1 Hour of All Alone Horror Stories For a Cold Winter Night

even though this happened back in December 2019 I still think about it on a daily basis because it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in early December I had ventured out to do a bit of late night shopping I'm a 31-year-old stay-at-home mother of two young children so once my husband gets home from work I like to take some time to myself and go shopping take could drive or run errands kid-free it was around 8:30 p.m. when I arrived at the Target I frequent I'm by no means a paranoid or anxious individual but

I have attended several seminars in college on human trafficking and I've have done plenty of research on my own learning to identify red flags and what precautions to take when I'm out in public alone especially at night I carry several self-defense items on my person at all times just in case I parked directly in front of the store next to a cart caddy and I took a mental note of the vehicles parked nearby again just as precautions I was taught at an early age to always be observant of your surroundings and being a control freak

just naturally makes you that way nothing seemed out of the ordinary that night and the parking lot was actually quite empty most likely because it was a weekday as I entered the store I began browsing like usual following the natural flow of theore departments following the main aisle around I had been browsing for only 10 to 15 minutes when I noticed a young gentleman mid 20s he was tall skinny and dressed in a dirty gray two-piece sweatsuit and brown work boots he looked over at me so I smiled and said hello but his facial expression

was blank he looked like he may have been high on something by the look in his eyes but he didn't seem to care for my gesture and he quickly moved on at first glance there was nothing in particular that alarmed me about him except I took fact at the notice that he was wandering down the main aisle with no cart or basket with his hands in his pockets and didn't seem to be with anyone I continued shopping with no second thoughts and I made my way to the next apartment several minutes had passed and that's

when I noticed a second young gentleman wearing the same type of clothing and similar pair of work boots again no cart no basket he too glanced at me then quickly darted his eyes away when he realized I was looking directly at him I became a bit more alerted but still remained composed and continued on browsing another 15 minutes or so passed and that's when a third older man caught my attention and you guessed it same gray sweatsuit and work boots with no cart no basket just his hands in his pockets I assumed they were in

some some sort of work uniform maybe construction workers but why weren't they walking around together and why didn't they have any items to purchase at this point it was difficult to focus on browsing I had a bad feeling about these men and it became clear that something was a bit off over the next 20 minutes or so I felt as if I was being monitored by the three of them as if they were all communicating my whereabouts as I continued to make my way through the store because each department I entered it didn't take long

for me to notice one of the three men passed by whatever side aisle I happened to be in making their presence known to me I stayed completely Vigilant while trying not to Panic or allow my suspicions to overwhelm me something about their presence felt very heavy and dark so I decided to test their intentions to prove I wasn't overthinking the situation and my bad gut feeling was valid I began picking random aisles and traveling back and forth between departments and in a very unorganized and random fashion to see if the men would continue to pass

by me as frequently as they had been with every aisle I popped into it was just a few minutes later that one of them would make an appearance staring me down as they passed by it felt as I was being surrounded like a wild animal hunted even they were no longer trying to be conspicuous which was the scariest part of it all and everything instinctual was screaming at me to get out of there I gripped my cart so tightly and figured if they got too close I could use the cart to push them away or

at least create distance between us by this point I had been shopping for about an hour altogether maybe a bit over that and I was ready to purchase my items but honestly I felt too uncomfortable to continue browsing even if I wanted to the men had been following me all that time and I was becoming more annoyed if anything the store was also pretty empty around this time which is one of the main reasons I like shopping at night but that made this particular situation even more unsettling there were two pre-teen girls that were wandering

around by themselves which quickly caught my attention because the men had bypassed them making similar advances but the girls were seemingly oblivious so I quietly got their attention and asked them to go find their parents and stay with them trying to not freak them out that was just the mother in me that was in full protection mode I couldn't imagine having my young children with me on this night thank God they were home safe and sound as I made my way to the checkout I noticed one of the men coming up from behind me walking

at a quicker Pace this time so I immediately stopped and turned to lock eyes with him as he approached me I will never forget the darkness in his eyes an eerie smirk formed on his face as he nudged my shoulder continuing to stare me down walking back backwards to hold his Sinister gaze as he exited out of the store I had lost sight of the other two men and I hated the uncertainty of it all he made his message very clear in that moment my stomach dropped and my entire body began to shake there was

a feeling I hadn't felt since I was a kid getting lost in the supermarket a feeling of desperation I quickly walked to the checkout discreetly asked the cashier if I could speak to a manager and I told him what transpired over the last hour politely asking for a male employee to walk me out to my car for them to alert their security team member when I told the manager what happened her face sunk as if she already known about these men and once I described them she confirmed she knew who I was talking about she

expressed to me that several of the female employees had found the men unsettling in the past and reassured me that someone would escort me to my car she made a report about the in incident and said that she would alert the authorities I was still shaking but I felt relieved that she believed me and showed concern for the other young female workers in the store she took my information then a young male employee walked me out to my car what I saw as I exited the store made me so sick to my stomach solidifying all

of my suspicions there was a white windowless van that was parked in the lot directly behind my car about a three parking space distance between mine one of the men was seated in the driver's seat and the other two were leaning against the side of the van facing my car attempting to hide out of view I mean how cliche and obvious can you be your license plate might as well read a lady snatchers at that point whatever their intent it didn't seem pure I pointed them out to the male employee and said there they are

which then prompted the men to Scurry into the van and speed out of the parking lot without hesitation I truly don't know what would have happened if I would have walked out to my car alone and I'm so freaking grateful I made it home safe and sound and live to tell my story over the following week I had heard that there were several abduction attempts in the shopping center parallel to that Target and I'm almost certain it was the same individuals when I was 20 years old about 6 years ago I worked as a delivery

girl for a popular Pizzeria in my area initially I worked the late morning to midafternoon shift but when the guy who delivered for the night shift ended up getting fired due to him losing his license because of a DUI I was placed on the night shift since my boss hired a family friend who could only work my shift for whatever reason I really didn't want this shift because you never know if people who order late at night actually want a pizza or if they have other intentions in mind unfortunately my boss was an and essentially

told me if I wasn't willing to work the night shift I was fired I wasn't exactly in a position where I could be out of work so I reluctantly worked the shift the first month of this shift went by without any issues until I had to deliver a pizza to a house that just barely made our delivery radius I punched it in on my GPS and the house was located in a pretty Suburban part of the city I arrived and it's about 11:00 p.m. the block was extremely quiet but decently lit and mostly littered with

modern tow houses but the house I delivered to was a duplex I ring the doorbell and I wait for about 30 seconds no answer I ring it again and wait another 30 seconds still no answer so now I'm standing there getting pretty nervous nervous that something might go down but thankfully a man opens the door he looked like he was in his late 40s and he was pretty tall compared to me maybe a little over 6ot but he was very skinny I tell him that his pizza is here and he just stands there staring at

me I asked him if he was okay and he responded by saying yeah I'm fine sorry I got off work not too long ago and I'm zoning out a bit fair enough I suppose he hands me the money and I hand him the pizza and as I'm counting the change he says you are really beautiful you know that not really thinking too much into it I thanked him for the compliment and I gave him his change I said good night and he did too I walked back to my car and finished my deliveries for the

night a few days later I get a delivery order to the same place I head over there around the same time as last time and ring the doorbell he answers the door again very excitedly in said hey it's you again how are you I told him I was tired and can't wait to go home to which he chuckled and said I know that feeling pretty well as he was pulling out his wallet as he was counting his money he asks me what my name is being kind of tired at this point and not really thinking

straight I stupidly tell him my name as I'm giving him his change again Yas could have my number as he loved to hang out with someone as gorgeous as I am whoa buddy pump the brakes I've literally only met this guy like twice to deliver a pizza I had no idea who this guy was and I'm positive he barely knew who I was as well another thing to mention is that I looked way younger than I was at the time I was told by numerous people that I still looked like I was 15 and I

was hoping he thought differently and wasn't hitting on what he thought was a teenager so now I'm just standing there awkwardly for a few seconds before I must her out sorry I have a boyfriend he gets upset and says oh okay I see we stand there in silence before I tell him to have a good night and I walk back to my car he says nothing and still stands at the doorway staring at me until he finally went back inside once I started my car I got a pretty creepy vibe from this guy and I

even brought it up to my co-workers and they read it was pretty creepy except for my boss who overheard everything and claimed I was making up stories and trying to gain sympathy for having to take the night shift a week later as I'm working the night shift and we get in order for the same guy again this is when finally hits the fan I arrive at the house around 10:30 p.m. and keep in mind that from my perspective on the road it didn't look like a single light in that house was on I get out

of my car and I walk to the the front door with the pizza box in my arms as I'm approaching the door it quickly swings open to reveal the man except this time he was wearing a suit and I jumped back he laughed and said sorry if I scared you I saw you out the window and figured I would just open the door now so you wouldn't have to knock I was getting scared because as I mentioned before there were no lights on in the house so was he sitting in the dark this whole time

and if so why I nervously laugh and say it's okay he asked me if I liked his suit which I said yes he then asks me would you like to go on a date with me tonight what the hell I once again tell him I have a boyfriend to which he Chuckles gets close to me and says honey there's no way a girl your age is in a serious relationship if you go on a date with me I'll show you how a real man treats a girl he then grabs a pizza a box from me

and throws it to the side and grabs me by my arms hard I'm officially bricks at this point and trying not to cry from the fear that was overwhelming me I start pleading with him hey dude please I just want to go home I don't want to go on a date tonight he just stares at me with the most Sinister look I've seen on someone's face and says I don't care get inside now we are going to have a good time he starts trying to pull me into the house and I'm trying to to resist

as hard as I can after a bit of struggling he lets go of one of my arms and starts grabbing something out of his pocket which I presumed was a knife that's when I did something that to this day I'm still thankful work as he was doing that I used my free arm to punch him as hard as I could in his stomach which in turn stunned him for a few seconds and he loosened his grip on me allowing me to break free I quickly run to my car and as I get in he runs

at me and tries pulling me out of the car holding the knife in the other arm and even yells why are you making this so difficult I grab a half empty soda bottle I had in the cup holder and I throw it and luckily it hits his head and he lets me go I slam the door and then all of a sudden he jumps right on the hood of my car and starts scratching and banging on my windshield with his knife I put the car in reverse and quickly back out of the spot and quickly

reversed down the road with him desperately trying to hold on he's literally bangging on my hood screaming stop the car I turn on to the next Road as swiftly as possible and luckily he falls off the hood of my car I Slamm the gas as hard as I could to get as far away from that sick bastard as I could in my panicked State I drove a couple blocks down the street and kept making turn after turn onto other side blocks as I feared I was being followed eventually I reached a res light and I

slammed on the brakes and just sat on the intersection Frozen from what had just happened I began crying and violently shaking as I was sitting there it dawned on me that I came so close to losing my life and I couldn't help but feel like I shouldn't have been alive once the light turned green I pulled over to the side and I just continued crying eventually I get the energy to drive back to the Pizzeria and almost immediately after I walk in my coworker knew something was wrong after seeing me I practically broke down in

front of him and everyone else came to the front wondering what was going on I fought my tears and explained everything that had just happened as calmly as possible my cooworker comforted me and my boss surprised me and began apologizing profusely for what had happened and for putting me on the night shift he took me into the office and handed me the phone to call the police they arve at the store and I gave them my statement as well as taking pictures of any marks on myself as well as the scratches on my car from

the encounter as evidence my coworker followed behind me as I drove home and I collapsed on my bed and strangely enough I managed to fall asleep I was just that tired I quit my job the next day and luckily a friend of mine managed to hook me up with a new job at her clothing store as far as that psycho goes 2 days later I Reed an update from the police the entire duplex was owned by the gu brother who lived on the right side with his wife and the psycho lived on the left side

of the duplex I learned that he had been in and out of jail constantly at first for robberies and assaults but later on it was for sex crimes he had been released from jail about 5 months before this encounter for having sex with a minor when they arrived at the house he was long gone and his family had no idea where he ran off to but the police insisted they would find him and indeed they did but not alive I spent the next two months in fear that he would find me and finish what he

had in mind but the police contacted me and updated me on the case apparently he fled to another city nearby and attempted to kidnap a teenager walking alone late at night on the street luckily somebody happened to be looking out the window at the right time and called the cops and the police caught him trying to force her into his car he manages to flee and the police chase after him he blew a red light near a busy Boulevard and a van slammed right into the driver's side of his car by some sort of Miracle

the driver of the van only sustained minor injuries while the psycle succumbed to his wounds long before the ambulance even arrived I thanked the officers for everything they did and for informing me and I walked out of the station I walked down the street and I lit up a cigarette as I'm taking in everything I had just been told I don't usually wish death on anyone but after hearing about his death I felt relieved I felt relieved that he couldn't hurt anyone anymore I was just relieved that I would never have to encounter him again

and that I wouldn't have to go through if charging him and reliving what happened that night who knows where I'd be if he managed to pull me into his house I was 21 and recently became a police officer and I was also recently dumped so my friend suggested Tinder as a 21-year-old and A new cop I had the I'm invincible and I can take on anyone mentality I know that's toxic but just bear with me for the story I'm Master the very goodlook out of my league female we chatted and eventually set up a date

to meet she said she had a great open field to look at the stars and hang out and we could meet up at her house so the night came I was excited and she seemed to be excited when I picked her up she guided me to the field and it looked nice open space Woods deer and other wildlife in the field I noticed really dim headlights in the distance then the van started driving towards us and it pulled up in front of us almost close enough to block me from going forward I told her to

stay in the car and I'll go say hi I grabbed my flashlight I had in the car and I walked up in the front driver side of the van there was a decently sized man I asked him what was going on and if he could back up his car a little bit he was actually very polite and said he was the owner of the property and said he didn't mean to scare us he told me that he had been having trouble with poachers and just wanted to make sure we weren't going to be shooting at

anything I ensured him we only came out to look at some stars in wildlife and he seemed perfectly okay with that and told me to have a nice date and drove away after that the girl was texting non-stop around an hour later I saw headlights coming towards us again this time at a really fast pace we hopped in the car and I moved it to a more defensive position it was the same man the same man came close enough to almost hit my car she hopped out of the the car at that point and ran

towards the guy I immediately knew I was screwed I got out and gave them commands to back up and get on the ground and neither of them complied obviously he then proceeded to charge me and knock me to the ground luckily I was able to get him on his back and get up I saw my date grab a metal pipe from the van she told me that they had a gun and to give them my money and truck and I won't get hurt of course with my I'm Invincible mentality I said no she started to

cry and saying they didn't want to hurt me he then started to go back towards the car at that point I told them I was a cop I drew my concealed firearm and lay on the ground after a moment of shock from all of us they complied I was about to call 911 and tell them my name and badge number I had two at gunpoint and needed back up immediately I gave our dispatch the best directions I could to this field while on the phone they both fled again stupid new cop young guy mentality I

chased them I took off after this man who ran into the woods around the field I chased him for maybe 30 seconds and I heard three loud pops and saw a muzzle flash my I'm Invincible mentality went right out the window I ran like hell back towards my car and peeled the hell out of there I went back to the area that I picked her up in and I called dispatch again and had officers come to that location of course the first officers to pull up was my sergeant and my field training officer of course

they were both completely understanding and didn't give me any about it at all the most used words were dumbass and stupid rookie I hopped in their car and went towards the field luckily the van was still there I was told to shut up and only come out if they start getting shot at they cleared the area and started looking in the van they found meth right on the center console and searched the car what scared me the most was when my field training officer and Sergeant came back to the patrol car let me out and

told me to come look in the back of the van both of them were pale looking horrified I went to the back of the van where there were several knives duct tape lighter fluid a decent amount of rifle ammunition handcuffs and what looked to be dried blood in the front passenger seat we found an AR-15 style rifle and two more handguns we called for immediate backup in detectives when they investigated the blood it turned out it wasn't blood the plates had been stolen and the van was reported stolen I still get about the whole encounter

but luckily no one got hurt I will never use online dating again ever there was a girl at school named Amy who didn't have many friends she was very quiet and honestly I thought she was a bit strange but I also felt like it would be nice to befriend her we got to talk in and she actually turned out to be really nice and we became best friends rather quickly it got to the point where I spent every weekend at her house and then we would walk to school together even at my age I knew

there was something weird about her dad Kevin he was very very interested in me and always tried to play fight with me and stuff which is kind of weird in itself whenever he was around I felt weird he was a short fat man with gray and white hair always had a weird smirk on his face and really wide eyes it started off with stealing bits of my food when I wasn't looking and then laughing and making sure to put his arms around my shoulders to apologize he'd always be wherever we were whether that be upstairs

downstairs or outside he always lurked about there was a day Amy's Nan was visiting which is Amy's mother's mom and Kevin kissed her Nan on the mouth hello which was freaking weird but then it turned into the creepiest sloppiest French Kiss everyone except me and Amy found it funny she put on a smile when her family looked over but I was horrified maybe I shouldn't have gone back but I felt like I had to for Amy after that there was a day we were playing in her room and Kevin came in and started an argument

over nothing it got heated and he grabbed rubbish bags saying he was going to throw all of her toys away of course an 11-year-old is going to get mad if they think their dolls are being thrown away so she was hysterical we followed him downstairs where he told her if she spoke to him like that again she would regret it it was then he started to remove his belt what the hell she pushed me towards their front door which is just in front of the stairs so we could run out of it but she was

sort of half laughing as if she was trying to convince me it wasn't serious but I could tell it was I got out of the door but when I turned around and waited Kevin slammed it shut but not the porch door then all I heard was Amy screaming at the top of her lungs I was so scared but I didn't want to leave her alone so I just stood there eventually I found the courage to go back in and I went upstairs to Amy who was brushing her doll's hair she smiled at me but she

has a tear stained face I then felt as if I had to protect her so I continued going there and didn't tell my mom a thing one night I woke up thirsty and we were close enough for me to just go get a drink myself so I went downstairs and Kevin was laying there on the floor in the dark with nothing but tidy whes on and he just stared at me it was the creepiest thing just the Street Lamp from outside shining through a gap in the blind lit up the room enough to see I

didn't get myself a drink I just ran back upstairs I wouldn't go there after that until I knew for sure he wouldn't be there and I didn't sleep over anymore I'm not sure if I've ever told my mom about him but I think she'd go and kill him I was talking to Amy recently and she opened up to me because she sent me her mental health assessment sheet when she was 10 she woke up to Kevin ass Sal ing her 15-year-old sister who was screaming for Amy but also stated that he beat Amy on a

regular basis most recent was 2 years ago he beat her up in front of a friend and her friend called the police so I had just gotten out of a pretty significant relationship with someone of four years nearly engaged in moving in together Etc when things fell apart I took a good amount of time to get back on my own and get my together again when my friends began encouraging me to get back out there needless to say I really wasn't wanting anything at that point nor looking for anything but they insisted that I at

least just go out on a few casual dates for practice just to kind of get my skills back up when I was ready I think they were honestly just worried about me because I become quite hermetic so I match with this girl who's home from college for the summer she's a little out of the way from me but was eager to meet with me she seemed really interested and was even willing to come to my area Etc I really wasn't all that interested to be truthful but my friends again encouraged this you know practice whatever

that means a date doesn't mean commitment so whatever I want to be very clear though that I was extremely honest and explicit with her that I was not looking for anything serious or anything really at all I was very forthcoming that I had gotten out of something serious and I was just kind of encouraged to explore she persisted that it was okay and still wanted to meet so we agreed to a casual lunch in a sports bar that week I get there and she was already waiting for me I was a bit put off about

how much different she looked than her pictures not trying to sound shallow or anything thing but her piics from Tinder easily had to be at least 5 years old which I verified based on tattoos she had in person versus one she didn't have in the pics so I was a bit thrown off by that I wasn't the least bit attracted to her but I was there to just have new experiences anyway right no big deal I kind of felt bad for her because the entire time she seemed so incredibly shy and awkward I even noticed

her hand shaking when she reached for her glass which I found endearing honestly so I did my best to get her talking and Tred to help her feel more relaxed I asked her questions and chatted about things I figured you chat about on dates like where she grew up and the music she's into school she goes to Etc all to which I literally received onew answers it went on like this for about an hour and she was just not working with me at all I tried to keep room in my heart because say it was

clear she was feeling anxious and I understand that on a personal level she then pulls out this book and says I got this for you and I responded very gratefully thanking her and inquiring what it was about cuz Hey if someone wants to share a good read with me I'm all for that she looks at me funny and says in a very sudden but odd tone you're kidding right at this point I'm very confused and just kind of look at her like with question marks she says this is your favorite book he told me this

was your favorite book to which I said no I've never even heard of this before so we concluded that she ultimately got me confused with someone else and she must have been chatting which I honestly found hilarious she was embarrassed but I made light of it and said I found it funny cuz I get it that's Tinder culture I guess so as we finished lunch and and I'm still receiving one-word answers despite our funny moment I kind of become a bit suggestive that we should conclude our date by saying I had to get back to

feed my animals and do some laundry but she came very adamant on spending more time and asked if we could do something else I was genuinely trying to be a decent person so I agreed and we found a nearby park to walk that was where got weird we sat on a park bench mind you it's broad daylight and there's kids playing basketball nearby and folks jogging past I start trying to make conversation yet again but only get one word answers still then out of seemingly nowhere without any warning whatsoever she proceeds to just kiss me

really aggressively tongue and everything I was honestly just so shocked that I stood there Frozen not knowing what the hell to do I had this timid shy woman who's really not made much conversation with me at all all who was so nervous she was visibly shaking just turned into a freaking bear mulling my face in like 6 seconds my head was spinning with confusion and anxiety and I swear it felt like it lasted forever and I just prayed for it to stop I was so put off and honestly a bit afraid to do or say

anything like what do you even do in that situation truthfully I was just hoping she'd pick up on my very obvious body language that I wasn't reciprocating anything at all I was completely unprepared for a situation like this and some really nasty guy walks by gawking and Cat calling and literally begins propositioning us into a three-way and I'm just like what the hell is going on I need to get out of here I was a thousand different types of uncomfortable I ended up managing to Ward him off after telling him very politely no more than

several times all the while she's just laughing and I'm thinking who even even are you people so he leaves and I'm insisting now that I need to leave and go home she seems to ignore what I'm saying and gets very close to my face again and says did you like that do you think I'm sexy do you want me when I tell you I was so nervous I was like I really need to get home and she's like can I come and I told her very firmly no she literally tried to persuade me to let

her come back to my place with me me and I had to say no more than like three times so finally I'm home and frankly just kind of shaken up I hadn't really done the dating thing in quite a long time but that felt very abnormal she then texts me after she gets home and asks me out on a second date and I was very kind despite being made incredibly uncomfortable and I told her I thought she was a very cool chick and I had a nice time lie but that I did not feel anything

there and I reminded her I wasn't looking for anything she then text bomb me a bunch of crazy saying how she didn't understand and was so confused that she thought I was so into her and that things went great did not respond to any of these messages because now she's continuing to cross my boundaries I said what I needed to say and I thought I was being decent by at least being honest so the text continued and I figured they are going to eventually stop because it was only a first state how can someone be

so upset over someone not reciprocating on a first day they did not stop by the text you would have thought we just ended a 2-year relationship then she began calling at which point I had to block her number I was raised in a fairly strict but loving Christian household in a Bible Belt section of the states my parents weren't at all unreasonable in their rules and were very well-intentioned but I broke a few along the way like most teenagers do the summer before I started college I began a relationship with a slightly older guy I

knew him from high school and he was attending the college I would soon be at Johnny was a catch he was exceptionally handsome had been on the football team and was on a full academic scholarship funny talented and very personable there was little to not like about him we bonded over our T totalism and love of pranking the best part is that he had his own apartment at the college which was a 4-Hour drive from my parents house I could easily sneak up there under the guise of visiting one of my other friends or spending

the night at a local girlfriend's house my parents didn't even know I had a boyfriend now I had just turned 18 and was enjoying my rebellious streak in Newfound freedom but I still lived happily under my parents' guidance and rules for a large part they always encouraged me to be a free thinker and to ultimately figure out my own morals and values and I ended up much like them because they're honestly that awesome my mom wisely encouraged me to not just sleep with anyone and it was something I had actually held quite strongly so while

I had no qualms having sleepovers with my boyfriend I was intent on not having sex with him he took took it pretty well and seemed to respect my decision but one week smack dab in the middle of summer I had 3 days off of work in a row a drive up to see Johnny was in order and I began my travel early in the morning he was excited to see me and we had a great day Nerf gun wars reading Stephen King and making out we went out for dinner and returned for a night of

shenanigans or so I thought upon entering his apartment I noticed Johnny had a box of condoms he had tried this before so I wasn't phased and adamantly told him it wasn't happening the events that unfolded following this seemingly unimportant interaction still ha me today Johnny's smile disappeared and his eyes went cold hauntingly cold I was sitting at his dining room table with my back against the wall and he was standing at the other end of the small table you make me sick I'm sick of you all you do is play me he said we were

serial pranksters and sarcastic in every sense of the word while his countenance made my skin crawl I knew he was joking I had known Johnny for years after all I've thought about this for a long time and you're dead I'm not doing this anymore you make me so sick and I hate you you're dead to me he was unnervingly calm and his voice betrayed a slight hint of anger i' had never heard before I noticed him clenching his fists popped out veins tracing up his arms for the first time in our relationship I felt unsafe

with him he held my gaze unblinking his second floor apartment was on campus and it was the summer I had seen nobody else in the building no other cars in the parking lot even if I could get past him which I definitely couldn't my two options were unlocking the balcony door and jumping or racing 15 ft down down the hallway to the dead bolted front door which opened inwardly and getting down a flight of stairs either scenario led to an empty parking lot I would have to get to my car or run into the woods

nearby while athletic I had no chance against him physically I focused on him half of me just knowing he was kidding he had to be he would break into laughter any second now and we would return to our beautiful day he continued talking talking I can't repeat what he said it was too graphic and specific to our location to write out in a public forum he detailed the sexual assault he had in store for me if I survived I would be strangled in the nearby Woods then CED off and dumped at a secluded spot we

had explored together he motioned to some bags he had on his counter that's where your body will be within an hour I had enough his plan was way too well thought out to be impromptu I'm small but I'm stubborn and would fight to the death if I had to I also have a wicked straight face when I need to it was my turn to hold his gaze with all the ferocity I could muster I stood up and said the first thing that came to mind I'm still proud of the unflinching calm I presented inside I

was begging God to not let me die you're real funny I almost believed you for a second wouldn't have worked anyways because what I was going to to tell you before all that happened is my dad asked me to come home tonight he needs help first thing in the morning with the garden for Mom's birthday because Kyle my brother hurt his back and I told him I'd call him as soon as I was on the road within half an hour that was a lie and not a particularly good one but the delivery was convincing I

dangled my phone in his face and told him he could explain to my dad why I wasn't coming home tonight if he wanted me to stay Johnny's mouth was a gape as as he stared at me I was just kidding he mumbled fists still clenched see you I chirped pushing past him my gamble paid off I grabbed my purse and shuffled down the hallway but I could feel his eyes burning through me and the electric energy in the room as I internally screamed at myself to move slowly the dead bolt disengaged I walked out and

fought every urge to run down the stairs I was too far from my car if he chased me to beat him and I refused refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me scared I walked the entire length of the car park I've always had a habit of parking as far out as possible next to the woods he told me he would murder me in I knew he was watching me the entire time I could feel his eyes follow my every movement as I drove out past his apartment I saw his shadow in the balcony

window I waved as he stared I drove a few miles to the nearest Walmart it was only at and the sun was just starting to set people milled through the parking lot blissfully unaware of what I had just gone through I collapsed on my steering wheel and broke down balling my eyes out then I drove the 4 hours back home stupidly I didn't know how to process what happened and banished it to the recesses of my mind I spent the next few years avoiding Johnny the few times I thought about it I blame myself for

being so naive I finally told my mom 4 years after the fact act and was able to process through it it was Christmas time my wife and I were staying at her childhood home where her mother now lived alone well not if you include the cats the house was on a quiet culdesac in the suburbs if you're picturing freshly mowed lawns American flags and empty sidewalks you're picturing it right it's a singl story home with an attached garage out front the garage has two doorways apart from the electric garage door of course one leads to

the garden and backyard this had an old doggy door from their days with their dear old Max rest in peace Max that they covered with a piece of nailed in wood that had always made me slightly uncomfortable before but I figured i' had been that way for years so what's the Worst That Could Happen the second door leads to the kitchen it could stop a mouse but not much else definitely not something that wanted in or someone we were asleep in my wife's childhood bedroom at the front of the house 3:00 a.m. I was in

that deep dark recess of sleep then I heard it the scream what are you doing was my mother-in-law's voice echoing down the hallway to me lost in a sea of sleep it sounded like a jet engine roaring past my eardrum I bolted up what happened next happened in a matter of seconds but about that scream even though I was dead asleep I heard enough of it to sense an urgency behind it this wasn't an oh you scared me type of scream this was different and I knew it not consciously but the lizard part of my

brain that peace we retained from our primitive ancestors knew something was wrong I watch and read a fair amount of True Crime and this scream awakened that horrible fear the one that says this can't really be happening to me can it honestly at that time of night it sounded like someone was about to be murdered you ever wonder if you're a fight ORF flight type of individual I always have and I came to know something about myself after this night I'm a fighter because I leaped out of bed and growled yes I growled in the

manliest voice I could muster I'm going to kill you and I took off running I tore open the bedroom door and ran into the hallway there at the end I saw my mother in-law night going on look of utter shock in her face she was standing still we make eye contact as I continue toward her then she turns her head and looks directly in the kitchen I I hurry past her and Round the Corner into the kitchen the hollow core door is obliterated with shards being scattered everywhere I look through the open frame and see

the electric garage doors open as well and I push ahead as I run into the garage I hear it the sound of someone hopping into a running car just out of view just as I make it onto the driveway I see a car peeling out from the sidewalk adjacent to the house but with my adrenaline still pumping and who am I to say no to Adrenaline so like an idiot I run Barefoot after this car I give a good go but I'm no Michael Johnson and even he couldn't catch a speeding car it soon vanishes

down the street and I'm left all alone if the police showed up within 3 minutes which I have to say makes me feel a lot more at ease with my mother-in-law living there they took our statements my mother-in-law said she heard a noise the hollow cor door being kicked in and walked into the kitchen where she encountered a burglar a small framed woman the police theorized she was working as part of a team her job was to squeeze through the doggy door kick in the hollow core and open the electric garage door for her accomplice

according to the police the burglers most likely thought nobody was home fortunately my mother-in-law must have caught her off guard and scared her in addition to my manly growl of course but it feels good to know that everyone was safe and to learn that I guess I've got a little fight in me and for the record we bought the heaviest goddamn wooden door you've ever seen to replace that Hollow core I like to see a mouse try and get through that when I was 19 I moved from Oregon to Florida to be with my boyfriend

at the time I was thinking white sand beaches in Mickey Mouse but instead I got the swamp bugs and dirt roads we lived in this little town called Hawthorne just outside of Gainesville it has legit one stoplight and maybe four stores Dollar General Steve's Market E's Pharmacy and Sunny's Barbecue whoopee anyway I got a job at the defunct eords in the middle of town it was next to the grocery store so everyone shopped there after about 3 months or so of working there I walked in to start my shift one day and the manager pulled

me into his office laid out on his desk was about 30 to 40 open letters all addressed by hand to me do you know this person my manager asked no I said and he told me to read one so I picked the cheerful yellow one inside were two handwritten letters and a magazine cutout out of a woman with long blonde hair just like me as my manager watched on I read the letter I skipped around a lot of confusion desperately trying to find out why I'm in this room from what I read it was mostly

someone imagining what spending time with me would be like a lot of it was sexual in nature there were description and comments about my hair washing it smelling it and something about the Moonlight a few sentences were highlighted others were underlined my first thought was am I getting fired do you know this guy David Elrod I said yes I think so the tall linky guy with thick glasses and Frizzy dark blonde hair it's the regular who comes in a couple times a week to pick up Diet Coke and medication for his mom late 20s and

obviously socially or mentally challenged on rare occasions he would make a small talk as I rang up his soda once or twice he would linger at my register or stare at me but I figured he was just trying to adjust his eyes or had poor social cues harmless compared to some of the other people I had met in Florida so I didn't pay him any mind until that day in ard's office I knew he wrote the letters because of a strange encounter 2 weeks earlier while working he came up behind me and touched or caressed

my ha hair I had to remove it from his hands and he apologized weird no harm though I went back to work after telling my manager this he informed me that the customer was going to be banned from the store and I was being sent home while they worked on the details what details confused I walked out of the store and drove home that day was strange 2 hours after I got home from my non-shift at work there was a knock on my door I look out the window and see what resembles a SWAT team

what the hell is going on I thought I saw men in tactical gear with large weapons two men dressed in suits and several uniformed police in one seemed like slow motion at the time I opened the door a female officer holds up a few oddly familiar letters can we come in and talk to you about these she asked realizing everyone in town had read these letters I wanted to pass out I barely even know the guy I told him we have a seat on my couch and she begins to speak out of the corner of

my eye I see my boyfriend shooting me dirty looks from the bedroom the female officer mentions the letters from echards in attempting to issue a trespassing notice they wanted to speak to him directly she says because her whole department is aware of David the officers confronted him at his residence and attempted to evoke the trespassing notice from ard's store apparently he was not happy about this he insisted for over 45 minutes how this was all a big mistake and how I wanted to talk to him he was combative and persistent but they decided to pursue

stalking charges stalking charges I asked she continues you need to be aware that David killed and partially dismembered his mother when he was 12 years old he was released from a juvenile psychiatric facility less than 4 years ago we found disturbing materials at his home she continued we believe he's been stalking you my mind was wandering at this point David was arrested the next day for stalking me after he was found in the eckard's parking lot but the last official word was he went back to the psychiatric hospital at least temporarily I didn't have the

chance to read the letters in full before they were entered into some Vault of evidence nor did they explain what they found at his house so I never had the complete picture of what was happening my boyfriend at the time was a huge dick about the whole thing so I moved back to Oregon a week later besides who wants to hang around when Norman Bates is fixated on you I 22 female worked at a mall when I was a young adult often times it would be dark by the time I got to the bus stop

and there were lots of druggies and creeps around they didn't bother me most of the time and mostly stayed away for the most part one night I was walking a little later than usual and I saw a truck and a guy talking to a girl that I soon was in her teens as she looked young I thought nothing of it a lot of teens had to be picked up from the mall as they worked in the food court and sometimes on weekends got late night shifts I thought maybe it was her dad picking her up

I honestly did as I got closer I could see that she was upset but I thought they had a fight the guy looked up a little angrily at me as I sat down I heard him saying to the girl hey honey you should come home with me now mom is worried she backed up slowly and that's when I looked up and she was looking at me with a terrified face this man was clearly drinking and he smelled of liquor but not stumbling around now I knew something was wrong my stomach sank the bus wasn't going

to be there for another half an hour and I was a small 5-ft woman myself I started to get the feeling that the guy wasn't her father he said come on honey let's get in the truck get in the truck now it's late I didn't know whether this man was her father or not but I decided I need to do something I said hey wow I haven't seen you in a long time to the girl I started chatting with her and she sat down ignoring him he was visibly angry and went to the truck I

thought to leave hopefully the girl sat next to me and explained the man wasn't her father she didn't know who he was but he was trying to get her to go with him I said okay just act natural and keep refusing the guy came back up to us with his phone up to his ear and a pipe okay dumb get in the truck your mom's pissed and lady you need to mind your business with a parent and child I told him he clearly wasn't her father and he should leave before security cameras captured him doing

something illegal he looked like he just realized they existed but decided he went too far I guess already and walks towards us he grabbed the Girl by her arm and dragged her as she struggled I tried to push him off but he told me told me to knock it between a father and daughter I saw a security guard in the window and he mouthed are you okay I mouthed back I was not and shook my head he immediately started to unlock the door and grab his phone I assumed calling the police the creepy man saw

this guy coming and decided finally to leave swearing and speeding off the girl was visibly shaken up and crying her real parents came not too long after the incident and I left with a few words to the police about my side and giving them my number I'm glad I was there because I have not seen the guy since and I don't know what might have happened to that young girl I learned she was only 15 at one point he even tried to convince me I was also his daughter this event took place quite a few

years ago so unfortunately I don't remember every everything that happened but I remember nearly all of it anyways this happened when I was around 4 or 5 years old on Easter Sunday my family always gathers at my grandmother's house to celebrate holidays and birthdays so as we do every holiday my mother and I started our hourlong trip to her house my mother prefers to live away from all the city commotion which explains the long drive we were probably around 20 minutes away from our destination when my mom noticed that we were a little low on

gas so we pulled into this old almost rustic looking gas station with just a handful of customers inside it was red and white with a few festive decorations outside and lots of Easter stickers on the two large glass windows that were on either side of the door my mom having taught me to not talk to strangers nor open the car doors for anyone but her trusted me enough to leave me in the car alone as she went inside briefly to pay for the gas she told me that she would be right back before going into

the gas station it felt nice that day so the windows in the car were down so we could feel the breeze while driving instead of the AC while I was waiting on my mom I remember adjusting the colorful paper clippings in my Easter basket next to me then looking out of the backseat window when I look over I saw a tall older man maybe around 30 years old approaching my window he crouched down slightly and looked at me hi there what's your name I remember him saying at this moment I remembered that I wasn't supposed

to talk to strangers so I told the man that my mom says I shouldn't speak to strangers he then replied with well we can be friends then my name's Charlie and now that you know I guess I'm not a stranger huh at the time I thought that he was right in my mind I thought since a stranger is someone you don't know this man wasn't a stranger anymore because I knew him the man and I had a short conversation that I don't quite remember all I remember is him telling me that I had a nice

Easter basket at this point I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach but being a child of course I didn't know why my mom then walked out of the gas station and noticed the man immediately and began approaching the car quickly asking the man what he thinks he's doing the man seems to panic and he pulls my door handle violently he quickly realized it was locked thankfully and proceeded to reach into my window and grab me by one of my wrists and attempt to pull me out this obviously scared me a lot causing

me to panic and pull against him on Instinct this caused him to let go and take off running my mom quickly ran to the car and I unlocked the doors she grabbed me and pulled me into an almost painful bear hug then inspected me closely repeatedly asking if I was okay I ended up with a slight bruise and redness on my arm where he grabbed me but other than that I was just shaken up the reality of what had just happened set in at this moment and I remember just crying and holding on to my

mom right after I said I was okay I don't remember anything after this point but I recently asked my mom about it and she said that she called the police immediately after to this day my mom still says that this was the most frightening moment of her life and claims that if she had gotten there any later and came back to an empty car she wouldn't have been able to live with herself this happened a very long time ago I'm guessing back in 2006 and I couldn't have been older than four at the time yet

I vividly remember the fear I felt during this encounter it was an early summer morning and the sun was up but few people were out in fact the streets were practically dead that morning my mom decided to take my sister only 1 years old seated in a stroller and I to throw away some garbage at the garbage station I might add that the garbage station is kind of secluded from nearby houses bordering one of those deep dark forests of Eastern Sweden since I was only 4 years old when this happened the memories from the incident

have faded a lot however my mom remembers most of it if not all of it she says that upon entering the garbage station she immediately got an eerie feeling of being watched I remember that feeling too I felt creeped out even though I didn't know why I was scared I guess I could sense my mom's fear walking along that secluded garbage station my mom suddenly stopped and told me something she said my name and she said to hold on to the stroller as hard as I can and to not let go no matter what that's

my most vivid memory I have of this and I don't think I'll ever forget those words I'll at least never forget how they made me feel it was as if my blood turned to ice I just froze my mom sounded Stern but even a toddler can sense when someone scared shitless my mom was definitely afraid of something and for me the rest is just a blur I don't remember much after this so I'll let the rest of the story be told from the perspective of my mother this is the recollection of her experience recall to

the best of my abilities in my own words not far from where we were standing a truck was par park with a man seated in the front nothing unusual at first a lot of truck drivers stopped to rest by the side of the road but this man was staring and he wouldn't stop staring he stared right at me Examining my body with the determined gaze of a predator gluing the three of us in sight he truly seemed pleased by the fear he had instilled in our faces in his eyes there were something else almost as

if they didn't belong to a human but rather to a predator I felt like prey stuck in the claws of a lion I just couldn't move that's when he smiled at me I remember that dead smile those cold calculating eyes and the way he licked his lips almost as if to say I could kill you if I wanted to I believe this was the point in time into the strange encounter when my mom told me to hold on to the stroller and to hold on tightly and to not let go my mom is a small

woman only about 5T and 100 lb and she could have easily been overpowered by the overweight man in the truck my mom later admitted she was afraid he'd jump out of the truck and knock her out possibly assaulting her or even kidnapping me or my one-year-old sister we bolted out of there we didn't throw away much garbage that morning we just turned around and walked home as fast as a mom can with a stroller and a four-year-old toddler by her side you've never talked about what happened that day up until very recently the incident has

always lingered somewhere in the back of my mind as that weird thing that happened when I was a child and every time I walked past that garbage station I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach as previously mentioned this happened around 2006 fast forward to 2008 the face of a 10-year-old little girl called engla was printed across the front page of every newspaper in sight she had been abducted sexually assaulted and murdered and the perpetrator was an overweight truck driver named Anders Eckland now known as one of Sweden's most infamous Killers he

was charged with the murder of engla alongside the sexual assault and murder of a woman named perilla he's also suspected of abducting another little girl who's still missing making him a pedophile a serial rapist and a serial killer my mom says that when she saw ean's picture in the paper especially when she saw those cold Familiar Eyes she knew he was the creepy man from the garbage station that early morning all those years ago