As The Raven Dreams Podcast - ATRD Ep. 100 - Creepy Coffee shop and Stalker stories - 10 True Scary Stories

Episode Date: November 27, 2023

Welcome to the chilling 100th episode of The ATRD Podcast! Today, we will step into the shadowy corners of reality, where everyday life takes an eerie twist & ordinary people experience the extraordinary. Today we will be diving into stories about Scary stalkers and creepy happenings at Coffee shops! So, turn down the lights, tune in, and let the haunting tales of everyday people take you down that dark and creepy road. Remember, these aren't just stories... these are true experiences that remind us that our world can truly be scarier than fiction. Have a Story To Submit? ➤ https://www.astheravendreams.com Or Post to the Subreddit ➤ https://reddit.com/r/TheRavensDream Support the channel for Early Access AND more! Patreon ➤ https://patreon.com/AsTheRavenDreams Join ➤ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkW0ihdMHfBUjQrMKjRto6g/join Or Check out the Merch Store! ➤ https://teechip.com/stores/astheravendreams Thank you to all of the authors that have stories in today's Video... Jason M., Robyn, Fry Queen Lena, Perfect-Help5116, Jamie Tellers, IDontLikeCoffee, Heidi_Hi, CaffeineFiend, Any any authors that requested anonymity. 'As The Raven Dreams' is a community where we explore the darker parts of human existence through true and harrowing stories. From sinister encounters with strangers and stalkers, to terrifying experiences that defy explanation and unsettling mysteries that linger in the shadows, I am here to tell you the most haunting narratives ever whispered. Much Love, and Sleep Well... ----- #TrueScaryStories #AsTheRavenDreams #RedditStories ➤ Stories include a content warning for language and sensitive/disturbing content. Viewer discretion is always advised. ➤ ALL Audio of this Podcast are copyright of AS THE RAVEN DREAMS / RAVEN ADAMS and may not be duplicated, in any format, without explicit permission ➤ If you like any of the following stories, consider subscribing! - Dark Web horror stories, creepy lets not meet stories, stalker stories, Glitch In The Matrix Stories, Unexplained Horror stories, Paranormal stories, cryptid encounter stories, Crazy ex lover stories, creepy neighbor stories, quantum immortality, true scary stories from reddit, or any other True horror Stories! ➤ 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 ashtherravendreams.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. Reese's peanut butter cups are the greatest, but let me play devil's advocate here. Let's see. So, no, that's a good thing. That's definitely not a problem. Races, you did it.

You stumped. This charming devil. I have a story about when I used to manage a local coffee shop that, for me, was the most terrifying and downright unsettling thing that I have ever gone through. I didn't work for Starbucks or Tim Hortons or anything. It was a tiny little local coffee shop called Corner Cup Cafe. And when I say it was a tiny coffee shop, I mean tiny. We had three tables in the whole shop, and barely enough room to set up the shop's shelving and the merchandise.

I've been working there since the shop had opened, mostly because my mom was really good friends with the owner, Shelly. Shelly was a lovely lady. God rest her soul. Who knew how to run a cafe? She knew how to make people love her product, and she had charisma like you would not believe. I had actually helped set up the sitting area, as small as it was, and she was more than pleased with it, so she hired me on full time. I was also one of the only people willing to work the closing shift for the store, and there were a number of nights where I would be the only person that would be there by the end of the night. She would schedule a couple of people, but usually I would go ahead and send them home about an hour before close, to cut the labor costs, because we would always be dead by the end of the night. That's all important to know, as what happened was after the other person had been sent home.

So it was somewhere between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. It was a pretty normal midweek night. We weren't busy, obviously, and there hadn't been a customer for about an hour or so, so. I was just there chilling and cleaning up the line. behind the counter, getting ready to clean up the front of the store, so that I could finish up the closing checklist. To top it all off, it was a really dark night. It was storming out, and when I wasn't looking forward to the drive home in it, I was enjoying the rain pattering on the building while the coffee shop piano music played over the speakers. It was actually kind of mesmerizing,

and very calming. As I'm finishing up the sweeping, the doorbell chimes and in comes a man that, to be honest, was a bit odd from the jump. I don't mean that he was wearing like a clown suit or anything, just that he was a bit off. He walked up to the register, didn't say a word, just pointed to the coffee dispenser behind me that held the house roast. I asked him what size he wanted, and he just kind of stared at me with this solemn look. and didn't say a word. It was a bit awkward, but looking at this man,

he looked like he was incredibly sad, like he had just been to a funeral and was still reeling in the pain of his loss. When this clicked in my head, I started to feel bad for him, so I just said, Hey, how about this? Since we're about to close, I'll go ahead and give you a large on the house. you just have to promise to come back another time if you enjoy it, okay?

Trying to be friendly and inviting as I could. Trying to give him a bit of a reason to smile if possible. But he didn't. He just sort of nodded and it actually made me feel worse. I poured the coffee and placed it on the counter in front of him and told him that I hoped that he had a lovely night. And then also mentioned that he'd. should try to stay dry out there.

He just nodded again, grabbed his coffee, and walked away. But, instead of leaving, he sat at one of the tables and was just facing the window and watching the storm. Him sitting in the lobby wasn't something that I wanted. I was about to finish out closing, but I also didn't feel right kicking him out into the storm if we were going to be open for about another 20 to 30 minutes. I just accepted it, and I went back to cleaning up behind the line. I then also did some prep for the next morning's crew.

After I finish up literally every cleaning thing that I can do, I glanced down at my watch and see that it's about ten minutes after 9 p.m., meaning that we had been officially closed for about 10 minutes. I felt bad about telling him to leave, but I had to count down the register, which I couldn't do until he left. Store policy was to never count down the cash in the drawer until the lobby was empty and the door was locked. Theft prevention for the most part.

I looked up and politely said, I'm sorry, sir, but I do have to ask that you finish up your coffee and head out. We closed at nine and I have to wrap up so that I can head home. He didn't look over at me at all. He didn't say anything, he just continued to sit there and stare out the window. I'd mentioned that I would give him a few more minutes to finish his coffee, but that I would have to ask him to leave pretty soon, so that I could lock up. I went to the back and did what I needed to there, and I walked up to the front and then pretended to count out the tips in the tip jar. Twice.

The whole time, he just stayed there and did not leave. At that point, I figured that I needed to go ahead and be a little less polite. I walked over to the table where he was sitting, and stood in front of him just off to the side a bit, and said, I'm really sorry, sir, but I have to ask you to leave. I need to lock the door and get out of here, so I really need you to go ahead and go. We open at 7 a.m. if you want to come back, but I have to get the store locked up and live. leave. When I said this, he glanced up at me and just sort of nodded. Then he stood up and slowly made his way to the door. As he gets to the door, he looks back at me and actually gave me a slight

smile before lifting his coffee at me, kind of like saying thanks without saying anything, and then he walked out into the night. I felt pretty bad, but it was what it was. I went ahead and locked the door as he exited, went back to the register and counted it down. By the time I left, it was almost 10 p.m. And I knew that Shelly was going to be a bit upset that I was so late finishing up, but I knew that she would understand with the customer being in there. Customer satisfaction was important for her, and I was sure that she would get it. If not, I would just take the talking to and move on.

odds are she really wouldn't care that much. She would just tell me to be a bit more assertive. But when I got there the next day for my shift, the situation was not quite what I was expecting. She called me into her office, as I expected, and she asked me what happened last night with closing. I told her that there was a last-minute customer, mentioned the guy that I had given the coffee to,

and how he sat in the lobby late, and then told her that he looked like he'd had a really rough day and that, as much as I wanted to tell him to leave, I just couldn't bring myself to. He really looked like he needed a few minutes to himself. She stared at me with a confused look the entire time, and then asked me when the customer came in. I told her that it was around 8.30, 8.35-ish.

She then asked me if I was feeling, okay, which was a really weird thing to ask. I told her I was fine and asked her why. She turned to her computer and asked me to watch something. I watched as she opened up the footage for the camera and turned it back to around when I mentioned. I watched as I turned to the door and waved, and then leaned over the counter and looked like I was asking what I could get for someone. But there was no one there. I watched as I turned to fill a paper cup with coffee, placed it on the counter, and just stared into the lobby for a few blank seconds.

She fast forwarded a bit, and I watched myself talk to nobody. Then watched as I walked over to an empty table, and once again started talking to no one. There was nobody in the lobby the entire time that he was supposed to. to be there. I was walking around and talking to no one like an absolute lunatic on camera. Worse yet, after I closed up and turned off the light, the coffee cup was still sitting on the counter, and it was there when she had opened that morning. I stood there with my mouth open, trying to figure out what the hell I was watching.

She mentioned that, from the camera's perspective, I was standing there and doing me. nothing for almost an hour. I shook my head and told her that there was a man there, that the man had walked into the store and that he wanted coffee. I described him to a tea. I told her about how awkward it was, how he wouldn't speak and just pointed to the coffee, how he just sat there and he wouldn't acknowledge me when I spoke. I nearly broke down into tears, because this, the thing.

video was making me look like an absolute maniac. I was stammering and pleading with her to believe me that there was a man that walked in, and that I wouldn't have put a coffee cup on the counter and wasted time, or went to talk to an empty chair like that unless there was someone there. Thankfully, Shelly was a very understanding person, and she once again asked me if I was feeling okay. if I'd had any issues with anything lately or how I was feeling that night before.

I told her that I was fine, that there was nothing wrong, and that I did not hallucinate him. She nodded and agreed with me, saying that she believed me, not sure that she fully did, but to be honest, I wouldn't either. She just told me to be a bit more assertive

with asking people to leave from then on and to go see a doctor if I started to feel that anything was off, or if anything like this happened again. I told her that I would, and she told me that she had covered my shift

for that night, so I needed to go ahead and go home and relax, and come in tomorrow and that we would just move on from there. This was seriously scary for me, because I know 100% that I did not hallucinate that man.

I did not hallucinate this guy coming in and drinking his coffee, but yet the video footage showed otherwise. Thankfully, it never happened again, and Shelley did not bring it up after that, because I would have hated for it to become a constant thing, or to be reminded of it. I worked at that shop until Shelley passed away,

about five years ago, from cancer. And when she passed away, the store closed for good. So, really, I'm not sure if this was all in my head, but I don't think it was. I also don't know if it was some kind of spirit or something, but it was real for me. Way too real to have all just been a figment of my imagination. I wouldn't normally share this story. on the internet, but I'm going to go ahead and send it to you with a request to remain anonymous just in case.

Honestly, after what happened, I kind of feel like it's necessary, because it was one of those situations that others should know about. I live in a fairly large apartment complex, in a part of town that is questionable. The community slash complex is fine overall, but the location is sketchy. We've had a string of car and apartment break-ins over the past year or two. Because of this increase in crime, the community has installed a gate at the front that is closed after 10 p.m., and they hired a couple of guards that are stationed in the lot overnight.

For the most part, it's actually been kind of nice to have the security guards on the property, as it does make me feel a lot safer. At least, until they hired a guy, named Jeb. I'm not one to judge people based on things like names, but when we got the email from the office saying that they had hired a man named Jeb, I didn't have high hopes, that's all. My initial impression didn't get any better when I finally met him.

He was a big guy, not fat, just really bulky. When I first met him, I tried my best to be polite and to say hi to him. I work in customer service, so I have that customer service smile. And when I said hi to him, he sort of just grunted. After that, I made it a point to just not talk to him, as that was, one, rude, and two, kind of creepy. Who grunts when someone says hi? Anyways, I avoided him and didn't acknowledge him at all, so he,

He pretty much just left my mind altogether. My friend Jessica was the one that initially noticed that something was off about him. Jessica doesn't live in the complex, but she'd been staying with me for a couple of weeks because she was having issues in her personal life. I've known her since we were in preschool, so I had no issue offering my couch to her when she asked. She was in the laundry room of the building, doing her laundry as one does, and, and, you know, And at one point, Jeb walked in to the laundry room.

The laundry room in our building has the washer and dryers, but also has all of the tenant's storage units. It's a small and sort of cramped room, but it has enough space for one to sit if they need to. And that's about it. She was sitting there, waiting for the ten or so minutes to pass by, and just scrolling on her phone when Jeb walked in. He looks at her,

and then walks past her to the other side of the hallway-like area, and leans against the wall. He then pulls out his phone and just starts scrolling, but is very clearly not actually reading anything. After the buzzer goes off on the washer, Jessica gets up to change them over to the dryer, and Jeb pushes off the wall and slowly walks towards her. She notices him, but doesn't want to make an issue.

She's not on the lease here, and technically shouldn't be using the facilities, until he gets too close. From what she told me, he was uncomfortably close to her, and just looking over her shoulder as she was moving her clothes. At one point, she pulls out a pair of underwear and moves it, and she hears him say,

"'Nice, under his breath.' She shivered, but just finished moving it all, put the change in for the dryer and turned around, only to be met with him standing less than arm's length away from her. As soon as she turned around, he smirked and said, Hey, can I get your phone number? She was shocked at how brazen he was, and she told him that she wasn't interested.

She said that he chuckled at this response and then said, You live in Unit 203, right? Which is my unit. where she was staying. She asked him why he was bothering her and he just said, I'm just doing my normal rounds, you know, making sure you're not up to something suspicious. At this point, she said that she'd had enough,

so she told him that he was being creepy with his comments and that it was not appropriate to ask her for her phone number and then ask which unit she lived in. She told him that if he kept bothering her and being inappropriate, she was going to report him to the office. He just laughed and shook his head and told her to have a good night and then left. She made sure that he walked out of the building and then immediately ran over to my unit to tell me about what had happened. I told her that I wanted her to report him anyways, that they need to know that he was a creep.

She agreed, but was hesitant at first, saying that he didn't really do anything. I mentioned that he may not have done anything this time or to her, but there was a real possibility that could change next time, with the next person. That seemed to make her change her mind, and she said that she would go ahead and report him. The next morning I went down to the office with her and informed them of the situation. They were a bit confused since Jessica doesn't live here, but I told them that she was staying with me for a couple of days. and that she was helping me with my laundry, and that's why she was there. They seemed to be okay with that, and asked for more details. She told them everything, and the person that took our complaint seemed to take it seriously.

They said that they would talk with him, and that they would take action, and apologized that it happened. We thought that that would be the end of it, that he would either get fired or that he would get the hints. But he didn't, and he didn't. About two days later, we were in my living room and heard knock on the door. I get up to answer it, looking through the peephole and see Jeb just standing there. I stop and think about whether or not I should answer the door, but he knocks again and says, This is security, I need you to open the door. I sighed and did what he mentioned, keeping it chained just in case.

As I opened the door, he actually ran into it, like physically bumped into the door. I'm guessing because he didn't expect me to have it chained and he was planning on just walking into the apartment. Once he regained his composure, I asked him if I could help him, and he immediately told me that I needed to open the door all the way. I told him that I didn't feel comfortable doing so, and he immediately got angry. He said, You need to open the door. I am with security, and I need to check your apartment.

I stared at him blankly for a moment and asked him why he would need to check my apartment. He responded with, I have reports there are people living in this unit that aren't supposed to be here and aren't on the lease, and I want to check just to make sure. I once again just told him no, that he couldn't just enter my apartment

at any time that he'd. he wanted, and that if they were going to send someone, they needed to call me with 24 hours' notice, according to my lease. He immediately raised his tone, saying, You're going to open this door right now, or you're going to be kicked out. I am here to check the apartment. It's an emergency. I kept up my questioning, asking what the emergency was, whose life or property was at

risk according to him. He tried to say something like, you may have a murderer in there hiding for all I know, so this is an emergency. I just shook my head and laughed at him, telling him that if he really thought that, then the office either needed to call me to talk to me, or he needed to contact the police and have them check out my apartment.

I then moved to shut my door, and he reached his arm in and around the door trying to grab at the chain lock. I immediately shoved the door as hard as I could, and screamed saying that he was trying to break into my apartment, screaming for help, trying to get the attention of the neighbors. Thankfully, it worked, and I could hear several of the doors opening in the hallway, and people asking what was going on. I think he realized the implications, and he immediately pulled his arm back,

and turned to walk away. As he was walking away, I heard him yell, Get back in your apartments. There's nothing to see here. Like, he wasn't just some security guard and had some kind of actual authority. Obviously, our neighbors came to my door and asked if we were okay and what was happening. We explained the whole thing to them, and they agreed that everything he was doing was a problem, and that he definitely had something planned with what he was doing.

I actually called the police to make a report, and when the cops came out, all of the neighbors corroborated what I was saying. They said that they would do a drive around to see if they could find him, and that they would be back with the police report for me to give to the office. Thankfully, this was the end of all this. We took the report to the office, and they told us that they had gotten calls from several neighbors in our building

about the whole situation, and that they had let him go that morning, and that he was basically barred from the property. They also said they would assist in any way they could if the police wanted to pursue the investigation. As it is, I haven't seen him since this all happened, and I think he realized that he was treading shallow water, and that if he continued, he was going to end up in jail.

In my opinion, he should have been arrested for what he did anyways. But I don't believe that he was. In the end, it was a terrifying situation, one that caused me to really not feel safe in my own home. The experience left me rattled, and I'm nervous anytime someone from the property has to come to my door, but thankfully nothing has happened since all of this played out. Okay, so this happened to me back in September. and since I was able to finally piece some things together, I can't stop talking about it, so I want to share it with you too. Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler air. I love pulling out all of my sweaters, boots, and scarves.

I love decorating with various leaves, garland and gourds. Yes, I am that girl. And I'm okay with it because it puts me in an incredible mood. and to add to such a lovely time of year, I love the pumpkin spice and preling coffees that come out of hiding. I had an extra day off during the week as a required PTO day, and for once, I had nothing to do. I was caught up with chores, no appointments or meetings,

so I told myself that I deserved an actual mental health day. I slept in a little, and after, a shower, I decided that I would enjoy one of my favorite coffees at my favorite little cafe. When I arrived, I talked to one of the baristas there. She was still in college and always tells me how she's doing in it. After chatting for a bit, I found myself a seat in one of their big armchairs that I wish I could fit into my apartment.

I pulled out my Kindle and earbuds and got myself settled in to read for a few hours, something I hadn't been able to do in a few months. I was pretty lost in my book, completely unaware of my surroundings for a few hours, until I started getting this weird, unsettling feeling. It started as an inexplicable sensation that somebody was watching me, but I just brushed it off as me being paranoid, or the book.

The book that I was reading was a thriller about someone being stalked, so it would make sense. However, I stopped reading to respond to a text that I'd received, which resulted in me checking social media, which then made me realize that same feeling was still lingering. So I did what anyone else would do and looked up to see if the feeling was warranted. Unfortunately, it was. I scanned the lobby until I locked on to the line of people waiting to place their order. There was a man standing in line, but he was standing slightly askew from the others, and was staring right at me. His face looked relaxed.

He didn't look upset, overly unhappy, or even focusing on me, like he was trying to recognize me. But when we made eye contact, he smiled at me and softly nodded. I didn't recognize him, so I just smiled back and looked down at my phone, hoping maybe a It was just an awkward moment. Afterwards, I went back to my Kindle hoping to finish my book before I left. I tried not to make it obvious, but when the feeling persisted, I wanted to check if he was still looking at me. I would take a sip of my coffee and look back over towards the line, and would see him looking over his shoulder at me. Finally, he would stop staring long enough to actually place his order, so I went back to my book.

hoping that he would soon leave and I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. I was in a good chapter of the book, so I held on to that, hoping I could just get lost in it again, and not even notice when he left. But that wasn't his plan, I guess. As I read, the light above me seemed to darken and I looked up to see the same man sit in the armchair next to me. I didn't know at the time what his intentions were. Was he going to try to talk to me? Did he recognize me from somewhere?

Or was he just one of those weird people that feel the need to sit near somebody who obviously wants to be left alone? Regardless of which one it was, I wasn't interested. So, with my plans being interrupted, I took out my earbuds and started putting everything in my bag so that I could leave. But as soon as I took my earbuds out, this man waved at me. like he was trying to get my attention. I look over at him, and I raise my eyebrows in a, can I help you, kind of way. I know you, he said softly but confidently.

I didn't know how to respond to that. Sure, some people may recognize you or think they do, but they may also follow up with how they may know you. Like, oh, did you go to X school, or did you ever? ever work at X? Things like that. But instead, he made that comment and just waited for me to respond. And the look on his face and that smile, it really didn't seem friendly.

It seemed more like a, I know something you don't know kind of smile. And I did not like it, nor the feeling that it was giving me. I'm sorry, I don't recognize you at all. Do I know you from somewhere? Before I could think of a more detailed question to ascertain how he knew me, he broke the silence. And in that same consistent calm and quiet tone, he said, I found you. While his smile turned into something a bit more sinister. I didn't know what to say to that.

We again sat there silently, but this time the man stood up and left. He even left behind his coffee. Now that I was confused and kind of spooked, I went ahead and left, looking all around as I walked to my car and got in, locking the doors immediately. Who was that guy, and how the hell did he know me, and what did he mean by Found You? It seemed so random but cryptic, and definitely cemented that feeling of paranoia. I went home and told my friends about it, and even wrote about it in my daily journal. I still had no explanation for his weird comment, though. My friend said that he was probably just being a jerk and wanted to play a prank on someone,

and since I paid attention, he chose me. Or maybe he was caught staring at me and he needed to think of a reason. These both seemed reasonable, and were definitely more innocent than what it first appeared. to be, so I agreed and just let it go. I still even stopped by the cafe and plenty of occasions to get my caffeine fix, and I never saw the guy again. In fact, it wasn't until last month that it finally came back around. I'd been having a bit of a recurring nightmare for several months that seemed to start

after I had oral surgery. In this nightmare, I was constantly running through a dark, ominous, forest. I remember I was always barefoot and had on a thin dress or maybe a nightgown. I just remembered that I never had bottoms on and recall feeling the cold air rushed through my dress and touched my bare skin. I was always freezing. Whether I had this dream in the summer or around now in the autumn, I was always freezing. I also know that I was terrified, looking around as I ran. It was like I was running from something or someone. Then the dream would always end the same way. I would feel someone grabbed my arm and hear them say, found you. Then the feeling of being

grabbed would always wake me up. I had this nightmare a few times a month, and I hadn't had it for about a week at the time of my day off, so I didn't even think about it. But then, I had this nightmare again, and the next morning, while I made my coffee at home, I remembered the guy from the cafe and nearly had a panic attack. Could they possibly be related? Was it just a coincidence that the guy said this to me, knowing that it would be relevance to this dream that I kept having? Or was there something more to it?

I never talked to anyone about my dream in an online forum. I told one of my close friends about it, my mom, and my therapist. That was it. It was personal, and I'd been through some things, so I was cautious of who I opened up to. There's no way that I could possibly think of that this man had any knowledge of my dream. But the question still lingers in my mind rent-free. Why would he say that? and why would he say it to me?

Was there something he knew that I didn't? Or was it truly just a coincidence in a dumb prank? I even sat up at the cafe one day over the weekend, thinking I might catch this guy again, but I have yet to see him again two months later. I wish there was a way that I could find this guy and ask him about it because it really does bother me. I told my therapist about it too, who has also helped me work through it.

But in the meantime, it's still an unanswered question. And it's one that I will probably always have. Reese's peanut butter cups are the greatest, but let me play devil's advocate here. Let's see. So, no, that's a good thing. That's definitely not a problem. Reces, you did it. You stumped this charming devil.

I never really believed in the whole being-watched sensation until it happened to me, until I had to live through an event that made me feel the terror of it all. I'm a college student. I work nights at a convenience store near my campus. It's nothing glorious. It's a very thankless job in an old and beaten-down little store that sells as much alcohol and candy as we do gas. Of course, the store has to add to the creepy ambience, right? The lights flicker, door out back makes this grating creak noise that makes the hair on my arm stand every single time it opens.

Other than that, the store is definitely silent, minus the soda fountain sometimes making strange noises. It's a job that pays, and that's about the end of it. You'd think that the scariest thing that you'd have to deal with at the same. these kinds of jobs would be the occasional drunk or irate customer. Doubally so if the customer is both drunk and you won't sell him alcohol, so he becomes irate. It's the den of the night, so really you wouldn't think that anything creepy would actually occur. Plus, we're near the school and close to a cop shop. People know not to do anything stupid since we can get a cruiser there in about three and a half minutes.

I would know, as I timed it. I once had to call on a drunk guy trying to drive out of my lot. By the time I'm at the middle of my shift, the world is asleep, so really I just get to sit there and wait for the morning to come so that I can go home. There was one night where, as I said earlier, things shifted from normal to creepy. I was sitting there waiting for my shift to end when an older guy walked into the store. I looked up to greet him, customer service and whatnot, and when I looked out the window past him, I saw this random guy standing outside. He was across the street just behind the streetlight.

And with how the light was glowing down, I couldn't see his face under his hoodie. There was something about how he was just standing there that was making me feel genuinely unsettled. He wasn't just there for the hell of it. He wasn't waiting for the butt. It was like he was deliberately standing there and watching the store, watching me. He didn't have a dog, he didn't have a phone out or anything. It was just him in the night. Now, I'm a pretty big dude.

I'm six foot two, a little over 230 and not easily spooked. But the way this guy was just staring in my direction without moving was seriously freaky. After I rang up the old guy, I sat back down on my stool and just watched him as he watched me. Part of me was thinking that he was going to do something, like run at the store, pull out a gun, just something that would justify my terror of him. But he didn't. After about an hour and a half of him just standing there and staring, he took a step forward and then turned left and walked away, down the sidewalk.

No lie? it was a relief to watch him walk away. But, of course, that wasn't the end. The next night that I worked, around two in the morning, I looked up, and sure enough, he was standing there again. At first I was mentally certain that it was just another guy standing there, that there was no way in hell this dude was going to spend a couple more hours in the middle of the night, just watching the store for fun. but after I stared at him for a couple of minutes

I could tell that he was wearing the same shorts and same hoodie and I knew it was him for certain I tried to shake it off tried to laugh at myself and thought wow Jason you're getting paranoid but this eerie feeling was settling in my gut and it would not go away something was off

way off so I did what I think anyone would do if they were in my position working at three in the morning behind the counter of a giant robbery target I called the police I explained that there was a man that had been loitering around the store and that I would appreciate an officer to just maybe check him out or maybe just come to the store and make sure nothing happened it was a bit of an exaggeration

he wasn't technically loitering around the store, but it wasn't wholly untrue. They said that they would send a unit to the store to check in. I thanked her and hung up. That's when things went from freaky to, holy crap, what is happening. As soon as I hung up from the dispatcher, I looked up and watched as this man reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and placed it to his ear. Then, right on cue, the phone to the store started ringing.

I was still in this weird mentality of denial. I was thinking that there was absolutely no way that it was this guy. The timing was just a big coincidence. I picked it up and answered saying the name of the store. The voice on the other end immediately cut in and said, I hope you have a good night, Jason. The voice was low and quiet, and the call ended as they finished their statement, which to me made it for.

feel like a threat. When the call ended, the man on the other side of the street put his phone away, and immediately started walking away from his post under the streetlight. I stood there watching him walk, holding the phone receiver in my hand, not sure what this was at this point. I didn't answer the phone saying my name, so him referring to me by name was unsettling. It was entirely possible that he'd been in the street.

store at some point and interacted with me, and I just never noticed it was him, but it was still freaky. After about ten minutes, the officers finally pulled up, which was a disappointing response time, but I guess it was just a loitering call. I explained the whole thing to them, and then told them immediately after calling them that the man called me and told them what he'd said. They seemed to want to take it seriously, but I think at the same time this guy hadn't done anything actually illegal, so they had to just say that they would drive around and see if they could find him. And that was it. I finished out my shift, thankful to not see the man out there for the rest of the night.

This wasn't the last event, but it was the last one that happened at my work. What happened after this is the most recent thing to happen, but is also the most terrifying, albeit the least eventful. About two days after the night where I called the cops, I was at home getting ready for work and whatnot, and when I went out to leave, I noticed that there was a slip of paper under my windshield wiper. At first, I thought it was a ticket,

or a warning for parking there or something, which was confusing, but it was the most logical explanation. but when I pulled the page out and looked at it, I was horrified. On the page right there in black and white was a written note that said, I'll be around, Jason, I'm not scared of the police. When I read this, the world felt like it was spinning. What the hell had I done to this person?

Why were they latching on to me like this? I really didn't know what to do. Should I call the cops? Was this just an empty threat? Was this some kind of stalker that was waiting to escalate the situation? I did contact the police, and when they showed up, I explained the situation that had taken place at work, which thankfully did add a bit of credence to my story. And then I showed them the note that I had just found.

They thought it was freaky, and they agreed that this could be a weird stalker situation, but there wasn't much to go on beyond the person just being. creepy. After a bit more talking about things, they basically gave me an open case number and told me that, if I saw this person at all, or if they contacted me, to contact them immediately, and this would be an open investigation into potential stalking. Fortunately, this is where the story ends, for now. It's been two months, and I haven't heard from this person nor seen them since then. I don't know if the story ends. I don't know if the story ends for now. I don't that's a good thing, or if they're waiting for me to let my guard down, but it's definitely

scaring the hell out of me. These past two months, I've been feeling like I'm being watched, being followed, and I swear that I am jumping at literally every shadow. I've kind of started secluding myself, only spending time at work and home, not going out into public just in case. if anyone has any suggestions, I am open to them, so please do let me know what I should do. I am armed, so if this person tries anything at home, I can do something about it. But I can't open carry, so out in public the only thing I can hope to protect me is the fact that this is out in the open. In the end, I think I'm safe, since it has been so long. but of course I am scared of the possibility of them coming back.

It's a terrifying feeling, and I may just be being paranoid, but if that paranoia saves me, then so be it, I guess. I used to work at a local coffee shop. It wasn't a big chain, just a small little spot in a strip mall right at the start of town. It was owned by an older couple that was always very good. kind. We didn't see them too often, as they had stepped back a bit and gave most control over to their son, who was also okay for the most part. I just didn't think that he quite had the leadership skills to run it on his own, but alas, that's why we had our shift leads. We also had our fair share of

regulars, between the younger group of people that went to the nearby community college, as well as an older group of ladies that I believe were friends of the owner. Again, very nice ladies, but they could also get loud. Louder than the college students even. However, you have to take the good with the bad, and we also had a few of those. The story is about one of those people. I'll call her Sandra, because, well, that was... her real name, and quite frankly, I don't care about her privacy anyways.

Sandra was always one of our regulars, unfortunately, and she even became a running joke between not only us baristas, but to some of the customers. You could see them making eye contact with us when she would walk in, or whispered to the person they were with who would then look over at her. It was as if a dark cloud would settle over the place every time she entered. She always ordered the same thing, and while the order itself was pretty simple, she always made it worse than it needed to be, and would find the smallest thing to complain about. She ordered two drinks, a hot one that had to be a specific temperature or higher, and a cold one. The cold one, she always wanted two pumps of the fruit syrup and four pumps of the cane sugar. Then she wanted us to shake it, as we normally did with.

with our cold drinks, but she never wanted us to put the ice in the cup. If she caught even a single sliver of ice when we handed her her drink, she would lose her mind. She claimed that the cold drink was for later, so if we added ice, it would get watered down. A single ice cube isn't going to make a difference in all that sugar, but it was never worth arguing with her. Then, she also ordered the same food item. She never stayed and tried anything else, but the problem with that is that it's one of our more popular items. Because it's a small local business, a lot of the food, especially the pastries, are made from scratch in the small kitchen in the back.

We have to be there a few hours before opening to make them all, and because we closed at six, we never went back to make more. We even made extra of those compared to everything else because they are so popular, but they still sell out almost every single day. Once we were out, we were out for the day, and that was it. Most people understood this, but Sandra never did. The time that she came in wasn't consistent. She might come in close to opening one day, but then not come in until noon the next day. and when she came in at noon,

chances are we were out of the lavender scones that she always got. So the bigger problem with Sandra's order was her reaction when something would go awry. She would become unglued and complain until one of our leads would come out, and she would demand a refund, or something for free, or a certificate. We didn't have gift cards, but we did do certs.

Sandra made off with a lot of, a lot of free items and certs too. I still wonder if her whole game was to just get free stuff, and she had no humility, or if she truly was just that miserable of a person. Because I always think, if we did such a horrible job and so consistently, why would you keep going there? But it's neither here nor there, I suppose. So, now that I've introduced you to Sandra.

let me tell you why she is relevance to this story. One day I was working, it was around 2 p.m., and I was doing my normal wipe-down of the counters and tables when who else but Sandra would show up. I shuddered as I walked back behind the counter because I knew today was going to be a bad day, because we were out at the scones. I put in her drink order as she mumbled it out to me,

and when she mentioned the scone, I had to be the one to tell her that we were out. Cue the tantrum. Before I could say anything passed, we're actually already out of those for the day. She was already demanding a manager. There was no point in trying to say anything else, so I went straight to the back to get Jamie. He came out and already exasperated. He asked Sandra what the problem was.

As she complained about the lack of food choices, Jamie cut her off, laying out her choices. Sandra, we go through this weekly with you. You know we run out of those around noon. Nothing you've ordered so far has been wrong because we haven't even made it yet. You just didn't get an item you wanted because it's sold out. Not because there's something wrong with it.

You can choose something else, or just be happy with your drinks, but you're not getting a refund for something you didn't even get. It may not have been verbatim of what he said, but it was pretty much that. And to be honest, it was satisfying to hear. Sandra, on the other hand, was not happy. Her face was showing it as she turned more and more red. She just ordered her drinks and walked to the end of the counter to wait.

Kelsey was on the espresso machine at the time, and Jamie told her to go ahead and take her break and that he was, would take care of her orders, so she happily let him take over. Another customer had come in, so I rang them up as I made quick glances over at Sandra, angrily watching him like a hawk. Shortly after, I just stood back organizing and picking up the back counter, as I listened for any more complaints for Sandra. I didn't have to wait long.

He made her ice drink as the espresso was pouring, so she got that first with no complaints. But as she took the hot drink, she pulled the lid off, stuck her finger in it, and then complained that it wasn't hot enough. He took it from her and remade it. Not once, not even twice, but three times. By the third time, she did the same thing, as she made a face ready to complain again, but Jamie stopped her. He mentioned how he was not going to continue to remake it for her, as it could be dangerous. with how hot it was, and that she was just being wasteful. But he didn't get to finish his sentence before Sandra splashed the hot beverage right

on Jamie's face, and hitting part of my arm. The small spot that hit me made me jump because of how hot it was, but Jamie's screams told me that I caught lucky. I ran over to him immediately with a towel and looked over as Sandra grabbed a straw, smiling and slowly walked out of the store. I tried to ask Jamie if he was okay or what I should do, but his screams were awful. His screams as he collapsed on the floor were piercing, and I just didn't know what to do. I yelled for Kelsey to call an ambulance as she was already back in the lobby,

presumably because she heard his screams too. One of our regular customers was there, and while I hate that they had to witness it, I'm thankful that it was her of all people. She was an old retired nurse, and she helped me with Jamie. The ambulance and the police arrived, and as they were loading Jamie up on the stretcher, I could see the giant waltz on his face already forming. All of us, including our customer that stayed to help, told the police everything we witnessed.

Of course, the police wanted any and all information that we could give them on Sandra, such as a physical description, but unfortunately for her, we had one better. We had a reward system and the owners were stuck in their old-fashioned ways of snail mail. This meant that we sent out physical local coffee shop letters as well as occasional coupons. We had Sandra's full name and full physical address on record, and we happily called up the owners and got access to provide it to them. Jamie came back after taking a few days off, but when he did return, he still had some scarring and discoloration from the burns.

He even had a bit of a scare because he was having trouble seeing, and he was worried that it messed up his eyesight. But luckily, it all came back perfectly fine. He just had to use some special eyedrops for a while. He also informed us that the police talked to him, too, and he was given the choice to press the first. charges, which he very much did. This also meant that she would be banned from the store. It was pretty annoying that all of this had to happen just to get her banned, but at the same time, I understand that we can't just ban someone for being a jerk.

It's not how things work, but she did decide to take it too far. The thing is, Jamie explained to us that he not only wanted to make her drinks so he knew they were right, but because he was actually on edge, and worried that she might try something since he stood his ground, and he was happy that it happened to him and not one of us. I was thankful that he was always so willing to look out for us. He'd always been a very protective manager of all the baristas, and is still one of my favorite managers, but those screams he let out that day were absolute nightmare fuel. I had never heard a grown man scream like that in pain,

and I had no idea what to do. But he did recover with no scarring. Sandra was charged with assaults, I believe, and the owners actually agreed to put up a sign warning people that if they're abusive to the staff, they will be told to leave. So I guess that's an improvement. I just hope that Sandra's not out there bullying someone else over a simple cup of coffee.

I used to work at a fairly popular coffee chain in my early 20s. It wasn't like the Green Mermaid Coffee Place popular, but it was a pretty big one in my state, nonetheless. I only worked there for a few years, though, because the back end of it was not nearly as fun and enjoyable as their coffee. If I may, don't get a job at a place that you love. being a customer at. It may ruin your opinion of the place.

Anyways, the job started out great. The benefits were pretty good considering the job, same with the pay. Some of the policies were a bit strange, maybe even unnecessary, but they were manageable. I even had some normal customers that I enjoyed seeing, and then there were some that you hoped that you would just never see again. One of those customers was this guy that we only knew as Willie. That's what he introduced himself as, and what he always had written on his cup. He was in his 50s. I know this because he liked to make comments like,

I've seen and heard a lot of things in my 50 years and other similar things. He also made comments to a lot of our younger staff, including me, that he was old enough to be our dads. So, like I said, Willie was always friendly with us all, and while some of his comments started as just being cringy or cliche, he didn't initially seem like a bad guy. But then he started to get too comfortable with us.

He would make jokes with the male baristas and thank them for his order, but when it came to the female employees, he took it a step further. attempting to be flirtatious. It was never overtly explicit, just uncomfortably tame, conveniently, always leaving management with no grounds to intervene. Their stance was always clear. Unless he crossed a line, made threats,

or engaged in truly inappropriate behavior, they couldn't, or more like wouldn't, take action. So, we all dealt with it. it. We were put in a grin and barrett kind of situation, and most days that's what we did. Sometimes some of us girls that he seemed to favor would hide in the back until he left, but that wasn't always an option. He would sometimes come in in the middle of a rush, leaving us trapped. We would stand at the register as he very obviously stared at our chests. I don't know if he didn't care or if he really thought he was being sneaky, but we all noticed.

He made me rethink how we dressed under our aprons. The uniform was pretty laxed, black or tan pants, and a single, plain colored shirt. Our apron had the store names on them, colors, and our first name on it, so they just told us to keep it simple. I started wearing bag-year clothing, and even sweaters under them. my apron. His looks alone chipped away at our comfort. He even made comments to some of the male baristas about us. One of those times was about me, but I was on the other end of the bar helping another customer, so I didn't hear him at the time. Apparently what he had said was undeniably

inappropriate and left the barista visibly uncomfortable. When I happened to look in their direction, I could see how red his face was, and the obviously fake smile he had plastered on his face. He later confirmed to me that Willie did make a comment about me, but that he didn't want to repeat it. That told me all that I needed to know. I once again told one of the managers, and they said that they would look into it,

but the barista said he was never approached about it either. It was obvious that this guy did, didn't care how he made other people feel, and that he was pretty much getting away with it. Then came the day that it all boiled over. I was out on the floor at the self-served drink station, refilling the creamer cariff and the sugar packets. It was right after the lunch rush, so I wanted to take the chance to clean up the lobby before our last evening rush came in.

I was slightly leaning over a small table to grab the straw, container in the back, when I felt someone's arm wrap around my waist and quickly make their way up. I didn't know who it was at first, until they spoke, once again making a disgusting comment. It all happened so fast. My heart raced and my reflexes kicked in, causing me to swing my arms back in defense, making Willie let go. When I turned around, there he was, giggling.

like a child and smiling like he had just played some harmless prank. My anger surged, and I yelled at him. What the hell is wrong with you? What makes you think that is okay? But instead of remorse, he laughed and commented, Oh, come on, everyone needs a hug now and then, right? I felt embarrassed, violated, and I was seething with anger that it was ever able to even get this far. I took off towards the back to get the manager, still spouting things off to him as I

walked. Gene was behind the counter at the time, but in my soured mood, I didn't even notice him at first. By the time I'd gotten back behind the counter, the manager had already come to the front and asked what was going on. I explained everything to him as Willie continued to give his order to Gene, who looked like he didn't know if he should continue with taking him. breaking it. We both looked over at Jean when I mentioned him seeing everything, and he confirmed that he did. Willie again threw his hands in the air, claiming that he didn't mean anything by it and laughing.

His laugh used to just annoy me, but that day it pissed me off. He really thought that what he did was okay, and not once did he ever apologize. But what made it worse was when the manager, Carol, looked at me, annoyed, like I was the problem, like I was being dramatic. So I told her that if she didn't do something about him now, I was leaving. She looked at him and asked if he got his drink yet, telling me all that I needed to know. I grabbed my stuff from the back and walked out at the store. I couldn't afford to quit, but I wasn't going to stay in a place where I was. where I wasn't respected, so I left.

When I got home, I assured the whole ordeal with my boyfriend, who was equally as livid as I was. Together, we came up with the plan. I called Jean, who was more than willing to make a statement. My boyfriend drove me back to the shop the next day, because, yes, they called me to ask if I would be in the next day, and I worked the day as normal. surprisingly Willie never showed up, well, that day at least.

But he did the next day. And when the manager wouldn't make him leave, then I would. I would drop everything that I was doing and just walk out. To be honest, I'm surprised they didn't fire me, but I guess that tells me that they were hurting for people more. I went through this for about a week, maybe a little less, and I ended up leaving early. four times in that week. Then, my restraining order papers went through, and I was told that he was served the papers, too.

I was hoping that it would just be all over there, but to my surprise, he showed up at my work. At that point, I had more control, though. I called the police immediately, and I was surprised how quickly they showed up. He was reminded of the restraining order and was told to live. leave, and for the first time I saw the other side of Willie. His face became red, and he started

yelling. He yelled at the cops. He yelled at the customers about how much of a liar I was. He yelled at me for leading him on. The officer finally got him out of the building where his shouting continued. I tried to ignore it and help the

customer in front of me, but the customers sitting at the table near the window were now standing and looking out the windows, talking, and pulling out their phones. By then, most of the people in the shop were starting to look outside and trying to see what was happening. Once things started settling down, my boyfriend, who had showed up after I called the cops, came in and told me what he saw, which aligned with the things I heard from a few customers. He arrived after the cops and saw them both walking out. Willie was yelling at the cop and mentioned.

in something about a gun. The cop had his hand on his belt and watched to make sure that he got in his car to leave. However, Willie instead grabbed something that my boyfriend couldn't see, but when he started raising his arm, the cop tased him and he dropped him immediately.

Willie did indeed have a gun in his truck, so when all he had to do was leave the shop, he was now sitting in a cruiser after threatening a police officer. I never saw Willie again, but that's probably obvious. I'm not sure what, if anything, he was charged with, but I guess it must have either finally clicked in his head, or he was behind bars because I never saw him again.

I only worked there for about another month, though, as I could not deal with management. While they never said it, I feel like they, or at least care, thought that it was my fault. She was very dismissive with me, or would tiptoe around everything, like she was worried that I would report her or something.

I wasn't going to tolerate Willie's actions, so I wasn't going to tolerate retaliation. I'm much happier with where I am now, and management takes that kind of stuff very seriously, and I'm grateful for that. I just wanted to share my experience because it did start out pretty tame. While still inappropriate, that's what it was. And I probably could have just dealt with the comments.

But when it got physical, I knew that I needed to put my foot down. And yet, it escalated to possible violence. The fact that he was willing to do that to a cop honestly scares me, because what would he have done if he caught me as I was, was leaving, or coming in. So, just a reminder, set your own boundaries, and don't let anyone bend them. Oh, and don't be afraid to call someone out and get help. Hey, Raven, I wanted to share the story with you and your audience, as it's one of those

stories that is creepy, but can also be used as educational, as you always say. It's one of the only times I've ever felt scared for my life, honestly. And it's been a few years now, and thankfully nothing else has happened, minus this one event. To start, it was a pretty good night. I'd gone out with a couple of friends. I hadn't been drinking or anything. We had just been out having dinner as a small group and went out to see a movie. It was a bit of a silly night, but it was a good time.

I wanted to stay the night with them all as they were staying at one of their houses, but I had to work in the morning, so I unfortunately had to drive home after we were all done with the night's events. I was in pretty high spirits on the drive home, though. I had my windows down, my music was up, and I was breathing in the night air. It wasn't a terribly far drive, like half an hour or so, so I was just coasting on autopilot through most of it. I assumed it would be uneventful, until I was heading down one road about ten minutes from my house. I was driving as I had been, and down one of the side roads, there was a car that was going the opposite direction. Nothing scary about that. People drive on roads. They passed me, and after they did, I happened to glance up into my rear-view mirror for whatever reason,

and I watched them slam their brakes and start into two of a few events. K-turn. Then they got behind me. Now, I thought that maybe they had intentions on doing this anyways, and it was just bad timing or something, but they sped up pretty quickly to get behind me, which was a tad alarming. After a couple seconds of them driving behind me, they kicked on their flashing lights, and my stomach dropped. I looked down to my speedometer. I wasn't speeding. I hadn't done anything stupid or illegal as far back as I could remember. My headlights were all in working order. I had no idea why they would be pulling me over.

I thought about the situation for a moment, and even started preparing myself to pull over at the first available shoulder. The road that I was on didn't have a shoulder, so I couldn't have pulled over there. After thinking about why I would be being pulled over, something clicked in my head. specifically about the car. I didn't see any markings on the car that indicated it was a cop car. The tag that I saw as it passed was not a government tag,

which is required on unmarked vehicles. Plus, the unmarked cars where I live are usually SUVs, which this was not. As I started piecing the thoughts together and thinking about the whole thing, I realized something else. The light that was flashing was just a single ball. blue light, and it looked like it was on his dashboard. My state uses full light bars, blue, white, and red, and they're typically on top of the cars. I think that this was even implemented as a requirement at some point, but I can't say for sure.

As all of these pieces started falling into place, it occurred to me what this was, most likely. It was not an actual officer. with how the light was set up, the lack of markings, this was an impersonator, and they were trying to pull me over for God knows what nefarious reason. At this point, I decided I would take a chance. I figured that I would drive to the police station, and if this was a real officer,

they would just tack on a possible evading charge that I would, of course, fight. And it was going to suck if they were real, but I was pretty certain that they weren't. I kept on down the road, they kept on tailgating me, and we made a few turns through the town. The person kept right at my bumper, and they kept the light on the whole time. The further we drove, the more I was absolutely convinced this was a fake.

Not once did he go over the speaker saying to pull over. Not once did he hit a siren. He did hit his horn a few times, but that was even more suspicious. I kept in going for a while until I was close to the police station. I turned down the road that the police station was on, and then hit my signal to indicate that I was pulling into the parking lot of said station. As soon as I hit my signal, he got over into the oncoming lane

and took off down the road past me, going way too fast down the road, and obviously trying to make a break for it. There was an officer that was outside the station, just getting out of his cruiser, that saw the whole thing happen. When I pulled in, he ran over to me and asked me a couple of questions about the car. I told him a really quick summary of what had happened. He told me to go in and let the front desk know the situation so they could get a report, and he jumped back in his cruiser taking off with lights and sirens going.

I did what he asked. I went in, told the officer at the desk that I was followed. by someone pretending to be a cop. He took my statement very seriously, thankfully, and I heard him get on the radio to the officer that had taken off after him. I then made a formal statement, detailing all that I could remember about the car, the location where he started following me,

what I was doing, etc. After a while, the original officer came back to the station and I spoke with him about it too. He, unfortunately, was not able to find him. But he told me that he got a good look at the car and confirmed my statement as being what he saw too. He also told me that I did the right thing,

that me going to the station instead of stopping may have literally saved my life. He also informed me that, in cases like this, where I think it may be an impersonator, that I should dial 911 and confirm that the officer is legitimate, and that the dispatcher will have all the information to confirm it. So, this was an educational situation for me,

one that was terrifying because I almost did stop. If he'd been a bit more convincing with his props, specifically the light, I likely would have, because I wouldn't have thought twice. Hopefully the story can help someone out there to avoid any situation like the one I was in. I know that most officers out there may take offense to, not stopping right away, but if you aren't feeling safe, you should at least call 911 to confirm

that you are being pulled over by someone legitimate. Of course, if you're being followed by a fully marked cruiser with full light bars and sirens, odds are it's legitimate, and you probably shouldn't push your luck. Either way, that's my story, and it's one that has stuck with me for these past couple of years. Because it really was scary how close I was to something that was potentially incredibly dangerous. Lazzang sur-gillet, puissance-moyane for 15 minutes.

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Publied. Savoray. Admire. And profite. Via Rae. The voice that we am. Back whenever I was around

19, so quite a while ago. I used to sling fries at a place that I don't want to name specifically, so we're just going to call it McBurger Queen. It was a fast food job, one that had me working around grease and oil for literally six hours a day. It was gross, slippery, and terrible for both my weight and my skin. For a broke college student that was doing their best, it was a paycheck, and nothing else. I hated every minute of it, but I did it long enough to be promoted once or twice, all the way up to a shift lead.

Not a manager per se, but a lead. It meant that I had to delegate things while the managers sat on their back ends in the office. That said, it did pay for what I needed it to pay for, and as much as I loathed it, I kept it and tried my best to just get through it. Then came who I'll just call Mr. Creep Show. At first he was just another 50-something overweight guy that liked to come in on Fridays, a slightly chubby dude with a taste for a double cheeseburger meal. At first, I hardly noticed him, but even when you don't work front, certain orders start to ring a bell. Double cheeseburger, no ketchup, add mayonnaise, extra pickle, and large, unsalted fished food.

fries. Yes, I still remember what he would order, because after a while it was an order that I would come to hate. But initially it was just basic stuff. He'd come in, order, I'd get his food maiden out onto the counter. It went from once a week to a few times a week to literally every single shift that I worked. He went from ordering and sitting down, to ordering and then standing at the counter watching me make his food with this awkward grin on his face. When he sat down, he would sit at the closest table and would just stare as he ate. Innocent, yet creepy as hell.

Then he started trying to talk to me. I would walk an order up, and he would be at the kitchen. counter, try to get my attention. It would always start with him saying something was wrong with his order and ask that I fix it. But he would then try to squeeze in small talk about anything and everything. The weather, how my schooling was going, I made the mistake of once telling him that I was going to college. How work was going. Then the conversation started to swing towards things that he had no business asking.

not as a customer at a burger joint that I barely knew. One day, he asked me to come up to the counter and he didn't have his food, so I didn't know what he was going to bother me with. I walked up, asked if I could help him, and he said, Yeah, you can. I'd like to take you out for coffee sometime. Would you like that? The way he asked it was so weird.

Ending the sentence with, Would you like that, was something. an awkward way to ask someone out. I told him that I appreciated the gesture, but that I was taken. He laughed and said something like, Oh, that's fine. I'm sure you have a bunch of guys after you with, uh, assets like that. I stared at him for a moment, and he seriously gave me the elevator eyes and smirked at me.

At that point, I told him that he was making me. feel really uncomfortable. He then responded with, How about I take you home and make you feel even more uncomfortable? I stepped back and told him in no uncertain words that what he was saying was not okay and that I was going back to work and the conversation was over.

After that shift was over, I spilled everything to my night manager, who gave me the go-ahead to boot Mr. Creep's show if he tried to talk to me about anything inappropriate again. But that was it. She didn't ask any questions, didn't ask for his name or what he looked like. She just said that it was my responsibility to take care of it

until or unless he physically did something inappropriate. After that, I didn't see Mr. Creep Show for a week, so I thought that it was over, and that he had gotten the hint. maybe he'd moved on to haunt some other poor girl in another fast food establishment. But then, when I walked into work one night, there he was. He was standing in the McBurger Queen manager's office, except he was in uniform. My stomach dropped as my night manager introduced him to me as David,

and said that he was a new crew member, my new co-worker. I just gave a plastic smile and asked if I could talk to her alone, and she sent him off to the front to get used to things up there. I then told her that he was the guy, that he was the creep that I had told her about. She gave me this look that screamed that she didn't believe me at all, and dismissively said, No, you must be mistaken.

David seems like an all right guy. I shook my head, and I told her that it was either, him or me, that he had to go or that I was going to go. She promised that she would work something out, and that I needed to just try to work with him. For a few days, I had to work with this guy, and I could just feel him staring at me. And of course, he worked every shift that I was working. Then, my manager told me that she had actually worked it out with our sister's store to transfer him to their team, as they had more openings than we did. But, and of course there was a but, since he had applied and wanted to work at this location, if he wanted to come back here, he could make a call to corporate, and they would likely transfer him back.

Basically, if Mr. Creepshaw wanted to come back and ogle me some more, he was within his rights to do so as a McBurger Queen employee. So, I went ahead and gave her my two weeks notice right then and there, and told her that him being away temporarily was not enough for me. She was disappointed, but she said that she understood. I just kept my head down and counted my shifts until it was my last one. On my second to last day, who would show up working at our store again but Mr. Creep Show. When he clocked in, he walked back to my station and said something like, So, I heard you leaving. Can I go ahead and get your number now? I want to get to know you better, see what you've got going on.

Again, he was giving me those sleazy elevator eyes. I snapped. I told him that I said. I would rather dip my face in the friar than ever see his face again. He just kept this big grin and watched me as I walked away from him to turn in my cap and name badge. I dropped them off and I walked straight out that door. I did go back one time just to get my paycheck, and the whole time he was out mopping the lobby and was just staring at me.

He gave me this gross little wave and a kissy face when I saw him, and I gave him. and I gave him the finger. After that, I never went back to that location. I've barely gone back to that specific chain of restaurants, and I hope more than anything that Mr. Creepshow choked on every chicken nugget he ate after that day. This happened a couple of years ago now. I was in an extremely unhealthy relationship at the time,

and after one of my partner's fits of rage, I went out for a late-night drive to clear my time. my mind. I was 22 at the time, living in a small town in rural Alberta. Now, if you know anything about Alberta, you know that a lot of our residents are the redneck types, with huge jacked-up trucks, sporting massive aftermarket bumpers and headlights that can probably see clear to Mars. Now, I'm not a tiny girl. I grew up training in MMA, and I'm damn near six feet tall. but I drive a tiny silver sedan. So, me and my tiny car made our way out to the local fishing pond.

It's also a bit of a lover's lane, but it was pretty much deserted at this time, aside from one other car in the parking lot. I pull in, hugging tight to the curb to put as much space as I can between myself and the other occupant of the lot. There's a chain, guardrail thing to the immediate right. of my car, as well as in front of me. But I wanted to keep my splotchy face to myself while I texted my best friend about the fight that I just had with my partner.

As I'm sitting in my car, doors locked, and the ignition off, I see a vehicle coming down the road. It's important to note that this parking lot is at the top of a T intersection, and there's not much to do in my hometown other than drive around aimlessly, so I don't think much of it. That is, until the vehicle pulled in behind and slightly to the left of me, blocking my vehicle in. I was still upset and borderline ready to end myself anyway, so although it freaked me out, I didn't do anything about it. I just stayed in my seat, doors locked, texting my friend. After about 20 minutes of this, what I could now tell was a massive truck with an iron cross bumper.

you can look it up. They're distinctive. Sitting behind me with its damn lights from hell shining in my car. They drove off. I paid no more attention to them, though. Once I felt calm enough to go back home, I started my car and went to put it in reverse. Remember how I said the lot that I was in was at the top of a T intersection?

Well, all of a sudden these lights come on from just up the road behind me. I pull onto the crappy gravel road and start making my way back towards town, and the truck followed. I drove slowly and calmly, and they got so close behind me that they nearly clipped my car with their bumper, and they kept backing off and pulling in close again, like a cat playing with a mouse. I completely ignored them and continued to drive normally, until I made it to the turn into town where they decided to finally screw off in the other direction. I've never felt that kind of fear before, nor since. I'm not really sure what was going on or what their intentions were,

and I don't really care either. Hello, I work for Gloria Jeans. It's a coffee place here in Australia that sounds a lot like Starbucks. That being said, I've never actually been to a Starbucks. Anyway, the chain of the change. is fairly popular around Australia. I've worked here for about two years, and I started when I went to university studying women's studies.

I'm still working at Gloria Jeans because the cost of living in Australia is so damn expensive, so I need it as a side job. Basically, I really need this job to help me stay afloat. I was serving in the morning rush of people who were waiting with varying degrees of patients for their morning coffee. When I noticed a woman that I hadn't seen before. I asked her for her order, and, to be honest, I don't remember what it was, nor her name.

It's hard to remember it at all. The morning rush was over, and she was still there. There was nothing that weird about her, and she didn't give us any trouble like our Karen or Darren characters would. I asked her if she was okay, and she had to be. asked me how I was doing. I said that I was okay. Just the morning rush can be intense.

She asked if she could ask me a few more questions, and since it was quiet and management likes when we have a good rapport with the customers, I agreed. She asked me if I had a partner, and I said no, not at the moment, and I swear that her face lit up. So far, nothing was super weird. but I apologized to her and told her that I wasn't looking. She really didn't look phased.

Every day after that, she showed up and she wanted to speak with me. It was getting annoying. She would wait there all day and follow me when I had my time off work. I told her that I was on break and needed some space to eat and to rest. And she would sit at the table across from me staring and eating her food. She hadn't done anything violent, just really weird. I asked her to be left alone, and she sulked and got up and left. But she was back again the next day.

I talked to my manager about it, and he really did not take it seriously. I had to take my car into the repair shop to get fixed, so I had to catch the bus instead. I hate taking public transport, but, It was either that or an Uber. I wanted to save some cash, so. Anyways, she was on the same bus and got off at my stop. I had to sneak through different apartment blocks to hide from her so that she wouldn't know where I lived.

I told my manager all about what had happened that day, and finally, he asked her to leave the store. I tried ignoring her. One day I had to work late, and... I was walking out to where I had parked my car, and when I got out there, she was sitting on my car and was waiting for me. I said, hey, what the hell are you doing? And she said that she had been waiting for me all day in that she'd missed me. I told her to leave me alone and drove home.

This was where I made a big mistake. I didn't realize that she had put an air tag on my car and found out my car. address. Over the next couple of months, I was sure that someone was looking through my windows. One of my plants was stolen. I'm not sure if it was her or not, but yeah. And I noticed strange little bottles on my front step. It was incredibly weird. I didn't see her at my house until I realized I forgot to take the bins out, so I did that, came back inside, and closed and locked the door. Then I got back inside and saw her sitting in my living room. I let out a scream when I saw her and a maniacal grin spread across her face. She told me that she'd been waiting so long for this.

I ran to my phone and I called the cops while she was trying to take the phone from me, screaming at the top of her lungs that she loved me and that I was hers. I was backed up into the kitchen when she grabbed one of the knives and started to threaten me with it. I punched her to get her away from me. Then the crazy woman started slicing into her own arm. It was the most insane thing I have ever seen. My neighbors heard the screaming and the police and an ambulance came to take her away. She lost a lot of blood. And surprisingly, the cops were able to get her to drop the knife. I don't know what I would have done if they were forced to use lethal force in my home. She was arrested, and I think that she was sent to a mental health facility.

I do hope that she is okay. I'm just happy to be done with it. Hey there, friends. I hope that you enjoyed this collection of scary stories on this episode of the As the Raven Dreams podcast. If you did, make sure that you follow the podcast on whatever platform that you're utilizing, and if the platform you are on has a rate the podcast option, please consider doing so. Those ratings push the podcast into the algorithm, and we all know how the algorithm controls everything, so yeah.

I also do have a Patreon. If you go to patreon.com slash as the Raven Dreams, you can support the channel further for as little as a a month, you can get early access to all of my content in audio format. The content's a little different, as it's based on what I upload to my YouTube side, but it's the same stories, just in different collections of stories than how they're presented here. Speaking of stories, if you have one you would like to submit to me, please go to as the ravendreams.com and click the button in the middle of the screen that says submit your story.

These stories are mostly sourced by listeners. so let's keep the podcast alive. If you've got one, I'd love to read it. Anyways, friends, I hope you're all having a beautiful day and a lovely week. And I hope I see you again very soon. But until then, remember you're loved, you're valid, you're important. You're the best you can be, never forget it. And until next time, much love and sleep well.