30 Terrifying Things People Have Experienced.
Nathan Johnson
Published
04/25/2023
Eerie, creepy, and unexplainable encounters others have had.
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1.
This is so stupid now but at 5 I woke up to the shadow of a figure in the door. “That’s mom,” I thought til I realized she was in bed next to me. This shadow does not move and just lingers, looking at us. I was horrified someone had come in. Terrified, I didn’t move. The next morning I realized my mom had hung her bathrobe on my headboard post in a way the shadow hit it just so. it’s so so stupid but that few minutes I just closed my eyes til I fell asleep I was so scared. -
2.
I’m a medic and firefighter. We once had a call for something normal, like chest pain or something, I can’t remember. The caller said he was in his barn/garage, which isn’t weird really around here. Anyway we pull up on scene and something just felt off. No idea why but something just told me in my gut that something was wrong. I decided to do a 360 around the building before we went through the door at the front that was clearly the entrance. I walk around and come to a window on the side of the building and look in. There was a shotgun rigged to the door. The guy had set a booby trap for us. And he had hung himself as well. We kicked in this plexiglass type material on the side of the building and entered that way. Guy was dead. Nothing we could do about it at that point. I would have been the first through that door. No idea why I didn’t just walk through it that day. -
3.
Sleep paralysis. I've had 2 episodes in my life, but the first one will stick with me forever. My bed was in a corner of my room. My closet was in the opposite corner. No door on the closet, and it was stacked with a ton of junk (community storage for the household as I never used it). I wake up lying on my back, with the door in line of sight. I can see that it's full. But I can also see a hand slide out and grip the door frame. Pale and feminine. Followed by the slowly emerging frame of a very tall woman clad in a white, victorian era dress. She was almost pretty, aside from something in her face that wasn't quite right. I couldn't tell you what it was, but I remember being uneasy about it. For a while, probably about 15 minutes, she just stood there, talking to herself. I wasn't able to make out anything she said, but that's when the panic set in. I realized I couldn't move or speak, couldn't look away, and had no idea what was happening, as I felt fully awake. Then she stopped, looked me in the eye and smiled, and the corners of her mouth pulled back to her ears. Terrifying. She started to approach, and slowly opened her mouth so wide, her chin was touching where I'd estimate the bottom of her ribcage sat. It wasn't long before I could smell her rotten breath, and she began to crawl on top of me. The entire time, she was letting out this awful, multi-toned moan that sounded like 5 voices at once, all distorted. I could feel her weight resting on my chest. I couldn't breathe or scream as she inched closer. She put my entire head in her mouth, and I fully woke up when all I could see was darkness. I still get a bit panicky remembering that one. It felt so real. -
4.
When I was 13-14 years old, some older boys threw rocks from a demolition site at me and my friend. One rock hit me in the face and knocked me down. I started bleeding profusely on the sidewalk and my friend was freaking out. We did not have cell phones since it was the 1990s and weren't near a payphone. An older man in his 50s or 60s stopped in a pickup truck and asked us to get in. My friend was like OMG - but I said, No let's get in - it's fine. This older man felt really trustworthy, but I didn't know why. My friend got in with me and he drove us straight to the hospital. The hospital took his name, my friend's, and mine when we got to the ER, and the man peaced out. I had problems from the injury for 2-3 years, but I'm fine now, other than a small dent in my skull. My mom told me I should look him up in the phone book and call to thank him. There was exactly 1 name that matched his (it was an unusual name). I called it. The woman who picked up told me he had died 6 months earlier -but his physical description matched what both my friend and I recalled. I was able to look up his obituary and the photo matched his appearance. It was definitely eerie, and to this day, I don't really have any explanation for it. -
5.
One time my husband and I were lying in bed and the bottom drawer to his nightstand slammed shut. There was no logical explanation for why that happened and we still don’t understand to this day! -
6.
This happened last year. I was having a recurring dream where I was in the woods at night. I noticed a campfire in the distance. Whoever was sitting at the fire notices me and yells out "hey! What are you doing out here?" and starts moving towards me until I wake up. Late last summer I decided to go out to the woods for a hike. Once I got out there, I needed to pee. I hopped off of the trail to get closer to the creek so I could take care of business and not worry about anyone walking up on me. As I approached the creek, I see a hidden shelter and a man setting up a campfire. When he noticed me, he said "hey! What are you doing out here?" Nothing else happened. I apologized and went on my way. It was the only time in my life that I had dreams of an event before it happened. I was pretty shook at the time. -
7.
when i was very young and first started wearing makeup, i stopped by a pharmacy before going home from making a school project with my peers at their house. i ordered a cab and stayed at the entrance of the store near the auto doors. a VERY old tall man came in and flirted with me. i froze and he towered over me. he grabbed my face. i think his grip really scared me back then. he said he'd be back and went inside. people walked past and nobody spoke up. when the taxi came i ran inside and cried. -
8.
Facinated by the many plagues on ancient rome and the fact we hadn't had a big pandemic since 1917, I started writing a dystopian novel about one in 2016 as a satire on our (america') lack of public healthcare. The novel was set in December 2022. Oh so close! -
9.
I work at a hospital and like to take a walk around it before I start work. It is usually dark, and I feel safer walking there. I passed a car, stopped in the middle of the road, and I heard a loud RUN in my head. I literally said, "I'm not going to run," and I heard it again louder, so I took off running and then heard running behind me. I didn't stop until I got to the street in front of the hospital door, I turned around, and there were two men chasing me. I hate to think what would've happened if i didn't run, I think about that all the time. -
10.
I was driving home per usual and got this random, unwavering feeling that my house had been broken into. I kind of laughed and said “please don’t let my house have actually been broken into” out loud as I turned the corner onto my street. The first thing I noticed when I pulled up to the house were the blinds on my bedroom window. They were yanked around and twisted up. Some guy that lives across the street turned out to have been stalking me and decided to climb through my bedroom window. He took nothing valuable. Just some weird personal items. It was terrifying to walk in and see my things rummaged through. It was even scarier when I talked to the neighbor and they admitted that multiple people in the neighborhood had seen it happen, but they were all too scared of ol’ dude to say anything. The weirdest part of it all (and I mean this guy took some *creepy* personal things) is that nagging feeling I had before I found the remnants of the break in. I swear I knew before I knew, and that was such an eerie feeling. -
11.
I had one of those dreams that you couldn't wake up from. I knew I was asleep and I was aware but I couldn't wake up. I was absolutely terrified thinking that I was stuck in like a coma or something. I had a gun with me for some reason and as the terror of not being able to wake up grew I for some reason had a thought and belief that if I killed myself in the dream I would die in real life and that that was a better alternative than being in a coma. So I brought the gun to my head and pulled the trigger. I physically felt pain in my temple and heard the shot. I woke up right afterwards. -
12.
A friend of ours gave us a clock she had before going into care. When she died, her clock stopped 10 minutes later. Brain death time can vary between individuals and can occur in 10 minutes or less. I don’t really believe in that stuff, I think it’s just an eerie coincidence. -
13.
Years ago, I worked the late shift at a hospital (4pm-midnight). My nightly drive home led me through back roads of fields and woods which often had low hanging fog - particularly in early spring. I lived in a small town that has a lot of civil war history. Ghost stories were so popular that area historians would do moonlight “ghost walks” where they searched for signs of restless spirits roaming the battlefield. The urban legend was that, in a war that pitted brother against brother, those soldiers who were killed by family became souls that were never at rest. I never bought into it, but one night under particularly dense fog did scare the ever living c**p out of me. At around 1am, as I sped through curves and hills, I saw the outline of 2 figures walking along the side of the road. The closer I got, the more I slowed down as I didn’t want to hit them or anything. By the time I passed them, I was going probably 10 mph. First I noticed their weirdly shaped hats. Then, the buttons on their jackets glimmered in my headlights. I swear to God, there were 2 Civil war soldiers walking in the fog in the moonlight. I could not breathe. The taller one, thin and gangly, looked up at my car and put his hand towards me. I hit the gas so hard. My transmission could barely keep up. I sped off into the night and, when I finally caught my breath, screamed several expletives. As I rounded another curve, I saw a small car - a geo metro, pulled over with lights flashing. It’s hood was up and steam was coming from the engine. A man in civil war garb stood close by staring at it with his hands on his hips. Damn reenactors were in town for some event and had car problems. To this day I have no clue why they were out so late. About scared me to death. -
14.
I was walking to a college class and felt as if I'd suddenly stepped outside of my body and was watching myself move around like a puppeteer. It lasted for about 10 minutes while I called a parent to ground myself to reality. Happened again the next week for a smaller amount of time. I'm guessing it was some kind of stress-induced disassociation episode, since it was midterms season and my first semester away from home. -
15.
I once met the same set of twins in the same day. one after the other. one at a library and then another at the mall -
16.
About 10 years ago. My wife and I were watching Paranormal Activity on TV. It was late at night. As soon as the final scene (terrifying) was over and the credits started rolling, we heard a large dog barking outside our front door. We lived in an isolated house in the country, had been in the house for years, and had never heard any dogs nearby. I ran upstairs and opened the door…no dog. Nothing. Dead quiet. My wife immediately swore off horror movies and hasn’t watched one since. -
17.
I was once having a nightmare that ended with something (an animal I think) stabbing me in the back with it’s claws the pain woke me up but when i woke up I still felt the pain and was paralyzed for about 15 minutes not to mention the amount of fear and chills that i felt that day When I finally got up and looked at my back in the bathroom it was red like something hit it really hard multiple times and i felt the pain all day I still have no idea what that was -
18.
My ex and I lived in a remote part of Northern Nevada. The house was literally in the middle of a field and our neighbors were far away. He worked nights and I never liked how dark and quiet it was. On a night he was working, I fell asleep and had a dream about him. In the dream, he was standing on the edge of a cliff (like the Grand Canyon), looking out at the view. I tried many times to get his attention but he wouldn't acknowledge me. He was just staring straight ahead. After ignoring me for a while, he abruptly turned to me and grabbed the outside of my arms firmly. His face looked panicked and he said, "(name), there's somebody in the house." Like the movies, my eyes shot open and I woke up with my blood running cold. I lay in bed silently, listening for any sound. I was even *more* terrified when the dog woke up almost immediately, started barking, and ran out his dog door, into the yard. What did he hear? I never saw or heard anything out of place. I couldn't see anything outside in the dark. The dog came back in and fell asleep. I stayed up the rest of the night, totally creeped out. -
19.
30 years ago I was sparing with a friend of mine who has since passed. He was the only one of my friends in my weight class. It was cold out side and the windows were covered with condensation from our exertion. All the sudden I felt connected/ attuned to him I knew if I threw a technique he would counter it and vice versa it was a weird almost psychic feeling. we both backed off and said that was weird and took a break. -
20.
I was a manager of computer repair for a retailer a couple year ago. We had a clients computer in the back running various malware and virus scans. I was doing morning paperwork in the back near the computer. This pc had its screen saver on displaying random photos from the My pictures folder, various family members, children's birthday parties the usual stuff. then from then of my eye I swear to god I saw a picture of a woman from the shoulders up with her throat cut. As soon as I realized what I was making out I directed my full attention and it was back to photos of a car show. As they day went on I though nothing of it and proceeded continue my work until I was bringing another customers pc to the back to work on and again from my peripheral I could have sworn I saw a bloody body in bound in a trunk of a car. At that moment I began to freak out. I grabbed one of my employees explained to him the situation. We then sat for 10 minutes and watched this screen saver (It is against company policy to search through the clients personal files without absolute just cause.) We then proceeded to see a photo 2 bodies in a shallow grave out in the woods and another photo of a severed hand down in kitchen drawer. I then went and got the general manager and informed him of the situation and had him view this screen saver. We then felt that I would be in everyone's best interest to contact Law Enforcement. In about 15 minutes later owner of the computer and another gentleman show up I proceed to tell him that his computer is not ready and it will be awhile. He then informs me that he was called there because someone reported there was some photographs of a grisly murder that we had found. I showed him his computer and then his partner then begins to laugh at him. Apparently he went against Police policy and took some of his work home with him and had never noticed his work photos were being used as a screen saver. -
21.
I grew up in a two family house. Me, my parents and siblings living on one side, my grandmother on the other side. You’re able to access my grandmother’s side through a single door in the house. Once she passed away I slowly took over her side since I was in high school and wanted my own space. One night I was walking to my room at the end of the hallway, there was a small mirror on the wall at the end. It was pretty dark but I was still able to see. Right before I entered my room I had looked up into the mirror and saw my grandmother standing behind me. So terrifying since this was around 3am. I had to leave the house and stay with my girlfriend! -
22.
Was watching out of my bedroom window after bed, about 13yrs old and saw a man walking his dog in the street (suburban) when he dropped and didn't move. The howling and anguish of the Labrador still pervades my thoughts occasionally. The man had passed by heart attack. -
23.
When I was in middle school, I used to spend my free time playing on my Gameboy or listening to CDs in my room. It was a three-family house. Most of my family, including my parents, sister, and I, lived on the top floor, while my grandma lived alone on the second floor. My grandma used to take care of my sister and me while my parents were at work. She would frequently walk up the stairs at least twice a day to check on us. She wore loud wooden slippers in the house, so we could always hear her walking around on her floor and especially when she was coming upstairs. One weekend while I was alone at home with my grandma, I was sitting on my bed playing my Gameboy when I heard my grandma's unmistakable footsteps coming up the stairs. I heard her walking down the hallway and stopping in front of my door. I looked up to meet her gaze, but there was no one there. I felt startled and ran out of my room to check the hallway, kitchen, and stairs, but I couldn't find anyone else upstairs besides me. I found my grandma sitting downstairs on the couch watching television. -
24.
I was over at my parents house and watering their plants this winter when they were on vacation. I go to my car and put in the reverse and this old man walking on the pavement and I make eye contact. He smiles at me and I smile back. And then I am out on the way and putting in the forward and going to drive away and I still look at this old man. But then when I look forward and start driving away he is absolutely GONE. I look in all the mirrors and turn my neck and he is nowhere to be seen. Just gone. -
25.
I once heard someone tapping on my bedroom door while no one else was home except for me and my girlfriend, but she was asleep next to me!!! -
26.
I was laying in bed and it literally felt like someone was behind me, touching my back and everything. I was too terrified to turn around or even breathe, but when I finally did, nobody was there. -
27.
I hired a lady to help me clean my rural house. She had never been to my part of the county before. She proceeds to tell me she can see things 'through the veil'. Goes on to describe in detail, a hidden bedroom in my uncle's Victorian farmhouse hidden in the forest in front of my home. I always thought the attic bedroom was a fun play space when I was a young child. But She told me it used to house a child with a disability that the family didn't want others to see back in the mid 1800's (likely downs syndrome) The extra f****d up part, on top of the house not bring visible from any road... there is no humanly way you can see / know that bedroom exists unless you are inside the house. All the attic bedroom windows are hidden so it doesn't look like anything is up there when you look from outside. -
28.
It's long. My oldest daughter when she was younger had trouble taking naps. From time to time I would lay down in her bed during nap time and read her book and rub her back so she could fall asleep. One time I was doing this she fell asleep and I was pretty drowsy as well. Suddenly she springs right up in bed and looks right through me. I ask her what's wrong but she's just staring through me. Then she starts screaming and runs into the middle of the room where she's basically just screaming. She then goes on the floor but just her chest and shoulders, she starts pushing herself around the floor groaning, her arms just dragging along. She then stands straight up looks at me and starts walking towards me. She ended up just laying back down and going to bed. -
29.
Had a manager where I worked who was taking from the register. He detested me because he suspected I knew what he was up to. He was right. I gathered proof of what he was doing. He fired me and tried to blame me for stock discrepancies. I went to my boss with proof of what he’s been up to. My boss fired him and promoted me. Years later in another job I woke from a dream about him. Walked into work only to find the new guy who was to start working with us was him. Freaky -
30.
I have quite a few but one of the ones from my childhood was a night, I had to be 12-15, and was home alone. I was playing on the computer in our den and directly across from it was the door that went up to the pantry which had a set of stairs that led to the attic. Suddenly I heard a loud thump then the repeated thumps as something fell down the stairs. My heart stopped because there was a door at the top of the stairs that shouldn't have allowed anything to do so. I remember getting up and walking over to the door but being unable to touch the k**b. Then the sound of pacing started above me. Slowly walking backwards I returned to the den and curled up in a ball on the couch staring at that door as the sound of a thump followed by the sound of something following down the stairs happened again. This continued on for hours till shortly before my parents got home it stopped and never happened again. My dad went up after they got home and confirmed nothing was moved or anything but I hated being alone so night after this. This was the same house I wouldn't shower if nobody was home either though. It was just a bit odd. The one we moved into after this one was worse though.
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