Pop quiz: What’s the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to you?
Every so often, someone posts a thread on Ask Reddit inquiring about creepy stories. Sometimes it’s fictional tales: Creepypasta, urban legends, pieces of local lore, and so on. The threads geared towards fiction, however, often lose steam after a while; they’re often populated by the same stories, and there’s really only so many times you can hear these tales before they lose their shine. Sometimes, though, the point of the thread isn’t fiction. Sometimes it’s truth — and as we all know, the truth is often stranger than fiction.
In response to yet another “What’s your favorite creepypasta?” thread that popped up over the weekend, redditor scaryghosts (fitting, no?) started a thread of his or her own titled, “Creepypasta are great, but does anyone have any good true creepy stories?” I lose hours every time I find one of these threads — but since Halloween is the only time of the year some of my weirder hobbies are actually relevant, this time round, I don’t have to read them alone. In honor of the fact that it’s almost October, I’ve culled 13 of the best stories from this thread to share with you, Gentle Readers. Some of them are supernatural in nature; others, meanwhile, are grounded firmly in reality. But regardless as to whether you believe in ghosts or not, they’re sure to send a chill up your spine.
So come on. Pull up a chair. It was a dark and stormy night…
1. The Imaginary Friend
I used to think I missed out on some important part of childhood by never having had an imaginary friend… but the number of creep-tastic stories I’ve read about them eventually convinced me that maybe I’d dodged a bullet.
2. The Motel Room
Anyone else thinking this one was going to end up like the creepypasta “White With Red?”
3. Is Tanya There?
I hope Tanya’s OK…
4. The Phone Call
I actually find this one kind of reassuring. Jim’s still looking out for his best buddy’s family.
5. A Brush With Death
Another Redditor dug up an article from the LA Times that seems to corroborate this tale, too: One of Bundy’s victims, Laura Aime, disappeared from a Halloween party in 1975 and later turned up frozen in Provo Canyon. Yikes.
6. The Home Intrusion
The Strangers in real life? Uh, no thanks.
7. Don’t Look Behind You
I’m honestly not sure which possibility is freakier: That the third man was a ghost, or that it was an actual person.
8. The Haunting of Room 217
We don’t often stop to think about the thousands of people who might have stayed in our hotel rooms before us… but maybe we should.
9. The Sound from the Stacks
I’m pretty sure all of us are imagining this happening in our college libraries now. Sorry, anyone who's currently working on a research paper of their own.
10. Why We Don’t Go Camping Anymore
Whether it was a cryptid or an actual creature is beside the point.
11. Stranger Danger
If I’ve done the math right, this one began roughly in 1991. Most parents these days would probably have called the police, changed their phone number, and burned all the ALF gear immediately, though.
12. The Cot Creature
Maybe it was the Rake?
13. The Light at the End of the Hall
To which I can say only this:
Images: Wiffle Gif (2); Some Gif; Gif Boom
