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It was a dark and stormy night. A lone panda was wandering through the forest, clutching his umbrella and trying to make his way home before being struck by lightning. As he watched his paws squish into the mud with every step, he suddenly saw another pair of feet appear right in front of him and jolted to a halt. He slowly looked up, raised his umbrella out of the way, and his eyes met the Grim Reaper. “Boo,” it said with a sickening smile, and the panda went sprinting in the opposite direction, screaming at the top of his lungs as thunder crashed in the background...
Alright, clearly I’m no Stephen King. But as we make our way into spooky season, what better way is there to get in the mood than to hear stories of the creepiest things people have ever witnessed? Down below, we’ve gathered some of the most disturbing and unsettling stories Reddit users have shared in this thread that might make you want to sleep with one eye open tonight, as well as an interview with the host of the podcast Disturbed: True Horror Stories, Chad.
So close the curtains, dim the lights, turn on your spookiest playlist, and enjoy these horrifying true stories. Be sure to upvote the ones that you find particularly unsettling, and let us know in the comments if you have any of your own creepy stories to share. Then if you’re in the mood for even more terrifying true stories, check out this haunting Bored Panda article next.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I'm a paramedic and had just put a car accident victim in a body bag with a decapitation from driving under a trucks rear trailer. Coroner gave us the Ok to load him up. He was wearing a heavy jacket and sweater so we just stuck him in the bag and began to load him. After we got underway to the morgue, I heard a noise and the guy was thrashing around in the body bad violently :O I was out of my mind. This guy had 90% of his head missing!! We pulled over and my partner who didn't see it, goes back and opens the bag while I was about to p**s myself. All of a sudden a very small chihuahua jumped out and ran up to my partner. He must have been in the guys jacket pocket or?? and been knocked out or just quiet until we got underway. Took me the rest of the shift to relax after that. 32 years in EMS and I've never had anything like that happen to me.
To gain some insight from an expert on real-life horror stories, we reached out to Chad, the host of Disturbed: True Horror Stories podcast. First, we wanted to know what inspired him to start this show in the first place. "I’ve had an interest in horror since I was a kid and have gotten more into True Crime as well," Chad told Bored Panda. "I’ve been an avid podcast listener for many years. I loved the end result of what I would hear in a podcast, but I grew an interest in seeing what it takes to make that all come together. I thought it would be interesting to do something I hadn’t quite heard before, which was a unique blend of true crime and horror. Thus, Disturbed was born."
We also asked Chad why he thinks horror stories are so captivating. "I think people have a fascination with scary stories because they really make you feel something in a way that’s hard to describe," he shared. "We all have our own fears and seeing or hearing other people’s experiences can activate part of us that we are hard wired for - survival. Depending on how well the story is written, it can really immerse you in the experience and allow you to feel the fear and terror of the writer."
When it comes to what stories he chooses to featured on his podcast, Chad says, "The stories I decide on for Disturbed are the ones I personally find the scariest or most fascinating. I try to feature a wide range of topics from paranormal, creepy encounters, ufo, cryptid creatures, unexplained etc. If it’s a well written experience in that realm, then I’m probably interested in it. We also have a dedicated hotline for people to send in voicemail submissions of their experience or just comments on the podcast."
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#2
I don't find it that creepy but my friend at the time had a melt down over it.
It was halloween night, I was in 4th grade I think, there was a cat that came up to me in the neighborhood we always trick or treated in. I have a huge soft spot for cats, so I pet it for a minute or two then continue on my way. The cat starts following me. Then more cats start appearing and following me. This heard of cats followed us for multiple blocks, standing a few feet back, making no noise.
They don't stop following me so my friend started freaking out, called me a witch on the verge of tears, then made me call my mom to pick us up. The cats left when my mom drove up.
We also asked Chad if he had a favorite story that had been featured on his show before. "I have a fascination with glitch type stories where something happens that just might be giving us a glimpse into what reality really is," he told Bored Panda. "We featured a story in an early episode where a person was driving on their regular commute home. They began to notice that the drive wasn’t feeling right and that they seemed to just keep going in spots where landmarks or turns should be. In one specific stretch of road, they heard a voice in their head saying 'you should just keep going, it will be okay' said in their own voice, but not their own thought."
"They sort of panicked and jerked the wheel to the right, even though the turn appeared to be some 300 yards up the road," Chad continued. "The person's instincts screamed to turn now, and they were right. Had they not jerked the wheel and turned, they would have plowed into a thick forest of pine trees at 60mph and likely been killed. The person felt as if an unknown force was attempting to lure them off the road. I didn’t do the story much justice here but you can hear it in Episode 11 “I was almost lured off the road to my death”.
#3
I work as a dog walker. We had a client who was an extremely rich & well known coin collector that lived alone with his dog & had a bit of an alcohol problem. Really nice guy just smelled like booze and was very disheveled every morning when we’d pick his dog up to walk her. One Monday morning I walk into his huge house and it looks like he’s asleep on the couch as he normally is, so I called his name to wake him up. I realized he’s half on his couch and in a really weird position. He wasn’t waking up so eventually I walk over to him and his eyes are wide open blood coming out of his nose and mouth and his hands are turning black and blue. Threw up on his patio and called 911. They said he’d been dead since Friday, he lived there alone and didn’t have friends or family nearby so I was the one that found him. Really really sad as he was very nice and not very old. But yeah still have nightmares of that wide open mouth and eyes with blood covering his face
Chad also left us with some wise words, "Stay safe out there y’all. Be vigilant and trust your gut when something doesn’t seem right. Question things, be curious. Reality almost certainly isn’t just what we see. There's more going on that we don’t understand or comprehend. So be curious."
If you'd like to hear more horror stories and check out the Disturbed podcast, you can find it right here. And if you have your own scary stories to submit to Disturbed, you can do that right here.
#4
Ex cop from NSW Australia here. Shift started at 7am. Instantly a double beeper (Urgent job) about someone being hit by a train. Got there and the station master told me that he was about a hundred meters down the track. I said “any chance of resus?” He looked at me like I was an idiot and replied, “he has no head.” I walked up the track and saw this young kid (he was 17) with no head. I looked up further and saw his head on the side of the track. There was little blood. His neck was pretty much seared from when he laid his neck across the track to end his life. When they came to take his body they put his head in between his legs. I’ll never forget that image of this person with their head facing forward in between their legs. Looked like a cheaply made horror movie. Definitely the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen and probably contributed to me not doing that job any more.
KombatBunni 2 years ago
Twice I’ve been in the vicinity of a train incident. One was when I was going to catch a train but on my way stopped for a drink. Glad I did otherwise I’d have witnessed a teen girl ending her life via train. The other I was on a train when it had a sudden stop at a station, and us passengers were told to disembark by the front carriage as someone had fallen between the train and the platform. Both times I will never forget the poor station staffs’ faces as they were dealing with those incidents..it happens far too often here in Victoria (Australia)
Even if you’ve never experienced anything particularly creepy or disturbing, there’s a good chance that you like to live vicariously through others who have. Whether that’s through fictional characters in one of the dozens of horror stories Stephen King has written, a film based on a real-life nightmare, or through hearing your friends’ scariest stories around a campfire, many of us have a huge appetite for the creepy and unsettling.
But why do we love to hear these tales? Isn’t life bleak enough, with climate change, war and the stress of making ends meet amidst inflation? Well, according to Haiyang Yang and Kuangjie Zhang at Harvard Business Review, one reason we love to be frightened is just to feel something. Lots of us live for the adrenaline rush that can come from seeing a suspenseful film or being scared by actors in a haunted house. And when we’re exposed to something that horrifies us, we are stimulated mentally and physically in opposing ways. Part of us is fearful or filled with anxiety, while another part is excited. This cocktail produces a surge of adrenaline that we can't help but enjoy.
#5
This is only creepy in hindsight. My (now ex) husband and I were living in a building with 9 efficiency apartments. We were the middle apartment on the 3rd floor. One day the neighbor that lived directly underneath us knocked on our door. He came in and started apologizing for being short with us several days before. (Honestly he had no need to apologize; he was not rude or anything. We got home at the same time he did and he politely told us he didn't have time to talk.) We told him it was fine and then chatted for a few more minutes. He told us how we were really nice neighbors, and we joked about the time our cat got out and wandered into his apartment, probably thinking it was our apartment. Before he left he said, "Hey listen, I'm going to be working on a project so if you hear banging and loud noises, don't get alarmed. When I'm finished with that I'm going on vacation, so you won't see me for a while." We told him that was fine and didn't think much of it.
About a week later he was found dead in his apartment. The "project" he was working on was a scaffold to hang himself. Before he hung himself he paid his rent in advance, left his door unlocked, and turned his heat up to 90 degrees. He had an ex wife that he was feuding with, so we think that he wanted her to be the only one who would come looking for him and find him as a disgusting, decomposed mess. Unfortunately he didn't account for the smell. We started smelling something putrid early one morning, so I called the rental office and had them investigate. (I told them it was probably a sewer leak.) The poor maintenance man walked in on the mess.
So basically the dude came up to say goodbye to us and to make sure we weren't on bad terms with him before he died. I wish we would have seen a warning sign or something so that maybe we could have gotten him some help, but we weren't close with him and there was really no way for us to have known.
#6
Worked in wound care. Lady came in with severe decubitus from neglect in a nursing home. Both her legs were rotted on both sides from lack of blood flow from not being turned. Put her in the whirlpool and over the next 20 minutes her legs disintegrate. All the rotted flesh comes off in chunks. When we pull her out, she basically has two skeleton legs with meat hanging off them... and maggots. The bastards opened the window in her room to deal with the smell of her rotting flesh... in August. Instead of rotating her like they should have.
Well-Dressed Wolf 2 years ago
Stories like this are EXACTLY why my family chose to care for my disabled father in our home instead of putting him in a facility. He had an accident when I was 18 and sustained catastrophic brain damage. He was bedridden, had to be in diapers, and had to have a feeding tube. We took care of him for 21 years (he died last year). But, he never got so much as a bed sore or diaper rash. Every doctor and nurse who ever saw him was astounded at what good condition he was in. My family and I were like “it’s because we actually CARE.” I didn’t get to really live any of my life/dreams (I stayed living at home to help care for my dad) but I wouldn’t change a second of it. I got to have my dad still be in my life, no matter his disabilities.
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Lorrie Rothstein 2 years ago
Unfortunately nursing home residents are abused and neglected. Horrifying story!
tara 2 years ago
*ahem* care worker for 15 years here. Not all homes are like that. There really are people who care :) Just like everything else, there are always bad ones.
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Aniviel 2 years ago (edited)
I'm a carer. One person I used to care for had broken their hip and went in to respite care (UK). They were neglected to the point that they developed a bed sore at the base of their spine which was so deep, you could put your fist in it. They sued and won a huge payout, but the money was worthless as they had no quality of life whatsoever.
Jill Hojnacki 2 years ago
Really hope that nursing home got shut down and someone went to prison for this.
Celeste Loveland 2 years ago
People should stop normalizing putting your old relatives in nursing homes. It's just so dehumanizing, why don't people care about their families anymore?
Terran 2 years ago
Because two people who work (even if it's not fulltime) haven't got time or energy to care for elderly family members. Thanks to modern medicine people will live way longer, but also need more and longer care. What we need to is to normalize spending some tax money in nursing homes. A well funded nursing home can take better care for the elderly as most families ever could!
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tara 2 years ago
My friend used to say that. "Shoot me before you put me in a home, or I Will shoot myself" He ended up with early onset dementia. Things deteriorated so quickly (after a head injury) he didn't know what was happening. Sometimes we don't get the chance to make that choice :(
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Kim Lorton 2 years ago
When I did home care nursing, regardless of what the facility told me, i would come at odd times and on days they weren't expecting. Mainly to make sure she was getting the proper care, her diapers were changed and she didn't stink which would tell em she was being bathed on a regular basis. Also checked their fingernails as they should not have any crud under them! Also came at meal times to make sure she was being fed. A lot of times they put the tray on the table and not feed them. Poor care always ticked me off and I would be talking to their director of nursing and my supervisor!
Labellesouris 2 years ago
I wish all of the families of folks in facilities and in home care would do this! I really wish Adult Protective Services would spring a few of these visits on more of the family care givers that are reported by the Home Care Caseworkers. There just aren't enough APS workers to get all of the cases.
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Kim Lorton 2 years ago
After awhile, the nerves were not working due to lack of blood flow, but before that... had to be horrific pain.
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Susan Raskin 2 years ago
She must had suffered terribly. I hope the nursing home was shut down.
Susan Teter 2 years ago (edited)
There is a VERY special place in hell for people who neglect those who can't care for themselves. And if you want to reiterate...hit me back. I have all kinds of bit*h mode, and nobody to take it out on!
Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 2 years ago
I hope everyone involved in her care was fired and prosecuted! This is why my parents will never go to a nursing home
April Stephens 2 years ago
Is that standard practice in wound care, putting them in a Whirlpool to get the rotted flesh off?
Linda Hill 1 month ago
Wound care nurse as well.. I've seen stuff that would make the devil cry
Cheryl Carter 2 years ago
I hope that the nursing home was made accountable for the neglect and abuse. That would be horrible smelling your leg rot and couldn't do anything about it. Poor lady. My heart goes out to her and pray that she had justice.
Ruth Hempsey 2 years ago
Okay. This is the one where I stop reading. It's not creepy it's downright evil and horrible and I hope those responsible got their just desserts. That is just vile.
DC 2 years ago
Care for the elderly really sucks. A friend of mine, 40, pretty smallish (like 155 cm, 40 kg or so) has had to try to turn people 3 times her weight - and these aren't even that rare - or even heavier ones on her own. How's that supposed to work? And, ever heard that nursing homes have a great return of investment? I certainly heard that. Wonder if that's connected somehow...
Peeka_Mimi 2 years ago
I hope my daughter never figures out that the VA will pay for my nursing home. I selfishly want to die in my home, the one I bought to die in.
Kim Lorton 2 years ago
If I were her family, I would sue everyone involved from the doctor on down to the nurses and aides and the dam care home! That is willful medical neglect and they would pay big. Keep her comfy for the rest of her life without her legs.
Kim Lorton 2 years ago
Turning a patient from back to side to side every two hours. Rotating a patient. Meeps their skin from breaking down from pressure and allowed for good blood flow to areas ofer bony parts. Elbows shoulders, hips, knees and ankles, and heels.
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Satan Laughs 2 years ago
No. Why would anyone leave her in a whirlpool for 20 minutes? Sounds like she went from one horrible place to a worse place. Wow. Poor lady.
We also enjoy having novel experiences and getting to live vicariously through characters who are in a world or a situation we can only imagine. We do this all the time while watching films, reading books and listening to podcasts. Most of us don’t have any idea what it would actually be like to start selling meth, but a little part of us thinks we do after binging Breaking Bad. We may have never experienced a real-life love affair, but a romantic novel can help us feel like we have.
It’s the same with horror stories. We don’t actually want someone breaking into our home in the middle of the night with an ax, but we can imagine the experience in great detail after seeing it portrayed on film. Being exposed to terrifying stories makes us feel like our lives are a bit more exciting than they actually are, without having to be in any real danger. Horror is exciting and fun when we have the opportunity to turn it off or step away from the situation.
#7
Out delivering shopping on Halloween, in Edinburgh, UK. Heard eery, loud, piercing screams come from the other end of the dark street I was on. Two little girls exactly alike, dressed as ghouls wearing makeup, came sprinting out of the darkness straight to me, both screaming. They immediately grabbed my jacket and stared up at me shouting something about a woman trying to take them away. Then from behind them out of the dark a bedraggled woman came hobbling along, pale, topless, with extremely saggy breasts and sores all over her arms, and tried to pull the two girls away from me stating they were her daughters.
I asked the kids where they stayed once I'd gathered my senses and took them home, and phoned the police on this woman, who was covered in sores. She tried to take another child off somebody else so I grabbed her, and as my hand wrapped around her arm, my fingers slipped into one of her large open sores.
Luckily somebody nearby let me use their sink to wash my hands. Still had to complete my shift, which was the second most annoying part of this story!
#8
When I was barely 19 I got a second job as a bartender in a dive bar. Everyone including my boss knew I was underage but I was still encouraged to drink. One night, being too young and drunk to know better, I accepted a ride home from a coworker. I was giving him directions to my house, turn left here, straight at the light, etc. but he started ignoring me and turning right when I said left, then left when I said go straight, and I got SCARED.
Luckily I carried a knife with me at the time. He insisted that he was taking me somewhere nice. I pulled out my knife and held it to his throat until he stopped the car. I got out and RAN home.
Quit that place right after.
Edit: yeah, I’m a girl, but this could have happened to anyone. In hindsight dude was creepy way before then, but I was super oblivious/naiive and drunk on top of it all.
Years later when Tarantino’s Death Proof came out and Kurt Russell’s character turns left instead of right, it brought it all back. I don’t carry anything anymore but I definitely hold my keys in my fist if I ever feel in danger, just in case.
Shelley Jennings 2 years ago
That movie was hardcore. S**t. So sorry this happened. Yaiy for the knife!!!!
#9
Working at a supermarket when I was a teenager. Late at night not many people in the store, minimal staff. I was stacking a shelf. The cleaner had just turned up to start his shift (he started when the store closed).
I watched him walk past the dairy section then saw 3 cartons of milk from different spots all fall from the shelf and spill on the floor. These were the plastic type that only really broke 50% of the time when dropped and they all broke.
I said "Great start to the night mate"
He replied "can't get any worse"
As he bent down to pick up the first carton he clutched his chest and had a heart attack. He died that night.
While you may assume that scary movies and ghost stories appeal to everyone, according to psychologists, there are a few prerequisites that need to be in place before we can start enjoying horror stories. First, we need to believe that we are physically safe. If we feel that we are still in danger when we pause the film or turn it off, we won’t be having any fun. We also need to be psychologically detached from a horror story to enjoy it. For example, we need to understand that when we see a woman being murdered in her home onscreen, she is just an actor covered in fake blood and is perfectly fine in real life. Finally, we need to know that we can control or manage the dangers we see in a horror experience. When we’re in a haunted house, for example, we know that we can easily outrun the zombies if we really needed to. Once all of these requirements are in place, we can fully immerse ourselves into a horror film or experience and still sleep well at night.
#10
My wife and I saw a guy jump off of a parking garage. We didn't know he was up there until he hit the ground about 30 feet in front of us. It was horrible.
#11
Around 6am, sun not quite up yet, when I'm awoken by the sounds of blood curdling screaming. The most horrifying sound I have ever heard and I will never forget it. Turns out a woman was being murdered in the parking lot right by my apartment. The police showed up almost immediately but it was too late for her. She was trying to break up with her abusive boyfriend and he put a hit out on her. The hired guy stabbed her as she was getting in her car to go to work. (Ex) boyfriend put on a show for the police, crying and everything. Horrible.
#12
I was a cop in a very remote location in northern Australia.
Late at night I received a call about a body found in a bush cemetery. Bush cemeteries are these tiny, old cemeteries that are normally out in the middle of nowhere. The cemetery had a handful of plots (some from early 1900s), and was dotted with termite mounds.
The matter was of interest as the body was in a shallow, unmarked grave, and wrapped in a canvas bag.
The detectives are all based in the city some 450kms away. It was decided that they would come down the next morning. This meant that a crime scene guard must be posted at the location in the interim.
I volunteered as crime scene guard. I grabbed my fold out camp chair and settled down for the night to chill with old mate. It was a pretty nice night so I just spent the time looking up at the stars. It was just me, the body, and the Milky Way.
A couple of hours pass uneventfully. At about 2am the quiet tranquility was pierced by blood curdling screams. The screams were coming from the bush land some 10-15 metres behind me. It sounded like someone was being brutally murdered.
I hit the deck then started creeping forward on my belly, hand on my holster. I call out multiple times but there was no reply. Oddly enough, the screams would rise and fall, and were getting closer. I wasn’t sure if the rank smell was me s******g myself or the decomposing body next to me.
I start dragging myself towards the screams. As I get closer it almost sounds like there at two sources of screams. One is off to my right, and another is fast moving to my left.
I take cover when I get to the tree line and wait. I’m staring at the corspe when a red fox darts out of the trees and tears towards the body. The little f**k starts [screaming] (https://youtu.be/CmLdgCczb_g) like this and is soon joined by its demon spawn. I charge at the bastards to scare them away. They retreat to the bush again but I heard the buggers screaming all night long.
Certain types of people do have a larger appetite for horror than others, though. A daredevil who loves thrill-seeking activities is more likely to want to spend an evening watching a scary movie than a person who is highly empathetic and will have a hard time enjoying the film because they feel too bad for the victims. Gender and age also play a part in enjoyment of scary things. One survey found that young people tend to be more interested in horror than older audiences, and men are more likely to enjoy being scared than women. Socioeconomic status can also play a role, as more affluent populations tend to consume more horror films. This is likely because people who are not as privileged cannot always feel safe enough and in control enough to derive pleasure from a horror film. It’s not fun if it does not seem unrealistic.
#13
I grew up in a hillside house which backed up to about 50 acres of woods. My room was on the second floor so it was basically level with a plateau and a road that lead further up the hill and into the woods. One night I heard something and decided to look out the window. I saw a guy standing along the road just staring at the house. I flipped out and my Mom came into the room. When she saw the guy, she proceeded to go outside and tell him to f**k off which he promptly did. She told me she wasn’t scared of stumble bums and would have stabbed his a*s. I was 10.
#14
A few years ago I was woken up by someone lightly poking me in the forehead at 5am. I woke up thinking it was my roommate, but when my eyes started to adapt to the darkness I saw a 2 meters man standing next to my bed.
He immediately threw himself to the floor and covered his face. I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t even scream as I was completely shocked.
While I was thinking of what to use as a weapon he got up and starting running out of the apartment, and for some reason I jumped out right behind him (don’t know why I did tbh) and only then I started screaming for help. He eventually made it out of the apartment and started going down the stairs, I gained some sense and realised I probably shouldn’t be following this huge, tall, unknown man and ran back to my apartment.
One of my roommates was ready to go follow him, bat in hand and all but we decided it’d be better to just call the police.
We never found out who he was or why he was there, and nothing was stolen or taken.
Took me a long time to make it through the night calmly again and even more to feel comfortable at that apartment, specially by myself.
TheAquarius1978 2 years ago
Yea... I would pack my bags in that moment and go sleep in a frikking church holding a cross.... Oh and i'm agnostic....
#15
This happened a few months ago. I was driving down my street coming home after a night out, as soon as I approached my house I noticed a guy in a suit just standing across the street in the field looking at my house. I didn't want to pull into my house at that point so I just drove around my neighborhood. 10 minutes or so go by and I drive by again, he's still there and he hasn't moved. At that point I just drove around again, 5 more minutes and he's still just standing there, staring at my house. At that point I just pulled into my driveway to see what he does.... Absolutely nothing. He didn't even flinch, couple hours later he vanished. No idea who TF he was but it still creeps me out.
TheAquarius1978 2 years ago
Dude, you just reminded me of a day i got home from work and as i was getting in to the parking lot, i hear One frikking blood Curling noise, it was kind of a mix between the cry of a baby and some sort of howl, there was nobody there, barelly any Cars, just that creepy as f**k noise, i LITERALLY got chills down my spine, i shift the car in to 1st and very slowly drive to my parking space, and as soon as i stop the car i knew what the noise was.... And i swear on my life Im not making this s**t up, that creepy as f**k sound was my 16 year old brother f*****g around with the apartments intercom.......
Now, you might only enjoy consuming horror stories due to the excitement and entertainment factors, but you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that there can be even more benefits. Viewing a horror film with someone you’re romantically interested in can actually be a catalyst to falling in love, as being scared and experiencing your hearts pounding rapidly together can be a bonding experience.
In the same way, we can bond with friends through being scared together as well. Oxytocin is often released following a frightening experience, so people who are scared together tend to be closer after the experience. And finally, the catharsis of finishing a horror film can flood our brains with endorphins when we finally get to relax. So if you’re a fan of Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock, watch away! And you might even consider inviting your next date to view a scary movie with you too.
#16
This actually happened last night.
Me and my friend were walking home from a party, and we passed a generally abandoned campground. We heard a dog barking, which was unusual since it was one in the morning. The bark sounded weird though. It kept persisting, until we both realized what it actually was. It was a guy imitating a dog’s bark. We heard insanely aggressive crunches coming from the woods, so we booked it back to my friends house.
Maybe not the creepiest thing ever, but it really freaked us out.
#17
About two year ago I took a delivery that I will never forget. It was around 9 pm on a Saturday and I had to take two extra large pizzas to an address that was outside of town in the country. I pulled down a very long gravel driveway up to a run down farm house with one porch light acting as a beacon. As I walked up to the house I noticed Halloween decorations still up on the porch (it was the middle of June) one of which was a grim reaper sitting in a rocking chair. There was no door bell so I knocked on the door, no answer. Knocked again, no answer. Right as I was about to knock for a third time the door slowly creacked open. A decrepit male voice spoke "hold on a sec" a light came on revealing an old man in his underwear. The guy must have been in his 70s or older . He had a terrible hunch and stood no taller than 4'11to 5ft. He was grinning revealing yellowish black teeth. I told him the total was $17.xx. He asked if I could carry the pizzas inside to the kitchen (normally I would say no, but I didn't want this oldtimer to hurt himself). The house was immaculate from what I could see. The old man asked me to wait in the hallway so he could light a candle since the kitchen lights were out (I know weird right?). As he lit the candle I could see five pickle jars sitting on the counter in front of me. The old man asked me to put the pizzas on the floor next to the counter. So I bent over and placed them on the floor. As I was getting up I heard an exhale and the candle went out. I asked the old man to light it again so I could see to no response. I heard the sound of a jar opening followed by the clicking of a lighter. The candle was lit again revealing the old man holding a pickle. He said that "this is Margery, she isn't supposed to be awake right now but since we have a guest who brought food ,it is ok". At that moment I wanted to get TF out of there but couldn't for some reason. He walked over to me and handed me the pickle and told me to "put her next to the pizza box". I did, and I f*****g hate pickles. He then paid me and a booked it out of there.
Edit:- He did tip me though
TheAquarius1978 2 years ago
Lonliness and mental illness are f****d up things, honestly i would call the Cops and explain the situation, just to make sure the old man was being taking care of by someone.
#18
Caregiving. Noc shift.
Got a complaint around 3am about screaming and banging.
Cool. Someone with Alzheimer’s is sundowning. Let me re-direct them.
I get on the elevator to the fourth floor. As I approach the floor I hear this wailing and shrieking. Like a banshee or a witch. And she is just slamming her walker on everything.
I get out. Immediately confronted her. Gently suggested let’s go back to your room. Have some water. Maybe use the toilet. She is still howling up a storm. Like just uncontrollable shrill screaming. Halfway down the hall she immediately goes silent. She slowly picks up her hand and points a bony trembling finger in my direction.
“He is right behind you”
Immediately go into f**k this mode. I get the creepy crawlies all up and down my spine. I pick up the pace. Take her back to her room. Get her into bed. Immediately nope out.
F*****g done.
TheAquarius1978 2 years ago
Nop, nop, nop nop nop, i'v seen horror novies, i know how c**p like that ends, plus i freak up like crazy with " exoterical " s**t, and yes it was just an old Lady with dementia, but, dude ......
The stories on this list might be even more unsettling than a film or television show portraying nightmares because these accounts are true. But if you’re looking to fully immerse yourself in spooky season, we hope you’re enjoying this list. Keep upvoting the responses that you think deserve their own Halloween feature films, and then let us know in the comments if you have any frightening stories of your own to share. And if you’re in the mood to keep up your scary story momentum, you can find even more terrifying tales from Bored Panda right here.
#19
I once escorted a church group, ages young kids through adults, on a weekend overnight outing to a camp in the Poconos. The camp was set at the confluence of two streams and was somewhat rugged. The group had lots to do - a climbing wall, boating, hiking, sports, all kinds of stuff, including a nature center and little museum. The nature center had interactive displays, fish tanks, small animals, etc, and a "touch table" - a large wooden table with sides, on which was scattered all sorts of artifacts the guests could pick up and handle. These items included deer antlers, bones, turtle shells, feathers, arrowheads and pottery, rocks, seeds and nuts, tanned hides, etc. Little kids especially loved it. All of the items were found by guests or staff while out in the camp, and returned to the nature center. I handled the items also, and I noticed one bone had a really odd shape. I am an environmental scientist by profession, and an outdoorsman and naturalist for fun, and can generally recognize what bones came from what parts of what animals. This bone was a HUMAN MANDIBLE - the lower jawbone of a person. It was severely worn smooth and had no teeth, but easily recognizable as such. It had been there for years, handled by thousands of people, and no one noticed or at least reported it.
#20
This was probably 13-14 years ago. I was working as a delivery driver for an auto parts store and I'm taking a shortcut through a neighborhood. It's during the winter which, in my state, gets mid level snow but it's extremely cold. Suddenly a toddler in just a diaper bursts out of the front door of the house next to me covering his ears and screaming at the top of his lungs. He runs about 20 feet and disappears into someone else's back yard. I immediately call the cops and start making laps around the block trying to find him because, again, it's winter and the kids in a damn diaper. Cops show up and take over but I'll never forget the look on his face or the sound of him yelling.
#21
Went out trick-or-treating as a preteen with a few friends. We were walking down a road toward the next house when a pickup truck pulls up to us and this massive guy leans out the window and tells us he has candy for us, if we just walk up to his truck and get it. One of my friends started to do it, and we grabbed her and told her no. The guy took off as soon as he saw we weren't getting any closer.
#22
Walking out of a breakfast restaurant and saw a van parked next to me...
I got in my car and was futzing with whatnot and 2 middle aged white guys come out and get in the van and I think I got a glimpse of a barefoot black kid and a mattress on the floor of the van.
They leave and I took down their plates and my gf was like was that what I thought it was?
Anyways we called the cops and gave them a plate and the description of everyone
#23
Maybe just hallucination due to being tiered, but as I got up in the middle of the night one time, I saw the very dim shimmer of my cats eyes at the end of the hallways
"Alright, guess I woke her up too and now she is just walking downstairs to drink some thing too."
Until I feel a small, soft head bumbing into my leg from behind, normally I love it and find it totally adorable when my cat does that, as it show how much she likes being around me. But this time. With my certainly real, warm, purring little cat at my side, I watch in horror as the other pair of glowing eyes slowly decent into the darkness of our living room downstairs.
Shelley Jennings 2 years ago
My cat woke me up one night, and I started to stroke him. Hair felt very weird, hard... Different to my cats soft fluff. I turn on the light, it's not my cat!! Some ginger cat🙀 I freaked out and he ran 🤣
#24
Step-grandmother had Alzheimer's. The night before she died from the disease, she was alone in her room. I could hear her talking to other people in the room. She addressed them as dead relatives that she'd forgotten completely in the years prior (she didn't even remember me or my step-mother at this point). Updating them on the current events in the family. I didn't investigate. She was dead when I went in the next morning. Makes my skin crawl right off my body and down the street to think of it.
Happy_Pandalover 2 years ago (edited)
She met them again and her Alzheimer was cured after that. Creepy, but beautiful. May she rest in peace.
#25
Couple of years ago I had a dream I was in an elevator, and could only press 'up'. One woman and one man were in the back of the elevator. As we ascended, the elevator began shuddering and rattling. It paused, then I heard something snap. Then it was just the sensation of falling, falling, falling.
The next day, I was in a dilapidated multistory parking lot in an unknown part of town. I think my boyfriend and I were going to see a play and it was the only parking lot with empty spots left. We got into an old, rusted elevator to go down. One woman and one man were already there. As we descended, the tiny elevator shuddered and then slowly stopped and started several times. We were all looking at each other, uncertain.
I couldn't take it anymore, I pressed the button for the next floor. I made my boyfriend take the stairs for the next five floors. He was furious. Didn't see the woman and man again that night.
#26
I have an old Google Voice phone number that was only used for an apartment intercom system years ago and has never gotten anything but robo-calls since. One day I got a voicemail from an LA phone number that had nothing but a faint high-pitched voice asking “Hi. Um, do you know, where is the body?”
#27
Back when I was in 6th grade, suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and saw an old lady outside our roon looking directly at me. She does a "shh" gesture on me and proceeded to knock several times on my uncle and aunt's bedroom beside our room. After several knocks, my uncle opens the door who seems confused and looks into our room to see me lying in bed and staring wide eyed at him. After a minute of staring at each other. He goes back into his room.
It was all so vivid even to this day, I'm not even sure if it was sleep paralysis or something else.
Edit: Replying to your comments gives me goosebumps whenever I try to remember that "incident."
#28
A former friend and I went into the tunnels of a wash to smoke while waiting for our other friends. We decided to walk through it for a little just to see what we would find. At about 15(ish) minutes in, we're approaching another bend, and see something in the distance sitting against the wall. We stop and kinda just stare for a bit, thinking it might be a homeless man or something. Whatever it was, it immediately knew we were there. Then we see it lean forward onto it's feet, and very slowly stand without taking its eyes off of us. It was super skinny, and looked completely grey. Couldn't make out any defining physical or facial features. It just looked like a tall, skinny, naked grey man. I definitely didn't like what I saw, and I could tell it surely wasn't welcoming of our presence. It's safe to say we both got the f**k out of there pretty quickly.
I dunno who or what it was, but I didn't like it.
EDIT: To clear things up, it was a storm drain with a long tunnel. My bad.
Aboredpanda 2 years ago (edited)
In the dark things will appear gray that aren't because we can't see colours when it's dark. The only colour would come from the light used, and might give a yellow tint or such. Might explain it.
#29
Technically missed the thing itself, but the news report was disturbing as hell.
In short, my sister and I were about 30ft away from this suicide https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/norfolk-broads-murder-john-didier-1561791.amp
And somehow we didn't notice. We eventually saw it on the local news, iirc my sister threw up because she had been swimming in the water with a corpse.
#30
I drove home from a night out with friends. The streets were empty, which was perfectly normal as it was past midnight in a quiet town. Turned a corner close to my house and saw an older women standing there, looking directly at me. Bit weird, but ok. Came home, got ready for bed, went to close the blinds in my bedroom and that very woman from earlier was standing there, about 6 feet from my window, starring directly at me. Spooked me a little bit.
Edit: For those who call that story fake. Is it so hard to believe that a woman spotted my car from earlier, saw the lights in the house, and decided to look inside my window from the sidewalk which was about 6 feet from my window? Nosy people in a quiet town, that’s it.
What do you think ?
Bart 2 years ago
While travelling in Nepal I visited the Pashupati temple close to Kathmandu. There were beggers outside suffering from advanced stages of leprosy and I saw a man literally remove one of his toes. Shook me for days...
TheReader19 2 years ago
Nurse here, had to remove the patients toes. Pissed me off because the hospital wouldn't do it and wanted them to drop off naturally which is bloody painful for the patients
Load More Replies... Alyssa C 2 years ago
One day, it was super stormy, just normal rainy day… we live in a small town, so lots of neighbor watching lol… anyway I woke up from a nap, and looked across the street… tons of unmarked cars outside. I thought maybe there was a marital issue with the young married couple next door… when my husband walked next to me to see what was going on, we saw a black body bag roll out, in the rain…. Still freaks me out to think of that day…. Turns out the husband hung himself in the house. His poor young girls 4 and 6ish… found him. I still think how traumatized they must be from that day….
Patti Vance 2 years ago
worked at district attorney's office. my office window faced front of building used for mediation, parole, etc. parking was limited and it wasn't unusual to have to park in the other building's lot. also, this was in central valley of california in summer so 110 degrees not uncommon. i was taking break, looked out the window and saw a man and woman outside the other building arguing. then the guy pulls out a gun and just shoots the woman several times. apparently their mediation was not going well. worst part was that was the day that i had parked right where this happened so when i got off work i had to not only wait for the crime scene to be processed but smell the blood as it cooked on the concrete.
madbakes 2 years ago
That was sad to read but I couldn't help but laugh at, "apparently their mediation was not going well."
Load More Replies...
Rachel Reynolds 2 years ago
I do a lot of stupid-white-woman-in-a-horror-movie things, so I have some creepy stories, but I do have one that wasn't my fault. Our elderly neighbors two house down had a son with some...really bad issues. We had met him on a good day and he was nice, but creepy. I've seen him on a bad day when he picked up a motorcycle the threw it through his garage door while screaming. Anyway, his parents kicked him out and had a restraining order. He knocked on our door a week or so later and asked to borrow our shovel. I said fine because I didn't want to p**s him off and shovels are cheap. The next day police surrounded the neighbor's house in yellow tape, because they were missing with signs of a struggle. The son was missing too. I told them my interaction and few days later my shovel was found in a park along with the neighbor's bodies. The son was hiding, alternating between three sheds in the neighborhood, including ours. He's in jail now and my kids are traumatized.
Unaffected 2 years ago
I live near railway line and a man suicided a few years ago by throwing himself under the train.I didn't see him but the emergency crew near my house said it was horrible.Few years forward, got a new job, talking to a colleague who told me her husband killed himself as he was sick and didn't want to be a burden to her.It was him who died near my house...
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I feel sad that that is the only way out, but at the same time, his action impacted others. They say most train drivers who witness those events never get back to work because of ptsd.
Load More Replies...
A Jones 2 years ago
To witness death & near death multiple times in life, the majority were strangers and other species. I'm not even in any police/medical/military field. I'm just an unlucky desk jockey with anxiety and growing PTSD. :| I live in one of the safest US cities too, all incidents were health/traffic related.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Dinner conversation: "So I was reading about gangrenous ergotism..." and that's why we don't talk much at our table at supper.
Bart 2 years ago
While travelling in Nepal I visited the Pashupati temple close to Kathmandu. There were beggers outside suffering from advanced stages of leprosy and I saw a man literally remove one of his toes. Shook me for days...
TheReader19 2 years ago
Nurse here, had to remove the patients toes. Pissed me off because the hospital wouldn't do it and wanted them to drop off naturally which is bloody painful for the patients
Load More Replies... Alyssa C 2 years ago
One day, it was super stormy, just normal rainy day… we live in a small town, so lots of neighbor watching lol… anyway I woke up from a nap, and looked across the street… tons of unmarked cars outside. I thought maybe there was a marital issue with the young married couple next door… when my husband walked next to me to see what was going on, we saw a black body bag roll out, in the rain…. Still freaks me out to think of that day…. Turns out the husband hung himself in the house. His poor young girls 4 and 6ish… found him. I still think how traumatized they must be from that day….
Patti Vance 2 years ago
worked at district attorney's office. my office window faced front of building used for mediation, parole, etc. parking was limited and it wasn't unusual to have to park in the other building's lot. also, this was in central valley of california in summer so 110 degrees not uncommon. i was taking break, looked out the window and saw a man and woman outside the other building arguing. then the guy pulls out a gun and just shoots the woman several times. apparently their mediation was not going well. worst part was that was the day that i had parked right where this happened so when i got off work i had to not only wait for the crime scene to be processed but smell the blood as it cooked on the concrete.
madbakes 2 years ago
That was sad to read but I couldn't help but laugh at, "apparently their mediation was not going well."
Load More Replies... Rachel Reynolds 2 years ago
I do a lot of stupid-white-woman-in-a-horror-movie things, so I have some creepy stories, but I do have one that wasn't my fault. Our elderly neighbors two house down had a son with some...really bad issues. We had met him on a good day and he was nice, but creepy. I've seen him on a bad day when he picked up a motorcycle the threw it through his garage door while screaming. Anyway, his parents kicked him out and had a restraining order. He knocked on our door a week or so later and asked to borrow our shovel. I said fine because I didn't want to p**s him off and shovels are cheap. The next day police surrounded the neighbor's house in yellow tape, because they were missing with signs of a struggle. The son was missing too. I told them my interaction and few days later my shovel was found in a park along with the neighbor's bodies. The son was hiding, alternating between three sheds in the neighborhood, including ours. He's in jail now and my kids are traumatized.
Unaffected 2 years ago
I live near railway line and a man suicided a few years ago by throwing himself under the train.I didn't see him but the emergency crew near my house said it was horrible.Few years forward, got a new job, talking to a colleague who told me her husband killed himself as he was sick and didn't want to be a burden to her.It was him who died near my house...
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I feel sad that that is the only way out, but at the same time, his action impacted others. They say most train drivers who witness those events never get back to work because of ptsd.
Load More Replies... A Jones 2 years ago
To witness death & near death multiple times in life, the majority were strangers and other species. I'm not even in any police/medical/military field. I'm just an unlucky desk jockey with anxiety and growing PTSD. :| I live in one of the safest US cities too, all incidents were health/traffic related.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Dinner conversation: "So I was reading about gangrenous ergotism..." and that's why we don't talk much at our table at supper.
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