From abandoned cars on dark roads to unexplained knocks, Reddit’s scariest stories deliver

David Paulides on Missing 411, Bigfoot & UAPs | Hang Out with Sean Hannity

Investigative author David Paulides joins Sean Hannity to expose the terrifying truths behind the Missing 411 phenomenon, national park disappearances, UAPs, and Bigfoot.
In this gripping episode of Hang Out with Sean Hannity, Sean sits down with former police officer, SWAT team member, and investigator David Paulides for a deep dive into the unexplained mysteries of our wilderness. They discuss the eerie commonalities of missing persons cases where canine units lose scent trails instantly, the chilling connection between UAPs and national forests, the reality of Bigfoot DNA evidence, and David’s brand-new paradigm-shifting book, Missing 411: Alaska.

Some pretty scary stories are going viral on Reddit.

As the loyal readers know, I am a big fan of diving down deep Reddit rabbit holes for one very simple reason:

You never know what kind of chaos, information or situation you might find unraveling.

It’s truly one of the last remaining places on the internet that is the wild west, and that includes a crazy thread going viral.

From abandoned cars on dark roads to unexplained knocks, Reddit's scariest stories deliver at george magazine

Image of screaming ghost faces. (Getty Images Creatives)

Reddit users share their scariest and creepiest stories.

While doing some Big J journalism on Monday morning, I stumbled across a thread titled, “What’s the scariest/creepiest thing that has happened to you?”

You’re not going to need to convince me of much to smash click on a thread with that title.

SERIAL KILLER’S EX-WIFE SLEPT BESIDE MURDERER FOR 8 YEARS, NEVER SUSPECTED HIS DEADLY DOUBLE LIFE

POLAND – 2025/03/07: In this photo illustration, a woman seen looking at a smartphone with a Reddit logo displayed in the background. ((Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))

Check out some of the answers below, and then we’ll dive in:

When I was in high school, I lived in a pretty rural area. One night, around 1 AM, I was driving home from a friend’s house, which was about 30 minutes away. Most of the drive was through the middle of nowhere. No streetlights, no houses, just woods and farmland. I hadn’t seen another car in probably 15 minutes when I noticed a pair of taillights up ahead. As I got closer, I realized the car was stopped at a four-way intersection (stop sign). I pulled up behind it and waited, but it wasn’t moving. After a few seconds, I noticed the driver’s seat was empty. The headlights were still on, the engine was running, and the driver’s door was slightly open. I remember getting this horrible feeling that something wasn’t right. I looked around, but there was absolutely nobody in sight. I didn’t even stop to think about it. I went around the car and floored it. The part that still bothers me is that the intersection was surrounded by woods on all four sides, and whoever had been driving that car couldn’t have gotten very far on foot. I genuinely think someone was waiting for me to get out and check on it.
A wine glass moved about 3 ft across the counter infront of me when i was washing dishes one night by myself in the house… I couldn’t move for like 5 mins.
Experienced an almost plane crash. Now I know people will say heavy turbulence is normal and safe. Well we were stuck in the middle of a storm and all the flight attendants were buckled up and crying. The pilots voice shakily announcing to buckle up and that he isnt sure when we will get out of the storm. I used to love flying, but since this experience I only fly when its super urgent. I will not mind never travelling for the rest of my life.
I once heard someone tapping on my bedroom door late at night while nobody else was here except for me and my girlfriend, but she was asleep right next to me.
I felt so anxious for no reason for about 24 hours. Then I found out my brother, who lived in another state, had passed away that day.
Not seeing my roommate for a night or two. His bedroom door was closed so I didn’t want to bother him. I was working a lot and just thought he was either sleeping or at a friend’s house. That was not unusual. Then after coming home late one night I opened his bedroom to check on him and he was dead in his bed. It was terrifying! And of course, very sad. Couldn’t sleep in my apartment for weeks.
Felt a hand touch me in my sleep and said my name. Sounded like a woman. I woke up and no one was there. I was left with goosebumps on my skin.
Heard a really loud knock on the front door downstairs while I was sleeping. I woke up and panicked and the worst part when this happened, I was living alone.
I had a stalker, I had gone to the police multiple times & filed police reports. I ended up moving, and a few months later he got arrested for stalking/ assaulting a girl in a neighboring town. It scares me to think what could have happened if I hadn’t had moved (out of state) when I did, it was terrifying.
Waking up in the middle of the night convinced someone is standing in your room, then realizing you can actually hear them breathing.
COUNTRY BOYS IN KENTUCKY HEAR KNOCKS IN WOODS AT NIGHT BEFORE ONE CATCHES GLIMPSE OF BIGFOOT WITH SPOTLIGHT

Certainly a handful of terrifying stories. There are two for me that have always stood out in my mind, and I believe I’ve shared them publicly before. The first involved a walkie-talkie I had in my bedroom as a kid living in rural Wisconsin. One random night, it got active with some chatter and the chatter was a blood-curdling scream that was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. It was absolutely terrifying, and decades later, I have never been able to figure out what happened or who was on the other end of the two-way radio. It sounded like something demonic mixed with pure death.

The second – equally scary for different reasons – involved another late night in rural Wisconsin. Without getting into details of the layout of the house, I was downstairs when I started hearing movement outside a window. Everything suddenly went dead silent. So quiet that it was a little bit unsettling. That changed in an instant. There was a massive bang on the exterior of the house. I bolted up the stairs and saw my dad already in the hallway. He’d heard the same sound and was up to figure out what was going on.

SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTER

The weirdest thing about the situation is that upon investigating, there was literally no signs of anything. Nothing. Not an ounce of evidence that anything was out of place, no damage to the house, no clear signs of anyone there and nothing else to suggest there was a clear answer for what had happened. I still think about that event from time to time. Beyond weird and creepy.