As The Raven Dreams Podcast - ATRD Ep. 061 - Winter & New Years Stories - 6 True Scary Stories

Episode Date: January 20, 2023

Hello and Welcome to the 61st episode of The ATRD Podcast! Today we have some intriguing and terrifying stories submitted by everyday people. In Today's Episode we will have stories that take place around the holidays - Winter and New Years Eve stories! ➤ Want your story featured? Go to https://www.astheravendreams.com/Submit ➤ Want to know where to follow me on the internet? Go to https://www.astheravendreams.com/the-nevermore for all my links! ➤ You can also get EARLY ACCESS By joining my Patreon! https://patreon.com/astheravendreams Thank you to all of the authors that have stories in today's Video...  Stanley J., Mark Alan JR, Thereesa, J.P., Kaylee, & Sean ➤ All stories within are used w/ Either direct permission from the author- or under some level of CC license (where noted) True Stories are not verified, and should all be considered 'supposedly true'.  And Remember; You are loved, you are important, and you are valid. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/astheravendreams/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/astheravendreams/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you have a story you would like to hear featured on this podcast, please go to ashtheravendreams.com and click the button to submit your story. Also, if the platform you're listening on has the option to rate this podcast, please consider doing so. And thank you. Last year, I finally got the courage to leave a very toxic, long-term relationship that I was in. My ex was very abusive and controlling. so when I came across a great opportunity to move across the country and in with my best friend, I took this as fate telling me to get out while I could, and for good. It is so far been the best decision I've made in a long time,

but unfortunately it was followed up by some of my not-so-good decisions. The only person I knew at the time of me moving was my friend, Alex, that I moved in with. She got me a job with her, and I slowly started to regain my confidence and become outgoing again. It didn't take me long to make friends with the other co-workers and people in the area, but I still found myself a little withdrawn, with not completely knowing the area very well. I tried my best to keep pushing myself out there as this was my new life. This is where I wanted and where I wanted to be. and so that's why I agreed to go to a New Year's party with Alex.

It was a friend of hers that used to work at the company that we worked for, and she was hosting it at her house. I figured I would probably run into a few people I knew from work, or if nothing else, free food, drinks, and entertainment, right? When we got there, the party was already in full swing. There were several people creating their clicks and gathering in different areas of the house. Alex introduced me to her friend, and after chatting for a few,

I drifted away to look around and to mingle. I walked out back to enjoy the nice air when I noticed there were a few yard games back there that people were playing. I walked up to the game of Horseshoe and just watched a few people play when one guy asked if I wanted to join. I shook my head no and told him that I was just watching, since I had never played horseshoe before. He looked surprised and quickly approached me from the side

and pushed me on my shoulder towards the line to join in. He handed me his horseshoes and started explaining to me the rules while someone else was throwing theirs. It seemed like a pretty easy concept, but when it was my turn, I did miserably. The other two people playing were kind and said that I did fine for a first timer, whereas the guy that insisted I play teased me by making a comment that his dog could probably throw better.

I took no offense to it and we all just had a good laugh. After the game, I thanked them for letting me join and decided to walk back inside to grab another drink. While I was making myself a small plate of snacks, the same guy from earlier came up to me and started chatting with me again. He introduced himself as Evan and said that he used to work with the host as well. so I assumed that he worked at the same place I did at some point. I think at the time that was enough connection my buzzed brain needed at least. And we ended up finding a place in the living room and talked for most of the night about everything. I ended up telling him that I had moved here just a few months prior from out of state.

I explained why I moved so far and even about my ex. Again, I think at this point I was just ramble. as I didn't really have anyone to talk about all of this other than Alex. And in my opinion, he was very kind and patient as he listened to me go on and on about my sad life, I'm sure. He told me that I did the right thing and mentioned how smart I was, and how proud he was of me for doing what was best for me. I guess this really stood out to me because this complete stranger talked about how proud they were of me. That wasn't something I had heard from someone in a very long time, so I was quickly in my feels.

After some time of talking and choking back tears, and we kind of stuck together and just had a great night. There were a few drinking games that were played, and then it got close to the countdown. I could agree that I probably had too much to drink, but Alex and I had taken an Uber here, so I knew that we wouldn't be driving anyways. That's probably what also gave me the confidence that night to do what I did. When it struck midnight, I grabbed Evan and kissed him to welcome in the new year and hopefully finally get past the year before and to move forward. Thankfully, he seemed okay with it too, and the rest of the night was a blast.

Alex and I and a few other people ended up crashing there that night. I woke up on one side of the couch and noticed Alex. and another girl on the other part of the couch. I laid there for a while due to being groggy and hung over, until Alex finally woke up too. After a slow start, we finally got up and around and headed home. Once home, I got a text from a number saved in my phone as Evan, with a heart emoji on it.

It just said good morning, so without thinking about it too much, I replied. I was really liking him anyways, and I had no reason not to respond. He admitted to adding himself per my request, and I figured that I probably just didn't remember it because, well, alcohol. We actually ended up texting quite a bit and set up an actual date. I was pretty excited since I had been there for close to a year at this point, and this would be my first date since leaving my ex. I talked with Alex about this as she saw me with him throughout the night, but she said that she didn't recognize him and just assumed the same, that he was a friend of a friend.

Later that week, we had our date, and it couldn't have gone better. We had so much in common, and I thought it was really cool whenever he asked me about allergies, because he didn't want to order anything that I could have a reaction to. I have a severe shellfish allergy, so I appreciated that. that he asked, and he even made a little joke about how he didn't have to worry about me ordering the lobster and then making him pay for it. Anyways, that night was fantastic, and he even drove me home so that I didn't have to pay for another Uber.

Unfortunately, not long after that is when things started to change. We would go out together, but the conversation started changing. He started saying things that were all. too familiar with my ex. It always seemed like it could be construed as sweet at first, but then it could easily go awry if you're not careful. He started saying things like, I'm so glad that I met you. I don't know what I would do without you.

You're the only thing that matters. We had only just started dating, and he seemed like he was already infatuated with me. I know that I was the one that probably started it with the kiss, but... This was also how my ex was. We would get into a fight, me and my ex, him being both physically and verbally abusive, and when it was over, he would say things like that to me. So I started getting uncomfortable very quickly.

I remember at one point he held my hands tightly in the restaurant. I excused myself and went to the restroom to try to stop myself from having a panic attack. Shortly after going in the restroom, he started texting me asking if I was okay. So I cut it short and went back to the table. I felt bad, but I told him I had to go as I really wasn't feeling well, and I insisted that I'd take an Uber so that he could still enjoy his meal. Of course, he refused, leaving it all behind,

and followed me outside until my ride arrived and texted me all the way home. I just left them on red until I got home, and he texted me about making it home. safe. I told him that I had just gotten home and went to bed for the rest of the night. The next day I talked to Alex about it, and she agreed that he seemed to get attached fairly quickly, and thought that it was probably a good idea to create some distance, and also to see how he would react, and that we should go and have a day together to try to get it off my mind. I didn't want to cause a fight or anything, so I told him that I was feeling better, but that I was feeling better, but that

I was going to run some errands with Alex, and that I would let him know when I was done. He seemed perfectly fine with this. No questions asked. He just said to have a good time. So, that made me think that I was probably just overreacting. When we went out, I left my phone on the table, so I didn't even have it with me. Nonetheless, we had a great day, but I came home to my phone being blown up. I still remember it.

There was about 70 missed calls and text messages within four hours, and all from him. That's how long we were out. The messages started as a simple, when are you guys leaving? Do you know what you're going to do? But they quickly grew into, why aren't you responding or answering? Where are you? What are you doing? And they were pretty much just repeated over and,

over, except for the voicemails where he was literally crying saying he didn't know what he did, but that he was sorry and he couldn't live without me. I called him, and before I could even explain that I had left my phone at home, he started calling me a liar and asked who I had at the house since I never left. I finally got the chance to explain to him that I had forgotten it at home, but that I had been out the whole time. as I was about to mention that I had proof that we were out, it dawned on me. We were now in the same territory that I had been in before, with me having to prove where I had been.

So I hung up and again had a bit of a meltdown. Thankfully Alex was around to keep me calm, though. She was adamant that I called off with him, as it obviously wasn't healthy behavior, and I agreed. but she then brought up something that I hadn't even really thought about how would he have known that my phone never left our place and we thought maybe he was watching our place and never saw us leave so he just assumed that I was still home I didn't have a car but Alex did so we were in hers it is a shared driveway with our neighbors though so

maybe he thought that it was their car I'm not sure Regardless, it was still an unsettling thought that he could be watching, so after ignoring him the rest of that day, I told him how I felt about his actions and said that we needed to call it off. After several comments and drastic changes in emotion, I ended the call. However, that didn't seem to be enough to convince him to leave me alone. He just happened to show up to places I was at, such as a grocery store. my work, the salon, and even a doctor's appointment. On one of these occasions, I told him that if he didn't stop, I was going to get a restraining order to which he said something about it just being a coincidence and left. But something that did alarm me was one day when he messaged me and I would ignore it.

He texted me telling me to stop playing a certain game and to response to him. At that point, I had been playing a game on my phone. It wasn't something I brought up with him in the past, and I knew this because, for one, I'm not a big gaming person, and two, I had just downloaded this app recently, as Alex played it and we could play together. How would he have known that I was playing that at that exact time? I confronted him about it, and that's when he didn't respond for a while,

and then finally just said, I have my ways. This freaked me out. Again, this was my ex-territori, and I told Alex about it. She was worried my phone may have had a tracker on it. Unfortunately, in my last relationship, I wasn't even allowed to have a password or lock on my phone.

It had to be unlocked at all times, so he could access it whenever he wanted. I know that it wasn't unhealthy relationship, but some habits are still hard to break, and I still didn't have a lock on my phone at the time. That's when I remembered him adding himself to my phone at the New Year's Eve party and thought that he could have very easily added something like that at that time. This was new territory for me,

so not trusting my phone anymore. I called my mom from Alex's phone and told her that I had to get a new phone, and to contact me on hers until I did get a phone. until I did get a new one, and then I kept my phone off. To finish this off, Alex and I actually went and talked to a friend of hers in IT at work, and he looked at my phone. We did end up finding a GPS slash location tracker, as well as a parental guide or remote watch thing on my phone.

I assume that he downloaded these at the party whenever he added himself. The guy said that I could just delete them, or potentially just format my phone if I wanted to. But just to be safe, I took the new clear option. I went and got a new phone and number on Alex's plan, since it was cheaper anyways. My old number was the number that I had while I was with my ex, too, so it was probably just for the best. And just as expected, the coincidental run-ins stopped, too. He couldn't call or text me anymore, but my face was.

Facebook was still there. He would send me message requests with pictures of me that I had taken. I guess he helped himself to my photo gallery too, probably sending them to himself and then deleting the messages. But I just ignored him. Slowly the messages stopped there until he finally left me alone. I don't know if he found someone else to terrorize, and I hope not,

but I'm just thankful that this one ended quickly. I didn't want it to consume me and run my life out here too. Oh, and I also found out more about Evan, in the sense that he had never worked at the same place as us. Alex asked her friend that had the party about him, and she said that he was actually her neighbor. She said that he never seemed weird or creepy to her, but would occasionally make comments about her being his girlfriend. But they were never like that with each other. She had only invited him to the party when he basically interjected himself, as she was bringing in the party supplies, and he noticed. She even mentioned that she stopped seeing him outside after the party and thought maybe he finally found himself another half, or a hobby.

She apologized to me about it, too, but not like she had anything to do with it, so no ill will towards her at all. Now she actually avoids going outside if she even sees him. And in case anyone asks, no, I'm done being crazy. And spontaneous like that. And I decided it's probably just best to not date anybody for a few years. Lazzang surgelley, puissance-moleaned for 15 minutes. We'd say that's their dojo.

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pay for responsible. The conditions apply. I have a horrifying story from when I was a kid, one that

looking back could have ended a lot worse than it did. It was honestly very traumatic. and it actually made me not trust people for a majority of my teen years, because this whole thing had really messed with me.

I'm in my late 20s now, so looking back I can at least look at it with the understanding that I was a naive child, and that anyone could have been a victim to what happened. I just hate that it was me and my family that did end up as the victims. So this happened back in. in the late 90s, and actually happened two days before Christmas. So I guess that would make it Christmas Eve Eve. For a little bit of information on me and my family around this time, I was 12 years old, and I lived with my parents and my older sister.

My older sister was 16 and acted way too old for her age. In this particular year, I had actually come down with the flu a few days before Christmas. I had all the flu-like symptoms, vomiting, fever, coughing, feeling like I was about to die. I was the only person in my entire family to get sick at this point. My parents didn't get it. My sister had what was essentially a cold for a day or two, and of course it got pretty bad for me for several days. On that night, Christmas Eve Eve, my father's work was having an office holiday get-together,

where the employees were expected to bring their family for a nice dinner at some fancy place. They had done this pretty much every year, but I had never gone to one. Myself and my sister were always dropped off at my grandma's house, and we stayed there while they got to have a good time. This year, however, was the first year where my sister had been told that she could go, which just left me. I was still sick, but I was doing much better than I had been, so my parents were considering dropping me off at my grandmother's house again.

But, at the same time, they didn't want me getting her sick, because she had some serious health problems of her own. I actually brought up the possibility of me just staying home alone. My parents were against it at first, but after a while they thought about it and agreed that I was probably at an age where I would be okay for a few hours. I was beyond excited to stay home by myself so that I could play my SNS for hours on end and not be told that I had to get off or go to bed at a certain time. Plus, being sick, I hadn't been able to. do anything fun, so I was all about it. The night came, my mom set several rules for me and told me that they would be back at whatever

time she mentioned. I don't recall a lot of what she said, mostly because I was just really excited that I would be all by myself. After a bit of back and forth, they left. I went upstairs to my bedroom and immediately booted up TMNT Turtles in Time, which is still my favorite game to this day. I think I was about 30 or so minutes into my game when I heard what sounded like the doorbell ringing,

though in my room, you couldn't really hear it very loudly. I paused the game and went down to the living room and glanced out the window to see if there was someone at the door. Sure enough, there were two men standing there at the door looking around and waiting impatiently. Now, at first, I was not going to answer the door. My mother told me to not answer it for anyone if they showed up, but these two guys weren't just random guys.

I could tell by their outfits that they were police officers. They had the hats, they had what looked like badges on their jackets, and they had the belts with a bunch of things on them. I was conflicted. I was told to not answer the door, but these were police, which meant that they were the good guys, right? After thinking about it, I figured that they probably had the wrong house or just needed information or something, so I opened the door. I kept the screen door shut and locked, but opened the wooden door, and I asked them what they needed. The two men looked at me and the one in front smirked.

He then asked me where my parents were. I told them that they had just left to go to the store and that they would be back any minute. I don't know why I told them that lie specifically, but it sounded like a good lie that would work for the moment. The man in the front then reached for the door handle on the screen door and told me that he needed to come in. I told him that I didn't think he was allowed to come in the house like that, and he came back with, we're the police. We're allowed to go wherever we want. Again, I was a kid, so I really didn't know if that was true or if he was lying, but my mind was just fluttering with, I'm going to prison if I don't do what he says.

I asked if he could wait for my parents to come home, and he bent down towards me and looked me straight in the face, saying, no, I have to come in right now, because I think that you You are doing something illegal. Again, that immediate fear that I was going to be arrested hit me, so I unlocked the screen door and told him that I wasn't doing anything illegal, that I was just playing my SNS in my bedroom. The two men stepped into the living room and looked around the room for a moment before shaking their heads and turning their attention back to me. The one from before told me that he needed to look around the house for anything illegal. and that while he was doing that, I wasn't allowed to be in the room. I once again told him that there wasn't anything illegal in the house,

and I'm pretty sure this is where I started crying and freaking out. He told me that he was just there to make sure that was the truth, so I needed to go to my room and wait for him to tell me to come back out. Again, I didn't know what was going on, so I just said okay and did what he asked. I went up to my room, and I sat on my bed just crying and waiting for him to come tell me that I could come out. I sat there for what felt like forever, just thinking that I was going to jail, that he was going to arrest me for being home alone,

and then they were going to arrest my family because they had left me there alone. I have no idea how long I actually sat there waiting for them to come get me, but it had to have been around 20 or 30 minutes. After waiting for that long, I looked out the window of my room to see if I could see their police car, and it was at that point I noticed that there was an old van parked out front that was pulling away from the driveway. I was confused.

That wasn't a cop car, and they didn't come tell me they were done, so... Was that them? Why were they leaving like that? I opened the door and peeked out saying, Hello, can I come out now? But there was no response. At that point, I was so confused about what had just happened.

I exited my room and went downstairs, and what I saw was genuinely heartbreaking. These two men, these two police officers, had stolen all of our Christmas stuff. When I say all of it, I mean the presence, the lights, the ornaments, the garland, all of it, with the exception of the tree. It was still standing there in its base. Again, confusion was all that I could feel in my mind. My heart was racing.

I had no idea what exactly had just taken place. I sat on the couch and I stared at the wall for a while until my parents got home. When they did, the first thing they saw was me sitting on the couch, struggling to breathe and bawling my eyes out. The second thing they saw was the empty tree. I'm not sure how long it took me to explain everything through the sobbing, but I finally did tell them that two police officers came in and stole everything. They sat me down and asked me a few questions while my sister was on the phone with 911. I think they were trying to help me get my emotions out and talk through the event. They asked me if the police officers did anything to me physically,

and I told them no because they hadn't, thankfully. The police did show up, the real police, and I had to describe the two men to the cops, even though seeing them made me honestly terrified. Because, to me, those two men were real cops. and I thought that they wouldn't take me seriously because of that. This whole event made me distrust pretty much everyone as a kid, and the fact that these two men were dressed as police

and used false authority to their advantage to get me to listen to them, it's just awful. My parents told me that it wasn't my fault, but I felt like it was, and that I should have known better. They of course said that they shouldn't have left me alone like that, which, yeah, that's probably true, but no one could have known that this was what was going to happen.

Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, they never caught the two men that stole everything. I never heard anything about it from my parents, even into adulthood, which tells me that they have no idea who they were. This whole event left a bit of a stain on Christmas for me, and it's one of those things that I cannot seem, to forget. But as mentioned, I am glad that they just decided to rob us, and that they didn't

have any intentions beyond that. I used to work for a decent-sized pizza chain as a delivery driver, and let me tell you, it was probably the craziest time of my life. For the most part, the job was decent, but there were absolutely some nights where things were completely out of hand. Our location was in the middle of a suburb that was just outside of both a nice part of town and a part of the town that was mostly inhabited by students that attended the local college. Obviously, the college part of town made most of the orders to our store, but they were also the worst tippers, which I understood. I don't expect the students to be swimming in money or anything, so I usually just accepted the dollar tip with a smile and told them to have a nice night.

Anyways, considering the season, I wanted to submit one of my experiences from when I was delivering pizza on New Year's Eve. I worked the late night shift, and we closed at midnight, so we usually got out of there at about 1.30 in the morning. And I was always scheduled to work all the way up to the end of the shift. We actually expected a lot of orders because we anticipated a lot of parties or people at home celebrating. So they had scheduled five drivers on the shift that night. By about 11, we were completely dead, so they told three of the drivers to go home, leaving just myself, and one other driver who I could honestly say was probably the most worthless employee at that store. Not to go too far into an aside, but she was the store manager's daughter,

and she had her dad's passcode for the computer system, so she constantly assigned deliveries to other drivers and pretty much never took them. And she did this with his account. Obviously, I wasn't a fan of hers, but neither here nor there. So, every time a delivery came in, it was assigned to me, which was nothing short of annoying as hell, but at least most of the people were being good about tips, which was nice. But then, I got assigned a double with one order that was already 15 minutes late, and one that was just about to be late. She seriously handed it to me as I walked in from another delivery, and when I asked her why she hadn't taken it, her response was that her back was hurting so she couldn't do deliveries that night.

I rolled my eyes and took the order and made my way to the first house. This was actually the delivery that turned into the event. I pulled up and noticed that the outside of the house was really dark. The only reason I knew it was the house was because of the mailbox out at the street side. I parked the car and grabbed the order, prepping to apologize to the person that answered the door for being so late. I knocked, and as I did, the door actually kind of fell open, like it wasn't latched. I just kind of stood there, staring into the room, thinking, yeah, this is how horror movies start.

I pushed the door open a bit more and announced who I was, literally saying, Hey, it's my name from Pizza Place. I have a delivery order for a Todd. I just stood there waiting for someone to show up and take this pizza, thinking to myself that if no one came to the door after two more minutes, I would just take it back to the store and tell them to call the customer, and basically tell them that we attempted a delivery but nobody answered. I announced myself one more time,

saying that I would have to take the pizza back to the store if they didn't come to the door within a couple seconds. Within those couple seconds, I saw something that actually scared me more than anything I expected. A little girl, no older than two or three years old, came around the corner and walked straight up to me. I was beyond confused on what exactly I was supposed to do in this case, mostly because this kid, from what I could tell, was unattended. though I was thinking that there was a possibility that maybe her parents were just asleep or not in this main part of the house. She looked up at me and reached over to my hand, grabbed it and pulled on it, basically pulling me into the house. Now, when looking back at this situation, it's easy to say something like, oh, you should have left and called the cops, or whatever, but I was standing there, being pulled in by this child.

to a home that looked empty, holding a pizza for someone named Todd, and at that moment, I had no time to really think about what exactly I should be doing. I just basically let this little kid pull me into the house, and as terrifying as this situation is, I'm glad that I went with her. She pulled me into the living room and then further into the dining room, where I saw a man unconscious on the floor. As soon as I ran over to the man on the floor, the little girl started audibly crying and watching me as I tried to do whatever I could think to do to see if this man was even alive. Of course, I'm not a medic. I was just a pizza delivery driver, and I was being driven by adrenaline and this little girl was just staring at me.

At this point, I actually remembered that I had a cell phone, and I pulled it out to call 911. I told the woman who I was, and that there was an unconscious man in the house that I was delivering to, giving her the address, and she walked me through some of the things to see if he was alive. Thankfully, he was. He was actually breathing, albeit very shallow. They told me that the medics were on the way, and for what felt like forever, I was just sitting there on the phone with the dispatcher waiting and trying to make small talk with the little girl to keep her calm. I told her that he was going to be okay, and that they were coming in to help him. She just nodded and sat there beside me. It was scary, and kind of awkward, to be honest, and I really felt bad for this little girl.

I was actually pretty upset that this man and his daughter were having to deal with this on New Year's Eve, when I'm guessing he was just waiting for the pizza to show up. That is, unfortunately, or fortunately, the end of the story for me. The medics were able to take control of the situation and get everything taken care of. They got a hold of the man's family and got him onto an ambulance and to the hospital. I did have to talk to the police that showed up as well, mostly because it was a bit suspicious that I was in a random person's house and that they were unconscious.

But, thankfully, and they decided that I had nothing to do with it and just took my information. I have no idea what happened to him, why he was unconscious or anything like that. I did have to take their order back to the store because I obviously couldn't have left it there, and the ticket was a cash ticket anyways. I took the other delivery to the next house and went back to the store, and thankfully that was our last batch of deliveries for the night, because I was mentally drained. I really do hope that that man was okay,

in that the hospital got him taken care of. That was one of the worst nights working on that job for me, and on New Year's at that. And it was actually pretty close to the time that I left the job, mostly because I was a bit tired of all the excitement. This event happened the day after Christmas, back when I was a young kid, probably around six or seven, I think.

The day of Christmas was great. I got just about everything I'd asked for, or at least was very happy with all the gifts that I got. One of the family gifts we got was a play set for snow. It was basically the same stuff that you use for sandcastles, but designed for snow. There were plastic molds to make bricks, to build a wall, buckets, and even snow scoops to make snowballs. I was really excited about it because I had these plans of grandeur to make an igloo with it and have my own little hideout. We got a lot of snow in the state that we lived in,

and it had just snowed a few days before Christmas, so I was excited to get out there and start on it. I had a brother that was two years older than me, so we were given permission to go outside and to play for the afternoon. My brother had to do something first. I think it was finishing his chores or something to that effect, but I was impatient and decided to go on ahead without, out I went with my big puffy coat and gloves on and started making a stock of bricks.

Our front yard, which was where I was playing, was a decent size. There were three big trees, two were pretty close together, and my dad had put up a hammock between them. There was a small playhouse and swing set there, but otherwise, it was a pretty open yard. It was also lined in with one of those simple chain-linked. fences so that you could clearly see the road from the yard and vice versa. Being a kid with my specific agenda, I didn't pay attention to the cars that were driving by, until I noticed that one was slowing down.

I looked up to see what looked like a typical dark gray minivan driving by. As it continued down the road, I went back to what I was doing. That was until I saw the same van pull up coming from the opposite direction, and stop on the side of the road in front of our house. I thought that it was weird at first because we had a decent-sized driveway, and if it was family coming to visit, why wouldn't they just park in the driveway? But that's when I noticed who was in the van.

There was someone driving, of course, but the person stepping out of the passenger side was Santa. As he got out and approached the fence, I was ecstatic and nearly bursting with excitement. I immediately ran up to the fence and started thanking him for the gifts that I got, and even what my brother got. And I just started rambling on about Christmas. I noticed that he was smiling and chuckling a bit,

and at some point of me stopping to finally breathe, he spoke. He said that he was happy that I was enjoying my gifts, but that he had one more gift for me. Of course, I lit up, and I was curious as to what it could be. He told me that he couldn't wrap it up, but said that I could come get it from the van. The thing is, he started walking back to the van, and stopped at the sliding door like he was waiting for me.

Now, I knew about stranger danger. I knew that you shouldn't just go with anyone and the importance of it, but I was still a little. little kid. And this person didn't just appear to be anybody. To me, this was Santa. He was the epitome of joy and happiness, right? I guess my logic as a child was that he didn't demand I go with him, nor did he rush me or try to pull me over the fence, and he allowed me to walk to the gate to leave the yard. If you wanted to take a kid, why would you take your time? So, As I approached the van, he slid the door open, and to my excitement,

there was an actual puppy with a bow-tie collar around his neck. I could not explain to you the sheer happiness that I was experiencing at that time. And this is why child safety is incredibly important, folks. Without even being forced or coerced, I climbed into that van, not even thinking about the fact that there weren't any seats in the back, and I immediately hugged that puppy. He had fluffy and soft white fur with little black paws like he was wearing boots, and before I even realized it, the door had closed,

and Santa was back in the passenger seat. Unfortunately, I was too busy enjoying the puppy to realize the situation that I was in and the fact that we were now driving away. I remember I was trying to talk to Santa about names and things that I wanted to get for him, but I noticed a change in mood in that van. The lady was in normal clothing compared to him, and even when I saw Santa at stores or whatever, he had the elves or Miss Claus with him.

There weren't really any normally dressed people with him, so I asked who she was, and I remember that she answered as if she wasn't insulted. She said, I'm Ms. Claus. Being a kid who just spoke what he thought, I said, you don't look like Ms. Claus. I don't remember what she said back, but I know that it wasn't pleasant.

From then, Santa and the lady began to have an argument. My parents were very loving to not only us kids, but to each other, and I'm sure they probably did have arguments, but they never did it in front of us kids. So the things that they were saying to each other, it kind of frightened me, and it made me sad, which also started making me feel uncomfortable in this situation.

This got me to start looking around the van and then out the window to see where we were, hoping to be home soon. As mentioned, the seats had been stripped out of the back, The middle seats and the third row bench seats were completely gone. My mom had a similar van, so I assumed that's how this van was originally, too. The only thing in the back with me was the pup and a large plastic tub, and what looked like a blanket or a large towel.

Then I looked out the window, and I saw nothing familiar. We were on the highway, and I had no idea for how long or where we were. That was when I started to freak out. I asked them where we were or where we were going, and I didn't get a response. They had stopped arguing, but they had just gone silent. Being a kid, I didn't stop asking, so after a few attempts, I finally got a response in the form of Santa yelling at me to shut up. Of course, this made me start crying.

As their arguing continued in the driving to what seemed like nowhere, at least to me, I started crying harder and harder. I could tell that this was starting to get to the woman, so I stepped it up, and I started screaming while lying on my back and kicking the door of the van. I think that this honestly saved me. At some point, I could tell that the van was speeding up and making sharp turns, because I could hear the tires screeching. Finally, it came to a hard stop, and as the woman screamed at Santa,

He quickly got out, opened the sliding door, and yanked me out by my ankle, all while yelling at me to shut up and get out. After quickly shoving me out of the way, he shouted a few choice words at me and was trying to get back into the van, as the lady was already starting to drive off again. I stood there for a few seconds and looked around, realizing that I had been dropped off at a gas station. I didn't recognize the area, and now I was alone, so I started crying again. Thankfully, there were people around that noticed what had just happened, and they approached me. It was a lady that came up to me and asked me if I was okay, and then they asked me who those people were. When I told them I didn't know, they grabbed my hand firmly, but gently, and told me to follow them and to not leave their side. This time felt different than the last, though.

I actually felt safe with her, and I think it was because she actually had that motherly feeling to her. She took me into the gas station and asked them to call the police. Then she bought me a bottle of juice and a donut, which calmed me down quite a bit. There was a bench right outside that she sat on with me, as she asked me about myself. I remember feeling instantly relieved and safe in this situation, and by the end of it, I was being my happy self.

Shortly after, the police arrived and spoke to us. Then to my parents, after that, I was never happier to see my parents at that point in time. It seemed like this took quite some time, of course, being young and bored, but we finally got home, and I was given quite a lecture again about strangers. This all in between a lot of people. of hugs and kisses and them telling me how much they loved me. I know that I got incredibly lucky in this situation, but in the end, it was still terrifying.

I didn't trust anybody that I didn't know from then on. Even when my parents introduced me to one of their friends or a distant relative that I didn't know, I was very hesitant to approach them alone or even talk to them. and Santa was definitely ruined for me We didn't do Santa gifts from then on And I still get a little anxiety when I see one in public I have a young child of my own now And I refuse to let them go anywhere remotely by themselves

And I don't do the mall or store Santas with them Part of me does feel bad that they have to miss out on that experience But I just can't get past it I do think about it on occasion, what their intentions were. It was the tub and blanket related. Where were they planning on taking me? It just freaks me out. It doesn't help that as I got older,

my parents told me that they ended up finding the van abandoned, but it had been stolen and gutted, which is why it looked the way that it did. However, they never found the people that took me. They could still be out there to this day, and I would have no idea if we went to the same coffee shop or gas station as them. But I guess to share one positive out of the experience, my parents did get us a puppy that same year. Every year, my neighbor, Hugh, throws his New Year's party for the block.

I will say that he is adamant that kids are not allowed, as there is alcohol involved and something always ends up happening to make the party crazy. It's typically in a good way, though. No injuries, fights, or cops being called, but they can get into some pretty wild things. So, needless to say, and that is always my choice of plans for New Year's and 2018 was no different. I brought wine and a cheeseboard that Hugh always enjoyed

and insisted that I make. At some point during the party, I was talking to Hugh and a few others when his wife, Chandra, approached him and whispered in his ear. I watched as his normal smiling face slowly faded into one more of concern. He quickly smiled again and excused himself from our group. I watched as he walked away and towards the entryway where the door was. I continued to talk with the others for a few before my curiosity got the best of me, and I excused myself as well. I headed to the kitchen island where the drinks are, as you could see the entryway from there,

which is where I spotted Hugh talking with a guy that looked exactly like him, as if they could be twins. I was conflicted on if I should approach them because Hugh had more of a crossed look while the guy he was talking to was smiling, and kind of waving back and forth to the music that was playing. Not long after, the guy patted Hugh on the shoulder and walked off. Hugh stood there for a few seconds before we made eye contact and walked over smiling. I tried to pretend that I had just gotten there and didn't see much of what happened, but he could see right through me, so he briefly explained. Apparently the guy that he was talking to was actually his twin brother, Leo.

He hadn't seen his brother in several years as they didn't get along very well, and he had moved away. He said this in good faith, asking to keep an eye out, because if he did anything remotely wrong or inappropriate, he wanted to know, as to have a reason to make him leave. I told him that I understood and would let him know, but that he should try to have a good time as this was the party of the year for our little block. And he agreed. For the next couple of hours, everything seemed to be fine until Leo finally made his way to meet. over by Chandra's plate collection. She had a display of all the state plates, and even some countries that they had visited.

I was just browsing over them when I heard someone ask, Have you ever been? I turned to see Leo behind me holding a bottle of something. I asked for clarification, and he started talking about a specific country. I don't want to mention it for Hugh's privacy, but he said that that's where they were actually born until they moved to the U.S. and that they had dual citizenship with their parents.

He talked about some things that he enjoyed there and how he wished he could go back. I was trying to be friendly and stay optimistic, and I made a comment about how you should always try to do what makes you happy. He seemed to appreciate it, and hugged me with one arm as he continued to drink his liquor. I could tell by his swaying and slurring that he was definitely intoxicated, but he still hadn't done anything bad, so I let him be on his way.

We were getting close to midnight at this point, I think maybe 15 to 30 minutes to go. Chandra was passing out the poppers and talking with everyone, and I saw Leo in the back hallway, heading into the bathroom. Again, I was just keeping tabs on this guy, but also continuing to have a good time. We gathered around the TV to get ready for the countdown, and altogether, we welcomed in the new year and did some celebratory drinks. At this point, I had actually forgotten about Leo, and was carrying on a conversation with someone in the living room. But that, that's when I started smelling smoke.

I asked the guy that I was talking to and he agreed that there was definitely something burning. I went around to the stove and saw nothing there, but then I saw Hugh quickly coming down the stairs looking up. alarmed. I asked him about the smell and he also had no idea, but he asked me if I had seen Leo. I told him the last time I saw him was before midnight, and that he had just gone to the bathroom. He then made a mad dash to the bathroom, saying something that I couldn't make out, and was banging on the door and yelling for Leo to open it. I decided to follow him in case anything happened, as I didn't know Leo, and I didn't know what he was capable of. As I stood at the end of the hallway, I saw the bathroom door fly open, and the look on Hugh's face

changed to one of confusion. Leo stepped out and what I assume was one of Chandra's dresses. He had shaved or cut a lot of his hair off and was wearing makeup. I also want to assume that he had lipstick on his arms and head instead of blood, but I'm pretty sure that was wrong. As he swung the door open, he yelled, Happy New Year's, brother! And slammed into Hugh, shoving them both into the door across the hallway, which was his office. I then quickly noticed the smoke coming out of the bathroom and was freaking out, trying to decide what to address first.

I yelled for Chandra to call 911 and quickly ran to the bathroom to see something in the tub on fire. I quickly looked around and saw nothing else, so I turned on the shower and then ran after the brothers. Leo was on top of Hugh, but I noticed the razor in Leo's hand, and Hugh was trying to hold it back. Thankfully, I was able to pull his arm back, too, making it easier for Hugh to grab it. Then I dragged Leo backwards to get him off Hugh.

Thankfully, we were able to subdue him until the cops showed up. The whole time he was spouting off different things that made no sense, as well as talking in another language. I apologized to Hugh later about calling the authorities, as I kind of felt that I had overstepped, but he thanked me for it. After it was all said and done, they had arrested Leo, and they offered to take Hugh to get him checked out, but he refused, as there were still many people there and he wanted to pick the party back up so that it didn't end like that. that. I then helped him look over his bathroom and noticed that Leo had set his clothes and some of his belongings, like his wallet, on fire. We cleaned it all up and then tried to get the party back into full swing and, for the most part, we were able to. It was a few days after the party that I was

back over there, helping Hugh shovel his driveway when he explained a bit more about his brother. Leo apparently had issues with drugs, and he had been bailed out on multiple occasions by their mother. He finally cut ties when he moved back in with his mom, only to rob her shortly after and sell all of her stuff, including many things from their grandparents in their home country. He was incarcerated at the time and was locked up for several years, and when he showed up to the party, he had only been out for a couple of months. He definitely was not supposed to be there that night. Unfortunately, he did, and he apparently had plans.

He had told him, in their other language, that he needed to die as he was the reason that his life was so miserable. He assumed that he was using again based on his actions, because he had no other explanation as to why he did what he did with the clothes and his hair. I was shocked to hear all of this because Hugh was always such a gentle, giant, that it was hard to believe he had a twin that was literally the complete opposite of him. Thankfully, I never saw or heard about him again, and I just hope that they never had to deal with it either. But it was definitely one of the more memorable newhears, even if it was terrifying. And while I hope that I never meet Leo again, I do also hope that he got the help that he

desperately needed. And profite. Embarked and relax. Cirotay. Bookine. Oh, that also. And profite. Via Rae.

The voice that we love that we have a story that I wanted to share from about 10 years ago that was one of the most terrifying things to happen to me. It's a rough story to tell because at the end of it all, I was pretty messed up. both physically and mentally. I don't want to give out too much information about where I live or where this happened for obvious reasons, but I will say that it was in the Midwest, and where I live we get some pretty serious winters. By that, I mean that we get a lot of snow, a lot of accumulation, and a lot of time the ground freezes over pretty bad. For the most part, the main cities are,

well taken care of, and they treat the roads. But when you get in between the cities or suburbs, it's kind of a, we wish you the best of luck, hope you don't die situation. And I nearly did die, so their well wishes of luck didn't really do much for me. As mentioned, this was about ten years ago. I think it was the winter of 2011 into 2012.

and what happened was in very late December. I know this because I was actually driving home from my parents' house after having spent Christmas with them. It had become a bit of a tradition as I got older, and I moved away from home. They wanted me to spend at least a few days around the week of Christmas with them, and I've always been close to my parents, so I didn't really want to let them down.

This year in particular, the weather getting there was fine, but the day before I was set to head home, the news had mentioned that we were going to get hit by a decent amount of freezing rain, followed by some snow. If you don't live in an area where you get freezing rain snow mixes, let me tell you, it can be hell to go anywhere. That rain leaves a really nice layer of ice on the road, and the snow just makes it. it that much more lovely. Seeing as how I had to drive about three hours to get from my parents' house to my home, I was watching the weather forecast pretty closely. Based on this forecast, if I left at 8 in the morning,

I would be able to get most of the way home before the storm hit the area. So I made plans on that. Of course, my dad tried to convince me to wait it out and stay a couple of days longer just in case. But I had to get back to work, and being that I was around 30 at this time, I kind of assumed that my plan would work fine and that, so long as I stuck with it, I would be okay. So, the next morning, I got all of my stuff together, got a shower in, and I spent about half an hour having coffee with my parents, before I hit the road.

I actually got out about 15 minutes before 8, and was even more convinced. that I would be fine, and that I would beat the wintry mix that was expected to completely cover the area. And, of course, the only way to describe my hubris was sorely mistaken. I got out on the road, drove for about half an hour, and almost at exactly the 40-minute mark, I noticed small raindrops hitting my windshield. Of course, at this point, I had reached the outside of the city that, that my parents live in, which meant that for most of the rest of the trip, the roads were not going to be treated at all.

I was nervous, but kept telling myself that so long as I kept the car going at a steady pace, I would make it before things got too bad. Plus, the odds of it getting really bad ahead of me were pretty slim, right? I could totally beat the brunt of this storm. Yeah, I was way wrong. Within a few minutes of the rain starting, it hit a point where I could barely see in front of me it was coming down so hard. I could tell that the road was starting to get slick in certain spots, so I slowed down some, but was still confident that if I just pushed on for a little while longer, I would be in the clear. Then, after driving in the rain for probably close to 15 minutes, the flurries started.

These were the massive chunks of snow that cover everything in a matter of minutes. By this point, I was actually getting nervous. The ground and the road were starting to be covered, there were spots of ice everywhere, and the conditions were nowhere near ideal. The problem was that, by that point, I was about an hour and ten minutes into the drive home, neither continuing on the road nor turning back really seemed like a good idea.

If I kept going, I could at least get most of the way there, or get through some of it and get home eventually, but turning back would be driving straight into where the storm was already hitting, and that seemed like it would be even more dangerous. I really didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to just pull over where I was and see how bad it got, but if we were going to be covered in what was essentially an ice storm, then parking and waiting could have honestly been a death sentence.

I was in a bit of a state of panic, so I decided that I would call my parents' home phone and have them on speakerphone while I drove at a slow but steady pace down the road. My dad answered, and I immediately told him that he was right, that I should have just stayed there for an extra day or two. He told me to just turn around and come back.

I told him that I was already almost half of the way out, and that turning around wasn't a good idea. We talked for a bit about how things were looking. He told me that the forecast had pretty much changed to do not go out unless it's life or death, which didn't help my anxiety. I just told him that I wanted to keep them on the phone, for a while, just in case things went bad, and he agreed.

He started telling me about the random things he was going to have to do around the house, and how much he was looking forward to having to shovel the driveway tomorrow. After about ten minutes of the banter, I heard him say, uh-oh. I asked him what was wrong, and he mentioned that the power had just flickered, and that he may lose me. I, of course, had called their home phone. because it was the first speed dial I had set on my cell phone. He then started saying that if they lost power,

I should just call them back on his cell phone. And as soon as he said that, the line cut out. I cursed my luck, and then did something beyond astronomically stupid. I looked down and reached to grab my phone so that I could call him back. As soon as I looked back up from the cup holder, which couldn't have been more than half a second, my eyes met the road and saw the thing that messed me up psychologically.

I saw a child in the road. Now, I have to say that I am 100% certain that what I saw was a small child wandering into the road. They had on a dark coat with a fur hood. They had long curly red hair, which made me think it was a little girl. and she was wearing what looked like a long, dark dress, that kind of puffed outward near the bottom. I can remember and replay this imagery in my head without fail

every single time I think about it. I have no idea why there would have been a child walking in the road, especially out here between cities in what was basically the middle of nowhere, but I'm certain there was. Of course, my instincts then came. kicked in, and I slammed on my brakes, which was also rather stupid of me. As soon as my brakes kicked in, my tires slid on the ice, and my car took a hard turn to the left and started to fish tail. Because I panicked and didn't correct my maneuvers, I ended up flipping my car

multiple times onto the side of the road, and I was nothing shy of lucky that I did not smash into a tree, or end up upside down. Thankfully, the car did land upright, and while I did black out for a few seconds, I eventually got through the shock and was able to focus on things. My head was damn near hitting the roof of the car with how much it had been crushed down, and the windows were all shattered.

I could feel the blood on my face. I could tell that I was messed up, but I knew that I needed to get, to my phone if I was going to live. Otherwise, there was a good chance that I was going to freeze to death. Thankfully, I was able to reach my phone and hit the button to call my dad's cell. As soon as he answered, I cut off his cheerful greeting with call 911. I flipped my car, and I'm bleeding.

He told my mom to call 911 on her phone, and he kept me on, trying to talk to me and make sure that I didn't pass out. It was a bit of a struggle trying to tell him where exactly I was, but the medical crew was able to figure it all out. And they actually got the ambulance to me within a fairly reasonable amount of time, especially considering how bad it was out on the road. By the time they got me out of the car and to the hospital, I was barely awake. I had lost a lot of blood, and I was certain that I was going to be in a lot of pain, moment that the adrenaline wore off. By the end of it, I had a broken leg, a cracked pelvis, a fractured orbital socket from

where I smacked my head on my window, which I don't remember happening. I also had multiple contusions on my head and all over my body, multiple cuts on my face, and definitely had a fairly major concussion. So the fact that I was able to get to my phone and get the call out to my dad was nothing short of a miracle. Of course, when I told the EMS that there was a child out in the woods that had walked out into the road, they had to report it to the police so that they could do a search. A child wouldn't live long in the storms, so they had to be sure that there wasn't one out there.

They never found a little girl, and I was basically told that I probably saw a deer or something like that, and that I misremembered it because of my head injury. I could tell you right now that it was not a deer. I know what a deer looks like, and my memory up to the accident is crystal clear. It was definitely a little girl, though at this point, I don't think that she was a living little girl.

Part of me thinks that this was some kind of spirit that was trying to kill me and nearly succeeded. So that's the story of the time. that I nearly died in the middle of a winter storm, in the middle of nowhere. Ever since then, if there's even a hint of snow, I'll just stay in, wait it out, because I'm convinced that the little girl is some kind of demonic spirit out there, just waiting for it to snow so that they can potentially walk out into the road and lure other motorists to their death. Hey there, friends. That was today's episode of the As the Raven Dreams podcast.

and I really hope that you all enjoyed this collection of scary stories. If you did, please do consider checking out my YouTube channel where I do these same stories, but a little bit earlier than I do them here on the podcast form, and also in slightly different collections. If you really enjoy the podcast, please do consider giving it a rating of any sort if the platform you're listening on has ratings. Any honest rating is appreciated by me, be it five-star, one-star, however you want to do it.

Just know that rating the podcast helps tremendously. And if you would like to support further, I do have a Patreon and channel memberships if you'd like to do things on the YouTube side, where for as little as a dollar a month, they get early access to my content. Never ever expected, but always appreciated. That said, friends,

I hope that I do see you on the next episode of this podcast. And of course, until then. Sleep well.