Some tales are so unsettling that they stay with you for a long time after you’ve heard them. The real-life stories that follow are enough to make anyone shake. Every story depicts an eerie moment that would make even the suspense master himself perspire. These experiences, which range from odd meetings to inexplicable occurrences, will make you doubt reality.

In her 60s, we had a mentally ill woman who would wander the neighborhood and sit on random porches while muttering to herself. She was avoided by adults, and children were warned not to approach her.
While I was there, she broke into my grandmother’s home. She entered the kitchen, came through the door, and saw me sleeping in the living room when I was only six years old. She simply grinned as she stood in front of me.
She was taken outside by my mother and grandmother to wait for her family to come get her. © Reddit/Unknown author

After moving out, our neighbor returned for a visit a year later. He brought an Asian woman he claimed to be his wife along with his two children. He maintained that she was his former wife, who had recently undergone a makeover and lost weight.
However, we recalled his wife as being extremely small, standing at around 5’1″, with wavy bobbed hair. This new one appeared younger and was around 5’6″ with long, straight black hair. Her height was still around 5’6″ even after she removed her sandals.
He informed a neighbor close to his vacation house that his wife had passed away from a brain tumor while he was away. I started to question the true location of his wife. I believe he simply deported her to her native country. However, his attempt to pass off the new woman as his wife was unsettling. © Reddit/Unknown author

I was typing an email to a customer a few nights ago while working the night shift when I caught a glimpse of something. I briefly ignored it and continued working. Then it dawned on me—someone was simply gazing at me through the window.
They moved slowly out of my line of sight as I turned to face the parking lot. I hurried outside to face them, but they had already left. For miles, there was not a soul in sight.
For the remainder of the night, I couldn’t get rid of the sensation that I was being watched. © Reddit/FBI_Monitoring_Van

While my parents were out at the store, I was around eleven years old and watching my younger siblings. Despite living in the country, we shared a driveway with our neighbor. The neighbor had been gone for months on business; he was a fisherman.
The second floor of the house was where our bedroom was located. I happened to look out the window and saw a man on our neighbor’s patio dressed like a clown. He had red hair, tight black clothing, and a terrible clown face.
I called my sister to check on me because I thought I was having a dream. She also saw him. He turned his head slowly, staring up at us. He then waved and beckoned to us while grinning slowly and nasty.
Not at all. Until our parents arrived home, we fled and took refuge beneath the bed. © Reddit/cutencreepy

As of yesterday, this occurred a year ago. My sister, with whom I shared a home, went on vacation for a week, leaving me alone in the house. I switched off all the lights as I was getting ready for bed. I heard what sounded like a guitar being played while I was lying in bed, so I went downstairs to investigate.
I picked up my guitar from the floor and replaced it on its stand. As I turned to go back to sleep, I heard the guitar being played once more. When I went back downstairs, the guitar was on the floor once more.
What made this eerie? My dad loved playing the acoustic as much as I do, and it was the eleventh anniversary of his death. Could. No. Go to sleep.
Additionally, we don’t have any pets, so I’m not sure how the guitar got on the floor twice. Nor was it the stand that was the issue. © Reddit/Unknown author

Years ago, during my lunch break, I was in a restaurant. I was a 25-year-old woman who was extremely thin at the time. From the moment I entered the room, this large, eerie man sat there and would not take his eyes off of me. I mean, sitting a few seats away and staring open-faced and without blinking for the whole fifteen minutes I was eating.
To avoid him, I requested a box and departed early. He said, “You shouldn’t be out alone,” as I was leaving. Someone will seize you and take you away. © Reddit/xain_the_idiot

Late at night, I work in an old hospital, and I saw the elevator doors open behind me. Then I heard hard-soled shoes clip-clopping a few paces toward me. There was nobody there when I turned around.
I assumed someone was hiding behind the linen cart that was positioned across the hallway. When I bent over and peered underneath it, I saw two shiny, antiquated, sharp nurse’s shoes pointed in my direction.
To frighten the person who was attempting to frighten me, I carefully moved around the cart, but nobody was there. What I thought were shoes were gone when I looked down. © Reddit/Banditk77

My spouse of twelve years bid me farewell with a kiss before departing on a business trip. I didn’t hear anything for three days. I was a complete mess.
The doorbell rang on the fourth day. I saw a man who bore a striking resemblance to my husband, complete with the same clean-cut suit style, muscular silhouette, and haircut. He identified himself as the head of the Intelligence Agency division where my husband works.
“Your husband is doing well,” he added. However, it’s time for you to realize that he is not who you believe him to be. It’s time for him to leave the country after years of living under a false identity as part of a mission.
It was like a nightmare, and I nearly passed out. The man went on to say that everything I knew about my husband was false and that I would never see him again. I was instructed not to inquire for my own protection. He put a $10K envelope on the table before he left, saying it would help me get used to living without him.
My entire world collapsed. For weeks, I could hardly move from my bed. His frequent travels, his concealment of his employment (he claimed to be in a bank), and, most importantly, his refusal to have children in spite of my years of pleading all began to make sense gradually. The foundation of my life had been a lie.
However, my tale has a happy ending. I managed to get over it. Years later, I fell in love once more, and my two kids were fathered by the man I trusted.

One day, I was using my laptop, most likely Reddit, in the back room of my house. My older brother was showering upstairs. We were both aware that our mother would return home from work at one or two. We were just relaxing because it was the weekend; nothing noteworthy was happening.
Suddenly, as she usually does, I heard my mother say, “Hello, I’m home,” as she opened the front door. My brother came downstairs to greet me after hearing this as well. He went downstairs and began phoning, “Mom?” to find out her location. As soon as I heard this, I knew our mother wasn’t home. She had never shown up.
It was all in our imaginations, but we both heard the same thing. When our mother finally arrived home, we told her how frightened we were by this. Given that two people, not just one, heard it, we all thought it was the strangest thing. © Reddit/ViscousFluid

I woke up one random night in middle school with the strange impression that someone or something was approaching my room from somewhere in the house. I pretended to be asleep by closing my eyes because I was afraid.
There was a slight sound of someone entering my room, and I had the impression that someone was watching me to make sure I was still asleep. I closed my eyes and lay on my back until the sensation subsided and I finally dozed off.
I discovered that our house had been robbed when I woke up in the morning. © Reddit/ThatOtherOtherGuy3/