It's terrifying when your intuition starts telling you that things around you are off, yet you can't articulate why exactly this is happening.
So to learn more about this phenomenon, Redditor u/inferno2808 asked other users: "What was your scariest 'something's not right" moment?'" and as you might expect, people have submitted plenty of chilling stories.
From creepy followers to deadly acts of nature, continue scrolling and check out why it's sometimes a good idea to trust your sixth sense.
#1
When I was 10 years old, my grandma was watching my younger siblings and me while our parents were at a weekend-long work conference.We were sitting in the living room eating pancakes, and my siblings were watching cartoons while I read the newest Harry Potter book, which had just come out the day before.
My brother asked my grandma for more pancakes and she started to get up. I was only half paying attention because I was engrossed in my book, but out of the corner of my eye, I felt like she was taking longer than usual.
She tried to get up, but her leg wouldn’t move. She tried to pick it up with her hands, but one of her hands wouldn’t move. I knew something was wrong and I put down my book.
Then she fell out of her chair onto the floor. I screamed and she tried to tell me that she was fine, her leg had just fallen asleep and she tripped, but her voice was coming out all slurred and only half of her face was moving. I recognized signs of a stroke from The Baby-Sitters Club.
I ran into the kitchen- she had no cell phone back then- and called 911. Well, first I called my best friend, the only phone number I could remember, and asked her mom if I need to dial an area code before 911. THEN I called 911. Meanwhile, my siblings got the handyman who was mowing the backyard to come in and help out.
The ambulance arrived and they took her to the hospital, and I don’t remember much else. My best friend’s mom must have somehow gotten hold of my parents because they did eventually show up at the hospital.
But here’s the good news: because she was treated so quickly, she made a full recovery and is still alive and in good health almost 20 years later!
Image credits: Friendly_Coconut
#2
Late at night, I was sitting in my car waiting for my boyfriend to finish his shift. A guy walks past and we make eye contact. I feel this sense of danger but figure I'm overreacting. A few minutes pass and the fear won't go away. I finally decide to move my car away from the edge of the parking lot to the front of the restaurant in the customer parking area. I start up my car and just as I'm putting it into drive, the guy rushes out from behind and tries to yank open my door, pulling on it really hard. I hit the gas and he trails me for a second, then hits my window with a rock. I keep going and he throws the rock at me then runs away. I was shaking so badly I could barely steer. Pretty sure he was sneaking up on me just as I decided to start my engine.
Image credits: Thin_Host
#3
I was walking to school in middle school and this lady with a car pulled over next to me and called me Linda. That's not my name, but was close enough I looked up.She apologized and explained she thought I was her grandkid. Then she offered me a ride to school. Except that I was already standing on the school grounds. I had a half block walk before I needed to turn to walk into the building.
When I said no she tried to demand I get into the car. I said no thanks and took off running. It occured to me much later that she probably had no intention of dropping me off at school.
Image credits: depressivedarling
#4
My mom awoke from a dead sleep and had a horrible feeling so she checked on her children all fine and asleep cause it was like 2 in the morning.Feeling stupid for worrying over nothing she decided to smoke a cigarette to calm her nerves before she went to bed.
As she was trying to light it she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, Before going to the bar my dad has made himself some ramen on the gas stove and he'd turned the flame off but left the gas on. Horrified she snapped it off and threw open the doors and the windows not daring to smoke inside until 2 days later out of paranoia
Image credits: 3milyBlazze
#5
I was sitting on the beach alone and noticed that a man walking along the water was staring at me. I tried to shake it off thinking maybe he had friends or family somewhere behind and wasn’t actually looking at me.He started walking up from the water and walked right up to me, but didn’t stop and circled around me. I felt awkward so I didn’t make eye contact. He walked away. I’m thinking at the time, maybe it was in my head.
About an hour later, he came back and did the same thing. Went down to the water, looked at me, then started walking up to me. He came right up to me again and as he starts to circle me I look at him and notice he’s staring not only at me but also at all of my things, like he was taking inventory of what I had with me. I finally said, “Can I help you?” And he seemed surprised that I spoke up and says, “oh no, no, no!” And walks away.
After he walked away, I couldn’t shake the uneasy gut feeling. They say when you know something is wrong, not to ignore your gut feeling. And I can’t explain it but I KNEW.
I was too scared to walk back to my car alone, so I ended up walking over to another man nearby who had been keeping to himself and told him what had happened and that I just wanted someone to walk back to the parking lot with so I wouldn’t have to walk back alone. He confirmed that the man was in fact totally watching me the entire time I was there - he noticed and said he saw him creeping around a couple other girls as well.
That beach is ruined for me. As I walked back with the kind stranger I still felt like I was being watched and I was paranoid my entire drive home. I’m so thankful for that kind stranger.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help and if you feel like you’re in danger, don’t ignore that feeling!!
Image credits: sheworewhat
#6
I’m a chalk muralist and was hired by my city to create art along walkways downtown for a festival. The thing with chalk art is you kinda have to create it the same day it’ll be displayed, meaning that I had to get started around 4am in order to be fully finished by the time the festival began at 10am.It was around 5am, still dark, and I was just finishing up outside of a coffee shop located in a stand-alone building. I noticed a guy slowly walking down the street, several blocks away and very far ahead of me. He was far enough away that even if he’d started sprinting towards me, I would’ve had plenty of time to get into my car and flee. Still, something didn’t sit right, so I kept my eye on him. When he got about a block away, he took a left down a street where I could no longer see him. As soon as that happened, my inner voice told me I needed to get the f*ck out of there. So without gathering my chalk or any other supplies, I grabbed my car keys and hauled a*s to my car on the other side of the lot. I got in and locked my doors just in time to see him literally RUN out from the opposite side of the coffee shop where I’d seen him walking - right where I would have been on my hands and knees in a vulnerable position if I hadn’t gotten up. Idk what he was planning, but his body language told me he was in attack mode.
I ended up waiting it out for about a half hour, grabbed my supplies, and came back once the sun was up. It put me behind on finishing my work on time, but I will gladly take that L any day.
Image credits: Barfignugen
#7
I was working on a radio system in the local water tower of a pretty remote outback town. It was a beautiful late spring day in October when I got there, but after about 2 hours the bird noises stopped, the breeze stopped... I took my equipment out of Standby and flagged it as live test because I had the weirdest feeling I didn't have time to fully test it and went outside to sit in the car. About ninety seconds later there was a direct lightning strike on the tower I'd just left, it was the highest point in 200km. It was literally the loudest thing I'd ever heard. Ever.
Image credits: Stewyg86
#8
It’s a long story, but I caught some creepy guy trying to expose himself to my 11 yr old daughter. It was a gut feeling to go check on her (I was in another part of a store and walked up just in time). Always follow your instincts and trust your gut.
Image credits: Sickofusernames95
#9
It wasn’t me that noticed “somethings not right”. Once a women came up to me on a train that I had gotten on and said “I just wanted you to know that man there is following you” and he was. He followed me (in a quiet way) when I changed trains and I ended up asking a cop to walk me home. It was one of the creepiest experiences of my life. In hindsight I shouldn’t even have gone home. I’m pretty sure he stopped following me when I spoke with the police officer. But still.
Image credits: Sprmodelcitizen
#10
Watching the water leave the harbor
Image credits: ThatCoyoteDude
#11
I was home alone and someone rang my bell door, it was dark and I could see a person, but I was unable to see his face ( only like a shadow ). I didn't open the door because he never answered so I went back to playing, however my dog would look straight at the door like he know something was not right. After like 2 hours my parents arrived and told me there are 2 police cars on our street. Apparently, that person was a burglar and he knocked out one of my neighbors and stole from his house. This happened 2 years ago but I still feel unsafe because I am probably the only one that was able to see his face.
Image credits: Cheevvyy
#12
I've got 2 of them. Both shook me up.I worked as a bouncer in bfe Missouri and about midnight one night I got sent to Walmart for some things. Driving down 50 I caught glimpse of a figure on the side of the road. Ghostly corner of your eye kind of thing. I pulled over and a young woman approached my passenger door.
She was hyperventilating almost and really freaked out. I couldn't understand her so I just told her to get in my truck. As we sat there for a moment she tried to talk. Just then a van pulled up behind me, still on the side of highway 50, and a man jumped out and approached the passenger side window that was still down.
He grabbed the girl and starting cussing me. About half a second goes by before I collect myself and in my biggest voice calmly explain he needs to back off and she's not leaving my truck. I told him I have no idea what's going on but I'm taking her wherever she wants to go.
We talked on the way to the hospital. She was from out of state, some guys she met through a friend assaulted her and drug her out to a field. She was beaten until she played dead. She escaped from the back of the van when they stopped for gas.
I don't usually stop for strangers at midnight but something in my gut made me slam on my brakes for that woman.
Other Missouri story, still bouncing, I used to drive girls for private shows. One girl decided to schedule her own show and make some money without having to tip me I guess. Guys wouldn't give her the address for the party just told them to meet them at a closed gas station off of 50.
On the way there she got nervous and called me. I was in bed half asleep but after hearing her I tried to talk her into just turning around. She insisted on meeting the guys because she needed the money. Made some comment about if I don't go with her it'll be my fault when she's missing and on the news.
So I met her at the empty gas station. The whole scene made me nervous, especially because they weren't expecting me. And as**oles get stupid when spooked. We sat for 10 minutes while we waited. The whole time I tried to convince her to go home.
3 vehicles rolled up with several guys in them. They were all drunk/f*cked up. She jumped out the car to be friendly. But the moment I stepped out and they saw me they started cussing and hollering and rolled out in a hurry.
I'm not the toughest idiot, I just don't think they expected a witness.
Avoid highway 50
Image credits: suburbanoutrage
#13
I was about 13 or so years old and walking home from school along the railroad tracks. A "police officer" in an unmarked crownvic in a suit and tie stops on the adjoining road to yell and wave me down to him. Stupid kid me starts to comply with a cop. Next thing i know a real cop pulls up behind him, gets out and approaches the man. He speaks to him a second and tells me to go home. Looking back I was this close to becoming a child abduction case.
Image credits: Daznice01
#14
TL;DR: Saved my dad's life off a 2am hunch I had that something was 'off'.During the UK's first lockdown I hadn't seen my dad who lived on his own for 3 months - but we spoke on the phone everyday religiously. One night whilst I was drifting off to sleep at 2am I suddenly started feeling overwhelming anxiety, sweating and just feeling like something was 'off'. I could not get back to sleep due to worry so I decide to ring my night owl dad as I knew he'd be up and answer the phone... but to my suprise no answer.
I woke my partner and told him something was really off and my dad hadn't answered his phone which had my anxiety running tenfold at this point. He suggested if he still hadn't answered the phone in the morning we would drive over and check on him. However, I could not shake this feeling so at 3am my partner and I got in the car and drove 3 hours to my dad's home.
When we arrived at my dad's house I walked in to find my dad staring at the wall, grey/yellow in colour, slurring his words and utterly confused about where he was. I immediately phoned an ambulance and he spent the next 4 weeks in hospital with acute kidney failure from undiagnosed end stage liver cirrohsis. I'll never forgot the Doctor telling me if I had arrived at his home a few hours later I would have been calling an undertaker and not an ambulance.
Due to the sudden and random confusion caused by cirrhosis he genuinely believed the TV remote was his phone hence why he didn't/couldn't seek treatment. Kidney failure comes on so rapidly that the two together are fatal within hours so me turning up that morning was crucial to him getting the treatment at the right time.
As I'm typing this my dad is driving over to my house to spend the Christmas here with us and the cirrhosis symptoms remain under control - a happy ending! Sometimes anxiety can be a life saving gift.
Edit: Wow I am humbled by your support and awards - thank you so much! A bit more context for extra feels... I lost my mum and stepdad 6 months before this took place so my dad is my rock and I'm extra grateful for everyday he is healthy and happy. Even though his cirrohsis is not going away we still have time on our side :)
#15
I used to have this drinking buddy. He was a regular at the cafe I worked at. Asked if I wanted to grab drinks, okay sure and hence began our drinking friendship. During this time, I was a heavy drinker. Like my roommate and I would usually take five shots to get tipsy kind of thing and then continue drinking throughout the night.One night this guy asks me to come out with his friends to this pub. I get my own drink first, and then the second drink he offers to buy. I suppose I trusted him at this point, so I didn’t go up to the bar when he went. He comes back and I drink the drink.
I knew something was wrong within minutes. My head started swirling, I was slurring and I felt f*cked up and drunk. Right away I knew I had to leave. He was very vocal about me staying, but I just pushed past him. He followed me outside. Now this is when Uber first started up, so I called Uber from my phone. I was trying to close the door, he was still trying to argue for me to stay. Or perhaps he should come with me to make sure I got home alright. F*ck that, I left.
The next day I was asleep all day, I couldn’t really move or get up. I was in and out of consciousness. F*cking weird. And why do I think it was him that drugged me? I had put all my cards and my ID into a pocket on the inside of my jacket that was zipped up. They were all gone, and guess who had them? That guy. He went into my f*cking jacket and took all my sh*t so I wouldn’t be able to pay a cab. Jokes on him that Uber had just become a thing.
#16
I was living about five hours away from my parents and spent Easter with them. The plan was to take Monday off work and drive back that day, but for some reason, I decided to go back on Sunday night.Woke up about three to a weird noise and hit the touch lamp next to my bed. It made a loud popping sound and turned off. Thinking hm, something isn't right here, I got up and grabbed the bedroom door handle. It was so hot that I immediately pulled my hand back. As it turned out, my entire apartment was in flames.
My living room caught fire from a faulty electric outlet and it spread to the dining room by the time I got up. The only ways out were through the living room to the front door or through the dining room and kitchen to the back door.
I used whatever strength I had to shove my headboard away from the window, broke the window out with my glass, and just screamed. My landlord was letting a guy illegally live in a storage room. He heard me and ran right down the block to the fire station. They actually got me through the window and then put out the fire.
I was hours away from my family, had no money or ID, lost my cell phone and car keys in the fire, and it was only like four am. I ended up losing pretty much everything. My neighbor was nice enough to let me shower at her place and give me some clothes until my parents made the drive.
Image credits: BlackCatMumsy
#17
It was at the local mall a few years ago, I was there with a friend.She went into the bathroom and I was waiting alone outside the bathroom, it was near closing hours so it wasn't surprising that some guard told me that it was almost time to leave.But before I could respond to it I took one good look at him and my stomach turned. It was not a guard. But he acted like he was. He then offered to escort me out of the building, people walked past and I noticed his badge was plastic and from some toy store.I just told him no and kept on waiting for my friend, everytime I looked at him my stomach turned and I got shivers. When my friend got out of the bathroom he was gone.
She asked me who I was talking to and after I told her we got out of there quick.
A week after I was there again to get some stuff and asked an actual security guard about the guy from earlier. They had to escort him out several times because he kept posing as a guard to get teenagers to come into his car. I haven't seen the guy since and it still gives me the creeps when I see that bathroom door. Waiting there felt like years. Who knows what actually could have happened if I listened to him? I also wonder if anyone ever actually followed him.
I hope not.
Image credits: Forsaken-Sad
#18
I planned to visit my Dad in the afternoon. Called him in the morning to ask if he needed anything because I was about to go to the store anyway and could easily pick up some things for him. He didn't answer. A little weird for him but not too uncommon. But I had that thought in the back of my head. So I tried again like 30 minutes later. Again, nothing. Neither land line or mobile. So I decided to drive over there early and check. Can't really explain it but I just knew that something had happened. Found him dead in his house. He fell and cracked his head open.To this day I don't actually know what was worse: finding him like this or the 30 minute long drive where the feeling grew that I was going to walk into something like that.
Image credits: DrPCox85
#19
Text my friend Katie the night before and never got a response which was unlike her. I had a gut feeling something was wrong based on that. Later in the day my other friend said we needed to talk and I instantly knew my friend was dead.She had died in a car accident the night I text her and I knew deep down before anyone told me. Miss you Katie! RIP.
Image credits: Mister_JayB
#20
Few weeks ago, baby woke up in the night. I settles him but instead of going back to bed like normal, I sat outside his room waiting for him to settle. I thought he wasn't settled because the movement icon on the monitor was flashing.Fun fact: it also flashes if the cot is empty of a breathing creature.
I poked my head in, thinking "why is he moving so much"?. Except it was silent in his room. The voice in my head sounded. Something is NOT right. I went to put my hand on his back and found he wasn't breathing. I managed to get him back but I think I had a tiny stroke from the fear. I've never been een more terrified.
If I'd gone back to bed, my baby would not have woken up the next morning. I am grateful for mom instincts and I listen to them hard-core now. I don't give a royal sh*t if people think I'm paranoid. My gut saved my boy.
#21
I was a teenager around 15 babysitting 4 younger cousins eldest was about 8. I was watching TV in the living room when there was a knock at the door. It was late and I knew it was odd. I approached the door with a "Hello?" A male answered and asked if someone random was there I said no. They then said can you open the door I need a light for a cigarette. I replied no again. I walked back into the living room and saw two faces trying to look down the side of the curtains. Then they started knocking again. I walked into the kitchen to arm myself as I walked in there, there was already someone half inside and another behind him. I went into protective mode thinking I won't let them get to the children, I picked up a large knife on the bench and charged towards them they stumbled and ran off. Shaking I picked up my cell phone, knocking was still coming from the front door asking to be let in. I called the police on my mobile. I explained I have 4 children in the house and there's 4 people trying to break in. They told me to remain calm and go somewhere safe with the children. A bathroom I could lock until the police arrived. I shut the back entrance and returned to the front. I looked out the side of the window and they were stood menacingly at bottom of the garden whilst I was on the phone to the police. The police came with helicopters and police dogs. They were never caught.#22
I was age 4 and with my parents in town on a very busy market day when I suddenly got lost and separated from my parents in the crowd. I quickly felt very disorientated and started walking around in circles and sobbing that I had lost my mum & dad, when this tall man approached me and told me that he would help me find my parents. He then said that I should come with him to his van that was parked a street away, telling me that he could drive me around to help me find my parents.Nothing about him made sense to me and so I told him that I should stay where I was. He then started getting more pushy & short with me, trying to persuade me harder to go with him. I was terribly naive but I was instinctively scared & distrustful of him. It was just as he went for my hand that my dad and mum suddenly found me. My parents had been freaking out trying to find me that they didn't even notice the strange man I was with, but the second he saw them he melted into the crowds and disappeared.
I hate to think what my fate would have been if I had been a little more gullible or trusting.
#23
When I was a teen I worked for my grandfather's construction company doing all manner of tasks. Everything from helping roofers to working on equipment to landscaping at my gramps house.One day he purchased a bunch of motorcycles and scooters thinking he could clean them up and sell for a profit. He bought new batteries for everything and told me to fill them and swap them out.
I filled the first battery with the acid solution like normal and afterwards got a bad feeling while thinking to myself I should put on some goggles or a face shield. Looked around and found a face shield and put it on. Continued to fill the batteries when all of a sudden the bottom side of the acid container blew out and sprayed acid all over my face. Seeking out and wearing that face shield saved me from potentially disfiguring burns and blindness!
#24
My brother and I were free range kids in the 80s. Our summer camp was wandering around downtown all day until it was time to get picked up in front of the YMCA our parents dropped us off that morning.2 or 3 years into this routine I would've been 9 and we spent a lot of time in the library, and I focused on WWII planes and read everything about them.
A young man befriended me with a story of being a production assistant to a movie studio charged with pulling background research for an upcoming movie and wanted my opinion.
Over the course of weeks he paid me (like $10 a day, which was a LOT of money to a kid in the 80s) to answer his questions and recommend books and it finally came to the day he was going to take me to the movie studio but he never showed up and I never saw him again.
The something isn't right here moment came from my brother, who saw this guy creeping on me and was content to let him pay me while we stayed in the library, but as soon as he heard about our little field trip, he followed the guy out to the parking lot and set him straight.
My brother was only 12, but was already 6'2 and like 190lbs and basically told this guy not only was he going to get f*cked up by my brother if he ever saw him again, but that he'd call the police if he ever saw the guy around town anywhere ever again.
So yeah, thanks bro, I prefer to stay unraped and/or unmurdered.
#25
I took a class on, among other things, lighting in a theater. One day I was using a single person lift to put myself 20 meters above the floor to change one tiny thing on one light. As I raised the lift closer to the light I had this feeling and then it got progressively worse. Literally every single safety thing that could be wrong on this very heavy light 20 meters above the crossroads of multiple walkways was wrong and about as wrong as it could be. It is a miracle this light hasn't fallen off and killed someone yet and it was about to. Moreover, whatever idiot managed to screw it up this badly(who had also somehow been competent enough to be certified to use a two person lift even though I saw every single person in a 45 person class of predominantly 14 year olds do a better job on a light the first time they ever touched one) also managed to touch the power coupling to the crazy hot light and make it stay there and the power coupling was melted and somehow still functional and it's a miracle the entire auditorium hadn't burned down whenever this idiot did this. It was extremely scary to me as I've been doing extracurriculars in that auditorium for the past nine years and I don't think this light had been touched in nine years so every one of the thousands of times I had used that path my life had been in danger.Well, I fixed the light so it's safe now and had every single other light in the auditorium checked so it wouldn't be possible for another light done this badly to continue like this. Every other light in the auditorium was perfectly fine.
Image credits: Igor_InSpectatorMode
#26
I woke up an hour and a half before my alarm and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up to make my partners lunch. I got up and the front door was open and the living room light was on. My mom was staying with me and had her dog so I assumed she took her outside, but the air around me felt really weird. So I started making the lunch and realized she still hadn’t come in. I open the door to look outside and she’s at the bottom of my porch steps laying in a pool of blood. I thought she had gotten shot. Turns out she tripped up walking down my stairs and cracked her head open. Spent a week in the hospital with a brain injury. She’s okay now. The doctors actually had found a spot in her leg where her cancer had spread and found it earlier than they would have if she hadn’t fallen.#27
Not me but my brother was walking home when he was about 7 or 8 and a man pulled up demanding to take my brother to the hospital because he was limping and was starting to push him into the car (he had foot surgery previously). Our neighbor, whose kids we used to play with, suspected something was up and yelled at the man and took my brother inside her house. The police didn’t catch the guy and years later come to find out the guy and his car matched the description of the man who kidnapped Steven Stayner a short time later, which was a famous incident in our parts. Life could have been very different if our neighbor hadn’t been paying attention.I wanted to add that Timothy White became a sheriff but unfortunately died of an an aneurism. I like to think he did some good before he passed.
Image credits: 2515chris
#28
I was about 16-17. Driving back to my place from a 7-11 in my mom's car with a friend. The streets were deserted as it was middle of the night around 2am. We pulled up to this stop light, and a motorcycle with a pillion on the back pulled up unnecessary close to our car's passenger side window. I had a bad feeling but ultimately did nothing and proceeded to chat with my friend while waiting for the green light. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pillion pulling a rod or hammer from his backpack and starts to wind up. I peeled the f*ck out of there real fast lmao. Managed to lose the bike and got home safe. Friend didn't even know what was going on until we reached my place.
Image credits: HawtDawggie
#29
When I was about 19 I was waiting for my then boyfriend to get off of work at the mall, standing outside near the employee entrance. It was close to 10pm and the mall had already closed so the parking lot was fairly empty. This car drove up to the curb, probably fifteen feet from where I was standing at the wall and the window rolled down, the driver was the only person in the car and he asked if I knew how to get to X road. That road was the one visible from where I was standing so I pointed at it and told him the exit onto that road was right across the way. He kept looking at me and said, "I'm having trouble hearing you." So I walked five feet closer and shouted it at him. He said, "Could you show me? I'm terrible with directions." I immediately decided this man just wanted me to either get close enough to grab or to get into his car and just pointed to the road and said, "Drive that way, you can't miss it" and walked right into the employee entrance to wait for my boyfriend instead. I wasn't supposed to be in there but figured getting yelled at by security was way better than getting kidnapped by a guy in his forties.#30
I was about 14 when my sister and I went to see a movie together. We were watching the trailers before the movie started, and I heard this group of dudes come in (they were loud and talking).They decide, out of all the theater, to sit directly behind us.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Then I felt one of their hands reach around me, touching my skin, and I was paralyzed in fear. He said, "I really like your necklace. What's your name?"
I could feel him and his friends closing in. I could feel their breath around me. They were close - too close to us.
My sister, who was also scared, mustered the courage to loudly say, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"
And thankfully an older gentleman in the theater turned around, saw what was going on, and told them to get the hell out of there. Thankfully, they listened.
But it still unnerves me to this day to think about.
#31
Roughly two years ago at around midnight I take my dog outside and something felt….. off. Now I live in an area that’s not quite as country and out of the way as it used to be. Towns expanding new housing developments had recently gone up so a lot of animals had less trees to roam in and some had been displaced. Deer come into peoples yards more a screech owl took up residence somewhere nearby that kinda thing.My dog she likes to walk all the way to the edge of the yard and walk the edge to find a spot roughly 30 feet or so from the front door. We are about half way there and something seemed wrong. It wasn’t until I got to the edge of the yard that I realized it was dead silent. No crickets, no owls, no coyotes in the distance nothing. As I’m realizing this I can feel my heart rate picking up because something is watching us.
Have you ever been able to feel predatory intent? There’s Something in the back of our brains left over from before we conquered the night that feels danger and it was screaming at me. That was bad enough but at the same time I could see my dog reacting as well. Her gaze was locked in a direction her hackles were up. I didn’t know golden retrievers could look so….. disturbed and threatened. When I finally got her moving we ran for the door….. I don’t really remember making the decision to run or the moment between starting to moving and opening the door but I don’t think I’ve ever closed that distance as fast before or since. For months when we went out at night my dog wouldn’t go much more then 5 feet past our sidewalk. We got a fence up months later for our backyard and she wouldn’t go outside by herself for months…. She still clearly doesn’t like it.
I know what it’s like to be around coyotes in that situation. Neither one of us ever felt particularly threatened by coyotes being nearby so I can tell you it wasn’t a coyote or even a group of them. I never saw it but it felt larger and more dangerous then a coyote.
Never before or since have I felt this….. presence this feeling that screamed danger. I have no idea what it is and frankly I’m grateful I never had to find out.
#32
I video called my sister an hour after she had a baby. She picked up and just said “I don’t feel good.” but something was bone chillingly off about it. An hour later she was hemorrhaging and all her stats were in a free fall. Turns out she had a major complication that the doctors missed. The scariest time of my life. She spent 3 weeks in ICU but eventually made a full recovery and the baby was healthy and is currently climbing on me as we enjoy Christmas together. That was 2 years ago but I still remember the exact look in her eye when she said “I don’t feel good.” Gives me chills even today.#33
One of them was the one or two days leading up to finding out one of my best friends died. It was back in junior high, we had a few classes together & I still remember we were both HUGE into the band Offspring, they'd just released the music video for "Self Esteem". I wanted to tell my friend about it & see if he watched it the next day but he wasn't on the bus, everyone assumed he was out sick. The day after that, still no friend & my gut feels really strange, then I overheard a couple kids talking about someone who "got shot" & something about a possible botched robbery attempt, didn't catch it all. Immediately got this dreadful feeling that my friend was hurt or was part of whatever those other kids were talking about.I was right - later that day in math class, the teacher notified us that my friend was in the hospital with a gunshot wound, no robbery attempt but he'd been playing with his dad's rifle & it went off, he didn't know it was loaded. His parents found him after coming home from work, he lived for a couple days in the hospital before passing from the injuries.
Still hard to listen to "Self Esteem" even though it's been nearly 30 years. Miss you Matt.
#34
Lowering the throttle on my plane as I came in for landing and the engine stared to sputter. I realized the engine was going to die if I removed power, so I made sure I had enough height to make it to the runway, pulled power and the engine died. Was able to glide back to the runway without power and side slipped in to make sure I didn't overshoot as I only had one shot, one opportunity to land on pavement. Turns out my spark plugs were gummed up.#35
Driving my car and I start noticing that my steering wheel feels very stiff. I try to keep driving, thinking it might be low on power steering fluid. After a few minutes though, it became clear something was very wrong, and so I tried to pull over. As soon as I turned the wheel my car lurched to one side, and I completely lost steering. I also quickly realized that my breaks didn’t seem to be working, and that since I was trying to pull over, my car’s path was leading onto the sidewalk! Thankfully there was no one on the sidewalk, as my car skidded up onto the curb and stopped only a few feet from a business’s front window.There had been a mechanical ball joint failure in my car, and both the front and rear tires were completely perpendicular to the car, facing sideways. And I had been minutes away from getting on the highway.
#36
My mom and I fought like cat and dog since I was 4, we are the same person basically and still love each other dearly. One morning we fought before I went to school, I screamed that I hated her before slamming my dad's car door for him to take me to school. While driving there he told me an old adage to never leave a conversation mad, because if you die, the person's last memory of you would be you saying you hated them, or if they die my last memory of them would be me hating them. I broke into a panic attack basically, telling my dad he needed to call my mom ASAP. He had left his phone at home (unemployed at the time, quick 10 minute drive to drop me off) told me to go to the office and ask to call my mom.I get to the office, my dad walked me in and told them what happened. Office tries my mom's personal phone, voice-mail, voice-mail again. Told me to go to class and if she calls they will call me to the office.
I had a horrible feeling in my stomach at that point and yelled at them to call name elementary (the school she teaches at). They refuse, I break into a screaming/crying panic that I need to speak to my mom right now!
They do it finally, she isn't required to arrive for another hour but usually comes early to help out at school. But hasn't shown up yet. Well that was strange for my mom.
She works in a school in the inner city, dangerous, teachers have been harmed walking to and from their car. My mom had been mugged, was unconscious, and bleeding. Her school sent the resource officer for some reason. Other wise she would've been there for another hour or until she regained consciousness.
#37
I went to a friends house for a party in the before times, a few years ago. She had another friend, we’ll call her Grace. Grace had brought this man with her to the party and everyone was fawning over him- he was apparently a somewhat well known local artist. I took one look at him and got a seriously unnerved feeling. I couldn’t explain why at the time but his eyes absolutely freaked me out. No emotion. Just… cold. Extremely off putting.So I tell my friend that this dude is freaking me out but I can’t explain why. She tells me I am being sensitive, this guy is a local gem, yadda yadda. So I suck it up and start trying to interact— it was a very small party.
Within maybe five minutes, this guy has asked me and my friend, as well as Grace to go on a road trip to a remote waterfall in Montana with him.
“It’s a spiritual experience,” he says. “I go there all the time, I bring people up there.”
Obviously, I declined his offer. He spent several minutes trying to convince me but ultimately, nobody wanted to go to Montana — my friend worked a lot, and Grace was busy with something she couldn’t miss so he dropped it.
Grace continued seeing this guy and out of nowhere he flipped a switch and started beating her. She broke it off with him and he would drive in circles around her apartment, calling her and leaving messages that he was going to kill her. She had to call the police and have him detained and move to another city overnight to get away from him.
I’ve never been more sorry to be right. Thankfully, Grace is happy and safe now.
#38
I was driving past a small park close to my home when I noticed two older couples on the sidewalk looking into the park. The women seemed distraught and the men were trying to calm them down from the looks of things. I slowed down a bit and for a second I debated stopping to see if everything was alright, but decided against it and kept on driving. The following day I found out a young person from the area had hanged themselves from a tree in the park and I assume those two elderly couples were the unfortunate ones to make the discovery.#39
I used to skip school bus and walk home (I love walking) during school examinations when I was a 7yo. I was about a kilometre away from my home, on the main road (not a busy road) when a van with 4-5 guys stopped on the road 4-5 metres away from me. They asked me for to come close to them and help them with directions. Something felt off and I didn’t answer them and started walking away. They stayed there for a few seconds and left. Now when I think about the incident, why would a van full of adult men would ask a child for directions when there were shops and other adults around? There were a lot of kidnappings happening in the area then.#40
Accepted a ride home from a male friend. Small town, everyone knows everyone, boyfriend left the party early he said he would be happy to take me home and I thought nothing of it whatsoever. Hours later and I am very drunk. He starts driving me home, I am playing with the radio and chatting a mile a minute . Some times goes by (was a 35minute trip home) and it occurs to me he had stopped talking….something came over me and my senses were on high alert. I was suddenly clear headed. (Adrenaline?). I noticed we were on a rural road (lived in the country, all rural roads but this was certainly not our direct route home) and then i looked at his face. He was not there. He was up in his head space and I just felt terror. It is hard to explain it but maybe this is some sort of self defense that came upon me because I knew I was in danger. (It was so unexpected, I grew up with this guy, “knew” him well.). At this moment I just began talking to him, calling him by name, bringing up our mutual friends, making small talk, being as light hearted and kind as I could muster, forced him to look at me, and all I can describe is that i brought him out of whatever evil had had been planning.Now I am much older, I often think about him and I wonder if he has done bad things in his life. I looked him up on FB and saw he has married, but much later in life.
That automatic alert to danger was a sensation I will never forget. It is not as if I was questioning him or had any fear for any reason until a 6th sense just rang the alarm. If you have ever experienced it, this will be familiar to you.
#41
I woke up and went down my stairs to my alarm ringing (I do this to force me to get out of bed) but as I did so I saw my dish rack was just a strange place and thought my father had moved it. So I went back upstairs to get ready for school and as my dad goes down he sees our garage door is open with our car, tv, and other things stolen while we where sleeping...they had moved the dish rack to get in the window we leave open for the cats I had nightmares of people coming into my house for weeks.#42
I was home from college visiting my parents house for the weekend. My sister had taken my old bedroom and I was sleeping in the guest room next to it. I was on my way out and had absolutely no reason to go into her room but something made me peek in there last minute. My sister’s old school portable space heater was left on and had TIPPED OVER, laying on top of a cardboard box…. I was the last one to leave the house that day. My whole house could’ve burned down with all our pets in it if I hadn’t gone in her room.Another fire situation that *almost * happened. I was back at school and was going to just crash at my boyfriends apartment one night. I couldn’t shake this weird feeling of needing to go home. Even though it was late and cold out I trekked back to my place. When I got inside all my roommates were already sleeping but I noticed the stove light letting you know the burners were warm was on. I went to go check it out and realized my roommate accidentally left the stove top burner on low and there was a kitchen towel left on top of it…… smh
#43
When I was in college I worked night shift. I got home to my studio apartment around 3am and immediately hopped in the shower. After I got out I realized I hadn’t locked my front door so I locked it and sat down at my desk still in my towel. My door knob starts turning less than 5 minutes later. I panic as the door is about 4 feet from where I’m sitting. I sat there frozen until the knob stopped turning and then I got up to look through the peep hole. At least 3 men were walking around trying to open doors. Their faces weren’t covered. I called the police and gave a description. The next day the apartment alerted us about several burglaries in our apartment complex. I am a petite female. I still shutter to think what would have happened if my door had been unlocked.#44
Summer before graduating high school I was home alone because my family went to go camping and I had to work.I decided to mow the lawn as it was one of my chores and it needed to get done. Shortly after starting I felt a sharp pain on my ankle and realized I’d been stung by a wasp/(yellow jacket).
I’d been stung before and never had problems but I didn’t want to mow over the entire nest so I moved to the front of the house and called my dad and jokingly told him to clear them out when he got home.
As soon as I got off the phone I felt an itch on the palm of my hands and I started to feel dread. The itch escalated to ridiculous light sensitivity that I basically had my eyes squeezed shut and I began to panic. I start to try to make my way to my neighbors house but halfway there I collapsed. I was breathing fine but it felt like I had no energy. I was able to crawl to their door and ring the doorbell. They let me in and right before blacking out I (apparently) said “there might be bees outside”
I woke up to paramedics trying to get me to wake up, once I did they asked if I could walk, I was able to stand but I blacked out again as soon as I took a step. Apparently it was a combination of anaphylactic(spelling?) shock and dehydration.
I’ve never felt that way before, I assumed everyone just got itchy spots or their throats closed up but I didn’t have that at all. My blood pressure plummeted and my neighbors said I looked like a ghost, lost blood in all my extremities or something.
I was also told that 5 more minutes and I wouldn’t have made it.
#45
I remember for several weeks I felt something was off, but I could never pin point what it was. I felt as if someone was following my every move. At the coffee shop I worked at, I had frequent regular customers, but one stood out. He would ask for my number over and over again, give me large tips and hang around longer then he had to. Every time I rejected him he would become more persistent, I told him I was lesbian (which was true) but even that didn't deter him, he would say things like "you haven't been with the right man" and "pretty girl like you doesn't know what your missing out on". I was creeped out, but I ignored it.On the bus ride home, as soon I got off, I noticed someone behind me was following the same path I was, shortcut's and everything. When I fast walked, they fast walked. Then when I ran, they ran. It wasn't until they were out of sight I went into the direction my apartment.
The next day, I asked my boss if I could see the security footage from last night when I left. To my horror, that very same guy had been waiting around the corner of the store and only moved when I left to go to my bus stop. The further we looked at past the footage, the more sick I felt. The same guy had been waiting outside at night, every night, for the past three weeks.
That day I waited for him to come in while my boss called the police, as soon as he came in the cops questioned him. He wasn't nervous at all, he was convinced that we were in a serious relationship and had memorized my work schedule, bus schedule and even what stops I frequently used, so he always knew where I was. As it turned out, my gut feeling of something being horribly wrong was more accurate than I imagined. I found out later he had done this to other women before, one of them he broke into her house. It scarred the hell out of me knowing how far he was willing to go for a 'relationship'.
#46
One day I was in a parking garage across the street from a courthouse after filing a document (I'm a paralegal). As I'm me, I get off the elevator where I THINK my car is parked and it's nowhere to be found. This is not unusual so, I start wondering around pushing the button for it to beep. After about a minute of wondering I notice a guy walking around too. He doesn't appear to be following me but, he's giving me the creeps anyway so, I keep an eye on him. There is no one else on that level except him and me.Finally I determine that my car must not be on that level and get in the elevator to go down a level. I get off the elevator and keep an eye on it for a second. The guy doesn't appear so I brush it off as my paranoia. I start walking around pushing the button again. Then, as I turn the corner, there's the guy again. So, this time I KNOW he's following me. I head for the elevators, then I notice that he's heading that way too and is on par to cut me off and I start to panic. Again, we're alone on the level.
Just then the elevator doors open and two guys in suits get off. I run up to them and say "THERE you guys are. I've been looking for you all over this level and the one above. Where the hell did you guys park?" and I laugh. The guys kind of look at me weird but, to their credit, they don't even blink and one of them responds with "Oh, sorry, we're on this level but we brought Tom's car instead of mine and I forgot to tell you. We're parked over here" and they lead me away. I see the guy that had been following me stop, stare, then start down the stairs beside the elevator. Once he leaves I tell the guys what had happened and they helped me find my car (it was on the first level, I just never got close enough to hear it beep) and I was safe. To this day I know that guy was waiting for me to find my car so he could do something nefarious.
I avoid parking garages at all costs now. If I'm forced to park in one, I take a picture of where I park so I don't get lost anymore. I also carry pepper spray on my keychain.
#47
I had just parked my car at work and had gotten out and was walking around to my trunk when I noticed a jogger in the parking lot I didn’t recognize. Before and after work we see quite a few people jogging/walking from the other businesses in the office park so it’s not an unusual sight. But this guy made me feel like I shouldn’t turn my back to him for some reason. He wasn’t acting off or anything to make me feel that way at all.So I’m now digging thru my trunk and my lunch has rolled to the back and my little stubby arms can’t reach it from standing and I know I’ll have to lean way into my trunk to get it. I start to lean and I’m still watching the jogger out of the corner of my eye and see him stop jogging and start sneaking along the line of cars leading to mine.
In hindsight I should have slammed my trunk shut and sprinted for the front door. What I did was square up and face the direction he was coming from and yell “Good morning! Can I help you?” when he slunk around the SUV next to my car. He was surprised and turned and hauled a*s away. A second later one of the managers came barreling out the front door towards me yelling for me to get inside there’s a predator in the parking lot.
We never saw the dude again but I made sure everyone was on the look out for him. I know better than to play on my phone in parking lots, who knows what would have happened If I’d been distracted. Would the manager have made it outside in time? I think about it time to time even tho it’s been like 6 years or so.
Our work parking lot is very safe. I’ve never even heard of someone having stuff stolen out of their unlocked cars. It took a long time for it to feel safe again.
#48
This is a bit long but it's the scariest thing that ever happened in my life.I was just a kid when one time my grandfather decided to take my cousin and me on a trip to the gas station to pick up diesel for the tractor. We lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere, so there wasn't much else to do. We rode three deep in his single cab S10. I rode in the middle seat and my cousin in the passenger. My cousin and I are both 12-13 at the time and had long hair for boys in this town. When we get to the gas station my grandfather parks at a pump and heads inside leaving the keys in the truck with us buckled inside. Considering we live in a small town with next to nobody in it where nothing happens, this wasn't unusual. All was normal until that point
Just before my grandfather had walked in, an elderly man of a similar age sitting on the bench outside of the station stopped him and pointed at us. I couldn't hear what they said but I got a weird feeling about it suddenly. My grandfather walked inside after the short interaction and walked to the register. The man doesn't take his eyes off of us from across the parking lot. He suddenly gets up and just starts walking right towards us. I start panicking and my cousin does too.
As soon as he reached the truck he opened the driver's side door. My cousin unbuckles and tells me to get out as he hops out. I start mashing my buckle release but it's stuck and the seat belt is locked firmly against me from my panicking. My cousin leans back in and tries to push the release but realizes it's stuck too and then immediately hops out. The guy just looks at me and grins as he reaches for the keys in the ignition. I still to this day remember looking at that evil smile and watching his fingers touch the key. It still gives me f*cking chills and I remember just thinking that I was done. The next thing I notice my cousin is leaning back in with a hammer he grabbed out of the bed of the truck. Screaming that he's about to hit him. The old man immediately throws his hands up and says he's just joking and climbs out. He walks behind the station just as my grandfather comes out none the wiser.
When my grandfather gets back in we both try to explain what just happened to him but we aren't making any sense at all to him. I honestly just think it was the fact that we were in shock and he was so old and unsuspecting of that kind of thing in our area. As soon as we got home we told the rest of the family about it. They immediately start questioning my granddad about what the man said to them. He tells them the man just asked if we were his "granddaughters" but he didn't pay much attention to him because the man seemed deaf. This old creep thought we were two little girls and planned on abducting us! If my cousin hadn't been so fast on his feet, I'm not sure I would be here to tell this story.
This sh*t scarred me for life. I remember it all so well. I was completely terrified and cried the whole way home as my cousin held me. This guy just looked at me and smiled like he was enjoying my sheer terror. It was nothing short of pure f*cking evil. I still dream about it from time to time, to be honest. As soon as my grandfather put it all together he got all the men in my family to grab their guns and immediately drove back to the gas station. They called the police and we searched the area for him for about an hour before the police showed. He was never caught. I hope to God that he's rotting in a ditch somewhere. I probably shouldn't feel this way, but part of me wishes my cousin had beat him to death with the hammer. I would have got more sleep over these past ten years since it happened.
#49
This was about 10 years ago. My grandmother was still alive (on her last legs) and because of that, my dad and I were visiting her a lot at the nursing home.Gran couldn't live unassisted, and was in her late 90s at the time. Anyway, we went to visit her and I was just wandering around the nursing home, undergoing renovations at the time, when something made me linger in the main corridor. I dunno why - usually I go to the lounge and wait for my grandma.
Then I heard this loud BANG!! I ran down the corridor to the public toilets and I found this lady in her 80s lying on her back, on the floor, covered in blood. She was coming out of the toilet-stalls, turned around to close the door, and tripped on her shoes, fell back and slammed her head against the bench near the door. Blood EVERYWHERE.
Fortunately, I spent five years as a first-aid officer, so I knew what to do. I got her sitting upright on the floor, resting against the wall, and I took out my clean handkerchiefs and started to try and stop the bleeding (there was a LOT of blood).
Because - as I said - the nursing home is being renovated - NOTHING works.
The panic buttons don't work. The nurse-call buttons don't work. The nurse station at the entrance is empty, because of course it is... and this lady is bleeding like crazy. I can't leave her to find help, because she'd probably pass out if I did, and I don't know where to go, besides - because of course - there aren't any f*cking signs anywhere. I'm waiting, waiting, waiting, trying to calm her down, trying to stop the bleeding going everywhere, and finally this old man came in to use the bathroom. He spots the scene and he's like:
"Do you need me to find the nurses?"
"Yes! NOW!!"
"I'll be right back!"
He goes off back down the corridor, and the nurses finally show up 10 minutes later.
By now I'd already been there for at least 10-15 minutes before that guy showed up, so in all, it was the better part of half an hour.
If I hadn't been there to visit my grandmother, if I hadn't lingered in the corridor, that lady would've bled out and died before the nurses found her. The ONLY reason they arrived at all was because that other guy went to go and find them.
They took over and helped the lady to get her head-wound treated. I showed up next week to visit my grandma again, and the moment I entered the nursing home there were HUGE signs stuck on the walls:
"NURSES STATION THIS WAY >>>"
Gee, I wonder how THAT happened...
#50
My dad had just passed from a long battle with cancer, and towards the end my mom had been acting odd. She hadn't been caring for him towards the end, I ended up leaving work to do so, and she didn't really seem to be mourning him, and they had had a reasonably good relationship.A couple of days after he passed, I was going through his stuff and I noticed it was 10 AM and my mom wasn't up. I let her be. 11, 12, 1, 2, 3 oclock. Finally I was starting to think maybe something was up, she had never stayed in bed that late ever, so I opened her door.
I found her on all fours with her chest on a stool kneeling in a fairly large pile of urine and feces. I'm not sure how she got on the floor, I feel like I would have heard her fall. After I got her cleaned up and stuff, I asked her what the deal was, and she told me she didn't have the strength to get up, nor the presence of mind to yell for help.
Ended up taking her to the ER, and that was the day I figured out I wouldn't be going back to work, because I was going to spend the next few years taking care of my now terminally ill mother.
#51
I got home from work and as soon as I stepped out of my car something felt off. My upstairs neighbor left his dog out, which wasn’t super uncommon but she was acting strange which just added to my weird intuition. Normally she’s super excited to great you but this time she just sat by his door.About 20 minutes pass and I can’t shake the feeling. I decide to go to his door and see if he wants to come down for a drink. As I approach I notice his dog made it inside but now she’s barking nonstop. I knock and I knock until I’m pounding on his door. I jiggle the handle and it’s locked, I run down and through my house to a back stairwell that connects our residences. I open the door to his apartment and he’s overdosing on Percocet, convulsing on the ground struggling to breathe. EMS said if they had been called 10 minutes later he might not have survived.
Edit: didn’t think this would get much attention. So here’s a bonus story. I moved into the house where this happened about two years ago. In the same upstairs residence there was a older gentleman who lived there before my buddy and his dog. Roughly three weeks after moving in I stopped seeing my elderly neighbor, he was a bit of a homebody, didn’t have internet or even a smart phone, very simple guy who just enjoyed the company of some scotch and his blues records. Weeks go by and I notice he hasn’t been playing his records and it’s been awfully quiet, but I didn’t think much of this because I wasn’t well acquainted with the guy so I didn’t really know his schedule/habits. Around week three or four, this foul stench starts to creep throughout my home. I light candles, I hose my house with febreeze to no avail. One day I come home and the smell is unbearable, and then it hits me. This is the smell of a dead body... I call my landlord who comes over in a hurry, as soon as he is introduced to the smell he goes white. We rush to his front door, which he unlocks considering this to be extreme circumstances and sure enough my former neighbor is dead, rotting on the floor.
He had been there for so long his blood had soaked into the floor and was seeping into my bathroom ceiling. You could see it inside the light fixtures.