Southern Cannibal’s Scary Stories
Episode 629: 6 TRUE Scary WINTER Horror Stories
Date Released: December 23, 2025
Host: Southern Cannibal
Episode Overview
This chilling episode delivers six true winter horror stories submitted by listeners and Reddit users, all narrated in Southern Cannibal’s signature calm and suspenseful style. Each story centers on ordinary people having unsettling, often terrifying experiences in the isolating cold of winter—spotlighting themes of stalking, obsession, and the eerie sense of being watched. The narratives unfold with a creeping dread, transforming the coziness of winter into a backdrop for fear.
Story 1: The Neighbor Across the Hall
Narrator: Jared
Segment Begins: [00:48]
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Jared, at 19, lives alone in a small, old apartment complex during a heavy January.
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His neighbor, a woman in her late 20s to early 30s, seems friendly but increasingly odd, always heavily dressed and giving off a forced energy.
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After a benign encounter where she borrows a trash bag, Jared notices she begins appearing at odd times, commenting unnervingly on his routine.
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Nighttime brings unsettling experiences: hearing soft movements and breathing outside his door; finding anonymous notes ("I hope today treats you well" [approx. 06:00], "I liked hearing your music through the wall at night." [approx. 07:30]).
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The neighbor's obsession escalates, culminating in long, slow knocking at his door ([11:30]):
“There was knocking. Soft. Slow. Careful. I sat on my bed, heart racing, not moving. The knocking continued for what felt like forever.” — Jared, [11:50]
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Jared reports the incidents to his building manager and learns other tenants had similar experiences. She is asked to leave, but the atmosphere remains unnerving even after she's gone.
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Memorable closing reflection:
"Sometimes the most terrifying things don't announce themselves at all. They just stand on the other side of the door, waiting for you to notice." — Jared, [13:38]
Story 2: Footprints in the Snow
Narrator: (Unnamed, 22-year-old female)
Segment Begins: [13:40]
- Alone in a rural house in northern New York while her roommate is away during a snowstorm.
- Hears deliberate, heavy crunching footsteps outside late at night; fears escalate as the sounds approach the house.
- Spends the night locked in her bedroom, shotgun in hand, listening in terror to subtle sounds and brushing on the house walls.
- In the morning, she and her roommate find footprints coming from the woods, circling the house twice, ending beneath her bedroom window—no exit prints.
- The police find no explanation, dismiss the incident as possibly a prank, but are ultimately unhelpful.
- Lingering psychological impact:
“If I hadn’t heard those crunching footsteps, I never would have known they were there at all.” — Narrator, [23:50]
Story 3: The Watcher in the Mountains
Narrator: Amanda
Segment Begins: [15:56]
- Amanda (24) and her fiancé Josh (25) plan a winter getaway in a remote Appalachian cabin.
- Trapped by a snowstorm, their isolation becomes unsettling as they discover unknown footprints at the edge of the property not belonging to them, moved firewood, and a porch chair upended overnight.
- Hear a distant vehicle engine with no sign of visitors; see smoke from a far-off chimney but never encounter another person.
- The fear intensifies with unidentifiable noises and a slow, heavy knocking at the cabin door ([22:10]).
"We never knew who was out there or what they wanted. Just that we weren’t as alone as we thought." — Amanda, [26:40]
Story 4: The Gas Station Regular
Narrator: Brendan
Segment Begins: [26:45]
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Brendan, 21, works alone on night shifts at a rural gas station during a relentless winter.
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A man begins arriving every night, always at the same time, buying small items, and fixating on Brendan, asking personal questions and referencing details he shouldn’t know (e.g., what Brendan’s car looks like).
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The man's presence escalates with remarks about Brendan's routine:
“You usually leave right on time, even during the storms.” — The man, [35:10]
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After a tense shift, Brendan finds a note under his windshield expressing enjoyment of their "talks" and wishing him a safe drive home.
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Though nothing overtly criminal occurs, Brendan quits his job, forever altered by the encounter:
"Every time I see a note tucked under a windshield wiper, my stomach dropped just like it did that night." — Brendan, [38:00]
Story 5: The Lurker at Walmart
Narrator: Emily
Segment Begins: [38:05]
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Emily, 22, works evenings at a Walmart in a small, snow-locked town.
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Notices a man lingering in the store for nearly her entire shift, moving slowly and intentionally, never buying anything, and staring at her often.
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He finally buys a candy bar, engaging in a brief, uncomfortable exchange about shift length and bad weather ([42:25]).
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Near close, sees him draw a strange face on her snow-covered windshield as she leaves.
"He smiled at me. It wasn’t friendly, it was knowing, like he was amused that I noticed him notice me." — Emily, [41:13] "That smile followed me home, even though he didn’t." — Emily, [44:50]
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She switches to day shifts; the feeling of unease stays with her long after.
"Whenever someone lingers way too long in a store without a reason, I feel that same chill crawl up my spine." — Emily, [45:15]
Story 6: Partywood Peeping Tom
Narrator: (Unnamed; senior at a southern university)
Segment Begins: [45:30]
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The narrator shares an apartment in “Partywood,” a festive but now eerily quiet student neighborhood, with girlfriend Destinee and roommate Teresa.
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Teresa is the first to experience terror, seeing a face in her window at night.
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Local rumor (from friend Sam): there’s a Peeping Tom in the area.
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Later, the apartment is broken into—lingerie stolen and a chair set under the bedroom window, indicating someone had been watching them.
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During a night alone, the narrator hears deliberate footsteps and sees fingers and the face of an intruder at the bathroom window ([55:00]):
"Then I finally saw his face. We locked eyes. I screamed so loud and lunged. He fell backward and then vanished into the night." — Narrator, [56:12]
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The case is never solved, but years later, the narrator finds out the perpetrator harmed someone else.
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The trauma lingers:
"Winter still feels different to me now. Quieter. Watching." — Narrator, [57:50]
Notable Quotes & Moments
- On the paranoia of isolation:
“Winter made everything feel smaller, like my whole world was just that apartment and the parking lot, buried under the snow.” — Jared, [02:10]
- On subtle threats:
“That was the moment I realized that this wasn’t just uncomfortable. It was dangerous. She had become obsessed with me.” — Jared, [12:45]
- On the horror of the unknown:
“The part that scares me the most is knowing that if I hadn’t heard those crunching footsteps, I never would have known they were there at all.” — Story 2 Narrator, [23:50]
- On being watched:
"Every sound outside made me jump. I kept the curtains closed all the time." — Amanda, [26:30]
- On unresolved fear:
"Nothing technically bad had happened, but the fear was real. Some memories fade with time. These never did." — Emily, [45:28]
- On winter’s psychological effect:
"Winter still feels different to me now. Quieter. Watching." — Partywood Narrator, [57:50]
Key Segment Timestamps
- [00:48] – Story 1: The Neighbor Across the Hall
- [13:40] – Story 2: Footprints in the Snow
- [15:56] – Story 3: The Watcher in the Mountains
- [26:45] – Story 4: The Gas Station Regular
- [38:05] – Story 5: The Lurker at Walmart
- [45:30] – Story 6: Partywood Peeping Tom
- [11:50], [26:40], [35:10], [41:13], [56:12] – Notable Quotes & Moments
Episode Tone & Takeaway
Southern Cannibal curates and narrates these stories with a low-key, matter-of-fact intensity that mirrors the chilling content: the horror is real, grounded, and quietly invasive. The consistent theme in every account is how winter and isolation magnify seemingly small dangers into sources of real, lasting terror. Each narrator is left altered, carrying the unease of those cold nights long after the snow has thawed.