Have you ever felt a sudden urge to leave somewhere immediately but you weren’t quite sure why? It’s not unlikely your subconscious mind was looking out for your physical body, without you even realizing it. There are countless stories of people trusting their gut and managing to escape bad or dangerous situations. Your instinct, or sixth sense, is like a silent alarm. You might not be able to hear it but you can feel it. Often, it manifests as fear.
Someone recently asked “What’s the most terrifying ‘we need to leave NOW’ moment you’ve ever experienced?” and people didn’t hold back. They shared some truly terrifying tales of the times they trusted their gut, and got out real fast. To be honest, many of them are lucky to be alive today. We has put together a list of the most incredible answers. From narrowly escaping mass attacks, to stepping out of a bank seconds before a robbery, a few of these stories might have you on the edge of your seat. Hopefully, they’ll encourage you to trust your own instincts and listen, next time your inner alarm starts blaring.
#1
I was at an outdoor music festival as a teen, in the heat of summer, with a delay in the set up of the next band. We were in the middle of the crowd and the energy was becoming very tense. People started throwing flattened water bottles across the crowd and at the stage hands that were moving as fast as they could to fix whatever the issue was. By the time the preshow music started, the crowd began to sway involuntarily from a******s pushing from the back. We agreed it was time to go, but then the band came on as we were trying to move sideways out of the crowd and everyone rushed forward. A 300lb dude fell on my friends and I and it took five men to get him off us while others around us were trying to hold back the rush. Once we were up and moving again, a mosh pit broke out around us. I will never forget the 6’5″ punk with a red Mohawk that saw our trouble and shouted “THE ONLY WAY OUT IS UP” and offered us his laced hands for us to take a step as he tossed us up to crowd surf out. I almost lost my shoe while crowd surfing, but we made it out safely and hung back for the rest of the shows. God save the punks!
#2
January 1979, Iran. I’m 9 years old. My mom is a low-level diplomat. She comes home from work and says, “We have 90 minutes to get to the airport to get out of the country.” She knew the shah’s family was getting on a plane and that the overthrow of the government was days if not hours away. We got on the cargo plane with one suitcase between the four of us and maybe $500. Sure enough, next day was the overthrow and lots of people were k**led or executed. That’s how I wound up in the United States.
#3
Years back, I was walking into a bank. As I pushed on the door, I locked eyes with a teller inside. She was looking at me shaking her head “no”. I then saw a person with a gun was robbing the place. I quickly backed up, ran to my car, and called 911.
Someone may have s**t in my pants. Not sure who, though.
Many of us have been there. We’re in a place and something just feels “off.” We can’t see any immediate threat or danger. But somehow, we can feel it. We’re uneasy. Or weirdly afraid. Or, maybe we can’t even place what it is our mind is trying to tell us. But we instinctively know it’s a warning.
That feeling is often not just paranoia… it’s a survival mechanism built into our ancestors, millions of years ago.
#4
I’m from Kyiv, Ukraine. February 24th, 2022. My parents wake me up at night, and the first thing I hear is “pack up, the russians are already here”. We expected them attacking, but we didn’t expect them to get to Kyiv in a single night, which was only possible because they launched this attack from Belarus. After a few seconds of horror, an adrenaline rush had followed. I barely remember anything that happened that day or the following 5 or 7 days that we were on a bus to the Polish border
#5
Passed out on the El in Chicago. Red line heading south. A very old homeless guy woke me up and told me he was getting me off this train,walking me across the platform to go north again, and would stay in the car for the next 4 stops. He did and I got home safe and sound after a night of reckless partying. I’ve been grateful to him for the last 2 decades.
#6
I was 8 at a restaurant with my cousins, mom and aunt (also the same age as us kids at the time, 8 to 12). We were celebrating birthdays.
This was a hole in the wall restaurant. Two guys came in acting suspicious. They kept looking over at our table. We were the only ones there other than the two people working. One kept feeling around his pocket.
The one guy was very, very nervous. He went outside and threw up. After a little while, his… Partner?… Went out and seemed to be trying to talk him into going back in, but he wouldn’t.
The partner came back in by himself for a while but eventually left without ordering anything.
My mom was on alert and was telling us 4 kids to get up NOW and leave, which is what I think prompted the guys to leave.
I knew as a kid something was very wrong. As an adult I 100% believe it was a planned armed robbery, but the one guy had second thoughts seeing a mom with 4 cute little girls there.
If they’re out there, thanks for not traumatizing us. This was 30+ years ago.
Once upon a time, there were no phones, alarm systems, sirens, televisions, radios or even cities with emergency personnel or police. People relied on their senses and intuition to stay alive. They were constantly scanning their surroundings to pick up any sign of danger. Maybe a wild animal, or an angry person was about to pounce from the shadows. If something didn’t feel right, our ancestors fled. Or risked being eaten alive. There was, of course, also the option of fighting. Hence the phrase “fight or flight.”
#7
I was out on a run, and I noticed this old woman (probably 60-70) sitting on the curb. She waved me down and so I ran over to her. She needed help getting up but as we were talking I just got this feeling in my gut that something was off. I felt really horrible abandoning an older woman who claimed to need help, but I couldn’t shake that feeling so I apologized for not being able to help and ran off. I looked back just a few seconds later, and this dude in a black truck pulls up to her and she gets up and gets in no problem. I probably broke a PR I ran home so fast.
Maybe I was just a paranoid female teenager, but to this day 15 years later I still get chills thinking about it and feel like it may have been a ploy to try to kidnap me. I was training for a marathon and ran that route a lot, so they could have been expecting me.
#8
Got a heavy hitter for this one.
Managed to find myself sat in the front carriage for a 60mph train crash. Which is about as fun as it sounds.
After derailing, we came to rest on our side in a tunnel, can’t see a thing, dizzy, ears ringing. You check your limbs are still in the right places, and start trying to grasp what just happened, but you realise smoke has started filling the carriage. Doors obviously didn’t open, couldn’t kick the windows out. Cue panic like you can’t imagine, grown men losing their s**t, hysteria, absolute bedlam. Half the passengers were strewn around the carriage, half were climbing over eachother trying to get out.
Figured that was me done, once I realised our goose was cooked I called the Mrs to say the train had crashed, there was a fire, I don’t think I’m getting out and that I love her.
The fire never really caught, we just stood huddled in the wreck trying to keep eachother talking until rescue came.
Wound up with a severe PTSD diagnosis, stopped going outside, could never feel safe, couldn’t sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time, so just completely stopped functioning for a year, and then another year of gradually improving. Was self employed at the time so nearly lost everything in the process.
It’s been a handful of years now and it still f***s with my head on a daily basis (albiet in largely managable ways).
Life is good now, and somehow nobody died, so no dramas. Hell of a night, though.
#9
Was part of a wilderness/camping trip as a kid with counselors in the mountains. We had just set up camp when all of a sudden people from higher up were fleeing down and everyone was in a panic. There was a forest fire rapidly descending down towards us. The counselors basically threw what they could back in the vans and wrangled up ~15 kids and got us out. We ended up at some random restaurant, as an adult I think about how terrifying it must have been for those young counselors responsible for a bunch of 10 year olds lives to get us to safety
According to VeryWellMind, intuition is the “innate ability to know something without having to consciously think about it.” Some people are better at listening to their gut, or trusting their instinct, than others. Experts say it’s not necessarily a skill we learn from scratch. But it is one we can hone.
It begins with self-awareness, explains psychotherapist Keanne Owens. “Being self-aware allows an individual to know and understand their mannerisms, thoughts, and emotions. Once you are self-aware, you can identify those ‘gut feelings’ clearer.”
#10
Me and a friend were playing along a river bend in Michigan after a modest rain. The river curved at this spot and carved into the sandy hillside and the sand made this really nice almost beach like cove.
So we are sitting there playing making sand castles and such and we hear this series of :snaps: and look up and the trees on the hill top are just sort of “shivering”. We both just sorta panic bolted, not even understanding why and about 5 seconds later the entire hill top just sort of liquified and slushed down over the bank and into the river. I’m talking like maybe a 40 by 100 foot area, trees and all just collasped.
#11
20ft deep in a slit trench with my buddy repairing drainage, banksman repeatedly wandering off (unqualified 16yr old) i saw the soil shifting. Told my buddy out now! We emerge and are arguing with the boss who wanted us back in as the trench collapsed with tones of soil and rubble. Look on his face….
#12
The Seoul Halloween crowd crush in 2022. I was there with my friends, surrounded by dead people, it took us about 5 hours to leave the scene. I still can’t get over it.
RIP to the victims.
When something feels “off,” often a little part of our brain called the amygdala is at work. Think of it as a threat detector, or a silent alarm. When the amygdala senses something strange or scary, it sends a signal to our body to either prepare to fight or, as the people on this list did, flee. Our heart might beat a bit faster, our breathing is different, our muscles could become tense and our adrenaline spikes. All we can think is “we need to leave right now.”
#13
Not as ominous as the rest, but I was in a pet store [passing] time before an appointment. Suddenly, I was filled with dread. As an anxious person, this isn’t totally usual, so I initially tried to talk myself out of it for a minute or two, which of course felt like forever. I was so uncomfortable that I thought, “Screw it, I don’t need to be here” and went down the aisle to the side of the store, to loop around back to the front door in the center. As soon as I got to the side of the aisle, a BMW suv came crashing through the glass windows, knocking over the aisles, straight into the cash register. It would have hit me dead on. Astoundingly, no one was injured. The driver hit the gas by mistake, she was horribly upset.
I walked in a bit of a daze. Still creeps me out as I’m typing actually.
#14
Hiking in the mountains, sun was setting, and we heard this low, guttural growl that just vibrated through the trees. No idea what it was, but the hair on my neck stood up, and we booked it down that trail faster than I thought possible. Felt like something was hunting us, and it wasn’t friendly.
#15
When my friend was groped in the woman’s bathroom in Juarez Mexico (border to El Paso) me and a friend grabbed the guy and beat him up. When the door man saw what we did he went white and immediately told us to run back to bridge (the crossing point to US). We had beat up a notorious gang member, and he knew we’d be k**led if we got found.
There are usually subtle clues that we subconsciously pick up just before our fight or flight mode kicks in. It could be a person acting out of character, a sound that shouldn’t be there, someone’s tone of voice, a flickering shadow, a glance from a stranger or an eerie silence.
Your brain is working in the background, piecing the bits together, before it tells you it’s time to go. Ignore it at your own peril…
#16
I flew into a smaller terminal at the Cancun International Airport with two friends. I’m American and they’re European nationals. After passport control, a border patrol agent says they have a taxi waiting if we’d like to take it. I decline, saying I’d rather take the shuttle to the main airport but my two friends tell me I’m being paranoid and get into the car. It was locked from the inside but “luckily” the Mexican police show up before the car starts driving. They tell us it’s an illegal taxi and *they* offer to give us a ride to our hotel instead. Before my friends can answer I say thanks but no thanks and we finally take the shuttle. Called a real taxi and made it to our hotel safely.
It was one of the few times being a paranoid American really worked out.
#17
At the beach with my little brother and dad. We wandered into the ocean, maybe a little further than we really meant to. As we are hanging out in the water, suddenly a fish jumps out of the water right near us. We chuckle at what we thought was a funny moment. Then another fish jumps out of the water even closer to us. Then a third. As my dad and I looked at the water a very large shadow swam between my dad and me/my brother. A fin broke the water surface around us and another fish jumped between us. Dad and I locked eyes, and without saying a word, I understood I was to grab my brother as we tried to get back to the beach with dad following us. Right as we were about to move, it turned out to be a dolphin. Never been so scared and relieved within a few moments.
#18
When I was 11, we were at the beach and the day was good but not exactly sunny, there was a rain forecast but only for later in the day. Far away in the horizon I saw a black line in the sky, I counted a few minutes and looked again. The black line was now a thick black bar, couple minutes later it was THE darkest storm cloud I’ve ever seen. I went to my parents and said the “we need to leave now” line and pointed at the cloud, right when I pointed we could she the flashes of lightning in the black cloud.
We barely had time to drive and stop under a bridge when the town was hit with (according to the radio) 80mph winds and hail the size of eggs, storm didn’t last 10 minutes and the sun was back.
I felt bad for the people at the beach, the hospital was so packed with people in need of first aid for cuts and bruises that they installed a tent in front of the hospital for the smaller injuries.
#19
My mom and I were in Dubai in the middle of the night. This guy on a corner stopped my mom and started trying to sell her a purse for cheap. I don’t know why she agreed–to be polite? He said to follow him and led us through dark deserted alley after dark deserted alley. The whole time I (15F at the time) was tugging on my mom’s sleeve telling her we need to go, we need to go, stop following him, this is creepy. I wasn’t about to leave my mom, but in hindsight if I had she probably would have followed me. But she was saying it would be rude to leave. Finally, he led us to the back entrance of an unmarked building and started up the dimly lit stairs, and I absolutely refused to let go of my mom’s arm or let her take another step. Thank god her common sense finally kicked in and, from outside, she said no thank you and we fast walked the f**k out of there.
And to think this woman was a refugee. How she survived all those years, I’ll never know.
#20
My friend and I went to a Boston Red Sox game on patriots day years ago, also happened to be day of the Boston marathon, we found a parking spot a little ways away from the marathon finish line. I’ve been to several games with this friend and normally we like to sit in the stadium and wait for the majority of people to leave at the end of the game before we head out but I really wanted to leave immediately this day. So we did and walked along the marathon finish line and past it to get to our car, right when we got to our car we heard loud bangs and screams, we just got in the car quickly and started to get out of there, few minutes later my mom called me asking if I was ok, she said she saw there was explosions and knew we were at the Sox game. It’s crazy to think that if we had waited like we normally do that extra 10 minutes we would have probably been right at the finish line when the explosions happened, we were so fortunate.
#21
Probably any given seizure, since I have a history of epilepsy, but there was one time I was able to give my parents warning. I was 17 and in the middle of a bad series of episodes. This time, however, not only did I realize what was happening, I had enough presence of mind to mumble, “Call an ambulance” and basically throw myself against my mother so I didn’t smash my head on the kitchen tile again.
It’s hard to describe how it feels to feel your body shutting down, recognize what’s happening, and hope against wild hope that you’re able to actually set things up to be safer this time. It’s a level of terror I thankfully haven’t had to experience more recently.
#22
I was longboarding back home after being at a friend’s. It was like 3 am and i was slightly drunk.
I’m in the middle of my city, longboarding my way peacefully.
I saw four guys walking together in front of me coming my way, and spreading to I assume let me go through (like 2 on each side of the street).
Before i have time to think i’m passing the 1st guy, who hits me in the back of the neck with a telescopic baton.
I never went that fast in my life.
I guess they were surprised i didnt fall, they threw few glass bottles at me and ran after me, but i was luckily faster.
I had a huge bruise on my neck for a few weeks.
Dont want to know what would have happened if they got a hold of me.
#23
I was living in Europe and was walking down the street at night, not very late maybe 8 PM, with my bf at the time. He was talking rather loudly and clearly in American English. A guy walking down the street ahead/perpendicular to us looked over at us and kept eyeing us. He had something baton-like in hand and was swinging it around by his side a bit. I quietly told my bf to shut up but of course he still loudly asked “why??” I said that guy is giving me seriously bad vibes and he brushed me off. We turned down the same street that guy was walking on because my bf insisted on picking up some food and it was the only street with restaurants still open. I made us walk on the far side of the street. Sure enough, that guy had stopped and was waiting in the shadows. When he saw us, he started following us. We went into the restaurant, and he followed us in there too and went and sat at a table without ordering. By then my bf believed me but insisted on still getting his food. I could see at that time the guy was carrying an umbrella, but the way he was holding it suggested he intended to use not use it for rain (it wasn’t raining that evening even). We got my bf’s food to go and left, and of course that guy followed us. Luckily, a large group of people came out of a bar/club a couple doors down, so I grabbed my bf’s hand and wormed us in the middle of them and then dashed down a small cut-through street and we ran to get around the curve so we couldn’t be seen. Thankfully we lost the guy at that point, but I have no doubt we were very close to getting jumped, beaten, and robbed. And I’ve since dropped the dead weight that ex was!
#24
European tourist in New York. Took a taxi to the wrong neighbourhood without knowing. When we got out of the taxi there was a group of men sitting on a staircase in front of a house, they noticed us and immediately started nodding their heads like ‘nope, you’re at the wrong place’. So we left immediately.
#25
This happened to me last weekend! I was driving home from work at 3am and needed some gas. I pull into this gas station that’s closed (but pumps are on), and immediately see a car pull in from the other side of the gas station.
They slow roll by me, I look in their car, and they’re both staring me down. They stopped at one of the pumps and I’m like, nope, and I leave without gassing up.
I think my gut was right because as soon as I started driving those guys just drove off.
They were not there to get gas.
#26
Wasn’t so much as we but me. I was early elementary waiting for the school bus in my driveway. I lived in the country so they picked you up at your house and I always waited halfway down my long driveway until I saw the bus crest the top of the hill.
While I was waiting that classic p**o, windowless, unmarked, utility van pulls into the bottom of my driveway. A man pops his head out the window and waves at me and says he lost and needs directions. I instantly get that bad feeling about the guy and start slowly backing up my driveway shaking my head no at him. He says he can’t hear me and asked me to come closer. I refused and kept backing up the driveway.
My mom saw this from the kitchen window and came out to see what was going on and he backed out and left. Not long after that a girl was grabbed by a man in a van that matched the description of the one that stopped in my driveway. Thankfully she wiggled out of her backpack and got away but I don’t think they ever found the guy.
#27
Driving in Mexico, north of Monterey. I was in a big suburban and suddenly feel this bump from behind. Look over to see a ‘taxi’ with two guys in the front. They were waving for me to pull over. I noticed there was no back-seat. I immediately thought ‘nope, not pulling over to end robbed, r***d and shot in the desert. I floored it and left them behind.
#28
Lived in Maine.
Went into the grocery store for a few items and saw this….very very very off looking individual walk down the ice cream aisle where I was. I got an insanely weird and panicked feeling, and told my girlfriend that we needed to leave immediately. It made no sense at all, but we quickly went through self checkout and left.
5 minutes later the person that I saw took out a knife and slit the throat of an elderly woman on the same aisle I was on, k*****g her. Apparently, the lady “looked at them funny.”
They looked unhinged and I’ve always wondered what would have happened had I not bailed as fast as I did.
#29
Was chilling in the back yard in San Diego with my wife and 2 year old daughter. All of the sudden I hear my wife scream and yell “GET IN THE HOUSE NOW!” Suddenly I heard a loud buzzing sound and started seeing bees everywhere. Once we got inside there were bees all over my house crawling on the windows. Apparently there was a migrating hive and my house was in the way. Never seen anything like it.
#30
Wont be as bad as some, but was driving in remote Cambridgeshire fens, 40ish miles of terrible roads, sun was going down, and we pulled into a dodge flatroof pub to use the bathroom.
Went in, the bar was completely full of blokes silently watching the tv. Not one of them moved, said anything, or acknowledged me in any way, not even the barman. Got to the bathroom, light wasnt working, had to p**s in the pitch black. Blokes were in the same positions when i got out.
Got back in the car, my gf said she needed the loo to. Told her to put her seatbelt back on, cuz we were leaving now before we’re burnt in the wicker man. I know it sounds silly, i just didnt want to be there when the sun went down.
Drove like the clappers until i reached the motorway, then we pulled over again.
Not sure why, but one of the creepiest and most unnerving experiences i ve had. Something just told me to scarper.
#31
Not terribly terrifying, but led a group of students (boarding school) to a roller skating rink. We pull up and there’s a KFC next door… kids always want fast food so I said OK, I’ll get a coke and then go to the rink. When I got to the register, the cashier said ‘Those seem like nice kids’ Always nice to hear that they are being polite. I say something like ‘Thanks, yeah, they are nice kids.’ She replies ‘You probably don’t want to be here after 9.’
Thankfully, the kids figured out that a metal detector at a roller skating rink is a good indication we don’t want to stay long. We were gone at 8:15.
#32
This isn’t as terrifying as others, but it’s my most terrifying moment. You know when you hear on tv/radio “This is a test of the emergency broadcast system. This is just a test.” Well, I was living on a spit of land with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and a river on the other, and a nor’easter was barreling up the coast. It was just me and my baby at home at the time. Suddenly I heard on the radio the familiar buzz of the emergency broadcast system, then “This is NOT a test. Repeat, THIS IS NOT A TEST.” Then the electricity went out. This was before cell phones and computers. I didn’t know what to do because it was very much a flood-prone zone and I didn’t want to drive into a flood with my baby. About an hour later the National Guard came banging on the door and evacuated us in a big army truck. That was scary. Wish I had a cell phone back then because I’d have taken a photo of the soldiers holding my baby while I was climbing into the truck.
#33
4th of July out in the wilderness. Me and my ex-gf figured we’d sit at the base of the foothills and take in the town fireworks. picnic-style, the whole 9 yards. We’re sitting there around dusk, with no one around, and then I look about 125 meters away and saw that something was in the tall grass with it’s head popped-up (it looked like a mountain cat at the distance.) I didn’t think to much of it – thought my mind was just playing tricks on me. so I looked away. A min or two later I look back over in the general direction and this cat is a little more defined and making a direct line for us. I ask the ex-gf if she sees what I see. and she says “O, my god. That’s a mountain lion.” We didn’t wait to ask questions, We noped the F out of there.
#34
Was in a busy public square in France, and a car drove by, slowed down, and someone threw something out of the window that landed with a metallic “plink” sound about 20 feet from me. Lady sitting on a bench next to where it landed jumped when she saw it – it was a small Propane cylinder, wrapped in duct tape. I picked up my kid and ran. It didn’t blow up, and police who arrived a few minutes later didn’t make a big fuss, but it sure as hell looked like an IED to me.
#35
Decades ago, I was walking home alone through Shepherd’s Bush in London a bit after midnight. Two gangs of men suddenly appeared outta nowhere and charged at each other, screaming taunts in rage. When I saw a few guys whip out knives, my brain pretty much screamed, “RUN THE F**K AWAY NOW” and yeah, I never sprinted so fast in my life and did not look back.
#36
Hiking with my now-husband on a 10,000+ year old indian trail now called El Camino Real de los Tejas. We came to a pond that was eerily quiet and I felt a twinge in my gut that it wasn’t a safe place to be. He thought I was crazy when I told him it was too quiet and not to stand close to the water’s edge. I soon started hearing alligator calls and across the water was a huge gator coming right for us. I told him to get out now. We ran back to the ranger station and as we were leaving, I asked about what I saw, she nonchalantly says, “oh yeah, that’s just Snappy.” As if it happens every day.
#37
Not terrifying, rather lucky..
I heard of a house party after a local concert. It was at my friend’s house who was under 21, I was just over 21. I figured there would be more people my age because of who attended the concert. I showed up with a case of beer and realized I was the ONLY of age person there. I said, yall keep the beer, I’m out. As I was leaving, just out of the driveway and on the street I saw 2 cop cars coming up with their lights off to bust the party.
#38
2am walking home drunk with a friend. Since we’re both plastered from the bars we don’t realize we’ve walked the complete wrong direction to a bad street. Just as we realize this, a kid on a bike starts circling around us, harassing us. I’m super affable when s**t faced, my friend, not so much. So he’s starting to get riled up as the kid continues. I keep it friendly, because I still have enough awareness to realize this kid has people watching from the shadows. My friend keeps asking why we don’t kick his a*s and I just keep repeating he’s not doing anything to us. Well, the little s**t then throws an empty plastic bottle at me. I immediately grab my friend and just say keep walking. “But he hit you.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t hurt. We’re good, right kid?”
At that point I’m guessing the kid and his friends decided kicking the a*s of someone like me would have made them feel like s**t, because he circles us one last time and says, “Yeah…. Sorry I hit you with a bottle…”
“All good little dude.”
I then grip my friend’s sleeve even harder and speed up our pace to get the f**k out before they changed their minds.
#39
2 AM or so, driving in an unlit road.
There was a guy laying on the road perpendicular to the road. The person driving slowed down and started to take off his seat belt, to move the person off the road.
Something felt off, so I told him not to stop and drive around. The body wasn’t there anymore on the way back.
Could have just been a drunk guy, or it could have been a trap. I’ll never know
#40
Shooting in the parking lot of a mall. Everyone b*m rushed in the opposite direction which for me and about two dozen people was inside an Apple Store. We all ran into the closet of the store until we got the all-clear. Apparently it was a couple of idiots fighting over a parking space and not some mass shooter. It was scary though.
#41
One time, I took my sisters to the local park with my wife. We had a good time, and when it was time to go, I noticed some guy in a beige sedan pulled out and was following us. I wasn’t sure, but I remembered when I was young someone was following my mom around once (long story) so I just kind of felt it? I whipped into a grocery store parking lot and parked somewhere. My wife started wondering what was up, so I explained my thoughts and saw he pulled into a spot at the very end of the parking lot, staring. He didn’t get out, he didn’t move. So I pulled out and in front of him to block his car, and we had a fun little stare down. After a second, I pulled off, down the street into a sonic parking lot, and back up to the store. Sure enough, he was gone. I’m not sure if he was actually following us or if I just scared him away from buying milk, but it freaked me out at the time
#42
In the mid 90s, me and a friend were running the streets at age 14/15, at about midnight or so. We had just gotten off the max at 122nd and Burnside in portland and walking to my old house to meet a friend on 133rd down burnside, behind the old ballpark. About halfway there, a white van was heading towards us opposite side of the road. (Burnside is split by the max train tracks and one way each way, can’t turn around unless it’s a marked turn). I got the worst feeling and told her we need to cross now. I think that dudes going to come back around on this side. We ran across and sure enough, he’s creeping on the other side now. He passes us, we cross back to the other side. This goes on for about 5 blocks. We think we lost him, turn onto my street and he’s sitting 2 houses down from where I lived. The smile on this creeps face still gives me chills to this day. Lucky for us, my friend was waiting on my porch, saw the entire thing and chased the guy off. Years and years and more years later I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about Bobby jack fowler. Looked him up and it was the creepy dude in the white van!!!!! I cant believe we survived this guy. I wish we had called the cops at the time, but we were more concerned about smoking pot.
#43
Me and my mom were homeless and lived in and out of our car for awhile which believe it or not has downsides.
We tried to park in nicer areas but not so nice you stick out. One night two dudes started banging on the windows and yelling what sounded like German (we live in Mass, USA). You never really slept when you were sleeping in a car kind of just this half sleep so Mom instantly woke up, turned the key and we left. She made peace with my grampa after that and we stayed with him thank god. So althrough scary, thank you darkly dressed possibly German carjacker dudes!
#44
It was 1am and I was just about to get out of work. I was alone, and closing that night. Right about the last hour before closing I suddenly got the feeling like I was being watched. The hair on the back of my neck and arms stood up and my heart and breathing suddenly increased. I kept telling myself it’s okay, remain calm. I turned on all the lights outside the building, but couldn’t see anything out of the norm. Something kept telling me GET OUT, LEAVE NOW! HURRY! So I called a friend told them what was happening and gave them my location and told them to call 911 if something happens to me.
I’ve only felt that feeling one other time in my life. It was when I was almost abducted in a grocery store parking lot as a kid.
It’s the feeling of being hunted, like prey. Your instincts kick in and it’s like GTFO!
#45
Texas freeze. Lived in a trailer in the country and I had an infant. It was icy. And I also had my now ex husband and his son, and a hairless cat.
We waited until we could wait no longer- and left to my parents house at midnight. It was icy, our toilet water and dish soap were frozen solid. Covered pipes burst. We didn’t get home for five days, luckily my parents are caterers so we cooked for the Power Plant people. My ex was very bad at making decisions so I took charge. I’m glad I did. We were alternating sitting in the car. It was way too much. Plus carbon monoxide poisoning is a thing, people died. I truly hate January and February. People might call this actual trauma and I’d probably agree.
#46
Was in Panama late 90’s for annual training (Army) and went to a club off post to have a few drinks with friends. We were told not to go off post and not to be in civilian clothes because not everyone is welcoming to our presence. We were there drinking and laughing for a few hours. Shortly after dark we noticed militants lining the wall of the club with AK’s and other weapons.
We left almost immediately.
#47
I was staying at a road house in the Avenue of the Giants. The roadhouse had an attached bar and restaurant and the locals were talking about possible mountain lions in that area.
Early Next morning, I drove a few miles north, stretched , and set out for my run. A few yards down, I heard what could be described as a child wailing. In the complete silence of the predawn, the sound was horrifying. I have never run faster in my life to my car.
#48
I was in a store with a friend. I was looking at the aisle with my back towards most of the store. I felt a presence coming up behind me so I turned around really fast. I’m met with a guy right up in my face, crouched a little, his hand stretched towards my waist. He either tried to grab my a*s or he tried to grab my wallet. But went I turned around, we locked eyes. He quickly went to another aisle, and I stood there for a second wondering what almost happened. When I looked up again, he was staring straight at me from across the store with just his eyes, eyebrows, and forehead visible from over the aisle shelves. It was the scariest look, his eyes looked enraged. My friend didn’t notice that anything happened, but when I saw him glaring at me like that, I told her immediately, “we need to go.” She didn’t ask questions and we left. I didn’t report it but I wish I would have. I was scared and just wanted to leave.
Another time I was walking down the street and I saw a guy started following me. I tried to take a different route home until he stopped but he followed me across 3 streets and into an apartment complex. I got lost inside the apartment complex, I somehow ended up in a fenced courtyard that I couldn’t find the way out of, and he was still following me. I had to climb up an embankment to get out. I could not wait to get home.
#49
I was in China and me and a bud were walking late in a pretty heavily trafficked part of the city. There was this guy handing out “girl cards” which are like little business cards for brothels as well as scams where they’ll beat you up for your money. We ignored him, then I hear him on the phone line a second later, “Get over here quick!” I heard that and noticed the usual police presence had left, so I turned to my friend who didn’t speak Chinese and told him we had to get outta there. We turned back around and grabbed a taxi at the street we just crossed and got the hell outta dodge.
Edit: forgot to add this detail that I later learned he was a part of one of the beat em up scams and always had a watermelon knife on him (think machete but like 75% the size)
#50
Heard shooting while on a walk on a park. Something about being in a group of people running in desperation really makes you feel like prey and your primal instincts just take over.