I would venture to say that most people have their secrets. Some of them are silly, some of them are sad, and a few of them are dark enough that they must have changed lives for the worse.
These 15 people believe their secrets are shameful enough to keep for a lifetime, and reading through them, I’m glad to have led a rather boring life, I think.
15. It doesn’t have to stay a secret forever.
This is no longer is a dark secret thankfully, but I was sexually abused for many years as a child by my moms ex fiancé, I exposed him three years ago and reported him, for which he was charged and would have gone to trial for potentially 12years in federal prison but instead plead guilty on a plea deal and received 11mo in the work house with house arrest.
Moral of this story, if you’re deep dark secret is assault related, you’re not alone, it’s not your fault, I encourage you to expose them though understand if you don’t. Therapy, yes. If you choose to report, hope for Justice but anticipate injustice, allow it to fuel your activism but don’t allow it to hinder you from healing and moving forward.
14. Sounds like a terrible family.
I was molested by a close family friend when I was a kid.
My parents just never talked about it and let it at that. It really messed me up when I went through my teenage years. One day, when I could drive, I drove over to where he lived….. but they had moved.
I guess I wanted to confront him myself. That his wife stayed with him knowing what happened and his daughter probably not knowing and hoping I can crack a few ribs while I was there.
13. A prank that saved his life.
Ok, so, back when I was like 18, someone posted a suicide note on my facebook page. My parents rushed back home and I explained that someone probably just decided to post a fucked up prank on my account, since I had forgotten to log out of it in an internet cafe.
The thing is, while the suicide note prank really did happen, I did not do that at all, I was actually going to commit suicide that day. This is because at the time, I’ve dropped out of 2 prestigious colleges because I was having severe depression and just never attended my classes, and I was doing the same thing in my current one at the time.
I never thought about leaving a note or anything, since I had no shit left to say, I was just going to go to go hang myself. My parents arrived before I could even start preparing, so that prank actually inadvertently saved my life.
12. A rude awakening.
My mom had a friend who had 2 kids of her own, both girls. Sometimes we’d go over and visit, and normally i got the impression that my mom’s friend was a pretty shit person. Her kids were a little fucked up too, but normally in more of a “I don’t wanna behave the way you want me too” way than a “I’m doing this to be a dick” way, you know? One time we went to visit and I was like maybe 5 or 6 years old they were misbehaving pretty bad, being like general trolls.
Eventually they calmed down and I was playing some normal ass kids game when they thought it’d be funny to run around with their clothes off. Obviously I did not participate and was a bit mortified, but also maybe felt a little something I never had before. Anyways, eventually the mom caught up and found them both “hiding” in the room with me.
We knew they’d be punished: they were misbehaving pretty damn bad. Their mom then dragged the oldest naked into the bathroom.
Locked outside, I heard her beat the f**k out of her child. Heard the whole thing, the yelling, the crying, and the meaty fu**king slaps landing. The kid walked out of there with bruises and a black eye and went to put on clothes. It’s one of the earliest memories I still have.
Never even occurred to me a parent could possibly do that to their own kid.
11. They might never again.
Not exactly dark but when me and cousin were kids we both had kissed each other multiple times (we both are straight males).
We don’t talk abt it to each to this day.
10. A moment she’ll never forget.
I sadly have a similar memory. I went to visit a friend (a neighbor, her house was right next to mine) to play. I was like 9 she was 7. I remember she was younger than me.
I don’t remember very well how things happened, but she was supposed to do the dishes and she hadn’t, her dad dragged her to his room and beat the s*%t out of her. I remember i was froze in the living room hearing my friend screaming and crying and begging her dad to stop.
I was told to leave by a family member. I’m almost 40 and i still remember that very well.
9. A real father.
Not exactly dark but I’m pretty sure my son isn’t biologically mine. There was a lot of doubt about the date of conception and multiple people his mother cheated on me with. But after months of being promised he was mine I foolishly just accepted it or told myself to anyway.
Cut to him being 3 months old she decides she’s scared of him and can’t look after him. He’s now 7 years old and never sees his mum, she’s vanished and doesn’t even check in with him.
He’s my son no matter what anyone could tell me as far as I’m concerned at this point though, I’ve raised him and loved him unconditionally for the past 7 years and will continue to do for the rest of his life. And if I’m being honest I’m also really scared to get a DNA test more than anything for fear that if I found out he isn’t mine I wouldnt love him or look at him the same way.
I don’t think I would ever do that personally but you just never know how a highly emotional situation is going to make you react or feel sometimes.
8. A happy turnaround.
No one knows that I moved to Europe to stop me killing myself when I failed out of uni. All they know is that I “impulsively” booked a one way ticket on a lunch break and moved a few months later.
Been here 5 years this coming march and I’m at the top university in my country (and 25th in the UK).
7. All in the family.
I have a very large family. People I still don’t know even I’m 44 now. Back in high school in the early 90’s I had a normal teens years, met a beautiful girl in the swim team, we started dating. After a couple months of going out, we started getting more serious then the deed happened. Our relationship was maybe about a year in when I got her pregnant, she was pregnant with twins, two beautiful girls.
On the 8th month of the pregnancy we found out that her mother and my mother were actually first cousins, so that made us second cousins (we found out nearly 2 years after starting dating).
As you can expect, the entire family went DEFCON1 and were divided over this for many years to come. F**k it, by this time, she and I were deeply in love. We got married, we had a somewhat happy marriage, 12 years later we divorced as we started to grow apart (usually happens when married too young).
Anyway, we went our separate ways, I started my business, bought her a house so that she can live in peace with our daughters and I bought my house near by.
We divorced, but we remained close friends for the sake of our daughters, now they’re adults and love me and their mom equally since we worked together to raise them even after the divorce.
6. Notably, indeed.
My maternal grandmother, who recently died, murdered at least one of her husbands for his money, and possibly more (because she had several who died under mysterious circumstances).
She was never convicted, but the dude died from rare earth metal poisoning that developed from years of eating tainted food. She cooked every single one of his meals during that period of time.
Notably, she did not get poisoned herself.
5. Sometimes you just need a reason.
I was addicted to meth and was being used as a pawn for more drugs when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter.
8.5 months clean. She’s 3 weeks old tomorrow.
4. A loyal spouse.
My husband never graduated college, but leads everyone to believe he did, and has established a remarkable career while using this falsified information.
He doesn’t know that I know, and I’m never going to tell him. He’s the smartest person I know and generally honest to a fault.
His secret dies with me.
3. That is quite a secret.
My mother is an angel of death.
By that, I mean that in two separate cases she poisoned our family dogs to death and when her father was in late stage of his cancer, she overdosed him with an enormous dose of morphine to end his life. My grandfather is the only one she has admitted to.
As terrifying as that is, it gets worse. She spent several years working in a retirement home as a nurse. She eventually was exited from that job. Not fired, didn’t quit, but was quietly exited from the residence.
It goes without saying, we don’t speak and she is not allowed near anyone I care about.
2. A good mother is everything.
I planned an elaborate 2+ year suicide plan that let everyone down gently in the best way possible. I moved to another state, basically told everyone to F off, and just held the fort down until people quit calling. After that, I’d give it about 6 months, do the deed, and then take my life. The objective would be a “good riddance” more than a “he will be missed” response.
The problem? My mother. She drove to me monthly and called me daily. She always knew something was up bc she’d always end our convos with “remember, I need you around and will always love you!” And it shook me to my core. Later on, my best friend started spam calling me all the damn time. Annoyed, I finally answered. It went to the tune of “finally you asshole, let’s catch up” and he would do that weekly.
Then…oh boy…my mom brought me a cat. She put me in therapy and with a psychiatrist. He suggested we get an emotional support animal. That cat saved my life more than once.
One night, I couldn’t take it. I started writing the final letters to everyone. I apologized to every person that got written to about the treatment, but it was the way it had to be. Then…my moms letter. I cried so damn hard. When i started writing about take good care of the cat I bawled uncontrollably. I exhausted myself and passed out at my desk. I woke up to cat taps and chirps bc it was time for his treats and food.
He still lives with me and I love him more than anything. I’m a grown ass man that will drop anything to pet a cat. To me, they’re little angels.
Nobody knows of this except my wife, mother, and therapist, and it’s my darkest memory / secret.
1. She can never shake it.
I was repeatedly sexually abused by an older neighbor kid when I was 4-6. I have never told a single soul. He found me on social media years ago and I accepted his requests, but never said anything to him about what happened when we were kids.
I feel oddly guilty about what happened, even though I know at that age I didn’t understand what was going on, only that it felt wrong. I’ve been in several serious relationships, including a marriage that ended in divorce, and I’ve still never revealed that side of me.
Part of me thinks I keep it bottled up inside and minimized because I am too afraid to acknowledge what happened to me, and that it has probably seriously affected me now almost 30 years later.
I do feel a bit of relief now though, even though this is a completely anonymous platform. Thanks for listening.
People can be just awful to each other, can’t they? My goodness.
What’s a secret you have that you’re too ashamed to share? Drop it in our comments if you dare!
