- 2 days ago
Horror
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00:00back before phones and social media took over the planet we actually had to go
00:15outside as kids maybe it's just where I live but I don't see kids riding their
00:20bikes around or playing ding-dong ditch or doing any of those late-night
00:23troublesome kid activities anymore but when I was a kid and I'm talking
00:28anywhere from 9 to 17 years old I was always outside with friends at my
00:33childhood home there was a park down the block from me that some of my friends
00:37and I would use as a hangout spot especially at night since our parents
00:41would get mad at us for being loud the park was perfect because it had a small
00:45patch of woods on three sides and then it faced the street on the fourth side and
00:49across from the park was another small patch of woods so basically we didn't
00:53have any neighboring houses watching us or calling the cops on us for making too
00:57much noise when we were in the park this happened when I was like 13 that age
01:02where we were riding bikes to get literally everywhere every day I think
01:06that day in question was a Saturday and we had ridden to a nearby pizza place a
01:10little earlier then went back to my friend Tony's house which was also not
01:14far from my house the six of us were hanging out in his backyard until his mom
01:18came outside and yelled at him to either be quiet send his friends home or go hang
01:22out somewhere else by this point three of our other friends decided to go home me
01:28Tony and our friend Rob decided to go ride to the park instead of calling it a
01:32night it was only about a five-minute bike ride and there was something so
01:36refreshing about riding bikes at night it felt easier and more relaxing so the
01:42three of us got to the park and to describe the park besides its surroundings the
01:46actual park had a small baseball field a small bleacher stand a couple typical
01:51park benches and a pretty decently sized playground with a swing set we would
01:56always chill on the actual playground because it was a cool elevated hidden
01:59surface to just hang out on at some point when we were chilling on the
02:04playgrounds Tony went did you hear that we all stopped talking for a few
02:09moments to listen when nothing happened Tony explained that he thought he heard a
02:14footstep or some kind of thump on the playground that wasn't us so naturally
02:19we all kind of took a quick glance around the playgrounds and ultimately
02:23didn't see anyone but probably a few minutes later there was a sound that we
02:27all heard this time and it did sound like some kind of thud emanating from
02:31somewhere in the physical playground itself now we were slightly unsettled
02:36because we were almost certain someone else was there making that noise so we
02:41took another peep this time actually getting up and walking around
02:44and even calling out asking who was there of course there was no response so
02:49eventually we settled back down up on the playgrounds we both for another few
02:55minutes until we heard yet another sound this time it was a much more
02:58unsettling sound it was the sound of a voice a child's voice and it came from
03:04inside the slide one of those twirling metal slides you see at most typical
03:09playgrounds I'm not gonna lie when we all heard it we genuinely freaked out even
03:16though yes we did hear some weird sounds on the playgrounds we didn't hear
03:20anyone climbing into the slide and the thumping sounds definitely didn't come
03:23from the slide so naturally I walked over to the slide and listened then I said
03:29is someone in there and a voice said back hello it was a child's voice I want to
03:35say a boy they sounded like a toddler I was 90 percent sure they said hello my
03:42friends heard it too we all gave each other these terrified looks we had not
03:47heard anyone in the slide for the entire half hour we'd been there I said down the
03:51slide do you need help but there was no response now in fact we didn't hear the
03:56voice again I had to assume there was a little kid stuck in there so I climbed in
04:00and slid down but as I slid down expecting a child to appear around the
04:05corner of the entire time instead I made it to the bottom only to find it was
04:09empty I then did a scan around the ground level of the playgrounds and the
04:14surrounding area and there was not a soul in sight my friends were just as
04:19shocked as I was there was literally not a soul besides us around and I'm
04:23telling you it was not possible for someone to have run away that quickly
04:26especially not a young child we checked every possible place to hide and there
04:31was no one we were already beyond freaked out but when we heard the same
04:36voice once again come from the slide this time saying catch me we all bolted for
04:42our bikes we pedaled faster than we ever had back to my house down the block we
04:47regrouped and caught our breath in my backyard we were trying to be quiet though
04:52since my dad was likely asleep already and he would get mad if we were loud
04:55outside so we sat amongst ourselves talking about what just happened and
04:59any possible explanations but things only got stranger when there was a
05:04knocking on the backyard gate yes like someone was knocking as if asking
05:08permission to come in I said who is that thinking maybe it was a family member but
05:14it was an unfamiliar woman's voice she said hello and then said were you guys
05:19just at the park before we once again looked at each other a nervousness there's a
05:24tiny crack in the gate where it met the fence that you could look through and
05:27see to the other side so I peeked through it and what I saw was a woman
05:33middle-aged standing on the other side with this big wide creepy grin on her face
05:39and she was already looking right at me through the crack as if she knew to do so
05:44I stepped away from the gate because it was such a disturbing sight I backed away
05:48and said no sorry the woman replied back are you sure and Tony replied for me
05:55saying no we weren't the woman said okay thanks anyway I stepped back toward the
06:01gate to see if she left but she was still standing there smiling and looking at me
06:05through the crack we were so freaked out that we went inside my house through the
06:09back door we quietly hung out downstairs for a while completely shook that woman was
06:15terrifying everything about her my friends were scared to get their bikes and
06:20leave so they slept over and left in the morning we didn't go back to that park
06:25for a long time after that if we really wanted to explain it all away we could go
06:31with the explanation that there was a kid who ran away from his mother and was
06:35playing at the park and the mother was looking for her child but it doesn't make
06:39sense because we rode home so quickly that no one on foot would have been able to
06:43see where we went also we know for a fact that we didn't see any kid running
06:48around the playgrounds so what the actual hell did we hear inside of that
06:52slide who was that who was the woman at this point it's a distant memory that
06:58will simply never be solved
07:02I never thought a normal walk in the park could turn into one of the scariest
07:14nights of my life but it did I live in a small suburban town the kind where
07:20everyone knows everyone else and most people think it's safe to be outside at
07:24any time it was a Friday night in the summer of 2018 I had just finished a late
07:30shift at work and I wanted to clear my head before going home the local park was
07:35only a few blocks away from the apartment and I used it a lot to jog or
07:39just walk when I needed to think that night it was quiet almost too quiet the
07:46Sun had set maybe an hour before and the street lights inside the park were on but
07:50the main walking paths still felt shadowed under the trees I remember
07:55thinking how peaceful it was as I entered the smell of freshly cut grass
07:59lingering in the air I wasn't expecting anyone to be there most of the time on a
08:04weekday night I'd be alone or maybe see a few people walking dogs or a couple of
08:08teenagers sitting on the benches I had my headphones in listening to music at a
08:13low volume and I started walking along the main path at first everything was
08:18normal I noticed a couple of dogs running in the distance and some people
08:22walking slowly laughing quietly it felt calm almost therapeutic but then I
08:28started noticing little things that made me feel uneasy though at the time I
08:32tried to brush them off the first thing I noticed was a man sitting on a bench
08:37not far from the path he was wearing a hoodie the hood pulled up over his head
08:41even though it wasn't cold he wasn't doing anything in particular just sitting
08:46and staring straight ahead I didn't think much of it at first people sit on
08:51benches all the time but as I passed I realized he was looking at me he didn't
08:57move when I walked by didn't even shift his eyes from me it made me uncomfortable so
09:02I picked up my pace a little telling myself he was probably harmless I kept
09:07walking trying to shake off the feeling but then I heard footsteps behind me I
09:11paused and the footsteps stopped I waited for a few seconds then continued
09:17walking they started again matching my pace exactly my heart started to beat
09:23faster but I told myself it was probably just someone else taking their own walk
09:27still the footsteps were too deliberate too in sync with mine I decided to take a
09:33different path one that led through a smaller section of the park with fewer
09:37lights the main path was still ahead but I wanted to cut through a side
09:41trail that loops back toward the street I figured I could get home faster that
09:45way and maybe avoid whoever was behind me as I turned on to the trail I noticed
09:50the man from the bench had stood up and was walking in the same direction I
09:54thought maybe it was a coincidence but something about the way he moved made me
09:59stop and stare he wasn't jogging or taking a normal stroll it was slow almost
10:04like he was matching my pace without looking directly at me I took out my phone and
10:09checked the time then pretended to make a call holding it up to my ear the man
10:14didn't react he didn't seem to care that I was looking at him I forced myself to
10:19keep walking trying not to panic I thought maybe if I went faster he'd
10:24eventually leave me alone I broke into a light jug and he did the same keeping
10:29exactly the same distance behind me my mind raced why was he following me was he
10:35dangerous should I run back the way I came I made a decision to leave the park
10:40completely there was a street exit just ahead that led back toward a well-lit
10:44neighborhood I broke into a faster run heart pounding so hard I thought it
10:49might explode out of my chest the footsteps behind me sped up matching mine
10:53perfectly I didn't look back again I just ran when I reached the street I
10:59slowed down and finally risked glancing behind me the man had stopped at the edge of
11:04the park standing at the shadows just inside the trees I could see the hood over
11:08his head the dark shape against the dimly lit path he wasn't moving just
11:14watching me I don't know how long I stood there before I turned and ran home my
11:19hands were shaking so badly I could hardly unlock my apartment door I thought
11:24that would be the end of it I told myself it was probably just a creepy guy who
11:28liked to follow people maybe harmless I kept imagining rational explanations maybe
11:34he was lonely maybe he was homeless maybe he just liked watching people
11:38walk I tried to go back to my normal life but I couldn't stop thinking about
11:43that night a few nights later I was back at the same park this time during the day
11:49trying to convince myself it was safe I walked along the same path I had walked
11:54that night scanning the area for anything unusual everything looked normal and I
12:00started to relax a little but then I noticed the same bench where I had first
12:04seen him it was empty now but someone had scratched something into the wood I
12:09couldn't make out exactly what it said it looked like letters carved hastily some of
12:15them smeared as if whoever did it didn't want it to be legible my stomach
12:19turned I snapped a picture and walked away quickly after that I tried to avoid the
12:25park at night completely but the worst part wasn't that I felt unsafe it was the
12:30feeling that someone knew I had been there that someone was waiting even when
12:34I wasn't looking I started noticing small things in the neighborhood to
12:38shadows moving in the corner of my eye a figure across the street that would
12:43vanish when I looked directly a car parked on the block that I didn't
12:47recognize lights turning on in houses when I walked past I kept telling myself it
12:52was paranoia that I was imagining things but the memory of that night never left
12:57me one evening maybe two weeks later I decided to go jogging again in the early
13:03evening thinking it was safer than nighttime I stayed on the main street not
13:08going into the park at all as I passed the edge of the park I noticed something
13:12that made my blood run cold a figure was standing just inside the tree line
13:17barely visible it was the same height and build as the man from before and the
13:22hood was up again I froze in place he didn't move but I had this overwhelming
13:27feeling that he had been there for hours just watching my instincts screamed at
13:32me to run but I forced myself to move slowly keeping my eyes on him when I
13:37reached my car I jumped in lock the doors and drove away constantly glancing
13:42back in the rearview mirror I never saw him again after that night at least not in
13:47the park but sometimes when I walk through the neighborhood or even near my
13:51apartment I get that same feeling that someone is watching me just beyond my
13:56line of sight I've checked the park security cameras in the past and nothing
14:01unusual shows up no one was captured entering the park at night and the areas
14:05I walked are supposed to be covered by cameras I don't know if he was someone who
14:09knew how to avoid them or if it was someone who had been living there without
14:13anyone noticing the strangest part is that I never heard anything directly from
14:17him no voice no movement besides the footsteps just that presence I've told
14:24friends and family but most of them dismiss it as paranoia I know what I
14:28experienced and I can't explain it I've learned to avoid that park completely at
14:33night and even in the day I stay on the main streets but the memory sticks with me
14:37sometimes late at night I find myself staring at the dark tree line where he
14:42stood wondering if he's still there waiting for someone else I never go back
14:47but a small irrational part of me feels like he could still be there even now
14:53hiding just out of sight watching anyone who dares to walk alone I don't know why
14:58he picked me or if it was random I don't know if he was dangerous or just
15:03interested all I know is that feeling of being followed being watched without
15:08anyone seeing it's something I'll never forget even writing this now I feel a
15:13chill remembering the quiet way he moved how he stayed just out of reach but
15:18always present I still take my walks but I make sure I'm never alone in the park
15:23after dark and sometimes when I'm home I swear I hear the sound of footsteps
15:28outside far enough away to be unnoticed but close enough to remind me that I'm
15:32being watched I tell myself it's probably nothing I hope it is but I can't shake
15:38the feeling that somewhere out there he's still waiting watching and stalking me
15:43like he was that night I never reported him to the police there was no evidence
15:48or proof that anyone was there except me I thought about it but I couldn't even
15:52describe him clearly just a hoodie a vague shape and the feeling that he knew
15:57everything I was doing the uncertainty is what haunts me the most I have no idea
16:02who he was why he was there or if he's still around even walking past that park
16:07during the day now makes me tense even now years later if I'm driving past I
16:12sometimes feel like I see a figure standing at the edge of the trees I
16:16can't tell if it's real or just my imagination I don't stop to find out I
16:21just keep driving hoping I never have to walk that path alone again
16:26this event happened less than 24 hours ago the details are still incredibly
16:39vivid in my head I'm not even sure how to classify the story because it was so
16:44bizarre it was the only time in my life that I've ever felt like I was
16:47actually in serious danger myself and a group of five friends were hanging out at
16:53a popular public park in my area called the overlook because it had a
16:56great view of downtown and nearby universities it was very late in the
17:01evening around 11 o'clock it was supposed to be just a chill rendezvous we
17:06had no plans of doing anything other than hanging out in the park benches and
17:10talking however one of my friends said that he had Roman candles in his trunk
17:14and suggested that we light them off the overlook is probably the worst place in
17:19the entire park to light fireworks so I suggested we go to a more secluded part
17:23of the park called the loop the loop is just a few minutes away from the overlook
17:28and most of it is surrounded by trees so only people within that part of the park
17:32would be able to see what we were doing all six of us piled into two separate
17:37cars and made our way over to the loop although there was plenty of street
17:41parking within the loop we decided to park outside on a nearby street just in
17:45case anything went wrong we started walking toward the actual loop part which is
17:50basically a huge cul-de-sac surrounded by woods the driveway to the loop is very
17:55long and winding cutting through a thick tree line you can't see anything within
17:59the loop from outside because of the trees we noticed a few cars parked in
18:04different spots but we thought nothing of it as people walk in this park
18:07frequently still it was strained for such a late hour as we walked deeper into the
18:14loop we noticed several cars parked around the cul-de-sac with their lights off
18:17suddenly a truck behind us started moving with its headlights off it was
18:24facing the opposite direction toward the entrance of the loop but it quickly made
18:27a u-turn and headed in our direction we all found this strange and hid behind
18:32some trees the truck passed us slowly then continued around the loop drove back
18:38toward the entrance stopped suddenly and made another u-turn all of our stomachs
18:43sank the truck was small probably only fitting three people yet there were six
18:48of us all over six feet tall still we were frightened and creeped out for some
18:54reason my friend thought that was the perfect time to light a roman candle and
18:58sparks flew in our direction the truck immediately turned its headlights on and
19:02started slowly driving toward us we ran further into the tree line which was on a
19:07downward slope and we hid behind more trees however the truck went over the curb and
19:12drove through the grass toward us whoever was driving must have seen us running
19:16because they turned on their high beams and laid on the horn we sprinted as fast as
19:21we could into the woods these weren't paths people normally walked through there
19:26were bushes and tall grass making it difficult to move about 20 feet into the
19:31woods we began hearing voices from the truck and saw more pairs of headlights turn
19:36on from the loop during our sprint we had become separated I was with two friends and
19:42we didn't know where the other three were but that wasn't our main concern two men
19:47stepped out of the truck and sprinted down into the woods with flashlights my
19:51friends and I lay flat on the ground trying to stay hidden I managed to squeeze
19:56under a large bush but my other two friends were still partially exposed we were in a
20:01sunken part of the woods with part of the loop directly above us it was quiet for a
20:06few minutes until we heard footsteps and saw flashlights from above we didn't know
20:11if they could see us but we were basically trapped one group was searching from the
20:16front and another was searching from above we didn't understand why they were so
20:21upset about the fireworks none of them had come near any of their vehicles and
20:25fireworks are legal in our state all we could do was hide and hope they didn't
20:29find us after about 15 minutes we saw the truck pull out of the grass and back onto the street
20:35then drive away the other headlights disappeared but we never saw the men who had entered the
20:41woods come out to make matters worse one of my friends realized he had lost his phone
20:45somewhere in the woods while running finding it was surprisingly easy but sneaking out of
20:50the woods and back onto the road leading to the loop was difficult it was pitch black and we
20:56couldn't use our flashlights or phones because we didn't want to alert the men of our
20:59location we regrouped with one friend who had been hiding close by he said one of the men had run
21:05right past him but didn't see him however he noticed the man was carrying what looked like a knife or
21:10some kind of melee weapon after hearing this we sprinted down the road toward the entrance
21:15that's when we noticed the same truck from earlier about 50 feet from the entrance
21:20fortunately a dense patch of woods nearby allowed us to sneak into it and move toward the exit
21:25somehow whoever was in the truck realized we started moving because they immediately turned
21:31on their high beams and pulled the truck to the edge of the woods at that point we ran as fast as we
21:36could the truck followed us along the road but we quickly cut deeper into the woods eventually we
21:42reached a main road that led out of the loop the truck didn't follow beyond the entrance we took two
21:49different back roads to get back to our cars to make sure we weren't being followed
21:52we didn't hear from our other friends until a few hours later they had managed to escape much quicker
21:58by running without hiding i'm never going back to the loop i don't know what those people wanted or
22:04why they made such an effort to hunt us in the woods but i'm sure it wasn't good it felt like an
22:10eternity at the time and i've never been more scared in my life i truly didn't know what was going to
22:15happen
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