16 Travelers Whose Trips Turned Into True Nightmares

Traveling is usually synonymous with fun — a time to leave worries behind, relax, enjoy good food, and live new experiences. However, sometimes that long-awaited trip takes unexpected turns, from tense situations to moments of discomfort. In the end, it’s not just the good memories that make a trip unforgettable, but also the unexpected ones along the way.

• My spouse and I stayed at a massive hotel complex that had bought out nearly every other hotel around it. We booked an online special and were placed in one of the older acquisitions. There was this odd 4×4 piece of plywood hanging from the ceiling just enough to make it seem like someone could watch you through the crack, but you couldn’t see inside. We hung up the “Do Not Disturb” sign and went sightseeing. When we came back, the TV was on at maximum volume. We left and returned again, only to find the shower curtain had fallen down. Good thing it was just a one-night stay — that room definitely had the feeling of someone else being there. © TheOrangeTickler / Reddit
  

• In Mexico, my girlfriend and I spent a night in a hut in the jungle — no running water, no electricity. Since we’re from Central Europe, we’re not used to dangerous wildlife like spiders or scorpions. There was a beautiful cenote nearby, and during the day, everything was amazing. But the night, not so much. Our hut had a bed covered by a mosquito net — one with huge holes in it. It was pitch black inside as we lay down, trying to get comfortable and fall asleep. I felt a bit uneasy and decided to check the hut for insects with my phone’s flashlight. Bad idea. There were hundreds of big spiders crawling all over the walls and ceiling. Definitely not the kind of night’s sleep I had in mind — I ended up wrapping myself up like a mummy with every piece of clothing we had. © Ragnathegreat / Reddit

• I stayed in a dorm in a hostel a year ago, I think it was about 20 beds. The hostel wasn’t too good, there weren’t any lockers where you could lock up your back pack so I just shoved it under my bed. One time I woke up in the middle of the night with a guy next to my bed who was sorting through my stuff. I was still half asleep so I didn’t realize he was trying to steal from me and just asked him what he was doing, he answered he was searching for a socket to charge his phone but my bed wasn’t any near to a wall so that was a pretty bad excuse. After I woke up he left pretty fast and I never saw him again. Luckily all my stuff was still there but after that I always kept my wallet under my pillow. © one_78 / Reddit

• Mom, my sister, me, and sisters friend. Around 1am we get a phone call. Apparently there had been several calls saying there were screams coming from our room. We had all been very quiet for the last several hours as we were sleeping. Then we suddenly get banging on the door which was security wanting to check everything was okay. My mom told him through the door she wasn’t opening it. They left us alone after that. Still wonder why that was about as we were in dead silence. © prettysouthernchick / Reddit

• During a school trip to Scotland in 1990, we stayed at a small beachside hotel. While most of the group went to a party, my girlfriend, another couple, and I took a quiet walk in a park and returned early. The next morning, at breakfast, we realized one of the students, Mark, was missing. The chaperones panicked, and the hotel staff began searching every floor. Everyone was worried, with some girls even crying. After an hour, they found Mark in a room one floor above his own on a nearly empty level. No one could explain how he got there, leaving everyone, including the staff, baffled.

• We rolled into a Days Inn around 2 a.m. after driving all day from Austin. My co-pilot went inside to check in, and there was a man just standing in the lobby — staring at me through the glass. Not moving, not blinking, just staring. I tried to brush it off — I was tired and just needed sleep. We drove around back to where our room was. The area was... let’s say, scenic. A group of people were hanging out outside a nearby warehouse, all of them staring as we passed. We drove further down and turned right, ending up near what looked like an old, abandoned rail yard. I was completely freaked out. Once in the room, I tried to calm myself down, convincing myself I was just overreacting. But then I went to brush my teeth — and the water was brown. © laceabase / Reddit

• When my sister and I visited Italy, we stayed in a historic hotel. At the end of our hallway, we noticed a locked door with a chain and a sign that read, “Do Not Enter.” Curious, we asked the front desk, but they only said it was “for maintenance.”
  That night, we heard soft knocking coming from the door. Thinking it was staff, we ignored it, but the knocking grew louder and faster. Feeling uneasy, we called the front desk. A staff member came to check and nervously said no one had been working there. The next morning, the door was sealed with nails. When we asked about it again, the staff wouldn’t explain.

• Our family went on a trip and we stayed at a quaint roadside inn in a quiet town. It was an older building, but the reviews online made it sound charming. Our room was on the second floor, and that night, everything seemed fine until around 2 a.m. when we heard muffled voices and footsteps in the hallway. Thinking it was just late-night guests, we ignored it and went back to sleep.
  The next morning at breakfast, we overheard another family asking the staff about “the man pacing the hallways.” The receptionist froze and quietly explained that the second floor had been under renovation for weeks, and no other guests were staying there. When we checked later, the rooms around ours were indeed empty and covered with plastic sheets and paint buckets. No idea who or what we had heard.

• My mom was traveling for work and sat next to a man (fellow business traveler) on the plane. They had a casual conversation and exchanged business cards. Later that evening she’s in her hotel watching TV and gets a phone call from the front desk that her husband is here and they want to know if they can give him a key to the room. Turns out the creep on the plane was pretending to be her husband to try to get into her room. © mmmannino / Reddit

• I was in a hostel in Vancouver and was settling in when my bunk mate arrived. She was an older, woman in her late 50’s/early 60’s from Melbourne doing some world solo travel (she alluded to “being alone now”). She asked me about NYC (I’m from there) and answered almost everything that I told her with a subdued, almost whispery “that’s amazing”.
  In bed later that night, I turn over in bed away from the wall and see her standing by my rail with the moon from the window pouring over her. She’s wearing a long, white nightgown and her hair is in a disarray, almost glowing and she’s staring at me. Her face is at an angle so half of it is in shadow and she whispers “that’s amazing” and then goes back to sleep. © redangdit / Reddit

• When I was a kid (30+ years ago) my parents and I drove from Missouri to Kentucky to visit relatives. Well, we stayed at one creepy motel in the Appalachian mountains somewhere (probably Kentucky). There was this odd 3’x3′ square cabinet door set into the wall above the toilet in the bathroom. I stood up on the toilet seat to open it.... and it opened into complete darkness. To the outside (it was night). No window, no screen.... nothing but open air. No lock on it either. I stayed awake all night. © dirtymoney / Reddit

• I traveled to the Netherlands for a work conference. I took time off to spend a few days in Amsterdam. On my third night in my hotel, at 1 am someone came to my door and kept wiggling the handle and kept loudly pushing and pulling the door for 1 min trying to open it. After there was complete silence, I was too scared to say anything, since I was traveling solo. I checked the peep hole and saw no one there. I couldn’t sleep the rest the night. I reported it to the front desk, but they didn’t do anything. © Nbchd2012 / Reddit

• A friend and I once stayed at a pretty fancy B&B for the night. The lady who owned it was absolutely lovely, but would appear out of no where. We’d be sitting alone in a large room with one doorway and suddenly she was in the room with us. Either this joint had secret doors or something really creepy was going on. She seemed to know things that we’d said or done as well. The thing that tripped us out the most was hearing someone trying to open our door during the night. She was super lovely and the building was beautiful, but we were relieved to check out the next morning. © redraymus / Reddit

• My friends and I were staying on the haunted floor of the Alex Johnson hotel in the Black Hills, obviously trying to see or hear something. About 1 am we get tired and call it a night since nothing exciting had happened yet. While we’re trying to sleep the cabinet the tv was in keeps opening and closing on it’s own every few minutes. So my friend took a picture once when it opened and the photo showed this dense white smoke that looked like it was leaving or entering the cabinet. We got what we wanted but didn’t sleep great after that. © ManicFirestorm / Reddit

• When I was like 14/15, I went with my family to Las Vegas and we stayed off the main strip in a 2 bedroom suite. My parents left to go out and enjoy the night while I stayed with my younger siblings. They slept in the bedrooms and I was in the living room watching TV. I think I dozed off at around midnight and when I woke up, I was in a stairwell. Outside of the hotel room. I had no shoes on. I had no cell phone. No room key.
  I went to the front office and told them I was locked out of my room and they believed me and gave me a key.
  I still don’t know why I was out there. To this day, I have never sleep walked. I don’t know what happened. Maybe I did sleep walk, maybe something happened during those hours that I cannot remember. But it was creepy enough for me to share. © mcgrumpy_pants / Reddit

• On a solo trip, I checked into a hotel without telling anyone. After a nap, I got a call from someone claiming they’d noticed me at check-in and wanted to meet. I hadn’t seen anyone earlier, so I felt uneasy, especially since the rooms opened to the outside.
  I nervously checked outside, then hurried to the office to report it. The staff said the caller claimed to know me, so they forwarded the call. I told them how scared I was, and they apologized, moving me to a safer room. Thankfully, I never saw the person.

Some events seem impossible to explain, yet they happen and leave us wondering how they could be real. In this article, we’ve gathered the most incredible real-life coincidences — the ones that feel almost too perfect to be true.