Scary True Stories Told In The Rain | Ep. 451

Summary

Scary True Stories Told in the Rain | Ep. 451

Podcast: Scary Stories and Rain
Host/Narrator: Being Scared
Date: August 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

In Episode 451 of Scary Stories and Rain, Being Scared delivers a collection of unsettling true experiences, narrated in a calm, measured tone against the soothing backdrop of rain. The stories span break-ins, stalking, home invasions, unsettling neighbor encounters, and disturbing online interactions—crafted for listeners seeking a chilling yet tranquil nighttime atmosphere.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Summaries

1. Terrifying Late-Night Intruder

[01:29–08:38]

• Two 15-year-olds, the storyteller and his friend Jay, experience a frightening break-in attempt while home alone at 2am.
• Unfamiliar, angry banging and yelling at the front door escalates; mother is not home.
• The pair hide, witnessing a hostile, gray-haired man shouting, “I’m going to kill you.”
• They retreat into the basement after gunshots break glass; the man ransacks the home but flees upon Jay’s mom’s arrival.
• Aftershocks lead to increased security and new safety protocols.
• Quote: “I army crawled through the dining room… peeked through the door… He looked to be about 6ft tall and had gray hair.” (03:32)

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2. Pandemic Parking Lot Fright

[10:06–13:50]

• A teenage girl waits in a locked car while her mother shops during a strict quarantine.
• A frantic, disheveled man taps her window, escalating to violent threats when she refuses to unlock the door.
• Her mother and store employees intervene; police arrest the man, later revealed to be high on heroin.
• Memorable moment: The man switches between pleading and aggression, chilling the narrator.
• Quote: “He suddenly lowered his voice, looked me in the eye and said, honey, let me in, darling, I promise I won’t hurt you. Let me in. Let me in, sweetie.” (11:21)

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3. Disturbing Window Watcher (England)

[13:50–16:25]

• A couple in a ground floor flat encounter repeated, escalating knocks on their window late at night.
• Spotted: a well-dressed man pacing outside their windows, seemingly watching them.
• Police find and question him; he claims homelessness but seems out of place.
• Chilling evidence next day: a sticky handprint on bedroom window.
• Quote: “The thing I remember the most vividly is the sound of his boots creaking on the snow and watching him come to a dead stop directly outside the gate.” (15:25)

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4. Hidden Invader in the Apartment

[16:25–18:48]

• Solo dweller in Germany notices minor disturbances at home.
• Awakens at night, takes a shower; sees shadow and reflection of someone lurking behind shower curtain.
• Quick thinking: scalds the intruder (the former tenant with a copy of the key) with hot water, flees, locks her inside until police arrive.
• Realization: the woman had been entering at will for weeks.

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5. Daylight Intruder: The College Break-In

[18:51–24:46]

• College student “writing a paper” hears his bedroom door open slowly—assumes it’s his roommate Ron.
• Verbal attempts to confirm identity go unanswered. The door closes; no one is there.
• Upon investigation, finds valuables missing; Ron had been asleep.
• Quote: “As the sound of the most hated word in the English language fell upon my ears, I was already halfway out of Ron’s room…” (24:49)
• Realization: burglar had entered and left quietly, never apprehended.

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6. Nightmare Housemate: Manipulation and Threats

[24:49–43:36]

• The narrator recounts a saga with Karim, a manipulative housemate.
• Initially friendly, he becomes antagonistic, pressures for access to laundry after moving, and tries to intimidate during tenant changeover.
• When refused, he harasses, pounds on doors, destroys property, and is ultimately reported to the police.
• Memorable quote: “He angrily knocked on my door and shoved the letter in my hands... saying, ‘You betrayed me.’ I bullshit you not. Those were his exact words.” (41:12)
• Resolution: New housemates, ongoing wariness as Karim moves nearby.

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7. Golf Course Trespasser

[43:36–45:31]

• Teenage narrator, home alone in a remote upscale neighborhood, notices their dog’s anxiety at night.
• Spots a mysterious figure tapping on the glass and fleeing over the deck.
• Later, catches a person hiding behind a tree by headlights, dressed in black in June.
• Police are finally called; strong suspicion it’s the same furtive prowler.

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8. Climbing Burglar in Third-Floor Apartment

[45:31–47:28]

• High school student awakes to all lights on and drawers open; phone missing.
• Mother finds kitchen window open, knife on ground, dusty fingerprints.
• Intruder had climbed up, entered while narrator slept in plain sight—mother believes an angel protected her child.
• Trauma lingers, leading to lasting paranoia.

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9. Stalked on Rural Highway

[47:28–50:23]

• Young person in rural Pennsylvania calls police about a speeding car going the wrong way on the highway.
• Soon after, a matching car tailgates, aggressively flashes high beams, and eerily mimics police behavior with sudden stops.
• After harrowing cat-and-mouse, narrator seeks refuge at the police station. The stalker is never caught.
• Quote: “I told the dispatcher, I don’t care if I get pulled over, I’m speeding and if they put their lights on then I’ll pull over.” (49:19)

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10. The Unsettling Neighbor

[50:23–57:48]

• New resident in a Midwest town gets persistent “off” vibes from a male neighbor.
• A series of minor odd encounters culminates in finding him trespassing, hidden in the trees, staring into her home—clearly beyond property boundaries.
• Big Dog’s reaction (hair up, growling) cements the narrator’s unease.
• Neighbors and landlord are notified; police encouraged.
• Notable reflection: “Please, I have my eyeballs trained straight on you. Don’t try it again.” (57:37)

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11. International Study Abroad Stalker

[57:48–end]

• Transmasculine student in Japan, isolated due to group drama, turns to dating apps.
• Encounters a string of disturbing men: pushy, manipulative, or much older, sending repeated inappropriate messages.
• “Will,” an older man, stalks narrator in person—appearing outside cafes, at shrines, at their train station.
• Climactic moment: Will grabs the narrator’s arm in front of police, pulls him away while saying, “Be a good boy for Daddy.” (84:40)
• Friend intervenes, scaring Will off. Trauma leads to narrator leaving program.
• Ongoing nightmares and anxiety persist, but narrator is healing.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I army crawled through the dining room and peeked through the door…” (03:32) — Storyteller, recalling moments of stealth and fear as an intruder looms outside.
• “Honey, let me in, darling, I promise I won’t hurt you.” (11:21) — The creepiest part of a real-life horror involving a drug-addled stranger.
• “…the sound of his boots creaking on the snow and watching him come to a dead stop directly outside the gate.” (15:25) — Sensory detail escalating a watcher into a true threat.
• “You betrayed me.” (41:12) — A manipulative housemate’s parting accusation, crystallizing the emotional abuse.
• “…he grabs me by the arm, smiles at the officer and says something in Japanese. He then looks down at me and tells me to be a good boy for Daddy.” (84:40) — The stalker’s most chilling moment, illustrating how language barriers and vulnerability compound fear.
• “Please, I have my eyeballs trained straight on you. Don’t try it again.” (57:37) — Direct statement of boundary and defiance, closing the story about the eerie neighbor.

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Timestamps for Major Stories

• Terrifying Home Intruder – 01:29–08:38
• Car Park Stalker (Pandemic Story) – 10:06–13:50
• Trench Coat Window Watcher – 13:50–16:25
• Shower Time Intruder – 16:25–18:48
• Dorm Room Home Invasion/Theft – 18:51–24:46
• Housemate Nightmare: Karim – 24:49–43:36
• Golf Course Trespasser – 43:36–45:31
• Third-Floor Apartment Break-in – 45:31–47:28
• Highway Stalker – 47:28–50:23
• Creepy Neighbor and the Dog – 50:23–57:48
• Stalker in Japan – 57:48–end (~85:05)

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Episode Tone and Narrative Style

• Calm, intimate first-person accounts.
• Natural, conversational language with the occasional darkly humorous aside.
• Lean, direct storytelling with focus on fear, instinct, and aftermath.
• Rain ambience underscores the eerie and reflective mood.

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Useful for Listeners

• Each story is standalone, inviting listeners to drift in and out without losing the thread.
• Clear emotional arcs: initial unease, escalation, peak fear, and reflection on aftermath.
• Undercurrent of advice and lessons learned—be vigilant, trust your instincts, communicate your boundaries, and don’t hesitate to seek help.
• Atmosphere is both creepy and strangely comforting, ideal for fans of relaxing horror or true scary stories.

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This episode masterfully blends the soothing and the unsettling, offering listeners both a good chill and thoughtful takeaways on personal safety and resilience.

Transcript

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[Storyteller / Narrator]

Hey, welcome to Scary Stories in Rain. Do you want to listen? Ad free? Just subscribe on Spotify for 2.99amonth now. Turn out the lights, enjoy the stories and enjoy the rain. This happened when both me and my friend Jay were 15. I was spending the night at his house, as I often did. It was a normal enough night. We watched movies, played a couple video games and stayed up way too late. It was about 2am I think, when we heard a loud banging coming from the front door. Luckily, at the time we were in his kitchen at the back of the house so no one could see us. We were spooked because there shouldn't have been anyone at the door at this hour, but we figured it was just some drunk person and they would go away soon enough. After 30 seconds there was more banging on the door and yelling that neither of us could understand. It sounded like an adult man and he sounded angry, so we were both scared he texted his mom who we thought was upstairs, but she said that she had left a bit before without saying anything. She did that often enough. She liked to go to her friend's house in the middle of the night so we didn't pay any attention or notice when she left. We didn't know what to do as we were scared to call the police based off past experiences with cops in our small town being not the best at this point, we turned off the kitchen light and we're ducked down on the ground. We heard the banging and yelling get louder and I decided to see who it was if it was anyone we knew. I army crawled through the dining room which was also dark and peeked through the door to the living room which is where the front door was. There is also a huge window by the door that you can see right into the dining room through, so I was very careful not to be seen. I couldn't see any details of the man, but he looked to be about 6ft tall and had gray hair. I crawled back to J and we quietly decided what to do. The banging stopped so we decided to wait a bit before seeing if it was safe. We also decided to go under the table in the dining room in case he tried to come around back which is where the kitchen was. After around 10 minutes of silence we rock paper scissored for who had to check if he was out there and of course I lost. So I again army crawled to the dining room door. I saw the man staring through the window, hands cupped against the glass. I made eye contact with him the moment he saw me and I loudly said crap causing my friend to panic and crawl behind me. I saw him pull out his phone. He told me later that he was texting his mom to come home and save us. The man started yelling again and this time we could make out a bit more of what he said. It was mostly cussing, although I definitely heard the phrase I'm going to kill you in there a couple times. I quickly looked past the man to see if the neighbors seemed to notice him, but no luck. I crawl back out of his sight and again discuss what to do with my friend. We decide to go into the basement for safety, which you could get to by moving the fridge. Confusing house, I know, but it was really old and not meant for modern sized appliances. We pull out the fridge and get into the basement, feeling mostly safe but still terrified. I start having a panic attack, although I'm trying to hold it together the best I can for Jay, who is also on the verge Of a panic attack. We hear a gunshot and shattering glass from above us and I cover my mouth so I don't scream. Jay and I look at each other, terrified. We hear loud footsteps and yelling above us. The man asking where we were. We hear him going upstairs and moving around up there for a bit. He eventually comes back down and starts turning over furniture. I'm assuming to find us. After what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, Jay's mom pulls into the driveway, which scares the guy as he runs out the back door. In the kitchen, Jay and I get out of the basement and run to greet his mom, never happier to see her. She was shocked by the state of the house and hugged us, happy that we were safe and scared by how close we were to being hurt. We were all very scared after that night. They had better security installed and we went over safety protocol if anything ever happened again. Luckily, it hasn't happened again yet. Although when I go to his house, I'm still a bit scared. We never called the police because we knew there wasn't much they could do. We just cleaned up and moved on. I live in a fairly large town and the crime rate is pretty low. I am a teenager and due to this quarantine, I haven't been able to get out and meet my friends as much as I would like to. So when my mom told me that she was going out and she wouldn't hate company, I jumped at the chance. I'm fairly popular in my school and I do have a lot of friends and not seeing them has taken a toll on my life and I would love to meet with them once all of this was over. But the rules in town regarding quarantine are pretty strict until the total count of people affected in our area goes down. We have a lot of grocery shops in this town and the one where we go to is pretty big. My mom and I decided to go there and I waited in the car because I didn't really feel like going in. I am kind of a germaphobe. I have no problem roaming around in the streets where I live, but going to a shop where so many people have been during this pandemic seems very weird to me. I know I might be coming off as a spoiled brat, but that's just how I am and that's just how I've always been. My mom went inside the store and she's being the most overprotective mom, taking the car keys with her and locking the car, which now I am very thankful for. So as Most cars have very thick windows, and you can't really understand what somebody on the other side of the window is saying unless they're shouting. Our car was no different, and this is important. My mom told me that it would take her about 15 to 20 minutes to get all of the supplies that we needed. I didn't mind that because I got to blast my music in the car, which she does not allow when she's in it. About five minutes after she walked away, I was blasting the music and she called me. She told me that there was a big line in the store so it would take her extra time. And again, I did not mind. Have you seen any dinosaurs?

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Na because I got to listen to music the way I wanted, and that's all I wanted. Ten minutes after that, I had my eyes closed and I hear this tapping. At first I dismissed it at some part of the song that I had never caught before. But then the tapping got frantic and I realized that someone was tapping on the window on the driver's side of the car. I thought it was my mom, and she Dropped her keys somewhere and she couldn't get in or she wanted something. But when I opened my eyes to see who it was, it was a tall man, about 6ft and looked like he was high on drugs. I turned off the music and shouted, can I help you? He didn't respond, but then abruptly started shouting at the top of his lungs, let me in. I said, let me in. I was in such shock because I had never seen this man in my entire life. I already had my phone on me and I was starting to dial my mom's number. Then what he did next will give me goosebumps for the rest of my life. He suddenly lowered his voice, looked me in the eye and said, honey, let me in, darling, I promise I won't hurt you. Let me in. Let me in, sweetie. In a very calm and sweet voice like how you would talk to a toddler when they're making a mess. I was shaking so hard that I could not dial the correct number to my mom's phone and I started searching for her contact on my phone. I know, very dumb considering there's a psychopath that's about to kill me outside my window. Then he started screaming, I will kill you. You are going to regret not letting me in. And starts banging his whole body against the car. I know he couldn't get into the vehicle because the windows are very secure and he was relatively thin and looked to be in his late 40s. And I was pretty sure that he did not have the power needed to get inside the car without me unlocking it. I dialed my mom and he was still screaming at the top of his lungs, calling me every swear word in the book. My mom answered the phone and heard what was happening and she came running outside and saw the psychopath trying to hurt her daughter and she went off. She started hitting him with the stuff that she had just bought from inside. And then when the employees heard the commotion and decided to step in, the police were called and one employee held the man in place. I was crying and shaking and having a full on anxiety attack. The police showed up in about five minutes and he was arrested. We later found out that he had taken large doses of heroin. It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced, experienced in my life, the way that he said it, that he wouldn't hurt me if I had let him in the car. Man, he's in jail now and I couldn't be happier about it. This happened about two and a half years ago, in the winter of 2017, early 2018. My partner and I were living in the center of a popular and busy city in England at the time in a ground floor flat. The street we lived on was just off a very busy road that had about a thousand pubs on it, so it was normally quite populated at all hours most days. The flat we lived in was one of about six in an old converted bakery. There was a very large locked wooden gate with a buzzer and the flats were all in a courtyard behind the gate. We shared the flat with my mom. Our bedroom windows both faced directly onto the street where people would walk past on the pavement. On this given night it must have been around 2am My girlfriend and I were laying on my bed watching films on my laptop. My bedroom was a tiny shoebox sized room with a bed and a wardrobe and about 5 square feet of extra floor space. Tiny. My window was right next to my bed and faced out onto the street. As we were laying on my bed someone knocked on my window. That wasn't unusual as I had quite a few friends that lived and worked near my flat so we didn't think much of it. We continued watching our film and settled down. About half an hour to 45 minutes later there was a massive bang on my window that sounded like someone had slammed their fist against it and ran off. We were a bit startled and decided to go take a look outside as it was evidently not one of my friends at this point. We went into the courtyard and opened the main gate and couldn't see anyone on the street at all. It was freezing and snowing but still unusually quiet. We stood there for about five minutes just looking around. I noticed a man on the other side of the street wearing a mid length trench coat and heavy boots. But as my eyesight is awful and I never wear my glasses, I didn't see any discerning features. He was on the opposite side of the street and was walking along the street from the main road from left to right up towards our flat. I got a bit of a strange vibe from him and pointed him out to my girlfriend. We both just stood and watched for a few minutes and as he passed he didn't turn to look at us or anything. After less than a minute I looked to my right and saw this same guy had now crossed over to our side of the street and was now walking towards us. My girlfriend and I watched for a minute and then proceeded to panic and shut ourselves behind the gate. Instead of going back into our flat. We crouched down out of sight so that we could watch through the gap under the gate. To see if he passed by. The thing I remember the most vividly is the sound of his boots creaking on the snow and watching him come to a deep stop directly outside the gate. My girlfriend and I were both now suitably crapping ourselves and we quietly hurried back inside. Our flat had an open plan kitchen and living room with a door that led into the straight hallway. My bedroom was right at the end of the hallway and my mom was off to the right. All of the lights were off and I poked my head into the hall as I had a clear line of sight into my bedroom from there. When I looked, I could see the silhouette of this man pacing up and down slowly outside my bedroom window. My mom had slept soundly through all of this, but I decided to go in and wake her up to let her know what was going on. She brushed it off until I told her to look outside and she saw this man now pacing back and forth outside her window and mine. Knowing that at the right angle you could see through my blinds from outside, I pressed myself up against the wall and scooted my way down the hallway back to the living room and rang the police. My girlfriend and I weren't really sure what to make of the situation, but it felt pretty ominous. The Police arrived about 10 minutes later and met me outside. They said they found him and he claimed to be homeless looking for a place to stay, but that he was very well dressed and clean shaven and had no other possessions with him. The police officer offered forth the fact that it's more likely that he was intrigued by the fact that there were two obviously queer young femmes in bed together and was having a little snoop. Who knows? The next day I was outside having a cigarette with my girlfriend and I noticed a very prominent sticky handprint on my window, as if someone had their hand pressed up against it looking in. No thanks. My girlfriend swears she saw him at the train station a few months later. This happened a few years ago in my old one person flat. I had a strange feeling that something wasn't right for a few days. Like I was sure that food in the fridge was less than I put back the last time. I found pillows from my couch on the floor, stuff like that. I lived alone back then so there wasn't anyone else with access to my flat. Or so I thought. One night I woke up around one in the morning sweating and even though I didn't remember, was sure I woke from a nightmare. Since I was drenched in sweat, I decided to take a shower. So I put my Phone up in the bathroom for music, turned on the water and enjoyed my shower. A few minutes in I heard the door move. I never close it, but it still never moves. I took a look at the shower curtain and saw a shadow against it and a look at my phone confirmed someone was there. Since I could clearly see a reflection on my screen that showed someone was standing next to the shower curtain, it took me a lot not to scream and to keep acting like I didn't notice anything while silently taking the shower head off and holding and turning the water all the way to hot. I am still kinda impressed with that quick thinking. Our water got really hot when you cranked it all the way up and a few seconds later steam was rising and the water was hurting my feet flowing to the drain. I turned around, ripped the shower curtain open and held the shower head right at the person behind was a woman. She screamed in pain. I whacked her in the face with the shower head, jumped out of the shower and ran to the door, taking the key out of the lock and locking it close behind me. A little bit later she started to bang on the door, but the door didn't give. Thank God for German quality work. I called the cops and went to the kitchen to get my big kitchen knife just for safety. I felt like my throat was clutching closing up when I saw that the knife was missing and realized there's only one place where it could possibly be right now. The police came and arrested the woman who turned out to have been the former person living in the flat and was evicted after not paying rent. Seems that she made a copy of the key and came into the flat when I was at work and sometimes at night. It is possible that what woke me up in the first place was her. And honestly, I don't even want to think about it. Ever since then, I always insist that the locks are changed when I move into a new place. So this happened about three years ago when I was a sophomore in college. I had just moved into my very first apartment with my best friend Ron. On par with most first apartments, it was the cheapest, four walls and a roof that we could afford. With that being said, we were witness to a lot of questionable activities as our complex was home to a fair amount of eccentric people. Yet the freedom of having your very own place is exhilarating and acted as a sort of cat counterbalance to the shenanigans that were commonplace in our new community. In any case, we made sure to be vigilant and keep our doors locked. Well, most of the time. It was a Monday, around 2 in the afternoon, and I was just getting back from my morning string of classes. Ron dabbles in gamer culture and would usually be going to bed when I got up around 9am so he was dead asleep. I was in sort of a rush as I had to finish up a paper for my 4pm class, so I went swiftly to my room. I pulled out my laptop, plugged in my headphones, and began to type away. After about 30 minutes of typing ABBA blaring in my ears, I noticed my door begin to open. The movement was lethargic and cautious, yet it stopped abruptly after the door had been opened about an inch wide. More specifically, after I took notice, unable to see anything through the open sliver, I became inquisitive. Assuming it's Ron, I call out what? No response. What do you want?

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[Storyteller / Narrator]

Response Bro, what the hell do you want? The door remained cracked as I demanded answers until my annoyance became clear and my tone began to change. Then it methodically closed as slowly as it was opened. So slow in fact, it almost didn't latch. Still, under the assumption it was Ron, I began to get even more annoyed. Ron and I have a colorful relationship, so we frequently yell or swear at each other. Bro, seriously, what the hell do you want? I'm trying to write a paper. Ron. Ron, stop messing with me bro and just tell me what you want. After about the third yell, something makes my heart sink to my stomach. Bells begin to ring in my head and my gut is convinced something is wrong. It wasn't like Ron to mess with me like that and even if he did decide to break habit, he would have come back and done the it's just a Frank Broutine. Long before I started yelling, I sprung up from my bed. Heart racing, blood pumping, adrenaline flowing, I reach under my pillow and grasp the cold metal sheath of the M7 bayonet that my dad had bought me some years ago. I take the blade out and begin to move toward the door, cautiously calling out to Ron one last time just to make sure my paranoia is isn't getting the best of me. Alright Ron, did you need something? Greeted with silence yet again, I take that as my cue to exit the room. I grasp the doorknob and begin to twist ever so slowly, my stomach twisting right alongside it. With a distinctive click, the door unlatches and I begin to tenderly open it. As soon as there's enough room, I peer my head out into the hallway. Nothing. I finally step out and as my body crosses the threshold from room to hallway, my adrenaline spikes. Knife in hand, I make my way to the living room with a simultaneous sense of cautiousness and urgency. I make the 15 foot journey to the living room and do a scan of the area. Nothing. Upon seeing the empty, quiet living room, my body immediately relaxes. My grip on the handle of the bayonet loosens, allowing my knuckles to go from a ghostly white back to their normal pink fleshy color. However, my moment of relief was short lived as something dawned on me. The living room was empty. As in devoid of human presence. I turn back to the hallway and sprint to Ron's door. Unafraid to forego common courtesy, I barge right in. As the door swings open and I take my first steps inside, I am once again met with a gut wrenching feeling and a modest spike of adrenaline. Ron was dead asleep. With a mix of yelling and shaking, I finally wake him up. A very groggy and pissed off Ron mumbles what? Over my franticness. Already knowing the answer, I ask one question out of denial and hope. Did you open my door a couple minutes ago.

[Priceline Negotiator]

No.

[Movie Trailer Announcer]

What?

[Storyteller / Narrator]

As the sound of the most hated word in the English language fell upon my ears, I was already halfway out of Ron's room. As I re entered the living room, I gave things a second look. Upon further inspection, I noticed the absence of my Xbox, my roommate's PS4, and my roommate's backpack filled with expensive college textbooks and his laptop. I sprint out the front door and up the stairs to the outside of my complex, desperately trying to see someone carrying a backpack and or our game consoles. I run the perimeter and find nothing. Defeated, I make my way back to the apartment and find Ron standing in the living room, still groggy and very much confused. I explained the situation we now found ourselves in. We called the cops, which took our statements and nothing more. The interactions we had with the PD is another long story, but to sum them up, the person who opened my door that day was never arrested. This is in spite of the fact it is considered felony home invasion since Ron and I were both home and my father and I literally figured out who did it. So unless it's to give me back my Xbox or Ron his PS4 and backpack, I really hope I never come into contact with this person again. Now, I am not very good at reading people, unlike my landlord. When I first met Karim, he seemed polite enough. He was super tidy, filled the house with amazing smelling cooking and best of all he stayed out of my way. I am kind of a loner and stayed holed up in my room with the company of my gerbils to quietly study and play Minecraft. We didn't cross paths often. When the school year started in September, he was the replacement for my housemate. It's a three bedroom apartment and I had been living with another girl, Nelly for a year already. She was pretty absent from the house as she was almost always at her boyfriend's place and the third housemate had moved out early on. He was honest about some elements of his past that I should have taken as a warning but took as him being earnest. I had asked him during his mini interviewing process that Nelly and I were holding for potential tenants if he was 420 friendly. He was, but as it turned out he was a little too friendly. A couple years ago he had been arrested for illegal possibility possession of weed and sent back to his home country Turkey for a year before being allowed back into Canada to continue his studies. I don't know how this kind of stuff works, to be honest, but that's what he told us. I try not to be a judgmental person since he made it seem like it was a thing of the past, this was not the case. One of the first things I had noticed in September was that he smoked almost constantly. Not to the point of missing classes, but the whole house would stink up multiple times a week in the evening. Normally I wouldn't mind a little smoke, but any stoner will tell you that each strain is different and for whatever reason, his weed caused really severe panic attacks for me. Around late October I got sick of it and told him to figure out how to contain it to a his room and he said the joints are hard to contain and that he needs a bong. I let him borrow my bong about two weeks later in November, Karim said that he had broken the down stem but that he would replace it within a few days. He did replace it, but it was the wrong size. Maybe it was a bit bit of me, but I told him to buy the right size. He refused, said it was too too expensive. I don't know, it's my property. He broke it, he should fix it appropriately, right? What I know was not out of line however was what I did after what happened in mid February. After January, my landlord said we should start looking for new housemates, which was reasonable enough. Not to Karim though. My landlord has always been slow at responding to messages due to the nature of her job, but he absolutely hated her guts for it, called her A and every name under the sun behind her back, which made me feel weird considering I had been her tenant for three years now and we were on good terms. Before I move on to the next part, I'd like to quickly add that at one point during the housemate hunting process, he asked me if I would be willing to move out so that his friends could move in and that it would be super amazing if I did. Obviously I said no. My landlord later confirmed that he had asked her if he could sign the lease behind my back. As I mentioned earlier, we have forged a good rapport over the last few years, so it was a firm no. Karim got excessively antagonistic about my landlord's deadline when she wanted us to sign the lease, started looking up the law saying he legally didn't need to give her notice until X date, which was not true. He told me to quietly look for housemates and tell the landlord at the last possible date, which made me super uncomfortable since it was around midterms and was secretly grateful she was pushing for the deadline so strongly. I just wanted it over with. It was shortly before I signed the lease with my new housemates that he showed how truly two faced he was. I dug through our Facebook messages. The gist of the conversation was this. Karim said, can I use your laundry after I move out? I don't have laundry on site. I responded, no, that's kinda weird. Karim said, no, it's not. We'll pay you. I responded, we? Karim said, me and my housemates. I would like to note I never met these housemates before and still have no idea who they are. At this point, I started getting extremely weirded out. I said no a few times, but caved and started saying stuff like I'll think about it to appease him. Though I had zero intent on letting him use my stuff, it seemed like the best way to get him off my back since for almost a week he would continuously pressure me and try to get me to say yes. Things hit the first of two crescendos when the day before we, me and the two new tenants I chose super awesome guys by the way, were supposed to sign the new lease back to Facebook. And again, an approximation of our conversation goes like this. Karim says, if you don't promise to let me use your laundry next year, I'm going to make a scene in front of your housemates. I responded, a scene? Karim said, when they come sign the lease with her, I am going to tell them how awful our landlord is, that she doesn't care about us and is terrible at replying to our messages. If you let me use your laundry, I'll wait until they leave to tell her to her face. In other words, he was going to make my new housemates question my judgment and make them think I was a bad person or something. Why else would he go off in front of them and my landlord and tell them she was a horrible and nasty person? He later claimed these messages were a joke to which I messaged back asking where the punchline was because I didn't see it. I felt like a badass saying that. Not going to lie, especially since he never got around to explaining this supposed joke. At this point, I had a bit of a breakdown. I called my landlord that night when Karim had left the house for a few hours, letting her know exactly what had happened, what he was planning to do the next day, even sending her screenshots of our Facebook messages and telling her I couldn't let her and my new housemates come. Come over in good conscience. Call me a snitch, I don't care. This guy does martial arts three times a week and despite being shorter than me, could definitely send me through drywall if he felt like it I felt threatened and didn't know what he would do if he found out. I told her and was the reason signing the lease was rescheduled to a different time and location. She believed me, especially when she read all the text messages. Full context, nothing conveniently cropped. She even saw the parts where I was playing along and calling her a bitch too. That's when she told me that she had seen straight through his act while he was signing the lease. Apparently he spent half an hour reading and re reading our lease, which is abnormal. Asking weird questions, being rude to her. After years of being a landlord, she could clearly see that he's the type of overly macho guy that likes to control women, but gave me the benefit of the doubt. Not to get political, but even as an anti feminist I am inclined to agree, especially looking in hindsight at how he's treated the women, me, the landlord, Nelly versus men in our lives. After losing all four years of my free time in high school to the feminist movement, you would think I would be able to spot someone as blatantly misogynistic as him, but apparently not. Turns out this special brand of douchebag isn't a boogeyman after all. At least now I know one when I see one. I signed the lease with my new housemates the next day at a coffee shop, telling Karim that it was out of the blue that we were signing elsewhere and I had no idea why we changed plans and I thought that I had gotten away with telling on him until my landlord sent him a letter from her lawyer that very clearly stated that he would not be allowed to demand the use of laundry again, and that if he came back to the house after moving out, it would be considered trespassing. At first I thought it was an overreaction on her part, but looking back on those messages, I can see why she made that decision. He angrily knocked on my door and shoved the letter in my hands. When he got it that day, aggressively and quite frankly melodramatically saying you betrayed me, I bullcrap you not. Those were his exact words. I think he lost his grip on me since he could no longer pressure me now that the secret was out, which frustrated him. Anyone who has been treated poorly by a misogynist or a misandrist can probably relate to that particular type of control and how it feels to wiggle out of it. Things settled down temporarily. He retaliated in small ways, going out of his way to not sort the recycling in proper bins, not cleaning out the shower drain, putting plastic and Metal in the compost bin in and smoking weed excessively. They were small, but irritated me. It was the day after he moved out that we reached our second and final crescendo, which led to the police report. After months of stuffing a shirt under the crack of my door to keep the weed stink out and generally being freaked out to the point of carrying a small kitchen knife in my pocket whenever I left my room after the laundry incident, you can bet your ass I was counting down those last days gleefully. He said he left a few things behind. From the kitchen. He came along with a friend, and tensely but amicably, we sorted out whose Tupperware was whose. On his way out, he spotted my mop and bucket. He claimed it was his and that he wanted it back. I had had this mop and bucket for two years. Why the hell was he claiming it was his? I said no. And he started roaming around the house saying that he wanted his mop and bucket and that if this was mine, his must be elsewhere, which made me uncomfortable as hell. I defused the situation by saying I wanted to use it and would give it back later. I was planning on keeping it. I am under zero obligation to let him back in. Remember the letter that said at him coming back in the house after he moves out is trespassing? And he instantly snapped out of it. Later that day, he even said I could keep it. Why he changed his mind is beyond me. The next day, Karim said that he had left two more items behind. I was irritated. At this point, I just wanted to be left alone. I said I would leave it outside. I admit I definitely shouldn't have done what I did next. I was annoying and I cringe when I read my own messages. But his reaction was completely out of proportion. Karim said, I'll stop by in a few hours. I just got out of the shower. I responded, I'm busy. Can't you come by now? Just throw on some shoes and shorts and a T shirt. Nobody's outside, by the way. At this point, my town has been in COVID 19 lockdown for two months. Since it's a university town and I live in an area almost exclusively populated by students, nearly everyone was gone and it's been a ghost town for weeks.

[Venmo User 1]

Hey, I just Venmoed you for rent.

[Venmo User 2]

Nice. Now I can instantly spend it whether I'm checking out online with Venmo or using a Venmo debit card.

[Venmo User 1]

Say more.

[Venmo User 2]

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hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless bill? It's got to stay Expense mystery, A slightly flat emotional arc and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan $15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending. Zero tears. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

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[Storyteller / Narrator]

See Terms I should also note he had not been taking good social distancing measures whenever he was over and had zero problem getting up close even though he had recently been to a much bigger city with a bad outbreak. Just thought that I would point that out. Karim responds. Fine, then give me my mop and bucket. I respond. You said I could have it. Karim says. Give it back. I respond, no. I put the two items, a tray and mug, on the porch. A few minutes later, I heard a polite knock. I knew it was him and ignored it. A few seconds later, a ring on the doorbell. Another ring. A louder knock. He kept ringing the doorbell over and over. Exasperated, I opened it and he stood there smiling. Give me my mop and bucket. No. I quickly shut the door. Truth be told, I was worried he would try and stick his foot in the door and try and stop me from closing it. But he didn't move. He started knocking again and ringing the doorbell repeatedly. At first it was with some time in between. A few seconds, but it grew in frequency and volume. It went from firm knocking to louder angry knocking. It felt like I was running a marathon. My heart was beating so fast since he started straight up pounding on the door so hard I could see it move, literally screaming give me my things. Over and over at the top of his lungs. After about two or three minutes of him being aggressive in doing this, I can assure you it felt like hours. He stopped and I heard this weird metallic scraping sound like metal on concrete, accompanied by a grunt, followed by a loud metallic clang. Silence. I waited for a while. I stealthily looked through windows and didn't see him. I opened the door and to my surprise, saw that he had pulled my mailbox off the wall and thrown it onto the path leading to the sidewalk. I kicked myself for not filming the incident, but took my sweet time taking the perfect picture to show that he had made some kind of attempt to destroy the property. I mean, not that it can do much. It felt like the right thing to do nonetheless, and I still have it. I ended up putting the mop and bucket outside and telling Karim to come get it and that I just wanted him to leave me alone. I even took out the battery of our door code since a part of me is paranoid that he'll try to guess it and break in. He came by and took it and I watched him leave from the window. He hasn't contacted me since I saw him on the street the other day and he gave me a warm smile as if we were friends, but I looked away and crossed to the other side to avoid him. I filed a police report of the incident the same day as advised by my landlord. She told me during our phone call that he had a documented history of aggression and I am not shocked. I am surprised. She gave me the benefit of the doubt though and let him sign the lease in the first place. I guess this was a learning experience for all of us. When I asked her of her honest opinion of my new house, she said they were trustworthy. Plus it turns out the guys and I have a mutual buddy so I am not scared of them. I told them about the whole incident and they blocked him on Facebook. They were super supportive and glad that I filed the report. They know who he is and won't let him inside. The thing that freaks me out a little is that he moved down the street. I can see his new unit from my window. So this happened to me two years ago when I was 18. I need to set up the scenery of my house so that the location Makes sense. I live in an upper middle class neighborhood that resides in the middle of a golf course. The course wraps around the intertwines of the neighborhood. I live in one of the most remote locations of this neighborhood where we have no access to the main roadway. Furthermore, our house is a two story on about one acre. On the first floor is the kitchen, bedroom, office and living room with a couple of bathrooms. The second floor is just a couple of bedrooms along with bathrooms and a room we use for social gatherings. Along the back of the house we also have a deck with metal and wicker furniture. Now that the setting is out of the way, it was on a rare Saturday that I had gotten off of work and I wanted the day to relax and not go anywhere or do anything. My parents knew I never really got days off, let alone a weekend off, so they were okay with letting me stay home alone when they went out of town for the day. They decided that day they were going out of town to shop at a nearby mall and wouldn't be home until late. Honestly, I don't remember where my brother was. It was a pretty normal day by itself. A lot of nothingness was accomplished until it got dark. I decided to come out of my room and watch the TV in the living room since my new dog wasn't accustomed to stairs yet and would hardly walk up them. So sitting on the couch, I notice my pup growling and the hair on the back of her neck standing up. For clarification at this point it's around 11pm and I cannot see outside at all. I try to calm my dog down but she's getting really hyper. I am getting anxious now too too because something is really upsetting her. So I walk upstairs and pick up my BB gun I have in my room. I figure if someone is out there I just have to stand inside with it and they'll think it's real. Well, after coming down with the BB gun, I take a step over the baby gate. We have to keep our pup from peeing on the carpet and I hear tapping. Someone or something is tapping on the glass window next to where I was sitting and my dog had hidden behind my legs. I lifted the BB gun, acting like I was going to shoot when I saw through the window a figure jump over and off the deck railing. I quickly called my parents. Yeah, I know I should have called the police, but I wasn't thinking. Around midnight they got home and turned on the deck light lights. We instantly noticed that one of the metal chairs was pulled very far out of place and positioned to look inside the house where I was sitting before. We never did call the police about the incident, but when I was coming home from work about a week later, I pulled into the driveway around 10pm where my headlights lit up a person hiding behind a tree. This was a full grown adult wearing a long black coat in the middle of June. We did eventually call the police about that, but I have an inkling that it was the same guy. I was a high school student living with my mother in a third floor apartment. I used to sleep in the living room because the apartment had only one bedroom and it was my mom's. I was happy with that little space I had. I was a happy kid. I always got up at 6am to go to school and my mom always got up at 5am to have time to shower and make breakfast before dropping me at school and heading to work. That morning I woke up and the lights were all all on. Every single one of them. Even the one in my room. I went to grab my phone and it wasn't there. Odd. I headed to the bathroom and saw all the drawers and doors of every furniture we had were open. I was deeply confused. My mom came out of the bathroom and asked me what the hell I had been doing. I told her I didn't know what she was about talking talking about and that I thought she did that since she is always up to one hour earlier than me. I also asked if she had seen my cell phone. Then I saw it deep inside her green eyes. The realization. I could see the fear and all the pieces inside her head clicking in place. She leaped to the kitchen and found the window wide open, a kitchen knife on the ground and some dusty fingerprints on the wall where someone put weight on to climb inside. It was then when my sleepy head put the pieces together too. Someone somehow climbed all the way up to our balcony, got inside the apartment and robbed us all. While I was asleep in my bed right there in the living room. She hugged me and asked me if I was okay. I said I never heard anything. Didn't even wake up when this unknown person turned the lights on and rummaged through our stuff. It was super weird. I have the lightest sleep since I have memory and I still do many years later. They didn't dare to open my mom's bedroom door so she didn't notice a thing. My grandma says that some angel protected me in my sleep and that's why I didn't wake up. But I don't believe in that stuff. I don't think they knew I was there either. Police never found the robber and we put steel bars on the window. We moved anyway sometime after that. This happened when I was still in high school. At least six years have passed. My mother and I moved from that apartment and now I am grown and living with my boyfriend. But to this day I am still paranoid and keep thinking why I didn't wake up. Though I am honestly grateful that I didn't. This happened a few years ago when I was born attending in college. I was coming home down a stretch of divided highway at around 3am when I noticed a car heading towards me in the wrong lane. I doubted myself at first and thought the car was on the other side of the highway. Sure enough the white Ford sedan passed me at a really high speed, at least 90 miles per hour. It's worth noting for later that I also drive a white Ford Ford sedan. I was used to drunk idiot drivers in the middle of the night, so I pulled to the side of the road and let him pass me. I had a moment of clarity and thought to call the police, thinking this person could hurt themselves or somebody else. The dispatcher answered and after telling them which road and exit mile marker I was at, told me they would send a car. The state police station was only a few exits away so I figured they would send somebody and I would just drive home. As I headed back onto the highway I noticed some lights a few miles behind me. I live in a more rural part of southeastern Pennsylvania and traffic at 3am tends to be truckers and cops. The car gained on me as I was getting up to speed, so I stayed in the right lane and waited to be passed. Instead, they flipped on their high beam, making it uncomfortable to drive, and rode my tailgate. At this point I thought I was going to be pulled over by the police. I drove a white Ford sedan and had just called about a different white Ford sedan, so I grabbed my registration for my glove box. Suddenly the car behind me audibly slammed on the brakes and stopped in the middle of the highway. They must have shut off their car because the lights went out and I saw what looked like the same Ford sedan from earlier. Still, I thought this may have been a police car. They had a roof rack and it could have looked like I had reached for my gun in my glove box or something. I panicked and called 911 for the second time and asked the dispatcher if they had sent a cruiser to investigate. The dispatcher was a little curt with me and assured me that they would send somebody out the dispatcher said, we have sent a trooper out to find the car, sir. I responded, I only asked because somebody is following me and acting weird. It could be a cop and I think I freaked them out by getting my registration. The dispatcher then replied, are you pulled over, sir? I responded, no, they didn't turn on their lights. Dispatcher let me try to get the truck trooper we sent out. As she was talking, the car again sped towards me and stopped inches from my bumper. Again their high beams were on and again they slammed their brakes. I told the dispatcher, I'm pretty sure this is not the police behind me. The car sped to my bumper again and turned their high beams on, this time laying on the horn. Hearing this, the dispatcher asked me what was happening. What's happening? Did you honk? I responded, that's the car behind me. I don't think it's a cop. Dispatcher replies, I'll try to get the trooper again, but I don't think that's him behind you. For some reason, this is what shook me. Before that I was thinking I would get pulled over and maybe get a ticket. Up until then I was going the way, same speed limits and trying to avoid getting pulled over. I told the dispatcher, I don't care if I get pulled over, I'm speeding and if they put their lights on then I'll pull over. I started to accelerate and the person behind me just kept up with me. The speed limit was 55 and they kept on my bumper the entire time, but this time they were swerving. I tried to signal for an exit and bail on it, but they followed. At the next exit, I took the off ramp and continued onto the on ramp and the car behind me followed. The whole time I thought about trying to go to a Wawa, a convenience store gas station that's pretty much the only populated place in southeastern Pennsylvania at 3am but the dispatcher and I thought that it would be unsafe. She was calm and talking to another person, trying to send them police to me. The other person, maybe a supervisor, asked if I could drive to the state police station. Realizing that I was one exit away, I told her I was coming there and that she would have the troopers meet me outside. As I pulled off the exit, the car followed me. I blew a few red lights trying to get to the police station and the car tried to pull into the other lane to pass me or pull up alongside me. Once the police station was in view, I put on my turn signal and the car slammed on its brakes again. Turning off their lights and turned into the parking lot. The story ends kinda anticlimactically as I pulled into the police station and met the troopers. Two of them went to find the car and I stayed with the third trooper. I thanked the dispatcher and her supervisor and the state trooper escorted me home after taking a statement from me. I was never called to follow up or testify, so I can only assume this person was never caught. Who knows what they wanted with me that night. I moved to a middle small Midwest American town with my boyfriend and two doggies last June for my doctoral internship year. It was an adjustment after living in a southern beach town as well as a major city before that. Our living space is one of the factors that has made the move a positive experience. We are on one side of a twinplex, a two story home with a dividing wall that sits on two acres with some tree areas around it. It our landlord is a retired man in his 60s kinda and gets stuff done quick. There's a badass single mom and her kids, a huge Akita and a firearm on the other side of the Twin Flex. The kids are ages 17, 13 and 8 years old. The family is wonderful. This story isn't about them though. It's about the man next door.

[Priceline Negotiator Partner]

I got a weird Bonjour compadre.

[Priceline Negotiator]

It's the Priceline negotiator.

[Priceline Negotiator Partner]

How do I negotiate so many great travel deals? My greatest gadget, the Priceline app. It's got hotel deals, flight deals, rental car deals, all of those deals in a bundle deals, game day deals, concert trip deals. No one deals more deals than Priceline. Hold your horses, there's more. The app lets you filter hotels by neighborhood vibes, star level and amenities like pools and spas and beachfronts and. Wait, I'm not done. Stop cutting me up.

[Priceline Negotiator]

Priceline.

[Storyteller / Narrator]

Have you seen any dinosaurs?

[Priceline Negotiator]

What kind of question is that?

[Movie Trailer Announcer]

On August 14, I think that our neighborhood has moved.

[Priceline Negotiator]

We're in the past.

[Movie Trailer Announcer]

Summer ends on Oak street run from producer J.J. abrams, Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor. We're gonna survive the end of Oak Street. Directed by David Robert Mitchell Ray PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13. August the 14th.

[Venmo User 1]

Hey, I just Venmoed you for rent.

[Venmo User 2]

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[Venmo User 1]

Say more.

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this episode is brought to you by Facebook so you were scrolling on Marketplace and there it was. The bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for from a browse to a bike ride this summer. Find more on Facebook

[Storyteller / Narrator]

Vibe from Him the first time I met him. Not a knee jerk reaction or anything, just a sort of question mark hovering above his head like drawing a blank. In lieu of overt negative interactions, my boyfriend and I have been your typical level of neighborhood friendly. We give the wave here and there and have no active grudge against him. Although my boyfriend doesn't have the same instinct about the man, he trusts mine. It's nothing I can point to, which, as we all know, means nothing. I am thrown off by this man. It doesn't keep me up at night and it's not something I ruminate on, but it's idling in the back of my mind every time I take the dogs in our large backyard in view of his home. I have been thinking back to the very few interactions I have had with this man, which I can count on one hand. The first interaction we ever had was due to a dog fight in fall 2019. A big male dog with no collar showed up on our property and approached my big dog. The dog wasn't displaying threatening posture, he was only curious. Unfortunately, my usually mushy gush snuggle bean boxer mix got attacked badly a few years ago by another dog and he's got little doggy trauma now. Anytime he sees a male dog his size or larger, he gets hyper vigilant. He misinterprets any wrong move as ready to attack and attacks first. Think along the lines of a ready at any moment PTSD response in a soldier on the fight side of the fight or flight freeze appease reaction. So big dog didn't take kindly to this unidentified dog fella. He responded like you would expect and went after him. I saw two men standing about 50 yards away near the house in the yard next door. I assumed the uncolored dog belonged to one of them and called out for them to help break it up and retrieve their dog. The two men ran over and broke it up. Meanwhile, I'm standing there hitting the dogs with my dog's leash, trying to stop them, vicious snarls and all, which I am 100% sure was as dumb looking as it was ineffective. The other dog ran off for your peace of mind. By the way, that Little Sweetie is just fine. He escaped unscathed aside from from puncture wounds on his neck that required no veterinary action. So there I was sobbing, thanking both of the men for breaking it up. It turned out it wasn't their dog after all. The neighbor said he had seen the dog around before and believes that he tends to get out and he thinks he knows where the dog lives. They were kind and reassured me that my dog was in the right in protective mode and the other dog running up on the property was easily interpreted as a threat to him. The conversation was without incident. I thanked them and brought Big Dog back inside. Another interaction we had was a few months later when the neighbor was in his yard an appropriate distance away and I was taking out Big Dog and Small Dog. Small Dog is a perma puppy sized beagle trouble with a capital T but did disgustingly sweet and cute. Big Dog is well trained and can be off leash in appropriate areas no problem. My neighbor said hello and made conversation about how he's never sure if he's able to pet my dog because he always barks at him from our window. I assured him Big Dog is extremely friendly, not to worry. I also made an irritating mental note that the neighbor inquired about Big Dog's threatening level and I told him he's zero threat at all. I don't know about you, but my automatic reaction is to calm situations, make others comfortable, etc. And I have got a very high tolerance for odd behaviors. Overlooking odd behaviors is detrimental in these kinds of situations. I think it was normal conversation to ask if your neighbor's dog is friendly, right? A learning moment for next time. Time I guess. Aside from this, there was one time when we briefly spoke about how deer come through our backyards and he puts out food for them and other critters and a few feeders. I see him in his backyard sometimes doing what I assume is normal yard stuff and critter feeding. I don't remember any other instances distinctly. This brings us to today, all morning and afternoon. Good afternoon. I've been working on a scrapbooking project for my friend's 30th birthday which is seven months late. Thank you for the free time, Covid. The dogs are chilling by our sliding door that overlooks the back deck, large backyard and the trees. My hot glue and I are minding our own business when all of a sudden big dog starts growling and small dogs started barking. Regular barks are usually square squirrel or chipmunk alerts, but growls are for threats. I looked up and followed their gaze. There in the trees on the border of our backyard was my neighbor. He was barefoot and dressed in khaki shorts and a black shirt. He was fussing around near the ground in the middle of the tree lined area that separates our expanses of unfenced yards. I figured he was refilling one of the feeders for the animals or something, but I kept watching because of the back of my head question mark on this guy. Then he moved. He was already flirting with the property line where he was initially standing. He walked further several paces into our property in fuller view of our back deck and sliding door. I watched silently because I am an anxious gal. I do double check my alert reaction. For anyone who hasn't experienced anxiety, it's like having a jumpier needle than your average bear. To make sure I'm keeping my thought process relatively rational. I watched like this for a few seconds until he stopped moving. He halted on a patch of land a few paces beyond the property line, obscured by pine tree branches. All I could see was hips down. His knees were pointed at my window. While our yards are unfenced, there's an unspoken boundary. Neighbors don't cross here. It's a sloppy looking star shape. There is a house at each point and the expansive backyards are meld converging into the center lawn. He had no business being in our area of the yard. There is nothing else to look at. It's our twinplex and it's our side of the home. Which begs the question exactly what the hell are you doing? Sir? Get your knees out of my trees. The best excuse I can come up with is that he was wistfully surveying his home and yard with the pride of a man who mows it himself. But that's a long shot. Doing anything resembling looking at his own home or yard would have required him to rotate his body more than 70 degrees to his left. I stood up in the middle the of of the room and approached the window so that he could see me looking out directly at him. Keeping him in my peripheral, I glanced around briefly to find my phone so I could take his picture, which I am happy for him to see me doing in broad daylight. I couldn't find it though, so I just watched. My body was stable, but I noticed my bones started shaking a little. I think I was having that behind the scenes brain acknowledgment meant that there was no other explanation for him to have been postured like that facing toward me. After about 30 seconds he casually walked back over to his side of the property and made what looked to me like a half assed attempt to look like he was just picking a few things off of the ground like you would do to clear a few pieces of litter. He paused in his yard still obscured by the trees. From the hips down he was stationary. I walked to our bedroom to get a closer view out of our partially drawn blinds. In the five seconds it took to walk from the main room to our bedroom, he disappeared. I immediately called my boyfriend at work to let him know what's up. Even he agreed it was weird and he's the polar opposite of dramatic versus understated. I walked out on my back deck in what would have been full view if he had still been outside and knocked on my neighbor's sliding glass door overlooking the deck. I told her what I noticed and we agreed it was weird. She asked if big or small dog reacted negatively to the neighbor and I said no. She agreed it was weird and we're both on the lookout now. We both went outside and blatantly stood where he was standing to get a look at the view. It was a clear shot to our window. I noticed it was dark inside my home so even though I was standing in plain sight and staring at him, he likely wouldn't have seen it. I texted my landlord next and he doesn't know the man at all. My landlord's mother in law lived in this space before us and she hadn't mentioned anything. He was quick and responsive and encouraged me to call our sheriff's office. I touched base with my boyfriend again too. I asked him about Big Dog's reaction to the neighbor just to be sure and that's when I found out I was wrong. Apparently my boyfriend noticed Big Dog growls at this neighbor hair up every time he sees him. No one else, only him as far as I'm concerned. Three strikes you're out baby. My weird feeling. My dog repeatedly growling and knees in my tree. Please, I have my eyeballs trained straight on you. Don't try it again. Let me tell you a story about an idealistic, overly naive boy. In my senior year of college, I decided to study abroad. Inspired by A now ex friend who was going to information sessions during my Japanese language class. The cost was the same tuition wise and I got scholarships for the study to cover that entirely. I only paid for housing, food and my ticket. It was the opportunity of a lifetime that turned into the trauma of a lifetime. Now on my way to Japan, I was panicking in the car I didn't think I could do. Didn't help that my flight was very early and I had never flown alone, left the country and hadn't lived alone since my sophomore year. My house was only 40 minutes away from campus so I was never on my own. Really. We got to the airport and waved to my family and went through the bag check only to hear my dad mumble he actually did it. Thanks Dad. I surprised myself too. So off to Japan I fly. Smiling and feeling free. I enjoyed my first two weeks. But things took a turn soon after. Now this is where my story branches off into two tales, the Story for another Time and today's main course. Brief Summary My friend and I had a falling out before Japan. Somehow we ended up befriending the same people and hang out as a large group. This was fine for a while, but him being a gem led to me getting kicked out of that group. At this point, everyone had already formed cliques in our program, so I was alone. The treatment of that group and one clown made it hard for me to socialize due to gossip and people reading the air and judging me. I was alone in a foreign country, actively being shunned by this study abroad crowd and gloriously all my anxiety came back with a vengeance. Now here's the thing. I really was struggling. I have been struggling with selective mutism. I had overcome it before, but a stressful situation brought it back. Now mix in a foreign language and I could barely speak at all. All things Japanese escaped my brain so I was literally only able to say a few basics. Being alone made me decide to try online dating and meetup apps. I know, but I was desperate for someone to talk to and I considered a study abroad romance romantic. I never really tried dating before because I wasn't interested in anyone seeing me as a man in a sexual way being trans. But this was my chance to really mature and I desperately wanted to make a few friends to explore with to really make lasting bonds. All that BS they sell you with the study abroad fair. Here we go. Match number one. Cute guy claims he's in an acting troop. He'll swing by. If I want to mess around I slow it down and we chat. He moves around because of the troop and offers to pick me up. Thinks that I should join since study abroad. So sucks. I decline. Match number two. Calls me baby right off the bat. A little forward but I don't mind. I am awkward and have been accused of being forward so I go with it. He keeps calling me baby. He rants about getting out of his long relationship, asks me what I think of cheaters. Red flags. But I try to be open. I explain my views. He then asks me what I like, what movies and foods. Says he would like someone to stay home and cook for him. Okay dude. Says that he considers cuddling and watching movies a good time. Likes to have deep conversations. Sounds great. I'm lonely, an open book and hate bullcrap. His perfect date is mine as well. He calls me baby repeatedly, asks me tons of personal questions, but I get one word responses to mine. I flip it back to him, ask the same questions and he asks another deeply personal question. Instead of giving me an answer, something feels off. This isn't normal. He swings from erratic anger about past relationships not working out to heavy flirting to deeply personal quiz show questions. All within an hour of first contact. I am in my room thinking what the hell? Am I being pranked? I wasn't. I put the phone down and get in the shower. I come back to more messages, the last one angry that I'm taking so long to respond. I apologize and explain that I was in the shower. He gets madder, calls me a liar. I apologize. We keep to chatting. Now as this is going on and alarm bells are ringing. I start thinking this guy's trying to get my info to impersonate me or something. Bad crazy I know, but why else would this conversation be so one sided? I am more talkative via text, but damn it, not that chatty. We are now on hour three. My head is spinning as I get swept around by the barrage of messages, never really having time to think.

[Priceline Negotiator]

Priceline Negotiator it's me, the Priceline negotiator.

[Priceline Negotiator Partner]

We don't need the jingle twice.

[Priceline Negotiator]

What about a third time?

[Priceline Negotiator Partner]

Stop it. This is about vacation inflation and how Priceline negotiates amazing deals on hotels, flights and rental cars.

[Priceline Negotiator]

Seems like they decided.

[Priceline Negotiator Partner]

Yeah, but I didn't mention that you can save up to 60% off hotels in the Priceline app.

[Priceline Negotiator]

Time to beat the timeline.

[Priceline Negotiator Partner]

Fine. No one deals more deals than Please stop.

[Venmo User 1]

Hey, I just Venmoed you for rent.

[Venmo User 2]

Nice. Now I can instantly spend it whether I'm checking out online with Venmo or using a Venmo debit card.

[Venmo User 1]

Say more.

[Venmo User 2]

More. Exactly. Because the more you do with Venmo, the more you get. Like earning up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash on a bundle of brands.

[Venmo User 1]

So order more pizza.

[Venmo User 2]

The math demands it.

[Venmo User 1]

Get the Venmo debit card Venmo Stash

[Venmo User 2]

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[Facebook Advertiser]

Bank NA this episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace and there it was. The bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride this summer. Find more on Facebook.

[Storyteller / Narrator]

Decide to tell him I think I've had enough. He apologizes and tells me a sob story. I bite and go in deeper. He tells me his ex kicked him out. I offer sympathy and this guy starts saying words are better than actions. Calls me baby again and tells me I should run to a store and get him a damn gift card for PlayStation Network or something like that. It's been a year. It might have been a specific game, maybe Fortnite or one of those MMO games. I say I think this should be the end. He immediately replies okay. No end anger, no rant. Just okay. Something about that was the creepiest part. It made me think this wasn't over, but honestly, I still thought I was being catfished by the assholes in my program. I mentioned it to someone I thought I could trust and he told me there's no way I'm being crazy. This guy sort of let me lean on him a little, but turns out to be two faced. But that's the part of part of story number two. For another time, I turned to the one other person I'm still friendly with. We barely had spoken before, but she was sweet. I had tried to help her make friends after she was sick the first week. She ended up helping me in return. Later, as things got worse for me, she and I are actually still in contact. She agreed that wasn't normal and we walked to the 711 for some chicken and drinks. That night I get a message from an older man. He tells me he's married and straight and just looking to Experiment says he has never done this before. Yeah right dude. He literally says every cliche, every come on, the works. It's like a bad rom com. I should know since I love them. This guy talked like he was out of an episode of Will and Grace. So I'll call him Will because honestly, I don't remember his name. I told Will one, I am not interested in a sexual relationship. Two, I will not break up a marriage and three, I am not into older men and Will was old, at least in his 50s. He had a blurry profile picture and sunglasses. No close ups on the profile, but sent me a picture that could pass for the guy in the profile. When I asked him to, he wasn't attractive to me at all so I thought that it could be real. Otherwise why send an average older man's picture? We talk a little and I'm clearly not interested but also don't want to be rude but he keeps pressuring me to meet up and asking me questions. He likes that I'm a virgin. I'm starting to get freaked out and tell him he's making me a little uncomfortable. He apologizes and assures me he's never done this before. I roll my eyes and say sure. We talk some more and he invites me to his hotel room so he can take my virginity and I can be his first. I cringe. He then disappears as quickly as he came. Whole profile deleted. I think that's weird. Conversations disappear with him. Apparently that's how this app worked. The next day I get a message from Will. Sends the same picture of the guy without glasses. Starts asking me about sex again, Tried to talk dirty to me and I say I'm not interested. He disappears again. Now this is where stuff gets creepier. We are on to day number three of this behavior. He tells me he's in the town I'm staying in, still says that he's there one night night and wants to pop my cherry. Hard pass dude. No means no. And now I think of how persistent he's been. I thought about stories of being kidnapped or raped in hotel rooms and how this dude does not accept no. I get an inappropriate picture while I'm thinking about what to do. I can't block him since he just pops up with another profile a day later. Life goes on and I just accept this. Every day the old chat is gone and a new one appears. I tell him no and block it. This goes on for a week and I get fed up and tell him to get a clue. I block and report him knowing it will do nothing. At this point, I don't leave my dorm for a few days, even for class. At this point I had stopped caring. I had coordinated, terminated my schedule with my friends and had to deal with at least two of them in every class. It made it hard to focus. The sweet girl checked on me and took me to a cute cafe above the station. I started hanging out there alone or with her. It just felt right. Like exactly what I wanted. A place to chill away from those assholes at the dorm. A place just for me and my friend. Now number three. Or is it? A few nights into this mess, I get a message from a new guy. We chat and he seems cool. But the dude keeps trying to hook up with me. I guess the dating pool is slim if you only speak English. And he was super pent up. I explain I am not looking for sex and he says it's cool but keeps pushing. Lets me know he's actually going to be in my suburb of Tokyo. I say I keep. I am actually in the main city with someone. He says.

[Venmo User 2]

Cool.

[Storyteller / Narrator]

The next day I get the same message. This time I lie and say that I'm in the city again. He tells me that his friend lives by the station and he'll be there if I want to see him. Well, that's weird because I live by the station. My dorm is right by the station. That is too convenient. Well, here we go again. I get a message. I check and it's from the same guy. He says he thinks he saw me at the cafe. I look around and see no one who's not Japanese. I look outside and see an older man pass and think nothing of it. I say that he should come say hi if he's there. No response. I ignore the message and leave for my other daily ritual. Heading into the main area two stops over, looking at anime merch in animate and book off and visiting a local shrine. I had spent a lot of time at this shrine, praying. I found it relaxing and quiet. I had been frequenting different shrines and performing rituals, making offerings, filling out prayer cards and buying talismans. The works. I was looking for an answer to things in my life about my mental health and loneliness, my struggles speaking, my ex friend and the people shunning me. I was praying to decide should I stay or should I go? Both about Japan and my life. Should I really transition? Should I go to grad school or get a job? Should I be a lawyer or work in entertainment? Really heavy stuff. Then all of a sudden I feel this eerie sensation Sensation. Like I'm being watched. Now this shrine is quiet and I see nobody else. I decide to get out of there as fast as I can. All the way home I feel watched. But I'm being paranoid, right? It's in my head, right? No, it's not. I've seen that old white man before. He was outside the cafe. I start wondering if he was number three. He was at the cafe when Three messaged me. And there aren't a lot of white people in Japan, so who else could it be? Then a worse thought pops into my head. What if this is Will? I try to stay calm and walk to the train. This guy is still following me. I get on and he does too. Just as the doors are closing, I jump out. Will is at the other end of the cart and doesn't see in time. I wait for the next train and head home. Who do I see at my stop? You guessed it Will. Now I have already made eye contact with him, so he knows I'm there. I remember something. There's a police box on the other side of the station. If I turn right instead of left, this guy will walk right by them. He couldn't possibly be gutsy enough to follow me. After that, I run past Will and up the escalator. He slowly follows me all the way to the police box. Now, my Japanese was bad and I could barely speak over there. But I had a head start and tried to explain the situation. But no words would come out at all. I was frozen there, trying to scream Help. But nothing. Up walks Will. He casually grabs me by the arm, smiles at the officer and says something in Japanese. He then looks down at me and tells me to be a good boy for Daddy. He pulls me away from the cops and I am speechless, even more so than I already was. As he leads me away, I am shaking. This isn't going to end well for me. Tears fill my eyes and he keeps leading me away. But suddenly there's my friend walking down the street from the grocery store. I see a chance. I try to scream, but nothing comes out. By some miracle, she looks over at me anyway. She reads my face and shouts at him. He's startled. I bolt towards her. She charges at him, ready with pepper spray. He bolts. We both cry. I stuck with her even more after that. I eventually left because my anxiety was too bad. I am still struggling with a lot, but I am doing better. I'm on hormones, looking into grad school program and I've tried to put the past behind me. But the anxiety is still there. And I have nightmares about trying to scream, but no words come out.