Southern Cannibal’s Scary Stories

Episode 632: 6 TRUE Scary Stories From REDDIT
Date: January 31, 2026
Host: Southern Cannibal

Overview

In this chilling episode, Southern Cannibal narrates six true scary stories sourced from Reddit and listener submissions. Each tale explores a real-life brush with danger or the deeply unsettling, ranging from harrowing meetups in foreign countries and stalker neighbors to being trapped in a sauna, and close encounters with violent intruders. The stories are presented in Southern Cannibal’s signature conversational, suspenseful style, emphasizing the raw vulnerability and horror ordinary people can experience.

Story Summaries & Key Moments

1. The Fashion Designer in the Countryside

Starts at 01:08

• Setting: Listener recounts a Grindr date while on a work trip in the Netherlands.
• Events:
  • The narrator agrees to meet a charming guy, who becomes cold and reserved in person.
  • They visit the guy’s isolated villa, lose cell signal, and find the home filled with his grandmother’s old things.
  • The host makes increasingly bizarre claims about famous designer Iris Van Herpen stealing his 3D-printed fabric ideas.
  • The date turns awkward and the man leaves the narrator alone downstairs for almost an hour.
  • Growing paranoid with escape routes blocked, the narrator fears for their life.
• Memorable Quote:

  "Is he putting on a raincoat to protect himself from the blood once he chops me up? Is he sharpening an awl with which to carve red rum into my belly after chanting me to the fireplace?"
  – (14:50)

• Resolution:
  • A tense confrontation follows; the host eventually produces keys from a dark kitchen drawer. The narrator flees into the night, lamp in hand, and later blocks the man online.
• Impact: Years later, the narrator obsessively checks for any news of the "fashion designer" turning into a killer.

2. The Death in the Bathtub

19:32

• Setting: A listener’s mom is befriended by a woman with a tragic backstory and red flags.
• Events:
  • Woman claims granddaughter (age misaligned with SIDS) died, son found her.
  • Contradictory accounts: one says found in bed; her son later says bathtub.
  • CPS removes surviving sibling; family history contains fleeing a cult.
  • Woman is overly attached to the narrator’s young sister, repeatedly comparing her to her deceased granddaughter.
• Analysis:
  • Suspicion raised about the true cause of death, CPS’s involvement, and the woman’s behavior.
  • The narrator and their mom question their instincts versus overthinking.
• Memorable Quote:

  "My mom’s intuition is telling me to keep my family away from her. ...are we overthinking this or does this situation seem genuinely concerning?"
  (26:00)

3. Walk Home Alone on New Year’s Eve

27:40

• Setting: Pub worker walks home at 3am in small UK town after New Year’s Eve shift.
• Events:
  • Encounters a male customer from earlier, alone at a bus shelter, doing drugs.
  • He asks for lighter and cigarette, becomes invasive.
  • Suddenly reveals menacing intent:

    "You know, I’ve been real angry and I’ve been waiting for someone to hurt all night. You shouldn’t be walking around here alone." (31:05)

  • Narrator lies about boyfriend waiting, but man insists on walking with her.
  • He escalates to sexual comments; narrator pretends to arrive home at a random house and waits until he leaves.
  • After narrowly avoiding him, she sprints home and is ultimately safe.
• Aftermath:
  • The fear lingers; narrator never walks home alone again and reflects on how close she came to harm.

4. The Man in the Blue Jacket

37:15

• Setting: Woman notices an older neighbor walking his dog daily after her divorce.
• Events:
  • Man becomes increasingly present and fixated, always staring but never speaking.
  • Late-night sounds in the woods behind her house; cigarettes and lighters go missing.
  • Cousins and roommate also get creeped out after interactions with him.
  • Eventually, she sees the man entering the woods; suspects he is living there, possibly watching her.
  • After a family moves in next door, the man disappears and is never seen again.
• Memorable Quote:

  "Surely a man isn’t living in the woods watching me, right? ...I believe this man was living behind their house and watching me through my fence."
  (46:40)

• Impact: The story closes with unresolved paranoia and relief upon moving out.

5. Locked in the Sauna

51:12

• Setting: Childhood memory of two girls trapped in a YMCA sauna by a lifeguard.
• Events:
  • Lifeguard encourages them to use sauna, locks the door, and increases the heat.
  • As minutes pass, the girls grow dizzy, nauseous, and desperate, but the lifeguard ignores their calls for help.
  • They are only let out once another adult requests to enter, but the lifeguard attempts to block their exit.
• Memorable Moment:

  "She tried to shut the door and push us back, but the man said, 'Um, I think they want out.'"
  (56:30)

• Aftermath:
  • The narrator’s parents don’t believe her. Years later, she still has panic attacks, questioning if it was a homicidal act or an atrocious error.

6. Bloody Hallways & a Knife-Wielding Neighbor

1:01:45

• Setting: Listener returning to an apartment in a dangerous city neighborhood.
• Events:
  • Arrives to see a neighbor covered in blood, smashing glass and trying to kick down someone’s door.
  • The man notices the narrator, threatens to kill him, and approaches wielding a knife.
  • The narrator escapes into the elevator and activates the emergency stop to avoid running into the attacker again.
  • Calls 911; police arrest the man who, it’s revealed, was also carrying a gun.
• Memorable Quote:

  "As the elevator began its descent, it clicked in my head. What if this psycho is waiting for me downstairs? All I could do was hit the emergency stop and call the cops."
  (1:05:30)

• Aftermath: Quickly leaves the apartment for a safer area, shaken but unharmed.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• The Paranoia of Isolation:

  "In a dramatic flash forward, I picture myself throwing an armchair through a window and then jumping out and running away, or finding a flashlight... to send Morse code distress signals."
  (Fashion Designer Story, 14:45)

• Gut Instincts:

  "Between the conflicting stories, the CPS involvement, and the way that she's acting toward my little sister... my mom and I both feel really uncomfortable."
  (Death in Bathtub, 24:59)

• Direct Threat:

  "I've been waiting for someone to hurt all night... you shouldn't be walking alone out here."
  (Walk Home Alone, 31:05)

• Everyday Stalking:

  "He would stop and watch me—physically turning his body to follow my car as I went by. ...I stayed in that home until October 2025. Never saw that guy after that day."
  (Man in Blue Jacket, 49:10)

• Dangerous Authority:

  "She followed us in and... cranked up the heat. ...I truly think that woman was going to let us cook alive in there."
  (Locked in Sauna, 55:00)

• Narrow Escape:

  "My first thought was, this guy is clearly on something and wants his damn money. ...As the elevator began to descend, it clicked in my head. What if this psycho is waiting for me downstairs?"
  (Knife-Wielding Neighbor, 1:03:15)

Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------|--------------| | Introduction / Content Warning | 00:24 | | The Fashion Designer in the Countryside | 01:08 | | The Death in the Bathtub | 19:32 | | Walk Home Alone on New Year’s Eve | 27:40 | | The Man in the Blue Jacket | 37:15 | | Locked in the Sauna | 51:12 | | Bloody Hallways & Knife-Wielding Neighbor| 1:01:45 |

Tone & Language

Southern Cannibal’s narration preserves the natural storytelling voice of the Reddit posters: sarcastic, candid, often darkly humorous, and soaked with tension and vulnerability. Recounts are direct, sometimes profane, and always grounded in an authentic, scared-person perspective.

Conclusion

This episode of Southern Cannibal’s Scary Stories delivers on its promise: real stories that tap into primal fears ranging from predatory strangers and untrustworthy authority figures to the unknown intentions of those closest to us. The host’s carefully curated selections and matter-of-fact delivery keep listeners compelled, unnerved, and looking over their own shoulders.

Note: Listeners are advised to check the episode’s pinned comment for content warnings and to skip any stories that may be especially dark.