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And we're live on Matchday as Doug reaches for a buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Matchdays deserve Pepsi.
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This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast instead of doomscrolling. Smart move. Another smart move getting help from one of State Farm's 19,000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
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Hello, it's me again. I am really just recording this to any new viewers. I'm not AI. All these stories were narrated by me. I'm not AI. So just letting you know that. And just to make this quick, some of the stories are very disturbing. I will have a pinned comment down below with each story label if you want to skip over any of the dark ones to my regular listeners and viewers that have supported me over the years. I hope you enjoy this. Have a good one. Bye. I think this will be pretty long, but bear with me because I'm trying to write all of this down to show my brother later on and compare our stories. My brother is seven years older than me, so when I was 9 10, he was in high school and he had to hide from our parents that he smoked and dipped tobacco. I was homeschooled, by the way. As a result, most days of the week after he got home from school, we'd go out in the woods for an hour or two. We lived way out in the country in an already rural part of East Texas, so there were plenty of woods to explore around there. The land south of our house was all owned by a mining company and my parents didn't really want us going out there, so we always crossed a fence to the north of our house and explored the woods out there, very likely some locals property that we really had no business being on. But when you live out in the country, you figure you'll have plenty of signs before you accidentally walk into someone's backyard. After a few months of venturing out in this area, never really traveling more than an hour's distance from our house and always in the daylight, we decided one day we'd just keep walking and walking. My brother smoked and spit into a Dr. Pepper bottle. We entered big pastures and dove back into even deeper woods. Whenever we've talked about It We've always said that we must have traveled at least a mile, but we usually say far more. Eventually, we came across a circular pond. I distinctly remember having a much higher rim on one side. My brother explained that this was because a tractor had dug it out and piled up more dirt on one side than the others. We kept going past the pond, and we entered another patch of woods. As we came out, we saw that the tree line curved around sharply to the right and the clearing we now stood in opened up far wider. We went in that direction, and while my memory of getting there is a little hazy, I know suddenly we came across a very large white building surrounded by a high fence. There was a gate large enough for vehicles to move in and out and a dirt road leading away from the facility. We could hear the sounds of activity and could see people walking around the outside of the fence near the gate. I'm afraid any other details I can give at this point might be colored by the false memories or exaggerations from my imaginative young brain. So I'll wait to talk more about it with my brother before I go any further. At that moment, though, we both felt this spine tingling terror loading our bodies, that something about this was very wrong. We were not supposed to be here. We were at the very least going to get into serious trouble. We were standing in the middle of a clearing, gawking, a facility of some kind on what was obviously someone else's property, and we were seeing something deep out in the woods that we had never known was there. All this time we'd spent hiking around these woods. If we'd just gone a ways further, we would have stumbled across this. I remember standing there for a moment longer, asking my brother what this could possibly be. He told me something along the lines of, I have no clue, but we should really get the fuck out of here. The tone of his voice truly freaked me out, and I remember running back hard back the way we came, crossing the same pond and cutting a path as close as possible to the route we traveled. When we finally stopped, out of breath, my brother told me that in no way, shape or form would I utter a word of this to our parents. They were spankers and awful grounders, so he knew the trouble he'd be in for taking his little brother into what was quite possibly very dangerous. After that day, we kept going out in those woods, but never that far. Eventually, my brother got caught with a can of skull, and my dad made him eat the whole can and puke it up on the porch. Being an easily intimidated little kid wasn't that hard to get more information out of me about my brother's smoking and dipping habits. That being said, I never brought up the facility we'd found over the years, my brother and I have brought up this story many times. Our parents have gotten way laxer since we've all grown up, and we've even told them the story to my mother's retroactive shock. We've added a lot of other weird ones to our arsenal in the time since, as our families always lived by huge areas of land for us to wander around on. But this one. It's one of our favorites. It's always Remember the time we almost got killed by those government researchers? Remember the time that we found that crazy building in the woods with those people walking around it. But for the past few days, this event has really been bugging me. I told my wife about it in detail, and she was pretty amused. I thought I'd look around and Google Maps a little bit at the area we grew up in, something I'm honestly surprised I've never done for these specific reasons before. And what I found or haven't found is, well, really bizarre. Moving north from my old house, which has since burned down and left an ugly scar on the satellite image on Google Maps, I can very clearly make out the woods we spent of our time in. When I go further north, I can see several large clearings followed by more wooded areas. Eventually I even found the circular pond, and I'm positive I can make out the higher end of the pond that we stood on as my brother explained how it had been made. When I drag the map further, I see what looks to be the clearing and the sharp curve of the treeline to where we saw the facility. But nothing's there. No trace of a building, no evidence of a dirt road leading away from an old structure. It's just pasture and more trees. In fact, when I zoom out and look at the whole area, it doesn't even seem possible for there to have been an operation of the scale we saw out there at all. Just a little ways further north, the land becomes nothing but pasture, with houses pressed up against a county road. For people to have come and gone from this area, they would have had to have a road of some kind, as well as power lines stretched out to the building. But there's nothing like that on Google. In fact, there's really no here it was spot on the map. It's like it was never there to begin with. It's been a few years since we've talked about it. So I texted my brother earlier today to ask him if he still remembered this happening. He called me immediately after and said, oh hell yeah man, that was a really weird day. You know how good I used to be in those woods? You know how good I used to be in those woods man. But that shit really freaked me out. We had to get out of there. This whole event feels more like something that we walked into that we never should have seen. I remember that feeling of dread upon finding the place and knowing that something bad would definitely happen if we stuck around. I'm gonna try and send him this post later so he can read it and corroborate it as well as look at the Google maps for himself to see if he sees anything different. I know this isn't an encounter, but I feel it qualifies as it may help someone out there. And if it helps any of you, then I'll sleep better I used to bounce in Detroit for quite a while. I've lived here my whole life. Needless to say, I've gotten street smart. Detroit isn't the hellhole people make it out to be, but it isn't paradise either. I decided to write this guide to hopefully help some of you deal with these creepy and frankly, sick individuals. It's a downloadable printable PDF. It's also extended a bit the Guilt Game first things first. I need to say this. Many people will agree this is not your fault. Period. There is no excuse a creeper can make that should make you feel otherwise. Some of them are really good at guilting you. I've even met folks who blame themselves for being stalked. Everyone male, female, transgender, gay, straight, bi, any race or religion has the right to enjoy their life without being creeped on. Period. Remember that you didn't ask for crazy. Crazy just happens. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking you asked for it. The Name Game Make a Fake Name this may seem obvious, but when put on the spot, folks forget. Many folks slip up due to fear, guilt, or just insecurity about the situation. So do this make a fake first and last name? Maybe think of it as a little story. Now submit this by alerting friends or even family that if you tell someone that name, it's a signal that person has been stalking and creeping on you. Or you don't like the vibe It's a signal, but trust me with supporting friends it won't be ignored and the creep is none the wiser. So you've got a creep. Alright, so you've landed yourself In a situation, make sure you've set up a fake name. If not, well, now's a good time. Even if they know your real name, any confusion you can throw at a stalker or creep is good. Right now, the public is your friend. Well lit places, stores make sure you walk up to clerks other folks. Be brave enough to alert someone to what's going on. You never know if that walk home is going to be safe, so make sure you up your odds. Do not ignore odd signs and sounds. Animals get spooked a little too much. Acting weird near the doors and windows. Ring the police immediately, report a possible prowler, crashing sounds, etc. Do the same. Ignoring the creep only lets them think they're getting away with the level of invading your space and life. You want to minimize this turn the tables. Creeps usually only depend on one thing. Their plan. Now it's impossible to determine what someone is thinking and let's be honest, crazy as a whole Disneyland of fetishes, likes and weird signals someone perceives you send them. That gives them a right to bother you if possible and they are following but not running after you. Or if you had to talk to them and they are literally too close for you to avoid. Wave. Wave to anyone else. Speak very, very loudly. Put them on the spot. It does indeed put them in the defensive and may even screw up a sick plan of theirs. The point is, if you see a huge guy wave and call him over, claim you haven't seen him in a while and you really don't know the guy that's following you, mouth the words hell to anyone you can. Frankly, modesty is not your friend when surviving an encounter. Bravado is. Make sure anyone you do wave over though is someone you don't get an equally bad vibe from. In most cases, running into a store is safest so you can alert clerks and the police. Bonus social stalkers in the bars, the clubs, the parties. Firstly, the golden rule. Do not ever set your drink down and walk away. No, not even to turn your back and talk to another friend. Always assume someone will slip something in it. Why? Because for every nice person is a mean and creepy one. Chances are if they see a drink dropped by a guy or girl they dig you make an easy mark. You want to avoid being anything close to that music is loud in any one of those settings. Never go to any one of the three alone. Charge your phone before going out and establish a simple hand signal for help. Using a friendly system of bailing one another out avoids pushing men and women and well, creeps again. Make it casual. Signs things they wouldn't notice but friends would. I often tell folks to do the old scratching the chin thing. It's not a big deal, but it lets your friends know that you don't want to be talking to whomever is bothering you at a bar and club. Do not hesitate to tell a bouncer about that said person. It's our job and trust me, from personal experience, we often do that job because we want to help others. You aren't a bother. You are a person who we want safe. Never forget that. At a party before going, have a backup friend and let said friend or even group of them know exactly where you'll be, the address, and folks who might be there. This cuts down on the need to explain more and frees you up to get the hell out of there if things go south. The aftermath Think of the situation. How dangerous did this person seem? Write every detail about them you can on paper, including and especially times every encounter, every window. Peek everything. If possible, transfer that to a notebook. Hard copies on paper are still the best evidence. Times help stop alibis, tell parents, tell friends, alert neighbors, local shop owners. Why all of these? The more eyes that see this creep around, the more talk begins generating. Trust me, someone who gets labeled creepy in a neighborhood by enough people won't get a moment's rest. You want that level of safety for you? Ring the police with your notes. Make a report that puts the creep on file with the police. This is important. Think not just of yourself for a moment, but other possible people this person might be harassing. Enough reports means more eyes on them. Again, you want this? Lastly, make sure you go back to that name. It's not just a fake name, it's a code. Get used to saying it some, so when the moment happens, and I really pray it never does for anyone here, you won't stall in saying it. If you're Jerry from Maine, well now you're Tom from Ohio who's just visiting family for a day or two. The difference is that name's meaning. It's safety. It's a let's get the hell out of here. Please. Anyways, sorry to be so wordy. I do hope you all enjoy. And even if I helped out even one person, then this is really worth it. Edit with a new section. Tools of the tray. I've had a lot of questions on extra things to carry in a purse, backpack, or even pockets. So let's go over some good and some bad ones. LED pocket light. This is the most overlooked item for many, they're cheap now and available all over the place. Well lit means well informed of what that banging sound was shining at a creep following you. It might just spook him since you can make out his details better. It's not a weapon, but light is still your friend. Pepper Spray the old standby. If you go this route, do get one with the marking ink in it. If you can't find it in your local stores, order it from Amazon. Even if said harasser runs, chances are you'll tag part of him or her with that ink and it doesn't wash out easily. Perfect for a Police lineup Canes vs Sword Canes this is a hotly debated issue. Always pick a cane. Why not sword canes? In many states in the US and in many other places, they're actually a concealed weapon. That's a felony. You don't want to get busted yourself while trying to help protect yourself or another. A cane, on the other hand, is a pretty good prodding and poking tool, and God forbid you need it. A good wap to the knee of a potential assailant should make them think twice. Stun Gun Please check your local laws on these. I don't want anyone busted for this one. If you can't carry one, I do recommend the pepper spray option. The flashlight option is a must no matter what you carry. Lastly, I cannot stress a cell phone enough. Don't have one that's hooked up. Still charge and carry one. Most companies are required to Let you dial 911 or whatever emergency number is your local Got a backpack or gym bag? Bring a hoodie and hat and or other things to help conceal your normal look. Duck into someplace well lit, move past some folks and throw the stuff on. The less noticeable you are until you can get home, the better. Another view someone PM'd me a tip that they'd like to put out, one that I definitely support and agree with. Perhaps you could add another that whatever you do, do not allow yourself to be taken anywhere in a vehicle with someone who is coercing you, obviously, or even someone who's making you uneasy or uncomfortable. The odds of coming to serious harm are exponentially increased if you leave the initial scene with someone in a vehicle. This includes the parking lot, nightclub, party park, etc. I have also worked in the nightclub business for many years and so many stories in this sub include moments where obviously some very uncomfortable victims end up leaving in a vehicle with their creeper or aggressor. Even if you have to scream, yell Claw or look like an idiot. Anything is better than getting in that car. Do you hear that? Sounds like breakfast is ready because Quaker's coming in hot with morning nutrition, 100% whole grain oats and a good source of fiber to fuel the rhythm of your morning and kickstart your day. And that sounds absolutely delicious. Fuel to start whatever's next. Quaker Official sponsor of FIFA World Cup 26, Chevy is called the heartbeat of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm, the versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend, and tracks bring style with value you can count on, all infused with tech that has your back, so your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet Together, let's drive. I've been on Reddit for about two years now, but I just now found this subreddit. After reading a few of the top posts I realized that what happened this summer to me is a perfect fit here. I haven't written anything in a long time, so sorry if this isn't the most articulate post. This fucked me up for a while and I'm still not completely okay, but it's easier to cope it was the middle of summer and my parents had left for the weekend to go to our house in Cape Cod. It's about a two hour drive away, so no big deal for them to leave me alone for a few days. My mom had made some pulled pork and pasta for me to heat up whenever and I had some money if I wanted to order a pizza. Things were all good the first night I was alone. I stayed up until three in the morning playing Xbox, so I woke up really late the next day. I checked my phone when I woke up and saw it was a little past one. I had made plans to play some street hockey with my friends at 3, so I threw myself out of bed and stumbled into the shower. I take really long showers so when my parents are gone I go mental. I was in there for about 45 minutes on my phone, scrolling through Reddit and Twitter and whatnot when I heard my front door open. The bathroom is directly up the stairs from the back door and the thing is pretty loud when it opens and closes. I immediately froze since obviously I was supposed to be alone. I waited for about two minutes, ears trained in trying to hear anything else. Nothing. I figured it was just the wind or maybe my parents were home early. So I turned off the shower, wrapped my towel around myself and slowly walked down the stairs to check it out. So the stairs to the kitchen are pretty Tight and walled in. So it's essentially like walking down a tighter version of this, but replacing the rail with the wall so I can't see into the kitchen when I walk down. Even though my house is old as shit and each step on the stairs makes a super loud creak, I still took my time and tried to be as quiet as possible. I probably took 45 seconds walking down all 12 of the stairs. So when I get to the second to last pair, right before I could see around the corner in the kitchen, I take a little breath to compose myself in my mind, I knew I was being stupid. There obviously wasn't anything in the kitchen. There's no way I wouldn't have heard another noise. And there's no reason for them to still be in the kitchen, even if there were burglars or something in the house. After sort of mentally chastising myself for being such a wuss, I sort of chuckled at myself for being so stupid and just normally walked the last two stairs and turned the corner into the kitchen. Standing about two feet away from me in the middle of my kitchen is a man staring straight at me, perfectly still, with a massive smile across his face, just staring at me. The thing I remember most vividly wasn't his face or his smile, but his arms. They weren't just at his side. He held them in the strangest, most abnormal position I've ever seen. They were where one normally holds their arms, but he had rotated them to the point where they were almost completely reversed, as well as lifting them up and a little behind himself. I don't know why I remember this so much, but it's just the most demonic abnormal position I've ever seen. Honest to God, I think I almost had a heart attack right there. Looking back, I can realize how fucking creepy the situation was. But in the moment, I just took a step towards him and punched him as hard as I could in the jaw, sort of half slapping, pushing him towards the ground. The second I connected, I beelined up the stairs, dropping my towel in the kitchen. With my heart beating out of control, I fucking sprinted into my room and locked the door behind me. I quickly put a chair up against the doorknob like you see in TV. Almost without thinking, I immediately called 911 and nearly in tears, told the operator what happened. As I sat on the floor of my room in practically the fetal position, staring at the door, praying that a cop would be here soon, I noticed the light coming from the gap between my door and stopped. The fucker was standing Outside of my door, there's no words to describe the feeling I had. I was paralyzed with fear, watching the shadow across the bottom of the door shift in tiny ways. I stayed balled up, staring at the gap, praying the man would go away for what seemed like an hour. All the while the 911 operator was asking, hello, sir, are you there? Hello? I didn't want to make a noise, and even if I wanted to move my arms to bring my phone to my mouth, I don't think I could have. Eventually the light returned to the gap and I heard the faintest of footsteps slowly creaking the wooden floorboards as he walked down the hall. It was silent for a few minutes as I just sat there, curled up, unable to even speak. I heard banging on the front door and the sound of two officers entering my house. I finally felt safe and I opened the door to the two of them. Standing there, I almost cried. Nowadays, my parents don't even leave me home alone anymore, thank God, and I check every lock on the house before going to bed. I still get nightmares occasionally and my heart starts racing whenever I see someone standing still. But I'm doing alright. Even working with sketch artists in a few lineups, the police never found whoever the fuck was in my house. That sends shivers down my spine every time I look outside, half expecting to see him standing across the street, smiling under a lamp post. I have no idea what he wanted or who he was, but regardless, I pray that I never see him again. This is a story that happened to my mom's friend in Korea about like 10 years ago. Every time I hear this story, I get the chills. My mom's friend lived in an apartment complex in Seoul. She was a stay at home mother with a young daughter and her husband worked during the days. One day she was coming home from running errands with her daughter and got onto the elevator in her building. When she got on, she noticed that there was a man wearing a cap and a yellow raincoat and he kept his head low so that she couldn't really see his face. She immediately felt really uneasy and she made her daughter stand to her side, furthest away from the man. What made her even more uncomfortable was that when she pressed the button for her floor, there was no other lit number and on top of that she noticed that he was carrying something wrapped inside a newspaper close to his side. Things started to click in my mom's friend's head and she had started to panic and decided to take out her cell phone and pretend that she was calling home to her husband, who was obviously really not at home and at work. She started saying things like oh, I'm on the elevator and about to get off, can you get the door for me? And making it seem like her husband was waiting at home. When the elevator did reach her floor, I think she lived on the 12th floor or something, she quickly got off and grabbed her daughter and started to walk as fast as she could to her apartment. She noticed that the man also got off on her floor and was slowly following her down the hallway. When my mom's friend got to her door, she had started to bang on it and shout hey, I'm home, please open the door. And kind of pretended like he was coming to answer the door. Upon seeing this, the man in the yellow raincoat started to walk away back towards the elevator. When he seemed to be far away enough, my mom's friend quickly picked up her daughter and slid open her door as passcode thank. She then started to frantically punch in her key code, but the problem was that the buttons would make sounds so the man knew that no one was going to answer the door for her and he turned around and started to run back towards her. My mom's friend at this point was practically screaming and when she finally got her door to open, the first thing she did was throw her daughter in through the door. Once she got in herself, she saw that the man was pretty much inches away from the door, but she managed to shut it and lock it before he could wedge his hand or weapon into the door. Afterwards, looking through the door's peephole, she saw that the man was walking away back towards the elevator. Several months later, my mom's friend was watching the news and there was coverage on the capture of a serial killer named Yoo Young Chul who used to kill a lot of prostitutes. She told my mom that she could never forget the dread she felt when she saw the too familiar raincoat and the hat that he was wearing when apprehended. When I was 19, I worked for a company that allocated labor to rural areas of Australia. Basically what you did was tell them when you were available and they'd send you to a remote farm for a few weeks where you'd do whatever they needed done. It was hard work and long hours, but good pay and good fun if you got in with a nice group of workers. When this occurred, I was working on a large property. I was told it covered roughly the same land mass as the state of Maryland, usa, about nine hours from Sydney City, and the property itself was about 40 minutes from the nearest town. In short, it was the middle of nowhere. I was working at the farm clearing bushland with three other guys my age from the city. Our boss was a guy called Jeremy who owned the farm and supervised us while helping out with the work. He was pretty laid back and was generally really good to us. The summer in particular was very hot and the work was hard. So one day when the temperature hit about 38 degrees Celsius, Jeremy decided to give us the afternoon off. He said he knew of a water hole on the farm about a 25 minute drive north. I was keen for a swim, but the other guys just wanted to relax for the arvo. So him and I hopped in one of the work trucks and started heading across the property. It was mostly wide, empty expanses with a few clumps of scattered bushland. Jeremy wasn't much of a talker, so we drove more or less in silence. After about 20 minutes, however, he suddenly perked up and jabbed me in the ribs. Do you see that over there beneath the two dead trees? I should mention here that if you're not familiar with inland areas, particularly those in Australia, they are brown or red and mostly flat and bland, meaning any bright colors stick out like a sore thumb. So you can imagine our surprise when we could see a large blue angular structure far off in the distance. We steered in its direction and as we got closer, we realized it was a huge blue shipping container just sitting in the middle of nowhere. Jeremy was perplexed. I asked him if he knew what it was, but he obviously didn't. He said he hadn't seen it when he drove through that same area about five weeks before and he wanted to go and see what it was now. Initially, we pulled to a stop about 100 meters away from it. At this stage, I had a really bad feeling the whole thing wasn't right. It's hard to explain, but if you can imagine seeing such a foreign object in the middle of a huge barren expanse, it had to be something weird. Jeremy, however, wanted to investigate, which I understood, given it was his property. But in truth, I was really anxious. As we got closer, things got even more bizarre. There was a big diesel generator behind it thumping away, and a CCTV camera on each side, all motion activated. So they buzzed from side to side, following us as we moved around. I tried to reason with Jeremy, something along the lines of, with all this security, someone obviously really doesn't want us here. Dude, let's just go. He brushed me off, however, reminding me it was his farm. And whoever had put this here was trespassing, so we wanted to go inside. Despite all the surveillance, there was only a small padlock on the huge door. We had some bolt cutters on his toolbox and after a bit of a struggle we broke the lock and went inside. The first thing I noticed was the rush of cold air as we got in. The place was air conditioned, which I must admit was quite pleasant on such a hot day. We searched around for a light switch, but I could already see this was some sort of IT setup. There were flashing LEDs all around the place and the sort of hum you hear when a hard drive is working hard. When we finally switched on the lights, we could see a sophisticated, albeit somewhat cluttered, office setup. There were hard drives the size of bar fridges and other computer equipment lining the walls, sometimes piled two or three high, and plastic storage boxes scattered all around the far wall. Also several desks with computer monitors arranged in the middle, complete with rolling office chairs. At this stage I felt like I was in one of those nonsensical dreams. This just made absolutely no sense. We wandered to the middle and sat at one of the desks to see if the computers could give us any idea of what the hell was going on here. My heart was racing and I just wanted to bolt. We had been seen by the cctv, so if anyone was monitoring, they already knew we were here. Jeremy, on the other hand, was pretty adamant that we got to the bottom of this, so I put on a brave face and started looking through the computer. This went on for a while, but in short, neither of us had a very high grasp of technology outside of Facebook and Microsoft Word. The best I can describe it from my lay position is that it was endless lists of computer talk. It was like how the old Napster or Limewire download screens looked like. Just constantly picking up and receiving data, then recording it on several windows. I gave up on the computers and I walked cautiously over to the far end of the container to the big pile of storage boxes. By then I was pretty sure no one else was there, as there was nowhere to really hide. But I was still incredibly on edge. I had decided against my better judgment, to see what was inside all these boxes. My brief sift through this box still makes me sick to my stomach. It didn't take long for me to realize that this box was full of posters, DVDs and photos. All of hardcore child pornography. One thing that still gets to me is that it was all neatly ordered into folders and smaller boxes. These people were organized. I immediately recoiled, jumped up and ran over to Jeremy. I could hardly string a sentence together. I said something to the effect of mate, get out. Child sex, go get the fuck up. I dragged him out, composed myself and managed to explain what I saw. We jumped back into the truck and sped back to the house. The farm had no mobile phone reception and we hadn't brought the satellite phone, so we had to get back to the landline to call the police. Once we called them, they still had to make it all the way to the farm from the nearest police station, which was in a town about half an hour from the town closest to the farm. As I mentioned, very remote. We waited, talking frantically about what we'd seen until the cops arrived almost an hour later. They arrived with two four wheel drives and we jumped in and led them back. This is where it gets worse. By the time we got back, the container door was open and there was a fire inside. We had only two small extinguishers in the cars and these did very little. The fire department took an hour to get there, by which stage most of the damage was already done. An arson report by the Federal Police found almost no evidence of the computer equipment described and only traces of paper and cardboard. This means that whoever ran it knew we were there and they had time to come and remove most of it and get away. There were various ways to get off the property and the landmass was huge, so there was no real way to tell them. Since the police hadn't taken us all too seriously in the first instance, probably due to our poor explanation on the phone, aerial surveillance was also impossible. By the time we had pieced it all together, I took a keen interest in following it up, but with no real evidence of who might be responsible, the investigation went cold. I've kept in contact with Jeremy and the shipping container is still there, sitting on the farm as it's too expensive to move. I'll never forget what I saw in those boxes. Over the years I've been on Reddit, I have shared a handful of stories to this subject. This is one that I've been saving for whatever reason and I think I'm ready to share. This is probably my last post in let's Not Meet, since it's not very often that something happens that is worthy for a let's Not Meet post. Definitely not a bad thing. I've shared my other few experiences and I think I've saved the best for last. Everything mentioned here is 100% factual. Long read, but I believe it's worth it. I grew up in the South. Tons and tons of beautiful places to see that haven't been taken over by concrete yet. It's nice, but along with that it's pretty boring. Being a teenager and wanting to go out and have fun led to mostly improvising with your buddies and hoping something good will come out of the night. There wasn't really a local spot to go hang out at like a club or cool bar, and the places that were close to this were boring because you did them so many times. I'm sure if you've ever lived in a rural area you can understand that feeling completely. Something that I found a ton of enjoyment in as a teenager was just cruising around super late at night and listening to music. I would fill my gas tank up, grab something to drink on a cigarillo and I would just take off driving around until the sun came up. It was a way for me to just clear my mind and relax. Those country back roads were just always fun to drive down at 2am and was also just the right amount of spooky. Well, one night I absolutely got more than I was to bargain for. I can't remember what month it was exactly, but I know for a fact that it was in the summertime because I was out of school and I also remember it being a really comfortable chill night. So if I was to guess it had to have been around July or August. I was cruising around like I always did and I was completely worry free. I had music blaring and I was in my zone. I decided to head down to a park just out of boredom. This particular park is at the very end of a long stretch of desolate country road, but it is a really pretty drive because of that. When I say desolate country road, I don't mean that it's some dirt road that goes through the woods or anything crazy like that. It's a normal paved road, but there really is nothing on it. After a certain point the entire road takes about 20 minutes to drive down to get to the park and after about 10 minutes into the drive the houses start to get spread out further and further to becoming just houses and just road leading into the park. I think a lot of the reason I like this drive at night is because of how creepy it was and I looked at it as some sort of adventure or whatever. The park isn't open for camping or anything. It's mostly just a lot of land with walking trails and biking trails set up through miles of woods. So obviously at 3am in the morning it's pretty dead. I made it there and just did a slow little normal loop around the drive of the park the night before. It stormed very badly. So badly. I remember my parents and I had to take shelter because of the threat of a tornado touchdown. There ended up being no tornado, but the storms were pretty damn rough. Because of this. I came up on a fallen tree in the road that looped around to the exit of the park. That must have happened because of the storm. It wasn't some massive tree or anything. But I know for a fact that there was no way I could have gotten over it in my car. Obviously it was pitch black everywhere besides the front of my car because of my headlights. And because of that I immediately rolled out backing up the entire way. I just drove. When I entered the park, I knew that was super dangerous and there was no way at this point on the road. There was flat land on each side of me. I figured that it would make the most sense to just back up in the grass beside me just a little and then drive back the way I came. It was a one way loop around the park, but I wasn't really worried about going out the wrong way since it was so late. So I started to back up off the road so I could get my car turned around. All was good until I went to pull back up on the road. I totally did not take into account how wet the grass was and the amount of mud there was. My car went absolutely nowhere. My bag tires were completely stuck and were spinning in place as I was trying to floor the gas pedal. As you can imagine, I started to become pretty scared at this point. Not the most ideal situation to be in. I immediately take my cell phone out of my pocket and saw that I had service. Super huge feeling of relief there. I called my parents and I told them what happened and where I was. They were pretty pissed at me but said they'll pay for a tow truck to come get me out. My parents both drove small four door sedans and they would have been zero help in this situation. I was about 45 minutes away from my house and the rest of most human civilization. So I quickly realized that I would be stuck out here for at least an hour before someone was able to get to me. Freaky feeling. But I tried getting out of my head and just continued to listen to music and be on my phone in the car while I waited. Not really much more I could do. After I kind of calmed down from the initial anger I had, I started to check out my Surroundings I didn't even notice at first because of everything going on, but in front of my car's placement was a field that was full of the most amount of deer I think I've ever seen at once. There legitimately must have been 40 deer in this field just walking around and eating the grass. The field wasn't directly in front of my car, but if I was to get out and throw a rock in that direction, I would have easily been able to hit one of them. So if I was to guess they were about 30 yards out, I'd say this didn't really help. With the creepy level going on. Looking out in front of your car and seeing 80 eye reflections staring back at you is a bit of an alarm alarming feeling overall, but I was relieved it was just a field of deer. I watched them for a little bit, but I was quickly over it and started to just browse through my social media apps while waiting. They seemed to have been over it quicker than I was because they all went back to walking around and eating once they figured out that I wasn't going to attack them or anything. After browsing my phone for about 15 minutes, I finally get a call back from my parents letting me know that a tow truck guy is on the way and I about an hour and a half out from my location. Still to this day I remember hearing that and having the thought, you've got to be kidding me. I understand that me and only me was the reason I was even in this situation I was in so I couldn't really be mad at anyone else. But of course that was very obviously not what I wanted to hear. I decided that the smartest thing for me to do was to make sure that all my doors were locked, lay back in my stomach seat and take a nap to pass the time quickly. So that's what I did. OK, here we go. So I wake up 45 minutes later to the feeling of being watched. I'm not sure if anyone has ever experienced that feeling before because I don't really know how common it is, but there was this sixth sense alarm going off in my head just telling me that I need to wake up. Waking up to that feeling in the situation I was in and the surroundings I was in is probably the worst case scenario. I sat up and immediately checked my surroundings and seen nothing. I looked through my car very quickly for any sort of weapon and I found a pocket knife. A fucking pocket knife. I was very scared even though I saw and heard absolutely nothing. That feeling is terrifying. I was Shocked to see that the field of deer in front of me was still full of deer. I really don't know anything about that animal, but I guess I just always assumed they don't hang out in the same place for long. Not sure why I thought that, but I was surprised to see them nonetheless. I called my parents back to see if they had heard any kind of update from the tow truck dude. I decided to not mention the feeling I was having because I didn't want them to worry more. And I also knew that it was literally nothing more than a feeling I had and had nothing to back up why I was feeling that way other than just being spooked out. In general, no update from the tow truck guy, so we all just assumed everything was still the same on his end. The call lasted just a few minutes because I felt like such a dick. They both had to wake up for work in a few hours, now have to spend a random hundred plus dollars. And on top of all that, they were worried about me. I could tell they were annoyed at the situation, but worried. I told them I'll make sure to tell them when the guy arrives and I'm sorry. We hung up and I looked up from the phone and immediately went from 0 to 100 in panic mode. The deer in front of me were all completely perked up, staring in the same direction right of them. Let me remind you that there are 40 deer in this field. Every single one of them were stopped dead in their tracks, standing completely still looking at something. I put my high beams on and stared, waiting for absolutely anything to happen at all. Nothing. I tapped my horn real quick. They didn't even budge or look my way. They were all still completely glued to what was by them. The way the tree line was. I couldn't see that far over the field. I know they were looking into the woods beside them, but where I was, I was only able to see them. I could hear my heartbeat. I grabbed that stupid pocket knife and just waited for something to happen. I would say it was about a minute after I honked. Every single one of them in unison started to run the opposite way. They were running at full speed and within 20 seconds the field was completely empty. I was petrified in fear. I knew that staying in my car is what would be the safest thing to do. But it's the worst feeling in the world when you feel like a sitting duck. My head was on a swivel. I was freaking out in every way possible. I assumed that it was a bear or something, but it could have been absolutely anything. I was convinced at that point it was the devil himself. I didn't know what to do. I knew that the tow truck was close by, but I had no idea where he was. I began to shake because of nerves and just looked around to make sure nothing was by me and focusing on the field in front of me. I did this for what felt like an actual eternity. Sitting in complete silence and darkness in the middle of nowhere, waiting for something to jump out and attack you. 15 of the longest minutes of my life go by and I start to see lights break through the treeline on the road. As it gets closer, I see it's the tow truck guy. The lights on his tow truck felt like it was Jesus coming from heaven to rescue me. He gets up to me and I jump out of my car and immediately ask him if he has a gun on him. I told him very quickly what just happened to me and that something is definitely out here nearby. He let me know that he had a shotgun in the truck and assured me that it was most likely just a bear or bobcat. He gave me the whole they're more scared of you than you are of them bullshit. The tree was small enough for him to sort of bulldoze it out of the way with his truck. And then he attached my car to his and pulled me out of the spot I was stuck in. He was very nonchalant about what I just experienced, but I was pretty badly shaken up from it. The whole time he was doing his thing, I still had my eyes glued out in that field waiting for something. He was completely done with everything in about 15 minutes and he told me to follow his truck out of there onto the main road again. I got in my car and was ready more than anything to get the hell out of this park. We started to drive away from the spot I was in, and I still had my head on a swivel, completely shook up. As we were driving away, I looked in my rearview mirror. We were down the park road just a tiny bit, but I could still see the spot I was stuck in, partially lit up from the vehicle's light in the moon. I watched in my rearview mirror a man come out of the tree line behind where my car was, walk into the middle of the road, and then watch us drive away. My heart stopped beating legitimately. I lost my breath and my eyes started to get full of tears because of how absolutely scared I was in this moment. I couldn't see any sort of details like what he looked like or even necessarily what he was wearing. To be honest, I really don't care. That feeling that I felt driving away from that spot, knowing he was right there the whole time, watching me, watching me as long as I was freaking out, looking around, watching me as I was completely alone for a long time, maybe even coming right up to my window and watching me as I slept. That's a feeling that is something that I just can't necessarily put into words all these years later and it still messes with me quite a bit. The entire time we were driving off, as long as I could see him, he didn't move. Just watched us on the road. A million things went through my mind. I was scared there may have been multiple people up the road waiting for us. I was trying to figure out if I should start beating on my horn like crazy to get the tow truck guy to stop or not. I decided that all I wanted to do was get out of there more than anything. The second that we finally got out of the park and were able to get on a two lane road again, I flew past the tow truck driver and did nothing below 70 mph the entire way home. I flew through stop signs and stoplights. I absolutely did not care. The only thing on my mind was making it home. I got home, ran inside very quickly, acknowledged my parents, said sorry and thank you and went to my room. I didn't get a single second of sleep the rest of the night. I was searching for any sort of records of things happening in that area, escaped convicts, similar stories, etc. I came to the conclusion that the man was some sort of squatter or homeless. I read many things online how it's common for homeless people in rural areas to build shelter in the woods. Which does make sense to me entirely on why they would do that. But obviously the unknown is the scariest part of it all. What if he wasn't homeless? What if he was going to hurt me? What if, what if, what if? There's so many possibilities of what could have happened, but the outcome that did happen is what I am most grateful for. I never told my parents the story until many years after it happened and I was already an adult and moved out. It freaked them the fuck out too when I told them I never went back to that park ever. Even though I no longer live by there. I still have no desire at all to ever go back there. I don't think I could, even in broad daylight with a ton of people around. I also made the decision to stop doing those late night cruises. I did a few after that time with other people, but even then I felt very uncomfortable and on edge. Get business done with the new American Express Graphite Business Cash Unlimited card with unlimited 2% cash back on all eligible purchases, unlimited 5% cash back on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel Online and a flexible spending capacity that can grow with your business. You'll have the confidence to keep building. Apply today and earn a welcome offer of $1,500 cash back after you spend $50,000 in qualifying purchases on your new card within the first six months of card membership terms apply. Learn more at Go Amex Graphite chronic
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So I work at a pizza place, usually inside as my insurance does not cover claims when driving for business. But occasionally I will cover a delivery shift for one of the drivers because money is good. Our delivery area includes a few new development upper middle class cookie cutter neighborhoods, bad tips, an older 1940s era village average tips, two apartment complexes, great tips, some trailer parks great tips or no tips and then a bunch of rural areas. Usually good tips, not rural to the point of seeing hundreds of stars at night, but enough that you couldn't hear neighbors yell. So about a week ago I was covering a delivery shift. I came back to the shop feeling pretty good. I'm averaging $5 a delivery and they all have been pretty close and I check to See if I have any more deliveries. I have one to an address I have never seen before. We have mostly semi regulars get deliveries, so an address that doesn't seem the least bit familiar is odd to say the least. It's one of the more rural roads. I asked the kid who took the order what was up because there were special instructions on the ticket. They said go around back because the front door is not operational. I'm like ok, that's not uncommon. People often want you to go around back. Either they painted the door, the house shifted and it's a bitch to open, or they're just hanging out back. So as I'm driving out to the house and I get an odd feeling. I don't really like the idea of going to the back of some house. Out on the sticks it would be all too easy for some thugs to order a pizza to an abandoned house and then jump the delivery guy. I figure I'll scope the place out when I get there and if it seems sketchy, just call them and make up some bullshit about how it's against company policy to go around to the back of the house to prevent RO robberies. As I'm driving to the house, I realize it's towards the end of this road that gets less populated the further down you go. Great. I'm pretty near the address and driving slow, I see this house, abandoned looking and set back from the roads with no address and in a bunch of trees. I then think, yeah, that house better not be it. So I drive past and check the next house's address and lo and behold, the abandoned looking one was the right house. At this point I'm not super worried though, because out in the boonies the standards of upkeep on your house are pretty low, so a house in disrepair isn't unusual. So I double back to this house and pull into the driveway. At this point I'm getting bad vibes. It just doesn't feel right. So I park my car at the very end of the driveway with the rear of the car on the shoulder so anyone passing by can clearly see it. At this point I call back to the shop and tell them I'm at this sketchy house and if I don't call back in four or five minutes, call me. And if I don't answer, call the cops. While I'm on the phone, I take a chance to take a good look at the house. It looks extremely abandoned and not just in disrepair. The driveway is crumbling, bits are gravel and there are weeds growing out of it. There's no mailbox, no trash can, no car, no lawnmowers, no landscaping, no kids toys, absolutely nothing in the yard. The yard hasn't been mowed in what looks like years. The house is total crap. The roof is all but falling apart. The siding is falling apart. The bag deck which comes around the side is falling apart. The only part of the house that looks even a little bit decent is the allegedly non functioning front door. The windows are all shut. It's 95 degrees in Hubed and this place does not have AC. They all have the blinds or curtains shut, the few that aren't actually boarded up. I don't even see any wires running to this house. It's not dark, but it is dusk and there isn't a sign of any lights on in the house. At this point I'm starting to get pretty nervous. I'm a 5 foot 10 male, 180 pounds, not in any great shape. But I did take karate for 10 years so I'm not helpless. But I do try to avoid any sort of confrontation I can. As I'm mostly a pacifist. I'm not too concerned about getting robbed. No skin off my teeth. It's not my money. I mean, I would rather not get robbed, but I'm mostly worried about getting jumped or killed. It's a fairly safe area, but recently there have been some rather unsavory people moving in from the city. A big spike in home invasions and robberies, but more worrying a few stabbings and assaults. So it's time to either nut up or shut up. I'm not just going to go charging in there like a fool. So I get on my phone and call the number they gave when ordering. While doing that, I'm getting the pizza out and making sure I leave my door open. A running car half in the road at an abandoned house with the door open looks suspicious, right? I figured if shed goes down it might look out of place enough to make someone stop. Not that there is really any traffic this far down the road. I am starting to walk up to the house while the phone is ringing. It rings twice and then an automated message comes on. It says something along the lines of this phone number is associated with an Internet texting app, one of the free ones you download and lets you send free texts from a different phone number over a data connection. I think it was haywire. We've had issues with people using numbers from those services for pranks in the past. This is a huge red flag. My heart is now pounding in my throat and my whole body is telling me to bail. I don't want to get a reputation for being a flaky bitch as a driver and lose any future delivery shifts. And that is why I haven't bailed yet. So I'm just standing there holding a pizza, looking at this house but not wanting to venture around to the back of it. I'm hoping that the resident will look out the window and come out by the road to get their food. So I'm looking at the front windows, checking for some sign of life. I see a blind go up on the one window right next to the front door and a really creepy looking guy with a hat pulled down low and big sunglasses on is looking out. Remember, he is in a completely dark house surrounded by trees at dusk. There is no reason for him to be wearing sunglasses. I also see what appears to be some big guy standing behind him in the room. This could have been anything though. When he sees me looking, he mouths something and he darts away, presumably towards the allegedly broken front door. At this point, I noped the fuck out of there. I had stayed pretty close to my car, so it was only a few steps away. So I jumped into the driver's seat and threw the pizza into my passenger seat, something I would never do since I am really anal about keeping my car clean. I slam it into reverse before I get the clutch all the way in. So I grind my gears a little again, something I would never do without looking. I simultaneously slam and lock my door and I floor it backwards onto the main road, slipping my clutch horribly. But at this point I don't care. I don't want to fuck around and risk a stall. I did not even check for cross traffic. Yeah, really stupid on my part. I start to drive away and look back at the house. The screen door on the outside of the front door is now open, but the front is still shut. The guy isn't out in the yard yelling wait, come back or anything, he's just gone. So I pull over a little ways up the road to call back to the shop and tell them I'm all good and I'll elaborate when I get back. The people never called back to inquire about their food. People usually call if their pizza is 15 minutes late and these people never got it. So it's really strange they didn't call, pretty much confirming they were up to no good. After telling my coworkers about it, we concluded that it was definitely a robbery at the very least. So we put the address and phone number on our no deliveries list and we ate their pizza. I doubt I would have actually gotten murdered or anything robbed with maybe a gun pulled or a little roughing up. Yes, but it was still very unnerving that I easily could have gotten into some serious trouble just by doing my job, especially if the idiots picked up a slightly less abandoned house to set up at. Sorry for the relatively minor incident being so long, but hey, I like to write even if I'm not that good at it. Anyone who delivers pizza, please be wary of situations like this. I looked into it and apparently it is a pretty common way to rob pizza guys. I'm pretty glad we didn't end up meeting. Female, 24 from the UK despite a few creepy instances as a child, there has only been one time in my adult life that I have felt true primal fear. My apologies if it's a little long, but trust as I am being as concise as possible and need to explain the surroundings a little at first. I live in a village in the middle of the English countryside to paint an accurate picture of its size. It has a population of 4,000 but feels more like 1,000 due to its spread out nature and being surrounded on all sides by lots of fields, farms and woods that eventually connects onto a pretty famous forest. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere and because of this has notoriously bad phone and Internet connections. Having lived here all my life, I know the place like the back of my hand. I know where all the public footpaths through the woods and fields are, where they connect, which are shortcuts, where to cross deep streams, etc. I have gone on walks in this area throughout my childhood with parents and alone as an adult, nothing bad had happened. I felt safe here. The story takes place last summer in July after I moved back home from university, had yet to get a job and smoked a lot of weed, a habit my parents despised and which I tried to keep hidden from them by going on evening walks. Multiple pre roll joints hidden away in my hoodie pocket as usual this day they both got home at 5pm we had dinner but chatted for a while longer than usual as my mom had quite a hectic day and was telling me about it. Because of this I ended up heading out for my walk an hour later than routine around 7pm but as it was summer the sun was still shining so honestly I didn't really notice that it would start getting dark while I was still out. The woodland closest to my house is less than five minutes away and you enter through a Gate into a farmer's field. You can see across the open area quite far until the first set of small woods obscures your view. That's where I was heading, as I knew this track takes under two hours and leads back onto the same path I was standing on. Now more than enough time to smoke the three joints in my pocket and for the smell to leave my clothing. I had thought. This entire area is very popular for dog walkers, so it's not unusual to see other people while you are about. And this is a village. Everybody says hello to everybody. I lit my first joint and started walking. I'm just in my own little world for a while until I was less than a hundred feet before the entrance to the woods. An elderly man was coming out of them throwing a ball for his collie dog. I finished my joint and stubbed it out. As I got closer, I recognized it was John, who lived on the road next to mine and knew my grandpa. We stopped and said hello as I pet his dog Max. While talking, I see another man coming out of the woods. No dog, bright green jacket, very tall and had a good 10 years on me, age wise. John and I chat another minute and say goodbye. He warns me not to stay out here too long as it'll start getting dark soon. True, the sky was bright pink and orange. The sun was indeed beginning to set. I hadn't really noticed. I continued on down the path towards the man. When we were nearly passing each other, I looked up to make brief eye contact, smile and say hello like everyone usually here does, even if you don't recognize the person. My eyes instantly met his. He was already looking at me, his dark eyes locked on mine. He wasn't smiling. I didn't know him at all, but I knew something was wrong. It was in his eyes. I swallowed my politeness and looked at the ground as we passed. I had lived in my university city the past couple of years, so I knew a red flag when I saw one and my country bumpkin manners evaporated. I quickened my pace a little before entering the woods slightly looked back. The guy was still walking in the same direction. Following John, I felt relieved, laughed, cursed the weed for making me paranoid while lighting up another joint and started walking into the woods. It takes about 30 minutes to follow the path through the woods to the end. The pathway exit opened into another field that led to another set of woods. The sky was now violet, the dimming light having been obscured to me by the trees. I was already smoking my last joint and was near the entrance of the second set of woods when I felt it. Fear. Complete, crippling, absolute fear worked its way like electricity through every layer of my flesh. I had never felt anything like it before or since, but I knew what it was. I whipped around. Standing at the exit of the first set of woods was the man. I could still make out his green jacket in the fading light. He's fucking doubled back. And very quickly too. I had looked back several times while in those trees and he hadn't been there for a second. I froze, as did he. He knew I'd seen to sprint the distance between us would take him about five minutes. He was obviously in good shape. I threw the spliff and fucking bolted into the woods, the only way I could go. I didn't dare look behind me. I sprinted for a couple of minutes before taking a sharp left turn off the path into the trees, hoping to throw him off a bit. But I couldn't fucking see a thing. The light was already darkening and the trees made it a hundred times worse, especially as I was now in the thick of them. Their branches caught on my clothes like fingers whipping and scratching my bare legs so bad that I bled. I ran and ran, my lungs protesting in pain, hating me for smoking so much while my heart was throwing itself against my rib cage trying to escape. I couldn't anymore. I threw myself on the ground behind a particularly thick trunk, my back against it, knees to my chest, hand thrown over my mouth to stifle my labored breathing, desperately trying to pump air into my lungs for the next sprint. I listened for the first time. A few seconds pass silently. Then I hear him. A heavy footfall snapping twigs behind me and about 20ft to my left. I dare not look in case he sees me. I have my phone, but I know I have little chance of signal being where I was and knew he'd either hear me talking or see the light from the display. I'm not ashamed to say at this point that I start to cry. The tears fell silently down my cheeks. What the fuck? I hear a deep voice exclaim. Where are you? I know you're here. I saw you. I have to clasp both hands across my mouth to stop my scream escaping. I can hear him moving. I panic and I find enough courage to slowly peek from behind the tree. He was about 10ft behind me, less than 20ft to the left, with his back to me. I moved back and my eyes searched around me. I picked up a pretty heavy rock. I carefully check on him again. His back is still turned and he's searching through the trees, hunched down, lowered to the ground. Now I made a snap decision and with everything I had left, threw the rock behind me and to the right. It clattered through the branches of trees and it made one hell of a noise. I watched him immediately bolt in its direction, laughing. He fucking laughed. I paused a little, hearing his footsteps get quieter, until I thought I wouldn't be so visible to him if I moved and threw myself forward. I ran, trying to put as much distance between us as possible, but I was also aware that I was getting further and further away from home. I knew that there had to be a stream somewhere close. If I found the stream, I could follow it as it borders the land and ran parallel to some of the footpaths. I ran and ran and ran until the trees finally cleared and I can just make out another field through them on the other side. I thank God and push myself a little bit further until I'm out of the trees and the ground disappears from right below my feet and I go head over shoulders down the stream embankment. I crash into the water below, my mouth open and lungs filling with muddy water as I splutter it out. I feel both relieved to have found the stream and terrified. He's heard me. My phone is now ruined. I slowly make my way downstream as quietly as possible, listening out for him the whole time as the stream borders the woods, looking up periodically just in case. After a while, maybe half an hour, I notice the trees begin to thin out and realize this is the edge of the woods, where I would have been exiting and where the pathway connected to the original one I started on. If I ran, I could probably get home in less than 20 minutes. As quiet as I could, I dragged myself on my stomach back up the embankment, army style. Wanting to stay as low as possible, I peeked over the top. I could just make out the opening of the wood's exit path about 50ft away. I sat and scanned the forest line for a couple minutes, my eyes trying to make out movement despite it now being pitch black. Nothing. I couldn't hear anything either. I pushed myself up and sprinted as fast as I could across the field into the pathway. I knew the gate I entered through was in the adjoining field. It wasn't that far. I was so happy. You fucking bitch. Came a screech from across the field. I swear my legs nearly gave out then and there. He had been waiting for me. I turned my head and saw him sprinting out of the woods at full pelt. I screamed and pushed myself further. Tears coating my face. All I could do was run. I crossed into the main field now and I could see the moonlight shining off the metal gate. My house was just five minutes away after that. I have never focused on anything as much as that gate. He was faster than me and getting closer, screaming at me the whole time about how he was going to slit my throat. I ran and ran pushing myself up and over the gate and ran up the road. I dared to look as I made the turn for my road. He was still fucking following me. I raced up my driveway and threw myself through the door running into the living room crying and screaming hysterically pointing behind me towards the door. My dad ran outside while my mom grabbed ahold of me as I collapsed, shaking. As it turns out my parents had already called the police. As I said I was going for an hour or so at 7 and it was now past 12am and I hadn't answered when they had called my now broken phone. Very unlike me. We called the police again to explain. They came and I gave a full statement. Both my parents and even the police were horrified. Nothing like this happens here. There hasn't been a reported rape or murder in the last 100 years. But one look at me and it was obvious I was telling the truth. I was covered head to toes in cuts and bruises, soaking wet and covered in mud and blood. I won't go into how this experience changed me. It's depressing, but I will say the thing that scares me the most is that they never even had a suspect. Despite him following me so closely. He was gone by the time my dad ran outside. That guy is still out there and who knows what he's really capable of.
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A
It was late November in Colorado and I was about seven or eight and my father got the idea of taking us all for a weekend to a cabin that he was going to rent. My mother thought it was a great idea for me, my sister, my father and my mother to bond. So that's exactly what happened. We rented a cabin for a few days. We took off school on Friday to get a head start on getting there, which I had no issues with. We got there and it was sure cold. Well, it was almost December, so I guess it made sense that it was so cold. Anyway, we got all set up and decided where we'd all sleep. We ate dinner and then we all got set up for bed and were thinking about what we'd do tomorrow. We got there kind of late, so we couldn't really do much on the first day. That night though, I heard noises outside. It sounded kind of like footsteps. I looked out the window and saw nothing, so I figured it must have been an animal. I tried to go back to sleep. Then about 15 minutes later, I heard it again. I woke up my sister, which she was about 11 at the time and she heard it as well. We both walked over to the window and saw something out there. We weren't quite sure what it was. We decided it'd be best for it to not see us. So we went back to sleep. I had a hard time sleeping that night and so did my sister. But when we eventually woke up, my mother was inside making breakfast and my father was outside. I asked my mom if I could go outside with my dad and she told me sure. While my sister stayed inside and waited for my mother to finish breakfast, I walked outside and my father was talking to some man. A short, chubby man. He had a shaved head and he was wearing a veteran cap. He looked really nervous too. For some reason he was sweating a lot as well, even though it was absolutely freezing outside. I walked over to him and my father. My father looked at me and said, oh, this is my son. And he told him my name. The man looked at me and said, nice to meet you, kid. My name's Patrick. He smiled and looked at me. I smiled and greeted him back. And it may have been rude at the time, but I was just a kid. And I asked him, you look kinda scared, you alright? And he kind of coughed and replied with, yeah, I'm fine. Just went through shell shock. I'm a veteran. He said, as I couldn't tell already what cap he was wearing. He seemed pretty normal then. My father seemed to really like this guy. And I liked him at first, too. He told my father that he had also rented out a cabin with his family. And they were really close to us. So he decided to introduce himself. My father invited him inside for breakfast and he stayed. And it was pretty normal. I went outside to play after that with my father and Patrick. While outside, I fell and scraped my knee and started crying. My father was inside at the time. A bad time for him to be inside. My mother was calling for him and he ran inside. While I was out there with Patrick. Patrick ran over to me and told me to come with him to his cabin because he had Band aids. I agreed and went with him. I wasn't a very smart kid. I went with Patrick. We talked about what I liked doing. And I told him about video games that I played and just stuff like that. Then things got weird. He asked me what shoe size I was and how old I am. I didn't know my shoe size back then, but I told him my age. He just kind of chuckled and said something along the lines of, well, good to know. Also, his cabin was nowhere near ours. It was way back. It took about 20, 25 minutes to walk there. I was tired and there was no point in getting the Band Aid anymore. But I still decided to keep going since I walked so long. We entered the cabin. He told me to go in first, and so I did. As soon as I walked in, I realized something. There was nobody in there. No family. I asked him where his family was, and he didn't even answer. Pretending like he didn't hear me, he locked the door. I then got kind of frightened. He then told me, I'll be right back with the Band Aid, kiddo. He walked into the kitchen and pulled one out somewhere. And then walked back and told me to have a seat and he put it on. I sat down and he put it on me. He also held my leg with his other hand and rubbed up and down it and told me, you're a rather muscular kid. I like that. I kind of got scared and immediately stood up. He asked me what was wrong and I told him nothing and just that my leg was feeling much better now. I then thought my parents must be worried sick about me and that I should hurry back. He insisted that I stayed a little longer and ate there. I didn't want to, but I was alone and if I ran, I don't think I could find my way back to my cabin. The door was locked too. So I just agreed and decided to eat with him and get it over with fast. He asked me how much I weighed and I guessed around 73 pounds. He then had a smile go across his face. He nodded and said, perfect weight. I asked him, perfect weight for what? And he just kept smiling. I was really weirded out at this point and I asked him if I could go. He told me no and that things were just getting started and I shouldn't miss out on the fun. He had such a weird tone when he said that too. I then heard a big bang come from the bedroom. It was a closed door. Patrick stood up and looked angry. He walked into the room and shut the door behind him. I then heard him yelling. Did I fucking tell you that you could move? No, stay where the fuck you are. I have fucking company. Or something like that. He then walked out with a smile on his face and shut the door slowly. Sorry about that. It was just my wife. She's really sick and she's not allowed to be near visitors today. He was smiling while saying that I wanted to go. I then looked around the room and I noticed there were clothes everywhere. It was really messy. He must have been living out of here at that moment. His wife walked out of the room. I'm hungry, she said. He looked pissed. Get back in there, he said. His wife was extremely pale and looked like she had been crying a lot. She was sniffing and she had red circles all around her eyes. She looked at me and then walked back in the room. I asked him where his kids were. He didn't answer. He told me that he had kids, clothes that he wanted me to try on. That was the last straw. I had to get out of that situation and I didn't know how. I started crying and then he hugged me. He told me, it'll be okay, little one. Nothing is going to happen. Just try on these clothes. He walked in the back room. I thought that was the perfect time for me to leave. I unlocked his door and tried to leave as quietly as I could. I didn't care if I got lost anymore. I didn't want to take any more chances with Patrick, even if that was his name. I had a feeling that he had been lying. He lied about having kids, so who knows what else. I was in the woods trying to find my way back. I was still close to his house, close enough to hear shouting. I heard him yelling to his wife. Things along the lines of, where the fuck did he go? I knew I shouldn't have left him alone. You probably let him Leave. I could have sworn I heard him call her a whore and bitch a couple times too. Then it happened. I stopped in my tracks. I heard footsteps. I went and hid behind a tree and looked in his direction. He was outside and seemed to be looking for me. I was far enough away to where I could barely see him, but I could tell he was looking for something. He then stepped out in the forest and I heard him shouting, hey, kid, it's okay. You can come back now. You don't have to try on the clothes. I have toys back in my cabin. All you have to do is come back. I then ran. I ran as fast as I could in a straight line in hopes to find somebody in my family. I was running away and then I heard shouting, but I didn't stop to hear it. Then, after about an hour of running, I saw a cabin. My cabin. I ran to it. My father was outside looking around, looking for me. I ran up to him crying, and I told him Patrick wasn't a good guy and that he was really weird and he was touching my legs and stuff. My father immediately called the person he rented the cabin from and he said that nobody had rented that cabin. My father looked at me and told me never to follow any stranger ever again. We immediately left that day and asked for a refund for the next day. The guy renting them out apologized. The man having the cabin rentals called the police and the police went back there and checked the cabin and there was nobody back there, not even his wife. His clothes and belongings were still there though, is what they told us. Nothing really happened after that. They asked questions and left. They never called us or told us anything about him ever again. Patrick most likely wasn't his real name and he probably wasn't even a veteran. I just want to know what happened to him and his wife and how he even got a wife in the first place, and how and why he lived back in that cabin. He seemed to have lived there for a while. I guess he left because he figured the police would be coming back after him because he didn't rent the cabin. So many questions that will never get answered. I'm just really glad that it's all over. This happened about six years ago. I was about 12 years old and my brother was 26 at the time. My brother had been serving in the US army for several years when this happened and was deploying to the Middle east on his second deployment, if I remember correctly. Also of note was that he has a Green Beret and he had recently completed the Army Special Forces Qualification course, Robin Sage and all that, and by then was an active duty SF Engineer sergeant. Definitely not someone you'd want to fuck around with. Given that we both grew up with a passion for the outdoors, he thought it would be nice to take me on a backpacking trip in northern Alabama before he left. For those nine months it was the Sipsy wilderness. For those familiar with the area, the trip had gone smoothly up until the third night we were camping out around 8pm we had our camp set up, eaten dinner and we were sitting by the fire talking about typical boy shit, guns, girls, etc. For some reference. Our spot was about 50 yards from a large stream and about 50 yards downhill adjacent to the large path. Our camp, the stream and the path formed a triangle of sorts. This was summertime in Alabama, so it wasn't quite dark yet when two guys who looked to be in their late twenties wandered up and asked if we'd seen any hogs while we were hiking around. Given that this is rural Alabama, we actually had seen some farther into the wilderness area and told them so, even though they were relatively polite. My brother called them good old boys. I got a seriously creepy vibe from them. Dirty clothes, greasy hair, scraggly facial hair, etc. I think they probably looked like they belonged in the movie Deliverance. They kinda hung out for a few minutes, maybe a little longer than they should have, looking around asking us questions like how long have we been out there? And what looked like them kinda sizing us up. They then abruptly said goodbye and walked away. I didn't necessarily feel threatened by them and I know for sure my brother didn't, but I still felt uneasy about the whole thing. Fast forward three or four hours. My brother and I had gone to sleep and were nestled in our tent when I woke to the sound of multiple dogs barking. I've always been a heavy sleeper and they sounded like they were only about 100 yards away. My heart immediately started pounding and I kicked my brother through my sleeping bag and asked if he was awake and heard the dogs. He responded, yeah, I'm awake. They've been getting closer for the past hour or so. Just lay still and don't make any sounds. Needless to say, 12 year old me was about to shit my pants. We would also hear sporadic shouts from several different sources, but neither came any closer. A few minutes later my brother whispered, they're just hunting for hogs. They use the dogs to pin them down and then they shoot them. This gave me some relief, but not much. Somehow I managed to fall back asleep. The fact they were doing this at night was a huge red flag, my brother later told me, but I think he was just trying to keep me calm. Fast forward what was probably another three hours around 2am I had managed to sleep pretty well after first hearing the hog hunters when I woke up to my brother squeezing my shoulder firmly saying, wake up. Put your shoes on quick and follow me. Be as quiet as you can. My heart immediately went back to racing because I had heard the dogs and voices in the distance, farther away than before, but still distinct. Not asking any questions, I did what he said and as soon as we were out of the tent he told me to get on his back. This was a breeze for him. After rucking with God knows how much weight in the army, we snuck about 50 yards into the woods towards the junction of the path in the stream and crawled into some bushes. It was uphill so we had a pretty good elevated view of our campsite. I remember as we were laying there how loudly I was breathing and how quiet he was when I heard the very distinct sound of a pistol slide racking. I looked over and my brother had his pistol, a HK USP that he gave me a few years after this story took place. He was watching the campsite and surrounding area. I started to whisper to him when he put his hand over my mouth and pointed at the campsite. The group of hunters had been steadily approaching our camp and by this time around 30 or so minutes, they had reached it. There were five of them and like three or four dogs, they all looked relatively young, but two either had rifles or shotguns and the dogs were going crazy, obviously having smelled our scent. For those of you who are backpackers or campers, nobody who comes up on a random camp in the middle of the night with dogs and guns has good intentions. I knew this and my brother knew this. I was scared shitless. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but my brother later told me they were talking about us, although he hadn't heard any specifics either. They lingered for about 20 minutes, shining flashlights around and talking to themselves. When my brother put his mouth to my ear and said, if they come towards us, I want you to turn and run as quickly as you can. Don't stop, don't look back, Stay off the trail and look for the flashing lights. I don't know what he meant by this, but that'll come later. I knew I could make it back because he had taught me land nav pretty well. He then handed me a flashlight and told me not to take the red filter off. He later told me that the red filter helps preserve night vision and it cuts down on ambient light so it would be harder for someone to see from a distance. At this point, I was so scared I almost started crying. But at the same time, I had a rush of adrenaline and what I now think was confidence that he thought I could handle myself. We laid there for a while longer when out of nowhere, they started screaming, where y' all at? And firing into the woods at random. My brother dragged me back behind the crest of the hill and threw himself on top of me. Thankfully, our position on top of the hill was protected from any gunfire. They shot maybe five or six more times and then started walking back the direction they had come. They got maybe a hundred yards away when I heard a blaring siren and saw emergency lights flash through the woods. Turns out my brother had called the Forest Service office on the satellite phone my family has for emergencies while I was asleep. And they had sent out Forest service officers and game wardens to our area of the wilderness. The Sipse wilderness is about 25,000 acres in size, so it took them a while to get out there on dirt roads. When we saw the game wardens truck, my brother signaled them with the light and pointed them in the direction the hunters had gone. And the guy sped off, shining a spotlight through the woods. As soon as they were all gone, we went back to our camp, packed our shit and waited by the path for the game warden to come back, who then gave us a ride in his truck bed back to the main staging area. On the drive back, my brother told me how brave I had been and that we would talk about it with our parents the next day if I wanted to. I asked them not to do that because they might not ever let me go camp again. As a follow up, we never got any definitive information on what happened to the rednecks we encountered. I have so many friends who have gone out to the SIPC area and had a great time with no creepy stuff going on. However, it is truly a wilderness area and law enforcement response would be slow. I was lucky that my brother was there and reacted so quickly. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened. We also got lucky that whatever their intentions were, they either reconsidered or lost interest. I will note that when they left our camp, the game warden showed up pretty soon afterwards. But I didn't see what the guys and their dogs did. If I remember correctly, they headed in a direction parallel to the stream away from the trail inaccessible to any kind of vehicle. Maybe the warden continued on and took another trail to try and cut them off. I'm not sure. We waited around 30 minutes for him to come back and he said there were officers out looking. There are only so many paths that you could take a truck or quad bike down, so any thorough search effort would also have to be on foot. Did you know Sam's Club isn't a store? It's actually a club with cool finds and like a whole community, it's a club.
B
Of course, Jason. It's in the name Sam's Club.
A
Oh yeah. Come join us.
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A
A week or so before my tenth birthday, I walked to the corner store with a five dollar bill and picked up a jar of Ragu for my mom. On my way home, a man I'd never seen before fell in step with me and began talking. Hi, he said cheerfully. My name is Dr. Ramsey. I'm a pediatrician. Do you know what a pediatrician is? I walked along silently, not replying and fervently hoping he would take that as a sign, as he should leave me alone. Subtleties were not his strong suit though, because he kept right on chattering. Are your parents looking for a pediatrician for you? Of course. You're almost a big girl now. You'll be needing another kind of doctor soon, won't you? That's okay though. They can still bring you to me. Until then, what's your name? You have beautiful hair. I was just on the way to get some suckers for the candy jar in my office. Do you like suckers? Thankfully we were nearing my house, so I ran forward up the back steps and in through the kitchen door. I didn't know it then, but that was the beginning of a very long, very scary ordeal. It didn't take long after that for Dr. Ramsey to begin showing up. At first it seemed benign enough, at least to a kid. He would drive by nearly every day, smiling and waving. I told my mom, who said maybe it was on his way home from work but then the phone calls began. My dad called me into the living room and sat me down. He asked me about the day Dr. Ramsay followed me home and if I talked to him. He said that I wasn't in trouble, but that I needed to tell him the truth. I told him no, and he asked if I was sure, could I be forgetting something? I told him no again, and he frowned, then asked then, how does he know your name? I didn't know. It turns out that was not all he knew. He knew my sister's name as well. Pretty soon, neither my sister and I were allowed to answer the phone. He called several times a day. At first, neither of us knew what he was saying. Then one night, one of my brothers told us that he was telling my parents that he was going to hurt me and later my sister. Things got complicated after that. My dad called the police. But as this was before there were any stalking laws, there was not a lot they could do. They told my parents to call back if he tried anything. My dad then called a friend of his from back in the day who happened to be a cop. For the next month, my dad's friend escorted me to and from school. Suddenly, life as I knew it came screeching to a halt. I couldn't walk to school alone. I couldn't play outside. I couldn't walk to Super America. Sort of like a 711 for those who don't know. When access to me was completely denied, things escalated. It was around this time he began threatening my sister as well. Then one afternoon, my sister, two of my brothers, my mom and I were all in the kitchen. One of my brothers saw a glimpse of someone in the garage. They'd seen him, too. Dr. Ramsey came bolting out of the garage, my brothers chasing after him. They ran all the way to Cherokee park, where he lost them in the trees. My parents called the police yet again, but nothing came of it. The only information they had was a description and a name that was almost certainly fake. A couple weeks later, we woke to find our dog hanging from the side porch. She was a gorgeous saddleback German shepherd, born the same day I was. We were all devastated. The cops said that there was no evidence it was him and ruled it accidental. But of course, none of us believed that. His phone calls became more informative. In the meantime, he would talk about who was home and who wasn't. If my brother would say my dad was home, he would tell him who was really in the house. He would also talk about the house itself, about the window in the kitchen. He could easily open with a knife from outside, even when it was locked. And about the French doors that connected the living room to the side porch and how the lock could be finagled from the outside if you jiggled it just right. That night, my dad put in some carpenter nails at the bottom of the French doors until he could get a new lock ordered. My parents had to go to a company event for my dad's work. My older brothers were at Saints West Roller Skating Rink. My sister was on the phone with her best friend. My little brother was on the floor asleep. I was watching Devo on the midnight special with Wolfman Jack. It was late. Suddenly, the top of the French door swung inward, and in the few milliseconds before the nails on the bottom caused them to snap back, I could see a silhouette. My sister whipped the phone at the television and we ran up the stairs. About halfway up, we realized our little brother was still asleep on the living room floor. As quietly as we could, we slipped back down the stairs to get him. We all went into our bedroom and didn't turn on the light. This way we could see outside. We watched out the window for a while, and when we didn't find him, we crept down the hall to our brother's room to look. We looked down and we could see someone standing at the back door. He knocked loudly. What do you want? My sister asked out the window. He stepped back and said, is this the Mercy residence? I have a pizza delivery for you. Can you come to the door? She scoffed at him, declaring she wasn't stupid. She could see that he didn't have a pizza and she was calling the cops. He left. A short while later, my brothers returned home. We told them what happened, and they walked around the yard watching for him. They came back in and things settled down. By now, we'd pretty much given up calling the cops because it never helped. So we just went back in, each of us carrying a knife from the kitchen just in case. Except my younger brother, of course. He was still asleep. Eventually, one of my brothers went in the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal as a snack. You know that sensation you get when you can just feel someone watching you? Yeah. He had that in spades. He kept looking around the kitchen, through the doorway into the dining room, at the windows. He didn't see anything, but he could still feel eyes on him. So he went closer to the door to try to see better. The kitchen lights were reflecting on the windows of the door. It had three rows of three windows, so he still couldn't see. He stepped closer, then closer again until he was right up to the door. Then he cupped his hands on either side of his head so he could see there, on the other side of the window pane, was Dr. Ramsay, smiling back at him. He turned to yell for my older brothers, and when he looked back again, he was gone. They went out again to look for him, but didn't see him. The next night we were at a table playing Crazy Eights and my brother was restless. My sister asked him, what's wrong? And he said that he always felt like any minute now there would be a banging on a door or window. Almost immediately after he finished his sentence, it happened. Three bangs on the window right behind him. In the chaos, the two eldest ran out, but he was already gone. A couple of weeks later, I was at school and we were outside on the playground during recess. I was swinging upside down when I saw that now familiar blue Ford Galaxy cruising by, moving slowly. There he was, smiling and waving. He called my name and I ran to the teacher and told her the school had been told all about him. And she took me right inside, right away and called my mom. That same day, my mom had gotten a call from the school office asking her to verify that my dad was picking up as he'd called to say he was on his way. He wasn't. Not long after that, I woke up one night, thirsty. I went down to the kitchen for a drink. And there, sitting alone in the dark, was my dad. On the table, a gun. He was tired of the police waiting until Dr. Ramsey tried something. He was tired of his children being terrorized. He was tired of being afraid every time he left for work that something would happen to us while he was gone. I sat with him for a time, watching, before he sent me back to bed. These events and many more took place over a period of 18 months. Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over. He had vanished from our lives. The phone calls, the drive by with the creepy waves, everything. For a long time, during and after the Dr. Ramsay days, I would have a recurring nightmare in which I would wake up to find him standing over me as I slept. It took a long time before I felt like a kid again. I found out years later that when he was calling, Dr. Ramsey would tell my parents that he was going to rape and kill me and later my sister, and that there was nothing they could do about it. I don't know what happened to him when he disappeared. I don't know if he was in a car wreck. Locked in prison, in a coma. But sometimes I wonder if the wait ended for my dad when he was sitting in the darkened kitchen one night. I don't know and I'm not sure I want to. Around two years ago, I finally moved into a brand new house and a brand new building estate in Australia. I was one of the first to have a finished build in the area and was elated to finally gain independence. The first few weeks went by as normal and during that time I'd often take walks alone with the dog in the afternoons and roam the surrounding estate area. All the roads around us had been partially completed and all the other properties were marked out. But no other houses were built, excluding one that was directly opposite of mine. The house looked finished, but there was no driveway laid yet and from what I could gather, no one lived there. To the left of my house, roughly a few hundred meters away, was a field with a huge hill in it. I later found out that the whole area was council property. Not only was no one allowed to build up there, but the whole hill was basically a no go zone. For whatever reason, the council just didn't want people on it. So the whole area was surrounded by a huge chain link fence. The only other noticeable feature in the area was a small abandoned farmhouse with a shed a few kilometers down the road. I knew nothing about it and often went walking there with the dog as it gave me something mild to explore amongst the vast nothingness I was living around. The entire place was dilapidated and completely inhabitable, but it was still interesting nonetheless. About a month or two after moving in, I awoke one morning to the sound of a violin. It sounded extremely distant and quite haunting. I actually enjoyed it and assumed that the neighbors opposite of me had finally moved in. Excited that I had finally had some people to talk to, I peeked out the curtain and I saw the house opposite of mine was still as vacant as it ever was. I got dressed, but by the time I managed to look outside, the violin had stopped. This happened roughly every second day for the next week. The violin would wake me up and then just disappear after about 45 seconds. I'd ignored it to the point where my curiosity simply got the better of me. I'd ignored it to the point where my curiosity simply just got the better of me. And the next morning when I heard the violin playing again, I immediately jumped out of my bed, threw on my dressing gown and shot out the front door. I scoured the early morning surrounding and there up on the hill, was a figure playing a violin. It was barely Light, but the person looked very tall from the distance I was at. And as they were playing, they were doing what could only be described as a waltz type walk, spinning slowly around in a circle as they played. I took my eyes off the person and walked over to pick up the morning paper. And in the 10 seconds that took me, I heard the violin stop. When I looked up, I noticed the figure was no longer playing or dancing, but was now standing still and most likely looking in my direction. It was so dark I couldn't make out anymore and we both just stood there for half a minute, not moving. But the creeps got the better of me and I went back inside. After that morning, things started happening on my walks. I began to notice footprints on the surrounding properties that weren't made by me and that I'd never seen before, which I just assumed were from the people walking up from the other housing areas down the road. I never awoke to the violin, but I swore I could hear someone walking on the street next to my bedroom window. In the early mornings, however, I never saw anything other really general things as well, like random tools such as spades and rakes laying around the area, which I guess were left by the construction crews, none of which I ever saw, though I'd started getting calls at work that would immediately hang up on me. And I also stopped walking up to the abandoned farmhouse as the experience with the violin player had me a little shaken and on edge. One night as I was heading to bed, I turned off the television in the living room and again could hear the faint sound of a violin playing. However, it sounded more muffled and rehearsed. I froze and a cold chill flowed through me instantaneously. Considering that it was about midnight and not the usual time I'd hear it playing, I went to the front window and peeked out to see that there was a light in the house opposite mine. It was clearly a candle, as I could see the dim light flicker in the empty window and the music sounded like it was coming from an old record player. But in the 10 minutes I watched, I never saw any movement inside the house. I moved away from the window, sufficiently freaked out, and after another five minutes I heard the music abruptly stop. I peeked out again to notice the light was now out. I never saw anyone. I began to become unsettled in the house and would often invite friends over to hang out a little until late. But of course nothing would ever happen when someone else was with me. I never bothered to tell any of my friends as without evidence I'd figured they'd just give me shit about it and I'd just become more agitated, but nothing compared to what happened next. In my living area, the desk sits right next to a small window which looks out to the fence surrounding my property. The steel fence is literally an arm's length from the house and about 6ft tall, so I always figured that unlike most of the other windows, I'd never need to cover this one with a sheet or blanket because no one could ever see in. I usually had headphones on when I played, and I always had the lights off for no other reason really than I preferred to play games in the dark. One night when I was gaming, I got up and walked into the dark kitchen and got a beer out of the fridge. It was dead silent, excluding the faint sound coming out of my headphones. As I closed the fridge and turned to face the desk, I saw directly out the window two very, very faint lights. I didn't even catch on and immediately started walking back to the desk, fixated on the small glowing balls, and it wasn't until my nose almost pressed against the glass that I realized the two lights weren't lights at all. They were eyes. A set of eyes just sitting above the fence line, staring wide open at me. They didn't blink. They didn't move. My entire body locked up. All I could do was simply stare back as my brain was still comprehending that there was an actual person looking at me in the scariest way I could ever possibly imagine. I don't know what happened. Either my head kicked into gear or my muscles loosened, but my body automatically collapsed and I fell to the floor, scurrying to hide against the wall away from the window. I could hear my heart beating through the carpet like a drum as I tried to lay as flat as possible, and as my mind was still processing the sheer severity of the situation, a violin started playing. That fucking violin. And the haunting tune it always emitted started up. Except this time it was directly outside my window and much louder than I'd ever heard it before. The lights were still off and I wanted to get up to turn off the PC screens so I couldn't be seen, but my whole body just wasn't ready to cooperate. Not only was the sound of the instrument extraordinarily loud, but it sounded like it was being played with frustration, notes being missed frequently and the strings screeching. The pace of it was getting faster and faster, and by this time my dog Jeb, out in the backyard had picked up on the situation, registering an unfamiliar sound, and gave One solitary deep bark. The violin instantly stopped and the house was finally dead silent, excluding my headphones, which I could hear quietly working away. I was still frozen to the carpet, and it wasn't until Jeb gave out a second menacing bark that I heard the figure outside the window start to walk away in the direction of my yard. Once that first footstep hit the ground, I instantly thought of the welfare of my best mate and finally my head connected with my extremities and my entire body kicked into overdrive. I left from the ground and slid across the laminated floor to the back door where Jeb was standing staring into the backyard. I ducked to keep low and quietly unlocked and slid open the door. Usually doing so would notify Jeb that he was allowed back inside, but when the door opened up, he didn't move an inch and was completely fixated on the pitch black backyard. Everything told me not to go outside, but there was no chance I was letting anything happen to my dog and I moved out onto the alfresco, moved behind Jeb, put my hand under his collar, and attempted to back him toward the house. Jeb is a pure Labrador and he weighs like a sack of sand, so when he doesn't want to move, it takes the sheer force to pull him in the direction you want him to go. And right now Jeb wasn't going anywhere. I yanked at his gruff and as I did, he emitted a bark like I'd never heard before, a deep bellowing fuck you right off sound that elevated my nerves to an all time high. We both just stood there, waiting for some form of reply, and I couldn't remember how long we both just froze there. But eventually I heard footsteps from the other side of the house begin to walk away, but not a simple walk, almost like whoever was doing it was slowly dancing in a circle, the footsteps keeping to a beat as they drifted away from the house into the distance. Once I couldn't hear anything, Jeb licked his lips, gave me a look, and wandered back inside. I followed, locked the door behind me, and spent the night reverting to my childlike self. Hiding under my covers with my dog, I didn't sleep a wink. That was the last time I ever saw or heard the violin player. The following morning when the sun finally came up, I called into work sick and called the police. They scoured the lot next to mine and they found footprints in the dirt. However, there were so many there that it was really impossible to tell whose were whose. The only description I could give the officer was his height. He would have had to be over six foot to stare over that fence at me, but they explained that he could have been standing on something or on his toes. They also told me that they'd never experienced a report of anyone playing a violin in the area or anyone being on the fenced off hill either. I essentially looked like an insane person, but the officers were very nice about the whole thing and they offered to patrol the area for the next few nights, which did help put my mind at ease. Nothing else has happened since then. Over the next year or two people finally started moving in and I told them all the stories about the figure I saw, some of which are still used to keep their children in line, which I found funny. One guy nicknamed the council lot Violin Hill and the name has stuck around our street ever since. I even spent a period of time scoring the depths of the Internet for that violin tune I kept hearing, but I could never find it. There were a few classical pieces that seemed reminiscent, but I've since thought that whatever tune was played must have been self composed, which creeps me out even more. I'm still in the same house, I still tell people the story and I haven't changed my routine one bit, which has really helped to block out the fear of the experience. I game with the blinds closed now. When I was 20 years old so six years ago I worked as a delivery girl for a pretty popular pizzeria in my area. Initially I worked the late morning to mid afternoon shift, but when the guy who delivered for the night shift ended up getting fired due to him losing his license because of a dui, I was placed on the night shift since my boss hired a family friend who could only work my shift. For whatever reason, I really didn't want this shift because you never really know if people who order late at night actually want a pizza or if they have other intentions in mind. Unfortunately, my boss was a real asshole and essentially told me if I wasn't willing to work the night shift, I was fired. I wasn't exactly in a position where I could be out of work, albeit temporarily, so I reluctantly worked the shift. The first month of this shift went by without any issues until I had to deliver a pizza to a house that just barely made our delivery radius. I punched it in my GPS and the house is located in a pretty suburban part of the city. I arrive and it's about 11pm the block was extremely quiet, decently lit, and mostly littered with modern townhouses, but the house I delivered to was a duplex. I ring the doorbell and wait for about 30 seconds. No answer. I ring it again and wait another 30 seconds. Still no answer. I'm standing there getting pretty nervous that something's about to go down, but thankfully a man opens the door. He looked like he was in his late 40s. He was pretty tall, maybe a little over 6 foot and he was very skinny. I tell him his pizza is here and he just stands there staring at me. I asked him if he was okay and he responded by saying, yeah, I'm fine. I got off work not too long ago and I guess I'm zoning out a bit. Fair enough, I suppose. He hands me the money. I hand him the pizza and as I'm making change he says, you're really beautiful, you know that? Not really thinking too much into it. I thanked him for the compliment and gave him his change. I said good night and he did too. I walked back to my car and finished my deliveries for the night. A few days later I got a delivery order to that same place. I head over there around the same time as last time and ring the doorbell. He answered the door very excitedly and said, hey, it's you again. How are you? I told him I was really tired and I really can't wait to go home. To which he chuckled and said, I know that feeling pretty well. As he was pulling out his wallet, as he's counting his money, he asks me what my name is. Being kinda tired at this point and not really thinking straight, I stupidly told him my name. As I'm making change, he asks if he could have my number as he'd love to hang out with someone as gorgeous as I am. Whoa buddy, pump the brakes. I've literally only met this guy twice to deliver a pizza. I have no idea who this guy was and I'm positive he barely knew who I was as well. Another thing to mention is that I looked way younger than I was at the time. I was told by numerous people that I still looked like I was 15 and I was hoping he thought differently and wasn't hitting on what he thought was a teenager. I'm just standing there awkwardly for a few seconds before I muster out, sorry, I have a boyfriend. He gets upset and says, okay, I see. We stand there in silence before I tell him to have a good night and walk back to my car. He says nothing and still stands in the driveway staring at me until he finally went back inside. Once I started my car, I got a pretty creepy vibe from this guy and I even brought it up to my co workers and they agreed that it was pretty creepy. Except for my boss who overheard everything and claimed I was making up stories and trying to gain sympathy for having to take the shift. Yeah, what a fucking asshole. A week later as I'm trying the night shift and we get an order from the same guy again. And this is when finally hits the fan. I arrive at the house at around 10:30pm and keep in mind that from my perspective on the road, it didn't look like a single light in that house was on. I get out of my car and walk to the front door with a pizza box in my arms. As I'm approaching the door, it quickly swings open to reveal the man. Except this time he was wearing a suit and I jumped back. He laughs and said, sorry if I scared you. I saw you out the window and figured I'd just go ahead and open the door now so that you wouldn't have to ring that bell. I was getting scared because as I mentioned before, there were no lights on in the house. So was he sitting in the dark this whole time and if so, why? I nervously laugh and just say it's okay. He asked me if I liked his suit, to which I said yes. Then he asks me, would you like to go on a date with me tonight? What the fuck? I once again tell him I have a boyfriend. To which he chuckles, gets close to me and says, honey, there's no way a girl your age is in a serious relationship. If you go on a date with me, I'll show you how a real man treats a girl. He grabs the pizza box from me and throws it to the side and grabs me by my arms hard. I'm officially shitting bricks at this point and trying not to cry from the fear that was now overwhelming me. I start pleading with him, dude, please, I want to go home. I don't want to go on a date tonight. He just stares at me with the most sinister look I've ever seen on someone's face and says, I don't care. Get inside now. We're going to have a good time tonight. He starts trying to pull me into the house and I'm trying to resist as hard as I can. After a bit of struggling, he lets go of one of my arms and starts grabbing something out of his pocket, which I presumed was a knife. I did something that to this day I'm still so thankful worked. As he was doing that, I used my free arm to punch him as hard as I could in his stomach. This stuns him for a few seconds and he loosened his grip on me, allowing me to break free. I quickly run to my car and as I get in, he runs at me and tries pulling me out of the car, holding the knife in the other arm and even yells, why are you making this so fucking difficult on me? I grab a half empty soda bottle I had in the cup holder and throw it and luckily it hits his head and he lets me go. I slam the door and then all of a sudden he jumps right on the hood of my car and starts scratching and banging on my windshield with his knife. I put the car in reverse and very quickly back out of the spot, then quickly reverse down the road with him desperately trying to hold on. He's banging on the hood of my car screaming stop the fucking car. I turn onto the next road as swiftly as possible and luckily he now falls off the hood of my car. I slammed the gas as hard as I could to get as far away from that sick bastard as I could in my panicked state. I drove a couple of blocks down the street and I kept making turn after turn onto other side blocks as I feared I was being followed. Eventually I reached a red light and I slammed on the brakes and just sat at the intersection frozen from what just happened. I began crying and violently shaking. As I was sitting there, it dawned on me that I came so close to losing my life and I couldn't help but feel like I shouldn't have been alive. Once the light turned green, I pulled over to the side and just sat there crying. Eventually I got the energy to drive back to the pizzeria and almost immediately after I walked in, my co worker knew something was wrong after seeing me. I practically broke down in front of him and everyone else came to the front wondering what was going on. I fought my tears and explained everything that had just happened. My co worker comforted me and my boss actually really surprised me and began apologizing profusely for what had happened and for putting me on the night shift. He then took me into the office and handed me the phone to call the cops. They arrive at the store and I give them my statement, as well as taking pictures of any marks on myself as well as scratches on my car from the encounter as evidence. My co worker followed behind me as I drove home and I collapsed on my bed and strangely enough, I managed to fall asleep. I quit my job the next day and luckily a friend of mine managed to hook me up with a new job at her clothing store. As far as the psycho goes, two days later I received an update from the police. The entire duplex was owned by the guy's brother who lived on the right side with his wife and the psycho on the left side of the duplex. I learned that he had been in and out of jail constantly, at first for robberies and assaults, but later on it was for sex crimes. He had been released from jail about five months before this encounter for having sex with a minor. When they arrived at the house, he was long gone and his family had no idea where he ran off to. But the police insisted they would find him and indeed they did, albeit not alive. I spent the next two months in fear that he would find me and finish what he had in mind. But police contacted me and updated me on the case. Apparently, he fled to another city nearby and he attempted to kidnap a teenager while walking alone late at night on the street. Luckily, somebody happened to be looking out the window right at the right time, called the cops and the police caught him trying to force her into his car. He manages to flee and the police chase after him. He blew a red light near a busy boulevard and a van slammed right into the driver's side of his car. By some sort of miracle, the driver of the van only sustained minor injuries, with the psycho succumbing to his wounds long before the ambulance even arrived. I thanked the officers for everything they did and also informing me and I walked out of the station. I walked down the street and lit up a cigarette as I'm just taking in everything I had just been told. I don't wish death on people, but after hearing about his death, I really felt relieved. I felt relieved that he couldn't hurt anyone anymore. I was relieved that I would never have to encounter him ever again and I wouldn't have to go through with charging him and reliving what happened that night. My last experience two years before this was scary, but I think this one takes the cake as being the scariest. As I was alone and face to face with this psycho. Who knows where I'd be if he managed to pull me into his house. I deliver pizza and I'd been having a really busy night, non stop back and forth without any time to even pause and take a leak. I'd been so busy that I wasn't really thinking about bathroom breaks. But we're also going through a bit of a heat wave in our area, so I've been drinking copious amounts of water. All of a sudden, as I was driving to this particular delivery, the urge to go hit me. Like things went from 0 to 60 in an instant. Thankfully, I was close to the customer, so I could get this one over with quickly. Or so I thought. I pulled up to the house and it was an area I had delivered in before, so I could immediately see that something wasn't right. All the lights were off in the house, not even the glow of a television or anything. It was extra apparent because the streetlight closest to the door happened to be out of order. And on top of it all, the block was dead quiet. This is a big university area, and obviously there aren't many student renters in July, but there had to be at least one person because, I mean, someone ordered this pizza. Maybe they just liked sitting in the dark, or they were out in the backyard. Whatever. I just didn't want to get out of my car and knock on a quiet house in the middle of the night without first checking that I had the correct address and the customer was inside. It was scorching that night, even after sundown. My car's AC is a joke and the piping hot pizzas don't help things much, so I have to try and open the car door as infrequently as possible to keep any cool air in. I called the number the customer provided, and the voice on the other end kind of said, out of breath. Yeah, I tried to keep it clear and concise. Hey, it's your pizza out front, but there doesn't appear to be anybody home. The customer replied, still gasping for air. Yeah, I'm not home. I had to pee so badly by that point that I was much less patient than I'd be otherwise with a customer right out the gate. Well, then we're gonna have to terminate the order because I've arrived in the stated delivery window and you were supposed to pay in cash, so I don't know what to tell you. Plan ahead next time. I instantly regretted letting my bladder do the talking for me as the voice on the other end came in more clearly as a young, bubbly, and very distraught girl who couldn't have been older than 20 or 25. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I was running down the street so I could barely hear you. I just switched you out on my AirPods. Is that any better? Sorry, I completely lost track of time at work, but I knew you were coming. That's why I'm literally running home right now. Please don't leave. I'm starving and I don't have a car. Seriously, please don't leave. Five minutes tops. Okay, I know what it's like to be hungry and running late and have no car, but you don't live near any restaurants. Plus, when I heard her voice, I began to remember more specifically having delivered to this place a couple of times before. Before, and she'd always been perfectly nice. Now I felt bad for snapping at her. I tried to walk it back while simultaneously looking out my window for potential spots to pee. No, no, my bad. I'm letting the heat get to me and it's not your fault. No need to rush. I'll see you when you get here, I said. I hung up and, while surveilling the street, was starting to think I really was out of luck. All the other houses had people in them and were close together, so there were no clumps of trees or out of the way patches of land or anything. Of course I had just tossed my water bottle at the last delivery because I'm an idiot. Finally I decided it was escalating to the point of an emergency and the safest bet was to use a bush in front of the woman's house. I mean, she wasn't home. The streetlight was out so no one could see me. The people who were home were inside. My car was parked across the street, and we're a small shop that doesn't wear uniforms, so if someone did spot me, they'd have no way to connect me to my employer. Animals pee outside all the time. Humans are animals. This is fine. I scurried over to the tallest bush in front of her yard. She didn't really have much of a yard, more just a walkway lined with bushes and flowers that ran adjacent to her front door. The biggest cluster of bushes, the only one where I could be sure there would be no visible splatter on the side of the house, was about 4ft from her door. I looked both ways, unzipped, and I let it fly. After the initial millisecond of relief, I noticed the sound was way off, more like pissing on something solid than something leafy. I started panicking, thinking I'd aimed wrong, but once I started I couldn't stop mid screen, so I kept squinting into the darkness to see if maybe I was hitting a key rock or something and could just move a few inches over. Instead, all of a sudden I heard a way more concerning noise, a deep voice exclaiming, yo, what the fuck? And before I could turn around, assuming I'd been caught by a neighbor, a man came leaping out of the bushes. He blew by me, brushing my golden shower off him. As he did. He spit pretty emphatically on the ground, so I think I might have beamed him right in the face. I didn't see where he went after a few paces, but though this next part is kind of a blur, I do think I remember hearing a car screech from a bit further away after a minute. I'd gotten some night vision by that point, so I was able to make out his height, build and outfit, but only the most general details of each. I was in such shock that I didn't even put my dick away. I stood there trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. The reality was so terrifying that my mind just refused to accept it and impulsively searched for a reasonable explanation that could make everything okay. I thought. Could these bushes lead to some backyard area and just look like they were against the house? Could they have been obscuring an open window? My inner voice was desperately screaming, broad. That man was wearing a hoodie in 90 degree weather. That was a bad man. You're in a bad situation. But the very idea that I was within inches of a guy who would be hiding in bushes at all, let alone in front of a young woman's house at night, just wasn't something I was ready to grapple with yet. I was coping by not coping. My fight or flight response totally filled me at that point because my dumbass did the absolute last thing I should have done and I approached the bushes to try and validate this. There must have been a good reason for a man in a hoodie to be behind these bushes in the middle of the night. So I walked over to the side, turned on my phone flashlight and tried to peer around the line of shrubbery. As scary things may seem to look in the dark, seeing them with a single beam of your flashlight can sometimes make it worse. That's when I saw the bag. There was a tattered drawstring bag sitting behind the bushes, slightly splashed with pee, but I was in such a moronic daze from shock that I groped around for it thinking, see, this is it. This will explain why he was back here. Well, it explained it alright. Once I maneuvered it over and pulled it open, I saw a sharp knife, a roll of duct tape and a bottle of pills. The delusions officially broke at that point and all the adrenaline, endorphins and self preservation instincts that had been suppressed kicked in 10 times over. I became whatever the opposite of dazed is. More laser focused than I have ever been in my life, with one singular goal. Get back to my car. I dropped the bag, booked it across the street, got in my car and slammed the pedal to the floor before the door was even all the way closed. I went as far as I could, as fast as I could until I hit a red signal. Then I pulled off to the side and realized I shouldn't even be driving any more than necessary in the condition I was in. I pulled into the parking lot of a 24 hour drugstore and I took a breath. I was finally calm and coherent enough to zip up and formulate a plan of action. My first lucid thought was, who do I call first? The police or the girl whose house that was. I thought about it for what couldn't have really been more than like 10 seconds, but felt like an hour. And then I decided, okay, I'm in my locked car with the engine running. If trouble starts, I can drive away. I know something's up. And she might not. She needs to know not to keep walking in that direction. But as I was dialing her number, it occurred to me, what if there was no girl? I thought I remembered delivering to that house before. But what if I was wrong? What if the girl on the phone was really just a decoy just to get me there to rob me or worse? Every pizza guy on the planet has seen the Evil genius documentary by now, so I thought. She called me out of breath. She wasn't home. The whole thing was off. Can't risk it. I'll start with the cops. I called 911. The operator was very helpful in keeping me calm because I was a complete wreck by this point. He kept assuring me that someone would be there soon. I kept telling them that they had to get there before the girl did. But I was trying to express three thoughts at once and really damaging my own credibility. It came out more as, you've gotta save this girl. Because he wasn't after me. I was just delivering a pizza. Unless they were after me, in which case there might not even be a girl. But I talked to one on the phone. So then you should find that girl, because then they used her to lure me there. But if she's real, she doesn't know about the guy who was also real. And there could even be more guys if there's actually a girl. And you know what? Even if there isn't a girl, there might actually be more guys. I only checked one part of the bushes, so I don't actually know. But we'll know which guy is the one I saw because I pissed all over him. You know, I didn't mean to, though. This Was back when I thought the girl was real but not home. But she might be real, so you really need to find her if she is, because the guy was real. Finally, they basically just asked me to stop talking and stay on the line. But that's when I saw an incoming call from the customer. I couldn't answer it without disrupting my 911 call, so I just ignored it. But then she sent me a text like, hey, I'm here. I don't see you. I told 911 she was there, and they said officers were only minutes away, but who knows how long that meant, Especially after I'd given such a scattered account of the events. In my panic, I just felt so overwhelmed with guilt because my rational mind said the odds of her being a decoy girl for some large pizza scam targeting pizza guys were low, and the odds of her being the intended victim of a predator were high. So I put my 911 call on mute, where I can hear them but they can't hear me, and turned back, heart absolutely pounding out of my chest, compulsively muttering fuck, fuck, fuck the entire way. Then I took the 911 off mute and told them I had returned to look for the girl. They weren't very happy about that. But I saw her meandering past the parked cars in the street, looking to see if one was mine, and waved her down. Flashing my brights, she bounced on over to the window of my car. Happy. Go lucky. I figured that was a good sign that she wasn't in on whatever this was. But I was so scared to be back in the general area, to not know what had just happened or what was going to happen. I kept whispering, get in, get in. And she was like, get it.
B
Huh?
A
Oh, you want me to get the pizza from the back? I didn't want to make the same mistake with her that I had made with 911. So instead of trying to tell the whole story, I stuck to the bare basic facts. There was a man in your bushes. I'm on the phone with the police. I don't know where he is right now. Please get in the car so we can lock the doors. I was barely able to even get those sentences out, and I was shaking like I'd had 10 cups of black coffee. I held up my phone with 911 on the call screen to verify it for her. I thought that was why she got in the car with no further explanation, but it turns out that wasn't entirely it. You still there? Is she with you? Are you safe? Is Anyone else there? 911 kept checking in not knowing who the third party was I was talking to. I reassured them and we drove more cautiously this time to a location911 instructed us to wait at to speak with police. After they cleared the area area I didn't actually have to do much. After that, a police car met us. I gave a statement telling them everything I observed and she went to go speak to more officers in more detail than they needed. For me, it turns out the reason she got right into a strange pizza guy's car without probing any deeper into my story is because she knew who the man was right away from my description. She had an abusive ex boyfriend who was apparently psychotic enough that he immediately came to her mind from hearing there's a guy in your bushes. She later called us to thank me and insist on leaving a huge tip. I wasn't there when the call came in, so the kid who answered didn't know how to refuse to accept the money. But the manager already promised that next time we see her we can load her up with enough 1 free pie cards to last a lifetime. Easily the scariest thing that has ever happened to me on the job or off. I don't get the chance to tell this story very much because I try to avoid avoid sharing it with anyone who could possibly know the girl or know of the event. But I'm still not the same since even though I know he didn't have anything to do with me directly, this truly shook me to my core. My dad and I went hiking a few days ago. My dad is a waterfall fanatic and he wants to see as many as possible. So he and I are hiking along a very pretty trail. We're hiking along a river. It's flowing nicely, there's mountains all around us. The trail is weaving around big beautiful boulders. I'm hiking at most 30ft ahead of him, looking for a spot to stop and have a sit down picnic lunch. And as I rounded a blind curve in the trail, I just froze. Sitting on a stump maybe 10ft off the right side of the the trail is a guy. He's wearing one of those colorful Baja hoodies with the hood pulled up and a half mask with rabbit ears. He sees me and stands up right as my dad rounds the corner. We are all three sizing each other up in silence and my dad addresses him, what's up buddy? The man tips his head as if he was deciding what to do with us, then says back, not much. You aren't the guys I'M waiting for. Have a good day. Then he turns and jogs off quickly into the woods. Strapped on his lower back was a large hunting knife and he had a pistol on his hip. We lost sight of him pretty quickly. We hadn't seen a soul on the trail all day, and we had been hiking for almost three hours. Needless to say, we left the waterfall for another day and quickly turned around once we were off the trail. We reported it to the local forest service and the police, but they said they couldn't do much aside from keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. The masked guy didn't have a backpack or water or anything, which makes me think that he had either stashed it somewhere or maybe he was camping and waiting nearby. I hate to admit it, but I desperately wanted to go after the guy and ask who he was waiting for and why. Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless build? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint Story is better. Every plan $15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending, zero tears. Give it a try at mintmobile.
B
Com. Switch upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.
Southern Cannibal's Scary Stories
Episode: 15 Classic TRUE Scary Lets Not Meet Reddit Stories
Date: July 9, 2026
Host: Southern Cannibal
This episode features narrated real-life horror stories originally shared on Reddit’s “Let’s Not Meet” forum, where people recount close encounters with stalkers, intruders, and mysterious figures with extremely disturbing or downright criminal intentions. The stories are designed to unsettle, caution, and remind listeners that unnerving situations can happen to anyone, anywhere — from rural American woods to crowded city apartment blocks.
Southern Cannibal brings his signature calm, grave narration to each account, maintaining a tone that is personal, direct, and chillingly conversational.
Southern Cannibal’s narration carries a blend of calm, eerie detachment and personal empathy, capturing the confessional feeling of original Reddit posts while maximizing suspense and unease. He avoids sensationalism, letting the facts and the witnesses’ terror speak for themselves, often ending stories with a sober warning or a note about lasting psychological impact.
This episode stands as a masterful collection of “Let’s Not Meet” tales, each story a grim reminder to trust your instincts, be cautious with strangers, and respect the unknown — whether it lurks in the woods, waits in your house, or hides in the dark behind a mask or a smile. Perfect for fans of real-life horror and cautionary true stories.