3 Terrifying TRUE Horror Stories — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:14This happened in the fall of 2025 while
2. 0:16I was on a sales trip through a small
3. 0:18town in Missouri.
4. 0:20I had spent the entire day driving
5. 0:21throughout the northwest region of the
6. 0:23state visiting more than 60 sales leads.
7. 0:26By the time I returned to my hotel that
8. 0:28evening, I was mentally exhausted. Even
9. 0:31so, I still had work to finish, so I
10. 0:34spent several hours on my laptop
11. 0:35scheduling emails to send the following
12. 0:37morning.
13. 0:38The hotel was a normal mid-tier place.
14. 0:41It wasn't a chain, but it also wasn't a
15. 0:43budget motel.
16. 0:44>> [music]
17. 0:44>> It had a western log cabin aesthetic and
18. 0:47felt surprisingly cozy. From the moment
19. 0:49I checked in until the following
20. 0:51morning, I never saw another guest on my
21. 0:53floor.
22. 0:54That detail becomes important later.
23. 0:57I was staying on the third floor, which
24. 0:58was also the top floor. Around 11:30
25. 1:01p.m., I was sitting at the desk typing
26. 1:03away when I heard activity in the
27. 1:05hallway.
28. 1:06There were footsteps, a door opening,
29. 1:08and a few urgent voices.
30. 1:11I didn't think much of it. Hotels are
31. 1:13noisy places. Guests come and go at all
32. 1:15hours.
33. 1:17About 15 minutes later, I decided to go
34. 1:19downstairs to buy a bottle of water from
35. 1:21the vending machine.
36. 1:22As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I
37. 1:25noticed a gurney positioned halfway
38. 1:26inside a room three doors down. Two EMTs
39. 1:29stood in the doorway while a man who
40. 1:31appeared to be in his 60s lay on the
41. 1:32stretcher.
42. 1:34I couldn't see his face, only part of
43. 1:36his arm and torso.
44. 1:37Assuming it was a routine medical
45. 1:39emergency such as a fall or illness, I
46. 1:41chose not to stare and quietly returned
47. 1:44to my room.
48. 1:4510 minutes later, I stepped back into
49. 1:47the hallway to finally get my water.
50. 1:49This time the gurney was completely in
51. 1:51the hallway.
52. 1:52One EMT was performing aggressive chest
53. 1:54compressions while the other stared at a
54. 1:56portable heart monitor.
55. 1:58I heard the unmistakable continuous
56. 2:00flatline tone. That was the moment I
57. 2:02realized the man was either dying or had
58. 2:04just died.
59. 2:06The EMT monitoring the machine firmly
60. 2:08instructed me to return to my room, so I
61. 2:10did.
62. 2:11When I stepped inside, the clock read
63. 2:1312:18 a.m.
64. 2:15Even after witnessing what had happened,
65. 2:17my mind remained restless, and I
66. 2:19continued working for another half hour
67. 2:21before finally climbing into bed around
68. 2:2312:50.
69. 2:24Only a few minutes later, I heard what
70. 2:26sounded like three soft knocks on my
71. 2:28hotel room door.
72. 2:30They weren't loud enough for me to be
73. 2:31certain they were even knocks.
74. 2:33I assumed it was the building settling
75. 2:35or plumbing noises, so I ignored them.
76. 2:38Less than a minute later, I heard the
77. 2:40exact pattern again.
78. 2:42Three knocks, but louder.
79. 2:44I got out of bed and looked through the
80. 2:46peephole.
81. 2:47The hallway was empty. As I stepped away
82. 2:49from the door, preparing to return to my
83. 2:51bed, I noticed the handle slowly
84. 2:53depress, not violently, just enough to
85. 2:55suggest someone was gently testing
86. 2:57whether the door was locked.
87. 2:59At that moment, a feeling came over me
88. 3:01unlike anything I'd ever experienced.
89. 3:04I stared at the peephole, but couldn't
90. 3:06bring myself to look through it.
91. 3:08Instead, my attention shifted to the
92. 3:10strip of light beneath the door. The
93. 3:12light suddenly disappeared.
94. 3:14It looked exactly as though someone or
95. 3:16something was standing directly outside
96. 3:18my room.
97. 3:20The darkness remained for several
98. 3:21seconds,
99. 3:22>> [music]
100. 3:22>> then the light returned.
101. 3:24Immediately after, I heard a faint
102. 3:26brushing sound against the outside of
103. 3:27the door, almost like someone slowly
104. 3:29dragging their fingers or the side of an
105. 3:31arm across it. Then everything went
106. 3:33silent.
107. 3:35Despite legally carrying a firearm while
108. 3:37traveling, I was frozen with fear.
109. 3:40I had never experienced such an
110. 3:41overwhelming dread before.
111. 3:43I turned on one of the lamps and spent
112. 3:45the next hour sitting awake in bed
113. 3:47watching YouTube videos, hoping to
114. 3:48distract myself.
115. 3:50Eventually, I heard another noise in the
116. 3:52hallway.
117. 3:53A door opened. It sounded like it came
118. 3:55from the same room where the EMTs had
119. 3:57treated the man earlier.
120. 3:59Then I heard someone quietly muttering
121. 4:00to themselves.
122. 4:02The words were too faint to understand.
123. 4:05Feeling relieved that another guest was
124. 4:06awake, I finally opened my door.
125. 4:09A man was stepping out of that same
126. 4:11room.
127. 4:12He wasn't dressed like hotel staff or an
128. 4:14EMT.
129. 4:15Instead, he wore dark slacks and a white
130. 4:17button-down shirt like someone traveling
131. 4:19for business.
132. 4:21He appeared to be in his mid-40s.
133. 4:23The only thing that stood out to me was
134. 4:24his eyes.
135. 4:26They looked unusually sunken, as though
136. 4:28he hadn't slept in months.
137. 4:30Curiously, I stepped into the hallway
138. 4:32and asked if he had been with the man
139. 4:33taken away by the emergency services
140. 4:35earlier.
141. 4:36The man turned to face me.
142. 4:38After a couple seconds of silence, he
143. 4:40nodded.
144. 4:41He then stated that there had been three
145. 4:43knocks, and that the third time was when
146. 4:45they answered.
147. 4:46I was confused, so I asked what he
148. 4:48meant.
149. 4:49A small smile crossed his face before he
150. 4:52calmly replied that they didn't always
151. 4:54leave immediately.
152. 4:56Without another word, he turned and
153. 4:58walked toward the stairwell.
154. 4:59Needless to say, I got very little sleep
155. 5:02that night.
156. 5:03The following morning, around 8:30,
157. 5:05exhausted and still trying to make sense
158. 5:07of everything, I went downstairs to grab
159. 5:09some coffee.
160. 5:11I stopped at the front desk and asked
161. 5:13the woman working there about the
162. 5:14medical emergency that had just happened
163. 5:16the night before.
164. 5:17She looked genuinely confused and said
165. 5:19she didn't know what incident I was
166. 5:20referring to.
167. 5:22I explained that paramedics had taken a
168. 5:24man out of the room three doors down
169. 5:25from mine and had been performing CPR in
170. 5:27the hallway.
171. 5:29As I continued explaining, she seemed
172. 5:31more interested, but informs me that the
173. 5:33room I was describing had been vacant.
174. 5:35According to her, the last registered
175. 5:37guest had checked out the previous day,
176. 5:39and that guest had checked in alone.
177. 5:41She also mentioned that the hotel
178. 5:43occupancy had been unusually low the
179. 5:45past few weeks, and that only a handful
180. 5:47of guests have been staying on my floor,
181. 5:49all of them at the opposite end of the
182. 5:50hallway.
183. 5:51She then asked me to confirm that the
184. 5:53room I was talking about was exactly
185. 5:54three doors down from room 312.
186. 5:57That was when everything suddenly
187. 5:59connected in my mind.
188. 6:00The incident happened three doors away.
189. 6:02My room number was 312. The knocking had
190. 6:05always come in groups of three. And the
191. 6:07mysterious man's first statement had
192. 6:09been that there had been three knocks,
193. 6:10and that the third time was when they
194. 6:12answered.
195. 6:13It was one of the most unsettling
196. 6:15moments of realization I've ever
197. 6:16experienced. It felt as though I was
198. 6:18standing in the middle of something that
199. 6:20simply didn't make sense.
200. 6:22I spent countless hours trying to
201. 6:23explain every part of what happened,
202. 6:25even though the front desk employee
203. 6:27insisted nobody matching that man's
204. 6:28description was staying there. She had
205. 6:30only started her shift that morning.
206. 6:33Maybe she simply didn't know who had
207. 6:34been there overnight. Maybe someone
208. 6:37forgot to tell her about the medical
209. 6:38emergency. Maybe hotel policy prevented
210. 6:40her from discussing it. Maybe the
211. 6:42strange man was simply another guest who
212. 6:44decided to play an incredibly cruel joke
213. 6:46on me. Maybe the knocking had just been
214. 6:48normal building noises, or the handle
215. 6:50never actually moved, and exhaustion
216. 6:52after a long day of driving and hours of
217. 6:54staring at a computer screen caused me
218. 6:55to imagine it. Maybe the hallway light
219. 6:57briefly dimmed because of an electrical
220. 6:59issue.
221. 7:00I even questioned whether the entire
222. 7:02experience had been some unusually vivid
223. 7:04dream brought on by stress and sleep
224. 7:06deprivation. But no matter how many
225. 7:08explanations I come up with, none of
226. 7:10them account for every detail.
227. 7:12What bothers me more than anything is
228. 7:14how everything seemed connected by the
229. 7:15number three. For nearly three weeks
230. 7:18afterward, I wasn't myself. My mood was
231. 7:21different, and if anyone asked what was
232. 7:22wrong, I simply blamed work stress and a
233. 7:25few personal things.
234. 7:27If I really had been losing my mind, I
235. 7:29didn't want the story to be the thing
236. 7:30that convinced everyone else I had.
237. 7:32Thankfully, as time passed, I was
238. 7:34eventually able to move on for the most
239. 7:36part. Although I still don't like
240. 7:38thinking about it for too long.
241. 7:40I still travel frequently for work, and
242. 7:42nothing remotely similar has ever
243. 7:44happened again. In fact, the morning
244. 7:46after everything occurred, once I
245. 7:48finished speaking with the front desk
246. 7:49employee, I packed my things and left
247. 7:51the hotel as quickly as I could.
248. 7:54While checking out, nothing else unusual
249. 7:56happened, and I even noticed several
250. 7:58completely normal guests staying at the
251. 8:00opposite end of my floor.
252. 8:02Even so, ever since that trip, I've
253. 8:04developed a strange habit whenever I
254. 8:05check into a hotel.
255. 8:07Almost without thinking, I immediately
256. 8:09count how many doors separate my room
257. 8:11from the stairwell, and pay attention to
258. 8:13any room numbers or locations involving
259. 8:15the number three.
260. 8:17Although the knocking that night always
261. 8:18came in patterns of three, it only
262. 8:20happened twice. And that's the one thing
263. 8:22I still find myself strangely grateful
264. 8:24for, because if I ever hear a third set
265. 8:26of three knocks outside my hotel room
266. 8:28door someday, I won't be sticking around
267. 8:30long enough to find out what answers.
268. 8:42This story mainly happened to my
269. 8:44roommate Misty, but I was involved.
270. 8:46All names except for mine have been
271. 8:48changed.
272. 8:49This happened to literal hours before
273. 8:51I'm typing this.
274. 8:53My roommate, who I'll call Misty, had a
275. 8:54boyfriend named Paul, whom I've met a
276. 8:56couple times. And every time I met him,
277. 8:58he seemed like a very chill,
278. 9:00respectable, and actually kind of sweet
279. 9:02guy.
280. 9:03He would roll blunts for me and Misty
281. 9:05because neither of us knew how, and we
282. 9:06would talk about video games we liked.
283. 9:09However, a couple of weeks ago they
284. 9:10broke up, and according to her, it
285. 9:12didn't end well, and she had to get a
286. 9:14restraining order on him.
287. 9:16Flash forward to two nights ago when I
288. 9:18was playing SWAT 4 on my laptop, and I
289. 9:20got the most normal sounding knock on my
290. 9:22door.
291. 9:23I said, "Come in." barely looking away
292. 9:25from the screen, when Misty slowly opens
293. 9:27my door and says in a mumbled, quiet,
294. 9:30and almost drunk sounding voice,
295. 9:32"Paul broke my window and threw my
296. 9:34clothes inside. Can you help me?"
297. 9:37I could barely make out what she said,
298. 9:39and I paused my game, got up, and came
299. 9:41closer to hear her clearly.
300. 9:44She seemed like she had just woken up
301. 9:45from a deep sleep after drinking a bit,
302. 9:47and she explained to me that her ex Paul
303. 9:49smashed her window in and threw a bag of
304. 9:51dirty clothes she left at his house.
305. 9:54Mind you, she has one of those bunk beds
306. 9:56that has a little office space
307. 9:57underneath it instead of another bed,
308. 9:59and it's right next to the window he
309. 10:01smashed in.
310. 10:02He knew exactly where she sleeps, so it
311. 10:04was kind of scary to hear her tell me
312. 10:06that.
313. 10:07But I'm a bigger guy, and I know how to
314. 10:09fight, and he's a skinny but kind of
315. 10:11muscular man, but I wasn't afraid of him
316. 10:13at all and just scared for her safety.
317. 10:15So I reassured her that I would stay up
318. 10:17and call the cops and make sure he was
319. 10:18gone.
320. 10:20After calling the cops, I stood out on
321. 10:22the porch scanning the parking lot and
322. 10:23the neighborhood street, but I didn't
323. 10:25see anyone.
324. 10:26However, I couldn't shake that creepy
325. 10:28feeling of being watched, so I told her
326. 10:31to stay inside.
327. 10:33About 45 minutes went by and no cop
328. 10:35showed up, so I called the police
329. 10:37department number to see if they were
330. 10:38sending a car, and they said we were
331. 10:40second on the call list and that it was
332. 10:41a busy night for them, which tracks for
333. 10:43the city and area I'm in.
334. 10:45While waiting for the cops, Misty was
335. 10:47getting texts from Paul saying things
336. 10:49like, "Wrong move, bitch." and "I want
337. 10:52my vape back."
338. 10:53which she didn't have and couldn't find,
339. 10:55so we think he was [music] lying about
340. 10:56that.
341. 10:58It took another 3 hours for a cop to
342. 10:59arrive, and it was 3:00 in the morning
343. 11:01[music] by that point, but the cop was
344. 11:03nice and took all the info we could give
345. 11:04him. And he said if he came back to give
346. 11:06them a call and that they would go to
347. 11:08his address that they have on file
348. 11:09because of the previously mentioned
349. 11:10restraining order.
350. 11:12Flash forward to yesterday just before I
351. 11:14left for work, and I had a gut feeling
352. 11:16he would try to come back before I got
353. 11:18home because I had to close at my job
354. 11:20and it would be dark out. And at about
355. 11:2210:48 p.m., I got a text confirming my
356. 11:24suspicion.
357. 11:26The next bit of the story all happened
358. 11:28to Misty as I was at work.
359. 11:30At about 10:30, she left her room to go
360. 11:32take some trash out. And when she looked
361. 11:34back, she saw a dark figure walk into
362. 11:36her room.
363. 11:38Paul does have dark skin, but Misty is a
364. 11:40little crazy, she will admit.
365. 11:42And I do mean that with endearment, but
366. 11:44she slightly brushed it off as her
367. 11:46seeing things.
368. 11:47But she still went and looked around the
369. 11:49apartment for Paul or anyone who
370. 11:50shouldn't be there and couldn't find
371. 11:52anyone.
372. 11:53So, she just sat down in her room and
373. 11:55scrolled on her phone for a bit till she
374. 11:56decided to get up and get some cleaning
375. 11:58supplies from her closet. But when she
376. 12:00opened the closet door, staring right at
377. 12:02her was Paul with a blank expression.
378. 12:05Misty said she went white with fear, but
379. 12:07kept her cool [music] and talked to him
380. 12:09like normal and asked what he wanted.
381. 12:11In a dead cold voice, he said, "I just
382. 12:14want my vape back."
383. 12:16While she frantically, but calmly as to
384. 12:18not raise suspicion, sent me these
385. 12:20texts, by some miracle, 45 seconds after
386. 12:23that text exchange, my manager said I
387. 12:25could go home early since it was slow
388. 12:27and I bolted out of my job, called 911,
389. 12:30and got on the bus.
390. 12:31I told the operator everything that was
391. 12:33happening and by the time I got home,
392. 12:35the police had already got him in cuffs.
393. 12:37By then, Misty had left to go to a
394. 12:39friend's house to chill out after that,
395. 12:41but she told me everything that happened
396. 12:43and I was shook when she told me.
397. 12:45When the cop asked me what happened and
398. 12:47when I got to her side, even his eyes
399. 12:49widened and even he was taken aback by
400. 12:51the situation.
401. 12:53He gave me another incident report and
402. 12:54said he's definitely going to jail.
403. 12:57I'm happy my friend's okay and shout out
404. 12:59to her for being so calm and thinking on
405. 13:01her feet. And shout out to my manager
406. 13:02for letting me get off early.
407. 13:05I still would have called 911 from work
408. 13:07if I had to, but it was better for my
409. 13:09anxiety to go home as that was
410. 13:10unfolding.
411. 13:22I had just moved out of home and started
412. 13:24university when this happened.
413. 13:26I was 18 years old at the time and
414. 13:27living on campus in a small apartment.
415. 13:30It was my first time living away from my
416. 13:32family.
417. 13:33The apartment wasn't anything special.
418. 13:35It had a tiny kitchen, a small couch
419. 13:37squeezed into the living room area,
420. 13:39and a single bed pushed against the
421. 13:41wall. Definitely wasn't luxurious, but I
422. 13:44had made it feel like home.
423. 13:46It was my first taste of independence,
424. 13:48and I loved having my own space.
425. 13:51One night, after a couple months of
426. 13:52living there, I was sitting on the couch
427. 13:54watching TV when my phone buzzed on the
428. 13:56coffee table in front of me.
429. 13:59I looked down and saw that somebody had
430. 14:00added me on Instagram. The username
431. 14:03wasn't familiar to me, but that wasn't
432. 14:05unusual.
433. 14:06My account was public, and random people
434. 14:08would occasionally add me. So, I ignored
435. 14:11it and went back to watching TV.
436. 14:13Less than a minute later, my phone
437. 14:15buzzed again.
438. 14:16The account had requested to message me.
439. 14:19I opened it and saw a simple greeting.
440. 14:22I don't know who this person was, but
441. 14:24I've never really been the type to
442. 14:25ignore somebody trying to start a
443. 14:26conversation. So, I responded with a
444. 14:28greeting of my own.
445. 14:30At first, the conversation seemed
446. 14:32completely normal. He asked how I was,
447. 14:34what I was doing, and we exchanged the
448. 14:36usual small talk.
449. 14:37After a few minutes, though, the
450. 14:39questions started getting strange.
451. 14:41He wanted to know whether I was single,
452. 14:43what my dream man looked like, and
453. 14:45eventually what I was wearing. I
454. 14:47remember sighing in disbelief.
455. 14:49For context, I'm a gay guy, and that was
456. 14:51openly mentioned in my Instagram bio.
457. 14:54Because of that, random men would
458. 14:55occasionally message me asking weird or
459. 14:57sexual questions.
460. 14:59It wasn't exactly uncommon, so while the
461. 15:01conversation was making me
462. 15:03uncomfortable, it wasn't really setting
463. 15:04alarm bells off yet.
464. 15:06Then he sent me a photo of himself and
465. 15:08asked whether I found him attractive.
466. 15:11I opened the image, and the guy looked
467. 15:13to be in his late 20s or early 30s.
468. 15:15He was heavily built with pale skin,
469. 15:17messy brown hair, bright blue eyes, and
470. 15:20patchy facial hair around his chin and
471. 15:22upper lip.
472. 15:23What stood out to me wasn't what he
473. 15:25looked like, it was his expression. He
474. 15:27wasn't smiling or posing. He was simply
475. 15:29staring directly into the camera.
476. 15:32I chose not to respond to the photo and
477. 15:34instead closed the conversation.
478. 15:37Almost immediately, another message came
479. 15:39through. This time he repeatedly asked
480. 15:41if I wanted to play truth or dare.
481. 15:44I declined once, then declined again,
482. 15:46but he continued pushing for me to
483. 15:48agree.
484. 15:49Around this time, my best mate Connor
485. 15:51came over to my apartment. I showed him
486. 15:54the messages and told him about the
487. 15:55weird guy who wouldn't stop asking me to
488. 15:57play.
489. 15:58Being two dumb 18-year-olds, curiosity
490. 16:00got the better of us.
491. 16:02Connor laughed and suggested we just
492. 16:04play anyway.
493. 16:05Looking back, I regret it now, but at
494. 16:07the time I was curious and already
495. 16:09planning on blocking the guy afterward.
496. 16:12I figured we might as well have one
497. 16:13moment of entertainment before ending
498. 16:15the conversation. So, I agreed to play.
499. 16:18I asked the first question. Honestly, I
500. 16:21don't even remember what it was. It was
501. 16:22probably something stupid.
502. 16:24He answered before taking his turn.
503. 16:27He asked whether I wanted truth or dare,
504. 16:29and I picked truth.
505. 16:31As we watched the typing indicator
506. 16:32appear, Connor and I joked about what he
507. 16:34might ask. We expected something awkward
508. 16:37or sexual, and at that point we were
509. 16:39still treating the whole thing like a
510. 16:40joke. Then his response finally
511. 16:42appeared. Instead of asking a normal
512. 16:44truth question, he casually asked how I
513. 16:46was finding life at university.
514. 16:49Neither of us said anything. I looked at
515. 16:51Connor, and Connor looked at me. Then we
516. 16:53both stared back at my phone.
517. 16:55How did he know that? I never told him.
518. 16:58I never mentioned attending university
519. 17:00or living on campus. I had never met
520. 17:03this guy before.
521. 17:04That was the moment the entire
522. 17:05conversation stopped feeling harmless.
523. 17:08I originally came from the very small
524. 17:10country town several hours away. If I
525. 17:12had known this guy before university, I
526. 17:15I have remembered him.
527. 17:16>> [music]
528. 17:16>> But I didn't. I had never seen him
529. 17:18before in my life.
530. 17:20Connor and I spent the next hour trying
531. 17:21to figure out how he knew that
532. 17:22information.
533. 17:24The problem was that there wasn't an
534. 17:26explanation. I had never posted about
535. 17:28university. I had never posted about
536. 17:30living on campus.
537. 17:31>> [music]
538. 17:31>> There was nothing in my bio mentioning
539. 17:33it, and I barely posted at all.
540. 17:35In fact, my most recent upload at the
541. 17:37time was just photos of my hometown
542. 17:39before I moved away.
543. 17:41The campus also wasn't particularly
544. 17:42large.
545. 17:43I regularly saw the same students every
546. 17:45day. So, if he had attended the
547. 17:47university, I felt like I would have
548. 17:48recognized him.
549. 17:50At that point, I blocked the account.
550. 17:53Connor and I spent the rest of the night
551. 17:54trying to come up with explanations.
552. 17:57For the next few months, [music] it
553. 17:58stayed in the back of my mind.
554. 18:00Every now and then, one of us would
555. 18:01bring it up, and we would start trying
556. 18:03to solve the mystery all over again.
557. 18:06Eventually, life moved on, and over
558. 18:08time, I completely forgot about it.
559. 18:10Until 2 years later. By then, I was 21
560. 18:13years old.
561. 18:14I had moved out of the university
562. 18:16accommodation and was living in a house
563. 18:17with Connor and two other friends.
564. 18:20One night, I was sitting in my room when
565. 18:21my phone buzzed.
566. 18:23It was another Instagram notification
567. 18:25telling me someone had added me.
568. 18:27The username didn't look familiar.
569. 18:29A second later, another notification
570. 18:31appeared telling me I had received a
571. 18:33message request.
572. 18:35Thinking it was somebody who probably
573. 18:36followed my TikTok content, I opened it.
574. 18:39Once again, it was just
575. 18:43of my own.
576. 18:45The second I pressed send, a photo
577. 18:47appeared in my chat.
578. 18:49I opened it, and my stomach instantly
579. 18:51dropped.
580. 18:52It was him. The same pale skin, messy
581. 18:55hair, blue eyes. There was absolutely no
582. 18:58mistaking who it was.
583. 19:00I quietly muttered in disbelief before
584. 19:02muting the conversation and putting my
585. 19:03phone down.
586. 19:05I decided to wait until Connor got home
587. 19:07so I could remind him about the strange
588. 19:08guy from university.
589. 19:11I completely forgot about the unsettling
590. 19:13message that made me block him in the
591. 19:14first place. If I had remembered it, I
592. 19:17would have blocked him immediately.
593. 19:19Unfortunately, an unrelated emergency
594. 19:21came up later that night that completely
595. 19:23distracted me.
596. 19:25Since I had muted the conversation and
597. 19:26barely looked at my phone afterward, the
598. 19:28interaction slipped my mind entirely.
599. 19:31It wasn't until a few days later that I
600. 19:33opened Instagram again.
601. 19:35As soon as I did, I saw his account
602. 19:37sitting near the top of my messages.
603. 19:39I opened the conversation and my stomach
604. 19:41sank when I saw there were countless
605. 19:43messages.
606. 19:44Dozens of them, maybe more.
607. 19:46He had been messaging me non-stop for
608. 19:48days.
609. 19:49Some of the messages were sexual, others
610. 19:51were angry demanding to know why I
611. 19:53wasn't responding.
612. 19:55A few attempted to restart a normal
613. 19:56conversation as though nothing happened.
614. 19:59His mood constantly shifted between
615. 20:01hostility and friendliness, making the
616. 20:03entire conversation feel completely
617. 20:05unhinged.
618. 20:06Mixed in with the messages were explicit
619. 20:08photos of himself.
620. 20:10I took screenshots and sent them to
621. 20:11Connor, who was at work at the time.
622. 20:13At first, he didn't remember who I was
623. 20:15talking about, but after I reminded him
624. 20:17about the strange truth or dare
625. 20:19conversation from university, it all
626. 20:21came back to him.
627. 20:23His advice was simple. He told me to
628. 20:25block the guy immediately.
629. 20:27As I was about to do that, one thought
630. 20:28crossed my mind. How had he found me
631. 20:31again after 2 years? None of my friends
632. 20:33or family followed him, so there was no
633. 20:34obvious connection between us.
634. 20:37I wondered if he just remembered me all
635. 20:38that time and deliberately searched for
636. 20:40me, or was it somehow an unbelievable
637. 20:42coincidence?
638. 20:44I tried not to dwell on it. [music]
639. 20:46I blocked the account and changed my
640. 20:48Instagram profile to private, figuring
641. 20:50that if he ever found me again,
642. 20:51>> [music]
643. 20:51>> at least he wouldn't be able to contact
644. 20:53me so easily.
645. 20:55Less than a month later, I was going
646. 20:57through my TikTok message requests,
647. 20:59something I almost never checked.
648. 21:01Most of the messages were random,
649. 21:03scammers, advertisements, and the
650. 21:05occasional viewer from my live streams.
651. 21:07One account caught my attention because
652. 21:09it had more than 2,000 followers and had
653. 21:11sent me a message about a week earlier.
654. 21:13The message was just a simple greeting.
655. 21:16Assuming it might be somebody I
656. 21:17recognized from TikTok, I replied.
657. 21:20Almost instantly, the account responded
658. 21:22by asking whether I remembered them.
659. 21:25I assumed it was someone I had met
660. 21:26online and simply forgotten. So, I
661. 21:28admitted that I didn't recognize them.
662. 21:31They gave me their real name and
663. 21:32explained that we knew each other from
664. 21:34Instagram.
665. 21:35The name still meant absolutely [music]
666. 21:36nothing to me.
667. 21:38I asked whether we had followed each
668. 21:39other before.
669. 21:41They explained that I had blocked them
670. 21:42because they had been harassing me.
671. 21:44The realization hit me instantly. There
672. 21:46was no way.
673. 21:48I asked whether their old Instagram
674. 21:49username had been the same one I
675. 21:50remembered from years earlier. A few
676. 21:53seconds later, they confirmed that it
677. 21:54was.
678. 21:56I actually swore out loud in disbelief.
679. 21:59One of my housemates heard me and came
680. 22:00downstairs to ask what was wrong. I
681. 22:02explained everything, and just like
682. 22:04Connor, they immediately told me to
683. 22:06block the account. Before doing so, I
684. 22:08sent one final message demanding that
685. 22:10they leave me alone and stop contacting
686. 22:12me. Then I blocked them.
687. 22:15By that point, this guy had somehow
688. 22:16managed to find me on two completely
689. 22:18different platforms years apart.
690. 22:20My TikTok account didn't even use my
691. 22:22real name, which made it even harder to
692. 22:24understand how he had located me.
693. 22:27That was the moment I seriously started
694. 22:29wondering whether I was dealing with an
695. 22:30actual stalker.
696. 22:32I told myself that if he ever contacted
697. 22:34me again, I would take things much
698. 22:35further.
699. 22:37A few days later, I met some friends in
700. 22:38the city for dinner.
701. 22:40Afterward, I caught the train home and
702. 22:42started walking back to my house.
703. 22:44The station was only a few streets away,
704. 22:46so it was normally an easy walk.
705. 22:48It was dark, the streets were quiet, and
706. 22:50hardly anyone was around.
707. 22:53As I walked while texting my friends, I
708. 22:55thought I heard footsteps somewhere
709. 22:56behind me.
710. 22:58I stopped to listen. Everything went
711. 23:00silent.
712. 23:01I turned around, but the street was
713. 23:03completely empty. I convinced myself I
714. 23:05had simply mistaken my own footsteps for
715. 23:07someone else's and continued walking.
716. 23:10A short time later, I heard them again.
717. 23:12This time, after I stopped walking, the
718. 23:14footsteps continued for another few
719. 23:16seconds before they stopped, too.
720. 23:18They definitely weren't mine.
721. 23:20A knot formed in my stomach as I slowly
722. 23:22turned around. This time, somebody was
723. 23:25standing several meters behind me on the
724. 23:26footpath, completely motionless and
725. 23:29staring directly at me.
726. 23:31A street light above illuminated his
727. 23:33face. Instantly, I recognized him.
728. 23:36It was the same man from the
729. 23:37photographs.
730. 23:39The same pale skin, the same messy brown
731. 23:41hair, the same light blue eyes, and the
732. 23:44same heavy build.
733. 23:46For a few seconds, neither of us moved.
734. 23:47[music] We simply stood there staring at
735. 23:49one another.
736. 23:51Finally, he broke the silence by calmly
737. 23:53greeting me by name, as if we were old
738. 23:55friends unexpectedly running into each
739. 23:57other.
740. 23:58I turned around and ran. I didn't look
741. 24:00back. It honestly felt like my life
742. 24:03depended on it.
743. 24:04Thankfully, my house was located inside
744. 24:06a large residential complex. Once you
745. 24:08entered the complex, my unit couldn't be
746. 24:10seen from the main pathway because you
747. 24:12had to turn another corner to reach it.
748. 24:14I sprinted inside, rounded the corner,
749. 24:16and practically crashed into my front
750. 24:18door.
751. 24:19It was locked.
752. 24:20>> [music]
753. 24:21>> My hands were shaking as I desperately
754. 24:23searched through my bag for my keys, all
755. 24:25while staring toward the corner I had
756. 24:26just come around.
757. 24:28Every second, I [music] expected him to
758. 24:30appear. I expected to see a shadow
759. 24:32slowly come around the bend.
760. 24:34Finally, I found my keys, unlocked the
761. 24:36door, and rushed inside before slamming
762. 24:38it shut behind me.
763. 24:39Connor and another friend were sitting
764. 24:41on the couch when I burst through the
765. 24:42front door.
766. 24:44The second they saw me, they knew
767. 24:45something was wrong. Apparently, my face
768. 24:47had gone completely white. After I
769. 24:49caught my breath, I told them everything
770. 24:51that had just happened.
771. 24:53Our friends immediately ran back outside
772. 24:55hoping to confront the man, while Connor
773. 24:57stayed inside with me.
774. 24:59By the time he got out there, though,
775. 25:00the man had completely disappeared.
776. 25:03There was no sign of him anywhere.
777. 25:05We called the police, who searched the
778. 25:07surrounding area much more thoroughly
779. 25:08than my friend had, but they found
780. 25:10nothing.
781. 25:11They advised me to keep all doors and
782. 25:13windows locked, and to call immediately
783. 25:15if anything else happened. And they
784. 25:16recommended that I begin the process of
785. 25:18obtaining a restraining order against
786. 25:20him.
787. 25:21That all happened only a couple of weeks
788. 25:23ago.
789. 25:24I'm now in the process of getting the
790. 25:25restraining order, since I have
791. 25:26screenshots of the harassment.
792. 25:28I know his name, and I can accurately
793. 25:30describe what he looks like to hopefully
794. 25:32help identify him if necessary.
795. 25:34Even now, though, I still wonder how he
796. 25:36managed to find me after all these
797. 25:38years, and across multiple social media
798. 25:40platforms. I still wonder why he kept
799. 25:42looking for me after I had made it clear
800. 25:44I wanted nothing to do with him.
801. 25:46Most of all, I wonder what would [music]
802. 25:47have happened if I hadn't turned around
803. 25:49that night and noticed him standing
804. 25:50behind me.
805. 25:52Would he have simply continued following
806. 25:53me without me ever realizing it, or did
807. 25:55he have something far worse planned?
808. 25:58I know I'll probably never get the
809. 25:59answer to that question.
810. 26:01What I do know is that ever since that
811. 26:03night, I constantly check over my
812. 26:04shoulder whenever I'm walking alone,
813. 26:06especially after dark.
814. 26:08I pay far more attention to my
815. 26:09surroundings than I ever used to, and I
816. 26:11can only hope I never see him again.
817. 26:14If anything else happens, I'll provide
818. 26:15an update. But honestly, I hope there's
819. 26:18never another update to give.