Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve LOVED all-things scary.
Scary movies, scary books, scary TV shows: you name it, I like it.
And that’s why I’m pretty amped up for these scary stories!
What’s the scariest true story you know?
Let’s see what people on AskReddit had to say.
1. Unwanted guest.
“For about a year I lived in a house with four housemates. We had a pretty big backyard with a garage and a tool shed that we never used, ever. We also had motion detector lights.
Two of my housemates were very superstitious and believed in ghosts and spirits and such. They also liked to get high on different substances.
The lights in our backyard would go off randomly, I assumed it was animals, my housemates were sure it was a ghost. One of them told us she’d seen a man-ghost looking trough our window when she was high on shrooms. They thought it was scary, I thought nothing of it because… well yeah.
A few nights later, drunk me thought I saw a man through the mesh-door to the backyard. I just thought my mind was playing tricks on me because my housemates kept talking about the “ghost”.
Eventually I moved out to go back to my home country, and about 6 months after that I FaceTimed with one of the housemates. Well, turns out it hadn’t been a ghost.
A homeless man had been living in our toolshed for god knows how long. It gave me the creeps for sure.”
2. BTK.
“My mom and uncles were all close with Dennis Rader (BTK serial killer) growing up. Mom because of church sh*t with him, his wife and daughters. Uncles because he was their scout leader.
A couple days after he was caught my uncle who spent the most time in Scouts got very drunk and was talking about “which knives were his (Rader’s) favorites” and the reason he’d given the kids.”
3. Dead end street.
“I live on a dead end street.
One day I was cleaning and heard my younger daughter talking but my older daughter was at school so we were home alone. I go into her room and there’s a man on the street she was talking to through her window. I quickly ran outside to catch him but her was gone. A few weeks later my older daughter was riding her bike then quickly came inside crying and panicking.
She said an old man was trying to talk to her while she was riding her bike. She described the guy I saw talking to my younger daughter. I reported it and haven’t heard anything back. I swear if I ever get my hands on him I’ll be happy to go to jail”
4. South Africa.
“I was surfing in Cape Town with a friend who had been staying in CT longer than me, and he told me about a crime that had occurred at the same spot a little while before.
A guy was surfing, came out of the water and went to his car. A local came over with a gun and told him to hand over his money. The guy had no money, so the local told him to drive him to the nearest ATM and empty his card. Somewhere in the middle of the carjacking the surfer tried to fight back, got shot in the gut and was stuffed in the trunk by the carjacker, who proceeded to drive to a local neighborhood and pick up a pair of girls he was friendly with.
They drove around joyriding for a bit until the guy in the trunk apparently woke up and began making a lot of noise. The girls got spooked and the carjacker let them out, drove to a field nearby, doused the injured surfer in petrol and burnt him alive.
They never caught the guy. The first girl made an initial testimony to the police and then mysteriously died in police custody. The second girl disappeared.
That story really spooked me because I had the sudden realization that I was a long way from home in a dangerous place, and nothing but luck was keeping me from a similar fate to that surfer. And if somehow I escaped from a situation like that, the police would offer me no help.”
5. Back in the USSR.
“An old co-worker of mine grew up in the USSR in its final days. She was an orphan and lived in an orphanage and would often sneak out.
She was about five or so. One time she came across a guy who convinced her to come along with him. They ended up in some kind of distant area somewhere. A lake edge or something?
Anyway, I asked her why she had gone with him and she had said he was just super friendly and she hadn’t really met anyone who had been kind to her. And he played her some guitar, they had a fire, she sang and laughed and danced with this guy.
Eventually some police or authorities of some kind showed up and arrested him. Turns out the guy was a serial killer and r*pist of children. She was there when they asked him why he hadn’t done anything yet. He was known to be really brutal.
Apparently it was the first time a kid hadn’t been scared of him. The fear is what would help compel him to commit his actions and he got off on that, but she wasn’t really afraid at all and it was one of the first times he’d been able to really interact with a target. And they had been having fun so he didn’t want to end it too quickly.
From what I understand she ended up back in the orphanage after, and after the collapse of the USSR had made her way overseas to Canada when she was older.”
6. Study partner.
“My mom was study partners with Ted Bundy.
He invited her to go to his apartment to study.
A Law professor pulled her aside after class and warned her that he was being investigated by the FBI.
Shortly after, he was arrested but escaped from prison.
Left behind in his jail cell was my mom’s name and address.
Without the law professor’s warning it could have turned out much differently.”
7. Killer.
“The Robert Pickton murders in Canada.
He was like a modern-day Jack the Ripper. The story is right out of a horror movie.
He was a farmer who hunted prostitutes in the East end of Vancouver so no one would notice women going missing. He would tie them up, torture and kill them and then feed the remains to his pigs.
He killed at least 49 people, but one of them got away mid-attack. She went to the hospital with handcuffs still on but because she was on drugs was not taken seriously. Pickton even showed up to the hospital with the handcuff keys.”
8. Yikes.
“I heard this from my grandpa. He used to work in the oil/gas industry. His father actually owned the company.
Anyways, they had these huge tanks full of some kind of deadly gas that’s heavier than oxygen. Some guy went down to measure the size of the tank, suffocated, and died.
Another guy found him at the bottom, wanting to help the man, he went down after him, suffocated, died after falling off the ladder down. Third guy does the same.
Eventually my grandpa finds 3 dead bodies at the bottom of a large tank, all having suffocated on this toxic gas.
They have vents in these tanks now, which is good.”
9. Mass shooting.
“My best friend and someone I’ve known since I was in kindergarten was at Santa Barbara during the shooting. His friend and roommate was gunned down in front of him. I’m not sure how he survived.
I remember the feeling of horror when I stumbled upon the live thread that morning. Just this feeling of being useless you know something is happen and your best friend is in danger and there’s nothing you can do because he’s so far away. I’m so glad he survived but it still must haunt him.
When he came back home afterward he immediately came to my place and asked my family if he learn to use our pistol and rifle only family around he know that had firearms. I don’t maybe it was a coping thing.
Apparently he goes hunting now. Bachelors in microbiology and he goes hunting. I’m proud of him though. Only guy I know from my home town to make it through college.”
10. Still guilty.
“I was about 10 years and slept over at a buddy’s house for his birthday. The next morning we’re playing in the front yard and one of his neighborhood friends asks us if we wanted to go to the local Quickie-Mart for something.
It was less than a mile away and we’d have to ride bikes. My buddy asked me if I wanted to go and I told him no, so we didn’t go. We were the last to see that kid alive.
He rode his bike and was picked up along the way. They found his body behind someone’s fence. he had been rap*d and strangled.
I still feel horrible. If I said yes, then there would either be three bodies or the kid wouldn’t have been taken. I don’t know.”
11. A nightmare.
“It happened about 12 years ago.
I’m a 39 years old anesthetist from Egypt. 12 years ago I was working in a small hospital in the rural City of Rosetta (if you know Rosetta Stone, this is the city where they found it).
The hospital is formed of 5 floors. The dormitories are in the 5th floor. The ground floor had the emergency and causality department. Other floors have the wards, the labs and the operative theatre.
At that time the hospital was under some maintenance. In that particular day I was on duty. There was nothing in the operative theatre that afternoon so I was in my room in the 5th floor surfing the web on my netbook. I heard some knocks on the door. It was the janitor, he told me that some new (beds and wardrobes) would be delivered now. He asked me to stay out of my room till they finish the replacement.
I stayed in the TV room for a while when suddenly the PA system announced my name to head immediately to ER. Before I move one security man came running and he told me that there was a big road traffic accident that involved a school bus and that every one available is needed down. I rushed to my room, found the new furniture in place so I closed it and ran down to the ER.
When I entered the ER department I noticed the new color of the walls, before it was green now it’s blue with silver decorations everywhere. While I was helping the children, I asked one nurse when they changed the colors of the ER, would all the hospital have the same pattern. She looked me confused and asked what new color, it was always like that. I got confused myself but I didn’t pay attention to that.
There were many injured children. There’s were many doctors, pediatricians, surgeons etc. A lot of them were new faces to me. I was working in this place for several years so I almost knew everyone. I was asking myself when all those new people came.
I should be more social and so but I didn’t expect anything bad. I was asking the people I know about the new doctors and always I was getting the same answers: you don’t know him?! how?! He was here for several years. We meet over lunch or dinner etc. Again I was confused but I didn’t pay attention. Thank God nothing was serious. No one was admitted to ICU or went through an emergency surgery.
A couple of hours later, everything is fine and things began to settle down. So I went outside the ER to have some fresh air. I won’t forget what I saw. The hospital place is near the Nile (the Western branch, the Rosetta branch) so that’s what I usually see when I leave the hospital. But what I saw was simply the Mediterranean.
Rosetta City is near the Mediterranean but not that close. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I began to look to the surrounding buildings. Some I knew, some I didn’t. Now I freaked out, I remembered that I didn’t recognize the ER or the new doctors. I ran inside to my colleagues and I asked them about what is out side they told me It’s the Mediterranean.
I shouted: I know it’s but how did it come to here? Every one was confused. I kept asking where am I? And my colleagues started to calm me down and try to understand why the panic. I tried to call my parents (I was single at that time) using my cellphone but they didn’t answer. I wanted to call another older anesthetist, I consider him a father and my best friend. I couldn’t find his name on my phone. I really freaked out.
I asked my colleagues for his phone number, every one told me that they don’t recognize the name. I was sure that I wasn’t dreaming, I was treating children calculating drug doses my mind was clear enough to know that I wasn’t dreaming. I got a mental block, I didn’t know what to do. Then I decided that I will leave the hospital at once, I need to see my family.
I ran to the 5th floor to my room to change my clothes and get my things before I leave the place. Once I opened the room, I noticed the usual furniture .. no new furniture no new bed or wardrobe. I stood there for a moment totally lost. Then I heard some one calling me.
It was a security guard, he told me that there is a big accident down that involved a lot of children and they needed everyone down there. I kept staring at him without any response. He kept talking that PA is down because of a faulty maintenance and that’s why they are calling the doctors individually. I told him that I will go down …
He asked me If they is any other doctors in the dormitory? I told him that I Don’t know so he went to check. I had a look out side the window and here it was the Nile and the usual scene. But I was already lost. I went down to help, the same children, same injuries but I was completely lost, confused and and hands shaking my legs barely carried me.
It was easy to manage the children since I knew them already. I knew what kind of injuries we will find.My colleagues (usual daily group – no more new doctors) asked if I was OK and that I was pale.
The next few days was like hell to me. I had nightmares. I wasn’t able to think clearly during my day. Then I took one week off to calm down. I have never experienced anything similar. I wasn’t on any medications at that time or under any kind of stress. Everything was clear it wasn’t a dream at all.
As I said my mind was clear to pay attention to the details of drug doses, scoring of injuries. I’m sure. Till today I still remember the children and what I did to them. I only told this story to this older anesthetist and later to my wife because whenever I remember it, I remember that horrible feelings I had.”
12. The big city.
“A few years ago I was living in a big city, didn’t know anyone. A guy I was seeing came (from abroad) to visit me. At the end of his trip I accompanied him to his train home. After that I went back into the metro to go home.
It was about 2 PM, very bright and sunny outside. I sat down on a bench near a man. We made eye contact and I said hello, he said hello back. I felt like something was off but tried to ignore it. The metro car came and we both got inside.
It was crowded. I took a seat, he took one of the only available ones which was right across from me. I started thinking I was overreacting since he started talking to a man near me, seemed like they knew each other. His friend got off after a few stops but he stayed.
Once I saw my own stop approaching to change lines I got up. He got up too and was right behind me. I could see his reflection in the metro car window and he was very slowly looking my legs up and down. I started to feel very uneasy. The doors open, we get off. I start walking quickly to the end of the platform then realize he might be following me.
There were several entrances/exits around so I suddenly changed direction to go to another exit. He changed course as well. Then I turned around again, he followed. I did this a few times and he changed his path to match mine each time. F*ck.
Eventually I knew I had to leave somehow so he wouldn’t catch up so I went to the exit I needed to take to change lines and go home. Unfortunately the passageway to the next line was flooded with people so I was slowed down. He caught up with me and started crowding me in, getting closer and closer to me. I was backed up against a wall at this point, him just smiling brightly at me.
“Hello, how are you?” He asked me, still inching towards me. I was terrified at this point. No one stopped to even glance at us so I knew unless I did something myself I wouldn’t get away from him. I glanced to the right and saw a staircase downwards.
Without warning I SPRINTED away to the stairs. He was very caught off guard and it took him 2 or 3 seconds to start following me. I flew down the stairs and straight into a metro car. I turned around to see if he was close behind. He was sprinting down the stairs as well. Thankfully, the doors closed before he could get to the bottom and we pulled away.
Surprisingly I had gotten onto the right metro line and direction to go home, not that it mattered much to me at the time. That incident and several others of men following me home or in the street make me paranoid when I walk outside alone.”
How about you?
What do you think is the scariest true story that you know?
Tell us all about it in the comments. Thanks!
