What's the scariest thing you have witnessed or experienced, that you cannot rationally explain?

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Orange_Codex@reddit

Far, far too many to count. I was a ghost hunter and practicing occultist for thirteen years.

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kushqt420@reddit

Please tell us a couple, that is a mad career!! Don't you do it anymore?

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Orange_Codex@reddit

I'll type up some favourites tomorrow (it's 3am here).

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UKexFuneralD@reddit

Things which can't be explained after someone has died are so common that the funeral director's guidebook (a thick tome, dry and humourless) has to refer to them. As a funeral director it was not frightening; quite the reverse, it should be a comfort to know that the spirit lives on. I didn't know what I believed about an afterlife when I went into that job, but I have no doubts at all now.

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lolzatnothing@reddit

At a friend's house when we were about 15 his mum asked us to get some boxes down from the attic. So three of us went up the ladder and my friend looked for the boxes while we stood next the the attic entrance. An old woman walked across the hall wall below us going from one room to another.

"Hey is your gran staying with you" I asked "Nope she is at her house in Brighton." He replied looking scared. " Who is the old lady downstairs?" His face dropped and he shot down the ladder. We followed rapidly. There was no one there, but he properly broke down and kept shouting at his mum "see I told you, now other people have seen her.".

I used to babysit 2 little girls, 6 and 4, in their home which was so old it was listed in the Domesday Book. I babysat every week, the girls shared a room and were always asleep when I got there, never woke up or cried any time I babysat…except once.

I saw something similar to this in about 1995! We were at the Rock and Blues bike fest in Derbyshire, out in the countryside and the stars were brilliantly visible. One 'star', however, elongated to a line in the sky and then shortened back to a star! Like a shooting star but very slow, precise and controlled. Very hard to explain - it was like a line being drawn in light in the sky. A white lightsabre.

A couple of us saw it and gawped at each other. Never seen anything like it since.

This was well before drone technology.

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merryman1@reddit

Not to dispute anything you've said but "drone technology" goes back a long long way, the first radio-controlled planes were flown in 1917.

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cornflakegirl658@reddit

Which part of derbyshire was it? We have some ufo hotspots up here, bonsall springs to mind

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Some girl I used to be friends with has a really rich Grandma who owned a fancy penthouse flat along the South coast (being intentionally vague). It had a wrap around balcony and was about 20 stories tall.

One night we were out on the balcony drinking hot chocolate and talking late in to the night and we saw a light in the sky darting around erratically. It wasn’t following any noticeable pattern or route, just darting here there and everywhere really fast. At points it would go over the other side of the building and we’d lose sight of it, and then it would zip over again super fast and just zoom around in the sky.

Neither of us could explain it and never seen anything like it since.

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TackyTinsel@reddit

I saw something like this about 12 years ago.

We were driving home from the supermarket and I, the passenger, was staring at a moonbow! I was pretty excited, I’d never seen one before (haven’t seen one since).

Either way, there was this really bright light, I assumed it was a star, sitting quite low down, to the underside of the moon.

It was perfectly still for a few minutes as I was watching the moon, when suddenly it shot up and to the right and then disappeared. It was so fast.

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finders91@reddit

Similar experience. Structure of flashing lights stationary in the sky, arrangement of lights unlike typical layout for aircraft. Thing then moved across the sky impossibly quickly a few times and disappeared. As you say, difficult to explain with what we currently know about.

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Quirky-Valuable7467@reddit

Have seen similar. Multiple lights that look like stars in the night sky suddenly changing direction and speed.

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FireAntV1@reddit

I had a few strange experiences in the house I grew up in—and so did my family, friends, and even neighbours. I'd lived there for about 32 years.

When my sister was young, she had an imaginary friend: a little blonde girl she would regularly talk to and play with. We all assumed it was just a phase.

One day while my parents were leaving for work, my mum noticed movement in an upstairs bedroom window—just a glimpse, but enough to make her go inside and check in case one of us had come home from school. The house was empty. Doors and windows were locked, and the school confirmed we were both in class.

This didn’t just happen once—it happened multiple times over the years.

What made it stranger was that neighbours also mentioned seeing what looked like a little girl in that same window, even when nobody was home. The description matched my sister’s “imaginary friend”—and no one outside our immediate family even knew about her.

As we got older, the sightings stopped, but other things started happening. Friends would hear unexplained noises, and our dogs would suddenly bolt out of rooms and refuse to go back in, even though nothing visible was there.

There were many incidents, but here's two of them for starters.

One night, my girlfriend tried to leave the bedroom to go to the bathroom, this was when I was in my late teens / early 20's. But the door wouldn’t open. She was convinced someone was holding the handle from the other side. She was using both hands and couldn’t move it at all. When I got up and tried, it opened like it normally would. She was shaking and in tears. The hallway outside was noticeably colder than the bedroom. After that, she refused to go to the bathroom alone at night and every time she did need the toilet, I had to wait outside the door.

Years later, in a different bedroom along the same corridor, something similar happened.

We had our dog upstairs with us that night. U said bed and off he ran, Suddenly, he panicked—ears down, tail between his legs—and ran out of the corridor (he didn't get in the bedroom as I'd forgotten I'd left the door closed), urinating as he went. I saw it happen, with my girlfriend right behind me.

We rushed downstairs, thinking someone might have broken in, though there was no obvious way anyone could have accessed the house. I tried to get the dog to come back upstairs with me, but he refused, so I carried him. He was shaking the entire time.

When we reached the corridor, it felt cold again—just like years before, though not as intense. I checked every room, cupboard, and window. Everything was locked. No one was there. He was OK when we got him in the bedroom.

There were other incidents in that house and I could go on all night, but these will do for now.

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Therashser@reddit

As a teen I stayed over at a GFs, we'd been out with her dad (single parent family) and his friend/neighbour for a few drinks, the dad's friend was overly aggressive with me and kept telling me he could beat the shit out of five people my size at the same time.

After midnight, I could hear shouting outside, "I'm gonna fucking kill him" being the main point, her dad was outside too, I wasn't sure what that was about, slept and woke up to an array of weapons scattered in the garden, this was concerning, and I felt unsafe there.

Years later we were still together and moved in together, and she told me the neighbour had been abusing her since she was about 12, and the dad obviously knew as it had happened to three of his daughters and he'd kept quiet to protect his mate, both were utter pieces of shit, she was glad to escape them by living with me, I cannot explain how any father could allow this to happen to their children.

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Christian-Metal@reddit (OP)

This has to be one of the most disturbing replies to this thread. I hope the "father" dies a lonely and pathetic man, and that it's painful. Horrible.

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Therashser@reddit

He had a stroke and ended up wheelchair bound, he died about 6 years ago, one daughter kept contact.

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Kpnutfree66@reddit

Me and my sister where staying over at our stepdads parents house one night,the room was a loft conversion ,so had a window put in the roof,we both saw a cow walk past said window 😅,obviously it couldn't of been but we both saw it and commented on it at the same time

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KaiCypret@reddit

Want to preface this by saying that I categorically do not believe in ghosts, and am generally dismissive of ghost sories.
But I work in a thousand year old castle, which remains (after many renovations) in occupation by the same family for the past 800 years or so.

In the summer the place is entirely unremarkable. In the winter it becomes a bit desolate - all the seasonal staff bugger off, and about 10 permanent staff remain to keep the place ticking over and prep for the next year. I've been through this routine for two decades, and rarely experienced anything creepy, except for 3 times.

1: I was in our long library; a beautiful room maybe 80' long with huge and a pair of heavy oak doors at either end. These doors have sheet steel sandwiched between outer facades of oak, as a fire-protection measure. They weigh probabky several tons each, and take enormous effort to open and close; they simply stay where you put them and do not swing or move of their own accord. One dark January afternoon - about 4.30 pm - I was in the Library updating a catalogue, nobody around at all - I was the only person in the wing probably. Doors are open at either end of the Library, I am in the middle - 40 feet or more from either set - when suddenly all 4 doors slam shut at the exact same moment with an almighty crash. I dropped what I was doing and went home. Ask aroun the next day if anybody had been there and closed the doors, but nobody had, and it would have taken several people to close all the doors at the same moment.

2: Opposite side of the building. There is a long stone passage with a lovely vaulted ceiling, at the end of which is another set of lovely gothic oak doors leading to a set of stairs down to two rooms - one a store room, and next to it the family burial vault. it's a very odd layout and the storeroom is actually a seperate part of the vault which simply hasn't been needed yet, so it's a dumping round for old furniture, lumps of old stonework, and general knick-knacks. Very few people have a key to this area, and in practice it is probably opened not more than 2 or 3 times a year. This was the dead of winter also, so hardly anybody was in the building.
As you approach the door to go down, there is a strange little cut-out below the door handle, with a 3 x 3 inch piece of plastic inserted as a kind of window. It's too low to easily look through from outside - I think it's there so that anybody inside - coming up the stairs to leave the crypt - can see if there is somebody about to open the door into their face from above, as the stairs begin *immediately* inside the door.
I was coming from the other side to go down to the store room, had switched the lights on (the switch is outside the door) when I saw a shadow pass that little window and momentarily block the light from the other side of the door. This was very odd as I had only just retrieved the key from the office (which has to be signed for) and wasn't expecting anybody to already be in the crypt - I waited for a few seconds before opening the door, as I assumed somebody was coming up the stairs on the other side. But after 5 or 10 seconds there was no more movement, and there had not been any sound at all. I opened the door and there was just nothing there - nobody in the crypt (well it has another iron barred gate over the entrance and that was locked) nobody in the storeroom. There was nowhere else to go, so I'm at a loss as to who cast that shadow and where they went.

I’d been drinking all night, woke up next morning and drunk half a bottle of vodka and got on the beers, a mates brother left what I thought was a normal spliff in the ashtray and I smoked the whole thing, but it turned out it was spice, worst buzz I have ever had in my life 😅 while everyone having a jolly I’m apparently just sat on sofa looking a twat staring at my hands, but for me I’m floating off up to the ceiling looking down on myself, when I finally got back in, my heart was going bonkers and I genuinely thought I was going to have a heart attack, definitely would not recommend

I was in an abusive relationship. What helped me move on was learning the subtle red flags of abusers and toxic people so I could feel confident about avoiding them in future.

Don't let bad people win by limiting your life.

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mannyrerobate@reddit

Would you mind sharing what the flags were?

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D-1-S-C-0@reddit

They'll sound obvious but that's actually the beauty of it because they're fundamental traits of toxic people. The most important thing is being highly intolerant of them because they can seem unremarkable or excusable at first.

What sucks people like me into bad situations is the traits usually appear infrequently at the start, so you disregard them as a bad day or whatever. But then it gradually escalates. That's why intolerance matters.

Selfish. Any instance of them only thinking about what they want or showing no regard for you, your preferences or your feelings.

Controlling. Either directly by telling you what to do or indirectly with their mood to make you feel uncomfortable about doing something.

Unaccountable. They're only sorry if they think they might lose you but it's superficial and lacks specific accountability for their actions.

Reactive. They react hastily or excessively, especially if it's over something relatively minor or illogical.

Wow.

Let's hope you never have to go through such an experience.

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InevitableUnoriginal@reddit

Nah, you defo deserved it. Probably used to knock her about & she got sick of your BS. Women don't do that unprovoked.

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WordsMort47@reddit

While something might have happened beforehand, it's not certain that OP was the original abuser who backed her against a wall.

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PackUpTheKittys@reddit

Jesus, that commenter.....

Never let like that. First time I stopped at her house we were cuddling on her couch watching some horror film (her choice, not my type of film 🤷‍♂️) & she suddenly said "I'd love to stab somebody, just to see what it feels like"...

After eating, I stayed there to finish watching whatever I had on telly before going back upstairs but then my cat does it again, wakes up, looking directly through the slightly open door. This time since I didn’t have headphones on, I could hear that there was no sound but he looked really startled. I paused the tv to listen but still nothing. I called out and there was no reply. But then my cat got up and went almost to the door, back low and tail fully fluffed up with fear and then hissed! Now you don’t know my cat but he rarely EVER hissed at anything. I was terrified but managed to get up and look out the door. I still couldn’t see anything there so then went room to room leaving all the lights on as I went and he followed me.

Literally couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary in the entire house but it was like he could see or sense something there that I couldn’t.

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Christian-Metal@reddit (OP)

See, what you should have said to the voice is, "Sorry Sir, we don't serve spirits." 😁😉

One night, I don’t know what was different about this night, but I heard my name whispered and I instantly snapped with rage. I bolted into an upright position and addressed whatever this was. I uttered something along the lines of “I don’t know who you are or what you are, but just please leave me alone”.

The atmosphere of my room felt like it changed and I never heard my name called in that way again. To this day I can’t explain what it was or why it stopped once I’d spoken - makes me wish I’d been braver and spoke sooner!

It’s funny the things you put to the back of your mind. I hadn’t thought about this for years until today and it’s given me the chills again as I type this!!

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zer0c00l81@reddit

2 ghost type accounts.

1.Stayed at a B&B in Cardiff, proper old terraced type of place.

Im an incredibly light sleeper, always in a cat like state of readiness. Middle of night 1, light in the ensuite goes off and on randomly. No other electronic issues. In the morning had a good rattle about and jumping seeing if its a faulty wire trying to recreate. Looked at the roads near it, quiet street so no big lorry's or anything.

Night 2, more of the same with added opening and closing, slowly of the en suite door. Got up turned light off closed door. 30mins later, light goes on door slowly opens. Repeat several times in the night.

Night 3, same crack but with an added moving of a bed blanket, comforter type furry blanket, slowly off the bed. 100% haunted place.

Used to go out with a lass who lived with her mam in an old miners terrace house. Her mum joked and warned if I go to the toilet in the night just be aware theres an old miners ghost about.

Laughed it off. One night got up for a piss at like 3am, toilet door opens on its own. Light flickers. Thought nothing of it.

Happens a few times every now and again when staying there. One time happens again, left the room and in the shadows of the stairwell seen an old miners lamp flicker and disappear.

Christian-Metal@reddit (OP)

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franki-pinks@reddit

I’ve posted this before a couple of times on my old account and got called a liar etc but I’ll retell it now.

I used to jog in the same bit of woods every day. You run down a slight hill and then at the bottom there’s a t junction and I always went left. There’s a main road running parallel about 100 metres but the vegetation is so thick you can’t see the cars but you can hear them.

I was running one summers morning about 5:30am and it was bright sunshine beating through the thick trees as I ran down the hill. I got to the bottom and turned left and looked down at my watch for a brief second. Looked up an I didn’t know where I was. The lush green trees had been replaced with thick dead trees and shrubs and brambles everywhere. The sun had gone and the sky was grey. I turned around and the t junction wasn’t there. Just a path with the same looking thick dead forest around it.

I was panicking like fuck and got my phone out to check my Apple Maps and it told me I was right where I thought I was but I wasn’t. I ran for a minute or two in either direction but nothing or no one. I couldn’t hear the cars either. In a panic I just ran full pelt through all the trees and brambles towards where I knew the road was.

In about a minute or so I suddenly burst through something I don’t know what but all I could see was dead vegetation and then bang I was on a pavement and ran straight in to the road I was running that hard. A car slammed its brakes on and managed to avoid me as there was nothing coming the other way. He shouted “Where the fuck did you come from?” And then saw me and asked if I was ok.

I said yes and apologised and looked behind me and then trees and bushes were all thick and green and alive. The sun was beating down. Everything was normal. I looked down at myself and my arms and legs were cut to ribbons and my vest was torn to pieces. My nose and lip were bleeding and my head hurt where my hair had snagged on things.

I took a slow walk home and my husband looked horrified when I walked in. I told him I went a different route and got lost and fell in some thick brambles. He didn’t believe me and I broke down and told him what happened.

Later that day I asked if he’d walk the route with me. I was terrified going down the hill and could sense something weird but we turned the corner and everything was as it should be.

I can’t explain it and no one but my husband ever believes me.

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Zenmont@reddit

Sounds supernatural af, like you dipped into a different plane of existence or something.

Out of curiosity, if you had to come up with the most rational explanation possible, do you have any ideas? At the beginning, I wondered if this was going to be a case of 'running trance', but by the end, I'm not convinced.

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WordsMort47@reddit

One very unlikely but possible rational explanation: they were assaulted on their run and their mind created some other version of events to shield her from the trauma of the incident.

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Altruistic_Dare6085@reddit

It doesn't even have to be something as dramatic as a repressed traumatic event. One time I inexplicably got the worst fever hallucinations of my life from a common cold. The brain just does weird things sometimes.

As someone who loves folklore sounds similar to stories where ‘good folk’ put the stray onto someone. The Stray is getting lost in woods or seeing landscape change where people walk into rivers or water they can’t see and drown. The fix is to carrying hag stones or wear yiu clothes inside out or backwards to stop it

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downintheupsidedown@reddit

I rarely tell anyone about this because it sounds like I'm making stuff up - but my childhood home was weird as fuck. I hated being at home alone because there was always a presence. Weird things include:

If I put anything on a table or a flat surface (in the dead middle) I'd turn around and it would be rolling or thrown off - like someone just swinging out their arm and swiping it off.
I'd hear footsteps in the corridor pacing when everyone else was in bed. Sometimes I'd feel a cold hand on my shoulder.
The worst was sometimes having something hit my pillow next to my head, I'd feel the wind rush past my face like someone had slapped it really hard.
Sometimes I'd feel something sitting on my legs and I'd see the indent in the duvet.

The scariest by far was seeing a full on shadow person in the mirror reflection in the bathroom, not just a shadow, a full completely black, almost solid, taller than me outline of a person directly behind me.

I think there were probably more that I can't remember! I wondered if some were symptoms of sleep paralysis but I never experienced these things sleeping at anyone else's house, and never since moving out ...

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Bennjoon@reddit

My dad used to go jogging in the Lake District at night he’d run all the way to Caldbeck and back and sometimes slept in a bus shelter and my mum would pick him up He didn’t take any lights with him. Or a torch. Nothing. Mum has no idea how he could see in what would be utter darkness. One time he got hit by a truck and RAN BACK HOME looking like zombie. His shirt had been pushed inside his chest and he had a massive scar from then on.

One time he ran off into the forest while camping my mum said they found him at the bottom of the mountain sleeping on a bench. Still no explanation of how he could see in pitch black darkness or wtf he was doing. He also ran home from a New Year’s Eve party “to scare my fiancé” because we were staying at my house. It was 13 miles through pitch black countryside. A policeman stopped him mid woodlands. “Oh it’s just you Dadsname” 😭

He was extremely colourblind (achromtopsia) so I can only think that gave him some sort of weird night vision.

TLDR: I think my dad might have been some sort of cryptid yall.

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Non-wholesomechungus@reddit

Walking into a hospital bathroom hearing the door slamming by itself rapidly upon entering the slamming stopped. Noone in there just a late night experience. Also same hospital I saw one of the magazine racks spinning on its own.

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ThatFilthyMonkey@reddit

A boring explanation, don’t read if you just want to enjoy the posts, not trying to be killjoy, so only for people interested.

!A lot of hospital rooms are key at negative pressure to stop bacteria and viruses in the air and to keep rooms as sterile as possible. So often opening or closing a door will cause sudden change in pressure. It happens in our house if we have the air conditioner on upstairs.!<

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Hick-ford@reddit

That is some Creepypasta type thing, the scarcity in the unknown

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The loo kept flushing and the telly kept turning itself on and off in a hotel room I was in with my partner once some years ago. We decided not to stay a second night. We were both in bed when it was all going on, it turned out both of us had noticed, but neither of us wanted to wake the other up in case they were happily oblivious, so we both just lay there separately not wanting to disturb the other while being mildly perturbed.

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RoohsMama@reddit

Ghost took a dump

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MisticalMulberry@reddit

A few times I was alone, I felt and saw what I can only describe as a demonic (terrifying appearance) presence standing beside the bed but it did not speak or move, only looked at me. It always coincided with someone in my external family dying.

I’m also friends with someone who has experienced something similar but it happened after the death of a relative, rather than before.

Trumpsarightbollock@reddit

A near death experience. I was unconcious, not expected to live but I vividly recall the resus room,the staff,what they were discussing, but the weirdest bit was (obviously couldn't have physically happened) I was standing on the bed/stretcher telling them alsorts and could feel everything they were doing to me,including the defibrillator 4 times. The consultant finally said "not for icu, but keep them.on fluids and antibiotics and up to the ward".

I came round 8 days later, the consultant came in and I told him I remembered everything, including his instructions about not for ICU, and me "telling them.i had to lay down before the moved the bed" he explained at that point I'd just had a seizure.

Still can't explain it, neither can the doctors, they have no idea how I survived or how I knew everything. It's so odd thinking of it now. It was definitely real to me.

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RoohsMama@reddit

I’m more amazed by you surviving this. That consultant line (“not for us, keep them on the wards”) usually presages a bad outcome. Well done! You’ve got a second lease on life mate

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Major_Wowzah@reddit

Worked a pub in a rural coastal village. Very busy in summer, dead in winter. Only lived a mile away so often walked home along the country lanes at night after locking up. One night in winter after kicking the usuals out and locking up, walked through the village on my way home. One of the last buildings on the outskirts was the church. Noticed light on the stain glass windows which was odd as this was around 1:00am. Fuck knows why but I thought I should go in and have a look - I wasn't gettinn any scary vibes at all. Opened the door and went in, dead quiet. Walked further in and down the aisle and saw where the light was coming from. On each window sill and around the pulpit were lit candles. Walked further down to get a better look and noticed all the candles, all of them were 'full' - barely any wax had melted away. I don't know why but when my brain registered that the vibe changed straight away. Felt like people were watching me, even though it was dead quiet. For my own sanity I walked out rather than bolting for the door, but fuck me the chills I had on my neck were insane. Asked around the village the next day to find out if there was something on in the church, nope. No service had been conducted there for some time.

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RoohsMama@reddit

That’s super creepy! I wouldn’t have gone in. That was brave

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4snailsinatrenchcoat@reddit

Not exactly scary af but more of "wtf was that??"

We women don’t have the testosterone levels which would amplify the violent urges in a lot of the men who commit murders. (We do have hormonal rages but it’s largely due to a decrease in estradiol, not its increase.) So the women who planned to commit murders for any kind of gain, they’re so much scarier. Add to this the perception that women are the “softer” sex, meant to be nurturing or motherly. To see a cold blooded psychopathic woman is disconcerting.

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Bossman_Mike@reddit

The bodyworn of her arrest is absolutely nuts. You could tell the arresting officers couldn't believe what they were hearing.

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Tall_Stick5608@reddit

Yeah I felt the same - she was talking very casual with me. At one point she was complaining how some of the other inmates don’t keep their cells clean however I was thinking didn’t you keep 2 dead bodies in the house for 4 years. But yeah it was an experience

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carefulcroc@reddit

Crazy. How come you met her? And you've shared a cell with a serial killer? WTF man. Tell me more.

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Latte-Addict@reddit

It was the middle of the day and this disc thing was spinning and gleaming in one spot. Then it would appear in a other instantaneously. Suddenly, there was this very odd streak of light, and then what looked like smoke, except instead of billowing out, it was going back in, like a video played backwards .

We all looked at each other, bewildered and quite unsettled. It was very strange

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miIk-skin@reddit

I've seen one of those these too, but mine wasn't a saucer, it was the more commonly reported TR3B, or black triangle UFO.

The one I saw moved identically to how you report. No visible or audible means of propulsion, able to propel itself huge distances and come to a complete standstill, without seemingly any drag. It moved the way the a hoverfly or a hummingbird might.

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KezzyKesKes@reddit

Sounds similar to what I saw around the same sort of time. Like you say it wasn’t scary, just very strange.

The one I saw was totally silent, spherical, made of highly polished chrome with an oval orange light in the middle of it. It was hovering over a patch of water and what was really weird was that the water was rippling but not in the normal way waves do. The water was sticking up in big pointy spikes.

We could see this UFO from a way off and initially thought it was a helicopter as it was hovering just above the power lines. We would regularly see national grid surveying so didn’t think anything of it.

We got within about 100 yards of it and it took off vertically with no sound, no sign it had been there and at a ridiculously fast speed.

I once spent a weekend in a haunted house with a group of friends; as soon as we arrived, something just felt off in a way I couldn’t explain.

After a while we started to hear strange noises; phones pinging when there was no message, electrical sockets being switched on and off, furniture being moved around in an empty room. I heard someone speak to me, but when I turned round there was nobody there.

Several people had disturbing dreams about drowning, or being chased and not being able to run. A couple of people felt something brush past them.

After we left, the person who booked the house contacted the owners, who admitted that others had reported similar experiences. We’d got a cheap deal because everything in the house was very outdated, and not long afterwards it was completely refurbished - including the gas boiler, which I remember looked very old-fashioned.

I don’t have any proof of this, but I later saw a video of someone describing a similar experience, only she discovered what was actually haunting her house - and it was carbon monoxide.

The symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning can include hallucinations, a general sense of unease (which can sometimes feel like a presence) and a feeling of being held down or choked - all caused by a lack of oxygen and the brain’s attempts to figure out what’s wrong. A hallucination doesn’t have to be something obviously unreal; it could be something that seems to fit in with your environment.

I’m still open-minded about the existence of ghosts - but if you ever think you have one, check for carbon monoxide regardless of what you believe.

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MedicalHoneydew4534@reddit

That thread hits hard because the scariest stuff isn't ghosts or monsters—it's the quiet, real moments where your brain just cannot compute what your senses are telling you. The babysitting story is a perfect example of that primal panic, but honestly, the domestic violence comment is even more chilling because it's not paranormal, just pure human evil. It's wild how the threat of violence from someone who's supposed to love you can leave deeper scars than any haunted house ever could. Props to everyone brave enough to share these stories, because breaking that silence is the only way to stop the ridicule.

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Dry-Policy-1269@reddit

IDK if this does not adhere to the spirit of the question but at the time I was unable to explain it.

I was sleeping and woke up but somehow was unable to move. Outside my closed bedroom door I hear loud banging which speeds up then suddenly stops. Then a deep voice from outside slowly counts down from 10. I manage to fully wake up when it reaches 3 and the voice stops.

I had horrible sleep paralysis as a teen.

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RoohsMama@reddit

This sounds like another episode of sleep paralysis. I had lots of those scary moments

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suzy_ko@reddit

Same. I still have it at 33, especially if I sleep on my back.

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Minimum-Platform518@reddit

Me and a few friends were camping in the local woods when we were 17. It was already getting dark when we were setting up so by the time we set up and settled down it was around 11pm. We were quite far into the woods and didn't notice anyone follow us so when we heard some loud rustling outside we got spooked. The 4 of us got out to see and it was a bright orb light just a few metres away from us. At first I thought it was someone with a phone torch but it didn't move like a human. It could of been a bug but it was making quite a noise. We watched in awe for about 5 minutes and followed it but then it just stopped and the light was gone. It was so strange and we decided to leave the woods that night. Found out that someone had committed suicide either that night or a few nights prior I cant quite remember since it was over 15 years ago.

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heidivodka@reddit

Not my story but a friends. She was staying in a b and b and during the night she felt something heavy come onto her bed and press her body down. She was shouting and her friend turned on the light, nothing was there and her friend laughed at her for being silly.

Honestly one of those things that you witness alone and no one to prove and I laughed more than anything at how crazy it was.

Fluffy_Ad2274@reddit

Walking in a lane, dry stone walls high either side, open country either side, glorious sunlight and excellent visibility. Go round a blind corner, and see another walker ahead. I assume he's come onto the road from a footpath I passed a few minutes previously, as there'd been noone in front of me earlier.

He goes round the next blind corner, and two or three minutes later, so do I. He's nowhere to be seen. Half a mile of straight road before the next bend, high walls, no footpaths. Nowhere he could have gone, and yet...

The Walker is a bit of a countryside mythology trope. Now I know why.

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Oster-P@reddit

Cycling to work early morning on the outskirts of York, this was about 25 years ago, nice summer day, clear blue sky. I turn a corner and notice a massive trail of smoke in the sky going straight up. Looked exactly like a rocket launch trail and it went so high as I looked up at it I had to lean my head back to see the whole trail, and even then it seemed to vanish through the blue in the sky.

My first thought was obviously some plane trail but the size of it and the angle just didn't match any plane trail I'd ever seen and there was no noise anywhere, no distance engine sound or anything, it was just sat there in the sky.

It was so early that there wasn't another person around so I'm guessing almost nobody else saw it. And from what I know there's nothing around York that would be somewhere a rocket would launch from.

Didn't scare me but was one of those wtf is that moments that's stuck with me.

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stuaird1977@reddit

Working on a clay pigeon site over and old mine where 300 people had died years ago due to a collapse I'd secured the clay trap on this contrete stand with 4 19mm bolts and taken the spanners back to the office. Went back and completed a squad. Turned around to talk to my mate less than 3 feet from the trap and when I turned back round it had been unbolted, turned round and bolted back down. Literally impossible (1994)

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_stardog_@reddit

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PrudentWork4759@reddit

I had a cousin who was apparently possessed when she was 15. Suddenly she could speak languages she had never learnt or spoken before: Latin and Italian. She could run at super fast speeds. I'm talking she could run and knock on five doors in the space of three seconds. She would talk in a voice that wasn't hers and once I saw the imprint of a hand coming out of stomach. I have always rejected the ideas of demons and ghosts but upon witnessing that I'm not sure how else to explain it.

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naughtynunu@reddit

Two friends and I were walking down a corridor at school; one side lined with classrooms and the other lined entirely with windows, with a couple of doors leading outside. As we entered this corridor, I saw what I can only describe as an orb float through one of the windows from outside, across our path and into a light switch on the wall on the opposite side. Just as I was about to ask my friends if they'd seen it, one of them beat me to it. All three of us saw the same thing and it really freaked us out, as we were very into ghosts at the time.

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