00:00There was a park in my neighborhood that I used to go to pretty often.
00:04I've never really liked crowded places, and this park was usually almost empty,
00:08which made it perfect for walking alone and clearing my head.
00:12About three years ago, I went there for a walk late one night, probably around 11 or midnight.
00:18As I approached the entrance, I noticed two men standing there, staring at me.
00:24Something about the situation immediately felt off.
00:27That park was usually pretty empty, especially at night.
00:31If anyone was there, it was usually couples or people walking their dogs.
00:35So seeing two grown men just standing around doing nothing felt strange.
00:41Anyway, I started walking.
00:43The trail led past a small hill that connected to what was basically a wooded area,
00:47almost like a small mountain.
00:49At night, nobody really walked up there, and most of the lights were turned off.
00:54So it got pretty dark, and honestly, kind of scary.
00:58Normally, I'd just walk around the outer paths and head back.
01:02But that night, I felt like walking a little farther in.
01:05As I was walking, I suddenly heard rustling coming from the woods.
01:10It startled me, and I looked over.
01:12There are usually small animals around there.
01:15So at first, I assumed it was just that.
01:17But then I noticed something white in the darkness.
01:21I turned on my phone flashlight and pointed it toward the sound.
01:25And that's when I saw them.
01:27Several men were staring directly at me.
01:30Their heads were almost level with the ground, like they were lying flat or crouched down.
01:36I instantly got chills.
01:37I pretended like I hadn't seen anything, and just kept walking past them.
01:42But as I continued walking, something started bothering me.
01:45For a split second, I thought I'd seen someone's bare foot between their faces.
01:50It happened so fast that I convinced myself I must have imagined it.
01:55I felt a strong urge to turn around, but I didn't.
01:58Because I had this overwhelming feeling that if I looked back at them, something bad would happen.
02:04The only sound I could hear was my own footsteps.
02:07It was completely silent.
02:09No insects.
02:10No wind.
02:11Nothing.
02:12Even without turning around, I somehow knew they were still there, watching me in that same prone position.
02:18I left the area as quickly as I could, and took the long way back home.
02:23I debated calling the police, but the situation felt vague.
02:27What if they were just messing around in the woods?
02:29I didn't want to overreact.
02:31So I went home, and eventually fell asleep.
02:34That night, I had a dream.
02:37In the dream, I was walking through the same park again.
02:40And from inside the woods, a man was running toward me.
02:44Except he only had an upper body, no lower half.
02:47He was crying while staring directly at me.
02:50I woke up, gasping for air, my heart pounding like crazy.
02:54I could clearly remember his face, but I had no idea who he was.
02:59The next day, I finally reported what I'd seen to the police.
03:03They said they would check the area, but I never heard back from them.
03:07When I went back to the park sometime later, there was no sign that anything had ever happened.
03:12There was no disturbance.
03:14I was too afraid to go deep into the woods.
03:16And honestly, after that night, I stopped going to that park altogether.
03:21It's still a mystery to me what happened there that day.
03:28I was ten years old when this happened.
03:30My mother had gone to a wedding with her sisters, and it was already past 1 a.m., but she
03:35hadn't come home yet.
03:37Back then, I couldn't sleep without her around.
03:39I kept waiting, my young mind restless, the silence of the night stretching on.
03:45Cell phones weren't coming in the 90s, so I had no way to contact her.
03:48Unable to stay inside any longer, I stepped out into the gallery of our house.
03:54A tall fence enclosed it, with bars running along the upper section.
03:58I dragged a chair over, climbing onto it so I could peer over the gate, hoping to catch sight of
04:03my mother returning.
04:04The street outside was eerily quiet, completely swallowed by the night.
04:09Minutes passed, nothing.
04:11Then, out of nowhere, my father appeared behind me.
04:14His sudden presence startled me.
04:16Go to bed, he said.
04:18I'll wait, I replied stubbornly.
04:21He sighed and said,
04:23Fine, I'll wait with you.
04:26Just then, the front gate creaked open.
04:29My breath hitched, but there was no one there.
04:31The air felt thick, oppressive.
04:34My father and I stood frozen, staring, and then, a figure stepped forward.
04:39A masked man.
04:41He moved with a strange calm, his presence almost unnatural.
04:46A firearm glinted in his hand, and then,
04:51He fired multiple shots at someone behind him.
04:55The gunshots shattered the stillness of the night, echoing down the empty street.
04:59My father and I couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
05:03We weren't just witnessing something horrific, we were a part of it now.
05:07Then, as if sensing us, the masked man slowly turned his head, and looked right at us.
05:13A wave of terror, unlike anything I had ever felt, gripped me.
05:17He had seen us, we had seen him, and he knew it.
05:21Without hesitation, he raised his gun, and fired in our direction.
05:25Time slowed.
05:26My mind went blank.
05:28I felt like my life was flashing before my eyes.
05:31Before I could even react, my father grabbed me, yanked me off the chair, and rushed me inside.
05:36The door slammed shut behind us.
05:39My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it might burst out of my chest.
05:43We immediately called the police.
05:44My mother arrived 30 minutes later, and soon after, the authorities followed.
05:50They searched the area, questioned people, but they found nothing.
05:53No masked man, no body, no signs of gunfire, nothing.
05:58It was as if he had never been there, but I know what I saw.
06:02My father saw it too.
06:03Who was the masked man?
06:05Who, or what, was he shooting at?
06:08I still don't know, and maybe, I never want to.
06:15Hello, my name is Amelia, and I'm 17 years old now.
06:19This happened when me and my best friend Flora were 13.
06:23We grew up in a small village in the UK, and spent that summer hanging out in the local,
06:29slightly secluded park with our friends Callie, Adam, and Tommy.
06:33Telling this story still gives me chills.
06:36This was in the summer of 2020, the height of COVID-19, when hardly anyone was outside.
06:43Flora, Callie, and I rode our skateboards every day, and knew the park's hidden spots like the back of our
06:50hand.
06:51As summer went on, we started noticing a tall man, in his late 50s, gray hair, yellow-tinted biking glasses
06:59that made his face look sunken, and deep red gloves.
07:04He was unmistakable.
07:06He rode a bike on the gravel trail that looped the park, and we kept seeing him at the same
07:11time, every day when we met up.
07:13The first time he approached us, he said,
07:17Hi, kids. I've seen you playing around here quite a lot recently.
07:21Flora and I jumped.
07:23Callie and the boys turned to face him.
07:25His voice was low.
07:27Are you having fun?
07:29He asked.
07:30We nodded.
07:30He waved and rode away, saying,
07:33I'll see you around.
07:35A few days later, we tried to ignore him, thinking he was just an odd, lonely local.
07:40Then Adam swore he saw camera flashes and yellow-tinted glasses in the bushes, and that reminder made us uneasy.
07:49Not long after that, he sat on a bench across the field with a camera around his neck, smiling and
07:56waving at us.
07:57He called out,
07:58I'll see you later, and we hurried home that evening.
08:02The next morning, we messaged in our group chat, terrified that he might be taking pictures at the park.
08:08Flora and I decided to hang out at her house instead.
08:12On the walk to the corner shop to grab lunch, we looked up and froze.
08:17There he was, walking out of the shop, carrying groceries in his red, gloved hands.
08:24Without greeting us, he said,
08:25See you very soon, girls.
08:28His grin, stretching impossibly wide, before he rode away.
08:33Petrified, he sprinted back to Flora's, locked the door, and messaged the others to come over.
08:39Soon, everyone arrived, and we barricaded ourselves in the living room with blankets and sleeping bags.
08:46We tried to watch movies and joke around, but the fear kept us on edge.
08:50Around 10pm, while the house was quiet and rain drummed outside, Flora and I stayed awake, whispering under the covers.
09:00Then, faintly at first, we heard bicycle bells, and then, tires and brakes screeching outside our front door.
09:10Tears pricked my eyes.
09:12We woke up everyone.
09:13From the other side of the door came frantic, hard knocking, and a low voice.
09:19Please, see you inside.
09:21The pounding got louder and angrier.
09:24Adam whispered,
09:25Where is the phone?
09:26Callie crawled across the floor and grabbed Tommy's phone.
09:30Tommy dialed.
09:31We heard every knock like it was trying to break the wood.
09:35We all clung together, crying, as the knocking continued, and then, suddenly, stopped.
09:42Police arrived not long after.
09:44We opened the door and let them in.
09:46They asked questions and searched the village that night, but there was no trace of him.
09:51He was never found.
09:53He's become Red Glove Man in our town.
09:57A name we'll never forget, and a story that still sits at the center of every summer memory we have.
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