3 Very Creepy TRUE Rest Area Horror Stories — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:16When I was in my mid-20s, my girlfriend
2. 0:18at the time took a job in Florida.
3. 0:20The job was a contracted job where she
4. 0:22would be employed for 6 months.
5. 0:24Unfortunately, she needed to move to
6. 0:26Florida for that 6-month window.
7. 0:29Since I had a job here and we didn't
8. 0:30want to break up, we decided to try the
9. 0:32long-distance thing.
10. 0:34From my doorstep, her apartment in
11. 0:36Florida was 12 hours and 3 minutes away.
12. 0:39I made the drive several times over the
13. 0:41course of her job.
14. 0:43I honestly didn't mind driving.
15. 0:45I would usually take Friday off, leave
16. 0:47at 5:00 a.m., and spend the day driving.
17. 0:50I would usually arrive in the evening,
18. 0:52and then I would have all day on
19. 0:53Saturday with her.
20. 0:55The only issue with leaving early was
21. 0:57that I would constantly get caught in
22. 0:58heavy traffic.
23. 1:00And that was always the worst.
24. 1:02The last time I went to visit her before
25. 1:03she moved back,
26. 1:05I decided that I was going to leave
27. 1:06Thursday after work and drive overnight.
28. 1:09My logic was that the traffic would be
29. 1:10far less annoying overnight.
30. 1:13Early in my drive, I was convinced that
31. 1:15I had made the correct decision.
32. 1:17I ran into some heavy traffic at the
33. 1:18beginning of my drive, but once the sun
34. 1:20went down, traffic died right out.
35. 1:23Once it hit 11:00 p.m., the traffic was
36. 1:25almost nonexistent.
37. 1:27I was making excellent time on my drive.
38. 1:30I don't remember the exact time, but it
39. 1:32was at some point in the middle of the
40. 1:33night. I could feel myself getting
41. 1:35tired.
42. 1:36That's the curse of working all day and
43. 1:37then trying to [music] drive for 12
44. 1:39hours.
45. 1:40It got to the point where I became so
46. 1:41tired that I started to doze off a
47. 1:43little bit while I was driving.
48. 1:45I was doing the classic head drop.
49. 1:48It felt like keeping my eyes open was
50. 1:49the hardest thing in the world.
51. 1:52I felt like luck was on my side for once
52. 1:53in my life because I had just passed a
53. 1:55sign for a rest area in 2 miles.
54. 1:57I just needed to make it 2 more miles
55. 1:59and then I could get out of the car,
56. 2:00stretch, and splash some water in my
57. 2:02face.
58. 2:04I barely made it without crashing, but I
59. 2:06finally pulled into the rest [music]
60. 2:07stop.
61. 2:08It wasn't one of those nice ones that
62. 2:09had food and gas.
63. 2:11This was one step away from being an
64. 2:13outhouse.
65. 2:15It was a small brick building [music]
66. 2:16with one big open door in the front.
67. 2:18When you walked through the open door,
68. 2:20you entered a small hallway with a
69. 2:21bathroom on the left and a bathroom on
70. 2:23the right.
71. 2:24When I parked the car, I didn't walk to
72. 2:26the bathroom right away.
73. 2:28At first, I got out of the car and
74. 2:30started to stretch and do some jumping
75. 2:31jacks.
76. 2:32While I was stretching, I noticed one
77. 2:35other car on the far side of the parking
78. 2:36lot.
79. 2:37I couldn't tell if the car was empty or
80. 2:39if someone was inside the vehicle trying
81. 2:40to sleep.
82. 2:42Either way, it was a rest stop, so I
83. 2:44wasn't concerned about another car.
84. 2:46A few minutes had passed and I made my
85. 2:48way to the men's room.
86. 2:50I was surprised to find that the door
87. 2:51was locked.
88. 2:53It wasn't like these were single toilet
89. 2:54bathrooms.
90. 2:56So, I found it a little weird, but I
91. 2:58didn't give it much thought after that.
92. 3:00Since it wasn't an emergency that I use
93. 3:02the bathroom, I walked back to my car
94. 3:04and continued to stretch and walk around
95. 3:06a bit.
96. 3:07Roughly 10 minutes later, nobody had
97. 3:09come out of the bathroom yet.
98. 3:11I decided I was going to knock on the
99. 3:13door and see if anyone responded.
100. 3:15First, I tried to open the door again.
101. 3:17I thought maybe I missed them walk out
102. 3:19of the bathroom.
103. 3:20As unlikely as that was since I didn't
104. 3:22leave the area, but the door was still
105. 3:24locked.
106. 3:26I knocked several times on the door.
107. 3:27There was no response.
108. 3:29There was no sound at all.
109. 3:32Since the rest stop was mostly empty
110. 3:33except for that one other car,
111. 3:35I decided to check the women's bathroom.
112. 3:38When I attempted to open the door, it
113. 3:40was unlocked.
114. 3:42Before I continued to barge in, I
115. 3:43started to tap on the door and ask if
116. 3:45anyone was in there.
117. 3:47Nobody answered.
118. 3:48I entered the women's bathroom and I
119. 3:50locked the door just in case someone
120. 3:51showed up to the rest stop while I was
121. 3:53in the bathroom.
122. 3:54I didn't want them to think I was some
123. 3:56creep in the middle of the night.
124. 3:58I already felt weird being in the
125. 3:59women's room, even when there wasn't
126. 4:01another person around.
127. 4:03I quickly used the [music] bathroom,
128. 4:04washed my hands, and then started to
129. 4:06wash my face.
130. 4:08While I was doing that,
131. 4:09I thought I heard something at the door.
132. 4:11So, I turned the sink off.
133. 4:13A second later, I heard it again.
134. 4:16It was a light tap on the bathroom door.
135. 4:19I was slightly embarrassed because I
136. 4:21knew I would have to encounter whoever
137. 4:22this was outside the women's room.
138. 4:24I told the person tapping that I was
139. 4:26sorry and that I would be out in 1
140. 4:27second.
141. 4:29The tapping stopped for a moment, and
142. 4:31then they started to beat on the door.
143. 4:33I mean, like aggressive slams into the
144. 4:35door.
145. 4:36I was nervous to open it.
146. 4:38It wasn't just one or two hard knocks,
147. 4:40but a continuous beat on the door.
148. 4:42When they stopped, I walked over to the
149. 4:44door and waited for a second to see if
150. 4:46they would start knocking again.
151. 4:49They didn't.
152. 4:50I couldn't hear anything coming from the
153. 4:52other side of the door.
154. 4:53A few seconds later, I opened the door
155. 4:55expecting to see an angry woman or some
156. 4:57man about to beat me up for using the
157. 4:59women's room,
158. 5:00but nobody was there.
159. 5:03I took a step out of the bathroom, and I
160. 5:04noticed that the men's room across the
161. 5:06hall was now open.
162. 5:08The door wasn't wide open, but it was
163. 5:09propped slightly open with something
164. 5:11under the door.
165. 5:13I also noticed that there was a trail of
166. 5:14muddy footprints from the men's room to
167. 5:16the women's room door, which was where I
168. 5:18was standing.
169. 5:20I was sketched out, but just happy to
170. 5:21finally leave.
171. 5:23All this tense anxiety with the bathroom
172. 5:25had me feeling a lot more awake than
173. 5:26when I was when I pulled into the rest
174. 5:28stop area.
175. 5:29That happiness to leave didn't last very
176. 5:31long.
177. 5:32As I walked out of the hall, I noticed
178. 5:34that there was now a car parked directly
179. 5:36next to [music] mine.
180. 5:38It was the same car that had been parked
181. 5:39on the far side of the lot when I pulled
182. 5:41in.
183. 5:42At a quick glance, I didn't see a
184. 5:43person,
185. 5:45but I did notice the muddy footprints
186. 5:46leading from the bathrooms to the
187. 5:48passenger side of my car, which would
188. 5:50also be the driver side of their
189. 5:51vehicle.
190. 5:52If it wasn't for the knocking on the
191. 5:53bathroom door, I probably would have
192. 5:55just kept walking to my car, but
193. 5:57something felt off.
194. 5:59I decided to turn around and walk into
195. 6:01the men's room.
196. 6:02And I went into a stall to try and
197. 6:03rationalize what was happening and just
198. 6:05compose myself.
199. 6:07I tried telling myself that even though
200. 6:08all of this was weird and definitely a
201. 6:10bit unsettling, it must just be a
202. 6:12coincidence.
203. 6:14A product of me being overtired and in a
204. 6:16sketchy rest area in the middle of
205. 6:17nowhere with one other person.
206. 6:20I was trying to tell myself that I
207. 6:21wasn't in any real danger.
208. 6:24While I was sitting in the stall giving
209. 6:25myself the mental pep talk,
210. 6:27the men's room door squeaked open
211. 6:29slowly.
212. 6:31When I ran into the bathroom, I was so
213. 6:33anxious that I forgot to lock the door
214. 6:34behind me. And I heard whoever it was
215. 6:37lock the door behind them.
216. 6:38I was actually shaking at this point.
217. 6:40Whoever this person was slowly walked
218. 6:42through the bathroom until they got to
219. 6:44the stall next to mine.
220. 6:45They went into the stall and shut the
221. 6:47door.
222. 6:48I could tell he was just standing there
223. 6:49because I could see the tips of his
224. 6:51boots from the bottom of the stall.
225. 6:53He wasn't facing the toilet. He was
226. 6:55facing the wall separating my stall from
227. 6:57his.
228. 6:59I thought about saying something, but
229. 7:00instead I just did my best to stay
230. 7:02quiet.
231. 7:03This had to have been the most
232. 7:04uncomfortable 30 seconds of my life.
233. 7:07This person didn't move an inch and just
234. 7:09stood on the other side of the stall.
235. 7:11I didn't want to wait for the person to
236. 7:12act. I slowly opened my stall door
237. 7:15trying to keep the squeak of the door as
238. 7:16quiet as possible.
239. 7:18Once it was open enough,
240. 7:20I ran out of the stall into the bathroom
241. 7:21door.
242. 7:22Thankfully, the lock on the door was
243. 7:24just a normal deadbolt knob.
244. 7:26I unlocked it and ran to my car.
245. 7:28While I was making a short run, I saw
246. 7:30muddy footprints all around my driver
247. 7:32side door.
248. 7:34These footprints weren't on the driver
249. 7:35side when I went into the men's room.
250. 7:37They were only on the passenger side.
251. 7:39I I the door and got inside.
252. 7:42As I was reversing out of the parking
253. 7:44spot as fast as I could,
254. 7:46I saw a glimpse of a tall man in a green
255. 7:48hooded sweatshirt run out from the
256. 7:49restroom hallway.
257. 7:51I drove off as fast as I could handle
258. 7:53without crashing.
259. 7:54I initially saw the headlights pulling
260. 7:56out of the rest area behind me, so I
261. 7:57decided to floor it.
262. 7:59I was going almost 90 mph.
263. 8:02When I looked back, I didn't see any
264. 8:04headlights following me.
265. 8:05For the rest of the trip, I was on edge.
266. 8:08I'm not that great at identifying car
267. 8:09makes and models, so I wasn't sure
268. 8:11exactly what kind of vehicle this person
269. 8:13was driving.
270. 8:14All I was able to say for sure was that
271. 8:16it was a navy blue Chevy,
272. 8:18which is a very common vehicle here in
273. 8:19the US.
274. 8:20Every navy blue Chevy for the rest of my
275. 8:22trip made my heart feel like it was
276. 8:24going to burst out of my chest.
277. 8:26Thankfully, I never encountered this man
278. 8:28again.
279. 8:29At least, I don't think I ever did.
280. 8:31The entire encounter bothers me because
281. 8:33I have no idea what that guy wanted.
282. 8:35Part of me thinks he was some unwell man
283. 8:37who just wanted to mess with me.
284. 8:40If he wanted to hurt me or rob me,
285. 8:42I feel like he had several golden
286. 8:44opportunities to do it.
287. 8:46To this day, every time I pull into a
288. 8:48rest stop when I'm driving a long
289. 8:49distance, I think about that guy.
290. 8:52If I only see one vehicle at a rest
291. 8:53stop, then you better believe I won't be
292. 8:55stopping there anymore.
293. 9:10Last year, my family and I went on a
294. 9:12vacation cross country.
295. 9:14Since we could afford the time off,
296. 9:16we decided that we were going to drive
297. 9:18and see a bunch of sites along the way.
298. 9:20Something happened on the trip that
299. 9:22still freaks me out.
300. 9:24I'll do my best to break it down and
301. 9:25write the story,
302. 9:27but please remember that I've been out
303. 9:28of high school for 15 years, and I
304. 9:30haven't written basically anything since
305. 9:32then.
306. 9:34Most of the trip was great.
307. 9:35On the way back home, I decided to drive
308. 9:38through the night and let my family
309. 9:39sleep.
310. 9:41It was my wife, Jewels, my two younger
311. 9:42daughters, and our dog, Bilbo.
312. 9:45We got gas around midnight, and I made
313. 9:47sure everyone used the bathroom before
314. 9:49hitting the road.
315. 9:50Well, I'm the fool that didn't listen to
316. 9:52his own advice.
317. 9:53I was so focused on getting gas and
318. 9:55making sure my daughters used the
319. 9:56bathroom, I forgot to use the bathroom
320. 9:59myself.
321. 10:00A little after 3:00 a.m., I was
322. 10:02completely uncomfortable because of how
323. 10:04bad I had to go to the bathroom.
324. 10:06I'll try and spare you the details.
325. 10:09Everyone in the car was sleeping.
326. 10:11I contemplated just pulling over and
327. 10:13going on the side of the road.
328. 10:15Without being super gross, it wouldn't
329. 10:17be as easy as just finding a tree to
330. 10:19stand over, if you get my drift.
331. 10:21During my struggles, I noticed a sign
332. 10:23for a rest stop in 5 miles.
333. 10:26I figured I could definitely make it 5
334. 10:28more miles.
335. 10:29I will say that it was the longest 5
336. 10:31miles of my life, but I made it.
337. 10:34I pulled up near the front of the
338. 10:35bathrooms.
339. 10:36I got out of the car and noticed a
340. 10:38strange man staring at me with a strange
341. 10:40expression on his face.
342. 10:42He was sitting on a bench outside the
343. 10:44entrance of the bathrooms.
344. 10:46I wasn't super comfortable with leaving
345. 10:47my family alone in the vehicle, but I
346. 10:49literally couldn't hold it any longer.
347. 10:52I made sure the door was locked, and I
348. 10:54basically ran to the men's room.
349. 10:57While I was running to the bathroom, the
350. 10:59man on the bench turned his head and
351. 11:00followed me with his eyes the entire
352. 11:02time.
353. 11:03It was super weird, but I had to go to
354. 11:05the bathroom so bad, I didn't care.
355. 11:08When I was in the bathroom, I noticed a
356. 11:10peculiar smell.
357. 11:12Not your typical gross public bathroom
358. 11:14smell.
359. 11:15This was more of a strange smell than a
360. 11:17gross one.
361. 11:19It was almost like the smell of an
362. 11:20electrical fire, but just a little
363. 11:22different.
364. 11:23I tried ignoring the smell since it
365. 11:25wasn't my problem.
366. 11:26While I was finishing up in the stall,
367. 11:28the lights turned off in the bathroom.
368. 11:31I started waving my hand around thinking
369. 11:33they were motion detecting lights,
370. 11:35but it stayed dark.
371. 11:37I reached for my phone to use the
372. 11:38flashlight, but of course, my phone was
373. 11:41still in the vehicle.
374. 11:43I was fumbling around in the pitch-black
375. 11:45bathroom when a faint light came from
376. 11:47the side of the room.
377. 11:48The door had opened for a moment, then
378. 11:50shut,
379. 11:51and I was pretty sure someone entered
380. 11:52the restroom.
381. 11:54I was able to confirm that someone was
382. 11:56standing there because I could hear
383. 11:57heavy breathing.
384. 11:59I also figured that the restroom must
385. 12:00not have motion lights because they
386. 12:02didn't turn on when this person walked
387. 12:04in.
388. 12:05Meaning whoever they were, they must
389. 12:06have intentionally turned the lights off
390. 12:08for some insane reason.
391. 12:10I tried not to make a noise just in case
392. 12:12this person was dangerous.
393. 12:14It didn't sound like they moved from the
394. 12:16door.
395. 12:17That was still where I heard the
396. 12:18breathing coming from.
397. 12:20As quietly as I could, I finished my
398. 12:22business in pure darkness and got ready
399. 12:24to leave the restroom.
400. 12:26I wanted to wash my hands, but I thought
401. 12:28it was more important to make sure my
402. 12:29family and I were safe.
403. 12:31I slowly opened the stall door.
404. 12:34I was ready to run over whoever was
405. 12:35breathing like an animal in the
406. 12:36darkness.
407. 12:38As I left the stall, the lights turned
408. 12:40back on, and to my surprise, nobody was
409. 12:43standing there.
410. 12:44I even took a quick look at the other
411. 12:46stalls, and every other door was open.
412. 12:49I was still alone.
413. 12:51Complete darkness has a way of tricking
414. 12:52your mind into thinking something is
415. 12:54there when it isn't.
416. 12:56Once I realized I was alone, I went over
417. 12:58to the sink and started to wash my
418. 12:59hands.
419. 13:00That weird smell was starting to get
420. 13:02overwhelming.
421. 13:03I couldn't wait to just get back to my
422. 13:05family.
423. 13:06I was leaning over the sink washing my
424. 13:08hands,
425. 13:09and when I stood straight again,
426. 13:11standing behind me in the mirror was the
427. 13:13weird guy from outside.
428. 13:15I almost just punched him out of
429. 13:17instinct.
430. 13:18He literally came out of nowhere.
431. 13:19[music]
432. 13:21I didn't hear him enter or walk up
433. 13:22behind me.
434. 13:24I asked him what his problem was
435. 13:25sneaking up on me and standing directly
436. 13:27behind me like that.
437. 13:29He just kept looking at me with that
438. 13:31vacant look in his eyes.
439. 13:33He was bald and likely 50.
440. 13:36He almost looked like he was from
441. 13:37another time.
442. 13:39He was dressed in a button-up shirt and
443. 13:40a pair of plaid dress pants,
444. 13:43but it looked like something my grandpa
445. 13:44would wear.
446. 13:45It just looked like very [music] old
447. 13:47clothing. Something was off about this
448. 13:49guy.
449. 13:50After I asked what his problem was, he
450. 13:52just stood there and continued looking
451. 13:54at me.
452. 13:55I didn't want to wait another second and
453. 13:57find out what this freak wanted.
454. 13:59I moved to the side and headed for the
455. 14:00exit of the bathroom.
456. 14:02He didn't try to stop me, but he did
457. 14:04turn his body and continue to watch me
458. 14:06as I walked away.
459. 14:07When I got to the door, before I exited
460. 14:10the bathroom, the man said in a voice
461. 14:12that sounded like he was straining to
462. 14:14speak, "It's good to see you again."
463. 14:17I just waved and stormed out of the
464. 14:18bathroom.
465. 14:20It was obvious to me this man was
466. 14:21unwell.
467. 14:23When I got outside, my family was still
468. 14:25nestled safely and asleep in the truck.
469. 14:27I should have just driven off as fast as
470. 14:29I could, but since I didn't think this
471. 14:32guy was a real danger,
472. 14:33I decided to try and let the dog go to
473. 14:35the bathroom before hitting the road
474. 14:36again.
475. 14:38He loved being outside, but as soon as I
476. 14:40got him on his leash and out of the
477. 14:41truck, he started to go crazy.
478. 14:45He was barking and acting completely
479. 14:46erratic.
480. 14:48I had never seen this type of behavior
481. 14:49from him, ever, not even as a puppy.
482. 14:53I was trying to get control of him, and
483. 14:55somehow he broke out of his leash and
484. 14:57sprinted toward the bathroom door.
485. 14:59I didn't know what was going on. I ran
486. 15:01after him as fast as I could.
487. 15:04He was digging at the bottom of the
488. 15:05men's room door trying to get it open.
489. 15:07I was able to re-hook his leash.
490. 15:10I tried getting him back to the truck,
491. 15:11but he wasn't having it.
492. 15:13Something in that bathroom was setting
493. 15:14him off.
494. 15:16He wasn't just barking, either.
495. 15:18In between the barking and growling, he
496. 15:20would whimper.
497. 15:21I finally picked him up and carried him
498. 15:23back to the truck.
499. 15:25As soon as he was inside the truck with
500. 15:26the door shut, he was fine.
501. 15:28He stopped barking and looked at me with
502. 15:30those loving eyes.
503. 15:32I was just about to leave when I had a
504. 15:34horrible thought.
505. 15:36What if something had happened to that
506. 15:37guy in the bathroom?
507. 15:39I remember the smell and this guy didn't
508. 15:41exactly look like he was in the right
509. 15:42state of mind.
510. 15:44What if my dog was trying to get me to
511. 15:45rescue him?
512. 15:47I ran back to the bathroom, kicked open
513. 15:49the door, and asked if he was okay.
514. 15:51But there was no response.
515. 15:54I was about to enter the bathroom again
516. 15:56to check the stalls, but I had the worst
517. 15:58feeling come over me.
518. 16:00Something didn't feel right.
519. 16:02From the doorway, I did my best to scan
520. 16:04the room.
521. 16:05I even got down on one knee to see if I
522. 16:07could see this man lying on the floor of
523. 16:09one of the stalls.
524. 16:11Nobody was inside this bathroom.
525. 16:13The strangest thing was that I never saw
526. 16:15this man leave the bathroom.
527. 16:18I guess he could have in the few minutes
528. 16:19my back was turned when I was grabbing
529. 16:21the dog, but I feel like I would have
530. 16:23seen or heard him.
531. 16:25I ran back to the truck.
532. 16:27My family was still safe and sleeping.
533. 16:29Bilbo was already snoring as well.
534. 16:32That's when I noticed there wasn't
535. 16:33another vehicle at the rest stop.
536. 16:36The strange man was just there.
537. 16:39It was almost like he was waiting for
538. 16:40me.
539. 16:41Thankfully, that's where the story ends.
540. 16:44I have no answers for anything that
541. 16:45happened. Ordinarily, I wouldn't even
542. 16:48share a story like this, but it just
543. 16:50felt so weird and uncanny that all these
544. 16:52strange things happened.
545. 16:54It took a good hour and a half after I
546. 16:56left the rest stop for that terrible pit
547. 16:58in my stomach to go away.
548. 17:00I don't know where that strange man came
549. 17:01from and more disturbingly, I have no
550. 17:04idea where he disappeared to.
551. 17:06I'm just happy my family remained safe
552. 17:08throughout this entire unexplainable
553. 17:10stop.
554. 17:24>> Loneliness can make someone make some
555. 17:25stupid choices.
556. 17:27In my case, an entire series of stupid
557. 17:29choices that almost led to something I
558. 17:31don't even want to think about.
559. 17:33I'm a socially awkward person.
560. 17:36I'm extremely introverted by nature.
561. 17:38If you're like me and we're trying to
562. 17:40date in 2020, then I'm sure you remember
563. 17:42the nightmare that came along with that.
564. 17:45The world was a mess.
565. 17:46I worked from home before everything
566. 17:48shut down, so that was nothing new to
567. 17:50me.
568. 17:51But for some reason, being alone during
569. 17:53that time felt so much worse for me
570. 17:54mentally.
571. 17:56I don't know why it took a global
572. 17:57shutdown for me to want to date, but it
573. 17:59did.
574. 18:01I decided now was as good a time as any
575. 18:03to try all these dating apps that people
576. 18:04talk about.
577. 18:06The idea of starting a conversation and
578. 18:08breaking the ice behind the curtain of
579. 18:09the internet was a gift for me.
580. 18:12I could show the other person who I am
581. 18:13first without my shy and awkward nature
582. 18:15taking over.
583. 18:17Well, my dating success was going about
584. 18:19as well as conditions throughout the
585. 18:20world.
586. 18:22I wasn't getting very many matches on
587. 18:24any of the platforms.
588. 18:26I was even that guy who looked up online
589. 18:28how to successfully set up a dating
590. 18:29profile, and it still wasn't working.
591. 18:33On the rare occasion I would get a
592. 18:34match, the conversation would instantly
593. 18:37fizzle out.
594. 18:38The loneliness and depression were
595. 18:40starting to take over.
596. 18:42I was about to give up on dating and
597. 18:43just live my life in misery,
598. 18:46and then I got a match on Tinder.
599. 18:48Her name was Bianca.
600. 18:50Just glancing at her photos, she was
601. 18:52stunning.
602. 18:53But it wasn't just the photos.
603. 18:55It was her bio that made me hooked.
604. 18:58It was almost like her Tinder bio was
605. 19:00written for me.
606. 19:01She was into comic books, movies,
607. 19:03reading, science, and basically
608. 19:06everything else I liked, she liked it as
609. 19:08well.
610. 19:09I thought about my response for a while
611. 19:10because I wanted to make sure I didn't
612. 19:12scare this woman away.
613. 19:14I led with a stupid joke and almost
614. 19:16instantly she responded with a lot of
615. 19:18enthusiasm.
616. 19:20By that, I mean she had smiley faces and
617. 19:22a bunch of exclamation points.
618. 19:24The conversation started going well.
619. 19:27We were talking about comic books and
620. 19:29she told me her favorite superhero was
621. 19:30Batman, just like me.
622. 19:32I told her I had a Batman tattoo and she
623. 19:35told me she did as well.
624. 19:37When I called her out on it, she
625. 19:39uploaded a picture of the Batman symbol
626. 19:41on her triceps onto her Tinder profile,
627. 19:43which is the exact spot my Batman tattoo
628. 19:46is located.
629. 19:47It was around this time that my brain
630. 19:48started to yell at me that this was too
631. 19:50good to be true.
632. 19:52AI slop and all that wasn't relevant at
633. 19:54this time, so I wasn't worried about
634. 19:56that, but catfishing was still a huge
635. 19:58problem.
636. 19:59Especially for lonely, depressed,
637. 20:01awkward dudes like me.
638. 20:03There was no way this woman was this
639. 20:05perfect.
640. 20:06I started to think that I was talking to
641. 20:08a 49-year-old man sitting in his mom's
642. 20:10basement.
643. 20:12I continued messaging her on the app
644. 20:13trying to figure out how I could prove
645. 20:15this woman isn't fake.
646. 20:17She then suggested we exchange numbers
647. 20:19so we could text without using the app.
648. 20:21This is when I started to think that
649. 20:23this woman is a fake
650. 20:24and now she's going to ask for money or
651. 20:26something.
652. 20:27But nope.
653. 20:28She was still just Bianca when we were
654. 20:30texting.
655. 20:31The only thing I could think of doing to
656. 20:33prove she was real was to ask her to
657. 20:34FaceTime me.
658. 20:36Just talking on the phone is enough to
659. 20:38give me crippling anxiety, but
660. 20:40FaceTiming someone was something else
661. 20:41completely.
662. 20:43I got myself pumped up and then worked
663. 20:44up the courage to ask her to FaceTime.
664. 20:47I was trying to think of an excuse in
665. 20:49case she asked, but she didn't.
666. 20:51She just agreed to FaceTime with me, no
667. 20:53questions asked.
668. 20:54When the call went through, I felt so
669. 20:57many emotions.
670. 20:58I was nervous to be speaking with this
671. 21:00beautiful woman, but overjoyed that she
672. 21:02was real.
673. 21:03I was actually speaking with a real
674. 21:05human.
675. 21:06This was the woman in the photos. She
676. 21:08wasn't an old dude or anyone else
677. 21:10catfishing me. It was just Bianca.
678. 21:13She was amazing. She must have known I
679. 21:15was nervous. She had such a way with
680. 21:17words. She was able to calm me down and
681. 21:20we ended up speaking for 2 hours on the
682. 21:21FaceTime call.
683. 21:23When I asked to see her in person, she
684. 21:26got quiet and sounded sad. She told me
685. 21:28that she was leaving this area tomorrow
686. 21:30to go back to Tennessee, which was where
687. 21:32she was from.
688. 21:34She told me that she was on Tinder while
689. 21:35she was visiting to maybe meet some
690. 21:37interesting people.
691. 21:38She told me that she didn't think she'd
692. 21:40meet anyone as amazing as me.
693. 21:42Those were her words, not mine.
694. 21:45I asked if I could see her before she
695. 21:46left and she told me she was leaving at
696. 21:486:00 in the morning, so there wasn't any
697. 21:50time.
698. 21:51I was upset.
699. 21:52I felt like I finally connected with
700. 21:54someone and she was being ripped away
701. 21:56from me.
702. 21:57Then she told me she had a crazy idea if
703. 21:59I was up for it.
704. 22:01At this point, she could ask me to rob a
705. 22:02bank and I probably would have agreed.
706. 22:05She said there was a rest stop off the
707. 22:06highway about an hour from this
708. 22:08location.
709. 22:09She suggested that maybe we meet there
710. 22:11now, [music] spend a few hours together,
711. 22:13and then she could still hit the road
712. 22:14early.
713. 22:15I agreed instantly and asked for the
714. 22:17exact rest stop location.
715. 22:20Because of my weak and fragile state of
716. 22:21mind, it didn't dawn on me once to ask
717. 22:24her to come over to my place or meet
718. 22:26anywhere in town.
719. 22:28She asked me to meet her and that's all
720. 22:30I needed to hear.
721. 22:31We hung up the call, I got ready, and
722. 22:34started my trip to the rest stop.
723. 22:36I texted her and told her I was on my
724. 22:38way.
725. 22:39She responded by saying that she was
726. 22:41also on her way and sent a picture of
727. 22:43her blowing me a kiss.
728. 22:45She was behind the steering wheel in the
729. 22:46picture.
730. 22:47It took a little over an hour to get to
731. 22:49the rest stop.
732. 22:50There were no other cars at the rest
733. 22:52stop, but I still parked near the back
734. 22:54just in case she wanted more privacy.
735. 22:57I waited around 5 minutes and then I
736. 22:58texted her and told her I was there.
737. 23:01She responded by saying she was there as
738. 23:03well.
739. 23:04>> [music]
740. 23:04>> From the inside of my car, I looked all
741. 23:06around, but I didn't see her car.
742. 23:09Then I got out of my car and started
743. 23:11walking around the small building that
744. 23:12basically just had two bathrooms, a
745. 23:14couple of vending machines, and some
746. 23:16travel brochures.
747. 23:18I didn't see any other signs of human
748. 23:20life anywhere.
749. 23:21I texted her again and asked exactly
750. 23:23where she was,
751. 23:25and she told me that she was [music]
752. 23:26parked behind the rest stop.
753. 23:28She told me that there were a couple of
754. 23:29parking spots back there, probably for
755. 23:31maintenance workers. [music]
756. 23:33It was dark and much more private back
757. 23:35there.
758. 23:36Before I responded, [music]
759. 23:38she sent another message that said,
760. 23:40"You should just keep walking behind the
761. 23:41building and join me."
762. 23:44Something finally started to click in my
763. 23:45head.
764. 23:46It wasn't blaring alarm bells, but
765. 23:48something felt weird.
766. 23:50I never told her that I got out of my
767. 23:52car, so she shouldn't have known I was
768. 23:54walking.
769. 23:55But I ended [music] up convincing myself
770. 23:56that it was just me overthinking.
771. 23:59As I started making my way around the
772. 24:00building, I noticed that there [music]
773. 24:02weren't really any paths to get back
774. 24:04there.
775. 24:05Each side of the building was covered
776. 24:06with heavy bushes and trees.
777. 24:09There for sure weren't any roads that
778. 24:10led back there.
779. 24:12I'm an idiot, though, and I started to
780. 24:14push through all the bushes [music] to
781. 24:15get to the back of the building anyway.
782. 24:17I was about halfway to the back of the
783. 24:19building
784. 24:20when I realized this was crazy.
785. 24:22I was struggling to walk through all the
786. 24:23bushes.
787. 24:25There was no way she was behind the
788. 24:26building.
789. 24:28I decided to turn back [music] and go
790. 24:29into the building.
791. 24:31I was standing in the lobby at the rest
792. 24:32stop, and I texted her.
793. 24:35I told her that I couldn't find the path
794. 24:37to [music] get behind the building and
795. 24:38that she should join me inside.
796. 24:40There were a couple of benches inside,
797. 24:42so I told her we could sit on one and
798. 24:43talk.
799. 24:45My worst fear at that time was starting
800. 24:46to come true.
801. 24:48A few minutes had passed, and she didn't
802. 24:50respond.
803. 24:51I was getting ready to text her again
804. 24:53when she responded with just the word,
805. 24:56"No."
806. 24:57I asked her what she meant, and she told
807. 24:59me that it wasn't private enough in the
808. 25:01lobby, and we needed to meet in the back
809. 25:02if we truly wanted some privacy.
810. 25:05My brain and my heart were having an
811. 25:07intense battle.
812. 25:08My brain told me to get into the car and
813. 25:10leave, but my heart was whipped.
814. 25:13We texted back and forth for a little
815. 25:15while longer, trying to figure out what
816. 25:17to do.
817. 25:18Well, actually, it was basically just
818. 25:20her trying to convince me to go to her.
819. 25:23It felt like she was getting annoyed.
820. 25:25Then she stopped texting again.
821. 25:27I waited a few minutes and then sent her
822. 25:29another text.
823. 25:31No response again.
824. 25:33I decided I was going to try to call her
825. 25:35and talk this out without texting.
826. 25:37As soon as the call went through,
827. 25:39I heard what sounded like a ringtone
828. 25:41jingle coming from the back corner of
829. 25:42the building I was in.
830. 25:44It was only for a second, and then I
831. 25:46didn't hear anything.
832. 25:48At the same time, the call stopped
833. 25:50ringing and went to voicemail.
834. 25:52For a split second, I thought maybe she
835. 25:54caved in and she was joining me inside.
836. 25:57I walked toward the direction of where I
837. 25:58heard the ringtone,
838. 26:00but I didn't see anyone.
839. 26:02I tried calling Bianca again, but this
840. 26:04time it went right to voicemail.
841. 26:07I started walking closer to the back
842. 26:09corner, which was where the vending
843. 26:10machines were located.
844. 26:12There was also another door next to the
845. 26:14vending machines that could have led to
846. 26:15the back of the building.
847. 26:17When I was maybe 10 ft from the vending
848. 26:19machine, I saw a faint shadow coming
849. 26:21from the side of the machine, a separate
850. 26:23shadow from the one the vending machine
851. 26:25was making.
852. 26:26I tried calling Bianca one last time,
853. 26:28but it still went right to voicemail.
854. 26:31I finally caught a whiff of potential
855. 26:33foul play, and I quietly turned around
856. 26:35and retreated to my car.
857. 26:37As soon as I got into my car, Bianca
858. 26:40texted me asking where I was going with
859. 26:41a sad face emoji.
860. 26:43I guess her phone was now magically
861. 26:45turned on.
862. 26:47I wasn't going to respond.
863. 26:49From my spot in the back, I drove up
864. 26:51near the front of the entrance with my
865. 26:52car lights turned off.
866. 26:54Since it was dark outside, but the
867. 26:56lights were on inside the rest stop, I
868. 26:58could clearly see inside the windows.
869. 27:00I saw a tall, skinny figure emerge from
870. 27:03behind the vending machine and pull out
871. 27:05his cell phone.
872. 27:07It looked like they were typing.
873. 27:09Then a message came through from Bianca.
874. 27:11All it said was, "Where did you go?"
875. 27:14That tall figure, whoever it was, was
876. 27:17not the Bianca I had been talking to all
877. 27:19night.
878. 27:20She was short and had a completely
879. 27:22different body type than this person.
880. 27:24I didn't respond.
881. 27:26I kept my lights [music] off and quietly
882. 27:27made my way to the exit.
883. 27:29Once I got back onto the highway, I
884. 27:31turned my lights on and drove home.
885. 27:34It was almost 20 minutes later when I
886. 27:35got another text from Bianca that just
887. 27:37said, "I guess I'll get you next time."
888. 27:40I had a hard time trying to understand
889. 27:42what that meant.
890. 27:43I did eventually report this to the
891. 27:45police, but so much time had passed that
892. 27:47they couldn't really do anything.
893. 27:49The phone number wasn't in service
894. 27:50anymore.
895. 27:51The police told me it was likely a setup
896. 27:53to get robbed, but I didn't really have
897. 27:55anything for them to steal, which makes
898. 27:57me think whoever this was, their
899. 27:59intentions might have been darker.
900. 28:01Whoever Bianca and this tall figure are,
901. 28:03I hope they aren't out there still
902. 28:05terrorizing people.
903. 28:07Come to think of it, that Batman tattoo
904. 28:09she put on her Tinder profile was
905. 28:11probably from Google images.
906. 28:13It still breaks me when I think about
907. 28:15all the work they put into just getting
908. 28:16me to trust this woman and lure me out
909. 28:18there.
910. 28:19At the end of the day, at least this
911. 28:21story got me to become much more alert
912. 28:23when it comes to meeting someone online,
913. 28:25because you truly have no idea who
914. 28:27you're dealing with.