20 True Creepy Horror Stories Animated

I live in northern Utah on the edge of a small highway town. There's not really anything but a few stores, truck stops, and motel right up along the main highway. The roads to the outskirts are all dirt, just leading to a few other homes and large private acres of forest and grassy fields. This was a pretty typical day for me. I worked remotely from home and finished up around 6:00. From there, I headed into town to grab Some groceries and stock up on a few items around the house, even though it was a highway town.

The highway wasn't actually all that busy, so none of the stores were ever too crowded. I pulled in and started shopping. While I was in there, though, I happened to notice a guy looking at me. At first, I thought nothing of it. I probably just looked over at him at an awkward timing while he happened to be looking over at me. I kept going about my shopping, but a Couple minutes later and in a different aisle, I saw him again in the corner of my eye. He walked into the same empty aisle I was in

and stood just 5 or 6 ft to the side of me. I kept looking forward and tried to find what I needed, but I noticed he wasn't really moving around or grabbing anything. So, I just shifted my eyes a little bit over so I could kind of see him better. Even though I wasn't looking directly at him, I could tell he was looking at me. This Time, I said hi, then continued about my business. The man didn't say anything back to me. I hurried up and grabbed what I needed and left the aisle. Honestly, I

just thought the dude was a little weird, but I wasn't thinking too hard about it. I went to the checkout counter and paid for everything, then headed back out to my car. I parked in the far back of the lot like I usually did. I tossed everything in the trunk and got in. And when I looked up at the Rest of the parking lot, there were maybe 30 or 40 other cars, but something felt off. Then I saw him again. He was standing between a couple cars looking over in my direction. He didn't have any

groceries in his hands, so I don't think he even checked out or got anything. The hell was up with this guy? Probably some creepy trucker running on 2 hours of sleep or something. I pulled out of the parking lot and started heading home. The sun was mostly down by Now, so the empty dirt roads were dark and quiet. I parked out front and brought in the first couple bags of groceries. While putting that stuff away, I got a little sidetracked by a phone call from my dad. But eventually, I got back to it and headed

back outside to my car to grab the rest of the groceries. When I did, I saw something. I had to squint and let my eyes adjust to the dark for a moment, but far out and kind of off the side of the dirt Road, there was a truck. Its lights were all off. I could only see the general shape of it, silhouetted by the night sky. I own just under 40 acres of land, so where that truck was was on my property. It definitely wasn't there when I drove home. And if it was just turning

around or lost, why would it be parked with no lights on? I slowly walked up to my car and got my groceries out, keeping an eye on the truck the entire time. The best possibility I Could think of was that it could be just some regular driver that pulled off the highway and thought that this empty land would be a good place to sleep instead of paying for a motel. Even though it was on my property, I wasn't going to make a fuss if I didn't have to. You never know who could be in there

or what they might do. I went back inside. After tossing the groceries away, I opened up the curtains on the front of the house just So I could keep an eye out there. Over time, say the next hour or so, I felt less and less nervous about it and thought that it was almost surely a driver sleeping. Still strange, but harmless. I spent another hour in the living room watching a show and never saw the truck move. It was getting late, so I closed the curtains and went upstairs to get in bed. I think I

fell asleep pretty quickly. However, in the middle of the night, I woke up having to Use the restroom. I never checked the time, but I think it was probably 2 or 3:00 a.m. I got up half asleep and walked across the bedroom floor and into the hallway where the bathroom was. As soon as I opened the door, I heard a creek downstairs. I'd never heard that happen before. I listened for a second, then closed and reopened the door to see if it happened again, but it didn't. I walked to the end of the hallway and

looked down the Stairs. It was all dark down there, only a small amount of moonlight coming in from the kitchen windows. But there was something in that downstairs hallway. I could see a shadow moving ever so slightly on the side of the wall. I couldn't tell if it was actually in the hallway or maybe outside the back door, and the shadow was just reflecting onto the wall, but I immediately felt my heart pumping. I quietly backed up and went back into my room, closing the door As slowly and carefully as I could so as to

not bring any attention. Then, I got my phone and called the police. I kept my voice low. For the first 5 minutes I waited, I didn't hear anything. I started doubting that they were in my home until suddenly I heard creaking again. Very slow and very subtle, walking across the floor below me. It sounded like they went into the living room. A minute later, a cop car showed Up. There was a scurry of footsteps running around down there and eventually leaving my home just as the officers ran up. Thankfully, they caught him running back up

toward the truck that was parked in the field. Disturbingly, I recognized him as the creepy guy from the store earlier. I guess he really was stalking me. Even worse than him following me and breaking into my home, he was armed. The guy claimed he was just trying to rob me, but from the looks of it, it seemed Way more personal than that. And I don't know how long he was inside my home for, but he never took anything. He didn't even have a backpack to take anything with. Plus, he knew I was home. He probably

was watching me from somewhere outside all night. What he really would have done is better left unknown. This was during a road trip last summer. I was taking a long route home from visiting a few relatives. So, I was Driving about 4 hours each day to a different destination. This was after my last stop. Everything left on the last 8 hours of driving home was just empty woods. As far as I knew, there was another city I wanted to stop at, but it was just too far out of the way for me to justify stopping

there. From my previous stop, I left at 6:00 p.m. to get to my final Airbnb that I had booked at a cabin about 2 hours Away. It happened to be on the route home, so that's why I went with it. I figured it'd be better than whatever cheap and crappy motel there was along the road. Where I was, the landscape was pretty flat, but there were a decent amount of trees scattered around. When I pulled up to the cabin, it was clear they had planted a row of large pine trees perfectly in a line at

the front of the cabin with the gravel driveway going Through the middle. Honestly, the outside of it mixed with the landscape was a little bit spooky. I parked and unlocked the padlock with the code I had emailed from the host. Despite the outside, on the inside, the cabin looked newly renovated, probably to be an Airbnb, but it was really nice. Small, but cozy. I didn't unpack much since I'd only be there for the night. I sat at the table and ate a meal I'd picked up From a drive-thru. But only 10 minutes after I'd gotten

settled in, there was a knock at the door. It startled me because I never heard a car pull up or anyone walking outside. I got up and answered the door. There was a man looking about 40ish with a gray and black beard and shaved head. Hi, I was just stopping by to make sure you got in and everything was good. He said with a smile, knowing it was just the host now, I said I was good and it was All great. I then said good night and shut the door. I thought it was a bit

strange he showed up unannounced just to ask if I was okay, but I thought he must have lived close by or maybe even on the other side of the property or something. Also, it's worth mentioning that the guy had an unusually strong odor coming from him. It smelled like maybe he'd been working out in a field all day. I just found it a bit odd as well. I went back to the table and finished eating, then took a shower to wind down for the night. I was only in there for maybe 5 minutes before feeling

tired enough and just wanting to lay in bed already. I dried off and hopped in bed, staying on my phone for a little bit when there was another knock at the front door. This one scared me just as much as the first time because again, I never heard a car pull up or anyone walking Outside. It had to be the host again, but why? And so soon after, he just came over. Immediately, I knew this was odd, and I felt really uncomfortable. I checked my phone, and of course, there was no text or call from

him. I slowly walked into the main room, hearing him knock several more times. I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer the door or not, but I ended up just calling out from the other side and Asking what he needed. He stopped knocking. Can you open the door, please? I just wanted to ask you one more thing. I'll be quick. I promise. I didn't respond for a few seconds because I honestly didn't know what to say. In those few seconds, he must have gotten impatient because he knocked on the door again and asked if I

could open it. I said it was late and I wasn't in the mood, so if there wasn't an emergency, then I'd like to be left Alone. He took a long time to answer after that. The silence was really eerie. Once it reached a whole minute, it was even more so. I didn't hear him walk away. So, was he just standing out there? I quietly walked up and looked through the small window on the door. He wasn't out there. I immediately thought that he must have snuck away because surely I would have heard his footsteps on

the gravel if he just walked away. But then where was He? I didn't know what to do. I felt really uncomfortable and didn't know why he was acting so strange. I stood there by the door for a minute and listened for anything. Honestly, I was scared to move. But then I happened to glance over at one of the windows in the living room. I saw his eyes staring into mine. I panicked and sprinted to the bedroom where I called 911. While I waited, I heard what sounded like him trying to Lift open the window, which

was terrifying, but also odd considering he had to have had a key to his own house. But that's when I figured it all out. That man wasn't the host. This was confirmed when police arrived. He had already run off. We have no idea in which direction, but we got in contact with the actual host and owner of the cabin. I don't know what that man's intentions were that night. Obviously, He was lying and clearly plotting something, but I'm just glad I didn't open the door. It was spring break. I was 18. And this year, my

family took a trip to a small cabin out in Minnesota. It was just me, my mom, and my younger brother, who was only seven at the time. We were planned to stay at this cabin for the whole week, and part of the reason we were going to Minnesota was to check out some of the smaller towns and scout for a Place we might want to move to in the future. Anyway, the cabin my mom booked we had never been to before, and I don't think she knew how far out it was from the closest towns.

She was probably more concerned on the price. It was really far north and about 35 minutes out from any shopping areas. I guess it was a good test at how good we'd handle the rural life, though. The drive there was a little over 10 hours. I drove the first few Hours and my mom drove the rest. We got to the cabin at sunset. It was really pretty, the orange skies setting over the dense forest and wildlife. Way different than the skyscrapers and massive office buildings we were used to. The cabin itself was noticeably old, however.

Everything creaked, and it didn't look like the place was professionally built. It was fine, though. I mean, it was a cabin after all. We settled in for the night, testing out the wood burning fireplace and just resting after the long drive. I ended up napping for most of the evening. My mom went to bed around 8:30, but because I took a long nap, I stayed up a bit later. My little brother was also in his room, so it was just me hanging out in the cabin. I sat by the fireplace on my phone for a

bit, then thought I'd get some fresh air and check out the back porch. It was a really small wooden deck with a sketchy looking fire pit in the middle and a few chairs around it. I sat down and looked out into the forest. The night was really quiet. No cars or busy streets, just the occasional bird crowing in the distance and the trees rustling in the wind. I loved it. Being further up north though, it was a bit more chilly than I expected. I spotted some logs stacked up on the side of the cabin and

figured I'd give the fire pit A try. I lit it up no problem, and the fire stayed well-maintained in the center, so I guess it wasn't as sketchy as I thought. Anyway, I sat by it for a while. I never get to do this sort of thing, so I just soaked it all in. After about 30 minutes of being outside, there was a very sudden and just completely out of nowhere sound from within the forest. Honestly, I had no clue what it could have been, but I did think that The way it sounded and echoed

through the trees was kind of like an axe chopping into a tree or wood. It was only one sound, though, and I didn't think it was really possible for anyone to be out here near us. It was pitch black out there, so I couldn't see anything. But whatever it was, it sounded pretty close. As I stayed out there for the next 5 minutes after hearing the sound, I felt my nerves building up a little Bit. Just this uneasy feeling that ruined the peacefulness from before. I ended up snuffing out the fire pit and heading back

into the cabin. From the sounds of it, my mom and brother were asleep already. I still wasn't all that tired, though. I don't know if it was still from the long nap or maybe the sound I heard waking me up, but I still didn't really feel like going to bed yet. I stayed up in the living room on my phone. I had some Movies downloaded, so I didn't have to worry about Wi-Fi. Only 15 or so minutes in, I heard something. I paused the movie and listened. I wasn't sure if it was the cabin creaking

from someone waking up or walking around in their room or maybe just wind hitting the walls. It gave me that uneasy feeling again, though. I wasn't used to being in this kind of environment, so I think that's why I got so easily Unnerved. It was only a minute later that I heard it again, though. This time it was from the opposite end of the cabin, not where the bedrooms were. It was from outside the wall just next to me. The only thing there was a window. I leaned a little closer and listened. Just when I

thought I might be hearing something, a loud sequence of knocks shook the front door. It vibrated across the wooden walls. I froze up for a moment, then heard my mom get out of Bed and hurry into the hallway, asking what that was. I was standing up at this point, knowing something was wrong, but told her someone was at the door. I could tell she was pretty frightened, too. She immediately went back to get her phone and call 911 because there was no reason for anyone to be banging on our cabin door in the middle of

nowhere and in the middle of the night. As she did, I walked up to the door and looked out the peepphole. It was extremely Dark. There were no porch lights or anything, but I could see the basic figure of a man standing fairly close, just staring ahead at the door. And in the dark, I could see the outline of a heavy wooden axe in his hand. I felt my eyes widen and nerves spiking. Everything rushed through my mind. I tried to think of any reason this wasn't what it looked like, like maybe he needed help

or was lost or I don't know. Nothing seemed to explain this as being Anything but bad. The man banged on the door several more times as my mom was on the phone with an operator. They never spoke though, stating any excuse for them being here. They just aggressively knocked on the door. In the heat of the moment, it was hard to tell how much time passed. It felt like forever, though. But then he did what we were all terrified of. One loud crack slammed into the door and the slightest bit of the metal axe pierced

through the Wood. At that point, we all ran into the farthest room and locked ourselves in. We heard more hits against the door, but only four or five before they stopped. We weren't sure if he'd busted the door down already or if he had given up, but we just waited. It took just under 15 minutes for the first officer to arrive to the cabin, which was honestly quicker than expected given how far out we were. The front door had several large gashes in it, but There were no signs of the man having gotten in. There

were also no signs of where the man went. It's just assumed that he walked back out into the forest. The running theory is the guy was out in the forest when he saw my campfire from all the way out there luring him to the cabin. It doesn't explain what he was doing out there at night with an ax or why he came up to the cabin, but there's not really any way to know those things without him being caught and Questioned. We obviously didn't stay there any longer. In case you were wondering, we didn't end

up moving there either. This was last year in the middle of January. I live in a relatively small home in a small woodsy town. It was about 45 minutes outside of the city. I only had a half day of work, so this night I was free to chill at home. Around 7:00, I got an unexpected call from a friend. He said he was having car troubles and asked if I could do him a Solid and give him a ride home, maybe grab some food, too. I didn't mind at all and said I'd be right over.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, so we'd been through this before. I grabbed my jacket from the front closet and got my keys, then opened the front door to leave. As soon as I opened the door, my whole body jumped. There was a man standing right in front of me on the porch, like literally a foot away from the door. He Had a heavy coat with a black gator neck scarf covering his lower face. The man didn't move at all, though, like he wasn't equally as startled as me. For a second, I was

just embarrassed for getting spooked like that. But then I immediately got curious why he was here. Before I could ask, he apologized and said he was just about to knock. I said it was all right and asked what he needed. The man took a second, then asked if I was David or Daryl, I don't Know, something like that. Whoever it was, wasn't me. I said no. And the man just said okay and started walking off the porch. I stepped outside and shut and locked the door behind me, making sure the man walked all the way

down my driveway and away from my home before I got in my car. I pretty much thought about that weird encounter the whole drive to my friend's work. My home was in a secluded neighborhood, like you don't get random People just going up to people's houses very often because they were so deep in the woods with long driveways. if he was just someone looking for someone else. I guess that did explain it though. I picked up my friend and we grabbed a quick meal at Culver's. Then I drove him to his place and dropped him

off. It was around 9:00 p.m. by this point. It was snowing just a little bit, but otherwise it was pretty calm Outside. When I got home, I pulled into the driveway and walked up to the front door, unlocking it and getting inside. I took a moment to warm up, then hopped on the couch and turned the TV on. I didn't keep track of time after this because I didn't have to work tomorrow, so there was no need to. If I had to guess, I was probably on the couch for 2 hours before I got tired.

I got up and stretched, turning the TV off and starting to walk over to the stairs. But when I passed by The front door, I suddenly remembered that guy that was outside earlier. I'd pretty much forgotten about it up until now. Now that I was thinking about it, though, I walked up to the door and looked out the peepphole just to ease my mind. Nobody was on the porch, and the night still looked calm, still snowing, and not very windy. However, after a second, I noticed something going across the driveway. It wasn't clear, so I

had to open the door to get a better look. There were shoe prints in the thin layer of snow. They seemed to come all the way up the driveway from the road and near my car. Then they walked off into the yard where the trees blocked my view. Immediately I felt very unnerved. I shut and locked the door. If this was the same guy as last time coming back again, then something was seriously wrong. I kept looking back out the windows as I tried to think of what to do next. Thinking back on how strange

my interaction with the guy was earlier only made it worse. In the moment, I was concerned enough to call the police. I dialed 911 and stayed by the window as I explained my situation. As I was talking, though, I kept hearing something subtle. Every time I'd pause and listen, I wouldn't hear it anymore. The operator probably thought I was Crazy. But about a minute into the call, there was a violent thud against the back of the house. I almost dropped my phone from how much it made me jump. I hurried over to the hallway, hearing

another loud thud. As I looked down, there was someone outside the back door. With the reflections of light from inside the house contrasted with the dark outside, I couldn't see anything but slight movement behind the door. Another thud crashed into it. It Was heavy. They definitely had some kind of weapon or something to break the door down with. The operator told me to either find somewhere to hide and lock myself away or find an escape. I decided to grab my keys and sprint to my car. Even though I knew the man was behind my house,

it was still terrifying running out into the open. There could have been more than one person or even someone waiting by my car. Thankfully, there wasn't and I was Able to get away. It was a good thing I left because when the cops got there, the back door had been beaten open and watery shoe prints filled the house. But nobody was inside. All I could really give the officers was a description of the man who was at my doorstep, which there was no actual evidence of it being the same person. So, if they did find

him, it wouldn't do much anyways. But they never did. Whether or not it was him though, I Think I got lucky that I ran into him on my way out of the house. Had I not, I wouldn't have checked out the door before going to bed. If I was asleep already, maybe they would have been more subtle with breaking in. I don't know. But what's so unnerving is that this all happened on just an ordinary day. There was no way to know. It could be any day that something like this happens. With him still out

there, sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting for it to Happen again. It was 2019. I was a sophomore in college and did babysitting three to four nights a week as a means for paying off my car. For about a month, I had this 3-year-old boy that I'd watch once a week. The parents were soft-spoken but friendly. They'd always leave around bedtime, so all I'd have to do is make sure the kids stayed asleep and was okay while they were gone for usually 4 to 5 Hours. This night, I pulled in at 8:00 p.m. I

said hi to the parents who mentioned the kid was already in the room asleep. Then they thanked me and left. I never asked what they did going out this late every week. I think they mentioned one time that they went to the city. Maybe it was like a date night or something. Anyway, I put my bag down and did a walkthrough of the house like I usually did, then sat on a chair in the living room. They'd always say, "Feel Free to watch TV or cook dinner or whatever, but usually I just sit on my

phone to pass the time." Occasionally walking by the kids' room to make sure they were okay. Not even an hour in though, I got a call from the mother. I obviously answered, but I was confused when she asked if I called her just now. I said no. I was still at the house and hadn't called for anything. I guess she had gotten a call from an Unsaved number, but nobody said anything when she answered. She thought maybe I'd gotten a new phone or was using a different one or something and the call just didn't come

through correctly. I assured her we were all good here and she said okay and hung up. I thought nothing of it. She was probably just a concerned parent wanting to make sure everything was good. I did another check on the kid then sat down again. About 20 minutes passed. I was Still on my phone watching a video when I saw headlights shine into the front windows. The light came in through the cracks between the blinds. I thought it was just a neighbor pulling into their house. But after a couple minutes of the light not shutting

off, I got up and peeked out the window. There was a dark gray sedan parked right out front of the house by the curb. It was old and rusty and the windows were blacked out. I was so Focused on the car for a minute. I almost didn't even notice the guy standing a few feet from it. They were closer to the end of the driveway, standing near the sidewalk and looking up at the house I was in. I was a little concerned, but I didn't want to confront them since it wasn't even my house, so

I just watched from the window. After a minute, he walked back to his car and got in. Oddly, they pulled away very slowly, like they were still focused on Looking at the house. I watched as their headlights went down the road, cutting in and out of the trees, but then they stopped again. I could see the light between the trees staying still far down the road. Then it shut off like they had parked and got out. Maybe it was someone visiting a neighbor and they were trying to find the address numbers and got mixed up

somehow. Feeling like it was a little Strange, I stayed by the window for a good 5 minutes, but I never saw the man come back down to the house, so I figured it was probably just a weird coincidence. I went back to the chair in the living room. I did think about texting the parents, but didn't want to worry them about something that was likely nothing. Plus, it probably wouldn't have made a difference to anything. Anyways, I decided to turn the TV on, Keeping it on low volume so I didn't wake up the kid. A

few minutes in, I went to open the blinds as well because I found myself still thinking about it. A whole hour and a half passed, or maybe even 2 hours. Nothing really happened during that time. I just waited in the living room with the TV on and tried my best to stay awake. My eyes were getting heavy. And I could tell I was half asleep, like I was still awake, but just fully spaced out And my eyes partially open. But through my less than aware state I was in, I randomly heard a light thump. It

didn't fully wake me until I heard it again. My eyes opened wider and I got up. I wasn't sure what it was, but I wanted to check on the kid first, so I started walking to the stairs. But when I passed through the hallway, I heard it again and saw something in the corner of my eye. I turned my head. There was someone outside the back door pulling on The handle and looking right at me. Once he saw me looking at him, he started pulling on the handle even harder, trying to brute force it open.

My adrenaline kicked in and I sprinted up the stairs. I went in the room and got the kid, trying to keep them calm. As I was up there, the thumps got louder, like now he was using something to rip open the door. With the kid in my arms, I hurried down the stairs. When I got to the bottom, there was one more sound. It Sounded like cracking plastic and metal. I went back into the hallway toward the front door, but I saw the back door was open and the man was rushing inside. He had regular

casual clothes on and dark hair. That was all I saw before I noticed a knife in his hand. He didn't hesitate to start running at me. I rushed out the front door, getting into my car and backing out just as he got up to my window. I drove to a safe place and called 911 and the Parents. Of course, he was gone before anyone got there. The way I see it, I think the man was going to threaten me with the knife or even harm me so he could kidnap the kid. That's what it felt

like was going to happen. But how did he know the parents would be away? And why kidnap this kid specifically? What's weird is after all of it, the parents stopped talking to me and never hired me again. They thanked me on the night of the incident, but then went Radio silent. It was like they didn't want me to find anything out about what happened. I did my own research, but didn't find much. Only thing I found out was that the mother had been married before to a man that looked somewhat similar to the guy I

saw. No way to know for sure, though. I'm just speculating. It's been years now, so I don't think we'll be getting any answers. This was last year during a solo road trip I was taking from Wisconsin to Montana. Most of the roads there are basically barren, aside from the first hour and the last hour. Everything else is forest or open fields, maybe some small mountains, too once I got further west. Anyway, because of how I had everything scheduled, I was going to be driving through the night and most of the day rather than taking up

two full days of driving and having to spend on an extra hotel in between. I knew it Would still be tough, but I thought it was worth it. I started the drive at 7:00 p.m. I double checked I had everything packed into my car and had my snacks and stuff in the front seat with me. Then I headed onto the road. First hour was through the city and small towns, but then it was open road from there. Barely any cars and not many places to stop aside from a gas station every 15ish miles. By hour

or two, I'd only used up A third of my gas tank. But with the gas station seeming to get further and fewer between, I figured I'd top off before entering the really rural section of the drive. It took 20 minutes before I finally found a station to stop at. Nobody else was there. It was just some really small place with four gas pumps. The convenience store wasn't even open. I pulled in and parked next to a pump. getting out and starting to pump the gas. I don't know if it was because the Place was older

or maybe hadn't been filled up in a while, but the gas was coming out really slow, like almost a whole minute, just for one gallon to come out. I leaned up against my car and just waited. That's about when another car came down the road. The speed limit was 55, but it looked like they were only going 20 or 30. Initially passing the gas station, but then slowing down and backing up. That was strange and honestly a bit dangerous on a single Road like that in the middle of the night. But they backed up to

the entrance and pulled into the station, parking at the pump right behind me. I figured they just missed the entrance and really needed gas. I stayed looking forward at my pump as I heard someone get out and walked to the side of their car. But after a minute of not hearing them starting to pump the gas or even move at all, I glanced over to see what they were doing. The man was Wearing a gray flannel and black jeans and was relatively tall and he was staring at me. Like when I looked over, he was

already looking at me. I awkwardly smiled and nodded, then looked away again. I couldn't help but feel like he was still looking at me, though. After a good 10 seconds, I finally heard him grab the pump and put it in his car. I felt relief, like maybe he was just getting gas, and I was overthinking it. I was out there for Another minute before deciding I'd waited enough and just took the pump out and locked up my gas cap. When I did, I saw the man looking at me again. His eyes were so dull and

heavy, like he was tired, but chugged caffeine or something. I got in and pulled back onto the road. Weird guy, I thought, but I didn't put too much weight on it. At some point during the next 3 hours of the drive, it started raining. I'd now been driving for 5 hours total, And it was just past midnight. The rain made me feel like I had to pay more attention to the road, which in turn made the drive more exhausting and tiring. I tried opening an energy drink and snacking, but it really didn't help all that

much. By 1:00 a.m., I just needed a break. My gas was starting to run low, too. I drove down the long barren road until finally there was a gas station to pull off at. It looked pretty rundown and was just as empty as The last one, but still had lights on and everything. I pulled in and filled up my tank, then pulled into the side of the small building and parked in one of the spaces. I looked up the weather to see how long the rain would last, and I looked up any nearby towns, but

there were none. It looked like I was basically right in the middle of nothing. I ended up deciding I was good to take a 30-minute nap just to refresh myself and hopefully the rain would slow down, too. I leaned back and fell asleep. When I woke up, rain was still slapping against the roof, and my alarm hadn't gone off yet. It had only been about 25 minutes. I sat up and looked out the windshield. The whole place was quiet, but there was a car at one of the pumps. I leaned forward and looked closer. It

was the same one from the other stop. I Was almost sure of it. Either this was a really big coincidence or something was wrong. Even more odd, the guy wasn't anywhere I could see, not in his car or outside. I felt my face start to go pale. Where the hell was this guy? There was nowhere else at this empty gas station that that man could possibly be at. Whatever this was, I didn't want to stay to find out. I turned on the car and put it in reverse. But when I looked in my mirror, as

I backed out, I saw Him, not behind my car. He was in my back seat, eyes piercing through the dark at me. I jolted forward and kicked my door open, jumping onto the pavement. The car was still in reverse, so it was slowly backing up. I started running, but I never heard the man get out of the car. I ran into the woods, then watched as my car continued to roll back for a while, then suddenly stopped. A second later, he drove away, Leaving me stranded at some unknown gas station in the middle of nowhere.

It was then I realized my phone was still on the dashboard. I stood there in shock for a minute, standing in the rain and taking in the reality of the situation. Then I looked over at the car. He just left his own car. I walked over and found the door to be unlocked, keys in the ignition, and random groceries in the back seat. And by some odd chance, I found the phone Laying on the floor by the passenger seat. It was locked, but I was still able to call 911 on the lock screen. I didn't

realize it at the time. I guess I thought whoever stole my vehicle was just stupid and left everything behind. But this car wasn't theirs. It was also stolen. Everything in it was from someone else that the man had done the same thing to as he did to me. Though, from what I heard, they weren't as lucky to get out completely Unharmed. When talking with investigators, they seem to think the man didn't sneak into my back seat and let me start leaving for no reason. Likely, he was going to wait until we were on the road

to reveal himself. And who knows why he would want me hostage or what he planned to do. He was never found and neither was my car. This was in 2015. I had taken a road trip to a Forest a few hours from me. There was a hike up to an abandoned fire lookout that I was really excited to explore. I should mention it was technically illegal to go inside it or camp in it as it wasn't kept up with and could be structurally unstable. I'd done some research online though and most people said that it

seemed okay, but the last post I could find about it was 3 years ago, so I really didn't know what I'd find when I got up there. Anyway, I Found a small ditch on the side of the road that I could park in. Then I got out my backpack with 2 days worth of gear and started the hike. With trips like this, there aren't usually defined paths to get there. So, I used a handheld satellite GPS that allowed me to make sure I was going the right way, but really the whole time I was just

cutting through unknown terrain in the woods. The hike from the road was about 4 to 5 hours. The further in I Got, the more dense and rough the terrain got. I was really banking on the fire lookout to still be intact and good enough for me to camp out in. But I guess if not, then I was just going to have to find somewhere else nearby to set up my tent and sleep at. After the pretty tiring several hours of hiking through the woods, I finally got there. I could see the building peeking out above

the trees, and when I got closer, it actually Looked decently in shape. The paint was worn off, of course, but it seemed to be holding up well. I gave the support beams a few pushes, and they were really solid. So, I tried my luck climbing up the ladder. It was metal and felt sturdy, but still creaked with every step up. When I got to the top, I was in awe for a moment at the views. I could see basically the entire forest. There were no buildings or roads or houses for miles in all directions. It

was just the Woods. After taking in the view, I went around the ledge and inside the lookout. It was really small, not like one of those big ones that you see get turned into Airbnbs or whatever. This was just one room, maybe 150 square ft. It had a decaying bed in the corner and an old wooden desk in the other corner with rotting windows spanning the entire wall. There wasn't too much else to look at in there, so I put my bag down and rolled out my mattress and sleeping bag. Then heated up a meal

on my mini camping stove. Once the sun was setting, I walked out to the ledge and watched it. It was by far one of the best views I'd ever seen. I felt like it went by quick, though, and then it was just darkness. It was cloudy out, too, so no moonlight or stars were lighting up the sky. With nothing else to do, though, I stayed sitting out on the ledge for a while. It was probably an hour into the Night when I saw something below me. There was a light moving around in the trees. What

was strange about it though was it wasn't like an artificial light. It had this orang-ish hue and was kind of flickering, kind of like a campfire would, which led me to believe it was a torch. It was moving between the trees in the forest not too far from where I was. The chances of someone else being out here at the same time as me in such a remote part of the woods were really Slim given there wasn't even a trail to get here. Also, traveling around at night without a normal flashlight and using a torch

was pretty odd. I watched as the light moved under the trees for a while. Then it went behind something where I could no longer see it. For the next 30 minutes, I never saw it appear again. I still stayed out on the ledge, though, taking in the calmness and quietness of the night. Eventually, the wind started to Make it a bit cold, so I stood up to take in one last view before heading inside. When I looked below the ledge, though, someone was there. They were standing at the bottom in the grassy area between the

fire lookout and the woods. It looked like they were looking directly up at me. Maybe it was the person with the light I saw earlier. "Hello," I called out. I didn't know what else to say. They didn't move or Say anything back to me. It was just this strange 10 or 15 seconds of looking at each other before they lifted up their hand, like in an acknowledging way or apologizing. Then they turned around and walked into the woods still with no light on. Obviously that was incredibly creepy and eerie, but for some reason in the

moment I felt so sure that it was just another hiker wanting to stay in the lookout. It was probably just looking up Trying to see if anyone was inside already. Why he hesitated to respond and only lifted his hand up, I don't know. I stayed outside for a little longer, but not seeing anything else, I went inside and got my sleeping bag to warm up. It was a little bit hard to fall asleep because of the wind hitting the windows and the wooden beams creaking under me, but eventually I did manage to pass out. It's

hard to really know how much Time passed, but when I woke up, the wind had settled down and it was still very dark outside. I opened my eyes, wondering why I was suddenly awake. But then I heard a familiar sound. The soft metal creek of the ladder outside. I sat up thinking I must be mistaken. But then I heard it again and again. Someone was climbing up the ladder. I couldn't tell how far up or down they were. I could just hear the hinges at the top of the ladder creek With every step up they

took. Outside the windows, though, it was completely dark. I unzipped my sleeping bag and got up, heart racing as I grabbed my backpack and walked onto the ledge. During the 20 or so seconds that it took to get up, the creaking got louder and faster, like they were hurrying before it suddenly stopped just as I made it out to the ledge. I stood in place for a moment, waiting for another sound. Then I slowly walked around the walkway and Peered around the corner at the opening to the ladder. No one was there. I carefully walked

closer and felt my heart rate increasing as I leaned over and looked down. Nobody was on the ladder. I was just in shock for a second, confused and scared and unsure what the hell was going on. Then a sudden sequence of footsteps came rushing around the wooden walkway behind me. I only caught a glimpse of their dark figure running Between the windows on the other side. I didn't hesitate to lower myself onto the ladder and hurry down. It was terrifying trying to climb down the slippery metal ladder as my whole body was shaking from the

adrenaline rush with someone chasing right above me. I got halfway down before I saw their head peer out from above. I didn't stop until I got to the bottom and into the woods. Honestly, I don't know why I even grabbed my backpack when I got up to see what was Going on. But it was the best decision I ever made. Maybe even saved my life. With my flashlight and GPS on me, I was able to hike my way out of there and back to my car. As far as I know, I wasn't followed. I drove

away and never looked back. I was camping at a small lake for the weekend. Really, this wasn't supposed to be anything special. Just a few days in the woods by the water to relax and nothing more. The first day Was exactly that. I got there, set up camp, and chilled for the whole day and night. This was kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It had a thin footpath leading to it, but it wasn't marked on any maps online or anything, so only locals would probably know about it. My dad used to take me

here when I was a kid. In all my years going out to that spot, both as a kid with my dad and as an adult by myself, never once was anyone else here. Honestly, there was Never even any signs of anyone else ever having been there. Anyway, on my second day, I spent my time walking around the water and I guess just thinking to myself, I must have circled the lake three or four times. During those hours of walking, everything was quiet and nice. But then, on one of my laps around the lake, I happened

to spot some footprints in the dirt just on the edge of the treeine. I had been walking the same circle over and over and never saw Them before. where they were, it was so clear and obvious, I don't think I would have missed them. They also looked pretty new. And what was really strange was not only that the footprints meant somebody else was out here, but that they were literal footprints, like barefoot, not shoe prints. The part of the lake I was at didn't even have any easy access to the water, so it's not like

they took their boots off before going for a swim. Not to mention, I Would have seen them in the lake. Seeing this really creeped me out for some reason. Why didn't I see them nearby while I was walking around? Were they watching me and didn't want me to see them? It was hard not to get paranoid about it. From what I was able to see, it looked like the footprints went up to the treeine looking out at the lake, then right back into the woods where it seemed to go straight back for a while. I

didn't want to follow them Into that unknown territory of the forest. So, I just walked back to my campsite. I kept looking out to the lake, or I guess the tree line around the lake, seeing if anyone was out there. I never saw anyone. As the sun started to come down, the paranoia started to build up again. Something about the footprints just felt off. And knowing that they were likely still nearby, it wasn't a comforting feeling. When it got darker, I fueled up My campfire with a good supply of wood and sat around it. I

did whatever I could to keep my mind off of it, but it was pretty difficult. Part of me felt justified in feeling uneasy, and another part of me felt like I was overreacting for no reason. But not too far into the night, I heard footsteps approaching from the trees. I instantly turned and faced the darkness they were coming from. There were more than one. It sounded like two people slowly walking Closer to my campsite. I stared in their direction until they suddenly came into the light. It was a man and a woman walking next to

each other and stopping just at the edge of where the light from the fire could reach. I couldn't see much of their faces or really anything more than their basic shape. I couldn't even tell how old or young they were. Can I help you? As soon as I said that, the woman turned and sprinted back into The woods, completely disappearing. But the man stayed where he was. He didn't move or even look back at the woman. It was about then that I looked down and realized he wasn't wearing any shoes. These were definitely the ones

who were out by the lake. I asked again if I could help him, but then he too turned around and quietly walked back into the woods. I pretty much had an internal freak out after that. That was the most unsettling and Strange encounter I'd ever had, almost not even feeling real. I didn't want to be in those woods for another second. I immediately started to pack my things. I'm not the kind of person to stick around when things get sketchy. Thankfully, my setup was easy to put up and take down, so I had everything tied

down in my bag and ready to go within a few minutes. I didn't know where they went, but I didn't want to still be here if they came back. I kicked out all the Unlit logs from the fire so it would burn out soon after I left. Then, I hurried into the woods. The walk was nearly 2 hours. For the first 10 minutes, I was really on edge, unsure if I was being followed, but the further away I got, the better I felt. It was about 40 minutes into the walk. The whole woods was silent,

not even any crickets or anything, when I suddenly heard running footsteps nearby. It was in the distance, maybe 100 ft from me, and it was definitely a person. I couldn't see anything, though, so I had to just keep walking. Only a few minutes later, I heard it again, this time on the other side of me. The footsteps seemed quieter than they should have been, too, which led me to believe that they were running barefoot and that it was the same two I'd seen at the lake. If they'd been stalking me this far into the woods,

who knows what they were trying to do. For a while, I'd keep hearing running footsteps in the distance. Just short bursts like they were quietly stalking me and then suddenly sprinting away. I can't think of anything that would have been more terrifying than that walk through the woods. Somehow though, I made it back to my truck. I was able to make it out of there. I wish I had more to say or that I figured out who that man and woman were or what they were doing out there. But I have nothing. Maybe I'm insane,

but sometimes I wonder if they were even alive or not. I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to. I never went back. I'm a 24year-old female from northern Arizona. This was a couple years ago. At the time, I was living out of a small camper van, traveling along the West Coast. There is a lot of different lifestyles people like to live in these types of vans or RVs. I always Tried to keep out of the big cities and stick to small towns for camping in between destinations, but for the most part, I liked

to camp out in the back country. Being in the middle of the woods with nobody else around was where I found myself most comfortable and where I most enjoyed the lifestyle of traveling. I think part of it is that it was always safer to be out by yourself in the forest than it was to be stealth camping in a busy parking lot in the Middle of a city. Don't get me wrong, it can still get creepy at night, but I always know I'm better off out there with nobody around. This week, I was slowly traveling

between two big cities in Washington. I was taking my time, staying on the back roads and hunkering down at campsites for several days at a time. On this day, I pulled off the road and onto a small dirt trail going deep into the forest. There were a few pull-off spots, but None were taken, and it looked like nobody had been down here in a while. So, I kept going, hoping to secure a larger and more scenic spot. At the end, there was a large circle to pull off on. It wasn't scenic, just surrounded by trees,

but it was large and secluded and peaceful and even had a stone circle in the middle for a campfire. I leveled out my van and parked. Since it was the middle of spring, it was raining pretty much every Day here in Washington, so there wasn't much for me to do outside. I opened the side door to my van for some fresh air while I cooked a meal on my propane stove. It was around sunset, so I still had several hours before I'd be in bed. Over the next 30 minutes, the sun fell past the horizon

and the rain started picking up. I shut the door to keep the water out and instead cracked open one of the small windows near the back of the van. I sat on the bed and watched a Show on my laptop, but midway through it, a glare came in from the open window behind me. It was a light reflecting onto the screen of my laptop. Before I was able to react, it went away. It didn't move away, though. It turned off as if someone switched the light off. When I turned around and looked out the window,

I saw nothing. It was really dark and still pouring down outside. I had no way to know how far the light came from or what it even was. Being on a trail with other pull-off spots, I had to assume it was just another camper. Maybe their headlights that somehow found its way through the trees and shined into my window. Then they quickly turned their vehicle off. The only problem with that was the light didn't come from the road I came down. Behind my window was just trees. Maybe there was another trail I didn't know about.

There wasn't much investigating I could do anyway. So, I turned back Around and went back on my laptop. Occasionally, I'd check out the windows or think I'd heard something outside. But, with the rain clanking against the metal roof, it wasn't clear if I was actually hearing something or not. Every time I looked though, I never saw anything to confirm that something was out there. So, I didn't worry myself too much. I want to say it was about 10 or 11 when I decided to call it in for the night and try to sleep. I turned

off Everything in the van, closed all the windows, and drew the shades. It was nearly pitch black inside. I got under the covers, and tried to sleep. Usually, I didn't have much trouble at all, but tonight, I just couldn't manage to fall asleep. Unfortunately, the rain picked up even more after an hour and thunder started rolling in. It was very loud and made it impossible to even try to sleep. About 2 hours into the night and Through all the harsh rain and thunder, I swear I heard something move outside. It was just loud enough for

me to know I really heard something. It sounded like someone or something running and kicking over a branch on the ground somewhere just outside of my van. As soon as I heard it, there were no other sounds. It was so dark I couldn't even see the ground beneath the window. The longer I looked out there, the more uneasy I felt. I just had this feeling Like someone else was looking back at me. I put the window cover back down. I sat there and tried to tell myself I was overreacting, but only a minute later, I

heard a voice. It was a male voice, kind of in a loud whisper, like they were talking to someone else. I sat in silence, too scared to open the covers and look out the windows again, knowing they'd probably see me if they hadn't already. However, they likely already could assume someone was in the van, Which makes it all the more terrifying. There was a good 2 or 3 minutes where I didn't hear anything aside from the rain and thunder before there was suddenly something outside the sliding side door to the van. It sounded like bending

plastic, like someone was leaning against the side door. Then there was a knock. A few seconds later, they knocked again. Even though I was sure they knew I was in here already, I still was too scared to speak. Maybe they weren't sure How many people were inside or if I was a man or a woman. So, I felt safer not giving them anything and just staying quiet. A very disturbing and anxious 5 minutes went by as the knocking continued every few seconds without anyone saying anything. They had to be drenched by now and probably couldn't

see at all through this weather. But then they finally said something. Sheriff's department, open up. What? I didn't believe that for a second. If it Were true, why wouldn't they have said that from the beginning? They continued knocking and calling out different lines, all basically stating that they were an officer and I needed to open the door. This seemed like a desperate attempt to get me to open up without violence. I slowly lifted the window cover and looked out. All I could see was a dark figure moving near the door, but from the shape of

it, it didn't look Like he had any sort of law enforcement gear on, so I was sure this was about to get really bad. I debated in my head what to do for 30 seconds as it felt like the knocking got more and more impatient before I decided to risk getting into the driver's seat and trying to drive away. As soon as I went up there and turned the car on, I heard two sets of footsteps running up to the side of the van. I began pulling out just as a figure appeared in the window

Next to me. Thank god the van didn't get stuck and I was able to get out onto the trail. As I drove away, I never saw any other vehicle down the road, which makes the intentions of these unknown people likely really disturbing. I put in a report with the county, who of course said no officers were out there that night, but I never got any followup. Things could have gotten really bad out there, but I haven't had anything else happen since then. I live in a middle-ass suburban town in an east coast state that is

extremely anti-drug. The fleet of police, especially unmarked undercover cops, as we call them, is absolutely absurd for a relatively crime-free town, except for pot smoking kids, that is. There are unmarked police cars of every kind, from brand new Chevy sedans and hatchbacks to brand new Cadillac pickups and SUVs, Dodge Chargers, GMC and Ford SUVs. classic Ford Grand Victorias, Jeep Wranglers, fake taxi cabs, and everything you could possibly think of. Because there are so many unmarked police cars in my area, they often get decommissioned and are sold as used cars that still very much look like

police cars. A friend of mine even owns a decommissioned Ford Grand Victoria. Last week, I was on my way home from a date in an area that I was slightly unfamiliar with around midnight. I was driving along, following The speed limit, and I saw a blatant undercover police car tailgating me in the otherwise deserted road. He follows me for about 5 miles before finally turning on his lights. I was nervous. I had never been pulled over and I was driving past 11:00, not necessarily allowed for minors in my area. Not to mention, I had a

small amount of illegal herbs hidden under my spare tire in my trunk. So, knowing my town's extremely harsh police Force, I was nervous. Regardless, I pull off the road into an abandoned gas station, and I have my papers ready. The policeman approaches my window, and he is wearing a police uniform, and I take notice that he's surprisingly good-looking, in his early 20s, with longer than most cops blonde hair. He leans his head uncomfortably far into my small car and asks me where I'm headed, and if I know why I was pulled over. I answer, and

I say no to the question. He smirks and says, "I do." before returning to his car with my license, registration, and proof of insurance. The nearby street light illuminates his unmarked car, and I study it in the mirror. He had a civilian license plate, no police badge on it. I also noticed as he walked away that his pants were much too short for him. The bell bottoms awkwardly exposed 6 in of his ankles. I had a very bad feeling about the whole thing, but I remained in my Car. He comes back to my car and

asks me to pull around behind the building of the closed gas station. I say sure and I turn on my car, but inside of me the alarm bells are ringing. There was no reason for me to go behind the building other than to hide our cars from the road. So, I roll out my window and I dial 911 as he walks back to his car. I told the operator I was just pulled over by a suspicious police car and I read Her the license plate number. She tells me that it cannot possibly be a police

car and I should get out of there as soon as possible and drive to a public place. So, I pull behind the building as instructed with him following and I pull my car around the other side of the building. And then I make a break for the road. He turns on his lights and follows. So, I'm still on the phone with 911 and my operator isn't giving me any helpful Information. I'm trying to win a car chase in my 1994 0 to 60 in 20 minutes Nissan. Crying hysterically. I'm flying down a road that I

don't know at 75 mph, faster than I'd ever driven before, and my car begins shaking violently. The policeman keeps a steady trail behind me, lights, but not sirens on. My poor car screams and screeches through a red light. And after the turn, I realize I'm on the road that runs through my town. I now know exactly Where I am. This road is much more populated, and I have my fingers on the horn. It's a button. And I'm weaving through the angry drivers at 60 on a 40 mph road. My only hope is to attract the

attention of a real police officer because I know that they hide on this road to catch speeders. I finally approach an outof business diner that sits in front of my neighborhood. I whip into the parking lot because I've never passed that diner Without there being a hiding police car. I stop my car and look around desperately. I don't see anyone. I've never felt such a feeling of hopelessness in my life. I thought I was going to die. When I drove into that parking lot, I expected to run into the arms of my hero, but instead,

I was alone in an abandoned parking lot. The only sounds were the violent protests coming from my engine, and I was sure it wouldn't start again if I Tried. I froze. I'm not sure how long I sat there with white knuckles strangling my steering wheel. I only turned around when I heard a car door slam, and I was sure this was the end. I look at the mirror, expecting the horrible short pants wearing fake policemen. But instead, I see three marked real police cars with five or six policemen exiting, hands- on guns, looking concerned. They

brought me to the station and took my statement and Called me down. Apparently, the fake police car gave up on the chase when I turned into the parking lot, probably fearing there was a hiding police car there. They praised me for my critical thinking and calling 911 and told me there had been a string of violent rapes. one ending in a girl's death in the neighboring state. All pulled over by a car matching my description. As far as I know, they haven't caught him. This story belongs to my mother and It's become something of a

common warning to teach us how demented some cops could be. My mom was in high school in the 80s. Her parents were divorced and she lived with her mother and younger brother, my grandmother and uncle. She had a little interaction with her father growing up and because of this she developed into something of a rebellious teenager. She smoked a lot of weed and Drank and would sometimes even sneak out to go to parties or to hang out with her friends. Because of this, she snuck out one night to hang out with a group of her

friends and they drank like hell. Eventually, they decided that they wanted to go somewhere else. And at around 12:00 a.m. or so, they got into their car and drove off. My mom will always stop right here to remind my brother and sister and I to never drink and drive. It must have been Pretty obvious that they were drunk because they were pulled over by a cop. My mom grew up in small town America, about as stereotypical as you could get. Surrounded by farmland for miles around and everyone knew everyone in high school football was the

most important thing in the world. Maybe outclassed only by our nearby major college teams. The town she grew up in only had about 5,000 people in it. When they were pulled over, my mom and Her three friends started to panic. One of them even started to cry. My mom is a rather collected person and had the sense to at least look behind her. She saw that there were two cops. One walks over to the car and the other stayed in the police cruiser. She tries to find out who the man is, but the light obscures

his face. He walks over slowly and leans over to speak to the girls through their open Window. My mom sigh in relief as she recognizes him. She knew him as Mr. Nelson, a big man in his 40s who went to her church. In her drunk state, she's hoping that they might be able to get out of this with only a warning. Hell, maybe he might agree to not tell her parents. "Mr. Nelson looks right at my mom." "Having a good night, are we, Miss Kelvin?" he asks her. My mom smiles, both nervous and embarrassed. "Sorry,

Mr. Nelson. We must Have been distracting the driver too much." My mom had gotten used to lying by this point and was already pretty good at it, but Mr. Nelson looked unconvinced. He asked for the standard driver license and registration and then asks them all to step out of the vehicle and walks back to his cruiser. Oh no. My mom's friend whispers to her, "We're going to get tested." My mom calms him down and they step out of the car. The cops ask him to do some pretty Basic stuff at first. Mostly stuff that you

would expect from a cop trying to determine if you were drunk. Mr. Nelson and his partner, some guy that my mom didn't recognize, told the girls to stand over by their car, putting a fair amount of distance between the two groups. When my mom looks back at them, Mr. Nelson had the faintest of smiles on his face. "Okay, ladies," he says. "There's two things that could happen." Mr. Nelson turns to his partner And they both smile mischievously at one another. "We could take you home and tell your parents everything. We could do that or his

smile gets bigger. you could do something for us. A chill runs down my mom's back. She did not like the way he said that at all. What kind of things? One of her friends asks. Mr. Nelson's smile gets bigger. It's not an evil or sadistic smile, she says. She said that it looked more like A smug satisfaction. I'm thinking that we might have to conduct a strip search. My mom's blood went cold. Everything goes silent for a second, except for the smug smiles on their faces and the low bit of laughter that came from the

other officer. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Mr. Nelson that she'd known for years, who she saw every week, whose children went to school with her, was trying to force her 16-year-old self And friends to strip down in front of him. "What was all my mom could muster?" Mr. Nelson looked at her, a hungry look on his face. "Come on, this doesn't have to end badly. Just show us some skin and we can forget this ever happened. My mom and her friends refused at first. There was no way in hell that they would

do that no matter how much trouble we would get them in. But Mr. Nelson's face darkened. I don't think you understand, he growled. Now, how About you be nice and friendly and do it? His voice terrified them. His manner of tone and his significantly more aggressive approach made my mother go white with terror. worried as to what they might do if they refused. My mom and her friends obeyed. They stripped down completely nude and just stood there. The cops laughed and smiled like smug [ __ ] They were clearly getting a kick out of this.

My mother won't talk about what they did. And for the life of me, I really don't want to know. But what I do know is that eventually the cops had all the girls lean against their car. It was here that she managed to get time to communicate with her friends. One of them was crying hard and she nearly got caught trying to get her attention. They agreed that on three they would all sprint into the cornfield to their right, hide in there, and try and escape them. And they did. They managed to get far into

the Cornfield. Mr. Nelson tried grabbing at one of her friends, but she avoided him. The cops didn't even try to pursue them into the cornfield. They just got right back in their car and drove like madmen. They waited for a full 10 minutes, making sure that the cops weren't intending on coming back. They got back to their car, dressed in their clothes, and went straight home. In the next few days, Mr. Nelson never said anything to anyone about pulling them over, and they Never reported what happened. If they ever did, Mr. Nelson would just say

that they were drunk. Mr. Nelson was an upstanding figure in the community, and no one would have believed the girls. This was the 80s, and nothing would ever have happened or changed. If anything, it would have just made the girls' lives hell. Every now and then at church, she would find Mr. Nelson, and he would flash her that smug smile and wink at her. You never know what's behind. Even The most upstanding of people, that's for sure. To Mr. Nelson, I hope you're riding somewhere. Two summers ago, on our way from an out of town

day trip for my son's birthday party, we went to a water park and decided to go to dinner in this really small town after getting slightly lost due to Google Maps crappy directions. After dinner, we noticed across the street that there was a county fair, so We checked it out for fun. It was getting dark and the fair was nearly over, but we caught a tractor pole that was about to begin. We never been to one of those, so we thought it might be a fun way to top off the birthday trip. We sat on

the bleachers and watched for a while. There were a lot of families there watching and also a lot of drunk people as well. I didn't think anything of it. I had my 16-year-old son with me and a good Friend of mine who was a strong guy, so I felt safe. We decided to leave the fair before the event was over so as not to be on the road at night with the drunks. We walked back to the restaurant, which was now closed, and we got into my car and set off for home. Backtracking using Google

Maps directions, we got on the road that I recognized would get us back home. I noticed that as soon as we pulled out of The restaurant, there was a car behind me. The only other car on the road as most of the town inhabitants were most likely at the fair or at home. The car followed us onto the road we took to get home, which I found odd because it was a desolate backhill road with a wooded area on either side. I thought maybe they too were from out of town and were using the same

cut across to get to the interstate as it Was summer and many people road trip. I still felt uneasy about it, but I decided to just get off this road and onto the interstate as soon as possible. As we were driving on this hilly back road, it was fully dark outside, and I kept it easy for fear of a deer running out in front of us. The car stayed right behind me, so I slowed way down, hoping he would just be annoyed enough to pass me for going too slow. But instead, he drove right up

on my ass, tailgating me. I could see that it was only one person in the car and the windows were tinted. I dared to speed up, wanting to get on a main road or interstate as soon as I could. He stayed right behind me, going as fast or as slow as I was, not bothering to get off my bumper. I knew without a doubt we were being harassed now. I was getting scared. I mean, I had my son in the back seat and it was his birthday. This was unfair and I kicked myself for going

to The tractor pull. Of course, I could not have predicted this craziness. After what seemed like ages, we got onto the interstate. I had hoped it was just some local jerk who wanted to scare some city folks, but I somehow knew it was not that simple, as I feared he followed us onto the interstate. Even on the highway, he tailgated us. I slowed down initially, hoping in futility that he'd pass us. No luck. I sped way up. He caught up and Stayed too close. Unfortunately, the interstate was quiet on our side, so I had no

choice but to keep going. My friend was getting very angry and ready to fight if necessary. But I wanted no part of meeting this guy face to face, especially with my birthday boy in the back seat. I just kept going and prayed not to get a flat tire. At one point, I got scared enough to lay on the horn while Driving, hoping the noise would dissuade him. It actually worked. He pulled over onto the shoulder and I saw his headlights turn off. I was relieved at first, but we found it odd that he killed the

lights. After that, we sped up and I was flying for home. Sooner the better. About 15 minutes passed in blissful uneventfulness. Talked about how scary that whole ordeal was and eventually started feeling relieved to put it all Behind us. Literally. Literally. We were about 25 minutes from home and there were a couple of vehicles here and there which made us feel less alone on the road. At one point when the cars thinned out and we were once again alone on the road completely, something happened that I could not believe. Right next to us and slightly

behind us, headlights bright burst on. He had been following us that whole time with his lights off, staying Carefully behind us and waiting for his chance to scare and surprise us. I almost started crying, but at this point I was too angry. This guy had been following us for an hour now. Far ahead of us, I saw the tail lights of a semi. I sped up quickly with the stranger in the car next to me trying to pace us from the fast lane. I think he realized that I was trying to catch up with the

semi. So, for the first time in this insane chase, he did Something truly dangerous and swerved at my rear panel, a pit maneuver, trying to push us off the road. I sped ahead and missed him, clipping me by inches. I finally reached the semi-D driver and got close, hugging the back of his truck as much as I dared and leaving no room for this jerk to cut me off. We went this way for a little while. Finally, and I truly believe the semi-truck driver knew something was wrong because after so long of seeing This crazy

driver swerving at me and trying to get in front of me, as I would not let him over, the semi-driver did something I will forever appreciate him for. He swerved over onto the fast lane and dangerously cut off a stranger's car, then tapped his brakes. I took it as my cue to speed ahead from the slow lane and try to lose this creep. I sped up to probably 90. My hometown was just straight ahead, so I took a sharp left Turn onto a back street that led to a main road and stopped in a busy,

well-lit gas station. Luckily, there was a cop there. My friend got out and explained the whole situation to the officer and he called for other cars to search for this guy. We left the gas station after calling a friend to follow me to a parking lot where I stowed my car overnight because I did not want the guy to possibly find my house by recognizing the car. I washed my back For quite some time after that and I always noticed that making model of car in white if I see it on the streets. Thank goodness

we got away safely. Now, the most bothersome thing about this story is that the small town where this took place happens to be the hometown of one of the biggest mental health asylums in the Midwest. This thought has kept me awake more than once and I still check the Papers for stories or escapees. This occurred in 2009. I was 22 years old and I was leaving my home state of California to head east for my corrections job. I was driving down the loneliest highway portion of the route and it was around 3:00 a.m. on a

Sunday. They don't call it the loneliest highway for nothing. I hadn't seen another soul for at least a half hour. I was getting sleepy, but I wasn't tired enough to Pull over and take a nap. Suddenly, I saw a broken down car on the side of the highway. I slowed down and saw a woman standing next to the car. So, I approached this woman with caution rolling down my window just a sliver. Something about her wasn't right. I couldn't put my finger on it then, but I know now it was my subconscious screaming red flag,

red flag. I asked her if she needed me to Call a tow truck or AAA for her, and she immediately tried to open my door. I explained to her I didn't feel comfortable by letting her in, but I'd wait until a tow truck came. She immediately got this look of rage on her face and started berating me. You're a big man. I mean, what am I going to do? She was calling me cruel for not letting her in. This is where I messed up. And I can see this now 10 years later. I begrudgingly unlocked

my door, Figuring that she was right. I mean, she was 5'2 and I'm over 6 ft and I have 100 lb on her easily. She looked to be about 90 lb or so. She slips in and I asked her who I can call. This was 10 years ago, like I said, so I had a little Blackberry slide, I think, at the time. She starts telling me that she'd just prefer if I'd give her a ride to the next town. Now I'm starting to realize I'd Done messed up because she's avoiding eye contact and she's fumbling

in her purse. When I mention calling for help, she starts getting aggressive, demanding I take her to the next town. I'm so busy trying to unfuck this situation that I miss a man who either was hiding in or near her car. It wasn't until he was almost to my driver's side door that I managed to catch him in my mirror. Fight or flight kicked into overdrive and I put my car in drive and I sped off as the [ __ ] was reaching for my car door. When I started driving, I heard a pinging noise

and my mirror exploding. He was shooting at me. The adrenaline alone had me doing near 90. And by this time, homeg girl realized in whatever druginduced state she was in that her little plan was futile. She started hitting me, telling me to stop and to let her out. When I reached enough of a distance, I did just that. I pulled over and demanded she got The hell out. She started going for the oversized purse she had, but I had enough. I was literally shaking with adrenaline, so I reached over, opened the door, and pretty much

shoved her out. I tried grabbing for her purse, but she managed to hold on to it. Not before dumping half of what was in there on my passenger seat. I sped off with my door still open. I waited till I got a good distance from her, and I slammed it shut and locked it. I clenched the wheel and I drove. It wasn't until later that morning I pulled into a Denny's did I realize how close I was to pretty much dying. I had a good cry for a minute and then I realized a bunch of

her things spilled onto my passenger seat. Most of it was nasty watered up napkins and a few tubes of lipstick and drug paraphernalia. I considered calling the cops or finding a highway patrol officer, but I did do something stupid. I tossed all of her things that had fallen into a trash bag and I threw them away. At the time, I had the dream of becoming a cop and I knew if I got caught with drug paraphernalia, that would probably be impossible. I didn't think they would believe me that the drug paraphernalia wasn't mine. I noticed

a cop at the gas station across from the Denny's and I told him what happened. He pretty much bered me For pulling over and then letting her in. He did say he'd look into it, but I doubt he did. I was so shaken that I pretty much picked at my pancakes and then left to continue on my way. I never did replace that mirror. I also ended up selling my car. To this day, 10 years later, I hesitate to stop and help stranded motorists. This happened to me when I was a teenager, and this still

haunts me to this day. I was babysitting for my Neighbor across the street, Alice. I babysat for her often, almost every weekend, so we were very comfortable with one another and had a good routine. Rarely, Alice would have a friend sleepover, and on this particular night, that was the case. Jennifer was a firsttime sleepover date, so she was a bit nervous, but I did my best to make her happy. Alice's parents slept at around 6:30 p.m., setting the alarm behind them as they went. I bathed both girls and got them into bed to watch some

Nickelodeon as was our usual routine. Once the girls were happy, I went into the kitchen to grab some snacks. It was pouring rain outside and next to the kitchen was a breakfast nook with glass doors and a series of glass windows. As I was preparing to walk back into the room, the phone rang. Alice's parents called often, so I always answered the phone. I picked up The phone and asked who it was. Hi, how are you? A male voice asked. Hi, I'm doing well, I replied. Are you calling for Jason, Alice's father? He isn't home,

but I can take a message. Maybe, he says to me. Or maybe I'm calling to talk to you now. My spidey sense wasn't ringing just yet, and I figured it was a family member or a friend who was bored and wanted to chat. I politely but quickly said I had to go. The girls were calling for me to Bring their snacks, so I hung up the phone. I brought Alice and Jennifer their snacks and was about to settle into the recliner chair in Alice's room when I heard the phone ring again. I hustled back into

the kitchen to answer it without really thinking anything was peculiar. At least not yet. You know, it's rude to hang up on people, don't you? He started off, but he wasn't angry or aggressive. It was a little hard to hear him over the thunder And rain. And both girls were calling for me to come back because they were scared of the thunder. I'm sorry, I said. I have to get back to the girls. Have a nice night. I heard him say something, but hung up before I could hear what he said. The phone rang again.

Don't hang up on me, he said with anger in his voice, but I hung up again. I was getting nervous at this point. I went back in the room with the girls and The phone rang again. At that point, Alice was asking me to not leave her again, so I didn't answer. But the phone rang again and again. Finally, 10 minutes had passed without a call, and it rang again. This time, I thought that perhaps it was Alice's parents, so I peeled myself away from the girls to go and answer the phone. "You [ __

] [ __ ] Don't you hang up on me," he screamed. "Leave me alone. If you call again, I will call the cops, You psycho." I screamed back. I hung up the phone and turned around to see Alice and Jennifer were now standing behind me. They looked terrified, so I offered to get some ice cream bars from the freezer. I went to the freezer and the phone rang again. Alice answered it. I don't know what he was saying, but I heard screaming and Alice looked absolutely terrified. I grabbed the phone, was about to unleash on

him when he said, "That's a nice pink shirt You're wearing." I hung up the phone and realized that not only was I wearing a pink shirt, but that during the second phone call I received, there was a clap of thunder that I heard on the phone at the same time I heard it in the house. It wasn't until that moment that the realization hit me. Now, I was a teenager at this point, thinking I was invincible and having no concept of my own mortality, but a higher sense of consciousness Kicked in and guided my next

few actions. I hit the light switch in the kitchen as it controlled most of the lights in that media area. I grabbed both girls, their barking dog, Alex, and shoved us all into the pantry. The pantry door opened inward, so I pushed up against the shelves and shoved a giant bag of rice against the door. I then had my back against the shelf, my feet pushing against the rice to help secure the door, and I had a girl in Each arm with my hands over their mouths. I pinned the dog between my legs and although

he constantly barked, he somehow knew to stay quiet at that moment and the alarm started sounding and the phone started ringing. All of us were trembling, but I was determined to not cry in front of the girls. Between the alarm and the thunderstorm, I couldn't hear much. After what felt like an hour, I heard a female voice calling and asking if anyone was in the house. She was in front of the pantry and announced that she was a police officer, that it was safe to come out. She clearly knew I wasn't going to take her

on her words, so she slid her badge under the door. I moved one foot from the bag of rice and held her badge towards me. The police had turned the lights on, so I was able to see from the light streaming and under the pantry door that this was in fact a badge. I cautiously made my way out of the Pantry, shielding the girls behind me. The female officer, Officer Wesley, didn't look alarmed at all, and I quickly realized why. It's scary when the alarms go off, she said. But next time you need to answer

the phone and let the alarm company know everything is okay instead of hiding. Sending officers out to a house isn't a joke. I looked at her confusingly. We didn't set off the alarm, I said, stammering and I started to cry. We Haven't opened any doors. She looked at me with confusion and then said, "Then who made those footprints?" From the back door, the sliding glass door in the kitchen nook to the pantry, and out of the front door were muddy footprints. In front of the pantry was a bunch of prints, as if someone had paced

in front of the door for a while. The footprints led out of the front door, which was still open when the police arrived. I was hysterical, and the police called Jason and Janelle, Alice's parents, to come home from the restaurant. with any earshot, but clearly not meant for me to overhear. Officer Wesley's partner informed her that the door in the nook had been pried open. I looked out over the pool deck and could see where the trail of footprints had started from the grass and into the house. They were mostly dissolved at that point due

to the rain, but it was very clear that someone had walked from the side of Alice's house and towards the glass door. We waited for Alice's parents to come home before I left. When the police recounted the night's events, I remember thinking in passing that neither of Alice's parents looked as terrified as I thought they should have given the events of the evening. The police walked me home and told my parents what happened. My mother and father were both very, very upset. Few extra officers patrolled the neighborhood for a few Weeks, but never caught the

perpetrator, nor was he ever heard from again, and I never babysat for Alice again. I was too frightened. Fast forward a few years and Jason, Alice's father, went to prison for tax evasion, or so we were told. Years later, when I was home visiting, I ran into Jason as he was leaving the house on his motorcycle. He stopped to chat with me and I asked him the one nagging question I had for years. Did you really go to jail for tax evasion? Now, at that point, Jason and Janelle were divorced. She left him for her

dead sister's husband, which is pretty dark. and I guess that Jason didn't feel that he needed to keep up any pretenses. He told me that no, he was sent to prison for drug running. He regailed me with a tale of how he was caught in a high-speed chase and bragged about how he was one of the biggest Dealers in the area for years till he was busted. And then I knew the person he was calling that night was trying to exact some sort of punishment on Jason. Maybe he was a rival dealer or maybe Jason

worked for him and had pissed him off. But that's why Jason and Janelle didn't seem as alarmed as they should have. By the grace of God and an alarm system, we were not killed that night. But I knew that Jason's actions had led To that night's events. I knew it in my gut. This haunts me to this day, and I think I help solidify a healthy understanding of my own mortality as well as a depravity that may be within others. I'm not overly paranoid, but I'm cautious. And I think rightly so. My stupid teenage antics

for the most part stopped dead in their tracks. When I was in high school, I was like 16. I had a friend Lisa and a second friend Zoe. Lisa had like a lot Of money and her huge house was located right next to our high school. So every time we had a break or anything, the three of us would go there and we would also have a lot of sleepovers at her house. It was this huge rich people's house. So it was awesome to stay there. So, one day we decided to stay the night there.

The three of us plus Lisa's little sister, Anna. Their mother was gone for the night. We decided to put on some PJs and watch scary movies for Hours. Anna went to bed before us three, and we just stayed in the living room watching TV. At one point, the alarm goes on. It happens sometimes, so Lisa just goes to turn it off, and that was it. But then like 10 minutes later, the alarm goes on again. And it scares us because it's not supposed to. Technically, the alarm was made to only ring when humans came by

because the house was located in the middle of the forest. So, we all knew that sometimes Animals would come by the house. It's happened before. So, when the alarm was installed, it was calibrated for humans only. And it was the second time it rang. We started to get a little bit scared. So, we went upstairs, opened the windows to look at the garden all around the house, saw nothing. We even went on the balcony in the middle of the night. Still nothing. I was alone on the balcony at some point and the alarm went on

again and the automatic lights around The swimming pool turned on. That meant something was around the pool and I was just above it. I got so scared I got on my knees and stayed there until my friend deactivated the alarm and the lights and I ran inside the house. At this point, we were really, really scared and started thinking about what it could be. If it has to be any human, all our lights were on, so they knew where we were. We turned all the lights off and all four of us went hiding Downstairs in

the kitchen without our phones. I don't even know why not even one of us thought about taking at least one phone. So, we were there, lights off, scared, in this huge house with windows everywhere we could look. The alarm went berserk again. Anna screamed and Lisa took her with her, reassuring her while walking to shut the alarm off to finally turn it off once and for all. So, I was in the kitchen with Zoe only and we were just looking all around us. The alarm was upstairs, so the two girls were far from us. At

some point, we heard footsteps right behind us, like right on the other side of the wall in the garden. It was fast, not scared, just fast, like that person knew where they were going. So, we just froze, waiting in the dark. and jumped when something, well, someone, it was obvious, walked by the door and window right in front of us. He, we think it was a he, had a Light, but it was another light that allowed us to see a silhouette. So, there were at least two running around the house for about at least 20

or 30 minutes. Detail, but this door was, like I said, a window door, but there were Venetian blinds on it, and they were not closed. Of course, we were still not moving and the girls upstairs were so scared that they stayed there. At least it's what they told us. Suddenly, one Voice, then a second one. I was unable to understand anything, but I heard it. And Zoe and I were blinded by a sudden light right at our faces. We were literally not able to move, scream, talk, or do anything. Nothing we could have done was

possible. We were just frozen in fear. The light stayed there. Someone was seeing us through the blinds. Somebody was watching us being scared and was just staying there. Suddenly, we heard a Hard sound on the front door, which was closed. So, we didn't move at all, but I don't know what took me. It just woke me up. And I crawled to the door in front of me, the back door, closed the blinds, and just held the door in place in case the guy on the other side tried to force it open. Honestly, I'm small and

thin. My little body was probably useless here, but I did it anyway. The one at the front door was still trying to enter. Zoe still not moving. The two Girls upstairs doing I don't know what. And the one just a glass window away from me started hitting it, trying to force it open. It was closed, but I just grabbed the handle and hung it there for a while. It was just hitting and trying to open the door. All this lasted hours in my head, but I believe it was only a few seconds. At one point,

the hits at the front door stopped. A few seconds later, the other one in front of me stopped as Well. Then the lights just moved fast everywhere. The alarm did nothing. Zoe and I just slept in the kitchen and the two sisters upstairs. Nothing happened at all. It was over. The next day, Lisa's and Anna's mom came back home and we told her everything. Got a bit yelled at because we didn't call the cops. I took it wrong at the time, but I understand now why she got upset. She called the cops who went to

see the house and Discovered footprints all around it. Some muddy footprints and marks on the front door. They said they must have kicked the door and that was it. Told us it must have been some guys who were just doing some reconnaissance. You know when they just walk around the houses to see how to rob them. It was common in this area. There were a lot of really big and beautiful houses both with expensive things. The only thing I will never be able to explain is why they Started being so aggressive. Originally, they were just

walking around the house, but I think that if they were trying to see something or just look things up, they would have left when they realized we were inside or at least left when that guy saw us in the kitchen. Well, they didn't. The moment they saw us in the kitchen, they didn't see the two sisters, they started being aggressive and trying to force the doors to enter the house where we were. I don't know if They really wanted to rob the house. I will never, and honestly, I don't want to know. I didn't spend

any more nights at this house. I was so scared that they would come back again that I couldn't sleep there. Lisa was a bit mad, like she didn't understand, but from what she told Zoe and me, she didn't see them. She just stayed upstairs with her sister. I understand it, but I wasn't able to stand the fact that she couldn't understand how scared I was as Well. I must have been around 8 years old at the time this happened, and my sister was 12 or 13. We lived in a tiny little house that we called

the shack that her mom moved us into after she split up with her father. It was all we could afford. My sister and I shared a tiny bedroom, but one perk about the house was the huge backyard, the large above ground pool and deck that we could always play on. We had a big privacy fence, and being The nosy little kid I was, I like to climb on some of the wooden boards of the fence and check out the neighbors. I recognized the two little boys who lived in the house kitty corner to us because

they went to my school. I made it a habit every day to climb up the side of my fence and hang around and talk to them. I never actually climbed over the fence, just climbed a plank, so I was high enough to peer over and talk. They had an uncle named Randy who was Probably in his 20s or 30s, and he was usually in the backyard doing housework, so I got to know him as well. Both me and my sister would hang on the fence and chat with him most days. The conversations were always innocent

and he seemed like a nice guy. Now looking back, I can see some red flags about him. I remember one time he had a basketball and accidentally threw it over our fence. We offered to grab it for him, but he insisted he could get it Himself and hopped over the fence with ease. Thought nothing of it at the time, but I imagine this was to test how easily or fast he could scale the fence. One day in passing, my sister mentioned to him that our mom works the night shift and therefore it was just the

two of us alone at night in the house. That was all he needed to hear. Shortly after that, it happened. I woke up one night to the sound of my sister crying. We shared a bunk bed, me on the bottom, and When I stood up, she was out of bed, leaning against the wall on the phone, crying. I asked her what was wrong, but she assured me everything was fine and to go back to sleep. So, I did. It wasn't until the next day that I learned what happened. Apparently, in the middle of the night,

while our mom was away at work, Randy jumped the fence and tried to break in. He started banging on her bedroom window, telling my sister to let him in. She refused, but he wouldn't Take no for an answer. So, he started walking around the entire house, banging on the windows, yelling for her to let him in, and trying all the doors. That's when she got out of her bed and called 911, and I woke up. Yeah, I have no idea how I managed to sleep through all that commotion because she tells me he was banging

on her window right by the bed loudly, but I guess you could just sleep like you're dead when you're little. Of course, by The time the cops arrived, all he had to do is jump the fence in 10 seconds, and he was back in his yard. They knocked on his door, but he denied he did it. So, the police said there was nothing they could do. They were shaken up by the incident. Of course, my mom wasn't able to change her work schedule, so she started having us stay at our dad's at night. A few

years passed without incident, and we assumed everything was fine. I had long stopped talking to the Boys next door. Then it happened again. Guess who slept through the whole thing again? My sister was a couple of years older now and had a group of her friends over for a sleepover one night. We had a sliding glass door to the backyard near where they were all sitting. door had the typical vertical blinds except weeks earlier one of them had broken and we couldn't get it to stay back on no matter what. So, there was a gap

in between the blinds where the broken one Was gone. Anyway, the girls were all sitting around the couch playing board games and one of my sister's friends suddenly turned rigid. She said, "Don't freak out, but there's a guy standing at your sliding glass door." They all turned around and there was Randy again. His face pressed up to the glass where the gap in the blinds were just watching them all. Naturally, everyone freaked out and 911 was called just like last time. He jumped the fence and the cops Said they couldn't prove anything. Even though they

described what he was wearing and he answered the door in the same outfit when the police questioned him. That was the last straw. So, he moved out of that house and got a restraining order against him. He didn't show up to court that day, so the judge automatically granted us the order. Never saw him again. Last I checked, I looked him up online. He's currently in prison for a bunch of Random charges. I work at a data center. It's at a small warehouse/off place. My job is to just stare at a monitor and make sure

all the systems stay online. If anything goes down, I head to the operating rooms to usually just give it a quick restart. It's a really simple and easy job. And because it's overnight and just me, I can really do whatever I want so long as I'm constantly checking the status of All the systems. Although, I'm sure you can tell just how boring it can get sometimes. By the time this happened, I'd already seriously considered quitting several times, but forced myself to stick with it. Anyway, this night, I drove over to the office at my usual

10 p.m. The building was at the end of a long road and backed up to trees, so there were never any cars or people in the area. I parked and headed up to the office. This Week, I had a show on Netflix that I'd been binging for my entire shifts. So, after giving the computers a few checks, I immediately set up my laptop and started watching my show. For reference, there's usually no trips in any of the systems during my shift. Since it's overnight, there's less of a load on everything, so it's less likely anything

will happen. I'd say maybe twice a week there would be an outage and it'd only be a single system that I can quickly Just restart and get working again. I think I got through just about two episodes of my show. So, it was about 2 hours in when I saw a notification pop up on the monitor. One of the systems lost connection. I paused the show and got up. I walked downstairs and through multiple corridors until I got to the huge storage room that was the main hub of the data center. There were massive rows

of shelves all throughout the room. The notification I got had a row and Section number. I walked down the aisle and over to the correct section. It happened to be the very last row and the section on the far corner. And strangely, it was really obvious why it was down. The main power cable wasn't plugged in. It was laying on the ground like it had been pulled on or fallen out somehow. I really didn't know how that was possible. In all my years of having the job, I'd never seen a heavyduty cable randomly fall out

like that. It Just doesn't happen. Regardless though of however it happened, I plugged it back in and booted up the system. Everything came back online and seemed to be working properly. The obvious and really only answer to fall back on was that it did somehow just wiggle out of the sockets. Maybe over time it slowly shook out and it just so happened to fall out tonight. I did a quick walk through of the rest of The aisles, checking for anything else while I was down there. Then I started heading back through all the corridors and

back to the office. As I was in one of the corridors, I heard an unfamiliar sound. It was almost like a heavy door thumping closed in a doorway. It was a little creepy sounding, especially with there being no other sounds in the entire building. Unfortunately, I didn't really know the rest of the layout of the Warehouse. So, if it actually was a door, I had no way of knowing which door or where at. And although it sounded like a door, it very well could have been anything else. This was a massive warehouse. And often the

metal pipes would bend and creek in the walls or make similar thump sounds. It was just that that exact sound I hadn't heard before. I made my way back to the room and sat down. I double checked the systems again, then continued my show. Only a few minutes passed by, and I'd barely even gotten through one scene before I heard what sounded like a couple of fast-paced footsteps scurrying through the corridor next to me. It gave me a quick jump scare, but I got up and opened the door, looking down the hallway. There was nothing

there, just an empty corridor with a door on the far end, but it sounded like it was just outside of the office I was in. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my mind off of It if I didn't take a look around. I walked toward the end and opened the door. When I did and looked down the next hallway, I barely saw the door on the other end closing like someone had just went through it. My heart was pounding now. I cautiously walked further up and opened the door. This one led to a

hallway with multiple office doors in it. Is someone in here? Hello? Hello? Hello? My voice echoed through the Corridor. I took a few steps inside. It was eerily quiet. Not the slightest sound throughout the building. Were they hiding in one of these office rooms? As that thought creeped into my head, I got really unsettled and decided not to go any further down that hallway. I took one step back toward the door, but just when I did, one of the office doors next to me swung open. I only caught a glimpse of a man running out

of the unlit room before I turned and booked it Out of there. I could hear his footsteps echo behind me as I made it to the next corridor and into the staircase. I didn't want to risk getting trapped, so I took the fire exit door and just ran out into the parking lot. Once I got closer to my car, I started calling the police. Whoever was in there didn't chase me out the same exit, though. The cops made it pretty quick and did an extensive search of the entire building, which took nearly half an hour,

but the Guy was gone. Probably ran out of different exits and into the woods behind the building. Him being in there explained a lot, though. The wire that had been disconnected earlier in the night was on the corner section, which the man probably bumped into while sneaking around. The company I worked for did a huge investigation to review security footage and try to figure out how he got in and if he stole anything. I didn't Get much information on it. However, because I'm not authorized, I think it's pretty clear that whatever he was in there

for, he likely didn't want me to know and was probably planning to prevent me from blowing his cover. How he would have done that after leading me through the corridors, I'm fortunate enough to not know. This was a couple years ago when I was working two jobs to save up for a condo. I had a stable 9-to-five Full-time gig, but did deliveries as a way to make a little bit extra cash whenever I had time. Actually, I found myself doing sometimes 30 hours a week, just doing deliveries every day after work. This night, I started

after getting dinner at 6:30. It was a pretty good night, to be honest. I was getting a lot of good orders with good tips. So really, I should have just taken the rest of the night off and given myself a break. But I was greedy. I kept working, Hoping to continue getting well-paying orders. By the time it was 11, it had slowed down a lot, and the last few orders I'd done were just average. I really wanted to end on a good one, though, so I kept driving around until one came up that was decent.

Finally, when one did, I quickly accepted it. almost 20 bucks for a delivery 15 minutes away. Who wouldn't take that? Once I got the food, I started heading to the address. The roads were, Of course, very quiet and empty at this time of night, so the drive there was smooth. However, it took me toward a wooded section of town that I wasn't even aware had houses in it. I made sure I was on the right route several times, though, just to be sure I was going the right way. When I got to the final turn,

it was on a well-maintained gravel road going into the forest. I drove a little ways down until there was a gate. It was one of those small ones, basically just Two pillars on either side of the path with a chain running between them. The chain on these wasn't up though, so I drove through. My headlights weren't the best, so I couldn't see too far ahead. But not too long past the gate, I pulled into a parking area. I was confused. It definitely was not leading to a house. I pulled into a space and put my

car in park, then looked out my windows all around. There was a sign on one end. This was a forest preserve. I'd done Deliveries to parks and whatnot before, but I always thought forest preserves were closed up at like 8 or 9, and I didn't see anyone here to deliver the order to. Just as I was starting to question what exactly I was supposed to do here, my phone started ringing. It was the customer. I picked up. The voice on the other end was a deep male voice, very grally and rugged, almost to a point

where it was hard to understand them. He said he saw on the map that I'd Parked and asked if I could see him. I said no. To which he explained he was camping with some buddies down one of the trails and I should be able to spot a campfire if I walk a little closer. I said, "All right." Realizing this was probably why the tip was so large. I did mention to him that I thought the forest preserves were closed, but he said this one allowed overnight camping on certain days. I wasn't a big outdoorsy

person, so I didn't know any better. I didn't See any reason he'd have to lie. I turned off my car and got out with his bag of food. I quickly realized that it was really dark and I needed to use my phone as a flashlight to see where I was going. There was only one trail leading out from the parking area, so at least I couldn't get lost. I started walking. It was really quiet outside. I expected to hear the group of guys talking and laughing in the distance, but I didn't. It was just the

wind and crickets. Then I saw the light, an orange flame glowing and flickering out in the trees. Oddly, it wasn't on the path, though, or right off the side of it. It was far out of the way and amid all the trees. I couldn't see too far down the trail to see if there was a direct path going to it or not, but I just started walking straight to the flame. As I got closer, things were getting really strange. First of all, I Didn't hear any voices. And secondly, once I got even closer, I didn't

see anyone. It was just a small campfire burning in the middle of nothing. No chairs, no tents, literally nothing. I barely got the chance to whisper, "What the hell?" under my breath before I heard a stick snap from somewhere out in the trees. I jolted my head toward the sound. There was someone there, but too far for the light to reach. And the faint figure that I could make out was Standing still, like they were trying not to be seen. I felt really uneasy. Hey, I'm the delivery driver. I'll just put your order down over

here. I yelled out and set the bag on the ground. As I did, they suddenly decided to show themselves and walk toward me. The man was tall with dark hair and a scruffy beard. He apologized and said he didn't see me walking up. It was that same deep grally voice from the phone. His smile was disturbing, like he was faking it, And it was really strange that he only showed himself once he knew I saw him. Nothing added up. I stumbled over a few words, but as he got closer and closer, I just decided to

turn and run. He called out several times in this creepy, overly nice voice, asking me to come back and that he had cash for me. I didn't stop until I got to the car. I fumbled around with my keys in my shaky hands as I tried to hurry in and turn it on. I backed out and pulled back onto The gravel path to leave, but had to slam on my brakes. The chain was latched across the pillars now, blocking the exit. I stared at it for way too long, trying to think if I could get

out and unlatch it or what to do. Then I heard footsteps coming up behind my car. I didn't even look. I just floored it onto the grass and made it around the pillars. It was a tight squeeze because there was a short ditch really close to the sides. So, if I messed up, my car Would have slid down and maybe gotten stuck. Once I was back on the gravel, I sped away. I didn't know what that was back there, but I was stupid not to call the police, even though I think that if I did,

they likely would have been long gone anyway. The following morning, I did a little investigating and found that the forest preserve I was at did in fact close at 8:00 p.m. and never allowed camping or Campfires. To me, that confirms the horrible nature of the situation I was in. What he intended to do is unknown and still haunts me to think about what could have happened in the forest that night. I worked at a local pizza shop in my mid20s. It was just a small place that did deliveries and had a few tables inside for

dining in. In all honesty, the food wasn't that great. The only thing that was really special about the Place was that it was open 24/7, so any not so sober people would usually come in all throughout the night. I often worked alone, but I didn't mind it. Actually, I preferred it. None of the food was hard to make, and whenever it was slow, I could usually do whatever I wanted while waiting around. This night was no different than any other, at least to start. I headed in at 9:00 p.m. and took over for the day

manager. There were no special tasks Or anything that I had to do that night. And with it being a Tuesday, I was prepared for a chill night. I prepped some of the workstations in the back and just waited for any orders to come through. I got a few customers in the next couple hours, but then it went radio silent. No walk-ins or calls. I pretty much sat on a chair in the back of the kitchen and scrolled on my phone the whole time. But around 1:00 a.m., I heard the bell by the door ring, which

Happened every time someone opened the door. I got up and walked to the front where the counter was, but I stopped as soon as I could see the main room. Nobody was in there. I stood in place and looked side to side, but there wasn't anyone at all. A short smile broke across my face as I walked further up and quadruple checked that nobody came in. I found it funny, like I must have been so used to hearing that sound all night long that my brain was playing Tricks on me now. Being sure it was

nothing, I went back to my chair in the kitchen. I really didn't think about it at all after that. For the next 15 minutes, there were still no calls or customers until I heard the bell ring again. This time I wasn't even watching a video when it happened, so I knew I actually heard it. I got up and walked into the main room, but stopped in confusion again. Nobody was in there. After a Second, I walked up to the front door and opened it, sticking my head outside and looking up and down the sidewalk that

went along the building. There was nobody out there, not even any cars in the parking lot. I wouldn't say I was really scared or creeped out, but more so just really confused. I messed around with the door for a little bit, trying to see if it would ring without opening, but it didn't seem to. This was really weird, but I didn't know what else to do About it. I stayed up front for a while, at least 30 minutes, waiting for the door to ring again, but it never did. So, I went back to the kitchen.

It was between 2 and 3:00 a.m., which was always the slowest time of the night. Unsurprisingly, once I was in the back again, only a few minutes went by before the door rang again. This time, I stayed sitting and listened for anyone. I didn't hear anything, but just to be safe, I called out, "Hello, is someone Out there?" I got no response. I figured it was just the door doing whatever the hell it was doing. So, I just ignored it and stayed back and continued on my phone. Somehow, there wasn't a single customer for a

whole hour after that. So, basically, the past 3 hours were completely dead. It was 4:00 a.m. So, for my last hour, I had to start prepping everything for the next shift. I got up and went to the front. I started counting the register from the Few orders I had at the beginning of my shift. But while I was there, I felt strange. Something just felt off. I kept looking up at the empty room ahead of me and back at the kitchen behind me, feeling like I was being watched or something. I thought it was just

the unusual nature of the night I was having, you know, with the door and everything. I was just thankful my shift was over soon. Another couple minutes went by when I suddenly heard a thump on The floor behind me. It was just like a boot stepping on the ground, which instantly sent a chill through me and made me quickly turn around. I felt my breath leave my lungs. There was a man standing just five or six feet away from me. He had all black ripped up clothes and a hoodie draping over his face, stopping just

above his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and hollow. I don't know if he was drunk or high or what, but he clearly wasn't sane right now. Then I Saw his left hand was holding a knife. His knuckles were white from how tightly he was clenching it. I stayed motionless, trying not to escalate anything. But after several seconds of him not making a move and just staring at me, I decided to speak. Hey, listen. You can have the cash from the register. I won't say anything. Please, just let me go. I said, trying to say anything

I could to get out of this. He just stood there, though, still Clenching the knife and having that thousand-y stare. Honestly, I think I was even more terrified because he clearly wasn't some normal guy. There was no predicting what he might do. The counter I was at was L-shaped, extending toward the back where he was. So to run away, I'd actually have to run a couple feet toward him and around the counter, then back toward the front door. With him only being 5 ft from me, he could easily grab me or attack me if I

tried. So I did the next best option. I basically dove over top the counter. It wasn't pretty, but I guess it kind of worked. I slammed into the ground and got up. The guy was already sprinting at me with a face of uncontrollable blood lust and rage. I ran out the door and only got a few seconds away before I heard him get out the door as well. He was too close for me to even try getting inside my car, which was behind the building. I just kept running, making it To the road and hoping

a car might drive by and help. But at some point, he stopped chasing. I don't know when because I was so focused on sprinting and not looking back. I called the cops and waited at the road for them to get here. It took about 5 minutes. The guy was gone, but I guess after chasing me, he went back inside the shop and just demolished the place. Everything was trashed and he left out the back door where he then scraped his Knife all over the side of my car. It's likely he was watching me inside the

shop through the windows from a distance and using the door as a distraction, hoping to slip in without being noticed. Admittedly, it worked perfectly, which makes me feel pretty dumb. It's also pretty creepy knowing that there was about an hour gap between the last time the door rang and when I saw him, so he was probably hiding inside the shop that whole time. It's really strange though because I really had no idea who he was. I really thought he was just some random guy, but his actions seemed oddly directed toward me. Maybe it was just

a wrong place, wrong time sort of thing. I don't know. They never found him. I didn't stay working there very long after that, fearing that he might come back.