Not everyone needs to watch horror movies or read books to feel scared; they’ve had their own terrifying experiences. Some of these unusual occurrences have simple explanations, while others may make you question your perception of reality. One thing is certain: the true-life stories we’ve assembled will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading them.

Story 1:

My spouse texted me to say he’d be back from his work trip two days earlier. He came home on Monday and apologized for not warning me he was coming sooner. I asked, “What do you mean?” “I received your text!”
I showed him my phone, and we both became pale. A different message read: “Make sure to keep your phone next to you wherever you go; you never know who can mess with it!” We were so perplexed that we assumed it was a colleague pulling a prank. However, we discovered that the message had only been sent an hour before, and my husband was alone in his car at the time.
We still don’t know who sent those two messages, but thankfully we haven’t received any additional ones since.

Story 2:

After my cat of ten years died in December, I could still hear him meowing. Normally, I could dismiss it as simply thinking too much about him.

We had this ritual where we’d communicate back and forth—he’d meow, and I’d respond, “Clyde!” He would meow again, and I’d say, “Clyde!” Then he’d run up and we’d cuddle.

One day, I stepped outdoors and could hear him as if he were only ten feet away. Right after, I heard my own voice calling from afar, “Clyyyyde!” The meowing and my voice repeated themselves several times. It was really nerve-racking. When it came to a stop, I turned around and returned inside.

Story 3:

My husband passed away eight days before my daughter’s birth. My son was five years old at the time. He was 18 when I told a friend that my spouse never met our daughter. My son turned and said, “No, he actually did.”
The next thing he said made my spine quiver. He claimed that his father used to visit them at school every day for seven years, then abruptly stopped and they never saw him again.
What concerned me were the specifics my son recalled. He described the man—the red hat he wore, his gestures—as identical to what his father used to do.
I asked my daughter, and she described the same man, down to the last detail. It still makes me shudder because that man could not have been their father. He had already passed away. I still have no idea who the stranger that came to see my children was.

Story 4:

There was a girl who was madly in love with me, but I didn’t want to be with her. I didn’t think about her after school, but one summer when I returned home, I discovered she had moved to my family’s building, to the apartment across from ours (my building has two flats on each floor).
I had never informed her where I lived before now. I decided to be pleasant and talk to her family, greet the neighbors, and so on, and I learned from her mother that the girl had proposed they move there. Now, I’m not sure if it was planned or by chance, but let’s just say we live in a big metropolis, so the chances of that being a coincidence were slim.

Story 5:

I was 15 years old and home alone when I heard a toddler giggling and running over the hard-surfaced floor of the house.
A one-story house with carpeted flooring throughout, including the kitchen.

Story 6:

One summer night in high school, I fell asleep with my window open. At around 3 a.m., I overheard someone repeatedly honking their car horn. At this moment, I wasn’t entirely awake or aware of where the sound was coming from. Then I heard a woman scream, “Somebody, please help me!”
This prompted me jump out of bed and rush to my mother’s room to inform her that we needed to call 911. My mom called to report the occurrence. After a few minutes, we saw the cops approach. They checked around with flashlights for a few minutes but couldn’t find anyone in their car, so they left.
The next day, we asked our neighbors whether they had heard or seen anything, and no one had. It still creeps me out to this day.

Story 7:

I was on the Tube in London when I noticed a guy seated directly across from me wearing an interesting, multicolored t-shirt. So I spent the entire voyage staring at him and his clothing, as you do on the Tube.
I got off at my station, while the t-shirt guy remained on the train. On my way up the escalator to street level, the same guy passed me on the other escalator heading down from the street.
There was no way he could have been there; I had left him on the train. It really terrified me out.

Story 8:

I had a dream in which my husband and I had three children. It was sweet and happy until they slowly vanished, Thanos-style. I recall waking up and feeling “off.”
The following week, we discovered I was pregnant with triplets. One of them miscarried, the second became unexpectedly unviable, and the third had to be removed because it was much small and posed a risk to my life.
It was the creepiest sensation I’ve ever had.

Story 9:

When I was 15, my parents went away for the weekend. I had fallen asleep but was awakened by odd voices. When I arrived downstairs, the TV was on static with the volume set to maximum, the radio was tuned to a late-night talk show, the oven had been manually turned on, and the fridge was open. All of the doors and windows were locked, but I still don’t understand why. I didn’t get any sleep all night.

Story 10:

When I was a kid, I recall lying on my bedroom floor with the door wide open as my parents watched TV in the living room at 1 a.m. Suddenly, I’d try to get up to use the restroom, and my mind would almost imagine me doing it.
It wasn’t until the fifth time that I realized I’d never gotten up. I was locked on the floor, unable to move, talk, or summon my parents. I felt as if something had stolen the soul from my body, and I was pinned down. I didn’t start crying until my dad came in and put me in my bed.

Story 11:

When I was about seven years old, I resided in a house whose former owner had di:ed. My parents were unconcerned about it because they did not believe in the paranormal and expected nothing to happen.
My room was the coldest in the house, and one night I awoke to see a pale, slender man peering at me from the end of the bed. I didn’t scream; I was so surprised that I must have passed out, since the next thing I remember it was morning. I never told my parents for fear of appearing crazy. But I recall his face quite vividly.

Story 12:

Many years ago, an abandoned old home stood at the far end of a plant nursery. Others had told us that they planned to party there. So, one night, a friend, his girlfriend, and I grabbed some snacks and made our way over, led only by the moonlight. We located the old house behind some tall trees and approached it.
As we came closer, I heard one frog croaking. As we approached, more frogs began to make noise. A few feet more, the sound of thousands of frogs drowned out all other noises, as if warning us not to approach the blackened glass dwelling. We followed the frogs’ instructions and returned home with our food, where they were secure.

Story 13:

My partner informed me that as a child, he would hear whispers and discussions in one of the rooms at night. He entered the room out of curiosity, and someone tapped him on the back so hard that he passed out. When he awoke, there was a gigantic mark on his back, resembling a scratch from large paws, which is still visible today. It is creepy.