4 Horrific TRUE Christmas Horror Stories
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#Horror #Story #Stories #Scary #Ghost # Haunted #Fright #Nightmare #Real #True #Paranormal
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00:00My name is Gregory and this happened last December when I was home alone in my house
00:14for a whole week. My girlfriend had gone to stay with her parents for the holidays
00:18and I stayed behind because of work. I live in a quiet neighborhood in a small
00:23town in upstate New York. The houses are pretty spaced out and most of the people
00:27on my block go away for Christmas so I basically had the whole street to myself.
00:32At first I liked the idea of the peace and quiet. I thought I would get a lot of
00:37rest and maybe catch up on some shows and just enjoy the coziness of the
00:40holidays for a bit but what happened that week still lives rent-free in my head.
00:45It was on my second night alone. It was around 630 and already completely dark
00:51outside. It had been snowing lightly all day and there was a white layer on my
00:55yard and driveway. I was in the kitchen making a simple dinner just pasta and
01:00chicken. Usually my girlfriend is the one to cook our meals. I'm not much of a chef.
01:04I turned on the TV in the background to make the house feel less empty because as
01:09happy as I was to have the place to myself for a bit I wasn't used to it being
01:13so empty and quiet in here. While I was eating at the table I heard something
01:18unusual. It really took me a second to figure out what it was. It sounded like
01:24singing. I muted the TV and listened. The sound was definitely coming from
01:29outside. The singing got a little clearer and I realized the person was
01:33singing jingle bells. At first I thought maybe some neighborhood kids were
01:37playing around outside but the voice didn't sound like a kid. It sounded like
01:42a grown man. I got up and walked toward the front door because that seemed like
01:46the direction it was coming from. The closer I got the louder it got. By the time I
01:52reached the door it sounded like the singing was coming from right on my
01:55front stoop. I felt a weird feeling in my stomach but at that moment I still
02:00thought maybe it was just a caroler. I opened the door and standing in the glow
02:05of my porch light was a man around 35 years old. He wore no hat and his coat
02:10looked too thin for the weather but the strangest thing was that he was
02:14completely focused on singing jingle bells staring down at my welcome mat like he
02:18wasn't even aware I opened the door. I remember forcing a little smile because
02:22I didn't really know what else to do. I'd never gotten Christmas carolers before
02:26but even still I never heard of a grown man doing it solo. It's supposed to be a
02:31group thing from what I know. He didn't look dangerous. He actually just looked
02:36sort of confused or maybe slow. I even wondered if he was special needs or
02:40something because he didn't react to me being there. He just kept singing. When he
02:46finished the song I expected him to say something or at least leave but he just
02:51took a breath and started singing jingle bells all over again from the beginning
02:54in the same slow off-key tone but now he was looking up at me making direct eye
03:00contact. I felt my smile drop because it was just weird now. I stood there another
03:07minute pretending to listen even though it felt uncomfortable. I kept thinking he
03:12would stop after the second run but he didn't. He just looped the song. I checked
03:18my phone and realized almost four minutes had passed while he sang jingle
03:21bells over and over. Finally I decided it was enough. I told him thank you in a
03:27polite tone and I slowly closed the door. I thought that would send him on his way
03:32but once the door was closed I still heard the singing. It continued without even
03:37slowing down. I walked back to the table and sat down trying to ignore it but the
03:42longer it went on the harder it was to ignore. The man didn't seem normal and it
03:48bothered me that he was still right outside my door singing the same song. I
03:53wondered if maybe he was special needs and someone was out there with him like
03:56by the street or something but I didn't see anyone else out there. It made the
04:01whole house feel uncomfortable like someone weird was standing too close to my
04:05personal space. I kept eating but I couldn't focus on the food. It went on
04:10for my entire dinner. Finally after about ten minutes straight the singing
04:15stopped. The sudden silence actually made me jump because I had gotten used to the
04:20singing. I got up slowly and walked back to the front door window. When I looked
04:26outside I expected to see the man gone but he was still there. He had moved. Now he was
04:33standing at the end of my driveway. He was just facing my house completely still. He
04:39was no longer singing. At least I couldn't hear anything from here. He was
04:43just standing there in the snow staring at the door. Something about that felt
04:48worse than the singing. He looked like he was waiting. I opened the door a crack and
04:53told him he couldn't be here. That this was private property and he needed to leave.
04:56He didn't move at all. The whole thing was so unnatural. I finally told him that if he
05:03didn't leave I would call the police. Then I shut the door again. I watched him for
05:08another minute from the window but he didn't budge. I didn't want to actually call the
05:12cops because I thought maybe there was something mentally wrong with him and I
05:15didn't want to make things worse. So instead I decided to just go upstairs, lock my
05:20bedroom door and try to relax. I checked out the window upstairs before changing into bed
05:26clothes. The man was gone from the driveway. Thank God. I figured the threat worked. I got
05:34into bed, turned on a lamp and started reading my book to wind down. Maybe twenty minutes went
05:40by when I heard something from behind the house. I knew instantly what it was unfortunately.
05:46It was the same man singing jingle bells again, except now it was coming from my backyard.
05:52I jumped out of bed and went to the back window. When I looked down, not only was he directly
05:58in sight of my backyard, he was already looking up at my window. The man was in my backyard
06:04standing in the snow directly below my bedroom window. He was looking straight up at me while
06:09he sang. I slid open the window and yelled at him that I was calling the police. The singing
06:15stopped instantly. He stood there in total silence for about three seconds. Then, he suddenly
06:21burst into a full sprint toward the back door on the lower level. The second he was out
06:26of my view, I heard the most insane sound I have ever heard in my life. He started screaming
06:31at the top of his lungs, not like a normal scream. It sounded like a death metal singer,
06:36but even more insane and deranged. It echoed across the yard and through the entire house.
06:42Then came the banging. The back door shook violently as he kicked it, slammed into it,
06:47and probably tried ripping the doorknob off. I felt the vibrations from the impacts in my upstairs
06:52bedroom. I realized this guy wasn't just weird. He was trying to get inside. I grabbed my phone and
06:59called 911 right away. I begged them to hurry, telling them a man was trying to break in. I stayed
07:06on the line while holding a baseball bat with my other hand. I backed into my bedroom closet
07:11and shut myself in. The operator told me to stay hidden. I could still hear the screams
07:17and bangs from downstairs, and every second felt like he was going to break through.
07:22Then just as suddenly as they started, the bangs stopped. Everything went silent except for
07:27my breathing. I didn't know if he left or if he got inside. I stayed completely still in
07:33the closet until the police arrived. They checked the entire outside of the house and confirmed
07:37the back door was still locked. The operator said I could come out and meet them. When I
07:43stepped outside to greet them, I finally felt like I could breathe again. We walked around
07:48the backyard and saw deep footprints in the snow, showing exactly where he had stood while singing
07:53to me through the window and where he had run up to the back door. The footprints then
07:57let off into the woods behind my property. The cops went to follow the trail a little
08:02bit but came back because it apparently wasn't worth going deep into the woods at night.
08:06They acted like it wasn't a big deal. They told me people act strange all the time and
08:10that as long as I kept my doors locked I should be fine. They didn't seem very interested in
08:15finding him and that bothered me a lot, but I was too shaken up to argue.
08:21After they left, the house felt horribly empty and cold. I kept every door and window locked
08:26and double checked them over and over. At that point, I was over the alone time and
08:31just wanted my girlfriend back home. I went down to my parents' place for Christmas Eve
08:35and Christmas thankfully. As far as that man, he never returned. At least, not that I know
08:41of.
08:41This story is about my Christmas experience from about 10 years ago. I was six years old
08:57since my birthday was in November and I had just finished celebrating. Now we were getting
09:02ready for the holiday. My birthday celebration happened on the same day as the famous Odell
09:07Beckham Jr. catch. I lived with Cowboys fans, but I was a Giants fan. I remember it being
09:14talked about for the rest of the night and even during my birthday celebration. It was
09:19an eventful birthday week and I'm surprised I remember all of this since I was only six.
09:24I didn't understand football, but I understood that the catch was crazy, so I was just living
09:29in the moment and happy it was my birthday like any other kid.
09:34Before my birthday, I got tickets to the Mavs-Wizards NBA game on December 30th. I was a Cavaliers
09:40fan, but since we lived in DFU outside of Dallas, I knew a lot of Mavs fans and I was a small
09:47fan myself, so I was grateful. It was going to be my first NBA game. Christmas Day was five
09:53days before and I got a brand new Odell Beckham Jr. jersey and a Mavericks shirt and sweatshirt
09:58as I was becoming a sports fan. I had a great Christmas, but one of my Christmas gifts was
10:04another Mavs game, which was on December 27th against the Oklahoma City Thunder. I was so
10:09excited to go to both games. The day came and we went to the game. The Mavs won a close one,
10:17something like 112 to 105. It was crazy to see an event like that in an NBA arena for the first
10:24time. We left the game and drove home, which was maybe 45 minutes away from the American Airlines
10:30Center. The next couple of days were normal, but I was excited to go back to that amazing
10:35stadium and atmosphere. This time we went again. I didn't know it would be the last time I went
10:41for years. At the last game we had nice seats, like seven rows from the court and in the middle,
10:47but this time we were maybe row 20 and in a corner area, so the experience was different.
10:53The game was going well and I was enjoying it. The Mavs were killing them by like 20 to 30 points
10:59at halftime. Since I was a child, I wanted to roam around and get food and go to the bathroom by
11:04myself, but I was with my parents and only six years old, so my parents and I walked to get some food.
11:11We waited in line for maybe 20 minutes. My dad went to another restaurant inside the arena to
11:17get different food and I stayed with my brother who was waiting in line to pay. As we talked to
11:22the worker, I walked away to throw out some of the candy they bought me before the game.
11:27I walked to a trash can maybe 30 feet away. As I got there, this tall white man came up to me and
11:33asked, hey are you lost? I shook my head and didn't say anything. He said he didn't see my parents
11:39around and told me, let's go look, as he grabbed my hand and walked with me. I was just a kid, so I
11:45walked with him. He took me toward the nosebleeds and said we were going to the intercom so they
11:50could announce my name and find my parents. I said okay and kept walking. We got to the top and we
11:57waited for about 10 minutes. He waited until the coast was clear and then tried pushing me towards
12:02the emergency stairs or elevator. I don't remember exactly, but I do remember there was no one
12:08around. Then I remembered stranger danger and the guilt and fear started sinking in. I realized I
12:14shouldn't go with this man. He didn't have any credentials. When he let go of my hand to go check
12:20his phone, I ran all the way back to the stands. As I ran, I saw him standing there with a small grin
12:26on his face. I couldn't find my parents, but I didn't care. I just wanted to be somewhere safe.
12:33I found my brother, who hadn't told my parents he lost me because he didn't want to get in trouble.
12:38He asked if I was okay and I said yes, choosing not to say anything. The game ended and the Mavs won,
12:44but I didn't care. I just wanted to go home. As we exited, I was quiet. When we got in the car,
12:52I was also quiet. My parents seemed confused that I didn't seem energetic, but I told them I was
12:58tired. As we drove home, I almost fell asleep, but then a loud honk screeched behind us. It was so loud
13:06I almost screamed. I turned around and there he was, the same man driving a truck with maybe three
13:13other men inside. I couldn't tell who they were, just silhouettes. My parents yelled at them from our
13:20car when they pulled up next to us, but the men just stared. I wanted to say something so badly,
13:26but for some reason, I didn't. When we got home, I went right to sleep and passed out fast.
13:33In the middle of the night, I woke up with chills. I noticed a light flashing at my window.
13:39I looked out, expecting something innocent, Santa Claus or something, but instead, saw that man
13:45standing out there, shining a flashlight into my bedroom window. I screamed and ran to my parents'
13:52room, telling them someone was at my window as if it were a first-story window. They rushed outside
13:57and searched for maybe 20 minutes. They didn't find anything, and since I was a kid, they didn't
14:03believe me. They said it must have been a shadow from a car, but I know what I saw.
14:07On New Year's Eve, a couple days later, we were staying up until midnight to watch the ball drop.
14:15We were about five or six minutes away from midnight when the doorbell rang.
14:19My parents answered it. I didn't pay attention until I heard the man's voice,
14:24and I was 100% sure it was him. I told my parents, but they didn't believe me. I told them at the game
14:31he brought me to the high level, and I ran away and escaped, but they still didn't believe me.
14:36They said it was just a man handing out lost dog flyers for his cousin's dog.
14:41The night went on, and I was fine, but then a year later, on New Year's Eve,
14:46there was a knock at my bedroom window. Keep in mind, I had forgotten about the situation.
14:52I got up and looked, and there was a piece of paper on the window that said,
14:56This New Year, you'll meet me again. I gave my parents the note, and they filed a report,
15:02but they never heard anything back. Every couple of years,
15:06I get terrified of New Year's Eve, thinking that man will come back.
15:10I told my parents I never want to go back to an NBA game, saying it wasn't my thing.
15:15But now I'm 16, and it scares me that the man knows where I live.
15:19I'm considering going to the Cavs vs. Mavs game on January 2nd or 3rd,
15:24which would be my first game since then, but I'm not sure.
15:28This experience scared me away from basketball,
15:30and made me always close my curtains.
15:43I remember this night way too clearly,
15:46and even now, I think about how close my family came to something really terrible.
15:50It was early December, and we decided to drive up north into the mountains to cut down a real
15:56Christmas tree. It was something my wife Marianne and I always wanted to do,
16:00and our 7-year-old son Andrew was excited about it too.
16:04The weather was cold and cloudy, and the sky had that heavy look where it feels like snow is always
16:09about to fall again. To us, that added to the Christmas vibe.
16:14The whole ride up the winding roads made me feel like a kid again.
16:17It was a while since I'd done something this unique and in the Christmas spirit,
16:21and having Andrew so excited about it just brought me back to my youth.
16:25When we finally reached the remote area Marianne found online,
16:29there were no other cars around in the parking area.
16:32There were a bunch of light posts scattered around,
16:34so we weren't in pitch black darkness if you were wondering.
16:37That's why we picked the place.
16:39Still, we did bring flashlights.
16:42We parked by a small, unmarked path that led deeper into the trees.
16:46There was a lot of snow on the ground still from the snowfall we got a few days earlier,
16:51and up this high, the snow took even longer to melt.
16:54Andrew jumped out of the car right away and started throwing snowballs at us,
16:58so I started throwing them back.
17:01We were here to have fun, so of course I was going to try to make it as memorable as possible for Andrew.
17:05I grabbed our flashlights and the axe that I planned to use to chop down a tree.
17:12We walked up the narrow path with snow crunching under our boots.
17:15Andrew kept running ahead, stopping to point at trees he thought might be perfect.
17:20The deeper we went, the more the road behind us disappeared,
17:24and the only light came from the faint moon glowing behind the thick clouds.
17:27It was so quiet that I even asked Marianne and Andrew to stop for a second,
17:32just to really take it in.
17:34There was not a single sound, maybe a light breeze, that was it.
17:39To be honest, if I had been there alone,
17:41I'd have been slightly creeped out just off the silence and darkness alone.
17:45As we walked deeper onto the trail,
17:48we had to utilize the flashlights we brought, all three of us.
17:52Andrew was having a lot of fun with the flashlight,
17:55until the light from the parking lot was no longer visible,
17:58and it was now basically total darkness outside of the flashlights.
18:02He started to get a little nervous evidently,
18:04because he asked how far we were going to go,
18:06and he made a comment on the darkness.
18:08I kept feeling like someone was watching us,
18:11or like something was walking behind us,
18:13but every time I turned around,
18:15there was nothing but the empty snow path.
18:18About ten minutes in,
18:19we finally found a spot where the trees were tall and full.
18:23Andrew ran around them in circles, looking for the best one.
18:26Marianne stayed closer to me,
18:28and whispered that she wanted to pick a tree fast,
18:30because she had a weird feeling too.
18:32I got exactly what she meant,
18:34this was a lot creepier than I had imagined.
18:36Right then, I heard soft crunching behind us.
18:41It wasn't any of us, nor was it an animal.
18:44It sounded like boots crunching the snow,
18:46but very slowly, sneaking-like.
18:50When I turned around,
18:51I saw a man in dark clothes,
18:53standing about twenty feet back on the path.
18:56He wasn't dressed for the weather.
18:58His hands were bare and red from the cold.
19:01His jacket looked more like a windbreaker.
19:03His face looked pale and stiff,
19:05like he'd been out in the cold for way too long.
19:08Marianne grabbed Andrew's arm to pull him closer.
19:11When the man noticed we were looking at him,
19:13he suddenly smiled in an off-putting way
19:15and stepped closer.
19:17He asked if we were looking for a Christmas tree.
19:20His voice breaking the already unsettling silence
19:22was uncomfortable.
19:24His voice was deep and kind of soft.
19:26Before I could say anything,
19:29Andrew answered yes, excited again,
19:31and I felt a jolt of panic
19:33because I didn't want this man knowing anything about us.
19:36Marianne quickly told him no,
19:38that we were just walking.
19:39The man stepped closer again,
19:41and the way he moved
19:42made every hair on my arm stand up.
19:45He told us not to worry
19:46because he wasn't a park ranger.
19:48He said it like he could tell exactly why we lied,
19:51because admittedly,
19:52what we were doing was super illegal.
19:54I didn't want to talk to him at all.
19:57Something was wrong with him.
19:59He looked hungry or desperate
20:00or like he hadn't slept in days.
20:03I guess, for lack of a better word,
20:05he looked homeless.
20:06I told Marianne we should head back to the car,
20:09and she nodded,
20:10gripping Andrew's jacket.
20:12When we started walking past the man,
20:14he stood by, smiling and watching,
20:16giving slight nods
20:17as if to say goodbye as we walked.
20:20Andrew kept turning around,
20:21asking if the man was following,
20:22and we told him to stay facing forward.
20:25Every time I looked back,
20:27the man was a little bit closer than before,
20:29even though I didn't hear him speed up.
20:32I whispered to Marianne
20:33that when we reached the main road,
20:35we had to run to the car.
20:37She held Andrew's hand tighter
20:38and nodded without looking back.
20:41The man's steps stayed behind us the whole time,
20:44dragging a little
20:44like his boots were too big or too heavy.
20:48Once we got close enough
20:49to see the gap in the trees
20:50where the car was parked,
20:51I told them to go.
20:53Marianne lifted Andrew
20:54and ran as fast as she could.
20:56The only reason I felt even remotely safe
20:59was because of the axe in my hand,
21:01but I'm not a violent person,
21:02and I've never had to resort to violence
21:04in my entire life.
21:05I turned around to block the path behind us
21:08for even just a second.
21:09The man had stopped walking
21:11and was just staring at me,
21:13and he put his hands up halfway,
21:15still smiling,
21:16and then he said,
21:17I mean no harm.
21:19Why don't you get back to your truck now?
21:21And I felt my heart skip a beat
21:22as he said this.
21:24He said truck,
21:25like he knew we came in a pickup truck.
21:28I replied back simply
21:29that we don't want any trouble.
21:31Then I turned
21:32and started hurrying back down to the lot,
21:34but halfway there,
21:36Marianne screamed my name,
21:38sounding panicked.
21:40Oh no, I thought.
21:42When I got to the truck,
21:44she showed me that both right side tires
21:46were punctured.
21:47I didn't have time to examine it for long
21:49to realize it was him.
21:51I told Marianne to call 911 immediately,
21:54but she struggled to find service at first.
21:57She walked around the snowy lot for a bit
21:58until there was reception.
22:00She never strayed too far away.
22:03I had Andrew wait in the truck,
22:04who was now clearly concerned
22:05as he watched Marianne and I freaking out.
22:08He was old enough
22:09to know something bad was happening.
22:12Marianne seemed to be having a hard time
22:13on the phone,
22:14so I took it and explained our location
22:16and that we felt threatened
22:17by a random man in the woods
22:18who may have potentially been responsible
22:20for the tires.
22:22Given the potentially unstable individual
22:24in the vicinity
22:24and the fact that we had a child with us,
22:27police were taking this very seriously
22:29and told me to keep my family locked in the truck
22:31until police arrive
22:32and that a tow truck will be sent as well.
22:35I was instructed to keep the operator
22:37on the line while we waited,
22:39but eventually the line started getting choppy,
22:41cutting out at moments
22:42because of the poor reception.
22:43Then, Marianne suddenly screamed in my ear to look
22:48and pointed towards the tree line
22:49by the path we were on.
22:51There were multiple people
22:53standing just beyond the tree line.
22:55I counted at least three.
22:57They looked like shadows from where we were,
22:59which made the sight even more terrifying.
23:02It was like we were being stalked and hunted.
23:04Then, two of the people started walking closer.
23:08I told the operator
23:09and she said something
23:11that really made me uncomfortable.
23:13She asked if I had any kinds of weapons
23:15and when I said I had the axe,
23:17she implied that if it came down to it,
23:19to use it to defend my family.
23:22By this point, Andrew was crying
23:23and Marianne tried to calm him down.
23:26I told the operator
23:27that two of the figures
23:28were still walking toward the truck.
23:30They weren't running or yelling or anything.
23:32They just walked very slowly
23:34like they knew we weren't going anywhere.
23:36The third figure strangely disappeared,
23:39likely back deeper into the woods
23:40away from the light.
23:42The operator told me the police were close,
23:44but I had no idea
23:45if that meant two minutes or ten.
23:48I kept looking back and forth
23:49between the tree line
23:50and the road in the distance,
23:52praying to see flashing lights.
23:55I tried to talk to the operator again,
23:57but the call dropped.
23:58The second it cut off,
24:00everything felt a hundred times worse.
24:03I locked the doors again,
24:04even though they were already locked.
24:06I kept my hand on the axe,
24:08gripping it so hard my knuckles hurt.
24:11As the two people were now
24:12within range of hearing them speak,
24:14we could hear them saying,
24:15we're here to help,
24:16as they waved their hands in the air.
24:19We didn't recognize either of them
24:20to be that guy from earlier.
24:22Do you think they're park rangers?
24:24Marianne asked.
24:25And I said firmly,
24:26not a chance.
24:28But perhaps I said it too loud,
24:29because Andrew just started crying even more,
24:31which Marianne had to try extra hard
24:33to console him.
24:35These two people approaching
24:36were dressed similarly to that first guy,
24:39aka way underdressed,
24:41and their clothes looked worn out,
24:42almost dirty,
24:43and they didn't seem bothered
24:44by the cold at all.
24:46But then,
24:47seemingly randomly,
24:48the two of them turned around
24:49and started running back
24:51in the direction they had come from.
24:53We didn't know why just yet,
24:55but it was soon clear.
24:57Never have we been so ecstatic
24:58to hear the sound of police sirens.
25:01It was getting louder fast,
25:02and eventually,
25:03we saw the flashing lights
25:04coming from down the road.
25:06Coming pretty fast, actually.
25:08The police SUV entered the lot
25:10with its spotlight on,
25:11and it instantly shined in our direction.
25:13I flashed my lights
25:15to try to get the cop in the car
25:16to see the men running back into the woods.
25:18At this point, though,
25:19they were already nearly gone.
25:22But their footprints weren't.
25:24Once the SUV was next to us,
25:26two officers jumped out immediately
25:28with flashlights drawn,
25:29and I got out to basically
25:31get on my knees thanking them.
25:33I pointed in the direction
25:34the men ran.
25:35I said they disappeared into the trees
25:37like they had rehearsed where to go.
25:39The police told us
25:40to stay inside the truck
25:41while they searched,
25:42and more units showed up within minutes.
25:45One officer stayed with us.
25:47Andrew was no longer scared,
25:48but rather once again excited
25:50at the commotion
25:51and the sight of police officers.
25:54After a long search,
25:55the police came back
25:56and told us what I already knew
25:57they were going to say.
25:59They didn't find anyone,
26:01just tracks in the snow
26:02that went deep into the woods
26:03and eventually spread out
26:04in different directions.
26:06They didn't know
26:07if the people lived somewhere out there
26:08or if they were part of some kind of camp
26:10deeper in the mountains.
26:12They said sometimes drifters or squatters
26:14stay hidden in remote areas
26:15during the winter.
26:17The tow truck eventually arrived,
26:19and the police stayed around us
26:20the entire time
26:21until our truck was loaded up.
26:23We had to sit in the back
26:24of a patrol car
26:24to stay warm
26:25while they finished everything.
26:27No one really said much.
26:29Marianne held Andrew in her lap,
26:30and I just stared out the window,
26:32watching the dark tree lines,
26:34half expecting to see
26:35someone standing there again.
26:37On the ride back home,
26:38none of us talked.
26:40It was like all of us
26:41were afraid that saying anything
26:42out loud would make it real again.
26:44We didn't try to cut down
26:45a Christmas tree ever again.
26:47We didn't even go back
26:48to that mountain area.
26:50Even now,
26:50ten years later,
26:51I refused to go anywhere near it.
26:54To this day,
26:55what scares me the most
26:56is the thought that they had been
26:57watching us long before
26:58we even noticed them.
27:00They saw us arrive in that parking lot
27:02because they knew to strand us
27:04by slashing my tires,
27:05and they were waiting for us
27:06to go deep enough into the trees
27:08so we wouldn't make it back to the truck.
27:10We were lucky we trusted our instincts enough
27:12and decided to leave for the truck
27:14almost right away.
27:15We were all so lucky
27:16I was holding an axe,
27:17which may have dissuaded them
27:19from doing something crazy.
27:20I don't like thinking about
27:21how close we came
27:22to potentially never going home.
27:24I still think about this one night
27:37from when I was nine years old.
27:39It was a few days before Christmas.
27:41My parents both had things to do that night,
27:44and since I was almost nine,
27:46they felt okay leaving me home
27:47for a little bit.
27:48My mom had to run to the grocery store
27:50to get some stuff for Christmas dinner,
27:51and my dad was working late
27:53like he usually did in December.
27:55I was sitting on the couch
27:57watching a Christmas movie probably
27:58and eating cookies by the fireplace and tree.
28:02Outside, it was already dark
28:03even though it was still relatively early,
28:06and I remember the Christmas lights
28:07flashing on the houses across the street.
28:10It was normal,
28:11until the doorbell rang.
28:13The only reason this made me stop and look
28:15was because it was rather late and random
28:17for someone to ring the bell,
28:18and my mom always told me
28:19never to answer the door when I was alone.
28:21My parents never ring the bell, obviously,
28:24since they have keys.
28:26I got up and walked to the door anyway
28:28because I wanted to look through the peephole.
28:30When I put my eye up to it,
28:32I saw there was a man standing on the porch
28:34wearing a Santa Claus suit.
28:36It was the full thing, too.
28:38The red coat, the hat, the beard, everything.
28:41But he didn't look like a normal, friendly Santa.
28:44He wasn't holding anything
28:45besides what looked like a clipboard,
28:47and he was standing way too close to the door
28:49like he was waiting for me to unlock it.
28:52I didn't know what to say at first,
28:54so I just kind of whispered,
28:55who is it?
28:56The man moved his head a little closer to the door
28:58like he was trying to see through the peephole
29:00or hear me better,
29:02and in that moment,
29:03he figured out right away that I was a kid.
29:06He did, I guess,
29:07what was his best Santa impression,
29:09as he said he was Santa
29:10and that he had gifts for me
29:11and that I should open the door.
29:13At nine years old,
29:14I wasn't stupid,
29:15and I didn't believe in Santa anymore.
29:18My parents taught me about strangers.
29:20I told them to go away
29:22and that I didn't need anything,
29:23and I tried to sound brave,
29:25but my voice cracked.
29:27The man went silent for a second,
29:29and then he asked me if I was home alone.
29:31As soon as he said that,
29:33I knew to walk away.
29:34I instantly felt stupid
29:36for even letting him know I was home.
29:39I didn't answer him.
29:40I stepped back from the door
29:42and walked fast to the living room
29:43because I suddenly felt too scared
29:45to stand near it.
29:46I sat on the couch and grabbed a pillow
29:48and stared at the TV
29:50like acting normal would make the fear go away,
29:53but then I heard the doorknob twist.
29:55He was testing if the door was locked.
29:58I wanted to scream for help,
29:59but nobody was home.
30:01I waited and hoped he would leave,
30:04but a moment later,
30:05I heard another sound
30:06from the back of the house.
30:07It was the back doorknob twisting.
30:10It happened so fast after the front door
30:12that I bet he ran around the house to the back.
30:15That door was even weaker than the front one,
30:17and we almost never used it.
30:19I felt frozen in place,
30:22and all I could think about
30:23was that my house only had two doors
30:24and this man was trying both.
30:26I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone
30:28and dialed my mom's number.
30:31When she answered,
30:32I started talking really fast,
30:33trying not to cry.
30:35I told her someone was trying
30:36to get into the house
30:37and he was dressed like Santa.
30:39My mom got serious right away
30:41and told me she was coming home right now
30:43and that I should not open any doors
30:44no matter what.
30:46She told me to stay in the living room
30:47and keep the curtains closed.
30:49I sat on the floor behind the couch
30:51where I couldn't be seen from any windows,
30:53and I stayed completely still.
30:55I kept hearing small noises outside
30:57like footsteps or light taps,
31:00just some forms of sounds
31:01indicating that someone was still there.
31:04Eventually, they stopped,
31:06and not long after,
31:07I heard a car pulling into our driveway,
31:09and I knew it was my mom
31:10because I recognized her squeaking brakes.
31:13I stayed where I was
31:14until I heard the front door unlock
31:16and slam open.
31:17My mom came in breathing hard
31:19and holding two grocery bags.
31:21She locked the door behind her
31:23and yelled out for me,
31:24and I ran to her right away.
31:26She hugged me
31:27and then told me
31:27she had just seen a man
31:28dressed as Santa
31:29walking down our street.
31:31She said she slowed her car down
31:33when she saw him,
31:34and she yelled at him out the window
31:35asking what he was doing.
31:37The man told her
31:38he was going door to door
31:39asking for donations,
31:40but she didn't believe him for a second.
31:43She said he looked nervous
31:44and that he walked away fast
31:46when she started yelling.
31:48My mom told me
31:49she was proud of me
31:49for not opening the door
31:50and for calling her right away.
31:52She called the police
31:53and reported the man,
31:55and I'm sure police
31:55at the very least
31:56surveyed the area.
31:58We never found out
31:59if he was arrested
32:00or if he just disappeared
32:01into the neighborhood.
32:03Two neighbors did say, though,
32:04that the man knocked on their doors
32:05asking for donations,
32:07though they said
32:07it seemed like a scam.
32:09Regardless,
32:10that doesn't change the fact
32:11that he tried to get into our house
32:12where he knew
32:13a little boy was home alone.
32:15I still think about that night
32:17every year around Christmas
32:19when I see Santa decorations.
32:21I just remember being nine years old
32:23and knowing that man on our porch
32:25was not Santa
32:26and that he wanted something else.
32:28I guess I was lucky
32:30the doors were locked
32:30and my mom got home when she did.
32:33What would have happened
32:34if that door was unlocked
32:35is terrifying to think about.
32:45...
32:53...
32:54...
32:55...
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