10 People Whose Misfortunes Could Fill a Best-Selling Horror

You don’t have to search for creepy tales to feel uneasy—sometimes life provides its own chills. While some eerie incidents can be explained away, others defy logic and leave you wondering if what you witnessed was real. The unnerving moments shared below will linger with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Story 1:

My father suffered a heart attack, and I rushed to the hospital at 2 a.m. They wouldn’t let me into the ICU, but hours later, a kind nurse allowed me to see him. Months later, my father called and told me to turn on the news. Turns out that nurse wasn’t a nurse at all. She had been arrested for pretending to be one, and some patients had even worsened under her care. Investigators discovered she had a serious mental condition, and although she attended nursing school, she never graduated. Somehow, she managed to infiltrate a hospital and deceive everyone. Thankfully, she never treated my father directly.

Story 2:

I was playing the game FEAR in my room at night with the lights off when I turned around and saw what looked like the girl from the game standing there, watching me play. It turned out to be someone visiting my roommates, who for some reason had let themselves into my room and watched me play for who knows how long before I noticed.

Story 3:

One night, I went to the bathroom and heard scrabbling behind the wall of my shower. It sounded too big to be a mouse—more like an oversized rat or something. I thought I was hearing things, but when I went back to my room, I could still hear it. I peeked out the window, and there was nothing outside clinging to the side paneling or anything. It wasn’t the upstairs neighbors either. To this day, I have no idea what it was, but it terrified me, especially since I live alone.

Story 4:

I was playing with blocks with my son. He was spelling words with letter blocks. His sister, who was about two at the time, wanted to join in. She quickly lined up four blocks, and I was horrified to see that she had spelled the word “evil.”

Story 5:

In college, I used to sneak into the campus theater at night and play the piano next to the stage. One night, after playing for 30 minutes, I heard a loud crash coming from behind the curtains. I thought maybe the props had fallen, so I went back to playing. A few minutes later, something tapped my shoulder and blew into my ear. I jumped up and ran back to my dorm across campus.

Story 6:

A couple of weeks ago, I was abroad and using a dating app to meet people. A guy started messaging me, and we talked a bit, discussing maybe meeting up. The next day, while I was in line for a tourist attraction, I received a message with a picture of me in line! Turns out he worked at the attraction, but it was still incredibly creepy to receive a picture of myself.

Story 7:

I worked in an old hospital late at night and noticed the elevator doors open behind me. I then heard the clip-clop of hard-soled shoes take a few steps my way. When I turned around, no one was there. A linen cart sat across the hallway, so I thought someone was hiding behind it. When I knelt to look underneath, I saw two shiny, old-fashioned nurse’s shoes pointed my way. But when I looked again, they were gone.

Story 8:

I was on a hike when my dog suddenly froze and dragged me back to our camper. When we got back, I heard a pack of wolves howling VERY close to our site. If we were still out on the trail, I feel like they would have found us pretty easily.

Story 9:

When I was under 5 years old, I used to see a man sitting in the corner of my room. He had blue eyes and was quiet; all he ever did was watch over me. He felt like a guardian angel. But one night, he wasn’t there anymore. I started hearing voices in my closet telling me to stay away. It felt… wrong. I felt stuck to my bed, unable to sleep because I felt something standing over me that didn’t belong there. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it. I made my mom sleep next to me for weeks after that.

Story 10:

I was working at the time, and my workstation was close to the window. My sister was calling me from outside, but she was mumbling, so I couldn’t understand her. I asked why she was outside, and through her tears, she asked me to open the door. As I was about to open it, my sister walked out of her room. The one who called out to me was not my sister.