20 Real-Life Stories That Are More Chilling Than a Stephen King Novel

Moving objects, sudden voices around the house, suspicious coincidences — some people don’t need to read chilling stories because they’ve lived through one. And while some of these occurrences can be explained, others will keep you wondering and questioning your own understanding of reality.

Bright Side is all ready to spook you a bit with these stories told by folks around the internet. Make sure to keep the lights on while reading!

My great-grandma lived overseas. She called with my mom every Sunday around 8:00 AM. Also, our caller ID always showed up as unknown when she called. The week she passed away, on Sunday morning, we sat together with my mom in the kitchen. She got emotional and I tried to comfort her. At 8:04 AM the phone rang and the number showed up an unknown. When she picked up she couldn’t hear anything except some static noise, but then some garbled voice recording said, “We hope you enjoy your trip to paradise!” The call cut off afterward. © smittywrbermanjensen / reddit

My husband works overnights. Some hours after he left for work I heard keys in the back door, so I creeped out to the kitchen and saw my husband. He told me he needed to grab his knee compression sleeve, walked down the hall, and greeted our daughter. On his way back he gave me a kiss and left again. In the morning when he got home I made a joking comment about him forgetting his knee sleeve. He was genuinely confused as I recalled the previous night. Our daughter confirmed everything I said and it made him even more confused. I pulled out our security motion camera on my phone, but there was no footage from the night before. My daughter and I both heard him, saw him, and I touched him. But he was never home during that time. © worthlesscommotion / reddit

When I was a child, I always saw some ghostly figures in my bedroom and because of them, I was terrified to go to sleep. I also often saw how my things were moving on their own around the room. My parents told me that I imagine things and didn’t believe me. When I grew older I stopped seeing them. But now, many years later, my son came to me and said that he saw his toys moving around his room, and I got chills again. © Overheard / Ideer

We were renovating our house and had to bring our huge mirror to the living room. The reflection of my parents’ bedroom could be seen in it. Once, I was alone at home and I decided to watch TV in the living room. At one moment I turn and see in the mirror how the sheets on my parents’ bed start to get crumpled, as if someone were sitting on it. Also, I heard the mattress springs creak. This happened several more times until this mirror got removed from the room. © Overheard / Ideer

As soldiers, we were deployed to another country and stayed in a former prison in Baghdad. During the night we heard children playing from inside the prison. One day we decided to look for the place where the kids were. When we finally found where the noise was coming from, we found a room with the ceiling caved in. There were no kids in there but we found children’s books, toys, and clothes. Everything looked like it hadn’t been moved in weeks. We continued hearing the kids for the whole year we spent there. © generaltso81 / Reddit

Me and my friends found an abandoned house. We got inside and started walking around, trying to find something cool. On the second floor, we found an old broken gramophone with a thick layer of dust on it. We didn’t touch anything, just looked around and decided to leave. As we were leaving the house I heard how this gramophone started playing quietly. When I asked my friends they confirmed, saying they heard the sound too. © Overheard / Ideer

I was on a date with my boyfriend and we decided to take some pictures of each other. Nothing special, I just stood next to some billboard and he took a snapshot of me. Ever since then I avoid that place, because I did not appear in that photo! © Overheard / Ideer

I was going to the store and was talking on the phone with my friend. When I was about to cross the road, I heard someone from behind calling for me in a very irritated tone. I turned around to see who it was and didn’t see anyone. Just at that moment, a car, that I never noticed, sped almost right next to me. That voice saved me. © Overheard / Ideer

I was alone at home and at one moment I heard someone knocking at my door, loud and clear. I went to my door and asked who it was. I heard a loud voice saying, “Your mother!” I got surprised since my mom doesn’t live with me and normally notifies me before coming. When I opened the door, there was no one. I called my mom to make sure she was at her place. The knocks kept repeating and I couldn’t see anyone in the peephole. I was petrified. © Overheard / Ideer

At my parent’s house, I used to hear my mom calling me when she didn’t, and she confirmed she’d hear me calling her when I didn’t. Whenever I was alone at home, I usually sat in the living room playing games. I often heard loud banging sounds from upstairs, as if a heavy piece of furniture had tipped over. I’d go check and nothing was out of place. Both my mother and grandmother have confirmed similar experiences when they’re alone in the house. © CerberusC24 / reddit

When I was 4 years old, I suffered from epilepsy. No matter what doctors did, nothing could help me, and I had epileptic seizures every day. My parents decided to bring me to a healer who practiced traditional medicine. She inspected me and said that we needed to get a cat. We didn’t think much of it and went home where we went straight to sleep. In the middle of the night, we woke up from some quiet meowing at our front door. When we opened it we found a cat there. She’s lived with us for 15 years already and I haven’t had any epileptic seizures ever since. © Overheard / Ideer

I woke up one night because I dreamt about my brother getting into a car accident. I got out of bed and wandered into the kitchen where I saw my mother sitting. I told her I had a bad dream when the doorbell rang. There were 2 police officers who wanted to talk to my mom. When she came back, she told me that my brother had gotten into a car accident and that we needed to get to the hospital. Turns out we both had the same dream and woke up minutes before the police came. Luckily, my brother survived with some minor injuries. © OneMorePotion / reddit

My daughter is 2 years old and I’m afraid to stay alone with her in one room. She’ll look under the sofa and start crying hysterically. Or she’ll point to the corner of the room and say, “A man is there!” and then starts laughing. But I’m not having any fun, I’m creeped out. © Overheard / Ideer

In college, I was roommates with my childhood best friend. One day, I got back home while talking to my mom on the phone. I went into the kitchen, I saw her walk out of her room and enter mine, then she returned back to hers. She looked like she had just gotten out of the shower, her hair was wet, and she was wrapped in a white towel. I didn’t think much of it and just went to my room to watch TV. About an hour passed and I went back to the kitchen where I saw her. I said, “Hey, what did you grab from my room earlier?” She looked at me surprised, “What are you talking about?” So I told her what I saw. She then explained that she had just gotten home and that she’d spent the night at her boyfriend’s so she hadn’t been home all day. She had no idea who I saw. © sm1020 / reddit

Once I was hired to load firewood into my aunt’s basement. She lives alone and left the basement door open for me while she went out. I usually keep the door open as wide as I can when I walk in and make sure the door never stays closed. As I was about to grab another load of firewood, I hear the door closing. I went to check it and the deadbolt was locked. My aunt wasn’t at home, and there was no wind that would’ve shut the door. The house is isolated so I would have heard if anyone was walking around there. © CharlieTuna_ / reddit

Bonus: The best spooky stories are those that have a happy ending!

When I was around 14 years old, my family was traveling from Taxes to Washington. We were almost out of money, out of gas, and had no food. I sat in the car while my mom took my younger sisters to the restroom at a gas station. I was downbeat and anxious about our situation. The car door opened and I saw a lady who got into the seat and faced me. She said, “It seems like you’re down on your luck. Take this and give it to your mom. Tell her to pay it forward someday to someone who needs it.” I looked down at my hand and found a $100 bill there. When I looked up she had already disappeared. Nowhere in the parking lot, just vanished. When mom came back I told her what happened and we cried. We got gas and bought a bag of oranges. I never saw the lady again but she saved us. We did make it up to Tacoma to start our new life. © heatherloree76 / reddit