12 People Who Had Such a Horrific Experience That Continues To Haunt Them in Nightmares

Many of us enjoy horror movies. This can be explained physiologically: the body reacts to danger by releasing various hormones, including endorphins, which are known as happiness hormones. Meanwhile, the brain understands that the danger is unreal, and we are safe. However, it’s a completely different story if a similar situation happens to a person in reality. These individuals have had to endure real stress.

• My father is a complete skeptic. Once we were all watching TV. Out of nowhere, my dad started bawling. I’d seen him crying maybe 2 times. I remember him saying, «I just feel really sad all of a sudden, it’s like someone passed and passed through me.» The next day he found out his best friend Les had passed the night before, a few min before he began crying. © Sobadatsnazzynames / Reddt
• One time when I was a kid, I dreamed that me and some friends were playing spies, hiding from random people. In the dream, I ran past my friend who was holding a Pokémon deck book. He asked me if I wanted to play, but I said, «No, I’m on a secret mission.» The next day, the exact same thing happened, in the same place, same people, and I didn’t know what to think. It’s just weird. © Kayleb Patel / Quora

• One night I stayed up really late reading a Stephen King novel. The foot of my bed faced a large wall mirror and the window was above my headboard. I heard a noise and looked up, and I saw a face staring in what I thought was my window behind me! It was my own reflection in the mirror! It scared me so bad I fainted. I never did finish that book. © Patricia Marie / Quora
• Grandma died. We stayed at her house. I slept alone in my uncle’s old bedroom. I played games on my phone until the sleepiness kicks in. I woke up at 3am. I go to the bathroom, which is located in a dark corridor that leads to the garage, first having to pass the large family and TV room, past grandpa’s old study room, the dining room and the kitchen. In front of the door to the garage is the old maid room, now uninhabited. As I do my business, I hear humming. From the old maid’s room. It sounded familiar, somewhat. I’m creeped out, so I quickly finish my business and embark towards my room. But something stops me dead in my tracks as the humming grew louder. It wasn’t coming from the maid room. No, it was coming from the TV room. It was actually... Grandma! She turned to the guest room and... she’s gone. The last time I slept on one bed with my mom was when I was eight. On that night, I snuck into her bed and stayed awake until morning. © Lim Hikaruzen / Quora

• I was 12 years old walking less than two blocks home. I was new to town. A man stopped his car and got out, walking towards me. I took off running towards the house he was parked in front of. There was just a glass door. I opened it screaming, «Hi mom! Hi dad! I’m home!» I had no idea if it belonged to the man who was following me, but I didn’t want him to be able to follow me home, so I took a chance. I weaved my way through the house to the back door and ran through it, hurdling over shrubs until I got to another street. From there, I didn’t hear anyone behind me. I ran fast while afraid to look back. I made it home and locked the doors. © Jennifer Nicholson / Quora
• This happened during my teenage years. We were all sleeping in one room because the fan was working in that room only. While I was sleeping, I suddenly woke up and saw someone sitting in the chair on the corner of the room. I thought that I was dreaming, and I fell asleep again. Then the next morning, my brother and I were brushing our teeth, and he told me that he dreamt about someone sitting in that chair. I totally freaked out, but I didn’t tell him about what I saw. I didn’t want to frighten him. © Ryōiki Tenkai / Quora
• Late one night, I was in bed reading. My husband slept peacefully beside me. My open bedroom window was an arm’s length away from my left side. Suddenly, the curtain twitched, but not in the way a breeze would stir them. I lowered my book, then lay very still, watching as the curtain was pulled aside. A man’s head and shoulders came into view. I jumped out of bed in alarm, asking, «What do you want?» He replied that he was looking for food. I told him to wait there, I would get him some. Like an idiot, I actually went to the kitchen and got something to eat. Naturally, when I returned, he had fled the scene. Only then did reality set in. He was a burglar looking to gain entry to our home. My husband slept through it all. © Cindy Ferguson / Quora

• My mom had just steam cleaned our carpet, and she was working from the hall backwards into the living room. I was sitting in the kitchen, not daring to step on the wet carpet. Anyway, as she’s backing down the hallway, she looks at me, looks at the carpet, looks at me again, and tells me we’re leaving. Two baby footprints had made their way from her bedroom down the hall, towards her, accompanied by one big footprint every other step. We raced out in terror. © Chyenne Muhlestein / Quora
• A group of friends from my college went on a bike trip in an area full of forests. My friend was sitting behind while his roommate was driving. Others were very ahead of them, and they were the only ones on the road left behind. My friend noticed that one particular tree was following them. It was very unusual because usually trees appear to move in backward direction. But he was sure that this tree was following them. He didn’t want his partner to freak out, so he didn’t say anything. After a while, they saw the rest of their friends waiting for them on the road to join. Later, he told his partner what he saw. His partner froze and stared back at him, saying that he had also seen that tree. Both were terrified. © Amrapali Bhalerao / Quora
• Once, when I was little, my mom started to tell me a bedside story about a ghost. I asked her, «Mother, what is a ghost?» She answered, «A ghost is something that can take the form of anyone: me, you, or just anybody.» Half an hour later, I heard a knock on the door. My mom said, «Will you go and see who it is?» I replied, «Mom, I am afraid, what if it’s a ghost?» My mother smiled and said that’s ok, and went to the door, opened it and came back." When I asked her who it was, she answered angrily, «Why didn’t you open the door? I’ve been knocking on it for so long, and by the way, who were you talking to inside?» I was left speechless. © Unknown User / Quora

• When I was 20, I went on a date with a very beautiful girl with long dark black hair. I was driving my car, and we had gone out to eat and a movie. When we drove back to her apartment, we sat out talking in the car for hours. About two hours into our conversation, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I got goosebumps. When I looked over at her, she suddenly looked very old, with gray hair and a wrinkled face. I freaked out and jumped out of the car when she asked me what the matter was. The only thing I could think of to answer was that she suddenly looked old. She began laughing, and she gradually transformed back into her youthful appearance. She then told me that what I saw was her grandmother checking up on her to make sure she was safe. © Steve Haltiwanger / Quora
• One day, my mother came and picked me up from kindergarten. When we arrived home, my mom opened the side door, which went directly into the kitchen. Once we steeped inside, we both froze. A butcher knife had been buried into the counter a good inch. With a note under it. When my mom tore the note away and read it, she turned pale, and we quickly got out of the house. 35 years later, she finally told me that the note said, «Please fix the window in your kid’s room. I couldn’t get it to open last night.» She said the words were written in smeared red ink and had a frowny face at the end. She also said that the window above the sink had been open and that’s how they got in. No one ever figured out who it was or why. Totally explains why I had moved into my dads house just a few days later. © techno_09 / Reddit

Do you like to tickle your nerves? Then here’s another article with a selection of truly scary stories.