People Describe The Most Bone-Chilling Things They've Ever Witnessed

From Redditor/u/Stowaway_throwaway_1:

An interested neighbor watched this.

A huge tree, five feet wide by 70 feet tall, fell in my neighbor's yard down a steep hill.

A crane pulled on a piece of the tree while a grunt worker used a chainsaw to cut the piece the crane was pulling to separate it.

The crane cable tension was tight on the piece the worker cut. When the worker cut through enough, the cable ripped half of it up the hill, and the worker's chainsaw went straight into his head.

I will never forget him trying to pull it out a few steps before he fell dead with the saw still running.

From Redditor/u/Trollout88:

I worked security. I caught many young people having sex in cars in our parking lot. I saw a couple run across the street and hide behind a storage unit. Thinking they were just kids having sex, I did what I always did: I scared them.

I stopped walking to the door to leave. I put cameras on where I would be so I could save it in the 'bloopers folder.' The thirty seconds it took probably saved my life.

The couple was not having sex; they had committed murder and dropped their gun. If I had left when I planned, I might have been killed too.

Scarier still, the police did not look for the gun. I found it for them because they did not check the trash behind the storage unit.

That was the second murder weapon I found for the police in six months.

From Redditor/u/amahler03:

When I was eight, I rode a rollercoaster at Six Flags in Houston. It had foam-covered bars that locked over your shoulders and a small seat, but the feet hung down. About a minute into the ride, it started twisting. I slipped halfway out of the seat and almost out of the seatbelt, which was supposed to be checked for safety but was not tight enough. I spent the ride digging my nails into the foam on the shoulder bars while the seat edge dug into my back. My mom sat next to me and saw what happened. She could only reach my shirt and held onto that for the ride. I have not been on a coaster since.

From Redditor/u/rafraska:

Vet here. I worked emergency shifts at night. One time, a woman called saying her dog was bleeding from its nose. I told them to come down right away, though they did not sound very upset (just a little worried). I unlocked the practice, and a car pulled up. The woman and her husband arrived. The woman stepped out, smiling, and said thank you for me coming out... She then went to the trunk where the dog was and let out a soul-destroying scream when she opened the door.

I ran over and saw a poor spaniel covered in blood. The entire boot was soaked. A vessel in the dog's lungs eroded—likely cancer. The dog showed no other poor health signs before this. It bled out through his breathing tube during the drive over. The dog was dead. I have never heard such tragic screams. It will haunt me forever. I spent two hours with the family, comforting them and remembering their dog in life. It was so sad. The woman's shriek shocked me completely.

From Redditor/u/pteawesome:

"Creepiest moment? Patrolling an empty warehouse, and my radio started playing demonic gibberish. The lights shut off. I thought, 'No way; I am not in a horror movie tonight.' I moved toward the door, but I would have to leave to use my phone for the power outage call. Later, I figured some electrical issue caused the radio interference and the power loss. I worked alone during those hours, so it was not a prank."

From Redditor/u/50_Talking_Tree :

"I listened to music late one night. Suddenly, the music stopped, and a woman shouted, 'Help... help... someone help me... please... help.' Then silence. After five minutes, the radio broadcast returned, like nothing happened. I guessed police radio signals came in, or something similar, but it scared me."

From Redditor/u/Greenrabbits85:

"Six years ago, I was in a bank robbery. I still recall the awful feeling of knowing it was real, not a joke. Two men with guns inside shouted, 'Don't look! Don't move!' I felt totally panicked and helpless. I have never felt so helpless. Time seemed to stop while it happened. I felt like I stood there forever, hoping no one got hurt. I tasted a metallic flavor in my mouth. The thoughts you have when you think you will get shot are strange. I still have terrible nightmares about being trapped with someone holding a gun."

From Redditor/u/Eats_*ss:

"My grandfather's story. He drank too much. One night, he hit the bar on the way home from work and drove after it closed. The next morning, he went to his car. A mangled tricycle was stuck in his grill and bumper."

My grandparents called police and hospitals to check if he hit a child. They found no reports and no blood on the car. Luckily, he did not hit anyone; only the tricycle.

He never drank again.

From Redditor/u/electricshadows4:

My father, a physician with 30 years in practice, saw tens of thousands of patients. A few years ago, he visited a woman admitted for a serious lung condition. He entered her room in the morning; she was heavily sedated, and a nurse cleaned the room and fixed her bed. Upon entry, my father had a severe allergic reaction, could barely breathe, and tears rolled down his face.

The nurse helped him back into the hallway. After Dad recovered and apologized to the nurse, saying, 'That's so weird, that only happens when I get close to cats,' the nurse went pale. The hospitalized woman had been awake all night, screaming that cats crawled over her body and tried to scratch her eyes. Hospital staff thought she reacted strangely to medication. After hours of her terror, they medicated her to sleep. I found the story chilling when I first heard it.

Redditor/u/The driver nearly faced an attack from an angry man wielding a crowbar.:

About a month ago, I drove the speed limit. I usually go 5-10 miles over, but I had my infant godson and his mother in my car. A man in a pickup passed me, cut me off, and slammed on his brakes. I narrowly avoided him and nearly ended up in the ditch. We were both looking for the baby when we heard the truck door slam. He walked over with a crowbar. I sped off before he reached the car. He followed us for a while; I lost him in a neighborhood.

Redditor/u/Eurymedion

I studied for finals in my undergrad at the University of British Columbia's Main Library (before the renovations). Many students chose the newer Koerner Library, but I liked the old one because it was quieter and held the books I needed. I went to the lower level to find a book. The Main Library's shelves were old and packed tight to save space. The space between shelves barely fit two people standing together; usually, you had to walk out if someone wanted to pass you in the aisle.

I was browsing stacks. A book fell off a shelf right in front of me. I thought I was alone, but I blamed carelessness. Another book fell from the same spot. I waited for a third book to drop near me. It was large, encyclopedia-sized. I thought someone in the other aisle shoved books too far. I walked out to see the pest. I saw no one. I heard no one leave. Old hardwood floors creaked. A book fell in my aisle just as I returned to research. I calmly put the book back. I picked up my things and went upstairs. Then I left the Main Library.

From a formerRedditor:

"I walked to work one afternoon. A man, maybe ten feet ahead, started shooting another man across the street. I got caught in the crossfire. I ducked into an alley, ran down it, and hopped a fence to escape. Two years later, I still have nightmares about gun fights and being killed."

From Redditor/u/therealcherry:

"I was nineteen, working at a farm supply store. Truckers loaded up often; I knew them. One guy was always shady and inappropriate. One day he entered while I was alone due to a grain mill crisis. I heard the bell ring. He turned toward the front desk and saw me walking down the aisle. He said nothing; he didn't need to. I knew his thoughts and his plans. I have never known what someone was planning so clearly before or since. I was trapped on three sides. He weighed 100 to 150 pounds more than me and was at least six inches taller."

The young, fit, large manager's face appeared over his shoulder from across the room when he stood about eight feet away. He yelled the man's name once. I knew the manager knew what happened, guessing from my expression or knowing his past. The guy turned and faced him; the manager told him he would help. The young manager met him halfway across the store and escorted him to the door. The guy, a regular forever, never returned. The manager looked at me, checking if I panicked, told me he was not welcome anymore, asked if I was okay, and we both returned to work.

It was scary and strange. Everyone knew what happened without words. It was silent and terrifying.

Redditor/u/KaptanKoala:

I was ten. I stayed at my aunt's playing with my cousin. About ten pm, we chilled outside with two friends. A taxi rolled near. The engine failed. The driver and his wife appeared. He asked, "Can you help us jumpstart the car boys?"

We agreed. Four of us pushed while the driver started. The wife took the wheels. Five minutes later, the car would not start. It sparked but died again quickly. Then, we reached a dark alley. There was no one, no light. We showed some smarts and decided to leave the car and go back. We said we were sorry. After walking back home, I turned to see what they did. The car was lit up! The guy drove off fast and took a turn. We ran back like crazy behind him.

I still wonder what they would have done if they kidnapped us.

From a Redditor:

"When I was young, my little brother got his foot stuck in a train rail. The train came in the distance. My parents panicked and managed to pull his foot out of his boot about ten seconds before the train struck. My dad was so scared he threw up. I was not very traumatized, but it remains one of the most horrifying things I have seen."

From Redditor BarefootGem:

"I sat by my dying grandmother's bedside a few years ago after we learned she had cancer. I went to the hospital daily after class, even though she was mostly out of it. One afternoon, I studied notes and she sat up in bed and said, 'Come here, [my name], I want to introduce you to my mom and dad.' Her parents are dead. So, that was fun."

From Redditor tnuocca12345:

A few months ago, I drove alone on an empty freeway at night, returning from college; I am a female in my early twenties. I got a call from an unknown number, which I usually ignore, but it was strange at 11 PM, so I answered. A man on the other end listed my exact location, name, age, and where I studied. He did not state his name but asked me to confirm these details. In deep panic, I hung up and called someone before an unmarked car with sirens appeared from my rear and pulled me to the side of the road. Two men in non-uniformed clothing exited the car, claimed to be undercover cops, and asked for my license and registration, which I provided. They asked me to step out, and one man began searching my car while I stood with my back to the road.

After ten minutes, another car pulled up and stopped before us, maybe a breakdown. The two men got frazzled. They gave back my license and said I could leave. This experience shook me. I later called the police station about undercover police rules. I found no record of the names or matching vehicle details for the two men who stopped me.

The officer told me I likely met ring criminals who pretend to be undercover police. These criminals often violently rob, assault, and rape female drivers alone at night. The car that stopped a few miles ahead somehow scared them off, and I escaped.

From RedditorArchPower:

I was drinking with my ex-wife's friends. One of them quieted down. After some urging, they said they needed to tell something, but we had to keep it secret.

They killed someone with a hammer and buried the body in the backyard.

From Redditor1000korpses:

One of my friends pushed me down a well when I was about eight. I was down there for hours, but that was not the worst part. My brother, who was six, found me and, without thinking, jumped in with me. Then he panicked and pushed me under the water to save himself. Survival instincts took over, so I got enough air to slam his head into the wall, knocking him out. I held him above water so he wouldn't drown. Finally, our neighbor heard my screams and pulled us out with a rope. I feared I had killed him, yet I know he would have killed me if I had not acted.