You’ll Be Up All Night After Reading These Disturbing Personal Stories

Venezuelan Kidnapping

This European group had one of the most horrifying trips on this list. On a five-day river canoe trip up a tributary of the Orinoco in Venezuela in 1998, this group found themselves deep in the middle of the jungle, days away from civilization. Their guides were older and a bit creepy. One of them was German and another was a younger Orinoco basin Indian. Luckily, there was one girl in their group who spoke German.

On the third day, their guides started getting sketchy. “This evening they were a bit further away and we could tell they were having a pretty heated discussion in a mix of German and local dialect. Suddenly, the German girl in the group turns white and looks terrified and it takes us a few minutes to calm her down. She explained she heard the German guy talk about ‘making sure the others will be at the place and they will have the guns’ and that ‘ the crocodiles will get rid of the guys and the girls will go with them to (some village)’ the day after next.” This sounded like sex trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.

The group had been kidnapped and were on their way to a horrible fate. They realized they were trapped, but instead of succumbing to their fear, they decided to make a run for it. “Early the next day, we decided that the next time we saw another canoe expedition pass us, we would essentially shout and scream at them that we were being kidnapped and needed help. Fortunately, a four-person canoe group came past and we enacted our plan.”

Their guides pulled a 12-gauge gun from under a blanket and tried to get them to stop screaming. The canoe took them to the nearest village, and they told local police and some soldiers what happened. There was a suspected serial killer operating in the Maracaibo area and targeting tourists. This person never told their family or wife, even though it’s been 20 years (via Playbuzz).

Disney World Stalker

This girl shared one of her horrifying personal stories about a time she printed a ticket at Disney World, gave some personal information for the ticket, and ended up with a stalker. “Later in the day and I start getting texts that say, ‘Hey LayMayLove! How you doing?'” It was from a number she didn’t recognize. The mysterious person responded and said his name was Steven and asked her what she was doing with that ugly guy. Now, it was getting creepy.

“Then he says have a good day at Magic Kingdom. This adds to the creep factor because we decided to go to MK as we were driving there. Neither of us remembers really telling anyone which park we ended up at.” Somehow, he knows all this personal information about her day and life. Then it gets worse.

“He sends me a ‘Maps’ of a screenshot from wherever he is to my home address with ‘not a bad drive.’ So my friend and I start walking to guest services because this is obviously no joke and he’s reasonably identified himself as an employee of theirs at this point. It is also worth mentioning that almost no one I knew at the time had my home address because I lived at home and didn’t like having people over and bothering my family.” Disney World fired him, she filed a report, hired a detective, and pressed charges. She hasn’t heard anything since but still has the texts in case the report resurfaces (via Playbuzz).

Church Kidnapper

Ex-partners can become our worst enemies. This woman shared one of her most terrifying personal story involving her children. “My ex-husband kidnapped my kids. A church was helping him hide them from me.” This sounds wrong on so many levels.

He managed to manipulate the nearest church into helping him hide the kids with an elaborate lie. “He was in the army and told them I was killed in a car wreck and had to go get the kids. Then he went into hiding.” Luckily, this woman got her kids back within 72 hours (via Playbuzz).

Walmart Stalker

Our gut feelings and intuition rarely lie. This internet user shared a most disturbing personal stories involving a creepy stalker following him and his girlfriend. “As we were slowly making our way down the grocery aisles I happened to notice a guy out of the corner of my eye with no buggy or cart. When I looked over he grabbed a box of something and stared intently at it, you know not the kind of absent-minded “I am shopping” kind of look. We end up at self-checkout and guess who is sitting on the bench in front of the self check out with no bags? I think to myself, maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe not.” It seems too close a call to be a coincidence. The guy doesn’t stop there.

“As we leave the Walmart, all of a sudden I get this feeling and tell my girlfriend to stop and I stop abruptly as well. When I turn around this guy has almost run into us he was following so closely and we had stopped so abruptly. He stared at me like a deer in headlights, and so did I because I couldn’t mentally process the implications of what he (presumably) intended to do.” He walked away as if nothing had happened, and then entered a windowless white van that was parked next to his car (via Playbuzz).

Cleaning Up The Mess

This is one of the most disturbing personal stories on this list. It’s heartbreaking that a young kid had to witness such violence between his parents. After an argument between his mom and dad over a green Heinz ketchup bottle, his dad attacked his mother. “He loaded a shotgun, then pressed his head against hers and tried to force her to pull the trigger. All the while I’m standing in the doorway watching in complete silence.”

The mom thought quickly and saved herself. “She put her finger behind the trigger and was only left with a blood blister, from him trying to pull it regardless. She eventually wriggled free and he says, “I’m just going to kill myself then!”

To which my mom responds with, “Well do it outside… because I really don’t feel like cleaning up the mess.” That took balls.” It sounds like the mom has dealt with this so much that she now doesn’t care whether her husband is alive or dead (via Playbuzz).

Almost Abducted

This person shared a disturbing story about a teenager approaching them and their friend in a park. He grabbed one of them and started dragging them towards the car.

“We screamed for help and he let go and ran off towards his car, a little while later a couple of police officers stopped us and asked if we had seen a teenager matching his description so we told them what happened. Luckily I had a great memory as a kid and remembered his license plate so after telling the cops everything they escorted us back to my place.”

A week later we found out this guy had abducted and raped six kids and ended up being tried as an adult instead of a teenager and is probably still in prison.” Thankfully, this person was caught before he harmed anyone else (via Playbuzz).

Nighttime Mountain Biking

Mountain biking in the Rocky Mountains is an amazing adventure. It’s recommended to only go mountain biking during the day or to have have one or more people with you if you go at night. This person did neither of those things. The trail took them alongside a cliff and forest, getting creepier and creepier as the night went on. Suddenly, they heard a twig breaking but decided to ignore it and move further up the trail. It wasn’t until they saw eyes up in the middle of a tree that they froze in their tracks. At first, they thought it was a squirrel, but then they realized it was a bull moose.

“I just stopped, stood there, and watched as this moose turns its massive head and body toward me, completely blocking the trail. I could hear my heartbeat in my head, feel it in my hands gripping the handlebars bars. My feet were firmly planted on the ground. I had nowhere to go.” This person was trapped alone on a trail, alongside a cliff, in the middle of the Rockies, at night with a moose. It wasn’t until the moose snorted that they decided to pedal as hard as they could.

“About a mile down the trail I looked back and no moose was following me. I’m fully aware that the last time I rode through this part there was some sort of animal in this area. I’m willing my bike not to get a flat tire or stop for any reason. Then, as I crest a small hill about to go up the steep half-mile hill. I see it. At this point, I say to myself “you’ve gotta be f**king kidding me.”

It was not a “harmless” animal that I heard of the first time. It was a f**king black bear. I kept pedaling and never looked back. As I crested this hill I was fully aware that I had about 2,000 feet of descending to do. My heart was pounding out of my chest, my legs were burning more than they’d ever burned, and my lungs had no more to give. Despite riding down the side of a mountain, I felt my heartbeat throughout my entire body the whole way. I could hear it in my ears, feel it in my feet. This trail was also a 1-way trail, so this direction was NOT made to descend. No berms, no nothing. I fall off the edge and I fall down a cliff.

“Every time I approach a switchback I dread pulling the brake lever for fear that something will catch up to me or shortcut through the trees and attack me from the side. I eventually made it to my car, rode up to it, and parked behind it (relative to the trail.) I just sat there, in the dark, with my head on a swivel. Waiting for something to attack me. After a few minutes, my heartbeat left my ears and I dismounted my bike. I could barely stand. My chest hurt, and my knees were quite weak and shaking. My hands weren’t steady enough to undo the zipper on my pack to grab my keys and unlock the car (via Playbuzz).”

Creepy Homeless Man

This woman shared her story about getting followed all the way home by a homeless man from the train station. “I got out of work and was waiting at the train station. I had my headphones in and was staring at the TV with the arrival/departure times. This guy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, got close to my face, and asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said nothing and walked away quickly. He looked/smelled homeless and had these big, crazy eyes that were darting around the room as he spoke. He also had an erection, and had gotten so close that he’d spit on my cheek.”

The woman decided to try ignoring the man, but it didn’t work. “After I get off the train, I take two buses and walk a few blocks to get home. I was focused on the podcast that I was listening to and wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. All of the buses were also very crowded. When I reached my stop and started to walk home, I noticed that the creepy guy got off the bus behind me. There was nobody else around, so ran home. When I got to my door and started to unlock it, he was standing at the end of my driveway.”

There was nothing else to do at this point except scream. “I was crying and fumbling with my keys. Then some of my neighbors pulled up in a truck, and I screamed “HELLO! SIR! HELP!” Then the creepy guy turned and walked away into the woods. I called the police, but they didn’t show up for a while. They had me write a statement but seemed uninterested. My husband left work early and came home.”

That wasn’t the end of the creepy stalker just yet. It’s sad to hear that the police seemed uninterested. They had no idea what this guy is capable of, and now he knew where this woman lived. “We saw the creepy guy lingering around the neighborhood and walking past our house a few times in the following days, but he eventually stopped. Haven’t seen him since.” At least he eventually disappeared (via Playbuzz).

Black Blob

Hearing your doorbell ring in the middle of the night is terrifying. You’re not sure who’s at your front door and it’s a very vulnerable position. This is one of the creepiest personal stories on this list. After hearing the doorbell ring, this person cautiously looked through the peephole.

“It’s dark but I can see a small figure (more like black blob, IDK its definite shape and had to be around 3-4 feet) doing like a dancing motion. Dipping down and oscillating its “arms” outward. Think of a person moving their arms like wings gracefully. It was dark outside but this figure was more opaque so I could see this going on.” There’s zero explanation as to what this could be. It has to be some sort of ghost, right?

“After a few seconds, I stopped looking through the peephole because it was too freaky to look at. I regained some courage and looked back through and whatever it was was gone. To this day I still don’t know what that was and I get freaked out thinking about it” (via Reddit).

Graveyard Gun Man

Smoking marijuana can inhibit your perception of reality. This internet user shared a terrifying personal story about when they decided to smoke weed in a graveyard. Honestly, it doesn’t sound like the best idea. “We were just chilling next to a tree when I see a man walking down the graveyard. I got a little nervous immediately but blew it off. And I then see the man pull out a handgun and aim towards something (he didn’t notice us at this point and I couldn’t see who or what he was aiming it at).” Seeing a man with a gun while high in a graveyard sounds like a recipe for disaster.

“I was so terrified I thought I was mildly hallucinating, I couldn’t even move. My friend hit my side and said “dude this guy has a f**king gun out we gotta get the f**k out of here”. Luckily, his friend was on point and made the executive decision to run away.

“We both slowly got up but like the stoned idiots we were, we hit a rock trying to get up and the man finally noticed us. He was a good 200 feet away from us, but the second he saw it he slowly moved towards us with the gun in his hand. We started running at this point, I looked behind my shoulder once and saw him start to run towards us as well. We booked it out of the graveyard and were finally back in my neighborhood. I was terrified for days after that.”

At least they made it out alive. Who knows what that man with a gun could’ve done? They never figured out why he was there in the first place, either, which makes it even more terrifying. Everything in a graveyard is dead, why would you need a gun? (via Playbuzz)

See-Through Curtains

Walking around in the dark is terrifying, especially as a kid. This kid supposedly saw a man staring at them through their see-through curtains at two in the morning as they were grabbing a glass of water. “I noticed someone staring through our window, with their hands pressed against the glass (we had to see through curtains). I screamed at the top of my lungs and froze, mom, woke up and came running to the kitchen to me crying like a baby in my pajamas.” We’re not sure what we would’ve done.

“She went outside with a knife to look for him but never found him. And that’s why we don’t have see-through curtains anymore. I still have an irrational fear of the dark.” Who knows where that creepy guy went after looking through their see-through curtains? For all they know, he could’ve lived in their basement (via Playbuzz).

You’ll Think I’m Crazy

It’s difficult telling ghost stories to people because they often find it unbelievable. But when this person was 12 years old, a ghost visited them. “I was just drifting off when my mom taps me on the shoulder and says “Pssst. What are you doing?” I thought, that’s a very weird question, obviously I’m sleeping. So I turn around to answer her, only it’s not my mom. It’s not a person. It looked like a 3D shadow of a man. Just black. I screamed while my eyes were closed, and the figure disappeared.”

Honestly, they could’ve been dreaming, especially if they were only half awake. But the strange thing is that it doesn’t stop there. They put him to sleep in his brother’s room because he was too afraid to sleep. “My brother woke up once to go use the bathroom upstairs and I pretended I was asleep. I didn’t want him to know I was still afraid.” Understandably, as a kid, you wouldn’t want your brother to know you’re scared.

“I hear him go into my room, right next door, climb on the bed (springs) and then just stop, and I thought he was trying to purposefully scare me so I look up to show him I’m awake, and see the figure again. Arms crossed with its head resting on his hands. Even though it had no facial features whatsoever, I knew it was looking at me. I try to convince myself it’s just dark, it’s my brother playing a prank and I’m seeing things… then I heard the toilet flush upstairs.”

It was a ghost. There’s no other explanation. Years later, while this person was in their 20s, they felt a tap on their shoulder and the same whisper. Maybe a ghost is attached to them (via Playbuzz).

The Blue Truck

Even 30 years later, a terrifying experience can feel just as fresh as it did when it first happened. One of this internet user’s personal stories involves a blue pickup truck that attempted to abduct small children in a Detroit suburb.

Upon catching up with an old friend, she said, “I don’t know if you remember this but the police started patrolling our neighborhood when we were in 2nd or 3rd grade because when I was walking home from school two men in a blue pickup truck rolled down the window next to me and said ‘hey girl you need a ride home’ and one tried to grab me. I took off, running and tearing through neighbor’s yards and I told my Mom who called the cops and walked with me to the bus stop after that.”

This girl was smart enough to run in the opposite direction and go to her mom for help. This internet user suddenly remembered they had a similar experience. One afternoon, she and her cousin, Sean, were walking through the neighborhood.

“This blue pickup truck pulled up to us and one of the two guys asked us to “hop in for a ride,” Sean said “no thanks” and instructed me to sneak into a neighbor’s back porch, luckily unlocked, and stay down. One of the two guys got out of the truck and went into the yard to look for us. We laid low. About 15 minutes later he left.” It turns out they lived in the area of the Oakland County Child Killer, who was active at the time (via Playbuzz).

Creepy Bus Driver

Some disturbing personal stories could have gone wrong with one bad decision. This girl shared her experience with a creepy bus driver who always drove them to their track meets and used to make the girls uncomfortable.

During a track meet, it started raining. “I decided to go and watch my teammates run and I went to watch by the gate which was near the track’s entrance. It started to drizzle, so I go to stand under this pavilion to keep dry and after a few minutes I see the bus driver there and he comes over to me and asks me if I want to get on the bus to keep out of the rain. I’m really nervous at this point, but I say yes anyway because I’m afraid of what will happen if I say no.” It’s sad to think that she felt like she had to say yes in the first place.

“So the two of us start heading to the bus and I’m freaking out when a few of my male teammates see that I’m about to get on the bus and they decide that they want to get out of the rain too. They come over to the bus as I’m about to get on and ask if they can get on, but the bus driver shakes his head and says, “Not you guys. Just her.” Now I’m really scared and I stutter out that I’m sorry but I don’t want to go on the bus anymore and I take off to the bleachers where I stayed for the rest of the meet.” She’s extremely lucky that those guys saw her walking towards the bus. It’s sickening to think about what could have happened to her if she hadn’t (via Playbuzz).

Just Your Reflection

We’ve all had an embarrassing scare or three. This is exactly what happened to this internet user, who shared one of a disturbing story involving their own shadow. “Last year I was watching my parent’s house while they were out of the state. They live on a wooded plot of land, and have been known to have trespassers on their property.” This is already freaky. Knowing it’s common for trespassers to wander through your property is terrifying enough and a reason to constantly be on alert.

“I got home one night at about 11 pm, and I’m standing in the foyer. Against the light, I can see the silhouette of someone standing there. My heart immediately started slamming against my chest and I ask who is there. No answer. I ask again, and as I’m asking I’m moving the keys that I was holding into the spaces between my fingers so I had a weapon. Again there was no answer. I start moving and the figure starts moving too, exactly the same way I was. I put two and two together and I flick on the lights and I see a reflection of myself in the mirror that’s in the foyer.” At least this is one of the more lighthearted personal stories on this list, albeit still scary (via Playbuzz).

Phantom Bugs

We’ve all heard scary stories involving ghosts, but what about scary stories involving phantom bugs? This kid shared one of his personal stories that took place in Italy, near the Alps. One afternoon, in particular, he walked down to his friend’s yard, only to find it covered in bugs. He couldn’t figure out what kind of bugs they were but thought they were locusts.

As he was about to turn and run, he saw a mass in the middle of the yard. “I then realized it was the dog, just laying, covered in bugs. I thought it might be dead but I ran to it and pulled on his collar. He just looked up at me and then put his head back down. I kept pulling and I was yelling for the neighbor kid. No one responded. I then convinced the dog to get up and at this point bugs were also covering me and I was terrified.”

To try and save the dog, he pulled him into the shed, hid, and cried. He was in there for no more than 10 minutes when he heard a knock on the door. It was the neighbor, who began yelling at him. Behind him, the yard was empty and free of the plague of bugs. They had disappeared. He couldn’t explain the strange occurrence and never went there again (via Playbuzz).

Creepy Followers

Being followed is one of the most terrifying things that could happen to anyone. You have no idea what that person’s intentions are and it’s easy to assume they aren’t good. It’s worse when you’re a young child and completely helpless, which is what happened to this person. their disturbing personal involved two tourists who decided to creep him out and stalk him. What began as a friendly exchange quickly turned creepy.

“I saw two tourists struggling to communicate with the cashier at a bookstore in Indonesia. I’m bilingual so I just hopped over and helped translate before going back to browsing my books.” He thought that was the end of that. But he was very wrong. They came over to him and insisted he grab dinner with them. He said, “I told him I can’t have dinner without my parents’ permission.”

But the tourists suggested he sneak out instead. “By now, I noticed his friend came up behind me so I’m kind of boxed between them in the middle of 2 bookshelves. My sister had already ducked under one and ran off, leaving me alone. They were really persistent and asked me if I could grab lunch or drinks instead. Er, I’m 12.” It’s just getting weirder and weirder. They were followed into a lingerie store, and the following store finally called security (via Playbuzz).

Concrete City

This internet user described their visit to Concrete City as a concrete playground “for young adults to smoke up, tag the walls, and play paintball.” The name Concrete City is enough to make us want to run the other way. That, and the fact that it’s completely abandoned makes us question why anyone in their right mind would ever go there. When you’re a teenager, it probably sounds appealing, but once you get a sense how dangerous the world could be, it sounds like a place you want to stay away from.

As they wandered around, they came up to a parked car with two people scrambling inside. At first, they thought it was two people screwing around, but then they noticed it was two big dudes. They’re “staring us the f**k down, sitting stock still and looking shady as f**k. Still, we all just keep going and at this point, I’m just glad we’re in a group of five and still kind of worried we’re about to get f**ked. As in, chopped to bits and spread around in piles.”

That seems like an appropriate fear, considering two creepy, massive dudes are staring you down. “We’re all right up alongside the car now, and I can’t help but glance in the back window. An open cooler filled with bloody ice, a second, closed cooler, probably filled with the same, and a pile of clear plastic bags. I keep my mouth shut and keep walking. When we’re just passed the car, the engine revs up and those two dudes tear out of there.” He wasn’t sure if they were poachers, organ thieves, or murderers, but it could’ve been any one of those. At least they got out alive (via Playbuzz).

Found A Body

This person shared one of their horrible personal stories when they were 14 and hiking along the Grand River. As he went to go play by the river, he found what he thought was a mannequin. “The mannequin’s hand was holding onto a branch and it was laying face down in the mud wearing jeans and a hoodie with the hood up, there was a gun on the ground (I thought it was fake) and an empty pack of Scooby Doo fruit gummies. I decided to kick the thing but when my foot connected with its thigh I instantly knew it was a person.”

When you’re a young teenager, the last thing you expect to find is a dead person. They sprinted out of there and told their dad, who went to investigate the situation. He immediately knew it was a body and called the police.

“Later we found out the guy had killed himself (bullet to the roof of the mouth) but he slightly misfired and probably lived for around 30 seconds after the shot. The police were very surprised we didn’t hear a gunshot because it was that recent. The reason why I thought it was a mannequin was because his hand was elevated, this caused all of the blood to drain out and pool in his body which made his hand look snow white like a mannequin’s hand would.” As sad as that story is, it’s a good thing he didn’t see the guy’s face (via Playbuzz).

Medical Hierarchy

This story is one of the saddest on this list. Not only is it horrifying to think that the medical doctors we trust could harm us, but a girl died because of it. A teenage girl came in with bacterial meningitis, showing symptoms of fever, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, and a severe headache. It’s a medical emergency and can kill a person within 72 hours. To test for the bacteria, doctors must perform a lumbar puncture, as long as there are no signs of increased intracranial pressure.

If there are signs of intracranial pressure, then “making an opening in the spinal column, even with a needle, can have the effect of opening a window on an airplane, and parts of the brain can actually be sucked through the bottom of the skull and herniate into the spinal column, resulting in death.” That sounds horrible. The good news is that treatment can begin with broad-spectrum antibiotics without doing a lumbar puncture.

With this patient in particular, “the ER resident did a quick physical exam and noticed signs of increased intracranial pressure in the teenager. He reported this to the attending physician along with his treatment plan which he planned on starting immediately. The attending physician ordered him to perform a lumbar puncture. He wavered a bit, but ultimately wanted to keep a good relationship with his attending, so he documented what he had found in the patient’s chart and then performed the lumbar puncture.”

Without any regard for the patient’s health, he went against what he was supposed to do. It ended horrendously, and the patient died all because the performing physician wanted to keep his hierarchy and in the medical field. The independently practicing physician even stated, “and guess who wasn’t included in the lawsuit brought against the hospital by the girl’s parents because of his excellent documentation?” All in all, there are tons of medical errors made every year because someone didn’t want to speak up or ruin their reputation (via Playbuzz).

Being Watched

We can feel it when we’re being watched. It’s like we have a sixth sense when people’s eyes are locked on us. We feel a an uncomfortable feeling we can’t shake off. This story will make you want to shut your curtains and set up cameras around your entire house. This family’s neighbor, who’s an old lady, knew a little bit too much about their personal life. It started with comments about a painting, their dog, and a new sofa. At first, it seemed harmless, but the more she commented, the more they noticed something was off.

“As I was taking the dog outside, I happened to glance over and see her staring at me through the window. She lowers the blinds when she sees that I saw her, but is peeking through them watching me. Later, I go to the kitchen and see her again watching me very intently through the window. Then upstairs in my parent’s room, I see her again as I’m replacing the towels, watching.” Their house was being watched constantly.

This woman needs a new hobby because constantly stalking someone’s house is downright creepy. “The more I looked for her, the more I saw: she was watching basically all the time. Not only from her window- she sits in her car and watches us from the street. She sits on her porch and watches. She slowly walks down the street and watches us- literally all hours of the day. And she does it to her other neighbors, and she did it to the people who had our house before us- everyone knew to keep your blinds and curtains shut at all times, otherwise, you can guarantee she watches you.”

These kinds of stories make us want to hide away without any neighbors. It’s quite sad this is happening since this woman is probably just sad and lonely. But there’s no excuse for constantly stalking people.