- 2 days ago
3 Scary True backyard horrer story #horrer#movie
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00:12I'm the middle sibling of three. I have two brothers. They both grew up as scouts. My older
00:18brother made it to Eagle Scout. My little brother quit some time in Boy Scouts. But for whatever
00:23reason, my parents never forced me to become a scout when I was a kid. Which is weird, because
00:28I remember always being really jealous of my older brother Scott when my mom would bring me
00:32along to the Pinewood Derby contests and celebrations and such. But the thing that I was always the most
00:37jealous that I missed out on were the campouts. When the troops would go out into the wilderness
00:42and camp out for a whole weekend. I went along for the drive once or twice, and I saw them
00:47all
00:47setting up, doing campfires and such. But being younger, and also not part of the troop, I don't
00:53think I was allowed to stay. So I'd go home with my parents. My jealousy of these campouts
00:58was mainly towards my older brother because I was growing up watching him prepare for these
01:02camping trips. Before every trip, he'd be given a tent to take home and practice setting up in
01:08the backyard. Even though I was only like 7 or 8, I remember so clearly how eager I was
01:14when I hatched the idea to do a little backyard camping. Basically, we set up the tent in the
01:19backyard and sleep in it overnight. To my little mind, that was the most exciting idea ever.
01:25Also, our backyard wasn't really a traditional backyard. Our childhood house was in a very
01:30spacious neighborhood where yards just kind of all meshed together, and there weren't many fences.
01:35More so large patches of trees and brush separating yards, which added to the camping feel.
01:40Our backyard was also huge, and we had a fire pit. So our parents played along and set up the
01:46fire
01:46pit in our backyard for us so we could get the full camping experience. My little brother roasted
01:51marshmallows with us too, but our parents weren't going to let him sleep in the tent. He was only
01:55like 4 at the time, and it wasn't a good idea. And no, he wasn't a scout yet, obviously. He
02:00was 4.
02:01After it got a little late, our parents brought him in and told us it was time to start getting
02:05ready for sleep. At this time in my life, the Game Boy SP was the handheld console. So after getting
02:12into our sleeping bags, Scott and I whipped out our Game Boys and played our respective
02:16games. I was playing Super Mario Bros. 2, a game I was obsessed with yet could never beat
02:22as a child. After getting a little more tired, though, I turned to my side and tried to sleep.
02:27But I remember not being able to sleep. Like, I was tired, but restless. Maybe because I'd
02:34never slept in a sleeping bag before, and quite frankly it wasn't comfortable. A lot of time
02:39passed, and I mean a lot, before I finally nodded off. And then, I woke up probably confused
02:45about where I was at first, not recognizing my surroundings. I remember looking around
02:51the dark tent, and then noticing something. Scott was gone. His sleeping bag was empty.
02:57The tent zipper was closed, though. He must have went inside because he couldn't sleep.
03:02I was suddenly too scared to be in the tent alone, so I got up and unzipped the tent.
03:07But before crawling out, I did a little innocent peek outside simply because I was too scared
03:12to run out through the backyard without checking if the coast was clear. But it was not. I saw
03:18someone sitting by the fire pit in the darkness. It wasn't Scott. It was a grown man. He was
03:25facing the tent, and surely he had to have seen me. I gasped and zipped the tent back up
03:30and crawled back into my sleeping bag, as if that piece of cloth was any form of protection.
03:35I stayed completely still inside my sleeping bag. The tent was almost completely dark, just a faint
03:41gray from the moonlight coming through the fabric. I don't know what was going through my mind at that
03:45point, but I do know that I wanted to call out Dad, just hoping that it was my dad. But
03:50I knew it
03:51wasn't. I got a look at the man, even just briefly. And if it were my dad, he'd have acknowledged
03:56me
03:57poking my head out of the tent. And that's when I heard the chair by the fire pit shift. I
04:02was
04:02shitting bricks, hoping the man didn't get up. And if he did, that he wasn't coming towards the tent.
04:07But I could see a shadow now on the other side of the tent, blocking some of the moonlight.
04:12He was right outside. Somehow, I thought if I didn't move, maybe he would think the tent was empty.
04:18Then I heard the zipper, very slowly dragging downward. It only moved a few inches. The opening
04:25was small, but it was enough. I couldn't help it. I turned my head just slightly. There's a small
04:30gap at the bottom of most tents where the zipper doesn't fully seal. I had never noticed it before
04:35that night. An eye was pressed against that gap, just one eye, looking directly at me.
04:42I could see the white of it in the dark. I couldn't even scream at first, not for a few
04:47seconds at
04:48least, because I was paralyzed. Then the eye squinted a bit, as if the person was smiling a smile that
04:53I
04:53couldn't see. The zipper moved another inch, and that's when I finally screamed. I scrambled
04:59backwards, kicking out of my sleeping bag, knocking into the tent poles. I heard footsteps
05:05immediately take off through the yard. Our back porch light flipped on, which I could see through
05:10the tent fabric. My dad burst out the back door, yelling. I could hear him running across the grass.
05:16By the time he reached the fire pit area, whoever it was was already gone. My parents called the
05:21police, of course. I don't remember what happened after my parents talked to the cops. I know I went
05:27to my parents' room with my mom, and eventually the police did their thing, likely searching the
05:32immediate area. It was an absolute nightmare. I slept in my parents' bed that night. I was
05:37emotionally scarred for a while. Just this, things might have been going back to normal. I think it
05:43was a few weeks to a month later. This part is what really hammers the nail in the coffin for
05:48this
05:48experience being something I can never forget. I went to Catholic school, and during lunch we'd
05:53have a short recess in the schoolyard which was all concrete. The far end of the schoolyard was
05:58fenced off and looked towards the street. We were playing some game, maybe red light green light or
06:03something. This part I genuinely don't remember. All I know is I had to run to the fence to be
06:08considered safe from whatever the threat in the game was. And while I was on the fence, next to some
06:13other kids, mind you, a man says hey from the other side of the fence. I turn, and it's a
06:19man
06:19asking me for directions to some place I don't even remember. I said I don't know. We weren't even
06:24supposed to talk to strangers outside of the schoolyard. Then he said, your name's Chris, right?
06:31And that moment is implanted in my brain. His voice, the look on his face, and my heart dropping.
06:37I said no, lying to him. He then smiled and said, you don't remember me, do you? And at this
06:44point,
06:44I ran towards one of the recess chaperones and pointed over at the fence, but the man was gone.
06:49One of the kids next to me told me he saw the man too. The recess ladies called the recess
06:54in short,
06:55and the school called my parents. I was sure it was that man from the backyard. I was taken home
07:00early
07:01that day. I know my parents were so sick and worried after this. It was a hellish month. We
07:07lived in such a nice area too, and to almost be chased out of the neighborhood because of this
07:11was just a nightmare. After months of me being under tight supervision for my parents, things went back
07:17to normal. I can't express enough though, how much it still pains me in my chest, thinking about how I
07:23could be dead today if that man had somehow successfully taken me. And it makes me sick, wondering if he
07:29was
07:29ever successful in whatever he was trying to do with someone else.
07:41I grew up in Salem, Oregon, a quaint little small town feeling place. I moved out when I was 21,
07:48buying my first house about 50 miles out from Salem. I furnished my first house with a mix of
07:53stuff for my parents, their friends, and a bunch of stuff off online marketplaces and apps.
07:58I was driving a Ford Raptor at the time, so lugging stuff around was thankfully very easy.
08:04On Facebook Marketplace one day, I found a listing selling a bunch of good looking stuff.
08:09The ones in the listing that caught my eye were this cream colored sectional couch that looked
08:14pristine, and this Cannondale brand mountain bike. I didn't have a bike at the time, and where my house
08:20is, having one is perfect for exercise. The other stuff on the listing didn't really interest me.
08:25The listing itself was just sort of a digital yard sale. I contacted the seller, and we did a little
08:32typical back and forth. He was pretty short and straight to the point with his answers,
08:37and surprisingly easy to negotiate. He agreed to a slightly lower price, and he said I could come
08:42pick this stuff up later that night. Days are long in Oregon in the summer, so I'd still be showing
08:48up
08:48with some sunlight. I banked on having to do a couple trips to transport the sectional couch due
08:53to its size. I set out on my way to the house. The address was right on the coast. I
08:59checked the
09:00satellite view on the map just to confirm it was bringing me to a house, and it was. Based on
09:05the
09:05map, there was a long trail or driveway that veered off the road towards a huge open property with a
09:11big-looking house, and then in the backyard was a literal drop-off to the ocean. All I could think
09:16was, no wonder these people were selling all this stuff for so cheap. With that kind of money, I
09:21wondered why they weren't just giving it away. I headed out that way, and it didn't take long to
09:26get there. I could tell the closer I got to the shore, the nicer the properties got. And then I
09:31turned onto the last road before I'd be turning onto the driveway for the house. This road was long.
09:36It was lined with woods on each side, and then I'd pass the occasional driveway leading to probably
09:42a cliffside mansion. Eventually, I made it to the turn-off. It was a tree-lined dirt road, or the
09:48driveway, I guess you would call it. About ten seconds in of driving down this driveway, it opened
09:54to this massive clearing. The driveway went on a slight incline leading to the house at the top of
09:59this hill. I pulled up next to this older sedan. It was like a mercury sable or something. It did
10:05not
10:06match the house at all. Like this house looked like it belonged to a millionaire, and this car was a
10:11piece of shit. I went up to the front door ready to ring the bell, but there was a yellow
10:15post-it note
10:16on the front door, and it said on it, doorbell broken, please use back door. Weird, because I could have
10:23just knocked, but I obeyed. As I walked down the front porch, I messaged the guy on messenger that I
10:29arrived and was going around back. I walked around the side of the house, looking at each window as
10:34I passed, but the blinds all seemed to be closed. I got to the backyard, and it was crazy. It
10:41actually
10:41overlooked the Pacific Ocean. I walked up the back deck to go knock on the back door. It was a
10:47sliding
10:47glass door, but there was some kind of sliding blind that was closed, so I couldn't see inside.
10:53I knocked on the glass. I stood there for a minute, then knocked again. I looked down at my phone
10:59to
10:59see if he answered or read my message. Neither. I went to go sit on one of the chairs on
11:04the deck,
11:05and spun it around to stare at the sunset and the view of the Pacific. It was a surreal view.
11:10I kept checking my messenger app and following up with the guy, but he wasn't answering.
11:15I triple-checked that I had the right address, and I did. Plus, the note on the front door confirmed
11:21that. I decided if he was in the shower or occupied or something, I'd at least go walk over to
11:26the
11:26cliffside and get a picture of the view. I did just that. I walked down the deck, then down the
11:31seemingly freshly cut grass to the cliffside. Taking in the view, I daydreamed about one day
11:37being able to afford a place like this. I started walking back up to the house, but stopped maybe
11:43three steps in, when I realized every single window now had their blinds open, and there was a person
11:48standing at each window, standing as still as statues. I didn't know if what I was looking at was
11:54some kind of prank or not. I walked a little closer, and the moment I said, nope, I've seen
11:59enough, was when I realized every single face was smiling. I honestly couldn't tell if they were
12:05mannequins or not. That's how still they were. I decided I just needed to get to the car. I did
12:11a
12:11light jog around the side of the house again, and that side window that I mentioned that also had
12:15its blinds shut before was now too lifted, and there was someone at this window as well.
12:21I didn't know what was going on here, but I had to get out. As I got to the front,
12:26I got back in my
12:27car, and I didn't even look at the front windows. I didn't even want to know if there were people
12:31at
12:31these windows too. I reversed all the way down the driveway, and regrettably, I did at one point
12:37take a curious look ahead at the house. The front door was open, and there was a person standing on
12:43the front porch with his hands in his pockets, watching me drive away. It didn't matter, everything
12:48about this was a red flag. I was out of there in a minute and down the road. The guy
12:53never opened
12:53or responded to my message still. I decided to turn into the closest neighbor's house driveway
12:58and knock on the door. They answered, and I explained the bizarre and disturbing situation I
13:04just encountered, and I pressed them about any info on their neighbor. The man who answered, who I'll
13:10call Tom, was shocked, because he's close friends with the guy next door, and he said he's hardly ever in
13:15town, and that he wouldn't set up some kind of elaborate prank like that. He called his neighbor
13:20on the spot, and the guy picked up. Basically, the conversation went as follows, from what I
13:25remember. Hey Jim, it's Tom next door. Listen, I got someone at my front door right now saying you
13:30invited him to your house to buy stuff, but you pulled some kind of scary prank on him with the
13:34windows and stuff. And there was a pause before the Tom guy said, what are you talking about?
13:40From here, I stepped in and explained everything, from the Facebook ad, to my arrival there,
13:46to the people at the windows. He now sounded very concerned, because he said he wasn't home this
13:51week. I did my best to describe every detail, including what the man on the front porch looked
13:56like, as well as the sketchy car. He asked me to take his number so he could contact me after
14:02the
14:02police investigated. After that, I left. I went home. I really didn't have it in me to commit two hours
14:08to some police investigation that didn't concern me, truth be told. But I did hear from the guy
14:13later that night. He called me and asked me to send him the Facebook listing, but it was removed.
14:20I did send him the details of the profile that I was messaging on the Messenger app,
14:24but it was now a blank profile. He thanked me for that and would give it to the police anyway.
14:29When I asked him what the cops found, he told me they found nothing stolen, as far as he knew
14:34at
14:34that time. And that all the blinds were once again closed, and there was no sedan in the driveway,
14:40but that all three doors in the house were unlocked. Now the scary part for me is the way they
14:45were all
14:46standing at the window, smiling, trying to scare me. And I have to wonder, what use was I going to
14:51be of to them? And why did they want me in the backyard? Scary thoughts, honestly. I'm just glad
14:58I left when I did.
15:08I live with my parents in Murraysville, Pennsylvania. My parents were gone one weekend, so I decided I was
15:15going to have a bunch of people over in the backyard for a mini pool party. We have a pool
15:19house and an
15:20in-ground pool back there. It's perfect for parties, even though I rarely get a chance to
15:24throw anything. The rest of the backyard is a little bit of grass, and then the woods behind
15:29the pool house. It's a very private backyard. Usually, you'll see what I mean soon.
15:35So the little party I planned was for Saturday night. Earlier that day, I was setting up outside.
15:41It was a little cloudy out, but since it was going to be a night party, that didn't really matter.
15:46The woods behind the pool house are pretty big. They go at least half a mile back before
15:51they reach another backyard. So there should really be no one walking through them. It's
15:56also our property. There are no trails or any reason for anyone to be back there. I was bringing
16:01out folding tables for beer pong and refreshments and setting them up when I heard a cough come
16:06from the woods. It was clearly a slow, throat-clearing kind of cough, like someone trying to get
16:13something out of their throat. And it was definitely a man. I froze with the table still in my hands.
16:19I just stood there listening. The wind was barely moving the leaves, so the sound carried really
16:25clearly. It came from just inside the tree line, not deep in the woods, close enough that whoever
16:31made it could definitely see me. I slowly set the table down and looked out toward the trees.
16:37Confused is one word to use, but unsettled would be a better one. No one should be in those woods,
16:43ever. I scanned the tree line and called out, who is that? There was no answer. Not even any
16:49movement. No footsteps or branches snapping or anything. That almost made it worse. If it was
16:55some random guy walking through, I should have heard him moving away. But it was just quiet. I got that
17:02feeling in my chest, like I was being watched. Like someone was standing perfectly still just behind
17:07a tree, staring at me. I stood there for maybe 20 seconds just listening. The longer I stood there,
17:13the more uncomfortable I felt. Eventually, I just grabbed the rest of the stuff and brought it back
17:18inside for a bit. I didn't want to just stand out there alone anymore. I called my good friend Mark
17:24to come over early and help me set up. I decided not to mention the cough. I didn't want to
17:29sound
17:29paranoid before the party even started. Mark came over around 6pm. He brought some drinks and helped
17:35me finish setting up. I kept glancing at the woods while we were out there, but everything looked
17:40normal. Nothing moved. If someone had been there earlier, they were gone. The rest of my friends
17:46started showing up around 7 to 8. At the peak of the party, there were at least 20 people. Nothing
17:52insane, but it was a good time. There was music playing, people in the pool, lights around the patio on.
17:58With that many people there, the woods didn't feel creepy anymore. A couple times during the night,
18:04I caught myself looking toward the tree line though. I don't even know why. I guess that
18:09cough just stuck with me. Things started dying down around midnight, and by 1am, the last of the
18:15guests had left. I figured I would leave the mess to clean up for tomorrow. I was tired and ready
18:20for
18:21bed. Before going inside, I did one last slow sweep of the backyard. I walked around the pool,
18:27checked behind the pool house, looked toward the woods again. Everything seemed normal.
18:32The water in the pool was still, the lights reflected off of it, and no one was out there.
18:37I locked the back sliding door and went upstairs to brush my teeth and go to bed.
18:42I was in bed scrawling on my phone for maybe half an hour before putting it down.
18:46It probably took another half hour of laying there, trying to sleep, when I heard a splash.
18:52Not a small one. Not like something falling in. It sounded exactly like someone jumping into the
18:58deep end. My eyes opened immediately. I held still, listening. A few seconds later, I heard
19:05the sound of someone swimming, literal strokes through the water. My first thought was maybe
19:10someone from the party stayed behind as a joke, or they just woke up drunkenly. But I knew everyone
19:15who came. No one would do something like that. I checked my phone, and it was 2 AM. I got
19:22out
19:22of bed and walked slowly to the window that overlooks the backyard. I didn't turn on any lights in my
19:27room. I didn't want whoever was out there to see me before I saw them. When I looked down at
19:31the pool,
19:32I saw there was a guy swimming calmly from one end to the other. At first, I tried to recognize
19:37him.
19:38I knew all 20 or so people who came over. This wasn't any of them. I leaned closer to the
19:44glass.
19:45The pool lights lit up his face just enough for me to know for sure. I had never seen him
19:50before.
19:51I yelled out the window, who is that? The swimming stopped immediately. He looked up slowly toward my
19:57window. Even from that distance, I could tell he wasn't confused or startled. He just stared up at me.
20:03Then he started moving toward the shallow end. He climbed out of the pool, and that's when I saw
20:08how tall he was. He stood there dripping wet for maybe 2 seconds, just looking toward the house.
20:14I expected him to run away. Instead, he started walking toward the sliding door. Not running or
20:21hesitating, just walking fast and direct like he already knew where he was going, almost in a march.
20:27I yelled again, hey, who is that? He didn't respond. I heard the sliding door downstairs
20:33open. I know I locked it. I'm positive I did. But I heard it slide open. Then it slid shut.
20:39I ran to my bedroom door and locked it. That's when I noticed how much my hands were shaking.
20:44I grabbed my phone and texted Mark, asking him if he noticed anyone stay behind before leaving.
20:49But I didn't wait for a response. I immediately called 911. I whispered into the phone that there
20:55was an intruder in my house. I gave my address as quietly as I could. Then I heard the footsteps.
21:02They were slow, wet footsteps and hard wood. I could hear the slight stick of his feet
21:07lifting off the floor. He wasn't rushing, nor was he searching randomly. He was walking
21:13directly toward the stairs. Each step on the stairs creaked, one at a time. He reached the
21:19top. The hallway floor outside my room creaked. He stopped right outside my bedroom door. I
21:25could hear water dripping onto the floor. Then the handle moved. He tried opening it once,
21:31then twice, then a third time, harder each time. When he realized it was locked, there
21:36was a long pause. The 911 operator was saying something, but I had the phone set down. I
21:42could barely focus on what she was saying. Then the guy knocked on the door. Three slow knocks.
21:49I picked up the phone and put it on speaker. My voice was shaking, but I said loudly that
21:54I was on the phone with the police and they were on their way. There was another long pause.
21:58Then a man's voice from the other side of the door said, very low and calm, it's me. Open
22:04the door. He sounded like a grown man in his thirties. I said, I know that I don't know
22:10you. Leave now. There was silence again. Five seconds, maybe more. Then I heard him turn
22:17and walk away quickly. I heard his wet footsteps go back down the hallway, then down the stairs,
22:22and a few seconds later, I heard the front door downstairs open and slam shut.
22:27I didn't move until the police arrived. When I finally went downstairs with them,
22:32there was a clear trail of water leading from the back door up the stairs all the way to the
22:36bedroom door. After searching the entire house, that was the only proof that he had ever been there.
22:42I texted everyone I invited, asking if they stayed behind or noticed anyone else stay behind.
22:48Anyone who was still awake said no. The rest texted back in the morning saying no.
22:52It was a complete stranger. And I have a feeling that cough I heard in the woods earlier that day
22:58was that man. I don't know how he got the door unlocked. Maybe he slipped in during the party when
23:03people were going in and out. As for a motive, I have no idea. I just know that if I
23:09didn't wake up
23:09when I did. Or if I opened that bedroom door. I don't know what he would have done.
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