It's that time of year again! Halloween is upon us, which means it's time for scary stories. Naturally, people have taken to Reddit to share their creepiest ghost stories and unexplainable, sometimes paranormal, life experiences.
We found one particularly good Reddit thread that's filled with stories that are sure to send chills down your spine. Scroll down and read through seven of the scariest real-life stories we found on Reddit. You might find yourself sleeping with the lights on tonight.
"I woke up in the middle of the night to my bed shaking."
"When I was a kid, I woke up in the middle of the night to my bed shaking. Normally, that would scare the crap out of me, but instead, I was just kind of annoyed. I rolled over and muttered, 'Stop it.' The shaking stopped immediately. Then, a male voice speaks right beside me, saying, 'Sorry.' That's when I freaked out. I'm pretty sure my childhood house was haunted." — NinaLaPirat
"When I was a kid, I woke up in the middle of the night to my bed shaking. Normally, that would scare the crap out of me, but instead, I was just kind of annoyed. I rolled over and muttered, 'Stop it.' The shaking stopped immediately. Then, a male voice speaks right beside me, saying, 'Sorry.' That's when I freaked out. I'm pretty sure my childhood house was haunted." — NinaLaPirat
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"...I heard noises like someone was tapping their fingers on the walls of [the] elevator."
"On my previous job, when our building was still under construction, the only floors that were occupied were the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th. One time, I was alone inside the elevator going from 1st to the 6th floor when, suddenly, it stopped and opened on the 3rd floor. Normally, I would just disregard it, but rumors were all over that a ghost child was playing around on the vacant floors. So I pressed the closed button as I fast as I could. When it closed, I heard noises like someone was tapping their fingers on the walls of [the] elevator." — sizzlorr26
"On my previous job, when our building was still under construction, the only floors that were occupied were the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th. One time, I was alone inside the elevator going from 1st to the 6th floor when, suddenly, it stopped and opened on the 3rd floor. Normally, I would just disregard it, but rumors were all over that a ghost child was playing around on the vacant floors. So I pressed the closed button as I fast as I could. When it closed, I heard noises like someone was tapping their fingers on the walls of [the] elevator." — sizzlorr26
"Just as I turned off the side-table light, I heard a drawer being pulled out and hitting the stopper."
"We rented a house that never felt like home. You always felt creeped out walking in there like you were being watched. My BF and our roommate both worked nights, so I would be there by myself a lot. "One night, I was doing my usual stuff and watching some TV before bed. I had this overwhelming feeling all night that I should avoid the hallway and not look directly down it, it was creepy. The feeling of being watched and terrified lasted about 2 hours before I decided to suck it up and make my way to my room. I left the hallway lights on and went to bed. Just as I turned off the side-table light, I heard a drawer being pulled out and hitting the stopper. I turned on the light and nothing was out of place. This went on about 6 times before I decided I was sleeping with the light on. I curled up under the covers and waited for the BF to get home. "He comes rolling in about 3 a.m. He's laughing at me for being such a pussy gets into bed and turned the light off and that's when all hell broke loose. All the doors down the hallway slammed shut 1 by 1, then, our closet doors started rattling. The sound coming from inside could only be described at total destruction, it sounded like the shelves, the pole, and everything in there were being tossed around. The BF joined me under the covers and we were both terrified. After it stopped, it took 5-10 min to convince him to go check around the house. Nothing was out of place and our roommate had drove 3 hours back home that night to be with his family, so we knew it wasn't him. We slept with the light on the rest of the night and moved out soon after. I still can't drive by that house without being creeped out." — nomorepumpkins
"We rented a house that never felt like home. You always felt creeped out walking in there like you were being watched. My BF and our roommate both worked nights, so I would be there by myself a lot. "One night, I was doing my usual stuff and watching some TV before bed. I had this overwhelming feeling all night that I should avoid the hallway and not look directly down it, it was creepy. The feeling of being watched and terrified lasted about 2 hours before I decided to suck it up and make my way to my room. I left the hallway lights on and went to bed. Just as I turned off the side-table light, I heard a drawer being pulled out and hitting the stopper. I turned on the light and nothing was out of place. This went on about 6 times before I decided I was sleeping with the light on. I curled up under the covers and waited for the BF to get home. "He comes rolling in about 3 a.m. He's laughing at me for being such a pussy gets into bed and turned the light off and that's when all hell broke loose. All the doors down the hallway slammed shut 1 by 1, then, our closet doors started rattling. The sound coming from inside could only be described at total destruction, it sounded like the shelves, the pole, and everything in there were being tossed around. The BF joined me under the covers and we were both terrified. After it stopped, it took 5-10 min to convince him to go check around the house. Nothing was out of place and our roommate had drove 3 hours back home that night to be with his family, so we knew it wasn't him. We slept with the light on the rest of the night and moved out soon after. I still can't drive by that house without being creeped out." — nomorepumpkins
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"I called the cops and locked myself in the bathroom..."
"Was sitting in my room at like 11:30 p.m., heard lots of shit downstairs, assumed it was my mum. Heard her walk up the stairs to my room, stop, I called out to her, she didn't say anything and walked downstairs. I went down about a half hour later to find a piece of paper with the words, 'You're lucky I'm scared, too,' on it, and a whole bunch of shit was missing. Called mum, she still hadn't arrived home from a dinner she was at with her friends. I called the cops and locked myself in the bathroom, but I think they left when they realized I was still home, probably the most scared I've ever been when I was hiding in the bathroom." — megaman1410
"Was sitting in my room at like 11:30 p.m., heard lots of shit downstairs, assumed it was my mum. Heard her walk up the stairs to my room, stop, I called out to her, she didn't say anything and walked downstairs. I went down about a half hour later to find a piece of paper with the words, 'You're lucky I'm scared, too,' on it, and a whole bunch of shit was missing. Called mum, she still hadn't arrived home from a dinner she was at with her friends. I called the cops and locked myself in the bathroom, but I think they left when they realized I was still home, probably the most scared I've ever been when I was hiding in the bathroom." — megaman1410
"Suddenly, I got random chills..."
"I was sitting in our office room home alone when I was 19. I was typing a paper for one of my college classes. The office room used to be my sister's room before she moved out, so a lot of her decorations are still there. She had a photo of a mountain range, an oval-shaped mirror, and three different hangings that read 'faith,' 'hope,' and 'love.' This makes 5 total things hanging on the wall in the room. "Suddenly, I got random chills. Which happens all the time, it was pretty cold. But this time, as soon as I got the chills, everything in the room hanging on the walls fell off simultaneously. This really freaked me out, but it got a tiny bit worse. I got up and walked out of the room only to notice EVERYTHING hanging on a wall in my house had fell (besides the television in my room). All the pictures in the living room and other rooms, all the trophies in my room from little league sports, and even a stand that held candles. "I wasn't sure what to do. I picked up all the stuff and hung it back up, which actually took me around 15-20 minutes. Then, I drove to campus to finish my paper. Never told my parents. It's also worth mentioning this happened around noon on a sunny day three winters ago." — Mac2663
"I was sitting in our office room home alone when I was 19. I was typing a paper for one of my college classes. The office room used to be my sister's room before she moved out, so a lot of her decorations are still there. She had a photo of a mountain range, an oval-shaped mirror, and three different hangings that read 'faith,' 'hope,' and 'love.' This makes 5 total things hanging on the wall in the room. "Suddenly, I got random chills. Which happens all the time, it was pretty cold. But this time, as soon as I got the chills, everything in the room hanging on the walls fell off simultaneously. This really freaked me out, but it got a tiny bit worse. I got up and walked out of the room only to notice EVERYTHING hanging on a wall in my house had fell (besides the television in my room). All the pictures in the living room and other rooms, all the trophies in my room from little league sports, and even a stand that held candles. "I wasn't sure what to do. I picked up all the stuff and hung it back up, which actually took me around 15-20 minutes. Then, I drove to campus to finish my paper. Never told my parents. It's also worth mentioning this happened around noon on a sunny day three winters ago." — Mac2663
"I suddenly felt a flurry of wind at my neck."
"I preface this by saying that I am not religious and I do not believe in the paranormal. That said: It was the month of November and I was visiting Edinburgh, Scotland. It was cold and I was layered in a long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, and winter jacket. "In the evening, my friends and I decided to go on one of the haunted walking tours that takes you through the vaults beneath the city. They are, of course, rumored to be haunted by the poor, destitute, and deplorable people who died gruesome deaths therein. "One underground vault is said to house a particularly demonic spirit. It is said to be trapped within the confines of a circle of stone built by Wiccans to protect the living from its unfettered evil. While standing alongside the stone circle, my friend, who herself is Wiccan, began chanting barely intelligible-y under her breath. "I suddenly felt a flurry of wind at my neck. Then, nails dug deeply into the flesh of my back and dragged down my body from my shoulders to my waist. I was completely frozen in fear, too shocked to scream, although I was filled with white-hot pain. "I spent the rest of the tour petrified and when we emerged from the tunnels, I ran over to the bathroom of a pub where I pulled off all my clothes (which themselves were perfectly intact) only to see bright-red marks lining the naked skin of my back. "I've told my friends and family this story and they think it should be enough for me to cave and believe in the supernatural. I still don't...but I also can't explain what happened in those tunnels underground." — O_Fiddlesticks
"I preface this by saying that I am not religious and I do not believe in the paranormal. That said: It was the month of November and I was visiting Edinburgh, Scotland. It was cold and I was layered in a long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, and winter jacket. "In the evening, my friends and I decided to go on one of the haunted walking tours that takes you through the vaults beneath the city. They are, of course, rumored to be haunted by the poor, destitute, and deplorable people who died gruesome deaths therein. "One underground vault is said to house a particularly demonic spirit. It is said to be trapped within the confines of a circle of stone built by Wiccans to protect the living from its unfettered evil. While standing alongside the stone circle, my friend, who herself is Wiccan, began chanting barely intelligible-y under her breath. "I suddenly felt a flurry of wind at my neck. Then, nails dug deeply into the flesh of my back and dragged down my body from my shoulders to my waist. I was completely frozen in fear, too shocked to scream, although I was filled with white-hot pain. "I spent the rest of the tour petrified and when we emerged from the tunnels, I ran over to the bathroom of a pub where I pulled off all my clothes (which themselves were perfectly intact) only to see bright-red marks lining the naked skin of my back. "I've told my friends and family this story and they think it should be enough for me to cave and believe in the supernatural. I still don't...but I also can't explain what happened in those tunnels underground." — O_Fiddlesticks
"As I'm on the phone, the window breaks."
"I was home alone once when my parents were out of town. We had just moved into our house, so there was an empty lot next to our house, with a house half-built. My parents were the types to leave the outdoor side garage door unlocked. Dumbasses, I know. Well, while they were gone, I was watching tv, and, all of a sudden, the door that leads into my garage from the inside starts to wiggle. I put my TV on mute and I listen again, I see it actually move that time. "I start freaking out and I'm kind of in shock looking for the phone, can't find the house phone, so I search for my cell. Remembered I left my charger in my parents' car, so I'm frantically looking for the house phone. Our house was so new, my mom hadn't even put blinds or drapes up in the kitchen or living room. Well, whoever was wiggling my garage doorknob starts banging on the windows in my living room. Again, no blinds or phone, and at that moment I realize this guy is seeing my every move, so I shoot upstairs. Again, looking frantically for the phone and also trying to figure out how and where I'd jump out of my house to get away from the maniac that's outside my house if I needed to. "He then starts pounding on my [front] door. I can tell at that point, he's using something metal or plastic by the sound of the thumps. I really thought he was going to shoot my door open. I remember at that moment I was pissed at myself for being a dumbass teenager that frequently talked on the phone, because I always just left it lying around, never putting it back on the base. I wanted so badly to push the the button the detects where my house phone is, but I thought if he heard where it was, he'd break the window nearest to it and take it. "I then remembered I left the phone in my mom's room, and as I pass the hallway to her room, I see two people pacing in front of my house. I'm freaking out trying to find my dad's gun in my parents' bedroom. I find the phone and call 911. As I'm on the phone, the window breaks. I'm upstairs and am scared to death. Suddenly, everything goes silent. I'm waiting in my parents' pitch-black closet for what seems like an eternity, then, I hear the sirens. "Cops show up, but there is no one to be found. I figured that they hadn't gone too far, since it had just occurred. Cops never found my tormenters. On the plus side, the company building the house next door, same company that built ours, hired overnight security to stay on our street until the house was built, which was definitely refreshing." — Ladie_Frankenstein
"I was home alone once when my parents were out of town. We had just moved into our house, so there was an empty lot next to our house, with a house half-built. My parents were the types to leave the outdoor side garage door unlocked. Dumbasses, I know. Well, while they were gone, I was watching tv, and, all of a sudden, the door that leads into my garage from the inside starts to wiggle. I put my TV on mute and I listen again, I see it actually move that time. "I start freaking out and I'm kind of in shock looking for the phone, can't find the house phone, so I search for my cell. Remembered I left my charger in my parents' car, so I'm frantically looking for the house phone. Our house was so new, my mom hadn't even put blinds or drapes up in the kitchen or living room. Well, whoever was wiggling my garage doorknob starts banging on the windows in my living room. Again, no blinds or phone, and at that moment I realize this guy is seeing my every move, so I shoot upstairs. Again, looking frantically for the phone and also trying to figure out how and where I'd jump out of my house to get away from the maniac that's outside my house if I needed to. "He then starts pounding on my [front] door. I can tell at that point, he's using something metal or plastic by the sound of the thumps. I really thought he was going to shoot my door open. I remember at that moment I was pissed at myself for being a dumbass teenager that frequently talked on the phone, because I always just left it lying around, never putting it back on the base. I wanted so badly to push the the button the detects where my house phone is, but I thought if he heard where it was, he'd break the window nearest to it and take it. "I then remembered I left the phone in my mom's room, and as I pass the hallway to her room, I see two people pacing in front of my house. I'm freaking out trying to find my dad's gun in my parents' bedroom. I find the phone and call 911. As I'm on the phone, the window breaks. I'm upstairs and am scared to death. Suddenly, everything goes silent. I'm waiting in my parents' pitch-black closet for what seems like an eternity, then, I hear the sirens. "Cops show up, but there is no one to be found. I figured that they hadn't gone too far, since it had just occurred. Cops never found my tormenters. On the plus side, the company building the house next door, same company that built ours, hired overnight security to stay on our street until the house was built, which was definitely refreshing." — Ladie_Frankenstein
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