[Music] I wouldn't call myself a very active person but I do enjoy working out and running every now and then you know to stay in somewhat good shape my friend Jay and I usually work out and run together as Jay is always in shape and kind of trains me if you will Jay and I would often run late at night in my neighborhood since most of it is well lit and I live in a decent area however we stopped running in my neighborhood two months ago after this happened the way my neighborhood is laid out
is that there's a main road that connects to separate roads branching off but ultimately they all connect back to the main road which leads to a dirt path extending into local farms and larger properties this is important to understand the situation Jay and I were in one night we decided to run from my house onto a path that goes through the woods to one of the roads that branches off from the main road in my neighborhood we plan to use that road to reconnect to the main road then continue running to the dirt path before
heading back to my house using the main road I know it sounds confusing but we took this unusual route to maximize the miles we could run as our usual path just running on the main road and back was getting too easy for us the Run started as usual with Jay and me running from my house to the path talking about High School drama as we ran however we soon began to hear footsteps behind us at first we didn't think much of it since the path we were running on was frequently used and we often saw
other runners or people using it to cross from one area to another in the neighborhood but as we continued the footsteps remained behind us mirroring our speed when we picked up the pace and ran quickly the footsteps followed suit when we slowed down to a jog or walk for a moment so did they at this point Jay and I were obviously a bit nervous and freaked out but we were almost to the well lit Road when we finally exited the path onto the road we looked back and saw no one behind us we both exchanged
the same what the look and decided it was probably just another Runner trying to keep their distance from us we continued on to the side road that led to the main road of my neighborhood and followed the main road all the way to where it turned into the dirt path at this point we were both still feeling good and decided to push on running further down the dirt path however unlike the main road this path had no street lights and was lined with trees creating an ominous atmosphere at night Jay and I ran about a
mile down this road before deciding to turn back as we turned I caught a glimpse of a dark figure quickly darting into the trees on the left side of the road this immediately reminded me of the footsteps from earlier and I began to feel noticeably uneasy I told Jay that I had seen a figure jump into the trees along the path that we needed to take back he dismissed it saying I was just being paranoid and seeing things because of how far we'd run I almost believed him and started doubting myself so we began making
our way back to my house we ran past the spot where I had seen the figure with no issues but just as we were about to reach the main road again we heard rustling about 20 ft behind us in the trees we turned around and saw a figure standing in the middle of the dirt road the figure was facing away from us and was dressed in a black hoodie along with very ripped and dirty khaki pants and black shoes at this moment I was more scared than I had ever been in my life it felt
like my heart was going to fly out of my chest it was beating that hard jay looked at me then back at the figure and said what the hell are you doing but stopped mids sentence when we both heard the person start laughing it was an awful cackling cringe inducing laugh then as we stood Frozen the person turned to look at us still laughing before suddenly stopping now he just stared at us with a glare that still haunts me to this day his wide eyes and pale face burned into my memory Jay and I exchanged
one last look before running faster than we had ever run in our lives sprinting the entire 2 miles back to my house as we ran we heard that terrible laugh again behind us which only made us run faster when we finally got back to my house I threw up then rushed inside through the back door locking every every entrance and shutting my garage doors we sat there panting still processing what had just happened and swore never to run in my neighborhood at night again if you're a Nightrunner always stay in well-lit areas and bring a
friend just to be [Music] safe as a High School junior I ran cross country and track and I loved running alone I wasn't the fastest on my team but I had endurance and could lose myself in the rhythm of my feet hitting the ground a woman in a quiet rural neighborhood near a forest preserve had hired me to run her hyperactive puppy Izzy she'd pay me $10 per run it seemed like an easy gig Izzy needed the exercise and I got a little extra money while training the area had scattered houses abandoned Farms a cemetery
and the remnants of a disbanded Colts commune my parents had always warned me about running alone in secluded areas but I figured I was fast enough to outrun anything dangerous that changed one evening it was just before dusk when I took Izzy out for a longer run the Setting Sun cast a deep orange glow over the Treetops but Shadows stretched across the road making everything feel darker than it should have been the only sounds were my breathing Izzy's panting and the rhythmic thud of my running shoes against the pavement occasionally a bird would flutter in
the tree trees or a distant dog would bark but otherwise it was eerily quiet the farther I ran the quieter it got as if the world was slowly emptying itself of sound about 2 miles in we reached a stretch of road flanked by thick forest on both sides that's when Izzy suddenly stopped her ears perked and she stared into the woods completely still a low whimper escaped her throat I followed her gaze at first I saw nothing but the dense trees branches swaying slightly in the breeze but then between two trunks a man's face peaked
out from behind a tree he was short maybe in his 30s wearing a hat pulled low over his face a thick jacket despite the mild weather and gloves his eyes were locked on me unblinking his Stillness unnerved me but I told myself he was probably just a hiker or a hunter still something about the way he stood like half hidden watching silently it sent a chill down my spine his presence felt off like he wasn't just some guy passing through but something wrong something that shouldn't have been there at all I gave him a polite
nod trying to appear unfazed and I started to jog again my heart was beating a little faster now and not from the run a few steps later Izzy stopped again her body rigid tail between her legs my stomach dropped as I turned back the man had moved closer he wasn't behind the tree anymore he was standing right at the tree line just feet from the road still staring his head was tilted slightly now as if studying me a sickening realization crept in he wanted me to know he had moved he wanted me to notice I
felt something cold slip down my spine my body was instinctively preparing to run but I forced myself to stay calm maybe he was just some weirdo trying to mess with me maybe if I ignored him he'd get bored I kept running trying to stay composed glancing over my shoulder every few steps at first I thought he was gone the woods looked empty again but then just as I turned forward I caught movement in my peripheral vision I turned back and he was sprinting toward me he had a butcher Cleaver a choked scream got caught in
my throat as pure unfiltered Terror exploded through my body I didn't think I just ran adrenaline shot through me like electricity and I pushed myself harder than I ever had in a race my breath came in ragged gasps Izzy struggling to keep up her leash jerking in my grip as we tore down the road I had never known fear like this before a kind of fear that exists deep in the bones a kind that tells you you're going to die if you slow down I glanced back only once he was still chasing me his face
was twisted in pure rage his mouth slightly open as of growling The Gleam of the blade catching the last rays of sunlight he wasn't just running he was running erratically his arms flailing in unnatural motions his legs moving almost too fast like something that wasn't used to running at all that's when I realized he wasn't breathing I could hear my own frantic gasps I could hear Izzy panting I could even hear the distant rustling of the trees but not him his footsteps thundered behind me his Pace matching mine but there was no sound of breath
just that awful silence beneath the pounding of his boots I reached a neighborhood and sprinted between the houses zigzagging through yards hoping to lose him my vision was blurring my legs were screaming but I couldn't stop I darted behind a shed with Izzy finally when I was sure we had put enough distance between us I pressed myself against the rough wooden wall gripping my knees gasping for breath silence I swallowed hard my heartbeat still hammering in my ear ears slowly I turned my head at the top of the hill he stood watching the cleaver dangled
from his hand his chest rising and falling as if he had just stopped running too but he wasn't chasing anymore he was just standing there staring we locked eyes his face had no emotion now no rage just that blank unsettling gaze as if he had simply lost interest a minute passed then another a car's headlights appeared in the distance beams cutting through the dark and just like that he turned and walked back into the woods no hesitation no hurry just gone I didn't move for a long time when I finally did I took the longest
route back to the woman's house sneaking through the yard so I wouldn't be visible on the main road my hand shook as I took my payment acting like nothing had happened I didn't tell her I didn't tell my parents I knew if I did they would never let me run alone again I I know who he was I don't know if he was part of the old Cults a Drifter or something else entirely but I do know one thing and never ran in that direction [Music] again this is a story spanning nearly 7 years so
I will try to be as straightforward and to the point as possible I live in a Suburban neighborhood surrounded by rural country side there's nothing but Open Fields and winding Country Roads around it and it's practically impossible to get anywhere without a car it is a very beautiful place but very secluded as a result I often feel confined here which has only gotten worse during quarantine the first time I remember seeing something suspicious was when I was 9 years old my little brother and I who was seven at the time were taking our dogs down
towards the front of our street near the main road we were casually talking and not paying much attention to what we were doing suddenly we heard somebody call to us hey come here a big white SUV was parked at the start of our street and a man was sticking his hand out the window motioning for us to come over I remember distinctly that it was a tall white guy with curly blonde hair my little brother started to walk his way but I stopped him I'm a very paranoid person and I'd heard all the horror stories
about kids being lured into Vans never to be seen again I led us off in the other direction back to our house while also keeping an eye on the guy in the car when he saw that we were leaving he turned his car around and drove off upon arriving home I told my mom about it but she dismissed it saying he was probably just going to ask us for directions or something like that it scared me a little at the time but I didn't think much of it until now a year later during Halloween of
2014 another incident happened a black sedan was apparently following trick-or-treaters down the street when a parent approached it it tried to run them over before driving away and out of sight to make matters worse the license plates appeared to have been taken off I didn't see any of this myself but some of the adults in the neighborhood had made a big stink about it and I was given yet another don't talk to strangers lecture people were especially sensitive about this kind of thing at the time since the murder of Hannah Graham had recently taken place
in my area fast forward another four years to summer break in 2018 some neighbors of ours were out of town on vacation and they asked me if I could pets sit for them while they were away I had to go by three times a day to let their dog out once in the morning arounds 8:00 a.m. once in the afternoon after lunch and once in the evening at 9: their house sits to the right of our neighborhood off the main road to get there from my house I can go to the end of my street
and take a right or I can cut through the woods and into their backyard going through the woods is faster but the brush is very dense and the trees are close together so I usually would just go along the street one night wrapped up in a session of cod with my friends I forgot to let the dog out when I remembered it was past 10 and I rushed over worried that he might pee on the floor inside it was Pitch Black out and I couldn't see anything but the beam of my flashlight and the glowing
stars in the sky luckily the dog had been able to hold it so I let him out as usual after he went I brought him back in and was prepared to leave again when I looked out the window and saw a black sedan parked next to the driveway this made me uncomfortable since I was pretty sure I wasn't there when I first showed up at the house there were no other houses nearby and I knew for a fact that the owners weren't coming back for another few days after debating what I should do for a
few minutes I finally decided to go back and cut through the woods I did so and got back without issue to play it safe I cut through the woods for the rest of my time pet sitting but I never saw the black car again now the these occurrences alone would not be enough to Merit a story but it's what happened recently that really terrifies me and makes me question whether these events might actually be connected I run for the track team at my school and since quarantine had prevented us from having practice I go running
every day on the roads around my house my street isn't very long so I often run off the main road and other connecting ones for the first few months everything was going fine I would jog around for an hour taking in the scenery and exploring the various different country lanes but about a month ago I was running back home on the main road when I noticed that a car seemed to be following me I always run on the left side of the road going towards traffic this is so that if a car comes up behind
me on a blind curve or in an area with low visibility it won't hit me from behind where I can't see the car coincidentally a large white SUV was on the other side of the road going about the same speed I was jogging this was especially odd because there aren't many cars on that Road and you can go much faster than on a busy one unsure of its intentions I turned down a small side street with a culdesac at the end it didn't follow so I ran down to the circle and went back home however
the next day it followed me again this time I saw it sitting at the start of a driveway and it pulled out after me once I passed it like the day before it followed me for about a mile before I turned down the same street where it promptly drove off this continued every day for a 10-day period it followed me at first I thought that it might be going somewhere on a schedule a schedule that just happened to coincide with my runs to test this Theory I decided to run an hour later than I usually
did the first day I tried this it wasn't there the next day though I was Disturbed to see that it was once again following right behind me this definitely unnerved me but I was hesitant to tell my parents because I was worried they'd forbid me from running furthermore it hadn't attempted to do anything yet so I decided I could put up with it as long as I was careful and watched it closely on the 11th day of being followed I turned down the side street to see a black sedan sitting at the end at first
I thought nothing of it there were a few houses on the street and it likely belonged to somebody who lived there but as I began to get closer I noticed something odd underneath the car barely visible was the silhouette of a person they barely fit and were huddled on the far side to avoid being seen I immediately got chills and ran off in the other direction looking over my shoulder to make sure they stayed put to make matters worse I saw that white SUV which usually drove away was sitting at the top of the street
Penning me in I was feeling panicky now and decided that I preferred the evil I knew to the one that I didn't so I picked up the pace and tried to Sprint by the SUV when I was within a few feet of it A man jumped out and ran after me I easily outpaced tased him and thank God that my months of training had paid off when it became clear he couldn't catch me he yelled at me to come back and said he just wanted to talk I responded with two fingers if you catch my
drift and I sprinted the remaining mile back to my house I finally broke down and told my mom who got me on the phone with the police sadly though since I didn't get a license plate there wasn't much they could do they promised that they would look into it but as far as I can tell nothing has been done these experiences have haunted me for the past couple of weeks and with all my spare time I've had a lot of time to contemplate the situation after connecting the dots it's clear to me that these men
have been trying for multiple years to kidnap a child from our street there are quite a lot of children in my neighborhood which explains why they frequent it so often it worries me that somebody less cautious than myself might find themselves in a similar situation and fall prey to these Predators I still have nightmares about the man who chased me down the street he was very tall with blonde curls the same man who tried to abduct me when I was 9 years old
