we were way too fast for anyone on foot to catch us so they appeared to abandon that tactic quickly. We got over to another street which at the time was considered the most dangerous street in our city as it had a notorious bar where fights happened on what seemed like a nightly basis. It was lucky for us that we saw a group of guys shooting craps outside the bar and we knew a couple of them because they were older brothers of our friends. Just as we started talking with them the van creeped up on the street street north of us. Upon seeing all of the guys out playing dice they slowly drove away. The guys playing dice asked what was up with the van. We told them it had been aggressively pursuing us for quite some time now. They said to take off and that it likely wouldn't be back now because of their presence. We agreed and they went back inside. We really did think that that would be the end of the it as the guys we were talking to were very bad dudes with dubious reputations. They liked us because we grew up in the same neighborhoods and we went to school with their little brothers. Unfortunately our Night wasn't quite over. We decided to avoid the road where we last saw the van to be on the safe side and took a street that wasn't so out in the open. Had we had taken the most straight line into easy route we would have been easily spotted by anyone looking for us. So we cut across another street and ended up in a parking lot that was in the back of a pharmacy and medical supply store. As Luke and I are riding across the dark parking lot going towards the front of the pharmacy, we see the van creeping along the road. It's obviously still searching for us as it slows and stops as if they were looking all over for any sign of us. In kind of an unspoken moment, Luke and I both know this isn't a normal situation. These guys have been following us for over two hours now and they haven't given up. We are now close enough to see his grandparents house sitting in the dark waiting for our moment to spring. Luke and I and our 1212 year old minds both agree that we must split up. One of us will be bait and the other will get to his grandparents house and call the cops or come help whichever one of us the van pursues, then the other. Just at that moment the van abruptly turns and starts coming up the one way street towards us. We wait for it to get close and then Luke cuts back through the parking lot and speeds out onto the street. The van swerves and goes after him. I speed as fast as I can down the street to his grandparents house as I see the van within 20ft of a frantically pedaling Luke. I get to his grandparents house in record time and I am so worked up that I can barely speak. Once I calm down I tell Luke's grandma, grandpa and uncle what was happening. They knew that I wasn't joking around as my personality is very mild mannered and I was frantic. At that moment we all started heading out the back to the car to go look for Luke and just at that moment we see him flying towards us through the parking lot that connects to the property. I have never been so relieved in my life. I seriously thought he would be gone forever but he was able to get away. He said one of the guys in the van tried to tackle him but missed and the van got stuck at a light. The cops were called but I am not sure they took it too seriously as we never heard anything from them again. Luke and I couldn't sleep at all that night and told his mom and stepdad about it and they were concerned because they knew this wasn't like us to embellish anything. Luke and I eventually calmed down and we were falling asleep when I swore I heard that demonic van engine roar one last time. We were on the top floor in Luke's room that led out to a huge balcony overlooking the road. I saw the van drive slowly down the street and then turn off into the night. We never saw the van or the occupants again. I am not sure if they knew that's where we fled to or if they were still just driving around looking for us. Think about this though. We first spotted them at roughly 8pm they chased us until we finally were safe at Luke's place around 10:30. I saw that van for the last time at around 3am did they just want our bikes or were they just having fun? Fun? Scaring two kids out at night for years? I just assumed they wanted to steal our bikes because that happened constantly in our area during that time. But what kind of grown men in a creepy van pursue two 12 year old boys for the better part of seven hours? A few months after our encounter, two friends of ours, around the same age as we were had a very similar encounter while delivering newspapers in the early morning hours. Same van and occupants description, but in this situation two of the men were on opposite sides of the block closing in on them while the van drove slowly around the area. That's not my story to tell, but I always wondered if it was the same group who chased after me, Luke and I. I still don't know exactly what was going on that night, but something tells me it wasn't good and we were extremely lucky to get out of that situation. Unscath.