And we’re not talking about the haunted houses you pay to go into during October to be scared, friends.
We’re talking about legit haunted houses where people thought they were being tormented to ghosts, spirits, demons, and anything else that goes bump in the night.
Do you believe in ghosts? Well, maybe you will after reading these posts.
Here’s what folks on AskReddit had to say about their creepy encounters.
1. Away at college.
“I lived in at an old house in Birmingham (UK) when I was at Uni.
I can’t say for certain it was haunted but we got it dirt cheap as no-one wanted to stay there and it was definitely…odd.
I’m fairly certain I saw the old man, I was up late at my desk finishing an essay and got a weird buzzing in my ear. I turned round to see an old mans face grinning at me.
I fell of my chair and through myself across the room falling and subsequently breaking my bedside lamp. I honestly could not stop shaking and stayed up all night chainsmoking.
My housemate, witnessed her bathroom door flying opening and lights flickering.
We all started getting really low and arguing (normal i guess) but we dreaded the house, some of stayed over at others so we could sleep better. Started becoming reclusive.
My other housemate was downstairs (bedroom) she used to wake up to knocks all the time. You could hear it from upstairs, she moved out first.
I’m sure there are other things that I’ve blocked out and I’m sure all these can be rationally explained but we were all very happy when we left. It was sold after we went.”
2. Unexplained.
“Growing up my father saw a home as an investment, so we would typically buy and live in fixer uppers until renovations were done, then sell for a profit after the capital gain tax was no longer in effect.
So, I’ve lived in 10 different residences, nothing newer than 1968. My first house is now 110 years old, was a former bookie joint with a colorful history and I lived there alone for several years and never experienced anything weird there or anywhere else, except for the house I lived in from 8-16 years old.
It was a huge ranch house built in the 1950s, with half of the cellar being a one bedroom apartment with a private entrance and a bar and library. A pretty cool setup. I typically had friends over for sleepovers and we would use the vacant apartment to stay out of my parents hair, most would only stay once, maybe twice because they felt weirded out in the apartment and I would always go to their place after that.
It always felt like someone was right behind you or just out of eyesight watching you. I always avoided being anywhere downstairs unless all the lights were on or someone else was in the room with me. It was just this heavy, uneasy feeling that I have never experienced elsewhere 25 years since.
Other weird experiences there was the night the doorbell rang in the middle of the night and all the pictures fell off the walls in the hallway, and another time everyone in the house awoke at once when we all heard someone running down the same hallway.
We kept in touch with the neighbors next door, and the house has had several different owners since the late 1990s. But they said a few of them asked about the history of the house because of unexplained phenomenon.
My parents current home abuts the property of the place and they have yet to ask the couple the bought it about it. I hope to hear that they feel the same way.”
3. Unsettling.
“When I was 13, I couldn’t sleep one night so I went into my mom’s room to sleep on this loveseat she had. On the ceiling directly above the loveseat was a wooden door to the attic.
I had been lying there for about 10 minutes when I got this really eerie feeling. I looked up to the attic door and I sh*t you not, it was being lifted up from the inside. I repeat, LIFTED UP BY SOMETHING ON THE INSIDE OF THE ATTIC.
Immediately, my 13-year old self shut her eyes. When I opened them, everything was back to normal. I’ve always chalked it up to sleep deprivation, but I don’t really know.
There’s a bunch of other stuff that happened, too. When my sister was one, she would stare at the top of the stairwell and laugh at absolutely nothing. She did this almost 4 times a day. My little ankle biting dog would stand at the edge of my bed, stare at my doorway, and growl for minutes at a time.
One of the showers would turn on at random times during the day. Keep in mind this was an old shower, you had to use a pretty good amount of force to get it to turn on. I would hear footsteps and doors opening and closing when I was alone at home.
Easily the most unsettling experience, though, happened when I was 17. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard a loud voice right in my ear say “HEY!”
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep that night.”
4. Didn’t feel right…
“Growing up I lived in a small house that was built in the 1920’s as a cabin. I NEVER felt right in that house.
I always felt like something was watching me growing up. Something bad. I only felt safer when I was outside. The last time I was alone in that house I was in my 20’s, living away from home but had came back for the day to take care of my parents dogs while they were out of town.
It was night, I only had one light on in the living room where I was and I was petting the two dogs. I was just sitting on the couch, no tv on or anything, just silence. All of a sudden, the dogs turned, looked at each other like they were silently communicating.
One dog walked over and sat in front of my old bedroom door, the other dog stepped in front on me and sat. Everything started crashing around in that room. Its like they were trying to protect me and I took them and ran out. Years later I was told by a medium that my step dad had a demon inside of him.
It would make sense considering his horrible behavior growing up and the other freaky things that happened in the house. Something was there.”
5. This old house.
“My house is around 140 years old.
A couple years ago I was sitting in my room at midnight, reading. I heard footsteps in the hall which I thought were my mom’e. My door was closed and my lights were off (I was reading on my phone) and suddenly the door opened and the lights turned on, but nobody was there and I noticed that my mother was still downstairs because I could hear her talking.
Then I heard my keyboard start having keys pressed but couldn’t see anything. I checked on my monitor a few minutes later and nothing had changed.
That’s the only paranormal experience I’ve had.”
6. Peacefully coexisting.
“I live in a house from 1926, when we dug our pool in the backyard we found the almost fully decomposed head (yes just the head…) of a horse.
That’s not the haunted part just the “this place has more history to it than meets the eye” moment. When my grandma died when I was 14 I decided to try and contact her, for whatever reason. Searched up a yes and no thingy online using a candle.
Didn’t think much of it, whatever I asked didn’t really get answered. Just as I decided to call it quits, the candle spun around and died out, shortly after that a gust of icy wind swept through my living room (has made sure all doors and windows were shut, no ac no source of outside air).
I thought that was weird, opened all the doors to let some warm summer air in. Went back to clean the candle away. Just as I reached for it I thought to myself “what if that was grandma”. Same instant, the landline rings exactly three times. I walk up to get it but the line goes dead after the third ringing.
Usually the phone blinks when someone called and you missed it. But then and there, Nothing. Looked into the missed calls history only to find the last call being four hours ago. I put the phone down with shivers running down my spine, turn around to see all three of my cats sprint out through the door.
They sat outside looking back in the house as if they had been scared by something, wide eyes bushy fur and wouldn’t be moved back inside, clawing at me if I tried to take them inside (until this day they are the sweetest things, wouldn’t bite or scratch or hiss at me). Took me hours later to get them back.
I’m pretty sure my house is haunted by some spirit, but I’m not scared of it anymore. It’s not malevolent and especially when I’m alone at home for multiple days I just kind of converse with it.
For example, was going to bed one night and the bathroom lights flickered ever so slightly. I said “if there’s a spirit here, I will count down from 3 and then you’ll flicker the light”. Sure enough, when I got to 0 and pointed at one light, jt flickered.
Thought it was pretty cool, but it wouldn’t stop. I told it to stop the bullsh*t and it did. Now we just peacefully coexist.”
7. Lightning strike.
“I had one really weird experience, there’s a massive sliding glass door that plainly shows the lake nearby and the balcony where I was sleeping and I couldn’t sleep that night because the thunder was really loud, so I started staring out on the balcony.
And I could’ve sworn there was a figure standing out there on the balcony, then lightning struck somewhere nearby and there was enough light for me to go “Holy sh*t there is something out there!”
And I turn the other way, nothing else really creepy has happened to me though, other people living in that house are another story entirely.”
8. It happened one night.
“I remember one night specifically.
I was in second grade and my room was small and also we’re the entrance to the attic was (never was able to open it no matter how hard we tried.) It was about 1:30ish and I some up so I can go to the bathroom. My bed was next to the wall on one side but next to my bed on the other side was the door which was a sliding door and had a gap on the bottom to see light.
I swing my feet over to get sit up but instead of the floor, I hit the wall. Not thinking much of it and believing I was on the opposite end of the bed I kick to the other side and again my feet hit a wall. At this point, I was starting to panic but not enough to where I still had since to try both ends of the bed and again. Walls.
Once I realize this I look at my hand and try to adjust my sight but nothing it is picked black to the point where I can’t even see my hands. I start kicking at the walls and screaming and crying. Even with as much noise as I was making no one came to get me as no one heard me. I was like this for what felt like hours until.
Finally. I see the light under my door and am able to escape. I get out and go to the bathroom with tears still running down my face. In later years I told my mom about it and she said that she never heard me make any noise at all. I’m 20 almost 21 now and I still remember to this day.
And just as a fact no, I’m still not and have never been claustrophobic.”
9. That’s spooky.
“My old childhood house was haunted.
It was built over an old wheat field and according to the neighbors, some local children would walk into the field and never come out.
I never saw anything, but according to my mom, she would see random children running through the house at night.”
10. The man made of shadows.
“My first house I bought at 23, there was a man made of shadows who lived in the corners of the rooms.
He never faced the room – he faced the wall. I started have intense sleep paralysis several times a night when I moved there – I never had that before that house, and never had it after I left either. I lived there 6 years and basically finally just fled. I only went back for the last of my stuff because my mom made me.
While I lived there, the neighbors acted all weird. The lady across the street thought I was the caretaker for some old woman. I lived alone. I told her so. She called me a liar because they could all see the old woman sitting in the big front window watching them and such, glaring. She was supposedly a grouchy old woman who never waved back, and always glared and looked angry.
That neighbor spread some BS small town gossip about me being mentally handicapped. Another neighbor told everyone that I didn’t actually buy the house, my dad did, and I lived there – again – with the old woman because I wasn’t capable of living alone. Like I lied about the woman to cover my mental handicap?
IDEK. I never, ever, ever saw this supposed old woman. I never thought there was anything in that house with me but the shadow man, and he was in different rooms than the one the neighbors said the lady sat in.
When I finally fled that house, I moved to Cleveland. I got a really nice apartment on the lake. It was golden. I made friends with the lady in the apartment next door. She asked me one day who stays at my apartment when I’m at work. I was like no one, wut? I live alone.
No one but me has keys. It’s an old building and me and the lady share a bathroom vent so she said no, there is someone walking around my apartment during the day when I’m at work. It’s clear as day – she can see my room lights through that shared vent, and there’s no soundproofing in a building that old. She swore for a year that there was someone walking around my apartment when I was at work. I figured she was just hearing things.
I moved again to a townhouse down the street. This was on a corner of the street, and across the street was another townhouse. Neighbors and I would wave back and forth from our porches or dining room windows. It was really close, we were all really friendly. One day, the lady in that other townhouse asked me how my mother is doing.
I was like WTF, fine? (She lives an hour away, and only visited my apartment once for like 30 minutes. We don’t get together much.) Then my neighbor proceeds to tell me about how when “we” first moved in (I live ALONE, ya’ll), they all thought we were b*tches because my “mom” was so unfriendly.
Sat in the dining room window all day glaring, wouldn’t wave back at them when they walked outside or past her on the sidewalk – like right under the window, mind – they could tap the window as they walked by, like right by her nose where she sat, they were that close.
I tried to explain that I live alone. Neighbor didn’t believe me. So I dragged her into my place and demanded to know where this second person was sleeping. Where her things were. Where SHE was. Etc.
Neighbor never came into my home again after that, but she and her husband would mention offhand now and then that the old lady “mom” was still in my place, they saw her that morning, etc.
I bought my next house two years later and moved about a mile away. I’d been there a week when my new neighbor knocked on my door (it was snowing) and asked if I knew the old lady in the driveway between our houses. I was like wut?
He said that there was an old lady in the driveway between our houses a few minutes ago, and it was snowing, and they thought she must live with me, like my senile mom or something. They were about to call the cops, but wanted to check first in case she just wandered outside. I told them to call the cops, because I live alone.
That was the last time anyone ever saw her. My actual mom visited a few days later, I told her the story, and she went around my house shouting at the “old lady” to leave me alone.
Like, it was weird – my mom is not that kind of person, doesn’t believe in that kind of things, etc., but people have been telling me for years and multiple houses that the old woman lives with me. After my mom shouted all over the house, she seemed to be gone. It’s been 4 years since anyone saw her, and I’ve moved again.
My current house is 202 years old, and quiet.”
11. The haunting.
“The house that I lived in last year was haunted.
I no longer live there and I am a lot more into cleansing and protection now, so I no longer experience any of this, which honestly makes it even weirder.
I lived in a 5 bedroom house with 4 other people, my boyfriend, his cousin, my best friend and her boyfriend. We started realizing immediately that the house was a bit off in terms of energy, but we always put it up to the fact that this many people living together can do that to an environment.
Me and my best friend were the first ones to start experiencing things. Cupboards would be wide open in the mornings, drawers too. A kite on our wall would blow around randomly. We’d see shadows in the corner of our eye constantly. We’ve heard huge bangs on the walls and something even strummed a string on my boyfriends guitar in the middle of the night.
My boyfriend and I were also very active sleep talkers at the time. I would record us every night on a sleep recording app so we could listen again later. We would always act super disoriented and confused, like we were learning how to speak words again. It was really weird and I still have all the recordings.
My best friend and I put two and two together that there were 2 main spirits in the house. Both male, they tend to stay in different areas of the house. The more malicious one was upstairs while the more playful one was in the kitchen.
But we do think that we heard the two spirits conversing a few nights before moving out. It was just my best friend and I and we were home alone. We heard two male voices approach the door and chat with each other. My dog was barking up a storm and freaking out. We waited about 5 minutes until we opened the door to see who it was, thinking it was my boyfriend and a friend of his.
There was nobody outside our door, not even our motion sensor light was on. We had heard the voices right before opening the door. My boyfriend was a 20 minute drive away, and it was 2 in the morning. Edit: I wanna add that ever since we moved, I’ve been sleeping with selenite and tourmaline by our bedside.
We rarely , if ever, sleep talk now. Not sure what to do with that information…”
Now we want to hear from you.
Have you ever lived in a haunted house? Or maybe been in one?
Tell us about your experiences in the comments! Thanks!
