Real People Share the Most Terrifying Encounters They've Had With Strangers

In the subreddit "Let's Not Meet," people share (what they claim are) 100-percent true stories about their most terrifying encounters with scary strangers — including stalkers, potential kidnappers, and other people who appear to mean them harm. Below are some of the most disturbing stories on the subreddit, and please be warned: some of these true tales are truly upsetting.

1. Stranger under the bed. 

A young woman writes about a very scary incident involving a strange man hiding under her bed: 

I am 22 and this incident happened a year and a half ago. I had just moved into my first apartment and was in the process of moving in. The door that led into my apartment locks itself automatically when closed. So, I was going to the entrance of the apartment complex to get my mail while talking on the phone with my boyfriend. I returned to my apartment and sat on the bed while opening the mail while using the phone, I dropped the phone on the floor and it landed under the bed so I had to lie on the floor and stretch for it. I saw something that caught my eye, there was someone under my bed... My eyes widened and I choked the urge to scream. The person under my bed was lying still with his back towards me and his head to his chest, so I couldn't see his face. And he didn't see me, trying to be rational while so many thoughts rushed through my head, I picked up the phone, said "Sorry I dropped my phone, I'm just gonna take a shower and call you back." 

Read the rest here.

2. "I had to pretend she was my daughter." 

A woman has to walk home from class late one night through a part of town with few street lights. On her way home, she sees a large white man quickly following a small Asian woman (relevant to the story). The writer notes that she herself is a small Asian woman and doesn't think that she's intimidating in the slightest. 

She's forced to think fast on her feet and came up with a plan:

And I come up with what was probably the most stupidly brilliant plan I've ever concocted. I kind of stand there, hoodie on, feet apart, hands on my hips and my best, loudest, impersonation of an older Filipino woman getting mad at her child with the strongest accent I could. Honestly if I were a bit taller I might not have gotten away with this."HOY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HUH? YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO BE HOME ALREADY! AND TALKING TO A BOY HUH AND HE'S WHITE! EXCUSE ME LOOK AT ME WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU I DID NOT RAISE YOU LIKE THIS"  

Read the rest here.

3. Dr. Ramsey. 

A woman remembers when a week before her 10th birthday she had a very disturbing interaction with a man who said he was a pediatrician. He called himself Dr. Ramsey

"Are your parents looking for a pediatrician for you? Of course, you're almost a big girl now, you'll be needing another kind of doctor soon, won't you? That's okay though. They can still bring you to me until then. What's your name? You have beautiful hair. I was just on my way to get some suckers for the candy jar in my office. Do you like suckers?"

Luckily, they were close to her house and she was able to run inside. However, that was just the beginning of "Dr. Ramsey" lurking around her house. As she writes, "I didn't know it then, but that was the beginning of a very long, very scary ordeal." 

She goes on to detail to write about her dad investigating the situation.

Things got complicated after that. My dad had called the police, but as this was before there were any stalking laws, there was not a lot they could do. They told my parents to call back if he "tried anything". My dad then called a friend of his from back in the day, who happened to be a cop. For the next month, my dad's friend escorted me to and from school. Suddenly, life as I knew it came screeching to a halt. I couldn't walk to school alone, I couldn't play outside, I couldn't walk to SuperAmerica (sort of like a 7-11 for those who don't know).

Then, Dr. Ramsey starts threatening and following the woman's sister, as well. 

You know that sensation you get when you can just feel someone watching you? Yeah, he had that in spades. He kept looking around the kitchen, through the doorway into the dining room, at the windows. He didn't see anything, but he could still feel eyes on him, so he went closer to the door to try to see better. The kitchen lights were reflecting on the windows of the door (it had 3 rows of 3 windows), so he still couldn't see. He stepped closer, then closer again, until he was right up to the door, then cupped his hands on either side of his head so he could see. There on the other side of the window pane was Dr. Ramsey, smiling back at him. He turned to yell for my older brothers, and when he looked back again, he was gone. They went out again to look for him, but didn't see him.

Read the rest here​.

4. "My mum used to clean houses. She quit after this." 

One redditor writes about how their mom was a housecleaner in the 80s in Australia. One day, an older lady called and offered the mom a large chunk of money to clean her farm house while she was away. Although this was a bit odd, the mom agreed because the money was so good. 

When the mom drove up to the house, she said she felt "unnerved" by the long driveway and the fact that it was so isolated. However, she found the keys and went inside to clean it. 

About an hour in to the clean, she hears the back door shut. Mum was told no one would be at the house so she immediately felt unsafe. She stood frozen in the kitchen for what she said felt like 3-4 minutes although she said it could have been much longer. There was no other car on the property.

The writer says their mom wanted to leave but she still had two bedrooms to clean.

She walked up the hallway and stepped into the bedroom. All over the bed were black and white photos. As mum got closer, she realised the photos were all of her. Some where taken at our family home, and many others were taken at other houses mum would clean. Some through windows or over fences.

Read the rest here.

5. "They didn't know I understood Spanish."

A woman writes about a crappy job she had at a department store in a mall where her managers were jerks who always gave her closing shifts. One night when she was on the bus home, her iPod died but she kept the earbuds in and played a crossword on her phone. 

About 2 seats behind me I hear these guys speaking Spanish. Now, my stepmother is PuertoRican so while I understand a fair bit of Spanish, I don't speak it. So i hear them talking but I don't pay attention because it's rude to eavesdrop & all until they say "that black girl up there" then my ears perk up. I keep my earbuds in so that they think I can't hear them & I continue listening. What they're saying is horrific. To paraphrase, they knew my stop (second to last one before the bus gets back to the terminal & while my stop is at the front of my neighborhood, it's got no street lights & at this time of night, empty.) & to put it simply were planning on "snatching that piece of ass up"

The woman writes that she was about 20 minutes from home so she had to act quickly. Since she knew they could see her, she pretended to play on her phone while she texted her mom to come meet her. Her mom doesn't respond so she tries calling, and her mom picks up. 

"Mom, can you please meet me at the bus stop" 5 minutes go by, no answer. We're getting closer to my stop so I decide to call her cell. No answer. I call the house phone & she finally answers. Its about 1230 am so she was asleep. I try to talk as cheerily & calmy as I can. This was our convo. "Hey mom, did you get my text?" "Uh no...what's up?" "Oh I sent you a picture of these jeans I'm gonna order online when I get home. I REALLY need your opinion so I REALLY need you to look since the sale ends at 1 am." She gets the hint that I need her to look at her cell so I say goodbye & hope for the best. 

Luckily, the girl's mom was able to pick her up and she got away unharmed.

6. "I thought this was only an urban legend. Thank God I didn't stop my car."

And finally, this very creepy story about an urban legend come to life. One freezing night, a woman was driving home from her job as a nurse at 2 am and the roads were deserted. As she's nearing her house, she sees a man laying face down in the middle of the street. 

She writes that she realizes she needs to help this man but also she's a small woman and wouldn't be able to fight back if he were to try to hurt her. She pulls over and calls 911 and while she's doing that, something terrifying happens:

All of a sudden I hear a loud BANG! BANG! from the driver's side window. I screamed and looked over. A man was pounding on my window and jiggling the handle of my locked car. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that there was no man laying in the street. Still on the phone with 911, I screamed "I'M SO SCARED!" to the dispatcher and floored it through the red light.

You can read the rest here. (But know that the woman is OK.)

According to the Stalking Resource Center, 7.5 million people deal with stalking every year and 15-percent of women have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed. If you or someone you know needs help, please check out the Stalking Resource Center and if you need immediate assistance, the Victim Connect Helpline provides information and referrals for victims of all crime and can be reached at 855-4-VICTIM (855-484-2846).  ​