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19 Real, Scary Ghost Stories That Will Haunt Your Dreams

These scary ghost stories will leave you too terrified to close your eyes.

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So you think you’ve heard it all–the really scary ghost stories. At this point, nothing can scare you. We beg to disagree.

To prove there’s still a wealth of fresh, scary stories, we asked our dear readers and the good people at Reddit to share their scariest ghost stories. Planning on getting a good night’s sleep tonight? Think again. These 19 real ghost stories will have you questioning that bump you hear in the night. 

Related: 9 Scary Campfire Stories to Tell at Night This Summer

1. Three Knocks in the Dead of Night

Something strange happened to xombabe and their grandma. One night, they stayed up late watching The Walking Dead. Their grandma had never seen the show before, so they’d spent the past few nights binging late into the night. It was about 4 am when the two turned off the television and the lights and called it a night. Their grandma went into her room, and our Reddit user went to the bathroom to brush their teeth. That was when they heard three light knocks right behind them.

Since the bathroom was connected to their grandmother’s room, they assumed it was her checking to see if they were in the bathroom. They answered but didn’t get a response. When they left the bathroom and met their grandma in the hallway, she asked what the user wanted. Confused, the writer said that they thought she was the one knocking on the bathroom door. But grandma had also heard three knocks on her door and thought it was the Reddit user. 

Related: 5 Real-Life Ghost Stories That Will Make You Question Your Sanity 

As it turns out, they both heard the quiet, distinct knocks. They searched the house to make sure no one had broken in, double-checked the locks, and finally went to bed. Their grandma has one deceased son and one son that has been missing for almost a year now. The user believes that the knocks had something to do with the missing men—perhaps they were trying to reach out to their beloved family.

2. The Shoe in the Riverbed

A few years ago, tauntauntom had just been through a rough divorce from their high school sweetheart. Their best friend had taken to distracting them by taking long road trips. One morning, they were on their way to Carlsbad, New Mexico when they paused alongside a river dam. They were drinking cider and snacking when the pair decided to explore the dried river bed. It was obvious that they weren’t the first ones to go trekking through the riverbed. The pair could see human, canine, and feline footprints in the mud. 

They then recall starting to feel an odd sensation, like they were being watched. Their friend caught the writer’s attention and called them over. There was a bone in the ground - what they now believe was a spinal cord. At first they thought it was a beef or pork bone on some kind. They continued looking around the river bed when they found a strange rust colored rock sticking out from the sand. When they got closer, they realized it was a half-buried little girl’s shoe. The Reddit user stepped back and ran forward, preparing to kick the shoe. Suddenly, they heard a little girl’s voice shout “No! Don’t, please!” They looked around but didn’t see anyone besides themselves, and their friend. The friend asked why they stopped and they replied “Didn’t you hear that little girl?”. Both confused, they decided to shrug it off and continued on their way. Meanwhile, the feeling that someone was watching them grew stronger. A few minutes later, they spotted another bone. 

Now, they began to get scared. The bone was clearly human. The  friend called the non-emergency police number for Carlsbad, and they reported what they saw.

One week later, they received a call from their friend that the Carlsbad Police had called to report the bones they found were indeed human. During the investigation, the two were questioned and eventually informed that the rust-colored rock actually wasn’t a rock at all, but the shell of a pickup truck that had disappeared along with the family of three it had been carrying: a man, a woman, and their daughter. It made the Reddit user think back to the girl’s shoe sticking out of the mud, and the voice they heard. Could the little girl have spoken directly to them?

3. Ouija Board Warning

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Last year, smol-bean-dean went to a friend’s house for a party. Around one in the morning, the group decided to use a Ouija board. The Reddit user was the only one who believed in accounts of the paranormal so she was hesitant when her friends brought out the board. But instead of giving her friends more reasons to tease her when it came to the paranormal, she acted as if she didn’t believe in such activity. 

They began asking the board questions. They started with a few normal questions, and nothing really exciting happened. Then someone asked if the spirit wanted to hurt them, and it responded with “only one.” The group started to get creeped out at this point—and rightfully so. When one friend asked the natural follow-up question, who, the board spelled out Natasha: the Reddit user’s full name. It should be noted that she doesn’t care for their full name and has everyone call her Tasha instead. Tasha then left the room while her friends continued playing but found out later that night that the group forgot to say goodbye to the board. Anyone familiar with a Ouija board knows that closing the interaction with the spirit is crucial before stopping use of the board. Needless to say, she was nervous.

After this, Tasha has no memory of the night. She only remembers getting a migraine and nosebleeds. Her friends took videos of her acting strangely, speaking with a changed voice, and a few instances of her talking in other languages. However, that night wasn’t the only time this happened. In the days following, Tasha’s parents reported the same things happening. Once again, she remembered nothing but migraines and nosebleeds. 

About two weeks later, she was back to normal. Or so she thought. Tasha was suddenly hospitalized for an excruciating pain in her kidney—so bad that it almost shut down. The doctors tried everything but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then, on the day she were scheduled for surgery, the pain suddenly stopped. One day later, Tasha was released. 

Since that incident, she has never felt like she was truly alone. Sometimes, she feels someone grabbing her hands or neck, making it difficult to breathe. Tasha has always believed in the paranormal, but this experience made it far more real for her.

4. Scares at the Nursing Home

Swagman434 is a dietary aide at a nursing home for people with Alzheimer’s, and they have had some seriously scary encounters while working there. Their job mainly consists of  washing dishes, and they’re normally standing right next to the dishwasher which makes it difficult to hear what people are saying. 

On numerous occasions, they have been by the dishwasher and heard someone talking to them even though they knew no one was nearby. 

One night, the writer went to collect food carts in one of their units, alone. The whole time they were in the unit, they felt like they were being followed. Fearing what they might see, they never turned around. Eventually, they pulled off, pretending to use the bathroom. They waited there for about five minutes before peering into the hallway where they’d just been. There, they saw a patient they recognized. At first, this made them feel better, but soon, they realized that it was a patient who had died three days prior in a unit near the kitchen. 

Related: 22 Terrifying True Ghost Stories and Strange Encounters 

The user also relayed a second experience they had while washing the dishes on a different day. They asked the person they were washing with if he could go into Unit A and get the food carts. The third person who normally washed with them had already left for the day, leaving the writer alone. 

Suddenly, they heard a voice in their ear. They turned around, but no one was there. They even went into the hallway, but still saw nothing. As they returned to washing the dishes, it happened again. The second time, they realized it was the voice of their great-grandma who passed away seven years ago. Very spooky.

5. Threatening Footsteps in the Country

In 2013, Xombabe and her friends decided to make a Ouija board. Her best friend lives about a 45 minute drive from the closest store and nearest town, so there wasn’t much to do. They’d spent the day watching movies but eventually got bored, so the user, her friend, the friend’s boyfriend and his friend decided to make the board. 

About a week before they made the board, the two friends had been staying alone at the house when the Reddit writer woke at 6 am to the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway nearing the bedroom. She tried to wake her friend, but it was no use - she was a heavy sleeper. The footsteps stopped right outside the door. The writer waited, holding her breath, for the door to open, but it never did. The next few hours she spent awake, waiting for something to happen. When both girls were finally awake by 11 that morning, before either left the room, she told her friend what had happened the night before. 

And what her friend said in response chilled her to the bone. She said that for years she’d been hearing the same footsteps and that they had always stopped right outside her bedroom. No one else had heard the footsteps until the writer. 

That night, they made their Ouija board. The group were messing around with it, not getting any real responses when they suddenly heard a loud bang in the back on the house. They decided to stop for the night. The friend left to drive the other two home, leaving the Reddit user alone at the house. 

Being alone after hearing the loud noise and the footsteps made her nervous so she turned on the television for a distraction while she waited for her friend to return. In the middle of the opening credits, the television froze and started making loud buzzing noises. She tried to turn off the TV, but the remote wouldn’t work. Then she tried unplugging it, but it kept going. 

Thoroughly freaked out, she went outside to wait for her friend to get back. At this point, she had started shaking and crying and texted her friend explaining what had happened. Then the dogs started barking at the living room door, viciously growling and snarling like they saw something no human could. 

Thirty minutes later, her friend finally arrived back home. Both girls could hear the television from the porch, but when they went inside, it had completely shut off and was still unplugged. Neither are sure exactly what happened, but they’re certain is was some kind of malevolent spirit. 

6. Ghost In The House

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Mysticgypsy1976 has always been into the paranormal and has experienced a fair number of encounters throughout their life. Recently married, they and their spouse, Charlie, moved into a beautiful little house in a quiet neighborhood. They had only been living there a short time when they started noticing strange occurrences. 

The first happened while Charlie was upstairs in bed, and they were downstairs watching television. Suddenly, he ran into the living room and asked if they had just been in the bedroom. They answered no, and Charlie panicked. He said that as he had been lying in bed, someone had pushed the blanket up so his feet were exposed, and a cold hand had caressed his foot. 

To avoid the spirit, they moved their room to a different bedroom in the house, but the activity continued. They heard heavy footsteps going up and down the stairs, bowls and pans would spin clockwise on the counter, dark full-bodied figures would walk passed their bedroom door and vanished, a knife was once lifted and thrown across the kitchen by an unseen force, and the dogs would bark into the corners of the house. Once they even looked up into the window of the master bedroom and saw an elderly woman staring down at them. 

Eventually, the young couple had enough and talked with their neighbors to learn about the history of the house. They learned that the house had been built in the 1970s, and the elderly lady who had owned the house before them died at the age of 101. The two had no doubt this woman was the spirit tormenting the home, so the writer decided to go upstairs and make peace. They informed the spirit that they intended to remain in the house and they promised to keep it nice. They offered to help her cross over but also said she was welcome to stay, if her presence became more peaceful. 

Since then, the couple has been living peacefully in the home, and the old woman occasionally makes herself known.

7. Name Calling and Strange Breathing

JDBARNES123 has always been afraid of anything paranormal. For five years when he was young, he suffered from severe anxiety and depression. While this was going on, some strange things began happening. One night, he was having trouble sleeping when he heard a man’s voice say his name. He blew it off as something in his head and eventually fell asleep. 

Related: From the Beyond: 13 People Share True Ghost Stories and Otherworldly Tales 

A few nights later, he heard it again. But this time it was louder, clear as day, and a woman’s voice. He tried to respond, but the room was silent. At this point, he was starting to get nervous. Once again, the nights following were quiet, so he slowly forgot about the incident. That was until one night when he was laying in bed and started hearing someone breathing. He hid under their covers until it stopped, but the incident made it hard to sleep during the week following.

Now that this Reddit user has moved and learned to better manage his depression and anxiety, the paranormal occurrences have stopped. 

8. My Great Grandmother's House

900poptr loves their grandparents but hates their house. The house has been in their family for over a century, and something has always felt off about it. The rooms would always feel cold despite the air being off, and visitors often reported feeling like they were being watched. 

For about a month, this user and their parents were living in the house. It was during this time that an event happened that terrified them. One night, they woke for no particular reason and went to the bathroom. Suddenly, the door shut and locked behind them. The lock on the door was broken so it shouldn’t have been able to lock, let alone close, on its own. Then, the light in the bathroom went out. 

They had always been interested in ghost hunting and had a ghost hunting app on their phone. They’d used it in the past but assumed it didn’t work. The app was supposed to tell its user whatever the ghost was saying. As they opened the app, they felt something—or someone—breathing down their neck. A few seconds later, the door unlocked and the radar read one word: “Run”.

They ran back to hide and hid under the covers until they fell asleep. The next night, they woke again and went into the kitchen for a snack. It was there that they saw a dark figure pick something up from the pantry, turn to them, and then disappear. They tried to return to their room, but the living room door slammed shut as they walked toward it. Again, they felt someone breathing down their neck. They kept pulling at their door until it finally opened. Back in their room, hiding under the covers, they couldn’t sleep because they kept hearing footsteps on the porch. 

The next night they decided to try sleeping in the den. Their phone was left open to the ghost hunting app when it picked up a signal. It read “Quintin”—their great grandfather’s name. That was the last activity the user experienced before they moved out.

9. There's Something Terrorizing My Family ..

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About two weeks ago, twin_fish93’s little sister began hearing voices. She said it’s a deep and masculine voice that calls to her at night in her room, telling her to come outside. It comes from outside in the middle of their yard. 

One day, their parents went out and the Reddit user, their two little sisters, and their friend stayed home alone. That night, they saw something moving in the small patch of trees in their backyard. Telling the younger girls to stay inside, they went to investigate but found nothing. On their way back inside, something threw them over five feet into the air. They scrambled to their feet and ran inside, losing a shoe in the process. After cowering inside for a few minutes, they realized they needed that shoe for work the next day. So, they ventured back outdoors.

This time they came prepared, bringing their dog with them for protection, but he refused to follow them into the backyard. As quickly as they could, they grabbed their shoe and ran back inside. Finally, back indoors, they asked the elder of their sisters to look at their back because it felt like it was burning. She pulled up their shirt and screamed. There were several long scratches running down the user’s back. 

The four then went out to the front porch while the youngest went back inside to retrieve something, but came back a few seconds later saying someone was looking into their back window. The only problem was that, in order for her to have seen someone in the window, that person would have had to have been over seven feet tall. Now all thoroughly freaked out, they decide to remain on the porch until one of their parents came home. 

After a few minutes passed, they heard heavy footsteps running toward the front yard from the side of the house where the driveway extends. Gravel flew as though it was being kicked up, but nothing was there. They went back inside until their mother got home. She blessed the area where the Reddit user was attacked and their sister’s body and spirit. 

Whatever the thing was, it didn’t appear to be able to get inside the house. The user and their sisters still believe it’s hanging around the house to this day.

10. The Boy and the Man

I grew up in an older home in Florida. I have two brothers and since I was the only girl, I got to have my own room on the second floor, a room that I would end up fearing at night. We lived in this house until we moved when I was 17. I don’t remember anything strange happening until I was around 15-16. Just the normal; Mom asking us kids where we put a glass or a book. Small things that none of us touched. In hindsight, that was probably either the man or the boy. 

I came home late one night from a football game at my high school, it was around 10:00 or 11:00. My younger brother had a friend over and they liked to play pranks on me. When I poked my head in to say hello, I made sure I asked if they wouldn’t mess with me that night since I had to get up early for a soccer game. They both agreed and wished me a goodnight.

The way my room was set up at the time was there was the actual main part of the room had my TV, dresser, a couch and coffee table that I would use for my friends staying over or when I was reading. My bed was in a little alcove that used to be a small porch so that my bed was flush with the windows that looked to the backyard. I put my bag on the couch and walked over to the bed to go to sleep. 

Related: 9 Haunted House Books That Will Leave You Sleeping with One Eye Open 

It was the middle of the night when someone knocking on the wooden bedframe woke me up. I thought it was my brother and his friend who were just going to be annoying and run out of the room giggling. I flipped over to yell at them but didn’t see my brother. There was a boy about the age of 12 with sandy brown hair that hung to his chin wearing a purple hoodie just smiling at me, like a kid who got caught doing something he shouldn’t have been. And I could see right through him to the rest of the room! I watched as he slowly faded away, completely terrified until he was gone. I slept on the couch that night with the TV going in the background, and I moved my bed to the center of the room after that. 

The next morning I had almost talked myself out of it, thinking it was a dream or had really been the boys. I asked them the next morning if they had knocked on my bed but both were sound asleep. My mom had overheard me and said she had seen the boy too.

Since that night we started to notice more strange things, but I am positive it wasn’t the boy. There was a man, a mean man that I could feel at night in my room. We would hear footsteps walking around upstairs when all of us were in the kitchen, books would fly from the shelves and glasses would be pulled down and break. Our dogs would stand at the bottom of the stairs that led to the second floor and just growl. One of the most eerie things was the smell of cigarette smoke in the downstairs hallway, no one in our family smoked inside, ever. One of the last things that happened before we moved was my brother waking up to see a tall dark figure standing over me while I was sleeping. 

The entire family at that point had seen or experienced something. The boy was just a kid who wanted to be known, the man was something else. None of us were sad to drive away from that house for the last time.

- Riane Fisher 

11. The House by the Cemetery 

Marcoislove, their best friend Bella, and her little sister and brother went to Bella’s grandparents’ house to spend the night when they were younger. Although the house was next to a cemetery, no one was too worried. The writer was rather fascinated, but not yet wary.

Bella’s grandpa helped them set up a tent in the backyard. That night, they were up late watching a movie. When it was over, the user and Bella left the tent and went to sit on the swings in the backyard. Bella began telling stories about the haunted house she used to live in. 

After a while, something in the cemetery caught the writer’s attention. When their eyes adjusted to the dark, they made out a faceless, horned figure looking at them through the darkness. Bella didn’t see the figure at first, but when the user directed her attention to it, she freaked out. The pair bolted for the tent, zipping themselves inside. They turned on music to try to help them fall asleep, but it didn’t muffle the sounds of a fence rattling like something wanted to climb over and a repeating, terrifying bull-like huff. 

The next morning, they tried to tell their story to Bella’s family. Bella’s grandparents were skeptical, but her sister and mother, who had lived with Bella in the haunted house, believed every word. 

12. Haunted By My Sister's Doll

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Ever since Djrox56 was at school with friends talking about Chucky, they’ve been afraid of dolls. Luckily, the only one they had at home was a basic Barbie doll. But then, for Christmas their sister got two porcelain dolls and a big rag doll. 

Those dolls really freaked the Reddit user out. Every time they went into their sister’s room, they would turn the dolls toward the wall so they weren’t looking at them or into their room. Soon, creepy things started happening. Cuts and scratches would appear on the writer’s hands and knees with no explanation of how they got there. One morning when they woke up, there were red scratches on their back, although they didn’t remember any pain or feeling of being scratched. 

The scariest thing happened while they were home alone. They went into the sister’s room to play with her dreamcast. As they made their way in, turning all the dolls toward the wall, they heard a little girl’s laugh. The rag doll that had been lying on their sister’s bed facing the wall slowly began turning toward them. They ran, locking themselves in their room until their mother and sister got home. Neither believed the story, and their sister was mad because the rag doll had fallen to the floor. 

The next day, the writer took the doll to the dumpster and never saw it again.

13. My Paranormal Experience

When zZaRagingClueZz was 16 or 17, he had just moved into the a new house with his mother and sister. He had the bedroom in the basement. About a month after moving in, he started noticing bizarre things. Hangers would sway as though there was a wind, and he often heard light, unexplainable knocks in the middle of the night. It was creepy enough to make him move all of his belongings to the spare upstairs bedroom. 

One day, while he played video games in the basement, a white mist shot out from behind their television, up the wall and across the ceiling. He bolted out from the basement and told his mom, who told him it was just his imagination.

Over the next few months, he started hearing knocks and seeing objects move again. Slowly, it started getting stronger. Then whispers started, then painful screams. Soon, it was happening every night without fail.

Related: 11 Dark and Creepy Podcasts to Give You the Chills 

One night, he was left alone while his mother was away for business and his sister slept at a friend's. It was 1:00 A.M. and very little was happening—paranormally speaking. He was about to fall asleep when he heard a loud shriek of his name. He “slept” the rest of the night with the lights on. The next few months passed with only minor incidents, but then things really got crazy. 

Late one night, he was watching television in his room when his bed started shaking. At first, it was only a small tremor, so he ignored it. Then, he began feeling something pulling at the covers from the foot of his bed. A cold hand grabbed his ankle, and tried dragging him. He screamed, and his mom and sister came running. 

At that point, it was clear something very weird was going on. His mother called the people who sold them the house and told them what happened. The former owners, although offering no reason for the intrusions, had their priest come to bless the house. The occurrences never fully stopped, but they did become much less frequent and intrusive after the blessing.

14. Southern Fright

When I was 16 years old babysitting was an additional source of income, and I was lucky enough to have many families in my area that needed a babysitter. A lady that babysat for quite often asked me one day if I would mind caring for her sister's baby, she mentioned that her sister had a hard time keeping a babysitter—well, of course I thought it was due to the child HA! I didn't mind at all, I quickly accepted the job meaning more income for myself and she was a super nice lady however, her husband was ... well ... a real jerk ... he didn't want to be bothered with the baby at all and he was always in a mood—for the most part he was away a lot.

My first day, she made a point to tell me that the house was “quirky” making a lot of strange of noises and whatnot ... She told me to call her if I had any problems. I thought it was strange but dismissed it as just being because she was nervous to leave her baby with a new sitter.

My first week was really uneventful—a few weird noises but I just dismissed them. One distinctive thing that I remember about the house was that it was always dark ... Even on the brightest day, it was always really dark. During the day, you still had to have the lights on, even with the curtains open.

The baby, who was only sox months old, had a cute rainbow nightlight. It was an older one that you manually had to use some force to click on and off. Once it lightened up some in the morning, I would go and turn off the nightlight. Well, morning came and I turned off the nightlight. I went out to the living room to catch up on some homework and as soon as I got settled the baby started screaming, I rushed into his room. He was hysterical and the nightlight was on.

I know for a fact that I turned it off. It wasn't a mistake or something I thought I did–I played it in my mind over and over and over again. I know that I turned that light off. I took the baby and comforted him. I was so disoriented and scared I didn't even try to turn it off again. I thought if something wants it on, it can be on.

I didn't tell the mother about the nightlight. Every day, she would come and ask me if everything was okay. And I knew she wasn’t just talking about her son.

Over the next few weeks, the experiences came more and more often. Lights turning on and off and doors closing by themselves.

All of the events finally came to a peak. I was in the kitchen mixing oatmeal for the baby, when from behind something tugged the bottom hem of my shirt—and hard. It was so hard that my shirt tightened around my neck. I turned around and no one was there... I screamed and ran into the living room where the baby stared at me from his high chair like I was crazy!

I didn't tell his mother about this either, I don't know why I didn't tell her - maybe I was scared that she would think I was crazy, or maybe I just didn't want to bother her with it - or maybe I was just scared since I never told anyone. 

Finally, she and her husband moved out of the house that fall, making their stay only 10 months. I was the only babysitter who managed to be permanent during their time. I never discussed the events that happened there...

Later, I did some research on the area. It's incredibly rural, and as souther as you can get. It also has a rich history in Indian tribes. While looking up the house, I discovered that during its construction, evidence of a full Indian burial site had been discovered.

- pirategirl79, submitted to The Lineup 

15. Henry the Hitchhiker

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A couple years ago, Jbharro was working the night shift, and was on their way to work when they were stopped at a street light. Since there were no other cars or people around, they quickly got impatient with the waiting around. That was when they heard a knock on the passenger window. Outside stood an older man, seemingly around 60. They rolled down their window and asked if he was okay. When he didn’t answer, the writer asked again but still got no response.

Finally, he asked for a ride, saying that he only needed to go a few blocks. The writer said yes and turned up the heat after he got in, noticing that the man was shivering. After they had been driving for awhile, the man said his name was Henry. The driver asked once more if he was okay. Henry seemed drunk or ill. Henry sat still, saying nothing. After about ten minutes of driving, Henry suddenly shouted, asking the driver to stop

Eerily, they were in the middle of nowhere with fields on either side. Henry climbed from the car and started walking down the street. He then suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and stood there unmoving. Slowly, they started to drive away, and looking in the rearview mirror, they saw Henry following the car. Their attention briefly shifted down because of a notification of their phone. When they looked up again, Henry was gone. 

They sped to work and told a coworker about the incident as soon as possible. Apparently Henry is a regular and does this often, freaking out newcomers to the area. 

16. The Lady in the Corner

Strange things have been happening in redcody27’s house for as long as they can remember. One night, they woke to the sound of someone standing just outside their room, the floor creaking under their weight. They closed their eyes and pretended to be asleep, hoping it would leave them alone. Whatever it was entered the room and stopped right beside the bed. They could feel the presence there. 

They cracked open their eyes, hoping to still appear asleep while stealing a glimpse at the presence. A white figure stood in front of them. At first, they wanted to call to their brother, but they were too afraid to antagonize the ghost. Eventually, their eyes closed, and when they opened them again a few minutes later, the figure was gone. 

Related: 9 Famous Female Ghosts Who Will Scare You Senseless 

Thinking their father’s bedroom would be a safer place to sleep, they wrapped themselves in a blanket and made their way across the house. But when they entered the dining room, they felt as though several pairs of eyes were staring at them. They kept going until they reached the doors of the bedroom, but it was locked. Instead of going back to their room, they went into the living room and fell asleep. 

Around four in the morning, they woke again, and sitting on top of the television in the corner was the white figure. This time, it was clear the figure was an elderly woman. She was somewhat blurry, and her eyes were darker than her pale body. She said their name and tried coaxing them outside. They screamed, and the figure vanished. They hid under the blanket until morning. When daylight had come, they told their story to their family. Their brother believed every word, saying he had seen the exact same figure watching him sleep. 

17. Home Alone ... I Think

One day, Tpenning wasn’t feeling well, so they stayed home from work. They were in bed, asleep on their back with a pillow over their face, when they heard their door open. They were still half-asleep, so they didn’t fully register the door being opened. Then, they felt a pressure on their stomach like someone was poking them with two or three fingers. They jumped and heard the sound of retreating footsteps, but the pillow was still over their head so they couldn’t see who or what it was. The footsteps sounded more like a light pitter-patter than actual human footsteps.

Assuming it was their mother home from lunch break, they at first thought nothing of it. Checking their phone, they saw it was only 10:00 A.M., much too early for their mom to be home. As they were sitting in bed, exactly what had happened began to settle in, and they started getting really nervous. 

Suddenly, the door opened. They ran from their room through a different door that leads outside and called their mother. She came home, and they looked through the house together. While they were looking, the door handle to a closet started to jiggle violently, freaking both of them out. That night, the two told the writer’s stepfather, who at first didn’t believe them. He only started to after weird things started happening all over the house—pans flying across the kitchen, stuff randomly falling from the walls, and the new cat freaking out for no apparent reason. 

18. The Disembodied Voice

The house Krh21 grew up in was ancient. When they were about eight, they started seeing strange shadows and hearing voices. Their parents would dismiss the accounts as part of their imagination. Most were unsettling, but nothing was ever too scary. One night, three years ago, they were laying on their couch with the door open when they got the feeling that they were being watched. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t shake the feeling. 

Related: 8 Best Ghost Hunters on YouTube Worth Your Screams 

Then the hairs on the back of their neck stood up, and they knew something was right behind them. They felt someone’s breath on their neck, and a voice said “We can see you.” They screamed and jumped up, and ran out of the room. 

19. Touched By a Spirit?

One night, Hhurdd was at a friend’s house. She was downstairs watching a movie, and the friend was upstairs playing video games. Feeling neglected, she fell asleep despite feeling deeply uncomfortable, like she was being watched. 

She went back to sleep after asking her friend if he’d be coming to bed soon. When she woke again, it was to someone touching her face, saying “don’t worry love, I’ll be down soon.” She disregarded it as a dream and went back to sleep. Then she was awoken again by the same voice saying “I know, I know, I keep using this excuse… I’m coming soon. I really do miss you.”

This time, she knew something wasn’t right. She got out of bed and searched the entire downstairs area, but found nothing. She heard snoring upstairs and knew her friend was sound asleep. Since it was now seven in the morning, she got ready and left for work 

The next time they were together, she asked her friend if he’d been messing with her that night. He said no, but at that moment, a song came on the car radio that sounded exactly like the voice. She asked who the singer was, and he said it was his best friend’s band. His best friend had been the lead singer but had committed suicide a year before. They’d lived together for awhile, and most of his stuff was still in the house. It appears that at least his dead ghost friend hadn’t wanted her to be alone. 

Featured photo: Shawn Kent / Flickr (CC)