As we think back on the odd events from our past, some remain truly perplexing. Online communities that we can find with a simple Google search have become hubs for people to recount their eerie and unnerving encounters that left a lasting impression. The stories you’ll read may seem like scenes from a horror movie, yet they’re said to be real, shared by everyday people who lived through them.

Story 1

A year after mom died, my daughter suddenly said, “Grandma says just throw her wedding dress away.” I didn’t get what she meant. But 5 mins later, my sister—who’s getting married—called crying. Her voice shaking with excitement and tears, she asked, “Is our mom’s wedding dress still with you? For my wedding, I want to wear it as a tribute to her!”

I felt sick to my stomach, as if what my daughter had said just before my sister’s call was a sign from my mom. Mom never liked my sister’s boyfriend and felt devastated when he proposed, and she accepted. This was definitely her final sign of disapproval.
I ended up telling my sister I couldn’t find the dress.

Story 2

I was around 11, and I was convinced the house was haunted because I heard footsteps all the time, but no doors would open. One day, I was under my blanket, and I heard the footsteps again. I checked and saw this little kid with black eyes, short hair, and about as short as the bed (about 2 feet), just staring at me. I couldn’t sleep in the dark, and I developed nyctophobia from it. © Roachperson / Reddit

Story 3

My boss, a co-worker, and I were standing at a surface table measuring something when the quarter-ton table moved about six inches at one corner across the concrete floor with a loud screech, as if someone had grabbed it and moved it out of the way. We just looked at each other, wondering if that had really happened. © BiffChildFromBangor / Reddit

Story 4

I was talking about ghosts with four friends when a cast iron candlestick fell right next to me and dented the floor. It fell from a completely level shelf. © Unknown author / Reddit

Story 5

I have a big brother, and we both have pretty short names (though they don’t sound similar). Our names get switched up a lot, which isn’t too unusual. But more than 20 times, people who don’t know my brother have called me by his name. It’s not too creepy, but I’m not sure why it happens. It’s never another name, always my brother’s. © Jujumo** / Reddit

Story 6

One morning after sleeping in, I walked downstairs, and my family gaped at me as though I was a ghost. Apparently, just a couple of minutes earlier, I had silently walked past them and into the computer room while they were all saying good morning.

If I had been sleepwalking, I would have had to walk past them again to get back to my bedroom, but they all swear I didn’t. © Working_Bones / Reddit

Story 7

When I was about 15, I was home alone at night with my three dogs. They were usually very lazy at night, just lounging in their dog beds until bedtime. But that night, they all suddenly became very agitated. They ran into different rooms, growling and barking at empty corners—a behavior they’d never shown before or since.

I checked the entire house but found nothing. I don’t believe in the supernatural, but that night I slept in my parents’ bedroom with the door locked and all three dogs on the bed with me. © letsgoooo90091 / Reddit

Story 8

When I was in the sixth grade, I was in my bedroom getting ready for school. Out of nowhere, a hairbrush whipped off a shelf, flew across the room, and put a small hole in the opposite wall. I ran out of there fast, but I never told anyone what I saw because I knew I wouldn’t be believed. That hole stayed in the wall for years until I moved out, and my parents remodeled that room.
I consider myself a skeptic, but I still have no idea what could have caused that hairbrush to just fly off the shelf like that. © w**isthisguys / Reddit

Story 9

While visiting a theme park when I was younger, I ran into a guy who looked just like me and warned me that I would lose my money today and to watch my pockets. Later that day, I noticed my money had fallen out of my pocket, but luckily it was on the ground nearby. I couldn’t believe it—I wouldn’t have noticed if that guy’s comment hadn’t stuck in my mind. © KGhaleon / Reddit

Story 10

Once, when I was younger, I woke up but couldn’t sit up. Suddenly, I was sitting in a room I’d never been in, with my brother sleeping on my left and my dad sleeping on my right. Then I snapped back into my own room, and I was sitting up. © Full_Tie1601 / Reddit

Story 11

I lived in a confirmed haunted house that’s been on the Sci-Fi Channel. Mostly, there were boring but slightly unsettling things, like feeling watched while going up the stairs, being downstairs at 2-3 a.m. making a snack, and seeing a woman in an old Victorian gown walk by an open doorway into a parlor (the old part of the house).
Items in the house would move around, and doors would open and close unexpectedly. She wasn’t a mean ghost—she felt like a comforting spirit when I was depressed and going through a rough time. © smolseabunn / Reddit

Story 12

One time when I was 6 or 7, I was saying goodnight to my mom and dad after they finished tucking me in and telling a story, as they normally did.
It’s still super confusing, but I remember just closing my eyes, and the next thing I knew, my dad was jumping on the bed to wake me up, and it was bright as day outside. Keep in mind, not even 2 minutes ago (at least to me), it was nighttime and time for me to sleep.

I’ll never forget it, the weirdest thing ever. It hasn’t happened again, either. © SuperSlowMo22 / Reddit

Story 13

When I was a teenager, I saw a car with two of my good friends in it drive by. We locked eyes and waved at each other. I was about to call them to ask what they were up to when I remembered one of them was out of state, and the other was dead. That weirded me out. © Freeiheit / Reddit

Story 14

When I was a kid, maybe 10, I went into our playroom, and the light was off. To this day, I am certain I saw a guy who looked like a trucker walk through that room. I tackled him and fell to the floor. I got up, turned on the light, and no one was there.

I’m convinced that was a ghost, and I never saw it again. Almost 20 years later, I still remember it. © ArcaninesFirepower / Reddit